Thekerykes/ˈkɛrɪˌkiːz/ orceryces/ˈsɛrɪˌsiːz/ (Ancient Greek:Κήρυκες, pl. ofΚῆρυξ,Keryx)[1] ofBronze AgePylos 1200 BC, home to the agedHomeric heroNestor and theNeleides,[2] are listed in theLinear B tablets as𐀏𐀬𐀐ka-ru-ke serving the𐀨𐀷𐀒𐀪ra-wa-ko-ri, the commander of armed forces.[3] In Athens, this office became ceremonial, functioning from the Leokoreion, a building site at the Dipylon Gate.[4] Linear B tablets[5] that refer to thekeryx mention the office in context with𐀁𐀔𐁀𐀀𐀩𐀊e-ma-a2 (e-ma-ha)a-re-ja,[6]Hermes Areias, meaning either the Warrior, or the Curser (aras).
InIliad, the Homeric epic, heralds serve heroic nobility in humble tasks, as cooks, fire-kindlers, wine-pourers, and waiters during feasts and symposia, as scavengers of corpses on the battlefield for cremation or as umpires during funeral games, as messengers between enemies, allies, and warriors during battle, as announcers of public assembly and as language translators (hermeneus), and in other odd jobs that earned them the rank ofdemiourgoi, public workers.[7] Their ubiquitous yet invisible presence behind the scenes requires concentration, for to understand what they did demands a shift in focus, like watching the black and white striped referees in a football game, rather than the players competing and scoring. Accordingly,demiourgoi alone demonstrate declining status,[8] hence the heraldic office itself declined in sanctity and authority,[9] even though its exalted status survived in archaic Athens.[10] Two of the most prominent kerykes were the Spartan herald Talthybios, and the Trojan herald Idaios, both being spear-carriers;[11] they were known by the epithetpepnumenō.[12]
By the archaic period 700-650 BC,Hesiod[13] identifiesHermes with the herald of the Olympian gods that has special control over the daimonic wingedKeres in-flight into and out of DemeterPandora, personified wine-storage jars blamed for all of the ills of humans, where onlyHope lingered at the rim. She was DemeterAnesidora, one aspect of the grain-goddess at Athens who preceded the revenge-filled Demeter Erinys 'atEleusis.The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (147) names her Maia, also the mother of Hermes Kêryx. The burial spot of herald Anthemokritos[14] helps identify the larger grave-mound of the Athenian Kerykes with the massive Tomb 9 along the Eridanos River outside the Dipylon Gate.[15]
By the classical period, the Kerykes, sons of Hermes, were one of the sacred Eleusinian families of priests that ran theEleusinian Mysteries. They popularized thecult and allowed many more to be initiated into the great secrets ofDemeter andPersephone, including the concoctionkukeion, orkykeon. Starting about 300 BC, the state took over control of the Mysteries, specifically controlled by two families: theEumolpidae and the Kerykes. This led to a vast increase in the number of initiates. The only requirements for membership were a lack of "blood guilt" (meaning having never committedmurder) and not abarbarian (i.e. Greek and able to speak Greek). Men, women and evenslaves were allowed to beinitiated.
Kerykes (which means "heralds" in Greek), were also part of the ritual and competitors at the Olympic Games (seeHerald and Trumpet contest).