Hermes-Mercury an Ancient Allegory of Modern Łódź and an Undiscovered Patron of the City’s Sustainable Development

Abstract

From the mid-nineteenth century, in industrial cities of the West, numerous architectural details appeared, exposing the figure and attributes of Hermes-Mercury, the Greek god of trade, merchants and thieves, traveller of travelers, messenger of gods and psychopompos, ruler of writing and communication, money and all measures. In Alexandrian syncretism, Hermes appears as the prophet Trismegistus, guardian of secret knowledge. As a philosophical Mercury, Hermes patronizes alchemical changes and, together with other secrets of royal art and esoteric knowledge, contributes to the masonic traditions. In modern times, Hermes has become the patron of industry, an ancient icon of modernity and capitalism, and so he became the hero of the graphics decorating the diplomas of world exhibitions, bookkeeping certificates, and labels of goods. The alchemical mercury, an intriguing personification of modernity perceived as fluid and ephemeral, brings with it the collapse of great narratives based on transcendence, which is expressed in the replacement of the symbol in the universe of Western culture by allegory. Meanwhile, the departure from allegory towards the posthuman vision of the city and the world allows us to see in Hermes’ semantic heritage the potential of sustainable development, free from metaphysics, the simplest emblem of which is the caduceus.