Herm Head in the University of Pennsylvania Museum, November 2009

Herm Head
Probable creation of the 1st century AD after a 5th century BC work

# 30-51-1

Herms were square pillars surmounted by the head of Hermes (or, later, other divinities) and adorned on the front of the shaft with male genitalia. As the god Hermes was the patron of travelers and commerce, herms were set up as dedications to him at halfway markers between the city and the rural territories of Attica, at the city gates, and at the entrances to important public places. The tradition of herms in Attica goes back to the 6th century BC and continues into the Roman period. By the Roman period, herms were more often used for decorative rather than cultic purposes and bore little relationship to Hermes. This herm may have been double-headed with the two heads back to back as shown in the example in the photograph below.

Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.