A fragment of a clay tablet inscribed in Linear B script, mentioning Hermes (em-ma-a).

13th century BC. From the archives of the Mycenaean palace of Thebes, Boeotia, central Greece.
One of a number of such fragments of tablets recording the dispatch of wool to female weavers
and embroiderers working in the service of deities such as Hera, Hermes and Potnia (the Mistress).

Bearded Hermes, holding a kerykeion (caduceus), standing
between two sphinxes on the neck of an Attic black-figure amphora.
A late work of the Athenian vase painter Sophilos, circa 580 BC.

Found at Marathon, Attica, Greece. The most ancient of the many broken
vases found around the offerings ditch of the tumulus of the Athenians
who died during the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.

Beardless Hermes, holding a kerykeion, standing between two sphinxes.

Detail of an Attic black-figure olpe (jug), made in Athens
about 600-580 BC, in the manner of the Gorgon Painter.
Found at Nola, Campania, southern Italy.

A bronze kerykeion (caduceus) from Syracuse, Sicily.
On the shaft is the inscription ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΟΝ ΔΑΜΟΣΙΟΝ.

Around 480-470 BC. Height 51.1 cm, width 8.8 cm, weight 440 grams.

A keryx was a messenger or crier in private or public service with a function
in political, judicial, military and religious contexts. The kerykeion (κηρύκειον;
Latin, caduceus) was the herald's staff carried by kerykes, and often buried
with them as a symbol of their status. They were also dedicated in temples.

At the top of the staff is an inscribed form similar to an Ionic capital or a
stylized ram's head. Above this, the usual entwined snakes (in this case with
"beards") with opposing heads have been stylized to form an open figure eight.

This is one of six full-size ancient kerykeions from
Greece and Italy on display in the Hamburg museum.

The bronze inscribed head of a
kerykeion with the heads and
entwined necks of two water birds.

4th century BC. From Metapontium
Metapontion (Μεταπόντιον; Latin,
Metapontium), an Achaean colony on
the gulf of Tarentum, southern Italy.

A bronze kerykeion, inscribed in Greek
"I am Longenaian public property",
from Longane, northeastern Sicily.

Made in Sicily, around 450-420 BC.

Herms of Hermes

The inscribed steele of a herm, now
headless, made and dedicated by
Kallias to the "Euphronides Nymphae".

Archaic period, around 500-480 BC. From
Trachones, in the Attic deme of Euonymon.

ℎερμε͂ν Εὐ|φρονίδ|εσι τόνδε
Καλ(λ)ίας
ἐπόεσεν.

Inscription IG I³ 1007 (also IG I² 820).

Archaic marble herm from
Siphnos, Greece.

Island marble. About 520 BC.

The herm was found in the kastro of
the main town of Siphnos, and seen
and photographed in 1895 by German
archaeologists Schiff and Curtius. It
was kept in the island's museum,
housed in a school, from where it is
said to have been stolen, and later
returned to Greece from Italy. It
entered the National Archaeological
Museum, Athens, in 1935. Height 66 cm,
width 13 cm, depth 8.8 cm.

One modern theory concerning the earliest depictions of Hermes has been accepted by some scholars, but remains a matter of debate. According to this theory, the first herms set up as waymarkers along ancient paths were merely piles of stones, which were later replaced by the posts or shafts topped with a head. Evidence is seen in Homer's Odyssey (Book 16, line 471), where the swineherd Eumaeus (Εὔμαιος) mentions an "Ἕρμαιος λόφος" (Ermaios lofos) above the city of Ithaka. The Medieval scholiast (commentator) of the poem explained this as a stone heap. However, the term has often been translated as "Hermes' Hill" (E. V. Rieu, Penguin Classics) or "Hill of Hermes" (A. T. Murray, Loeb Classical Library) and in older editions as "Hermaean height" or "Hermaean hill".

Ancient authors credited the Athenians with the introduction of the herm with a square-section shaft decorated with male genitals, which was copied at other places in Greek world.

"The Athenians, then, were the first Greeks to make ithyphallic images of Hermes, and they did this because the Pelasgians taught them. The Pelasgians told a certain sacred tale about this, which is set forth in the Samothracian mysteries."

Herodotus, Histories, Book 2, chapter 51, section 4. At Perseus Digital Library.

"At the Arcadian gate leading to Megalopolis is a Herm of Attic style; for the square form of Herm is Athenian, and the rest adopted it thence.".

Marble herm from the propylon of the Sanctuary of Apollo, Delos.

341/340 BC. A copy of the herm now stands in front of the remains of the propylon,
(or propylaia) the monumental entrance at the south of the sanctuary (see below),
built by the Athenians around 150 BC to replace an earlier gateway.

Large marble herm from the Prytaneion (πρυτανεῖον), southeast of the
Sanctuary of Apollo, Delos. A copy now stands at the site (see below).

4th century BC.

Marble Archaistic head of Hermes from Delos.

Hellenistic period, after a prototype of 430 BC.

Marble Archaistic head of Hermes,
Hellenistic type.

From the Stoa of Antigonos, Delos.

Marble herm from the Agora of the Competaliasts, Delos.

Late 2nd - early 1st century BC.

A small marble Archaistic herm
from Thessaloniki.

The head and herm body are made of marble
of different qualities, and the head may be
older, possibly 1st century BC. Found in a
niche in the underground crypt of a Roman
temple (the Serapeion?) in Thessaloniki.

A marble head of a bearded god, thought
to be either Hermes or Zeus. Perhaps from
a herm dedicated by Python from Abdera,
Thrace, and made by Euphron of Paros.

450-440 BC. Pentelic marble. Found in
1886 in a sanctuary of Eetioneia, Piraeus.

A small marble herm, now headless,
wearing a short cloak and holding a
kerykeion in his left arm.

Late Hellenistic period. From the ancient
city of Kamiros, western Rhodes.

Marble herm of Mercurius
from Herculaneum.

A small marble herm with an Archaistic head of beardless Hermes.

Roman Imperial period. Red marble (rosso antico).

Small Archaistic marble herm from
Rhodes. Late Hellenistic period.

Marble herm from Pompeii. 1st century AD.

A marble head of a herm of the "Pergamon
type", one of several extant sculptures
thought to be copies of the "Hermes
Propylaios" attributed to Alkamenes.

Late Hellenistic period. From Kamiros, Rhodes.

Rhodes Archaeological Museum.

The top part of the torso is shown frontally, while the head is in profile, facing right. As is usual in Archaic art, the eye is shown as if the head was facing forwards. Surviving parts of the muscular arms are extended slightly from the body, and his right arm is bent at the elbow. He wears a petasos (πέτασος, broad-brimmed hat), and his long hair is swept behind the back of the head and tied up in a style known as a krobylos (κρώβυλος). He has a moustache and the pointed tip of his beard juts forward on the level of his chin. His exomis (ἐξωμίς, sleeveless tunic) is fastened by a brooch at each shoulder. The texture of the material is shown by fine wavy vertical incisions, with every third incision carved deeper, giving the impression of ribbing.

At the time of the relief's discovery the identification of the figure was a matter of debate, and scholars made several suggestions, including Hermes, Theseus, Hephaistos and a mortal. Secure identification has been made by comparison with other similar Archaic and Archaistic depictions of Hermes. See photos below, particularly   here   here   here   and   here.

Other relief fragments, including a depiction of a figure mounting a chariot (Acropolis Museum, Inv. No. Acr. 1342, see photo on Athens Acropolis gallery page 19), are thought to be parts of the same frieze. The sculptural style of the fragments has been described as a mixture of Attic and Ionic.

An Archaistic herm of Hermes, Curtius B type.

First half of the 1st century AD, "after an
original dating from the later 5th century BCE".
Height 47 cm, width 31 cm, depth 27 cm.

An Archaistic head of a herm of Hermes
from Ostia, near Rome.

2nd century AD. Pentelic marble.
Found in 1910 in the Decumanus,
near the theatre of Ostia.

Ostia Archaeological Museum. Inv. No. 88.

