DID YOU KNOW: Zeus and Hermes

In Acts 14, we read about a strange episode involving Paul and Barnabus...

In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

This of course raises the question of who Zeus and Hermes are. Zeus (also known as Jupiter to the Romans) was believed to be the father of the Greek gods, and the most powerful of them. He was the greek equivilent of God the Father, but with a vindictive and jealous streak. Hermes (also known as Mercury to the Romans) was believed to be the messener god of the Greek gods (thus the association with a talker like Paul).