"Herma" redirects here. For the piano piece by Iannis Xenakis, see Herma (Xenakis).
A herma (Ancient Greek: ἑρμῆς, pl. ἑρμαῖhermai),[1] commonly herm in English, is a sculpture with a head and perhaps a torso above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height. Hermae were so called either because the head of Hermes was most common or from their etymological connection with the Greek word ἕρματα (blocks of stone), which originally had no reference to Hermes at all. The form originated in ancient Greece, and was adopted by the Romans (called mercuriae), and revived at the Renaissance in the form of term figures and atlantes.
In the earliest times Greek divinities were worshipped in the form of a heap of stones or a shapeless column of stone or wood. In many parts of Greece there were piles of stones by the sides of roads, especially at their crossings, and on the boundaries of lands. The religious respect paid to such heaps of stones, especially at the meeting of roads, is shown by the custom of each passer-by throwing a stone on to the heap or anointing it with oil.[2] Later there was the addition of a head and phallus to the column, which became quadrangular (the number four was sacred to Hermes).[3]
Uses
Herma with the head of Herakles (Hermherakles). Museum of Ancient Messene, Greece
In ancient Greece the statues were thought to ward off harm or evil, an apotropaic function, and were placed at crossings, country borders and boundaries as protection, in front of temples, near to tombs, outside houses, in the gymnasia, palaestrae, libraries, porticoes, and public places, at the corners of streets, on high roads as sign-posts, with distances inscribed upon them.[4] Before his role as protector of merchants and travelers, Hermes was a phallic god, associated with fertility, luck, roads and borders. His name perhaps comes from the word herma, referring to a square or rectangular pillar of stone, terracotta, or bronze; a bust of Hermes' head, usually with a beard,[5] sat on the top of the pillar, and male genitals adorned the base. The surmounting heads were not, however, confined to those of Hermes; those of other gods and heroes, and even of distinguished mortals, were of frequent occurrence. In this case a compound was formed: Hermathena (a herm of Athena), Hermares (of Ares), Hermherakles (of Herakles), Hermaphroditus (of Aphrodite—not to be confused with the son of Hermes and Aphrodite with the same name, Hermaphroditus, who had the genitals of both sexes), Hermanubis, Hermalcibiades, and so on. In Athens, where the hermai were most numerous and most venerated, they were placed outside houses as apotropes for good luck.[6] They would be rubbed or anointed with olive oil and adorned with garlands or wreaths.[7] This superstition persists, for example the Porcellino bronze boar of Florence (and numerous others like it around the world), where the nose is shiny from being continually touched for good luck or fertility.
Archaic bearded head of Hermes from a herm, early 5th century BC
In Roman and Renaissance versions (termini), the body was often shown from the waist up. The form was also used for portrait busts of famous public figures, especially writers like Socrates and Plato. Sappho appears on Ancient Greek herms, and anonymous female figures were often used from the Renaissance on, when herms were often attached to walls as decoration.
Trial of Alcibiades
In 415 BC, on a night shortly before the Athenian fleet was about to set sail for Syracuse as part of the Sicilian Expedition of the Peloponnesian War, all of the Athenian hermai were vandalized. Many people at the time thought such an impious act would threaten the success of the expedition.[8]
Though it was never proven, the Athenians at the time believed it was the work of saboteurs, either from Syracuse or Spartan sympathizers from Athens itself; one suspect was the writer Xenophon.[9] Enemies of Alcibiades, using the anger of the Athenians as a pretext to investigate further desecrations, accused him of other acts of impiety, including mutilations of other sacred objects and mocking performances of religious mystery ceremonies.[10] He denied the accusations and offered to stand trial, but the Athenians did not want to disrupt the expedition any further, and his opponents wanted to use his absence to incite the people against him at a time when he would not be able to defend himself.
Once he had left on the expedition, his political enemies had him charged and sentenced to death in absentia, both for the mutilation of the hermai, and the supposedly related crime of profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Art and popular culture
The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has a large collection of Roman Herma boundary marker stones in its stored collection.