Hermes Kriophoros

Bronze statuette of Hermes
Kriophoros (ram-bearer)
wearing a pilos (conical hat)
carrying a ram under his left
arm. This figure and that in
the photo right probably held
a kerykeion in the right hand.

Provenance uncertain,
perhaps from the same
Arcadian sanctuary as
the bronze figurine, right.
Work of a Peloponnesian
workshop, 550-525 BC.

Bronze figurine of Hermes
Kriophoros carrying a ram
under his left arm. He wears
a conical hat (ϰυνέη) topped
with feathers, a short chiton
(tunic) and winged boots.

Circa 550 BC. From a sanctuary
dedicated to Pan, Hermes and
another god (perhaps Apollo),
between the villages Agios Sostis
(Άγιος Σώστης) and Berekla (today
Neda, Νέδα), on the south slopes
of Mount Lykaion (Λύκαιον ὄρος),
southwestern Arcadia, Peloponnese,
Greece (see Pan). Confiscated in
the area of nearby Andritsaina.

"Youth holding a ram" wearing
a pilos and short cloak.
Perhaps Hermes Kriophoros.

Painted, mould-made
terracotta statuette made
in a Boeotian workshop,
around 450 BC. [3]

In the Archaic bronze statuettes of Hermes from the Peloponnese, he is shown wearing a conical hat similar to the pilos (πῖλος) worn by Odysseus and the twin Spartan heroes the Dioskouroi. Both figures show a bearded figure wearing a chiton (χιτών, tunic) with a zig-zag pattern around the collar and a thin belt around the waist. He carries a ram with his left arm, and originally held a kerykeion (caduceus) in his right hand. The Andritsaina figurine (centre) has an elaborate floral crest on top of the hat, high sandals with attached wings and decorated shin pieces.

Although representations of Hermes Kriophoros (Κριοφόρος, ram-bearer) have been interpreted as being associated with the solemn sacrifice of a ram, Pausanias related a local myth from the Boeotian city of Tanagra, in which the god was credited with saving the city from plague by walking around the city walls carrying a ram on his shoulders. He also mentioned a statue of Hermes Kriophoros made for the city by the 5th century BC sculptor Kalamis, which was later depicted on Roman period coins of the city.

"There are sanctuaries of Hermes Ram-bearer [Kriophoros] and of Hermes called Champion [Promachos]. They account for the former surname by a story that Hermes averted a pestilence from the city by carrying a ram round the walls. To commemorate this Calamis made an image of Hermes carrying a ram upon his shoulders. Whichever of the youths is judged to be the most handsome goes round the walls at the feast of Hermes, carrying a lamb on his shoulders.

Hermes Champion is said, on the occasion when an Eretrian fleet put into Tanagra from Euboea, to have led out the youths to the battle; he himself, armed with a scraper like a youth, was chiefly responsible for the rout of the Euboeans. In the sanctuary of the Champion is kept all that is left of the wild strawberry tree under which they believe that Hermes was nourished. Nearby is a theatre and by it a portico. I consider that the people of Tanagra have better arrangements for the worship of the gods than any other Greeks. For their houses are in one place, while the sanctuaries are apart beyond the houses in a clear space where no men live."

Pausanias also described a statue of Hermes Kriophoros at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, made by the sculptor Onatas (around 480-450 BC) and dedicated by the people of Pheneos (Φενεός), Arcadia, at the foot of Mount Kyllene, the mythical birthplace of Hermes (see below):

"The Hermes carrying the ram under his arm, with a helmet on his head, and clad in tunic and cloak [chlamys], is not one of the offerings of Phormis, but has been given to the god by the Arcadians of Pheneus. The inscription says that the artist was Onatas of Aegina helped by Calliteles, who I think was a pupil or son of Onatas. Not far from the offering of the Pheneatians is another image, Hermes with a herald's wand. An inscription on it says that Glaucias, a Rhegian by descent, dedicated it, and Kallon of Elis made it (ποιῆσαι δὲ Κάλλωνα Ἠλεῖον)."

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 5, chapter 27, section 8. At Perseus Digital Library.

He also recorded a statue of Hermes Kriophoros ("Ἑρμῆς φέρων κριόν", "Hermes carrying a ram") in a sacred cypress grove at Oichalia (Οἰχαλία) in Messenia, southwestern Peloponnese.

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 4, chapter 33, section 4. At Perseus Digital Library.

Among Hermes' many epiphets, at Koroneia (Κορώνεια) in Boeotia he was worshipped as Hermes Epimelios (Ἑρμες Ἐπιμηλίος), the Keeper or Guardian of Flocks.

"On the marketplace of Coroneia I found two remarkable things, an altar of Hermes Epimelius and an altar of the winds."

Bronze votive statuette of a bearded
man, wearing a hat, chiton and boots,
carrying a ram in his left hand. Probably
Hermes Kriophoros. The figure held a
kerykeion (caduceus) or shepherd's
staff in the right hand.

550-530 BC. From the same sanctuary
at Agios Sostis, Mount Lykaion, Arcadia
as the bronze figurine above (Athens,
Inv. No. 12347). Height 9.8 cm.

"The Ram-Carrier of Thasos", an
unfinished 3.5 metre tall kouros
statue made from a single piece
of marble, circa 600 BC.

Found built into a wall at the site
of the Sanctuary of Apollo on the
acropolis of Thasos, Macedonia,
Greece. As in the case of most Archaic
kouros statues, it is not known who
the colossal faceless figure represents.
Apollo has been suggested.

A terracotta plaque or tile in the form of
Hermes Kriophoros standing on a plinth.

Around 480 BC. From the necropolis of
Gela, Sicily. Height 19.1 cm, width 10 cm,
depth 6.2 mm, weight 400 grams.

The beardless figure, his hair parted and
waved, is naked apart from a fillet (head-
band), perhaps a cap, and a cloak hanging
from his arms. He appears to be stepping
forward, his left leg advanced and slightly
bent at the knee. He carries the ram over
his shoulders, holding its forelegs in his
right hand and hind legs in the left. The
ram's face is turned to the front. There
are are traces of red colour on his skin,
and blue on the ram's horns. The back of
the object is flat. The fact that the figure
stands on a plinth suggests that it may
be a depiction of a statue.

British Museum. Inv. No. 1863,0728.276
(Terracotta 1132, also Terracotta B410).

Archaic bronze statuette of a youth,
with Daedalic features (head) and
Cretan clothing, carrying a ram on
his shoulders.

Around 620 BC. From Crete.
Height 18.1 cm.

A ceramic figurine of Hermes Kriophoros
carrying a ram on his shoulders.

From the site of the Doric temple
of Athena at Prasidaki (Πρασιδάκι),
Elis, western Peloponnese.

Although the relief is badly damaged, the quality of the sculpting can still be appreciated in fine details such as the god's hair, face and torso, as well as the folds of the garment. The long hair at the back of the head is folded up and held in place by a headband. A side lock falls from behind the ear to the chest, and above the forehead are three rows of snailshell curls.

Pausanias mentioned a bronze Hermes standing in the open among statues of other deities (Poseidon, Apollo, Aphrodite, Zeus and Athena) in the Forum of Corinth, and a temple built for another bronze statue of Hermes:

"There are two bronze, standing images of Hermes, for one of which a temple has been made."

Ceramic figurine of beardless
young Hermes carrying a ram.

Relief of Cryophorus Pastor
on the panel of a sarcophagus.

Parian marble. 250-300 AD.
From Porta Salaria, Rome.

The young shepherd wears a short tunic,
high shoes and a shoulder bag, and carries
a ram on his shoulders. The iconograpy of
the cryophorus, known since the 7th century
BC, became associated with happiness,
kindness and philanthropy, and was adopted
as a Christian symbol of salvation through
Christ as the "good shepherd".

Centrale Montemartini,
Capitoline Museums, Rome.

A white limestone statuette of a bearded
male worshipper carrying a sacrificial ram
on his shoulders.

Around 650-600 BC. One of a number of
Archaic limestone figurines of worshippers
and sacrificial animals made in Cyprus,
found in a votive deposit in the sanctuary
of Athena Kamiras, on the acropolis of
ancient Kamiros, western Rhodes.

