Hermes, Pan, Priapus


September 23, 2009


Return to Syllabus

CC 303/352 Intro to Classical Mythology - Fall 2009
Department of Classics, University of Texas at Austin, Prof. Lawrence Kim


I. Names to Remember

Hermes/Mercury, Pan, Priapus
Midas, Syrinx, Maia, Arcadia
Salmacis, Hermaphroditus, Herm

II. Lecture Outline

  1. Hermes
    • Messenger and Herald of the gods, especially of Zeus
    • Argeiphontes - Killer of Argus, the hundred-eyed
    • God of Shepherds/ Guardian of Flocks and Herds 
    • God of Thieves; expert in deception, lies, and stealing,; trickster figure
    • Inventor figure/culture bringer (lyre/ music// sandals/ fire)
    • God of Travelers, Heralds, Merchants
    • Herms: pillar with head and erect phallus - boundary marker
    • Psychopompos - Guide of Souls to Hades
    • Dress:
      • Traveller's  Hat, Caduceus (snake staff), winged sandals
      • Bearded; or beardless (as early as the 6th c. BC)
  2. Homeric Hymn to Hermes
    1. Born of Zeus and Maia
    2. Only a few hours old, Invents the Lyre from a Tortoise Shell
    3. Steals Apollo's Cattle and denies everything
    4. Matter is brought before Zeus, Hermes lies again
    5. Reconciliation: Hermes gives the lyre, Apollo the caduceus
  3. Hermaphroditus and Salmacis
    1. Child of Hermes and Aphrodite, loved by Nymph Salmacis
    2. Two are fused together = hermaphrodite (male and female)
  4. Pan
    1. Son of Hermes
    2. Goat-god (half human, half goat)
      • Often confused with satyrs, fauns, etc.
    3. Shepherds, wilderness, rustic rural deity
    4. Seen with the syrinx (pan-pipes)
    5. Inhabits Arcadia
    6. Pan-ic: Pan inspires irrational fear with a shout
    7. Lustful for shepherd boys and nymphs
    8. Myths About Pan
      • Pan and Syrinx
      • Pan, Apollo, and Midas
  5. Priapus
    1. Son of Aphrodite - extremely lustful and ugly
    2. Scarecrow, Garden Deity, Fertility
    3. Enormous phallus wards off evil eye
    4. Phallus in general = sign of good fortune and fertility
      • Also as warding off and protecting boundaries

III. Images

Hermes

  1. Hermes. Giovanni da Bologna. Florence.
  2. Hermes.
  3. Hermes and Charon. Attic white-ground lekythos (oil jar) attributed to the “Sabouroff Painter” (c. 475-450 BCE). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
  4. Hermes and the Return of Persephone. Frederic Leighton, c. 1890-1. City Art Gallery, Leeds.
  5. A Herm.
  6. Hermes with Phallus.
  7. Sleeping Hermaphrodite. Roman copy (c. 2nd cent. CE) of a Greek original. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Pan

  1. Pan and Daphnis. Roman copy (c. 2nd cent. CE) of a Greek original. Museo Archeologico, Naples.
  2. Pan chasing shepherd. The Pan Painter.
  3. Pan and Syrinx. Jacob Jordaens, c. 1625. Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.
  4. Pan and Syrinx. Nicolas Poussin. The Dresden Gallery, Dresden.
  5. Pan Playing the Syrinx. A. Boecklin.
  6. The Contest of Apollo and Pan.
  7. The Judgment of Midas. Nicholas Mignard.
  8. Priapus. From the Villa of the Vettii, Pompeii. Museo Archeologico, Naples.
Last Updated: 09/22/2009