# Hermes — The Odyssey character guide

> Hermes in The Odyssey by Homer.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Cyllenian Hermes

**First appearance:** 0005-book-iv-conference-of-telemachus-and-menelaus

## Snapshot

The winged messenger of Jove, dispatched to Calypso's island with orders that will finally set Ulysses free, and later a guide through dangerous magic.

## Who they are

Hermes moves between Olympus and the mortal world as the god who carries decrees and, when needed, practical aid to heroes in trouble. His intervention with Calypso is the hinge on which Ulysses' release turns, and his later gift of a protective herb shows that divine help in the poem is often cunning rather than heroic. He embodies the idea that survival sometimes depends on knowing which god to listen to and which plant to hold.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_odyssey_se/characters/hermes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_odyssey_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_odyssey_se/characters