Battus was the shepherd who witnessed Hermes stealing Apollo’s cattle in Greek mythology.
In the story, Battus sees Hermes driving the herd away. Hermes tests whether the shepherd can keep a secret by offering him a reward for silence. Battus agrees, but Hermes later returns in disguise and questions him. Battus reveals what he knows, so Hermes transforms him into stone.
The episode is a compact example of Hermes’ association with secrecy, trickery, travel, and sudden transformation. It also explains the name Battus through a myth about betrayal and punishment. Ovid includes a version of the story in the Metamorphoses.
Battus is distinct from the later Battus who founded Cyrene in North Africa. Those figures are sometimes confused because both names appear in Greek mythology and ancient history, but the shepherd is specifically connected with Hermes’ cattle theft.