An Aesop's fable makes fun of a statue of Hermes. When a pious dog offers to 'anoint' it, the god hastily assures his worshipper that this is not necessary.[11]
In the fantasy novel Lud-in-the-mist by Hope Mirrlees the main character unearths an important object by digging beneath an object called both a "berm" and a "herm". It is described as "the tree yet not a tree, the man yet not a man".[12]
In the 2022 space opera novel Hidden Solace by Karl Drinkwater, one of the AIs recreates ancient Athens and uses hermae to redirect another AI: "A Herm whose erect phallus faces north. He’s probably only just noticed that each penis points in the direction I predicted VigMAX would head in his attempts to reach my temple.".[13]
^Thuc. 6.27, with Grote's remarks, ch. 58, 5.146ff.; Andoc. de Myst.; Aristoph. Lys. 1094
^Introduction "A History of My Times" (Penguin Classics) Paperback – May 31, 1979 by the editor George Cawkwell. Translated from Xenophons' "Hellenica" by Rex Warner
^Thucydides (2008). The Landmark Thucydides. New York: Free Press, sections 6.27–28.
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (1890), Perseus Project
Herm (Greek religion)– Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Influence of the Phallic Idea: Hermae, Termini, Pillars and "Groves"
Ice Herms, with primary source passages on ancient herms and on the sacrilege trial of Alcibiades, images of ancient herms from sculpture and vase painting, and photos (including a step-by-step guide to the making) of the University of Chicago ice herms
February 14, 2023
herm, sculpture, herma, redirects, here, piano, piece, iannis, xenakis, herma, xenakis, herma, ancient, greek, ἑρμῆς, ἑρμαῖ, hermai, commonly, herm, english, sculpture, with, head, perhaps, torso, above, plain, usually, squared, lower, section, which, male, ge. Herma redirects here For the piano piece by Iannis Xenakis see Herma Xenakis A herma Ancient Greek ἑrmῆs pl ἑrmaῖ hermai 1 commonly herm in English is a sculpture with a head and perhaps a torso above a plain usually squared lower section on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height Hermae were so called either because the head of Hermes was most common or from their etymological connection with the Greek word ἕrmata blocks of stone which originally had no reference to Hermes at all The form originated in ancient Greece and was adopted by the Romans called mercuriae and revived at the Renaissance in the form of term figures and atlantes Herma of Demosthenes from the Athenian Agora work by Polyeuktos c 280 BC Glyptothek Contents 1 Origin 2 Uses 3 Trial of Alcibiades 4 Art and popular culture 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksOrigin EditIn the earliest times Greek divinities were worshipped in the form of a heap of stones or a shapeless column of stone or wood In many parts of Greece there were piles of stones by the sides of roads especially at their crossings and on the boundaries of lands The religious respect paid to such heaps of stones especially at the meeting of roads is shown by the custom of each passer by throwing a stone on to the heap or anointing it with oil 2 Later there was the addition of a head and phallus to the column which became quadrangular the number four was sacred to Hermes 3 Uses Edit Herma with the head of Herakles Hermherakles Museum of Ancient Messene Greece In ancient Greece the statues were thought to ward off harm or evil an apotropaic function and were placed at crossings country borders and boundaries as protection in front of temples near to tombs outside houses in the gymnasia palaestrae libraries porticoes and public places at the corners of streets on high roads as sign posts with distances inscribed upon them 4 Before his role as protector of merchants and travelers Hermes was a phallic god associated with fertility luck roads and borders His name perhaps comes from the word herma referring to a square or rectangular pillar of stone terracotta or bronze a bust of Hermes head usually with a beard 5 sat on the top of the pillar and male genitals adorned the base The surmounting heads were not however confined to those of Hermes those of other gods and heroes and even of distinguished mortals were of frequent occurrence In this case a compound was formed Hermathena a herm of Athena Hermares of Ares Hermherakles of Herakles Hermaphroditus of Aphrodite not to be confused with the son of Hermes and Aphrodite with the same name Hermaphroditus who had the genitals of both sexes Hermanubis Hermalcibiades and so on In Athens where the hermai were most numerous and most venerated they were placed outside houses as apotropes for good luck 6 They would be rubbed or anointed with olive oil and adorned with garlands or wreaths 7 This superstition