Author and historian Patrick Garner examines the different periods and styles of ancient Greek pottery and delves into the strange effigies of the Olympic god Hermes which were used in ways few moderns would imagine.
By Patrick Garner*
Greek mythology is full of the gods’ exploits, and surprising details abound in ancient art. Greek pottery, for instance, illustrates their often bawdy activities. Further, the strange effigies of the Olympic god Hermes were used in ways few moderns would imagine.
The stylized black or red figures that decorate 600 years of 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 Greek culture and beliefs.
The pottery frequently depicts Olympic gods, goddesses and heroes. And the stone phalluses? They represented the god Hermes, and had multiple purposes.
Herms: The unique ancient Greek pottery
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, and 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. 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 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 trivialize. 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 would have been strange to ancient Greeks was to find a house without a herm by the front door.
Herms had many purposes
They were used to to mark and guard property lines. Herms were believed to 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 in which a herm was said to have warned an Athenian named Andocides just before he was about to lie in court. Andocides chose to tell the truth. In a twist, years later, Andocides was accused of destroying a herm. He escaped to Cyprus, and the herm was said to have miraculously reappeared in Athens, unbroken.
Alcibiades and the Night of the Herms
Herms were also believed to provide protection against enemies—not unlike the huge circular shields carried by Greek warriors. In 415 BC when 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 deeply disturbing to the Athenians, who considered it 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 the sacrilege. 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. The incident led to a witch hunt, with many of his allies being accused of impiety, leading to arrests, exile sand executions.
Alcibiades, once the golden boy of Athens and close friend of Socrates, fled to Sparta—which was Athens’ enemy—and was tried in absentia. 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.
Political Messaging
Herms were not just religious symbols but also tools for political messaging. They were used to convey messages or to honor individuals.
For example, around 515 BC the tyrant Hippias, after the death of his brother Hipparchus, placed herms around Athens inscribed, “The memorial of Hipparchus” in an attempt to gain public sympathy for his rule. Apparently the ruse did not go well for Hippias. He was expelled from Athens and spent the rest of his life in exile.
Herms for Fertility and Luck
Herms were 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.
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: Greeks hoped that if evil spirits were not intimidated, the shocking size might be humorous enough to discourage them from hanging around! Such humor is an insight into the ancient Greeks.
Bad spirits were everywhere, and laughter was considered a way to cleanse the environment of negativity.
Herms Use in the Wider Culture
Herms played a part in 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 wild abandon.
Dionysian festivals, held several times a year, featured phalluses as props. His maenads, or followers, carried a lightweight version called a thyrsus that was made of a fennel bulb or pinecone atop a stalk. 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 often 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 a nod were given to the herm.
In addition, Hermes’ association with boundaries made herms particularly suitable for passage-ways that marked the transition between the outside world and the private or sacred space represented by the home altar inside.
So these symbols became 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, Plato taught beside a herm. In time the effigy became symbolic of philosophical inquiry, blending the divine with the pursuit of knowledge.
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 and lasted for well over a century.
Centuries of ancient Greek pottery
Now let’s segue to ancient Greek pottery. It’s an art form that, in addition to depicting mythology, celebrates sexuality. A sort of natural and naïve sensuality is a common theme. Of note, Greek pottery spans several distinct periods and styles, each with its own characteristics, techniques, and thematic preferences.
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. The ability of early potters to illustrate gods and men was minimal. The Geometric Period was characterized by zigzag patterns and abstract human figures.
Around 700 BC new styles emerged as potters introduced 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. We call this new style Black-Figure Pottery because it is characterized by animals, gods and humans painted in black on red clay. It featured tall, stylized, muscular men in scenes from the Trojan war and the many escapades of Zeus. This period also included more depictions of erotic scenes. Gods abducting nymphs and mortals were a component.
The new style was so popular that huge pottery workshops and large-scale kilns were established on the outskirts of Athens. 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 the wealthy—new techniques emerged.
Then, around 530 BC an even newer style, one we call Red-Figure Pottery, emerged in Athens and lasted for another 500 years. This new technique reversed the old color scheme, drawing figures in red on a black background.
Around 480 BC, the Greek potters, particularly in Athens, entered 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. 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 to discuss weighty subjects with flute girls in attendance—become more explicit. Yet the dominant pottery theme remained glorifying the divinities.
Nevertheless, as with herms, humor enlivened pottery. The Greek god Priapos—the son of love goddess Aphrodite—was ridiculed on vases showing an out-sized manhood, surrounded by amused goddesses mocking him for his impotence.
Rome and the Decline of Pottery
Greek pottery wound up its artistic glory in what is known as the Hellenistic Period, roughly from 320 to 30 BC. Creativity slowly declined as Greece fell under Roman control. Sexual themes were still present. Erotic pottery was popular with tourists—tourists in 146 BC, that is! 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 souvenir. To keep up with demand, pottery was increasingly made in satellite cities, as well as in Sicily and Italy. Quality inevitably went downhill. The golden age of Greek pottery was over.
Noteworthy Examples
There many notable examples of vases and herms. 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 reward the drinker as he emptied the cup.
The well-known “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 examples of smaller vessels like lekythoi which were oil flasks, or oinochoai, which were wine jugs.
And finally, the National Archeological Museum in Athens, Greece, has superb examples of both herms and pottery, collected from excavations throughout the region.
*Patrick Garner is an author and podcaster. In addition to The Naxos Quartet, his novels about the Greek gods in the contemporary world, his podcast, Garner’s Greek Mythology, has listeners in 190 countries. For more information, see patrickgarnerbooks.com.