Hermodr is one of the more enigmatic Norse gods, who only appears fleetingly in the surviving sources.
The surviving mentions point to a god with a much more complex mythology and significance, which has now been lost to history.
Hermodr means “war spirit,” which may seem appropriate for a god who is referred to as the son of Odin (and the brother of Odin’s other son Baldr) in the surviving sources.
Nevertheless, none of the surviving sources point to a connection with war but rather point to Hermodr as a kind of messenger god, which has led to comparisons with the Greek messenger god Hermes. But how similar are these two gods ?
Mythology of Hermodr
The only significant information we have about Hermodr comes from the Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda, which describes the aftermath of the death of Baldr, the son of Odin and Frigg.
As the gods are overcome in their sadness, Frigg asks who will be willing to win her love and favor by going to Hel, the goddess of the underworld, to bargain with her for the life of Baldr.
Hermodr, who seems to be a son of Odin but not of Frigg, volunteers and mounts Odin’s eight-legged horse Sleipnir to make his way to Helheim.
He rode for nine nights through the darkest and deepest of valleys until he comes to the Gjoll Bridge that marks the border of the underworld.
There he encounters the giantess Modgudr, who guards the bridge, and informs him that Baldr has already passed and that he should continue northwards (which means downwards) to follow him.
When Hermodr arrives at the walls of Helheim, he uses Sleipnir to jump the wall and enter the court of Hel.
There he finds Baldr and his wife Nanna, who threw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, enthroned in positions of honor in Hel’s court.
Hermodr then asks Hel to return Baldr to the weeping gods because he is so beloved.
Hel agrees only if the gods can prove how beloved Baldr is by having all things in existence weep for Baldr.
Hemodr agrees to the challenge, but before leaving he receives the ring Draupnir from Baldr, which had been placed on his funeral pyre and therefore transported to the afterlife, to return to his father Odin.
Nanna gave Frigg a linen robe, a finger ring for Fulla, and other gifts.
Sadly, the gods were not able to secure the return of Baldr because a witch, presumed to be Loki in disguise, refused to weep.
There are no other certain references to Hermodr in the surviving sources, and he is not regularly included in lists of the Aesir gods.
In the Hakonnarmal, Hermodr appears alongside the Bard of Asgard Bragi in Valhalla when Hakon the Good arrived among the brave fallen warriors.
But this could be another fallen warrior, as another Hermodr appears in the Hyndluljod, who seems to be a mortal hero who received helm and mail from Odin, while Sigmund received a sword.
Hermodr vs Hermes
From the little we know about Hermodr, how similar is he really to the Greek god Hermes, beyond the similarities in their names? Let’s take a look.
Hermes is the son of Zeus, the king of the gods like Odin, and Maia, one of the nymphs, so not Zeus’ wife and the queen of the gods Hera, so they have this in common.
Hermes was considered the herald of the gods and was often called on by Zeus to deliver messages.
He was able to easily move between the worlds thanks to some winged sandals in his possession.
This contrasts with Hermodr, who does not seem to have been the regular messenger of the Norse gods since Frigg was looking for volunteers, and he also had to borrow Odin’s horse to move between the worlds.
Because he could move between the worlds, Hermes also became a god who guided the living into the underworld, a job that there is no evidence Hermodr shared.
But when Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld to retrieve her, just like Hermodr did for Baldr.
This rescue was also only partially successful, and Persephone had already eaten the fruit of the underworld and so had to spend six months of the year there with Hades.
That is the limit of similarities between the two gods. As a youth, Hermes is described as a trickster, more like Loki.
As a baby, he escaped from his crib to steal the cattle of Apollo.
He reversed the footprints of the cattle and wore adult sandals to throw Apollo off the trail.
He was only caught because Zeus saw the mischief.
As recompense, he was ordered to give Apollo his lyre, which he had invented.
Hermes was considered one of the most intelligent gods, responsible for much knowledge.
He invented the alphabet and writing, which was associated with Odin in Norse mythology who discovered the secrets of the runes and shared them with mankind.
He also invented fire, dice, and the pan pipes, used by Greek shepherds.
He was also included in some heroic stories. For example, he used magi to lull the monster Argos to sleep and then kill him to save Zeus’ lover Io from a trap set by Hera.
He als lent the hero Perseus his sandals so that he could fly off after beheading Medusa and save Andromeda.
Odin and Mercury
Looking at the evidence, there are in fact few similarities between Hermodr and Hermes beyond the similarities in their names and the fact that they both traveled to the underworld to retrieve a beloved god.
They were also both sons of the king of the gods, Odin and Zeus respectively, but considering how many children both of these gods had, that isn’t saying much.
More pertinent seems to be that when the Romans encountered the Germans in the 1st century CE and met their gods, including Odin, they compared Odin to Mercury, the Roman version of Hermes.
At this time, Odin was not the principal Norse god of war, as that position was occupied by Tyr, whom the Romans compared to Ares.
This could relate to things such as the invention of writing, which can be linked to both Odin and Hermes.
Moreover, Sleipnir the horse that could move between the worlds, was Odin’s steed and more often associated with him than Hermodr.
Moreover, Hermes was considered the patron of travelers, merchants, and so forth.
Odin was also thought to visit the mortal realm as a wanderer, and as the patron of those who travel.
Odin could also be linked to the capacity of messenger, not on his own, but via his ravens, Huginn and Muninn.
They flew out into the world every day and reported to Odin everything they saw and heard.