A ceramic figurine of an actor wearing a
mask, identified by the museum labelling
as Papposilenos (see Dionysus), carrying
a ram on his shoulders.

Found in Grave 4 of the necropolis
of Amphipolis, Macedonia.

A bronze statuette of a mature, bearded
shepherd, wearing a short chiton (tunic),
fastened at his left shoulder only, holding
a lamb on his left forearm. A small dog
lies next to his left foot.

Roman period, 1st century BC, influenced
by a 3rd century BC Hellenistic work.

Part of the "Ambelokipoi Hoard" of
Roman period statuettes discovered in
the Ambelokipoi district of Athens in 1964.

Two matching marble pedestals (bases for statues or pillars, or altars?) stand on either side of the bottom of the "Clivus Sacer" (Sacred Way) in Ephesus, below the northwestern corner of the Upper "State" Agora. The west sides of the pedestals, facing downhill to the lower city, are each decorated with a similar relief of Hermes leading an animal.

The relief on the south side of the street (on the right as you come up the street, see Ephesus gallery page 12) shows Hermes with a ram (photo above).

The messenger god is depicted as a naked, athletic youth with winged sandals, walking to the left. In his left hand he holds a winged kerykeion (caduceus), around which two snakes are entwined. Above the staff, the serpents are knotted together, and their mouths meet, so that the tops of their bodies form the wand's signature figure eight, which was often stylized to abstraction.

With his right hand he holds onto the head of the reluctant-looking ram walking behind him. He steps forwards on the toes of his right foot, while his lower left leg is raised behind him, revealing the ram's rather obvious testicles. To his left is an altar, hung with a wreath and with a phiale (libation bowl) on top, indicating that the image is concerned with a sacrifice, perhaps to Apollo.

Only the bottom half of the relief on the north side (photo right) has survived. Hermes walks to the right and holds the head of a male goat with his left hand. It is almost a mirror image of the other relief, so that the depictions of Hermes face each other and the roadway.

Such Roman period images of Hermes leading an animal to be sacrificed (see also the statue from Troezen and the relief from Odessos, Bulgaria below), bring into question interpretations of the earlier Kriophoros images of the god as the "good shepherd", saving or caring for his flock, a notion developed by Christian tradition. It seems that the god was merely bringing the ram to the slaughter.

The adjacent side of each pedestal, facing the roadway, has a relief of a Delphic tripod with an omphalos and a plaque containing an image of the Mistress of Animals (Potnia Theron), a deity associated with Artemis.

The workmanship of the reliefs is quite poor, although a lot of work has been put into the details, such as the fleece of the ram.

The reliefs may refer to the healing god Asklepios, Apollo's son, and have been associated with an Asklepion or healing centre thought to have been located nearby. Alternatively, they may have been connected with the adjacent Prytaneion, or the Upper Agora.

Marble statue of a youthful Hermes with a ram.

Pentelic marble. 2nd century AD copy of a late 5th century BC original attributed
to Naukydes of Argos. Found in 1890 by archaeologists of the French School
in Athens, at ancient Troezen in the northeastern Peloponnese.

Hermes is shown naked except for a chlamys cloak and petasos. Most of the right
arm is missing, but the surviving part of the hand holds onto the horns of the ram.

A bronze statuette of youthful Turms,
the Etruscan equivalent of Hermes,
wearing a petasos and pointed
winged boots.

5th century BC. Ploughed up at Uffington,
Oxfordshire in the 19th century.

A bronze statuette of a nude,
youthful and athletic Hermes
wearing a petasos.

About 150 BC. Said to be from
Saponara, Basilicata, southern Italy.

The lean musculature and elongated
proportions indicate the influence
of Lysippos (mid-late 4th century BC).

Bronze statue of youthful, athletic Hermes resting.

End of the 1st century BC. Found in 1758 in the rectangular peristyle of the Villa of the Papyri,
Herculaneum. Thought to have been made locally, modelled on a work by Lysippos or his school
(perhaps the original of the Hermes in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Height 105 cm.

Hermes, naked apart from his winged sandals (talaria), sits on a rock, leaning forward and
resting his right hand on his seat. He appears to be catching his breath from the exertions
of his tasks as messenger of the gods, rather like a young mortal athlete after training or
competing in a competition. He originally held the kerykeion (caduceus) in his left hand.

In World War II the statue was moved for safety to a bomb shelter at Montecassini,
from where it was stolen. It was recovered and returned to the museum in 1947.

A marble head of Hermes or
an idealized portrait of a youth.

From Delos, Greece. Early 1st century BC.

An Archaistic marble head of Hermes,
perhaps from a herm. The eyes, now
missing, were originally inlaid.

From Rhodes. Late Hellenistic period.

Marble statue of the "Hermes Ludovisi" type or "Hermes Loghios" type.

Flavian period, 2nd half of the 1st century AD, copy of a 5th century BC
Greek original, traditionally attributed to the young Pheidias. Found
in 1932 at the Villa Imperiale, Anzio. Italic marble. Height 130 cm.

Naked youthful Hermes wears a winged petasos and carries a cloak and caduceus
on his left arm. The lower legs and feet are missing, and as in the "Hermes Loghios"
statue above, it is thought that his right arm was extended forward.

Marble statue known as the "Hermes Ludovisi", also referred to
as "Hermes Loghios" ("Mercurio Oratore", Mercury the Orator).

2nd century AD copy of a 5th century BC bronze original attributed to Pheidias,
around 440 BC. Thought to be one of the earliest statues of Hermes as
youthful and beardless. Pentelic marble. Height 166 cm, with base 183 cm.

Found near the Porta Tiburtina (Porta San Lorenzo), Rome. The statue was acquired in
the 17th century by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi. It was restored by Alessandro Algardi,
who added the arm, outstretched with an oratorical gesture. This led to the interpretration
of the figure as Hermes Loghios, the god of eloquence. The vast Boncompagni Ludovisi
Collection was auctioned in 1901, and many objects, including this statue, were acquired
by the National Roman Museum.

"The Atalante Hermes"

Found at Atalante (Αταλάντη), Phthiotis (Φθιῶτις), central Greece.
Pentelic Marble. 2nd century AD copy of a 4th century BC type
with Lysippean features. Height 196 cm.

A funerary statue of a youth depicted as Hermes. The nude figure has
a chlamys (riding cloak) over his left shoulder and wound around his
left arm. In his left hand he probably held a caduceus, Hermes' wand.

A plaster cast of the"Belvedere Hermes",
also known as the "Belvedere Antinous"
or "Hermes of the Museo Pio-Clementino",
a marble statue of Hermes previously
believed to portray Antinous.

The original is in the Pio Clementino Museum, Vatican Museums, Rome. Inv. No. 907.

Reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD). Height 195 cm.

The original statue was found around 1540 in the gardens around the Mausoleum of Hadrian (Castel Sant' Angelo) and thus long believed to be a portrait of Antinous, Emperor Hadrian's deified favourite. It was purchased in 1543 by Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese, 1468-1549, Pope 1534-1549) to decorate a niche in the Cortile del Belvedere (the Belvedere Courtyard, also known as the Cortile delle Statue, Courtyard of Statues) of the Vatican Palace. It was at first referred to as the "Antinous Admirandus". Now believed to depict Hermes as Psychopompos, and to have been modelled on bronze statues of the school of Praxiteles.

The so-called "Capitoline Antinous", a marble statue
of Hermes previously believed to be a portrait of
Antinous, Emperor Hadrian's deified favourite.

Roman period copy of a 4th century BC Greek
original. Luni (Carrara) marble. Height 180.1 cm.

Found at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli in 1738 during
excavations financed by Cardinal Alessandro
Albani, and restored by Pietro Bracci. Albani ceded
his right to it to Pope Clement XII who donated
it to the Capitoline Museums. Taken to the Louvre,
Paris by Napoleon, following the Treaty of Tolentino
in 1791, and returned to the Capitoline in 1816.

The restored figure is thought to have originally
held an inverted kerykeion (with the top pointing
downwards) in his right hand, perhaps conducting
a deceased person to Hades.

