Hermes
by CTCWeb Editors
The Herms
The Herms, stone posts bearing the head of Hermes and a large phallus, are associated with the luck bringing aspect of the god. Students should use the information found in Perseusand in other source materials to investigate the Herms and their religious significance. Below is a list of Links in which information on the Herms appears. This is not a complete list but one that should be filled out by students. The list contains primary and secondary source information on the Herms as well as a Herm image.
12.1.12 Launching the Expedition to Sicily - Before the expedition to Sicily sailed, Alcibiades supposedly mutilated Athens’ herms and made a mockery to the Mysteries. As a result of these accusations, Alcibiades went over to the Spartan side.
12.1.12.1 The Mutilation of Herms - This paragraph explains what a herm is and what significance it held in Athenian life.
Andocides, Speech 1.11, 1.37 - Andocides quotes Pythonicus who says that he can prove that Alcibiades made a mockery of the Mysteries and mutilated the Herms.
Diodorus Siculus, Book 13.2.3 - Diodorus Siculus talks about the mutilation of the herms and says that “the [Athenian] people, believ[ed] that the deed had not been done by ordinary persons but by men who stood in high repute and were bent upon the overthrow of the democracy.”
Herodotus, History 2.51.1 - Herodotus offers an explanation of where the idea for the Herms came from.
Pausanias, Guide to Greece 1.24.3 - The first ones to make a limbless likeness of Hermes were the Athenians.
Pausanias, Guide to Greece 4.33.3 - Pausanias discusses the style of a Herm. In this passage he mentions the Attic style.
Plato, Hipparchus 228d - Plato writes that Hipparchus educated his people and taught them to set-up statues of Hermes along roads, in the city and in every town.
Plutarch, Alcibiades 18.3-21 -Plutarch tells the story of the mutilation of the Herms by Alcibiades.
Plutarch, Alcibiades 21.1 - Plutarch continues to tell the story of the Herms.
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 6.28-29, 6.53 - Thucydides implies that the accusation that Alcibiades mutilated the Herms was the result of political back-stabbing. The accusers wanted the power and sway over the people that Alcibiades held.
Boston 10.185 - This vase offers an excellent example of a Herm.
Students should also perform an English Index Search for “Herm” for a full list of Herm citations.
