Herm of Aphroditus, Greek, at the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.

In my work on the translation of Hauser in Pompeji, I discovered that a female-headed herm with a phallus was found in one of the cubiculum of the House of the Prince of Naples. I found this particularly interesting as I have seen a number of herms in various museums around the world but not one like that. I did a little more research and found that herms featuring the male-female god Aphroditus were produced in the 5th century BCE on Cyprus. The worship of Aphroditus spread to Athens in the 4th century BCE then subsequently to Rome. Surviving Roman statues of Aphroditus have been dated as late as the 3rd century CE. Anyway, this prelude brings us to today's featured "Antiquities Alive" artifact:
Herm of Aphroditus, Greek, at the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. This male-female god was associated with the Moon and according to Macrobius, at its sacrifices men and women exchanged clothing. Philostratus described the rituals, saying the image or the impersonator of the god was accompanied by a large train of followers in which girls mingled with men because the festivals allowed "women to act the part of men, and men put on woman's clothing and play the woman." 
One of the earliest surviving images from Athens is a fragment (late 4th century BC), found in the Athenian agora, of a clay mould for a terracotta figurine. The figurine depicted a female lifting her dress to reveal male genitals, a gesture that was believed to have apotropaic qualities, averting evil influences and bestowing good luck.


Image: Herm of Aphroditus, Greek, at the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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