When we were reading the Iliad for our previous Greek class the last semester, I had been initially surprised that Iris was often than not sent to provide messages to mortals and to other gods; I had thought that Hermes would have played a larger role in the carrying of messages.
Now that we are reading the Odyssey, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Zeus decided to send Hermes to carry his order for Kalypso to release Odysseus in book 5 (which I thought was embellished nicely in a manner that wouldn’t have been present if Iris had been sent–she seems to merely touch down, give the message, and then dart away with a reply).
Why was Hermes sent for this particular job? Does this indicate that Hermes is only utilized as a bearer of messages that are only of utmost importance and that his main duty is to help guide the dead toward the underworld?
I am sorry if I am asking a lot of basic questions, but I don’t have a very strong background in mythology (I didn’t even know that Iris existed until we read the Iliad!).
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