Marble statue of Mercury/Hermes,
with winged ankles, wearing a
winged helmet and a short cloak
over his shoulders, and carrying
a caduceus and a purse.

Roman copy of an early
4th century BC Greek original.

Restored marble statue of Hermes,
wearing a winged helmet and short
cloak, and carrying a caduceus.

2nd century AD, Antonine age,
with forms and motifs of the
Classical period. Height 150 cm.
width 52 cm, depth 42 cm.

Marble torso of a statuette of Mercury/Hermes.

1st - 2nd century AD. Found in 1934 in a well
between Via San Giovanni in Laterano and
Via Visconti, in the area of the present
Piazza Diaz, Milan (ancient Mediolanum).

Perhaps part of the sculptural decoration of
a Roman house. A fragment of a caduceus
is preserved on the cloak. Height 56.5 cm.

Marble statue of a youthful Hermes, wearing a cloak
and carrying a kerykeion (caduceus) on his left arm.

2nd century AD, copy of a 4th century BC original.
From the Athens Agora.

The original is in the Antikensammlung, State Museums Berlin. Inv. No. Sk 531. Height 153.5 cm.

The nude Hermes, with a winged head and wearing a chlamys cloak over his shoulders, looks up at a purse which he holds in his raised left hand. The original statue in Berlin is a concoction produced in the Roman workshop of the prodigious sculptor and restorer Bartolomeo Cavaceppi (circa 1715 - 1799), who added the unrelated ancient head, the purse, arms, legs and other parts to the ancient torso. It was purchased in Rome in by Markgräfin Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine von Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1709-1758), who left it in her will, along with other objects from her collection, to her brother King Friedrich II of Prussia (Frederick the Great). It was first set up at Friedrich's Sanssouci palace in Potsdam, and then in the Marmorpalais in Potsdam. It entered the Berlin museum in 1830.

Marble head of Mercury/Hermes
wearing a winged helmet.

Roman copy of an early
4th century BC Greek model.

Marble head of Hermes or Perseus
wearing a winged cap or helmet.

Found 1972 in the Forum of Ancient Corinth.
2nd century AD "copy of a 5th century BC
original". Height 30.6 cm.

Marble head from a statue of Hermes/Mercury.

2nd century AD. Origin unknown.

Small marble head of Hermes.

Roman creation based on a 4th century BC
Greek original. Insular marble.

Marble winged head of Hermes from Pergamon.

Roman Imperial period, 1st century AD.
Found at the Sanctuary of Demeter,
Pergamon in 1909. Height 29 cm.

Hermes Nymphopompos

Hermes Psychopompos

The Myrrhine lekythos, a 5th century BC inscribed marble
funerary vase found in Syntagma Square, Athens.

Hermes Psychopompos (Ἑρμῆς Ψυχοπομπός, Guide of Souls) leads the
deceased Myrrhine to the underworld (Hades). Her name, Μυρρίνε (Myrtle),
is inscribed above her head. On the left her relatives bid her farewell.

National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Inv. No. 4485.

Found by the British archaeologist John Turtle Wood at the southwest corner of the later temple, during excavations in 1871. According to Pliny the Elder (Natural history, Book 36, chapter 21), thirty six of the temple's columns were decorated with sculpture, one of which was sculpted by Skopas. Around this column drum, the best preserved, is a sculpted relief of seven figures, two of which have been destroyed.

The three figures in the photo above seem to be the focus of the group. A woman is flanked by two male figures. To her left, the naked, winged youth with a sheathed sword at his side is thought to be Thanatos (Death). The figure to her right is clearly Hermes as Psychopompos. The theme of the scene appears to be the death of the woman, whose identity is unknown, but is thought to be one of the tragic heroines of Greek myth, perhaps Eurydike, Alkestis or Iphigenia.

The relief is believed to have made in the 1st century AD, during the Augustan period, and before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. It is thought to be a copy of a Greek original of the second half of the 5th century BC, in the High Classical style of the sculptures of the Parthenon, and has been attributed to Alkamenes, pupil of Pheidias. It was found some time before before 1641 on a farm near the "Royal Road" to Salerno, at Torre del Greco, around 3.6 km southeast of Herculaneum. By 1645 it had been moved to the royal collections in Naples where it was restored. In 1734 excavations were begun at the site of the find which proved to be location of a luxurious seaside villa, perhaps belonging to the imperial family, which has been named the Villa Sora.

This is one of six almost identical surviving Roman period three-figure reliefs; two other almost complete examples are in the Villa Albani, Rome, Inv. No. 1031, and the Louvre, Paris, Inv. No. MA 960 (MR 817). The type is the earliest extant depiction of the well-known myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in the Underworld (Hades).

Distraught with grief by the death of his bride Eurydice, Orpheus descended to the Underworld in search of her. He charmed the gods there with his music and they permitted him to return with Eurydice to the land of the living, on the condition that he did not look back at her during the long journey. However, when they had almost reached the boundary of the Underworld, Orpheus could not resist his longing to see her face. He turned and lifted her veil to look at her, breaking the condition set by the gods, and she was forced to remain in the realm of the dead.

In the relief Eurydice is shown unveiled, and she and Orpheus touch each other tenderly. But Hermes, as Psychopompos (Guide of Souls), has already taken hold of her arm to lead her back down to Hades.

Exhibited during the temporary exhibition The Europe of Greece: Colonies and Coins from the Alpha Bank Collection (Η Ευρώπη της Ελλάδος Αποκίες και Νομίσματα από τη Συλλογή της Alpha Bank), Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum, 11 April 2014 - 19 April 2015.

Nereus had the power to change form. One of the twelve labours of Herakles was to obtain the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, but he first has to capture Nereus to discover from him the location of the Garden of the Hesperides. Herakles, dressed in a short chiton (tunic) and with a sword and quiver, jumps on the sea god who changes his form in an attempt to escape. Here Nereus is depicted in a similar way to Triton, with the body of a bearded man, while his lower half is in the form of a long fish-like sea creature. He holds a serpent in his right hand, and his left arm is extended towards Hermes.

According to the Roman mythographer Hyginus (see the note in Homer part 2), Hermes introduced the sport of wrestling to humans:

"The same Mercury first taught wrestling to mortals."

In the centre, Herakles, wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion, sits on what appears to be a small altar. He holds his wooden club in his left hand, and in the right he holds a phiale (libation bowl), into which Athena, standing to the right, pours wine from a jug. Behind the phiale is the stem of an ivy plant, the branches of which extend between and behind the figures.

The name ΗΕΡΜΕΣ (Hermes) is painted clearly above the god's head. Typical of Exekias' style are the bold composition and the finely incised drawing of contours and details, such as Hermes' hair and beard, and the patterns of his garments: the meander on the collar of his tunic, and flowers/stars and swastikas on his cloak.

Hermes is finely dressed for the special occasion. He carries a long kerykeion (caduceus), and wears a petasos over his elaborately styled hair. To the right, tendril-like vines, loaded with bunches of grapes, fill the space and seem to dance in the breeze. The grapes are made plastic by the simple trick of indicating the highlights of individual fruits with C-shaped incisions. Among the vines sits a small female figure in profile, her head now just a silhoutte.

To the left of Hermes (not shown in photo) Athena drives the chariot carrying Herakles to Mount Olympus.

Athena and Hermes on an Attic red-figure lekythos. Made in Athens 475-460 BC.

From the cemetery at Poggio Giache, Akragas (Agrigento), Sicily.
Attributed to the Providence Painter.

On the left Athena, wearing a peplos with a decorated border and
a quiver over her shoulder, holds a spear and offers a helmet to
Hermes. He wears a chlamys, a petasos tied to his neck hangs behind
his head, and he holds a spear in his left hand (not visible in photo).

The two divine half-brothers, are shown as young, beardless and almost naked. They appear to be seated on rocks which are suggested rather than shown. Facing each other, they lean forward, in almost mirrored poses, and seem to be engaged in a discussion. Turms (left) wears a winged helmet and a cloak, and with his lowered left hand loosely holds his kerykeion, which stands upright in the centre between the two figures. Hercle (also known as Heracle or Hercl) wears the skin of the Nemean Lion over his head and shoulders, the front paws tied below his throat. With his lowered left hand he touches the handle of his club, which appears to be resting on the ground and against the rock on which he is sitting. He gestures with his right hand, the index finger raised. Or his he also touching kerykeion?

