On which mountain was Hermes born?

Hermes was born on Mount Cyllene, a sacred mountain in Arcadia, according to Greek mythology.

The Homeric Hymn to Hermes places the newborn god in a cave on the mountain with his mother, Maia, one of the Pleiades. Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, and his Arcadian birthplace helped establish his close association with shepherds, travelers, and pastoral landscapes.

Mount Cyllene—also called Mount Kyllini or Mount Ziria—stands in the northeastern Peloponnese. The epithet “Cyllenius” became one of Hermes’s traditional titles, meaning “of Cyllene.” Ancient writers also described a temple of Hermes Cyllenius near the summit.

A common mix-up is Mount Olympus, the home of the Olympian gods. Hermes lived among the Olympians, but mythology connects his birth specifically with Cyllene, not Olympus or Mount Parnassus.