EP 65: In Plain Sight

This episode looks in depth at the unexpected themes of Greek pottery and how gods and heroes are depicted. We also examine the strange effigies of the god Hermes. You’ll meet a Hermes unlike any you’ve encountered. 

This episode is also unusual in that it is not suitable for underage listeners. 

Transcript

Welcome to episode 65 of GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. We have listeners in 190 countries ... So welcome to everyone, wherever you are.

I'm your host, mythologist PATRICK GARNER. 

In this episode we’re taking an unusual side trip from our stories about the Greek gods. Now we’ll see them as they are shown on Greek pottery, and see how one god in particular—Hermes—is depicted by sculptors.  

But before I continue, here’s a warning: If you’re underage, this episode isn’t for you. 

I say that upfront because ancient Greeks typically featured sexual scenes involving the gods on their vases. And in this episode we’ll talk about that and more …

So if you shouldn’t be listening, you know who you are … Tune out now and come back for the next episode!

But first … 

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Adult readers are invited to visit AMAZON to check out my books about the GREEK GODS in the contemporary world. 

The novels are part of THE NAXOS QUARTET, and include THE WINNOWING, CYCLADIC GIRLS, HOMO DIVINITAS and ALL THAT LASTS.

They have been Amazon best sellers and are a provocative read. Plus, book sales keep this podcast going.

These are stand-alone novels, but I recommend you start with THE WINNOWING, and enjoy all four  ... 

As an aside, HOMO DIVINITAS is available on Amazon as an audio book. I’m the narrator.

For more information, visit PATRICK GARNER BOOKS DOT COM. The website is packed with background about the Greek gods, my books and the podcasts. 

Plus I’ve just added a section on the website about how you can listen to the audio version of CYCLADIC GIRLS at no cost. It’s a limited time offer.

Now, let’s get to the episode.

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The stylized black or red figures you see decorating ancient Greek pottery frequently include sexual scenes. 

Add to that the stone carvings of phalluses that were placed outside each Greek house and throughout the countryside, and one wonders what was going on. The answer is that both were a manifestation of ancient Greek culture and beliefs.

The pottery frequently depicts the Olympic gods, goddesses and heroes. And the stone phalluses? 

They represent the god Hermes, and had multiple purposes. Let’s start with Hermes.

The stone carvings were called herms—a shortened version of Hermes’s name. They were unique to the Greeks and showed a larger-than-life phallus. They were found everywhere.

Twenty-five hundred years ago the ancient Greeks were highly superstitious, so they used the stone carvings to ward off evil spirits. 

Herms came in two versions. One depicted a three-dimensional face of Hermes with a phallus mounted a foot or two below his head. The other skipped the head.

“Bizarre,” you may think. 

To the Greeks, such imagery was not considered shocking or unusual in any way. On the contrary, the stone phalluses were a sign of brawn, force and dominance. 

And given their exaggerated size, they also suggested a wry humor.

A herm usually featured the life-size head of a mature Hermes. He was shown with a long, square beard and a stern expression. It was clear from looking at him that this was no god to be fooled with.

His head sat atop a polished rectangular stone or marble pillar. Below it was the ubiquitous phallus.

As strange as this may seem to us, what was strange to ancient Greeks was to find a house without a herm by the front door.

It’s fair to say the ancient Greek culture was so wildly different than ours that they considered it normal to hang huge examples of male anatomy over their doorways.

Herms had many purposes. They were used to to mark and guard property lines. Compare this to today’s culture, where modern land surveyors use a simple concrete post or iron pipe to show boundaries!

In contrast, herms were believed to actually embody the god himself. 

In other words, a herm placed on a property corner or hung on the outside of a home was like having Hermes guarding the premises.

But there’s more. Herms became symbols of both divine protection and civic order—and were believed capable of oracular powers. 

There's an intriguing story where a herm was said to have warned an Athenian named Andocides when he was about to commit perjury in court.

The herm spoke to him as he was about to lie, reflecting the Greek’s belief in divine intervention. Andocides chose to tell the truth.