persists for example the Porcellino bronze boar of Florence and numerous others like it around the world where the nose is shiny from being continually touched for good luck or fertility Archaic bearded head of Hermes from a herm early 5th century BC In Roman and Renaissance versions termini the body was often shown from the waist up The form was also used for portrait busts of famous public figures especially writers like Socrates and Plato Sappho appears on Ancient Greek herms and anonymous female figures were often used from the Renaissance on when herms were often attached to walls as decoration Trial of Alcibiades EditIn 415 BC on a night shortly before the Athenian fleet was about to set sail for Syracuse as part of the Sicilian Expedition of the Peloponnesian War all of the Athenian hermai were vandalized Many people at the time thought such an impious act would threaten the success of the expedition 8 Though it was never proven the Athenians at the time believed it was the work of saboteurs either from Syracuse or Spartan sympathizers from Athens itself one suspect was the writer Xenophon 9 Enemies of Alcibiades using the anger of the Athenians as a pretext to investigate further desecrations accused him of other acts of impiety including mutilations of other sacred objects and mocking performances of religious mystery ceremonies 10 He denied the accusations and offered to stand trial but the Athenians did not want to disrupt the expedition any further and his opponents wanted to use his absence to incite the people against him at a time when he would not be able to defend himself Once he had left on the expedition his political enemies had him charged and sentenced to death in absentia both for the mutilation of the hermai and the supposedly related crime of profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries Art and popular culture EditThe J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has a large collection of Roman Herma boundary marker stones in its stored collection An Aesop s fable makes fun of a statue of Hermes When a pious dog offers to anoint it the god hastily assures his worshipper that this is not necessary 11 In the fantasy novel Lud in the mist by Hope Mirrlees the main character unearths an important object by digging beneath an object called both a berm and a herm It is described as the tree yet not a tree the man yet not a man 12 In the 2022 space opera novel Hidden Solace by Karl Drinkwater one of the AIs recreates ancient Athens and uses hermae to redirect another AI A Herm whose erect phallus faces north He s probably only just noticed that each penis points in the direction I predicted VigMAX would head in his attempts to reach my temple 13 Gallery Edit Small terracotta herm of Hermes Archaic Greek herm presumably of Hermes unusual in that the penis has survived Herm on an Attic red figure lekythos 475 450 BC A hermaic sculpture of an old man probably a philosopher Ai Khanoum Afghanistan 2nd century BC Male and female Baroque herms at the Rubenshuis Busts from a Roman double herm of Seneca and SocratesSee also EditBoundary marker Greece Crossroads mythology Cairn Inuksuk Caryatid Atlantid LingamReferences Edit Anatole Bailly Abrege du dictionnaire Grec Francais Hachette Paris 1901 p 361 Nicand Ther 150 Theophrast Char 16 Paus vii 22 2 Aristoph Plut 1121 1144 Hom Od xiv 435 xix 397 Athen i p 16 Brunck Anal 3 197 no 234 The image of a youthful beardless Hermes was a development of the 5th century BCE Thuc 6 27 Aelian Ael VH 2 41 Suid s v Pollux 8 72 Athen 10 437b Theophrast Char 16 comp Genesis 28 18 22 31 45 48 Thuc 6 27 with Grote s remarks ch 58 5 146ff Andoc de Myst Aristoph Lys 1094 Introduction A History of My Times Penguin Classics Paperback May 31 1979 by the editor George Cawkwell Translated from Xenophons Hellenica by Rex Warner Thucydides 2008 The Landmark Thucydides New York Free Press sections 6 27 28 Hermes and the Dog mythfolklore net ISBN 978 1 4405 4338 8 p 220 ISBN 978 1 911278 36 8 p 213External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hermae Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article Hermae Ancient Greek Art Herm Statue Theoi Project A Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities 1890 Perseus Project Herm Greek religion Britannica Online Encyclopedia Influence of the Phallic Idea Hermae Termini Pillars and Groves Ice Herms with primary source passages on ancient herms and on the sacrilege trial of Alcibiades images of ancient herms from sculpture and vase painting and photos including a step by step guide to the making of the University of Chicago ice herms Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Herm sculpture amp oldid 1115657630, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
