_Museum, Olympia_]
With this instrument Apollo was so delighted that Hermes straightway
presented it to him, to make some amends, as it were, for the injury
done him. In return Apollo bestowed the _caduceus_, or wand, upon
Hermes, and the two gods vowed eternal friendship.
The Greeks were very fond of their god Hermes. He was not too grand to
be companionable, like the awe-inspiring Zeus or the haughty Apollo.
They thought of him as a blithe, gentle being whose lighthearted ways
and easy good nature made him a general favorite. It was an early custom
to set up in his honor stone posts at the crossroads. Sometimes they
were topped by the heads of other gods, but these were called for him,
_herm[ae]_. In the course of time better statues were made in full length
figure. The head reproduced in our illustration is from such an one
which used to stand in a temple of Olympia, from the ruins of which it
was unearthed a few years ago.
The entire right arm and parts of both legs are missing, but the other
portions of the statue show the god's position. He is leaning against a
tree trunk, holding on his left arm the infant Bacchus, who was, as we
have seen, consigned to his care by Zeus. Hermes is not, however,
looking at the child, but gazes dreamily before him, his head bent in
the pensive pose which we see. The features are cut with typical Greek
regularity, but the countenance has besides its own individual charm.
The droop of the upper eyelid suggests a dreamy nature, and in the curve
of the smiling lips is a hint of playfulness. The lower forehead is
full, showing over the eyes the bar of flesh which marks the strongly
masculine nature. The closely cropped curls preserve the perfect
contour of the head. The small, beautiful ear is as daintily modeled as
the ringlets of hair.
The face wins us at once with its gentle amiability. It is tender and
playful, and withal exquisitely refined and courteous. What a
deferential listener is suggested in that pose of the head! The pure
outline of the face calls to mind those knights of chivalry who gathered
about King Arthur's Round Table, and one wonders if Sir Galahad himself
might not have looked like this.
This statue is the work of the great sculptor Praxiteles, and is the
only original marble in existence direct from his hands. All the rest of
his work is known from descriptions and copies. We can understand, then,
how sculptors and critics the world over have examined it to study the
sculptor's methods. It is of Parian marble, much stained with iron rust
from its long entombment under the soil.