In a twist, years later, he was accused of destroying a herm. He escaped to Cyprus, but the herm was said to have miraculously reappeared in Athens, unbroken, which Athenians said signaled his guilt. 

He later cleared his name by implicating others, leading to their exile or execution. 

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Herms were also believed to provide protection against one’s enemies—not unlike the huge circular shields carried by Greek warriors.

Here’s a story that took place in 415 BC.Just before the Athenian fleet was set to depart for the Sicilian Expedition during the Peloponnesian war, numerous herms were found mutilated across Athens. 

The night-time desecration was seen as an act of sacrilege, deeply disturbing the Athenians as it was considered a bad omen for the upcoming military campaign. 

Alcibiades, an influential Athenian general and politician, was implicated in this scandal. Known for his charisma, ambition and controversial lifestyle, he was among those accused of orchestrating the desecration.

It was alleged that Alcibiades and friends had held an all-night drinking party that had ended with the men running through the streets of Athens knocking off the phalluses.

His political enemies used this event to discredit him, although Alcibiades denied the charges and demanded an immediate trial, which was not granted. 

The incident led to a witch hunt in Athens, with many of Alcibiades’s allies being accused of impiety, leading to arrests, executions and exiles. 

Alcibiades, once the golden boy of Athens and close friend of Socrates, was eventually tried in absentia after fleeing to Sparta, Athens' enemy. The Athenians found him guilty of treason and sentenced him to death. 

Making matters worse for Alcibiades, when the military expedition finally took place, it did so with a new leader and the Athenian fleet met a disastrous fate. 

The Sicilian Expedition became one of the greatest military and strategic failures in Athenian history, leading to a significant loss of manpower, ships and morale. 

The defeat weakened Athens, contributing to its ultimate loss in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC.

Athens never forgot the night that the drunken men ran through the city breaking herms. The desecration became a profound religious scandal, reflecting the piety in Athenian society. 

It was thought that, as a consequence, Hermes had withdrawn his protection, along with the city’s namesake, Athene, as well as the other Olympic gods.

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Listeners should know that herms were not just religious symbols but also tools for political messaging. They were used to convey messages or to honor individuals. 

For example, the tyrant Hippias, after the death of his brother Hipparchus around 515 BC, placed herms around Athens inscribed, "The memorial of Hipparchus" in an attempt to gain public sympathy for his rule.

The herm was also a symbol of fertility and life. Children were welcomed in Greek culture and women regularly prayed to Artemis, Aphrodite and other goddesses for fertility. The herm acted as a talisman.

Scholars call the phallic imagery apotropaic. Apotropaic refers to averting evil or bad luck.

The exaggerated male anatomy was thought to be intimidating. And here’s where the humor comes in: 

If intimidation against evil forces didn’t work, Greeks hoped that the shocking size might be humorous enough to discourage malevolent spirits from hanging around!

Such  humor is an insight into the ancient Greeks. They believed bad spirits were everywhere, and considered laughter a way to cleanse the environment of negativity. 

Herms were also an example of the wider Greek culture. The phallus was used in art and theater to symbolize fertility and vitality.

In this context, it was also a common symbol for the god Dionysus, who reveled in dance and wild abandon. 

Dionysian festivals, held several times a year, featured phalluses as props. His maenads, or followers, carried smaller, lighter versions called a thyrsus that were made of fennel bulbs on a long stalk.

Both large and small versions were carried by merry-makers and incorporated into lewd dances. To this day in Greek country villages, these dances still go on.

This was all part of a broader cultural acceptance and reverence for human sexuality and life's generative forces. 

But there’s still more. Herms also depicted the Greek reverence for the god Hermes.

Since Hermes was the divinity of travel, commerce, and communication, herms were believed to ensure safe passage as travel in Greece was always dangerous. 

Hermes, after all, was a divine messenger who flew from place to place on wings built into his golden sandals. 

Perhaps an ancient traveler would be allowed to travel as easily if he or she reverently nodded to the herm hung on the outside wall of the home.

