GEORGE GROTE
Born in 1794, died in 1871; educated at the Charterhouse; entered his father's bank in 1810 and devoted himself thenceforth to banking; elected to Parliament in 1833, serving until 1841; published his "History of Greece" in 1846-56; wrote also "Plato and Other Companions of Socrates," which was published in 1865.
I
THE MUTILATION OF THE HERMÆ[40]
After between two and three months of active preparations, the expedition[41] was almost ready to start, when an event happened which fatally poisoned the prevalent cheerfulness of the city. This was the mutilation of the Hermæ, one of the most extraordinary events in all Grecian history.
The Hermæ, or half-statues of the god Hermes, were blocks of marble about the height of the human figure. The upper part was cut into a head, face, neck, and bust; the lower part was left as a quadrangular pillar, broad at the base, without arms, body, or legs, but with the significant mark of the male sex in front. They were distributed in great numbers throughout Athens, and always in the most conspicuous situations; standing beside the outer doors of private houses as well as of temples—near the most frequented porticoes—at the intersection of crossways—in the public agora. They were thus present to the eye of every Athenian in all his acts of inter-communion, either for business or pleasure, with his fellow citizens. The religious feeling of the Greeks considered the god to be planted, or domiciliated, where his statue stood, so that the companionship, sympathy, and guardianship of Hermes became associated with most of the manifestations of conjunct life at Athens, political, social, commercial, or gymnastic. Moreover the quadrangular fashion of these statues, employed occasionally for other gods besides Hermes, was a most ancient relic handed down from the primitive rudeness of Pelasgian workmanship; and was popular in Arcadia, as well as peculiarly frequent in Athens.
About the end of May 415 b.c., in the course of one and the same night, all these Hermæ, one of the most peculiar marks of the city, were mutilated by unknown hands. Their characteristic features were knocked off or leveled, so that nothing was left except a mass of stone with no resemblance to humanity or deity. All were thus dealt with in the same way, save and except very few; nay, Andocides affirms (and I incline to believe him) that there was but one which escaped unharmed.