So far I have found no study of this mirror or any suggestions on the significance of the scene. Does it depict a specific meeting of Turms/Hermes and Hercle/Herakles in a mythological tale or play, or does it represent a particular aspect of their relationship?

The scene is surrounded by a wreath of two twigs which meet at the top where they are joined by what has been described as a "bowtie" motif, below which is what may be a letter resembling the Greek lamda (Λ). The well-preseved engraving has been executed with fine, confidently drawn outlines. As with many Etruscan mirror engravings, the drawing style is comparable with that of Classical Greek vase paintings (see for example a vase by the Athenian Orpheus Painter), but the subject matter has been treated in a particularly Etruscan manner. Only part of the top of the tang has survived, attached to the mirror by rivets.

The mirror is displayed in "The Hellenistic Cabinet" of the Allard Pierson Museum, among a large number of objects from various places, including Greece, Italy and Egypt, ranging from the early Hellenistic period to the Roman period. Unfortunately, most of the objects are not labelled individually. The collection database of the museum's website provides photos of the mirror and basic information in Dutch:

The statue of Hermes carrying the infant Dionysus in Olympia.

From the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, Peloponnese, Greece.
Parian marble. Height 213 cm (according to the museum label).

The statue of highly polished Parian marble was found on 8th May 1877, during excavations by German archaeologists led by Gustav Hirschfeld, in the remains of the Archaic temple of Hera, in the Altis, the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. Hermes' right foot was found on 23rd December 1879, and the head of the infant on 27th March 1880. The legs below the knees and left foot have been restored with plaster.

Hermes stands contrapposto, with his left leg bent and the back of the foot raised, so that his weight is supported by his straight right leg, the toes of the left foot and his left elbow, which rests on a tree stump. His torso leans to his left, towards the infant dionysus, who sits on his left forearm. His missing raised right hand is thought to have held a bunch of grapes, an allusion to Dionysus' later role as the god of wine, for which the missing left arm of the infant was reaching. In his left hand he may have been holding a kerykeion.

This may be the marble statue seen by Pausanias in the 2nd century AD (Description of Greece, Book 5, chapter 17, section 3), who wrote that it was made by Praxiteles (around 340 BC), although it is thought to be a Hellenistic copy. [7] It has also been argued that it may have been made during the Roman period, as late as the 1st century BC or even the 1st century AD.

A plaster cast of the statue of Hermes holding the infant Dionysus
from Olympia. One of the casts made soon after the statue was
discovered, and before the lower legs were restored.

A marble torso of a statue of Hermes carrying the
infant Dionysus. From the Pergamon Asclepieion.

Roman period.

A marble herm of Hermes as a base for a statue of Hermes carrying the infant Dionysus.

Roman period copy, perhaps of a statue group by Kephisodotos the Elder (flourished
around 400-360 BC), thought to be the father or uncle of Praxiteles. His bronze
statue of Hermes holding the infant Dionysus was mentioned by Pliny the Elder:

"There were two artists of the name of Cephisodotus: the earlier of them made
a figure of Mercury [Hermes] nursing Father Liber [Dionysus] when an infant."

Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book 34, chapter 19.

Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens. Inv. No. S 33.

"It was found near Gaeta under the ruins of ancient 'Formia'; it stood for many years neglected and was thought worthless, while lying near the beach; mariners tied ropes round it, to fasten their boats, and that barbarous treatment defaced this monument for ever; it was after that period, removed from the sea side and used as a font in the cathedral at Gaeta [in the baptistery], and at length brought to the National Museum."

Museo nazionale di Napoli, Principal monuments in the National Museum of Naples, page 40 and plate 44 (see images, right and below). John Testa, Naples, 1882. At the Internet Archive.

Inscribed in Greek above Hermes, Dionysus and the Nymph is the artist's signature:

Σαλπίων Ἀθηναῖος ἐποίησε

Salpion the Athenian made this

Inscription IG XIV 1260.

This is one of only three surviving classical marble vases inscribed with an artist's signature. The other two are:

A large krater known as the "Amphora of Sosibios", circa 50 BC. Height 67 cm. Louvre, Inv. No. Ma 422.

Excavated in 1970 south of the Athenian Agora, in the remains of a Late Roman house on the north slope of the Areopagus. It is possibly from the Cave of Pan, above the the Klepsydra on the north slope of the Acropolis.

The relief is thought to have been deliberately mutilated, perhaps by Christians. The faces and objects held by most of the ten figures are missing, making identification difficult. The scene has been described simply as "ten figures watching or participating in a sacrifice in a cave". However, it has also been interpreted as Hermes bringing the infant Dionysus to safety and into the care of a Nymph (perhaps one of the Hyades or Ino). The figures have been identified (with some alternative identifications) by comparison with similar reliefs and other sculptures.

Zeus reclines on a rock above the other figures. Below him, from left to right: Persephone (Kore) standing; Dionysus (or Silenus?) seated, holding a thyrsos; Demeter standing (both arms missing), looking down at Dionysus; Hermes, holding the infant Dionysus in both arms, his left foot resting on a rock behind an altar so that his raised left knee can support the infant; a Nymph facing him receives the infant; Apollo (or a Nymph) seated, facing left; Artemis (or a Nymph) stands behind him with her right arm raised; Pan sits below them with a wineskin. There may have been another figure, perhaps a Nymph, on the broken right side of the relief.

The figures thought to be Nymphs (including the supposed Apollo and Artemis) have been described as smaller in scale than the others. But the only figure who appears smaller is the supposed Hermes, who is half a head shorter than the female figure facing him. It seems unlikely that this figure could be the dedicator of the relief, as in such reliefs mortal worshippers are usually shown considerably smaller and separated from deities, usually standing on the edge of the scene (see, for example, reliefs on the Pan page).

Two of the few artworks to show a mortal among gods are the much later Apotheosis of Homer (3rd or 2nd century BC) and the so-called "Ikarios reliefs" (perhaps 2nd century BC).

The inscription on the lower border of the relief is a dedication by Neoptolemos, son of Antikles, of the Attic deme of Melite, thought to be the wealthy Athenian citizen known from literary sources and other inscriptions.

[Νεο]πτόλε[μος] [Ἀν]τικλέ[ους] [Με]λιτε[ὺς] [ἀν]έθη[κεν]

Hermes, nude except for a petasos and a chlamys (short cloak), holds a kerykeion in his right hand and the infant Arkas in the left. He moves to the left, his head turned back to the right to look at Arkas, who raises his right hand towards Hermes' face. On the right is the inscription ΦΕΝΕΩΝ.

Pheneos (Φενεός, Feneos) was a city in Arcadia, northeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Today it is in the Prefecture of Corinthia. It stood at the foot of Mount Kyllene, the mythical birthplace of Hermes, was an important cult centre for the god, and the location of an annual festival of the Hermaea. It also had sanctuaries for Demeter and Asklepios.

The obverse side of the coin shows the head of Demeter (see the photo of another coin of this type in Demeter part 2).

There are several versions of the Greek myths concerning Leda (Λήδα), wife of King Tyndareos of Sparta (Τυνδάρεως), and the beautiful Helen (Ἑλένη), later to become known as "Helen of Troy". The best-known version is that Zeus took the form of a swan in order to have sex with Leda, and on the same night she also slept with her husband. The result was the conception and birth of two sets of twins: Kastor and Polydeukes (the Dioskouroi); and Klytaemnestra (Κλυταιμνήστρα), who was to become the wife (and then murderer) of Agamemnon, and Helen, who was to marry Agamemnon's brother Menelaos, and then became the cause of the Trojan War (see Homer part 2). Leda's children are said to have hatched from one or more eggs.

