The festival dedicated to Hermes in ancient Greece was called the Hermaea.
The Hermaea were festivals held in different Greek communities in honor of Hermes. They especially celebrated him as the patron of athletes, gymnasia, young men, travelers, and competitive skill. Athletic contests were commonly held in gymnasia and palaestrae, the training grounds of the Greek world.
The festival was not identical everywhere. At Pheneos, near Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, it honored the god in a region strongly associated with his birth. Athens held Hermaea for ephebes, or young men undergoing civic and military training. In Cydonia on Crete, the celebration could include a temporary reversal of social roles.
The Hermaea is easily confused with major festivals devoted to other gods. The Panathenaea honored Athena, the Dionysia honored Dionysus, and the Thesmophoria primarily honored Demeter and Persephone. The plural name Hermaea reflects the festival’s occurrence in multiple Greek communities.