Although commonly known as the god of luck, Hermes is also the guide who brings souls down to the Underworld. Prayed to by both Orestes,/span> and Electra, he is, in this context, a symbol both of divine power and of death. The siblings’ appeal to him emphasizes their obsession with their dead father, and their need to avenge him.
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Hermes Character Timeline in The Libation Bearers
The timeline below shows where the character Hermes appears in The Libation Bearers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Lines 1-585
...faithful companion Pylades. Orestes, who has been exiled from Argos for many years, prays to Hermes, the god of the dead, to give him strength. He cuts two locks of his...
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Electra kneels at the grave and prays to Hermes, begging him to ask the dead and Mother Earth to hear her plea. She asks...
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Lines 719-1065
...when they will be able to help Orestes. They pray to Mother Earth and to Hermes to guide him, before noticing Cilissa, Orestes’ nurse when he was a child, in tears....
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...pray to Apollo, praying that he provide light for Orestes’ dark path, and then to Hermes, begging him to help Orestes as well. They then address the absent Orestes, reminding him...
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