Hermes, Alchemy, & the Voyage of Ulysses (Audio: Lecture II.2.2)

Description

Hermes is the lord of the road to rebirth. He is the one who meets the soul at death and guides the path to eternal life of one kind or another. In that way, he is the lord also of roads, the protector of travelers. These are his hitherworld functions.
— Joseph Campbell

Have you ever dreamt about water? About cruising or taking a voyage? By pulling together three ideas (the god Hermes, the concept of Alchemy and the story of Odysseus,) Joseph Campbell takes us on a mythic voyage across the oceans of our mind. Listen to Odysseus’ Soul Journey and come hear of the Cyclops Polyphemus and to top it all off, Joe offers it all in modern psychological imagery by explaining Thomas Mann’s Hermetic pedagogy.

This lecture was recorded at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California in 1968.