In other versions, it was Nemesis (Νέμεσις), the goddess of retribution, who was raped or seduced by Zeus as a swan and produced an egg from which Helen hatched. The egg was then found by or given to Leda, who became Helen's nurse. In the Poeticon astronomicon (Poetical Astronomy, also known as De Astronomia, On astronomy), conventionally attributed to the Roman mythographer Hyginus (see note in Homer part 2), Hermes takes on the task of delivering the egg to Leda's safekeeping. Although the reason for this is not stated, perhaps it was similar to that which caused the infant Dionysus to be secretly placed in the care of the Nymphs: fear of vengeance by Zeus' jealous wife Hera on his illegitimate offspring.

"Constellation Swan (Cygnus).

When Jupiter [Zeus], moved by desire, had begun to love Nemesis, and couldn't persuade her to lie with him, he relieved his passion by the following plan. He bade Venus [Aphrodite], in the form of an eagle, pursue him; he, changed to a swan, as if in flight from the eagle, took refuge with Nemesis and lighted in her lap. Nemesis did not thrust him away, but holding him in her arms, fell into a deep sleep. While she slept, Jupiter [Zeus] embraced her, and then flew away. Because he was seen by men flying high in the sky, they said he was put in the stars. To make this really true, Jupiter put the swan flying and the eagle pursuing in the sky.

But Nemesis, as if wedded to the tribe of birds, when her months were ended, bore an egg. Mercurius (Mercury = Hermes] took it away and carried it to Sparta and threw it in Leda's lap. From it sprang Helen, who excelled all other girls in beauty."

The base, thought to have originally stood in a sanctuary of Mercury, supported an offering of a large tripod and gold serpents weighing five Roman pounds (1650 grams). The base is supported at each of the three corners by an eagle with outstretched wings, and in the centre by a lotus blossom (symbols of Zeus/Jupiter). Above each corner is a ram's head, and on the top stands a tortoise. On one side is a dedicatory inscription by Sextus Veracilius, a member of the college of four magistrates in charge of the administration of justice (iure dicundo), the supply of foodstuffs and public works:

Mercurio
Sex(tus) Veracilius
Sex(ti) F(ilius) Ouf(entina tribu)
Priscus IIII vir i(ure) d(icundo)
ex voto don(o) ded(it)
dracones aureos
libr(arum) quinque
adiectis ornament(is)
[e]t cortina

On the other two sides are reliefs:

The relief in the photo above depicts a bearded herm of Mercury or Dionysus/Bacchus in front of a table on which stands a jug for libations or as a prize for a contest, suggested by the victory palm above. Behind the table is a trochus, a large circle with rings, a gymnastic apparatus which was turned with a pole. The tripod, victory palm and trochus indicate that the monument honoured Mercury as the protector of athletic games.

A sandstone votive relief of youthful Mercury.

Roman. 2nd - 3rd century AD. From Speyer
(ancient Noviomagus / Civitas Nemetum,
Germania Superior), Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
Height 58 cm, width 30 cm, depth 11 cm.

The god stands naked, his head facing slightly
to the left. He wears a winged cap, and a cloak,
draped over his left shoulder and arm. In his left
hand he holds a caduceus, around which two
entwined snakes are joined in the middle by a
knot, their heads rising to either side of the top
of the staff. He also holds one or two other
objects resembling pipes. In his lowered right
hand he holds a purse, below which stands
a male goat. Behind his right shoulder, in much
shallower relief, is a bird, thought to be a cockerel.
If there was originally a dedicatory inscription
below the relief it is no longer visible.

A sandstone votive relief of Mercury
with a dedication to Mercury Cissonius.

Roman. Late 2nd century AD. From Rheinzabern
(ancient Rhenanae Tabernae, Germania Superior),
Kreis Germersheim, Germany. Height 107 cm,
width 53 cm, depth 14 cm.

Historisches Museum der Pfalz, Speyer, Germany.

The Celtic god Cissonius, whose name has been
interpreted as courageous, remote or carriage
driver, became identified with Mercury under
Roman occupation, and he may also have been
associated with trade and the protection of
travellers. Dedications to him have been found
in France, Germany and Switzerland. He was
also depicted as bearded and helmeted, riding
a ram and carrying a wine cup.

The iconography of the relief is almost the same
as that from Speyer in the photo, left. However,
the image is in higher relief, and here a ram is
shown standing to the left of the god. The bird
next to his right shoulder stands on a ledge, and
resembles a crow more than a cockerel. On the
tabula below the relief is a dedicatory inscription:

DEO MERCURIO
CISSONIO C[aius] ATU[lius?]
GORGIAS V[otum] S[olvit]

To the God Mercurius
Cissonius. C[aius] Atu[llius?]
Gorgias [has] fulfilled [his] vow.

As with other Greek myths, there are several versions of the story of Io (Ἰώ). She was a Nymph and/or a priestess of the goddess Hera in the Argolid (northeast Peloponnese) who became a reluctant lover of Zeus. He transformed her into a heifer in order to hide her from his jealous wife Hera (in another version Hera transformed her). Seeing through the ruse, Hera sent the never-sleeping, hundred-eyed giant Argos Panoptes (Ἄργος Πανόπτης, Argos the All-seeing) to watch her and prevent Zeus from visiting her.

Not to be outwitted, Zeus sent Hermes to kill Argos by first lulling him to sleep with the enchanting music of the syrinx (Pan pipes) and telling stories, or by charming him with his kerykeion (caduceus). Hera honoured her watchman by putting his eyes on the tails of the peacock, her sacred bird. Hermes earned the epiphet Argeiphontes (Ἀργειφόντης, Argos Slayer), first mentioned by Homer (Iliad, Book 2, line 103). [9]

In the fresco, Io, seated left, is shown in human form but with small horns. Argos, also in human form and naked, sits on the right with a red cloak and a stick. Hermes, in the centre holding his kerykeion in his left arm, bends forward to offer Argos the syrinx. In the background, right, the Argolid temple of Hera stands on a hill. [10] Depictions of this scene are thought to have been influenced by a work of the 4th century BC Athenian painter Nikias.

This myth is thought to be the origin of Hermes' epiphet Argeiphontes (ἀργεϊφόντης), Slayer of Argos, first mentioned by Homer in The Iliad and The Odyssey. However, it has been suggested that the word originally had a different meaning, perhaps Swift-appearing or Sky-clearing, but that the meaning and possibly another myth associated with it was lost, and a new etymology and associations were invented. [11]

See also the painting Mercury and Argus by Rubens below.

Mercury, with winged cap and red cloak, lulls the all-seeing Argus to sleep with the music of his pipe or flute, while Io, transformed into a white cow by Zeus, looks on. High above the idyllic pastoral landscape, Zeus is already on his way to his date with Io, driving through stormy clouds in a chariot drawn by two eagles.

The painting appeared on a 15 pfennig postage stamp of the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR), issued on 28th June 1977 to commemorate Rubens' 400th birthday, and to earn hard currency from stamp collectors worldwide.

The story of Hermes and Argos was also depicted by other artists, including Jakob Jordaens around 1620 (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyons), Diego Velazquez in 1659 (Museo del Prado, Madrid) and Barent Fabritius in 1662 (Gemäldegalerie alte Meister, Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, Inv. No. GK 262).

The wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the future parents of the Homeric Greek hero Achilles, was attended by all the gods except Eris (Ἔρις, Discord, Strife; Roman equivalent, Discordia), the goddess of Discord, who was not invited. She nevertheless appeared at the wedding feast and stirred up trouble by encouraging the rivalry between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite by offering the Golden Apple from the Garden of the Hesperides (referred to by later writers as the Golden Apple of Discord, μῆλον τῆς Ἔριδος) as the prize for the most beautiful of the three goddesses. To settle the matter, it was decided to hold a beauty contest between the three.

Wishing to avoid the risk of angering any of the females, Zeus refused to judge the competition, and the task was given to Alexander (Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros), the mortal son of King Priam of Troy, who had been secretly raised and renamed Paris (Πάρις) by the Trojan herdsman Agelaos (see Homer part 2). Hermes led the three goddesses to Paris who was herding animals on Mount Ida, near Troy (Ilion), and ordered him to judge which of them was the most beautiful.

