Herma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In ancient Greece, before
his role as protector of merchants and travelers, Hermes was a phallic god, associated with
fertility, luck, roads and borders. His name comes from the word
herma (plural hermai) referring to a square or rectangular pillar
of stone, terracotta, or bronze; a bust of Hermes' head, usually
with a beard, sat on the top of the pillar, and male genitals
adorned the base. The hermai were used as boundary markers on
roads and borders. In Athens, they were placed outside houses for
good luck. The male genitals would be rubbed or annointed with
olive oil to obtain luck.
In May, 415 BC, when the Athenian fleet was about to set sail for Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War all of the Athenian hermai were vandalized. This was a horribly impious act and many people believed it threatened the success of the expedition. Though it was never proven, the Athenians at the time believed it was the work of saboteurs, either from Syracuse or anti-war doves from Athens itself. In fact, Alcibiades was accused of being the originator of the crime. He denied the accusations and offered to stand trial, but the Athenians did not want to disrupt the expedition any further.
His opponents were eager to have Alcibiades' trial in his
absence when he could not 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 herms, and
the supposedly related crime of profaning the Eleusinian
Mysteries.