In addition, Hermes' association with boundaries made herms particularly suitable for doorways, as doors marked the transition between the outside world and the private or sacred space represented by the home altar inside.

So you can see that these symbols became simply part of everyday life.

As such, they were found in private and public spaces like crossroads, gymnasiums, and sacred sites—underscoring their role in both personal and communal protection and prosperity.

There are even academic tales that involve herms. One involved Plato. It was said that in his Academy, there was a famous herm celebrated for its beauty.

Plato would sit beside the herm to teach his students. In time the effigy became symbolic of philosophical inquiry, blending the divine with the pursuit of knowledge.

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The practice of publicly displaying herms came to an end when early Christians bludgeoned most of Greece’s pagan symbols. 

The destruction included vases, herms, statuary and temples. New attitudes about worship and sex drove the wholesale leveling of the old culture.

The region-wide razing of pagan icons began around 300 CE and lasted for well over a century.

By the way, if you ever have the fortune to visit any major Greek museum, don’t be surprised to stumble across multiple examples of herms displayed among the statues of Athene, Apollo and Zeus. 

They’re shocking the first time you see one. But pause and remember that what we consider scandalous, the Greeks honored and considered sacred.

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Now let’s segue to ancient Greek pottery. It’s an art form that, in addition to depicting mythology and culture, celebrates sexuality. 

A sort of natural and naïve sensuality is a common theme on pottery. Rather than being kept out of sight, such pottery was displayed and treasured. 

Compare this reaction to today’s treatment of those same pieces in museums. Because the sexual scenes are sometimes found on just one side, curators invariably turn those scenes away from the viewer. 

Of note, Greek pottery spans several distinct periods and styles, each with its own characteristics, techniques, and thematic preferences. 

Here's a brief look:

The earliest, most primitive Greek pottery rarely showed people, animals or gods. Archeologists call this the Geometric Period, and it ran from approximately 1100 to 700 BC. For context that’s more than three thousand years ago.

The ability of early potters to illustrate gods and men was pretty minimal. The Geometric Period was characterized by zigzag patterns and abstract human figures.

Around 700 BC new styles emerged. Influenced by Egyptian and Persian motifs, potters introduced more naturalistic figures. 

Even with these more realistic depictions, sexual themes were unusual.

Then after 600 BC and lasting about 120 years, changes to production methods allowed greater detail. 

Today we call this new style black-figure pottery because it is characterized by animals, gods and humans painted in black against a red clay background.

They featured tall, stylized, muscular men in scenes from the Trojan war and from the many escapades of Zeus.

This period also began to include more depictions of erotic scenes. Gods abducting nymphs and mortals was a component.

The new style was so popular that huge pottery workshops and large-scale kilns were established on the outskirts of Athens.

The pottery district in ancient Athens was called the Kerameikos. This area was not only known for its pottery production but also served as the main cemetery of Athens and was located outside the city walls, near the Dipylon Gate.

The name "Kerameikos" comes from the Greek word "keramos," meaning "pottery," reflecting its significance in pottery manufacturing. Pottery was used in Greek funeral rites as well as kitchens.

These black-figure versions became a must-have item in any household that could afford them. 

Potters began to compete with each other for fame and notoriety. They also began to sign their creations as artists.  

As a consequence of the competing potters—and the increasing demand by collectors—new techniques emerged. 

Then, around 530 BC an even newer style—one we now call red-figure pottery—emerged in Athens and was to last for another 500 years.

This new technique reversed the old color scheme, drawing figures in red on a black background. This change allowed for even greater detail and nuanced depictions. 

Styles continued to evolve.

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Around 480 BC, the Greek potters, particularly in Athens, entered what we now call the Classical period. It lasted over 150 years, and produced what are considered today to be numerous masterpieces.

The period was known for its high artistic achievements. Red-figure pottery continued as the predominant style.

Artists became more adventurous with their themes. Erotic scenes, often in the context of myths or symposia—that is, drinking parties for well-to-do men with flute girls in attendance—become more explicit.

