There are five fables of ancient Greek origin that deal with the statue of Hermes. All have been classed as burlesques [1] that show disrespect to the god involved and some scepticism concerning the efficacy of religious statues as objects of worship. [2] Statues of Hermes differed according to function and several are referenced in these stories. Only one fable became generally retold in later times, although two others also achieved some currency.
The fable appears as number 88 in the Perry Index [3] and was to become a favourite in Europe from the Renaissance on. It is directed against self-conceit in general and concerns a visit to a statue maker made in human disguise by the god Hermes. Finding that Jove, the king of the gods, was set at a low price and his queen at only a little more, he felt sure that, since he was their messenger, his own statue must command much more. When he asked about it, however, the sculptor told him that if he would buy the other two statues he could have that one free.
A Neo-Latin poem on the theme appeared in Gabriele Faerno's Centum Fabulae (1563) with the moral that 'Many who fancy themselves are set at nothing'. [4] In England prose versions appeared in the collections of Roger L'Estrange (1692) [5] and Samuel Croxall (1722). [6] In all of these, the name of the Greek god is changed to Mercury, his Latin equivalent. There were also two English verse retellings. In Edward Arwaker's Truth in Fiction (1708), the story is subtitled "Vain-glory mortified" and is a much more circumstantial account. Statues of the gods are described as currently ‘a drug on the market’ to explain the low price asked and, in addition, the statue of Juno is cheaper since she is a woman. [7] In 1820, Jefferys Taylor wrote a sprightly version for children in which the sculptor assures Mercury that his statue merely serves as a make-weight when a set of the gods is bought. [8]
Illustrations of the tale, starting from the miniature in the Greek Medici Manuscript of about 1470, invariably feature the god pointing out his statue to the sculptor. [9] An English copper engraving by David Jones for the specially commissioned Seven Fables of Aesop (1928) shows an up-to-date sculptor at work on the statue. [10] The Australian linocut by John Ryrie is more sly in its updating. The god wears a collar, tie and smart overcoat as he enters into negotiation with the aproned workman. It is only the detail of sandals on his feet and the wings fluttering from beneath the trousers at his ankles that give his identity away. [11]
The fable is numbered 308 in the Perry Index and is a broad piece of Greek scatalogical humour. [12] There is a poetical version in the Greek of Babrius, but thereafter written accounts do not seem to continue. The Victorian translator of his work, Rev. John Davies, omitted it from his Fables of Babrius (1860), [13] although the story is harmless enough. A dog of a pious turn of mind salutes the god's four-sided herma, a statue of the kind used to mark boundaries and stages along a road. When the animal announces its intention to anoint him, the god hastily begs it not to and says he does not need to be honoured any further.
The story is numbered 307 in the Perry Index [14] and there are poetical versions in the Greek of Babrius [15] and the Latin of Avianus, although the latter account is told of Bacchus. [16] The type of statue involved in this case would be of the god as a handsome young man. Two customers approach the statuary, one wishing to place his work in the tomb of his son, one proposing to use it for private worship. Deciding to sleep on the matter, he is visited by Hermes in a dream and is told that he has in his hands the decision to make him either a dead man or a divinity. Although the fable is light-hearted, the 2nd century physician and philosopher, Galen, gave it a more serious turn by applying the story to human potentiality. In a work on ethics, he tells the fable and then continues by commenting that similarly “You have a choice between honouring your soul by making it like the gods and treating it contemptuously by making it like the brute beasts”. [17]
The fable numbered 99 in the Perry Index [18] was not translated into English until it appeared in the substantial collection of Roger L'Estrange under the title “An image expos’d to sale”. [19] A sculptor hawks his newly finished statue at market by declaring that this is a wonder-working god and will profit its owner. When asked why he is selling such a valuable asset, the huckster replies that he is in need of immediate funds while Hermes takes his time in granting favours. Later English versions include "The Seller of Images" in George Fyler Townsend's Aesop's Fables (1867) [20] and V.S. Vernon-Jones' new translation as "The Image Seller" in 1912. [21]
The story is numbered 285 in the Perry Index [22] and was versified in Greek by Babrius, drawing the moral that evil men will only comply when insulted. [23] In this case, the wealth-bringing Hermes does not deliver the expected benefits and his frustrated worshipper smashes the image on the floor. When a flood of gold coins pours from the head, the man reproaches the kind of personality that will not render good for good but does so when ill-treated. While Babrius specifically named the god involved, Hieronymus Osius did not when he versified the fable in Latin, [24] while Pantaleon Candidus specifically states that he does not know in his Latin poem, Homo et statua. [25] Neither did William Caxton [26] and Roger L'Estrange [27] say who it is in their English prose versions, which end with reflections on misdirected worship. Jean de La Fontaine is equally reticent about the god's identity in his L’homme et son idole de bois (The man and his wooden idol, Fables IV.8). [28]
It has been surmised that one explanation for the scepticism of these last two fables was that Hermes was the god of trade and merchants and the Greeks had a certain ambivalence towards wealth making. [29] The 10th century Byzantine Greek lexicon known as the Suda explains what form of statue is involved here. "They say Hermes was responsible for profit and an overseer of the businesses: consequently they set up the statue of him weighing a purse." [30] It is to such sculptures that the statue on the stairs of the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene in Vienna can be referred, although it is itself ambiguous. The sculptor rests with chisel in hand on the statue's right as it looks down towards another similarly dressed individual on the other side who raises his hand towards the god. It might therefore remind viewers of the first of the fables here, which was well known. But it is the purse held well away in the god's right hand which seems to be drawing the gaze of the man below, whose hand is cupped as if in supplication. The statue can therefore be read alternatively as referencing either of the last two fables here.
Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to modern times through a number of sources and continue to be reinterpreted in different verbal registers and in popular as well as artistic media.
The Frog and the Ox appears among Aesop's Fables and is numbered 376 in the Perry Index. The story concerns a frog that tries to inflate itself to the size of an ox, but bursts in the attempt. It has usually been applied to socio-economic relations.
The Cat and the Mice is a fable attributed to Aesop of which there are several variants. Sometimes a weasel is the predator; the prey can also be rats and chickens.
Zeus and the Tortoise appears among Aesop’s Fables and explains how the tortoise got her shell. It is numbered 106 in the Perry Index. From it derives the proverbial sentiment that ‘There’s no place like home’.
The Ass in the Lion's Skin is one of Aesop's Fables, of which there are two distinct versions. There are also several Eastern variants, and the story's interpretation varies accordingly.
The Wolf and the Lamb is a well-known fable of Aesop and is numbered 155 in the Perry Index. There are several variant stories of tyrannical injustice in which a victim is falsely accused and killed despite a reasonable defence.
The Fox and the Lion is one of Aesop's Fables and represents a comedy of manners. It is number 10 in the Perry Index.
The Trees and the Bramble is a composite title which covers a number of fables of similar tendency, ultimately deriving from a Western Asian literary tradition of debate poems between two contenders. Other related plant fables include The Oak and the Reed and The Fir and the Bramble.
Speaking of The Snake and the Crab in Ancient Greece was the equivalent of the modern idiom, 'Pot calling the kettle black'. A fable attributed to Aesop was eventually created about the two creatures and later still yet another fable concerning a crab and its offspring was developed to make the same point.
The Bird-catcher or Fowler and the Blackbird was one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 193 in the Perry Index. In Greek sources, it featured a lark, but French and English versions have always named the blackbird as the bird involved.
The Dog and the Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 346 in the Perry Index. It has been popular since antiquity as an object lesson of how freedom should not be exchanged for comfort or financial gain. An alternative fable with the same moral concerning different animals is less well known.
The Old Woman and the Doctor is a story of Greek origin that was included among Aesop's Fables and later in the 4th century CE joke book, the Philogelos. It is numbered 57 in the Perry Index.
The Fox and the Woodman is a cautionary story against hypocrisy included among Aesop's Fables and is numbered 22 in the Perry Index. Although the same basic plot recurs, different versions have included a variety of participants.
The Fox and the Mask is one of Aesop's Fables, of which there are both Greek and Latin variants. It is numbered 27 in the Perry Index.
Hercules and the Wagoner or Hercules and the Carter is a fable credited to Aesop. It is associated with the proverb "God helps those who help themselves", variations on which are found in other ancient Greek authors.
There are no less than six fables concerning an impertinent insect, which is taken in general to refer to the kind of interfering person who makes himself out falsely to share in the enterprise of others or to be of greater importance than he is in reality. Some of these stories are included among Aesop's Fables, while others are of later origin, and from them have been derived idioms in several languages.
The classical legend that the swan sings at death was incorporated into one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 399 in the Perry Index. The fable also introduces the proverbial antithesis between the swan and the goose that gave rise to such sayings as ‘Every man thinks his own geese are swans’, in reference to blind partiality, and 'All his swans are turned to geese', referring to a reverse of fortune.
The Oxen and the Creaking Cart is a situational fable ascribed to Aesop and is numbered 45 in the Perry Index. Originally directed against complainers, it was later linked with the proverb ‘the worst wheel always creaks most’ and aimed emblematically at babblers of all sorts.
The Lion, the Boar and the Vultures is sometimes counted among Aesop’s Fables and warns against quarrels of which others will take advantage. It is numbered 338 in the Perry Index.
The man and the lion (disputing) is one of Aesop’s Fables and is numbered 284 in the Perry Index. An alternative title is The lion and the statue. The story’s moral is that the source of evidence should be examined before it is accepted.