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 sprea d 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...