In Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, Hermes and Mercury portray similar conceptualizations of love as well as differing ideas regarding duty to the “Voice of God”.  Both Homer and Virgil believe love and obsession are intertwined.  Homer subscribes to the belief that although the gods always get their way, mortals can rebel.  Virgil, on the other hand, feels people should immediately obey the gods.  One may compare Homer and Virgil’s still popular descriptions of love to my concept of healthy love.  Today’s society is split regarding the unquestionability of the “Voice of God” and one’s duty to him.
     Both Homer and Virgil see love with undestined partners as consisting of an obsessive woman and a caring yet detached man.  Two such women detain Odysseus on his journey home: Circe and Kalypso.  Both require Hermes’ instruction on how to respond to Odysseus.  Hermes is a key player in Odysseus’ first meeting with Circe.  He appears to Odysseus as a shepherd boy and gives him a plant that will confer immunity to Circe’s spells.  He then maps out a plan of action for Odysseus to ensure he escapes Circe alive and intact.  One sees the other side of Hermes’ actions when Odysseus fails to fall under Circe’s spell.  She cries, “Odysseus then you are, O great contender,/ of whom the glittering god with golden wand/ spoke to me ever. . . We two/ shall mingle and make love upon our bed” (Od. 10.371-376).  Hermes, the god of the golden wand, planned the whole encounter, and this also enables Odysseus to leave when he so desires.   Even though Circe offers a “flawless bed of love,” (10.390) Odysseus eventually decides to leave.  When asked, Circe consents to his departure, but not until he has visited the land of Death.  Perhaps by this, Circe means to deter Odysseus, as he freely admits his fear of the place.  One must consider that Hermes foretold Odysseus’ stay and his probable departure, which explains the reassuring nature of Circe’s directions.  Although she attempts to detain Odysseus through her failure to mention his leaving and her insistence on his visit to the land of Death, Hermes’ involvement prepares Circe to let Odysseus leave.
     Kalypso, on the other hand, has not been warned about Odysseus’ arrival or eventual departure.  When Odysseus wants to leave, Kalypso refuses.  Homer explains that for Odysseus, “long ago the nymph had ceased to please./ Though he fought shy of her and her desire,/ he lay with her each night, for she compelled him” (5.161-163).  Unlike Circe, Kalypso denies Odysseus the right to leave.  When Hermes finally does arrive to command Odysseus’ release, Kalypso whines, “But it was I who saved him-- saw him straddle/ his own keel board, the one man left afloat/ when Zeus rent wide his ship with chain lightning” (5.136-138).  She believes she saved Odysseus through her own devices and does not want to let him leave.  Had Hermes arrived before Odysseus, she might have been better prepared.  As it is, Kalypso is angry about Odysseus’ imminent departure as a result of the seven year delay in Odysseus’ arrival and her talk with Hermes.
     In the Aeneid, Dido does not receive a direct visit from Mercury.  As a result, she takes Aeneas’ departure even worse than Kalypso takes Odysseus’.  Dido mocks Mercury by saying, “Now the gods’ interpreter, if you please,/ Sent down by Jove himself, brings through the air/ His formidable commands!” (Aeneid 4.521-523).  Dido’s use of the sarcastic phrase “if you please” shows both her doubt that Mercury visited Aeneas and her anger at his command.  She also uses the adjective “formidable” as a hyperbole.  This exaggeration, like her sarcasm, belies her fury.  Like Circe and Kalypso, Dido tries to detain Aeneas.  She entreats him to wait until the winter storms have blown themselves out, and to give her a few weeks to calm herself.  Of course, Aeneas must leave immediately and Dido simply cannot understand this.  Since Mercury never visits her, Dido fails to comprehend Aeneas’ actions and as a result, kills herself.  The stories of Circe, Kalypso and Dido show both the necessity of Mercury or Hermes’ forewarning and Homer and Virgil’s notion of undestined love resulting in an obsessed woman.
     Although neither Homer nor Virgil denies the unquestionability of the “Voice of God,” they have differing opinions on one’s duty to that voice.  In the Odyssey, Mercury's conversation with Kalypso emphasizes Homer’s view that one can question the gods.  Kalypso is initially wary of Hermes’ visit, and she immediately questions his purpose by asking, “tell me what request you have in mind;/ for I desire to do it, if I can” (Od. 5.95-96).  Kalypso holds back her full cooperation by adding “if I can”, and this is only the first of many such statements.  Hermes, too, resents following Zeus’ orders.  After complaining about the long and boring journey, he adds, “But it is not to be thought of-- and no use--/ for any god to elude the will of Zeus” (5.109-110).  This phrase completely sums up Homer’s view that one can rebel against one’s duty to the gods, but eventually he will be forced to submit.  One can challenge the “Voice of God,” but it always prevails.
     Eventually, Kalypso must acquiesce to Zeus’ command.  Hermes warns her to “show more grace/ in your obedience, or be chastised by Zeus” (5.153-154) again hinting that she does have a choice to obey.  Kalypso obliquely refers to her forced cooperation during her conversation with Odysseus.  After listing all the provisions she will give Odysseus for his voyage, she remarks, “provided/ the gods who rule wide heaven wish it so./  Stronger than I they are, in mind and power” (5.178-180).  The reader can imagine Kalypso secretly smirking as she gives the gods this little jab.  Later she posits, “Fairness is all I think of.  There are hearts/ made of cold iron-- but my heart is kind” (5.201-202).  The cold heart she refers to is obviously Zeus’, and it is interesting how she seems to forget that she has been holding Odysseus captive and Zeus is commanding the poor man’s release.  Her heart is not as kind as she portrays it to be!
