In ancient Greece, it was common to find statues of the god Hermes (messenger of Zeus) or the goddess Hecate (goddess of childbirth, wilderness, and land of the dead) at the street corners. Hermes’ name originated with the Greek word herma meaning a stone cairn used to mark roads and pathways. The Greeks thought that the spirit of Hermes would reside inside these piles of stones, protecting and guiding travelers. Hecate’s job was to ensure that people didn’t take the wrong road, so pillars were erected at crossroads to please her. The cairns and pillars built for Hecate and Hermes were also considered to be altars, so passersby could pay homage to the two gods as they traveled, hoping for a safe journey. Travelers customarily added stones to the cairns to win the favor of the gods. Of course, any time roads and pathways meet, people also meet, and they pass the time gabbing. With so many cairns and pillars handy, they could chat with each other and worship the gods at the same time. Altars and statues of Hermes and Hecate were so plentiful that Hecate became known as Trioditis, which is Greek for ‘one who is worshipped where three roads meet’. When the Romans began to adopt Greek gods as their own, they re-named Trioditis, giving her a new name that meant ‘three roads’ in Latin. Eventually her name entered our language meaning ‘things of little importance’ or ‘useless or obscure knowledge’ such as those petty details exchanged where three roads meet: Trivia.

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