Burkert has linked the function of the herm as a territorial marker to its phallicism, for in the primate world phallic display is used to warn potential trespassers to keep their distance.6 It is unclear, however, whether Hermes’ phallicism is an ancient part of his cult. According to Herodotus (2.51), the Athenians learned to use ithyphallic images (those with erect members) from the Pelasgians, the pre-Greek inhabitants of the Aegean. He connects the herms with the ithyphallic statues used as guardians in the cult of the Samothracian gods, which was “Pelasgian” in origin. Yet phallic herms are not attested in the early Archaic period, and Athenian contact with Samoth-race was minimal before the Classical period. Another theory holds that the phallos is borrowed from the cult of Dionysos, whose phallic aspects are attested much earlier. Dionysos is sometimes worshiped in the form of a draped post and crosspiece topped with a mask, the same arrangement that most likely developed into the stone herm. Ancient authors commented on the unusual statue of Hermes Phales at Kyllene in Elis, which was simply an erect phallos set on a base. Similar statues are attested in Dionysiac cult.7 Less widely accepted, though still plausible, is the view that Hermes’ phallicism is tied to his pastoral and generative function.8 Like his equally phallic compatriot Pan, Hermes multiplies the flocks. Since gods typically become practitioners of the activities they rule, it is not surprising to find that Hermes has a lusty side. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (5.256-63) tells how he and the silens mate with the nymphs in the recesses of caves, and Hermes is the constant companion of the nymphs on votive reliefs and in the private observances of herdsmen, such as the swineherd Eumaios who sets aside portions for Hermes and the nymphs at his meal (Hom. Od. 14.434-36). On this reading, the phallos is “lucky” because it is symbolic of animal fecundity, hence prosperity. Hermes’ regular cultic connections with Aphrodite are also relevant to his phallicism; where they appear as a pair, the focus of the cult is usually on human sexuality.
World History
