Traits of Hermes-Mercury, Odin and a solar deity in the figure of Gandalf

Young Tolkien in the Costume of Hermes.

And four hobbits in plain white togas beside him.

It is interesting to look at Gandalf through the prism of the antique pantheon. In part he may be an embodiment of Hermes-Mercury. First, as a messenger of the gods; second, as a swift-footed herald upon the silver Shadowfax. Like Mercury at his meeting with Ulysses, he gives the hobbits an antidote against otherworldly influences.

Tolkien himself called Gandalf an “Odinic wanderer”, plainly alluding to the link between Woden and Mercury mentioned by Tacitus. Besides, Gandalf is one of the alternative names of Odin in the Prose Edda.

On the other hand, Círdan the Shipwright, lord of the Grey Havens, hands him his ring, Narya, the Ring of Fire with its ruby, and says: “Take this Ring of Fire, and with its aid, perhaps, you will kindle anew in hearts the valour of former days in a world that is growing cold.”

Yes, Gandalf is not only the herald of a higher will; he also assumes the functions of a solar deity, appearing as a bearer of light. In one of his first appearances Mithrandir deals in fireworks and smoke. Flashes of light attend him, he calls down fire on Caradhras, he kindles a light in the darkness of Moria. And he vanishes into the mist of the mountains, only to reappear with the rising sun and save Bilbo and the dwarves, and the next time to save Rohan at Helm’s Deep.

But all this is said in order, in the end, to arrive at the conclusion that Tolkien himself is Gandalf.