Archaeology Magazine - June 1948 - 54

ARCHAEOLOGY

11S

BRIEF

NOTICES

Hermes the Thief. The Evolution of a Myth, by Norman O.
Brown, vi, 164 pages, frontispiece.
University of Wisconsin Press,
(Madison) 1947 $3.00
This brief monograph is a noble
attempt to explain the diverse functions of Hermes as modifications of
an original "trickster" god with magical powers. To show that Hermes
was originally regarded as such a
deity Dr. Brown relies heavily on
semantic interpretation of certain
words used with reference to Hermes.
His analysis of the Hermes cult, involves regarding the ithyphallic image
of the god as an apotropaic symbol
connected with boundaries rather than
as a symbol of fertility.
In Homer and Hesiod the personality and functions of Hermes are
modified to meet the needs of the cultural outlook of their respective ages.
Thus, in the Odyssey, Hermes is the
messenger and servant of Zeus, the
king; in the Works and Days of
Hesiod his role is not unlike that of
the serpent in the garden of Eden.
To meet the change in environmental
conditions the author of the Hymn to
Hermes (which Dr. Brown dates between 514-511 b.c. ) depicts the efforts
of Hermes, the idealized representation of the acquisitive philosophy of
the industrial and commercial classes,
to gain equality with Apollo, the representative of the aristocrats. Dr.
Brown makes use of information
brought to light by the recent discoveries in the Athenian Agora to reinforce his interpretation of the Hymn.
The study is interesting and provocative ; it is simply and clearly
The reasoning is wellwritten.
ordered, but flows from premises not
generally accepted. Certain aspects
of Hermes* functions, as for example
his role as conductor of souls to the
underworld, or his relations with
other deities, are somewhat slighted.
Numismatic and other archaeological

RECENT

evidence is barely mentioned. Actually the book is a study of the Hymn
to Hermes rather than a study of the
evolution of the myth of Hermes.
William C. Grummel
New York University
The Glorification of Athens in
Greek Drama, by H. R. Butts.
247 pages. Privately printed, Vandalia, Missouri 1947 (Iowa Studies in
Classical Philosophy, Number XI)
$4.00
In this monograph, a doctoral dissertation submitted at Iowa University, Butts has used a fine-tooth comb
on the plays and fragments of the
three tragedians and Aristophanes.
He has pointed out how each playwright emphasized myths, or the elements of myths, that have to do with
Athens. He has collected all passages that use complimentary epithets
in referring to Athens, that make
reference to the advantages of democracy over tyranny, or that are uncomplimentary to Sparta and Thebes. He
has analyzed the well-known patriotic
choral odes and the treatment by the *
playwrights of Athena, Athens' patroness, and of Theseus, its legendary
hero.
Butts concludes that "with conscious effort and without impairing
the artistry of their plots the Athenian dramatists made a studied practice
of glorifying and gratifying their
audiences by using definite techniques
of praise . . . this was done with the
design of attracting and sustaining the
attention of their audiences in order
that they and their plays would not
be forgotten when the prize was
awarded" (page 227).
Except for the implication that,
whenever an ancient dramatist said
something nice about his home town,
* it was done consciously and with ulterior motives, no one will dispute the
above statement. But no one would

BOOKS
have disputed it before this book was
written - it hardly needs proving,
much less almost two hundred and
L. C.
fifty pages thereof.
Ancient Plants and the World
They Lived In,* by Henry N. Andrews, Jr. ix, 279 pages, 166 figures.
Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca 1947 $4.00
Archaeologists and all other explorers in remote spaces should know
about Professor Andrews' book. He
has compiled a cross-section of our
current knowledge of extinct plant
forms preserved as fossils, with reference where possible to their modern relatives; and,, since he describes
the geological strata in which plant
fossils have been fopnd, and the circumstances of their discovery and
preservation, archaeologists will find
many points of tangency with their
own field routines. The abundant
illustrations are preponderantly from
photographs and scale drawings of
fossil specimens or their modern
counterparts, but more than twenty
show the types of terrain or stratification which have yielded specimens, or
the operation of removal.
Chapters on ferns, coal, ginkgo, sequoia and other "living fossils," the
ice ages, and the history of the science
of paleobotany, from Pliny and Da
Vinci to Dawson and Knowlton, will
be of special interest to some readers.
This is the gayest reference book
on the shelf ; Professor Andrews'
serious intentions have not succeeded
in subduing his native good spirits.
The author is associate professor
at Washington University, St. Louis,
and staff paleobotanist at the Missouri
Botanical Garden.
J. J-

Archaeology Magazine - June 1948

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - June 1948