Talk:Herm (sculpture)

message: Both here and under the entry for Hermes, the name "Hermes" is said to come from the word "herma" used to describe a pillar depicting Hermes. The god would have to have been part of the lore before becoming the subject of these pillars. Doesn't it make more sense that the pillars would have been named for the god they depicted?
The only way I can imagine it otherwise is if "herma" was already a more general Greek word for a pillar, or for a pillar serving a particular purpose or bearing a particular kind of depiction. Then perhaps some other culture developed a custom of representing a particular deity of their own on similar pillars, and the Greeks applied the name "Hermes" to that god, i.e., "the god that those other people engrave on their hermai", and ultimately adopted the god as their own. —Largo Plazo 15:52, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Indeed, as Walter Burkert says, (Greek Religion, p 156), "that a monument of this kind could be transformed into an Olympian god is astounding." His brief notes on hermai leading to that remark, and the references he gives, would be enlightening. --Wetman 19:33, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Ah. Now I see that's quoted right there in the Hermes article.--Largo Plazo 19:56, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: The sense of the etymology

message: I changed the single footnoted reference to an External Link. That wonderful site actually doesn't (on admittedly casual inspection) have text to explain the 2007 incident, only completely delightful photos with the helpful how-to. Moreover, it's a circular citation in that the site references the Wikipedia article. The info in the article came from somewhere; where?
I also added a subhead for the trial of Alcibiades, so the article would conform to Wiki standards in having an introduction. The article deserves further development, and I hope someone will do it. Now let us all hail the U of Chicago students.Cynwolfe (talk) 15:57, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  References v. External link 

message: Yes, I'd just do it, but don't know enough to sort out Hermes/Priapus. Johnbod (talk) 17:27, 5 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merge 

message: The text does not say how the herms were vandalised. 
I understood they were 'castrated'. Is there doubt about this? Myrvin (talk) 19:08, 25 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Vandalism 

message: It seems to me that the image "Herms with Mannerist antecedents, in A Handbook of Ornament (1898)" shows caryatids, rather than herms. If this is the case, the image should be relocated. Timusuke (talk) 22:37, 8 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Caryatid 

message: You know that's Wikipedia code for "it's time to move the page, right? ;) — LlywelynII 11:40, 22 November 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: ...commonly in English...

message: As noted aeons ago by LlywelynII, In academic literature, museum labels, and regular discussion, I think this type of monument is usually referred to as a "Herm" not a "Herma". I have occasionally seen the latter, but mostly in 19th century sources - I think it has fallen out of use. Herm is taken by the island, so I propose this page be moved to Herm (sculpture) (currently a redirect to this page). I think that would require an admin to make the move, so thought it would be good to discuss here before making a move request. Will also post a request for comment on the relevant wikiprojects. Furius (talk) 16:37, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: , Or better yet, to Herms? Presently it's just a list of a few names and could be moved to Herms (disambiguation). Or Hermae, Hermai, or almost any title without parentheses, i.e., one that could potentially be used without a pipe link, which should be avoided if possible I think. GPinkerton (talk) 16:55, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: The article naming guideline advises using singular forms rather than plural, so herm (as proposed here) rather than herms. Richard Nevell (talk) 17:06, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: , it is probably written that way because adding the caveat "except when the article in question's singular form is a small island" would be too wordy. GPinkerton (talk) 17:56, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: 😂 Richard Nevell (talk) 17:59, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

text:  That book is forty years old and very much in the minority. Compare Debra Hamel The Mutilation of the Herms: Unpacking an Ancient Mystery (2012); J. C. Quinn, "Herms, Kouroi, and the Political Anatomy of Athens" Greece & Rome 54 (2007) 82-105 (); J. Fejfer, Roman Portraits in Context (2009) pp. 228-235, section "The Herm Shaft"; S. Dillon, Ancient Greek Portrait Sculpture: Contexts, Subjects, and Styles (2006), 30-33, section "The Portrait Herm"; W. D. Furley, Andokides and the Herms (1996). This is also the term used by Brill's New Pauly (), Encyclopædia Britannica (), and the records of the Agora excavations (). Furius (talk) 18:08, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, you're right. T8612 (talk) 21:57, 3 January 2021 (UTC)

text:  I don't find that very persuasive as a reason for retaining the current situation. Disambiguation with brackets is widespread on wikipedia. Furius (talk) 16:14, 6 January 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Herma vs Herm