The Divine Messenger's Duty: What Does Hermes Actually Do in 'The Odyssey'?
The Divine Messenger's Duty: What Does Hermes Actually Do in 'The Odyssey'?
In Homer's ancient epic The Odyssey, the god Hermes—identifiable by his winged sandals (talaria) and golden wand (caduceus)—acts as the ultimate divine troubleshooter. While gods like Poseidon actively obstruct Odysseus and Athena covertly champions him, Hermes is deployed for specific, high-stakes diplomatic missions that require divine authority, intercession, and magical assistance.
Historical and Literary Origins
Rooted in Bronze Age Mediterranean traditions, Hermes (Hermēias) evolved from a god of boundaries, stone heaps (hermai), and travelers into the swift messenger of the Olympian pantheon. In The Odyssey, his role bridges the mortal realm and the supernatural. He is not merely a messenger, but a psychopomp (guide of souls) and a master of pharmakon (both poison and cure, or in this case, magical defense).
Key Interventions in The Odyssey
- Rescuing Odysseus from Calypso (Book 5):
Perhaps his most famous appearance in the epic occurs when Zeus sends him to the island of Ogygia. Hermes straps on his immortal golden sandals—which carry him over land and boundless sea "with the blowing wind"—and flies down to command the nymph Calypso to release Odysseus. This moment shifts the narrative momentum, allowing the weary hero to finally build a raft and resume his sea voyage.
- The Antidote to Circe's Spells (Book 10):
When Odysseus's men are transformed into swine by the witch Circe, Hermes intercepts Odysseus on his way to her palace. Disguised as a young man, Hermes hands Odysseus a magical herb called moly (black roots, white blossom) and instructs him on how to resist Circe's drugs and force her to swear an oath not to enchant him further. Here, Hermes acts as a protective psychotherapeutic force, shielding the hero's mind and identity from erasure.
Psychological and Modern Nuance
From a psychological perspective, as explored by thinkers like Carl Jung and Karl Kerényi, Hermes embodies the archetype of the trickster, the threshold-crosser, and the guide through the unconscious. In The Odyssey, Hermes appears precisely at psychological and physical liminal spaces—boundaries between captivity and freedom (Ogygia) and civilization and bestiality (Circe's island). Etymologically tied to the herma (boundary marker), Hermes helps Odysseus navigate the dangerous borders of the known world, symbolizing adaptability, wit (mêtis), and the psychological resilience required to reclaim one's selfhood.