have realtions with you, it's wrong!". Odysseus did say things like this in his adventures. So it would seem that adultery was more condoned among the Norse and it wasn't by the Greeks. HERMOD -- HERMESHERMODHermod was the messenger of the gods. He rode to Hel's realm after the death of Balder to try and convince her to let Balder come back from the dead. He was not a major figure in the myths, but had a distinct role. HERMESHermes was the messenger god in Greek mythology. He is the son of Zeus and Maia. He is the fastest of the gods. He wears winged sandals, a winged hat, and carries a magic wand. He is the god of thieves and of commerce. He is the guide for the dead on their journey to the underworld. He invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical scale, astronomy, weights and measures, boxing, gymnastics, and the care of olive trees. Hermes seen here with one of his many symbols: his magical wand.DIRECT COMPARISONHermes and Hermod have much in common. Even their names are almost identical. Both are the messengers of the gods. It may seem, though, that Hermes had a larger role in the myths than Hermod.Besides their obvious similarities, there is one that is particularly distinct. Hermes has sometimes been called Psychopompos, which means bearer of souls. Some say that Hermes would escort the souls of the dead to the underworld. This also seems to be a characteristic of Hermod and the main reason that Hermod volunteers to go to the realm of the dead to get Balder back. So what does this mean? What does a messenger god have to do with the dead? Maybe this goes back to the old saying "bearer of bad news." Being the messenger would often mean that they would bring the bad news of a death either to the recipient of the message or of someone they knew. So in this sense they would be the bearer of the dead souls. As cited above, one of the most famous Norse stories is about Hermod's trip to the underworld in an attempt to retrieve Balder. The...