Hera and Athena attempted to bribe Paris with power, wealth and fame, but Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. He chose Aphrodite, and his decision eventually led to him falling in love with and abducting Helena (Ἑλένη, Eleni, later known as Helen of Troy), the wife of Menelaos, king of Sparta. This affront was used as a pretext by Agamemnon, Menelaos' brother, to gather an army of Greek allies and wage war against Troy.

The Roman mythographer Hyginus (see the note in Homer part 2) summarized the story:

"Jove [Zeus] is said to have invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis all the gods except Eris, or Discordia. When she came later and was not admitted to the banquet, she threw an apple through the door, saying that the fairest should take it. Juno [Hera], Venus [Aphrodite], and Minerva [Athena] claimed the beauty prize for themselves. A huge argument broke out among them.

Jupiter ordered Mercury [Hermes] to take them to Mount Ida to Paris Alexander, and bid him judge. Juno promised him, if he should judge in her favour, that he would rule over all the lands and be pre-eminent wealth. Minerva promised that if she should come out victorious, he would be bravest of mortals and skilled in every craft. Venus, however, promised to give him in marriage Helen, daughter of Tyndareus, most beautiful of all women.

Paris preferred the last give to the former ones, and judges Venus the most lovely. On account of this, Juno and Minerva were hostile to the Trojans. Alexander, at the prompting of Venus, took Helen from his host Menelaus from Lacedaemon to Troy, and married her. She took with her two handmaids, Aethra and Thisiadie, captives, but once queens, whom Castor and Pollux [the Dioskouroi] had assigned to her."

Hyginus, Fabulae, sections 50-99, section 92, Judgement of Paris. At the Theoi Project.

In this myth Hermes fulfills his duties as a messenger of the gods as well as intermediary between gods and mortals. Although not much has been made of his other functions in this context, he was also the god of herdsmen and shepherds (see Hermes Kriophoros above) which made him the natural choice as the deity chosen to approach Paris in this matter.

This is one of the oldest depictions of the Judgement of Paris so far found, although Hermes is not included in the small carving. The three goddesses in the beauty contest stand facing Paris, the judge, who is seated on the left. In front is Aphrodite holding a dove, one of her attributes. Athena, in the centre, wears her crested helmet. In the rear Hera is followed by a long-necked bird, either her symbolic peacock or a water fowl. Alternatively, Hera may be in front with a cuckoo, and Aphrodite last with a goose. The bearded Paris holds out the Golden Apple from the Garden of the Hesperides as the prize for the goddess he must judge to be the most beautiful. However, the interpretation of the "large spotted sphere" in this drawing as an apple has been challenged.

The carving on the other side of the comb shows two sphinxes holding a male figure upside down in their claws. It has been suggested that the image may be a comment on the consequences of Paris' decision, which led to the Trojan War.

See also:

Another ivory comb from the sanctuary with a carving of the suicide of Ajax in Homer part 2.

Other objects considered to show the earliest known depictions of the Judgement of Paris include:

The "Chigi vase", a fragmentary Late Protocorinthian olpe (jug), around 640 BC, with fragments of the Judgement scene. National Etruscan Museum, Villa Giulia, Rome. Inv. No. 22679.

From a series of five painted terracotta plaques from a small Etruscan chamber tomb in the Banditaccia cemetery, Cerveteri (ancient Caere), Tuscany. They are known as the Boccanera plaques after the two brothers who discovered them in 1874. The style and colours reflect Corinthian vase painting; other features, such as clothing details, are typically Etruscan. Hermes carries a herald's staff or sceptre topped by a figure of a bull.

To the right of these figures (not shown in photo), on the right side of the second (right-hand) plaque and the third, are four women, pehaps attendants of the goddesses, walking to the right. Above the scene is a guilloche pattern and below are crimson and cream stripes. On each of the outer two plaques is a painting of a Sphinx.

In the centre the three goddesses stand in front of what appears to be a temple with Etruscan columns, above which lies or flies a female figure, mostly obscured by shadow. The two left-most goddesses face towards the nude male figure seated on the left, probably Hermes. He holds a staff, perhaps a kerykeion, and a himation is draped over his left shoulder.

Hera, the left-most goddess, wears a tiara, earrings, a necklace and a himation over a long chiton, girdled at the waist, and holds a sceptre in her left hand. Next to her, Aphrodite is naked apart from an earring and a necklace. She holds an edge of her discarded himation above her right shoulder with her right hand. Her lowered left hand appears to be touching the right thigh of the bearded male figure seated on the right, probably Paris.

The relief, believed to be part of a large sarcophagus, was extensively restored and altered in the 17th century by Alessandro Algardi, whose stucco additions were removed in 1901.

Hermes and deities on Mount Ida, participating in the judgement of the Trojan prince Paris, who has to choose whether Hera, Athena or Aphrodite is the most beautiful. Paris chooses Aphrodite due to the intercession of Eros (her son). She gives Helen to Paris as a reward, and his abduction of Helen leads to the Trojan War.

The mosaic is badly damaged, with several parts of the images now missing. The panel showing the Judgement features (left to right) Paris, Hermes, Pothos, Aphrodite, Hera and Athena, with the name of each character written in Greek next to the respective head. The name of Aphrodite and the first two letters of Hera are now missing, as are most of the figures of Pothos and Aphrodite.

Paris, wearing a luxurious robe, sits beneath a tree, on a branch of which is perched an eagle, presumably representing Zeus. At the feet of the young herdsman sits a cow. Hermes stands naked, apart from a cloak draped over his left shoulder and arm. His head is turned towards Paris and with his right hand he gestures towards the goddesses, who sit on thrones arranged in a row. Hera and Athena are portrayed in the manner familiar from classical statues.

Above and below this scene are ten smaller mosaic emblemata (panels), each containing a depiction of one of the nine Muses, all named, and Apollo holding a lyre (or kithara) and a plectrum. Together all eleven emblemata make up one of three mosaic sections of the same size. Around and between these sections are friezes of gladiatorial scenes, featuring men, with or without armour, and wild animals. All these figures are also named.

See ancient depictions of the myth of the Judgement of Paris above.

This may be either a copy or an earlier version of the larger Judgement of Paris painted by Rubens between 1632 and 1635, now in the National Gallery, London. Inv. No. NG 194. Oil on oak panel. Height 144.8, width 193.7 cm. The compositions of the two paintings are almost identical, but they vary in several details.

Mercury, wearing a winged cap and red cloak and holding a caduceus, rests against a tree behind Paris, who is dressed like a simple herdsman (see Homer part 2), with a sun hat and crook, and accompanied by a dog and two sheep. He is seated on a rock and holds in his right hand the Golden Apple from the Garden of the Hesperides, meant as a prize for the goddess he judges to be the most beautiful. The two males admire the three goddesses, who have disrobed for the beauty competition. The divine contestants are attended by three cupids or putti.

On the left, Minerva (Athena) can be identified by her owl in the tree (far left), the spear and the shield decorated with the head of Medusa. In the centre stands Venus (Aphrodite), without any identifying attributes apart from her beauty. In ancient depictions of the scene, she is the only goddess who is sometimes shown naked. On the right Juno (Hera) stands next to her peacock.

The sketchy naked male figures in the tree at the top left of the picture are more detailed in the London version, in which three grinning satyrs can be seen enjoying the show from their hidden vantage point. The London painting shows the right-most satyr with his finger to his lips, trying to keep the other two voyeurs quiet.

In the clouds above, the flying female figure with a torch and a serpent has long been thought to represent Eris (Ἔρις, Discord, Strife; Roman equivalent, Discordia), the goddess of Discord who offered the Golden Apple (the Golden Apple of Discord, μῆλον τῆς Ἔριδος) as the prize at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. However, it has been suggested that the figure is Alecto (Ἀληκτώ, Alekto, Implacable or Unceasing Anger), one of the Furies (Erinyes) who was associated with war. Although she is not mentioned in any of the versions of the Judgement of Paris story, the identification is based on the idea that she appears here as a portent of the Trojan War which was a consequence of Aphrodite bribing Paris with the promise of the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, who turned out to be Helena. The other reason is that Alecto features in other paintings by Rubens, such as Peace and War, and may have been included here as an allusion to the political turmoil of his own time. [12]

Renewed interest in the subject of the Judgement of Paris began in the Middle Ages, when a number of images were made in a variety of media. Several painters depicted the story, particularly Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553), who painted as many as twenty two versions. At least eight versions are attributed to Rubens or his studio, the first painted early in his career, and the last was one of his final works. The other six are:

Probably between 1597 and 1599. Oil on canvas. Height 144.8 cm, width 193.7 cm.
National Gallery, London. Inv. No. NG 6379.

