Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

HERMAE.

204

HIERODULI.

liter] so passed over took a certain portion
of the hereditas adcrescendo, as it was
termed, or jure adcrescendi. It was necessary
either to institute as heredes, or to exhere-
date posthumous children nominatim, other-
wise the will, which was originally valid,
became invalid (ruptum); and the will be-
came invalid by the birth either of a posthu-
mous son or daughter, or, as the phrase was,
adgnascendo rumpitur tc.stamentum. The
heres represented the testator and intestate,
and had not only a claim to all his property
and all that was due to him, but was bound
by all his obligations. He succeeded to the
sacra privata, and was bound to maintain
them, but only in respect of the property, for
the obligation of the sacra privata was
attached to property and to the heres only
as the owner of it. Hence the expression
" sine sacris hereditas " meant an hereditas
unencumbered wit i sacra.

HERMAE (ep|iuu), and the diminutive
Hermuli (epfiiSia), statues composed of a
head, usually that of the god Hermes, placed
on a quadrangular pil lar, the height of which
corresponds to the stature of the human
body. Such statues were very numerous
at Athens. So great was the demand
for these works that the words epp.oy-
Aiiipo;, epp.oyA.u<piK>) Te'x>T), and epfioyXvtjielov,
were used as the generic terms for a sculp-
tor, his art, and his studio. Houses in
Athens had one of these statues placed at
the door, called epf")? orpocpouos or orpixpeiis;

and sometimes also in the peristyle. The
great reverence attached to them is shown
by the alarm and indignation which were
felt at Athens in consequence of the mutila-
tion of the whole number in a single night,
just before the sailing of the Sicilian expe-
dition. They were likewise placed in front
of temples, near to tombs, in the gymnasia,
palaestrae, libraries, porticoes, and public
places, at the corners of streets, on high
roads as sign-posts, with distances inscribed
upon them, and on the boundaries of lands
and states, and at the gates of cities. Small
Hermae were also used as pilasters, and as
supports for furniture and utensils. Many
statues existed of other deities, of the same
form as the Hermae; which no doubt ori-
ginated in the same manner; and which
were still called by the generic name of
Hermae; even though the bust upon them
was that of another deity. Some statues of
this kind are described by a name compounded
of that of Hermes and another divinity :
thus we have Hermanubis, Sermares, Her-
mathena, Hermeracles, Hermeros, Hermopan.
There is another class of these works, in
which the bust represented no deity at all,
but was simply the portrait of a man. Even
these statues, however, retained the names
of Hermae and Termini. The Hermae were
used by the wealthy Romans for the decoration
of their houses. The following engraving ex-
hibits a Hermes decorated with garlands and
surrounded with the implements of his worship.

Hermca. (From a Bas-relief.)

HERMAEA (ep^aia), festivals of Hermes,
celebrated in various parts of Greece. As
Hermes was the tutelary deity of the gym-
nasia and palaestrae, the boys at Athens cele-
brated tne Hermaea in the gymnasia.

HESTIASIS (eo-Tiacn.?), was a species of
liturgy, and consisted in giving a feast to

one of the tribes at Athens (jrp <f>v\r]u io-nav)-
It was provided for each tribe at the expense
of a person belonging to that tribe, who was
called eoTiarap.

HIERODULI (lepoSoiAoi), persons of both
sexes, who were devoted like slaves to the
worship of the gods. They were of Eastern