The story
Dionysos was born in an unusual way. His mother Semele died of fright when Zeus came to her with lightning and thunder, and Zeus saved the unborn child and carried him in his own thigh until birth. Then he entrusted the baby to Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to take him to safety. In the version told by the mythographer Apollodorus, Hermes brought him first to Ino and Athamas, and later to the nymphs of Nysa; in the version followed at Olympia, Hermes carries him to Boeotia, where his mother’s sisters will raise him.
The sculptor chose a quiet moment. Hermes stops on the way and leans on a tree trunk, the child on his arm. His missing right hand probably held up a bunch of grapes, the sign of Dionysos, to catch the baby’s attention; his left hand probably held the caduceus, the herald’s staff.
Found where Pausanias saw it
In the Roman period the travel writer Pausanias described the old temple of Hera at Olympia and its many statues, among them “a marble Hermes carrying the baby Dionysus, a work of Praxiteles”. In 1877, during the excavations at Olympia, a statue of exactly that subject was found inside the Heraion, almost intact. It had probably stood elsewhere in the sanctuary until Roman times and been moved into the temple for protection.
Not everything is ancient. The left leg below the knee, the right shin and the lower part of the tree trunk are restored in plaster. The back carries tool marks from later work, and holes in the spine and the trunk were probably made in Roman times to repair damage and fix the statue more securely against the cella wall.
Original or not?
Here the evidence divides. The Greek Ministry of Culture presents the statue as a work of Praxiteles and a masterpiece of the fourth century BCE, dated around 330. Other specialists consider it possibly a fine Hellenistic copy of his original. Because Pausanias names Praxiteles, and the statue was found in the right place, the attribution is attractive; because Praxiteles’ certain works are known only through copies, it cannot be proved. The honest label is “attributed to Praxiteles“.
What to look at
Whatever its author, the statue shows what fourth-century sculptors had learned. The body rests in a deep contrapposto, weight on one leg and hip thrown out, leaning on a support. Strict symmetry has given way to a natural rendering of forms; the polished skin conveys the life of the flesh, a quality associated with Praxiteles’ style. It was also coloured: traces of paint survive on the curls of the hair and on a sandal.
Where to see it
The Hermes is in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, in hall 7, close to the ruins of the Heraion where it was found. Check opening times before you go.
Sources
- Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Odysseus, Archaeological Museum of Olympia: “Hermes of Praxiteles” (K. Antonopoulos).
- Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.17.3; Apollodorus, Library 3.4.3 (Perseus Digital Library).
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus”; “Praxiteles”.