Flute girls, you may recall from previous episodes, served wine, danced and made music for the men who had gathered to discuss weighty subjects. 

That being said, the predominant pottery theme remained glorifying the divinities. When these gods were depicted, we call the scenes mythological, but remember, to the Greeks of that time, the heroes and Olympic gods were very real. 

The tales of divine exploits and bold deeds celebrated by Homer and others were not questioned by anyone but philosophers and cynics.

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Zeus was depicted in various guises, his numerous amorous escapades highlighted repeatedly. Other scenes commonly involved Dionysus and his devoted maenads.

A common panoramic display was of satyrs, often with lewd and comedic elements. Satyrs, creatures part human and part horse or goat, were frequently shown drinking wine or in pursuit of women. 

Humor even included the Greek god Priapos—the son of love goddess Aphrodite. He was ridiculed on vases showing an out-sized manhood, surrounded by amused goddesses who mocked him for his impotence.

Finally, Greek potters entered what is known as the Hellenistic period, lasting roughly from 320 to 30 BC.

Creativity during this final period slowly declined. What happened? A partial explanation is that Greece fell under Roman control. 

Its freedoms were curtailed, and nothing of significance happened without a Caesar’s approval.

Sexual themes were still present. As we’ve seen, many factors drove the popularity of such themes. 

A surprising new element was that erotic pottery became popular with tourists—Roman tourists, that is ... after the year 146 BC! That’s when Greece became fully incorporated into the Roman empire.

Romans traveled all over the Mediterranean. Athens, admired for its temples and history, was a favorite stop. Everyone who visited wanted a memento.

To keep up with the stream of tourists, pottery was made increasingly not just in Athens, but in satellite cities, as well as in Sicily and Italy. 

Quality inevitably went downhill. The golden age of Greek pottery was over.

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Since my listeners live all over the world, I’ll mention a couple noteworthy vases and herms. For instance, anyone living in or visiting Paris should seek out the Louvre museum’s famous "Borghese Vase." 

It’s from from the late 6th century BC and shows a drinking party. It’s remarkable for its size and quality.

In Italy, the Vatican museum holds an equally famous red-figure kylikes, a drinking cup. These large cups often had erotic scenes on the inside. The scenes were meant to surprise and entertain the drinker as he emptied the cup

The famous "Brygos Painter kylix” at the Vatican is celebrated for its extraordinary quality and is illustrated in many books on Greek pottery.

In America, institutions like the Boston Museum of Art and the Getty Villa in Malibu have similar pottery.

Museums around the world have countless examples of smaller vessels like lekythoi which were oil flasks, or oinochoai, which were wine jugs.

These smaller pots depicted more subtle eroticism or had allusions to sexual themes found throughout mythology.

And finally, the National Archeological Museum in Athens, Greece, has superb examples of both herms and pottery, collected from excavations throughout the region.

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Two books of note are Greek Painted Pottery by R. M. Cook, and Greek Pottery Painting by Paul Hamlyn. Both can be found in used bookstores or somewhere like eBay.

As both authors emphasize, reproduction was considered a manifestation of Nature. It was something that the gods pursued, and humans imitated.

If there is a takeaway from this podcast, it is that customs and taboos change with each culture. What is common to one may be absolutely outrageous to another.

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JOIN ME ... FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. REMEMBER THAT THE WINNOWING & MY OTHER NOVELS ARE ALL AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.

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By the way, if you have YOUNGSTERS IN YOUR LIFE, THERE'S A CHILDREN'S BOOK THAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR BOOKSHELF.

IT'S CALLED READ-ALOUD STORIES FOR YOUNG LISTENERS, BY D.K. GARNER. THERE ARE NO GREEK GODS, BUT ANIMALS — ALWAYS PART OF GREEK LIFE — PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THESE CHARMING STORIES. 

THEY TALK WITH THE CHILDREN AT THE MOMENT A LITTLE HELP IS NEEDED. Like my books, it’s available on Amazon.  

AND thanks for listening ... THIS IS your host, Patrick Garner …