Hermes ::
Hermes (n.)
Originally, a
boundary stone
dedicated to
Hermes as the god of
boundaries, and
therefore bearing in some cases a head, or head and
shoulders, placed upon a
quadrangular pillar whose
height is that of the body
belonging to the head,
sometimes having feet or other parts of the body
sculptured upon it. These
figures, though often
representing Hermes, were used for other
divinities, and even, in later
times, for
portraits of human
beings. Called also
herma. See
Terminal statue, under Ter