The guide
Hermes is the god who moves between worlds. In Iliad XXIV he comes to Priam in the form of a young man and guides the old king through the Achaean lines to Achilles’ hut, then puts the guards to sleep. Without him, the ransom of Hector would be impossible.
In the Odyssey he is sent by Zeus to order Calypso to release Odysseus, and he tells the nymph that the order cannot be disobeyed. He also meets Odysseus on Circe’s island and gives him the herb moly, which protects him from her drugs. His help is practical, discreet, and often disguised.
The trickster
Hermes is also the god of thieves and cunning. The Homeric Hymn to Hermes tells how he stole Apollo’s cattle on the day he was born, and the character of the trickster is present in his Homeric appearances even when the poem does not narrate the theft.
His association with boundaries makes him the natural guide for travellers and for the dead. In the Odyssey he leads the souls of the suitors to Hades, and in the Iliad he moves between the human and divine worlds with equal ease. He is the god of the plot as well as of the message.
Relations
Ally / friendship
Backlinks 6
The following entries mention “Hermes”.