Around 1600-1605. Rubens or his studio. Oil on oak panel. Height 67 cm, width 78 cm.
Private collection.

Unknown date. Rubens' studio. Oil on oak panel. Height 48 cm, width 63 cm.
Private collection, Zurich.

Around 1606. Oil on copper plate. Height 32.5 cm, width 43.5 cm.
Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna. Inv. No. 644.

Around 1606-1608. Oil on panel. Height 89 cm, width 114.5 cm.
Museo Del Prado, Madrid. Inv. No. P001731.

The head of Mercury wearing a winged helmet on a
denarius of the Roman Republic. Rome mint, 122 BC.

A Roman denarius serratus issued by the magistrate
C. Mamilius Limetanus (Gaius Mamilius Limetanus) showing
the head of Mercury with a winged petasos and caduceus. 82 BC.

The reverse side shows Ulysses (Odysseus) standing right,
holding a staff and his extending hand to his dog Argos.
When Odysseus finally returned home to Ithaca, disguised
as a beggar, the aged dog recognized him and died of joy
at seeing his former master. [13]

The scene is set in a painted lararium (shrine) in the form of a temple with Corinthian columns, on a wall in the thermopolium. Mercury stands on the far left, and Bacchus (Dionysus) on the far right with his panther. In the centre the house gods and the Genius, holding a cornucopia, sacrifice at a tripod altar.

A terracotta oil lamp with a relief of naked Hermes wearing a winged cap,
holding a kerykeion in his left hand and a purse in his right hand. Part of
his cloak can be seen hanging from over his left shoulder.

2nd half of the 2nd century AD.
From Patras, northern Peloponnese, Greece.

A terracotta figurine of Hermes Kerdoos,
the god of trade, wearing cap, holding
a kerykeion in his left hand and a purse
in his right hand. His cloak is draped
over his left shoulder and arm.

2nd century AD. From Patras.

A small bronze statuette of Mercury with
winged cap, cloak, caduceus and a purse.
A small ram sits at his right foot.

Roman, 2nd century AD.

A small bronze statuette of Mercury.

1st - 3rd century AD.

The Porta Venezia stands on the site of an ancient gate of the Roman city Mediolanum (Milan). Rebuilt a number of times and known by various names, including Porta Orientale and Porta Renza, the present monumental neoclassical gateway is based on an initial design by Giuseppe Piermarini (1734-1808), whose work was continued after his death by his student Luigi Cagnola (1762-1833). Consisting of two massive sandstone towers on either side of the road, each with Doric porticos on three of the fours sides, it was completed 1827-1828.

The neoclassical reliefs depicting historical scenes and statues of Roman gods, sculpted by a number of Italian artists, were added in 1833. The statues on the west side: Mercury, Vulcan (Hephaistos), Abundantia (Abundance) and Justitia (Lady Justice). The statues on the east side: Minerva (Athena), Ceres (Demeter), Eternita (Eternity) and Fedelta (Fidelity).

1. Hermes in Euripides' Ion

2. Hermes as inventor of the alphabet (and wrestling)

"The Parcae, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos invented seven Greek letters - A B H T I Y.
Others say that Mercury invented them from the flight of cranes, which, when they fly, form letters.
Palamedes, too, son of Nauplius, invented eleven letters; Simonides, too, invented four letters – Ó E Z PH; Epicharmus of Sicily, two - P and PS.
The Greek letters Mercury is said to have brought to Egypt, and from Egypt Cadmus took them to Greece. Cadmus in exile from Arcadia, took them to Italy, and his mother Carmenta changed them to Latin to the number of 15.
Apollo on the lyre added the rest.
The same Mercury first taught wrestling to mortals."

Hyginus, Fabulae, sections 200-277, section 277, First inventions. At the Theoi Project.

3. "Youth holding a ram" from Boeotia

The painted terracotta statuette is similar to one in the Louvre, Paris, dated to circa 450 BC, and probably from the same workshop.

4. "Cypro-Ionian" Kriophoros statuettes

See, for example:

5. Hermes statue in Kos

See: Francesco Sirano, A seated statue of Hermes from Kos. Middle imperial sculpture between myth and cult: a new proposal of identification. In: Ian Jenkins and Geoffrey B. Wayrell (editors), Sculptors and sculpture of Caria and the Dodecanese, chapter 18. British Museum Press, London, 1997. At academia.edu.

There is a very short discussion on Hermes Eumelios on page 137. Unfortunately no bibliography is included with the article.

6. Head of Hermes on the lid of a ceramic vessel from Larino

7. The Statue of Hermes with the infant Dionysus in Olympia

"The famously smooth and skilful 'Hermes of Praxiteles' in the Olympia museum. Its pedestal is Hellenistic or Roman, the legs except for the right foot are modern; the conception is that of Praxiteles working about 325 B.C., and the finish is glittering, but this is not the original statue; it is a fine Hellenistic copy. This sad but important truth is argued irrefutably by Sheila Adam in The technique of Greek sculpture (1966), pp. 124-8."

8. The size and date of the Salpion krater

Various sources give the height of the krater as 99 cm, 127 cm or 130 cm. The dimensions above are taken from:

Museo nazionale di Napoli, Principal monuments in the National Museum of Naples, page 40 and plate 44. John Testa, Naples, 1882. At the Internet Archive.

The date of the late 2nd century BC is given, for example, in:

Jerome Jordan Pollitt, Art in the Hellenistic Age, page 173. Cambridge University Press, 1986.

A number of sources state 1st century BC, reflected in the Arachne database entry:

13741: Kelchkrater des Salpion

See also: Bianca Maiuri, Museo Nazionale di Napoli, page 36. Novara, 1957.

More recently several scholars have preferred the later date of the 1st century AD, or more generally the age of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD). See, for example:

9. Argeiphontes and peacock eyes

"Then King Agamemnon rose, holding his scepter. This was the work of Hephaistos, who gave it to Zeus the son of Kronos. Zeus gave it to Hermes, slayer of Argos, guide and guardian. King Hermes gave it to Pelops, the mighty charioteer, and Pelops to Atreus, shepherd of his people. Atreus, when he died, left it to Thyestes, rich in flocks, and Thyestes in his turn left it to be borne by Agamemnon, that he might be lord of all Argos and of the isles."

Samuel Butler (translator), The Iliad of Homer, Book 2. Longmans, Green and Co., London, New York and Bombay. 1898 (?). At Perseus Digital Library.

The conventional translation of the name Argeiphontes as "Argos Slayer" has been recently questioned. It has also been suggested that the eyes of Argos on the tails of peacocks is a later addition to the story, since it is thought that the oriental birds were unknown to the Greeks until the Hellenistic period. Writing in the 2nd century AD, Pausanias, described the Temple of Hera near Argos [see note 10] and mentioned that Emperor Hadrian dedicated a golden peacock decorated with jewels:

"Of the votive offerings the following are noteworthy. There is an altar upon which is wrought in relief the fabled marriage of Hebe and Heracles. This is of silver, but the peacock dedicated by the Emperor Hadrian is of gold and gleaming stones. He dedicated it because they hold the bird to be sacred to Hera."

10. The Argolid Sanctuary of Hera

11. The etymology of argeiphontes

12. Alecto in The Judgement of Paris by Rubens

The suggestion was first made by Gregory Martin in The Flemish School, c.1600 - c.1900, National Gallery Catalogue, London, 1970, pages 153-163, especially page 154, page 8.

See: Lois Oliver, Fiona Healy, Ashok Roy and Rachel Billinge, The evolution of Rubens's Judgement of Paris (NG 194) (PDF document). National Gallery Technical Bulletin, Volume 26, London 2005.

13. Odysseus and his dog Argos

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