Hermes and the Infant Dionysus

Hermes and the Infant Dionysus shows the messenger god pausing during his journey to deliver baby Dionysus to the nymphs who would raise him. Carved from Parian marble around 340 BCE, the sculpture is attributed to Praxiteles, though some scholars argue it's a later copy. If original, it's the only surviving work by one of antiquity's most praised sculptors.

Hermes dangles something (probably grapes, now lost) to amuse the infant, a tender moment between deities. The figure's soft modeling and dreamy expression exemplify the Late Classical style that broke from earlier austerity. The marble surface retains an almost skin-like polish that may preserve Praxiteles's original finish.

The statue was discovered in 1877 at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, where ancient sources said Praxiteles had placed it. It remains at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.