     Homer’s belief that one can question the gods makes them anthropomorphised.  Indeed, Hermes interacts with Odysseus and Kalypso as a human might.  He walks up to Kalypso and Odysseus when he needs to speak with them.  Instead of disappearing in a cloud of smoke, Homer describes Hermes’ departure by saying, “Then toward Olympos through the island trees/ Hermes departed” (10.346-347).  This is a very different picture than the reader sees in the Aeneid.
     In Virgil’s Aeneid, Mercury appears and disappears mysteriously.  This heightens the sense of separation between gods and mortals and, therefore, the unquestionability of duty to these gods.  Virgil describes the end of Mercury’s first visit by saying, “And Mercury, as he spoke,/ Departed from the visual field of mortals/ To a great distance, ebbed in subtle air” (Aeneid 4.376-378).  Virgil’s use of the phrase “ebbed in subtle air” shows his reverence for the gods.  Mercury is not only magical, he is also graceful!  Later, Mercury “merg[es] into the darkness” (4.793).  One can imagine Mercury appearing like some silent hologram and scaring Aeneas to death!  Indeed, Aeneas does not dare to question Mercury’s commands.
     Although Aeneas does care deeply for Dido, he, as well as Virgil, sees his duty to the gods as all-important.  Numerous times, Aeneas “by Jove’s command held fast his eyes/ And fought down the emotion in his heart”
(4.456-457).  It is obvious Aeneas struggles between his desire to please Dido and his duty to the gods.  Virgil refers again and again to Aeneas’ dual loyalties.  One can imagine this internal war tearing him apart!  Virgil continues to describe Aeneas as “duty bound”, “struggl[ing] with desire”, and “shaken still/ With love of her” (4.545-550).  These are all very grim depictions of Aeneas’ mental state, yet he somehow manages to follow Mercury’s commands.  It is interesting that after Mercury’s second visit, Aeneas describes him as “goading me”, yet continues a few lines down, “we act on your command/ Most happily!” (4.798-802).  Although Aeneas does recognize that he is being controlled, he does not resent Jupiter’s orders at all.  In fact, it never seems to enter his mind that he has another option!
     One might counter the argument that Virgil views duty to Jupiter as a necessary facet of life with Dido’s refusal to accept Aeneas’ departure.  Although she does present an interesting case of dissension, Dido never actually hears the “Voice of God.”  Mercury never visits her, and the only person to tell her about the command is Aeneas himself. Technically, Dido has no feeling of duty to the gods because she has not received an order from them.
     My definition of healthy love is drastically different from the obsessive love depicted in the Odyssey and the Aeneid.  In my experience, having a healthy relationship is very difficult because it goes against much of what society teaches.  Healthy love never prevents one from pursuing happiness.  It requires that each party be confidant and comfortable with themselves first.  My idea of healthy love necessitates not a need for another person, but a great delight in his or her presence.  Society, as seen in these two works and in numerous television shows and other forms of media, portrays love as a frantic obsession-- one is not in love unless one is willing to commit suicide for the other person.  The Living Well floor had a discussion last week on relationships, and almost everyone’s idea of perfect love included “need”.  When questioned further, these people said they desired a relationship in which they could not live without their loved one.  This conceptualization of love has persisted through the ages, probably due to repeated references to “great love stories” such as that of Aeneas and Dido, Romeo and Juliet, and Cleopatra and Antony.  What scholars are forgetting in their classification of these relationships is that they do not end happily!  Dido, Romeo and Juliet all commit suicide, while Antony loses the world.  Obsessive love can never result in a good ending.  Readers should look instead at Aeneas’ relationship with his first wife.  Although he loses her and is distraught, he continues on with his life.  If he had committed suicide then, the Aeneid would not exist!  Odysseus and Penelope also offer an example of healthy love.  Although they miss each other, neither kills themselves.  They wish to be together but function well separately.  One can see this when Penelope visits the suitors and charms gifts out of them.  She definitely has a mind of her own!  Examples of healthy love are present in both the Aeneid and the Odyssey, but for some reason people ignore them for the more dramatic and more obsessive love stories.
     There are two general sides to the argument on the “Voice of God” and one’s duty to it.  People believing in predestination feel that God’s word is undeniable and immutable.  Many ancient scholars believed in the Divine Command Theory which states what is right or good is so because God says it to be.  This idea is still common today in many religions.  These people side with Virgil’s idea that God’s commands are inescapable and unquestionable.
     Homer, as well as many people in today’s society, believes in the concept of free will.  Those with religious inclinations argue that free will is a gift of reason from God.  Regardless of origin, however, people who believe in free will say that one has the power to do whatever one wants unless the situation renders this impossible.  The stoics of Virgil’s time also believed in free will.  They were religious, and so believed reason to be a God-given gift.  However, this differs from today’s conceptualization of free will in that the stoics always insist God has the final say.  If he wants someone to do something, no matter how much the person protests, God will force him to do it.
     Homer and Virgil both present the same idea of obsessive love through encounters involving Hermes and Mercury.  They have different views regarding duty to the “Voice of God,” however.  My conception of healthy love is at odds with Homer and Virgil’s, but these two poets do present pictures of healthy love which people often ignore.  In today’s society there exist those who agree with Virgil and believe in predestination, and those who side with Homer and his idea of free will.  Since Dido lived in ancient Carthage where the will of the gods reigned supreme, she should have been convinced by Aeneas’ visit with Mercury.  Had she lived today, it would be difficult to predict how she would react.  If she were to believe in predestination, she most definitely would not be shocked.  However, if she took a more liberal position and subscribed to belief in free will, she would have dropped Aeneas like a hot potato for not standing up for himself.