25. RANSOM: Hermes

In a novel that is otherwise resolutely committed to portraying the ancient world with
attention to the minute particulars of ordinary experience, Malouf allows the reader a
glimpse into the fantastical realm of the divine with the appearance of the god
Hermes, ‘the celestial joker-messenger, thief, trickster, escort of souls to the
underworld’, who is sent to accompany Priam into the camp of Achilles. Hermes is
depicted as an insolent youth who taunts Somax and provides them both with a
foretaste of their own mortality: ‘I see you are amazed’, the god said...Well, that is
understandable, and proper too. What I told you is true, I was sent. Though not by
Achilles... Sent, yes, but not for the usual reasons, nothing of that sort is intended.
Not on this occasion. The next time you see me will be a different story. But you’ll
know me then won’t you, old fellow?’. (p.159) While the character of Hermes
introduces something of a comedic interlude before the intense drama of Priam’s
confrontation with Achilles, he does also suggest the presence of divine forces in
human life, forces beyond our usual powers of perception or understanding.