Why Winged Feet?

The name Winged Feet Limited goes back to the first days of Winged Feet Productions which is a small publishing imprint I started in 1989.

The Greek god Hermes, who wore winged sandals was Herald to Zeus and Hades. Robert Graves in his seminal book Greek Myths describes Hermes duties as including "the making of treaties, the promotion of commerce, and the maintenance of free rights of way for travellers on any road in the world".

The critical symbolism here is communication and what Graves describes as Hermes ability to travel "with the swiftness of the wind" by virtue of his golden winged sandals.

There are parallels between Hermes and Mercury in the Roman pantheon and it seems that both of them either wore winged shoes or a winged hat or helm depending on who you read. Both were responsible for communication and commerce as well as having other functions. Further afield Hermes relates to Anubis in the Egyptian mythos although his duties differ somewhat.