Penile Representations in Ancient Greek Art
Ancient Greek pottery and sculpture demonstrates genitals of several sizes depending much on the identity of the depicted person. Phallus in artistic representation is connected much with gods of fertility, such as the goat-footed god of forests Pan and the dwarfish god Priapus.
They both are imaged with supersized genitalia and usually ithyphallic, because the phallus is considered as symbol of abundance. In several agricultural ceremonies to honor them, people bear or wear artificial phalli, for good luck and wealth and healthy animals.
On the other hand, the cult of the god Dionysus combines orgiastic rituals with Maenads and Nymphs and wine culture accompanied by the ithyphallic goat-footed and nailed figures with sexual super-activity, called Satyrs and Sileni.
Phallic worship centered on all these gods: Pan, Priapus, and the Dionysian cult. The representation of a supernatural phallus remained a permanent feature in all the fertility festive manifestations.
Furthermore, the exaggerated size of an erected male organ was strongly believed to bring virility, fertility and good luck, as a symbol of the regenerating power of Nature. In urban centers, like ancient Athens, the worship of the god Hermes was expressed with columns at the main streets bearing the god’s head on the top and an ithyphallus on the base.
The artistic evidence implies that over-large genitals were considered aesthetically unpleasing by the Greeks and Romans. The ideal type of male beauty, epitomized in classical sculpture, normally depicts genitals of somewhat less than average size.
Consequently, the exaggerated genitals of Priapus made him seem ugly and grotesque figure, though benevolent. The small penises shown on ordinary mortals may have been no more than a convention, to distinguish them from fertility figures, such as Pan, Satyrs and Priapus. It also had been pointed out that many of these images belong to athletes during or immediately after hard exercise with the penis shrunk and the testicles hoist high.
Rempelakos L, Tsiamis C, Poulakou-Rebelakou E. Penile representations in ancient Greek art. Arch Esp Urol 2013;66(10):911-6. Archivos Espa
OBJECTIVES: The presentation of the cult of phallus in ancient Greece and the artistic appearance of the phenomenon on vase figures and statues, as indicative of the significant role of the male genitalia in all fertility ceremonies.
METHODS: The examination of a great number of penile representations from the ancient Greek pottery and sculpture and the review of the ancient theater plays (satiric dramas and comedies ).
RESULTS: Phallus in artistic representation is connected either with gods of fertility, such as the goat-footed and horned Pan or the ugly dwarf Priapus or the semi-animal nailed figures Satyrs, devotees of the god Dionysus accompanying him in all ritual orgiastic celebrations. Phallus also symbolizes good luck, health and sexuality: people bear or wear artificial phalli exactly like the actors as part of their costume or carry huge penises during the festive ritual processions.
On the contrary, the Olympic gods or the ordinary mortals are not imaged ithyphallic; the ideal type of male beauty epitomized in classical sculpture, normally depicts genitals of average or less than average size. It is noteworthy that many of these images belong to athletes during or immediately after hard exercise with the penis shrunk. The normal size genitalia may have been simply a convention to distinguish normal people from the gods of sexuality and fertility, protectors of the reproductive process of Nature.
CONCLUSIONS: The representation of the over-sized and erected genitalia on vase figures or statues of ancient Greek art is related to fertility gods such as Priapus, Pan and Satyrs and there is strong evidence that imagination and legend were replacing the scientific achievements in the field of erectile function for many centuries.