Double Herm with Socrates and Seneca

cults3d

Material: Gypsum\nDimensions: 9 x 11 x 11 inches\nScanned: Twenty-sixteen\nScanner: Creaform Go! SCAN 3D\nThe Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca is an ancient Roman statue dating back to the first half of the third century AD. The herm showcases Greek philosopher Socrates on one side, with Roman Stoic Seneca the Younger depicted on the other. Currently housed at the Antikensammlung Berlin in the Pergamonmuseum, it was originally discovered there.\nThe two philosophers are joined together at the back of their heads; their chests take the shape of a herm. Both men wear the typical cloak of a philosopher or orator above their left shoulders, with Socrates also donning an undershirt. The bearded Socrates is depicted in a satyr-like form, consistent with literary descriptions and other portraits. Seneca, on the other hand, is clean-shaven with a receding hairline, featuring a small, full-lipped mouth tightly pursed. It is speculated that the depiction of Seneca may have been inspired by a work created between AD 50 and 60 – within the lifetime of the philosopher.\n\nIn ancient art, double herms were a common statue type used to display public figures in private spaces. The combination of these two philosophers here likely owed something to the personal preferences of the person who commissioned it, even if the reasons for linking them specifically are unclear. Probably it has to do with the fact that they were both forced to take their own lives. Philosophers and poets were often presented as double herms in art and literature. This parallel presentation is also seen in Plutarch's Parallel Lives.