Mural of Priapus depicted with the attributes of Mercury in a fresco found in Pompeii

A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic (as in "phallic symbol"). Such symbols often represent the fertility and cultural implications that are associated with the male sexual organ, as well as the male orgasm.

Etymology[link]

Husavik Phallusmuseum (Icelandic Phallological Museum), Húsavík

Via Latin, and Greek φαλλός, from Indo-European root *bhel- "to inflate, swell". Compare with Old Norse (and modern Icelandic) boli = "bull", Old English bulluc = "bullock", Greek φαλλή = "whale".^[1]

Archaeology[link]

Phallus representation Cucuteni Culture 3000 BC

The Hohle phallus, a 28,000-year-old siltstone phallus discovered in the Hohle Fels cave and first assembled in 2005, is among the oldest phallic representations known.^[2]

Religion[link]

Classical antiquity[link]

Herm

In traditional Greek mythology, Hermes, god of boundaries and exchange (popularly the messenger god) is considered to be a phallic deity by association with representations of him on herms (pillars) featuring a phallus. There is no scholarly consensus on this depiction and it would be speculation to consider Hermes a type of fertility god. Pan, son of Hermes, was often depicted as having an exaggerated erect phallus.

Priapus is a Greek god of fertility whose symbol was an exaggerated phallus. The son of Aphrodite and either Dionysus or Adonis, according to different forms of the original myth, he is the protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens, and male genitalia. His name is the origin of the medical term priapism.

Polyphallic wind chime from Pompeii; a bell hung from each phallus

The city of Tyrnavos in Greece holds an annual Phallus festival, a traditional phallophoric event on the first days of Lent.^[3]

The phallus was ubiquitous in ancient Roman culture, particularly in the form of the fascinum, a phallic charm. The ruins of Pompeii produced bronze wind chimes (tintinnabula) that featured the phallus, often in multiples, to ward off the evil eye and other malevolent influences. Statues of Priapus similarly guarded gardens. Roman boys wore the bulla, an amulet that contained a phallic charm, until they formally came of age. According to Augustine of Hippo, the cult of Father Liber, who presided over the citizen's entry into political and sexual manhood, involved a phallus.The phallic deity Mutunus Tutunus promoted marital sex. A sacred phallus was among the objects considered vital to the security of the Roman state which were in the keeping of the Vestal Virgins. Sexuality in ancient Rome has sometimes been characterized as "phallocentric."

Ancient India[link]

Shiva, arguably the most ancient of the Indian deities with prehistoric origins, and the third of the Hindu Trinity -- and the most widely worshipped and edified male deity in the Hindu pantheon, is worshipped much more commonly in the form of the Lingam, or the phallus. Evidence of phallic worship in India dates back to prehistoric times. Stone Lingams with several varieties of stylized "heads", or the glans, are found to this date in many of the old temples, and in museums in India and abroad. The famous "man-size" lingam in the Parashurameshwar Temple in the Chitoor District of the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, better known as the Gudimallam Lingam, is about 1.5 metres in height, carved in polished black granite. Dated back to ca. 2300-2800 BC, it is one of the existing lingams from the pre-Buddhist period. The almost naturalistic giant lingam is distinguished by its prominent, bulbous "glans", and an anthropomorphic form of Shiva carved in high relief on the "shaft". Shiva Lingams in India have tended to become more and more stylized over the centuries, and existing lingams from before the 6th century show a more leaning towards the naturalistic style, with the "glans" clearly indicated.

Etymology of “Linga”, or “Lingam”

Linguistic evidence indicates that the post-Vedic Hindus not only adopted the tradition/ cult of the linga from the pre-Vedic non-Aryans, but even the term itself is of Austric origin.

-- Mahadev Chakravarti: The Concept of Rudra-Siva Through the Ages (p. 130)

The word ‘linga’, while ubiquitous in the Austro-Asiatic world, cannot be seen originally to be occurring in the Indo-European languages. He further says that when these two words entered Sanskrit, they, along with another word ‘langula’ (tail) were derivations of the same root syllable ‘lang’ or ‘lng’. If this correlation is accepted on the basis of the obvious phonetic proximity between the three words ling-langala-langula, then it is not hard to recognize the semantic evolution of the words. Because the usage of the phallus or the male generative organ in human procreation, and the usage of a tool/implement like the ploughshare (langula) to till the earth for its fetility to bring forth life-supporting vegetation, have a natural and spontaneous symbolical parallel and similarity in each other. Stone lingams have been found in several Indus Civilization sites, varying in size from 3 feet in length to very small pieces. These are found to be of steatite, sandstone and burnt clay. Some among these are unmistakably naturalistic in their rendition. Phallic worship was prevalent in India from the Chalcolithic period itself, and it was closely associated with magical rites based religion of that time. Stone lingams have been found in several Indus Civilization sites, varying in size from 3 feet in length to very small pieces. These are found to be of steatite, sandstone and burnt clay. Some among these are unmistakably naturalistic in their rendition.

Ancient Egypt[link]

The phallus played a role in the cult of Osiris in ancient Egyptian religion. When Osiris' body was cut in 14 pieces, Seth scattered them all over Egypt and his wife Isis retrieved all of them except one, his penis, which was swallowed by a fish; see the Legend of Osiris and Isis. Supposedly, Isis made a wooden replacement.

The phallus was a symbol of fertility, and the god Min was often depicted as ithyphallic, that is, with an erect penis.

Abrahamic religions[link]

The Sultan's Palace of Kasepuhan with lingga-yoni brickwork.

In Abrahamic religions, religious male circumcision or Brit milah is a covenant between God and His people. The traditional practice involves metzitzah b'peh, or oral suction,^[4][5] where the mohel sucks blood from the circumcision wound. The ceremony is followed by a celebratory meal (seudat mitzvah). Circumcision is practiced by Jews and Muslims and some Christians.

Circumcision of Jesus is celebrated as the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ or the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. The Holy Prepuce is one of the relics associated with Jesus considered to be the Holy of Holies or sanctum sanctorum.

The church father Epiphanius records that the Borborites^[6] and other libertine Gnostic sects^[7] consumed semen as the Body of Christ. The Pistis Sophia^[8] in the modern St. Priapus Church, consumption of semen in the presence of others is a form of worship.^[9] It is esteemed as sacred because of its divine life-giving power. Some chapters of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica practice the consumption of semen during the Gnostic Mass, composed by Aleister Crowley.^[10]

In the predominantly Muslim nation of Indonesia, the phallic lingga and feminine yoni remain common symbols of harmony. The Sultan's Palace of Kasepuhan, in West Java, has a number of lingga-yoni carvings along its walls.

According to the Indonesian chronicles of the Babad Tanah Jawi, Prince Puger gained the kingly power of wahyu, or revelation from Allah, by ingesting sperm from the phallus of the already-dead Sultan Amangkurat II of Mataram.^{[11] [12]}

Bhutan[link]

The Phallus is commonly depicted in its paintings.

Ancient Scandinavia[link]

• The Norse god Freyr is a phallic deity, representing male fertility and love.
• The short story Völsa þáttr describes a family of Norwegians worshiping a preserved horse penis.
• Some image stones, such as the Stora Hammers and Tängelgårda stones, were phallic shaped.

Japan[link]

The Mara Kannon Shrine (麻羅観音) in Nagato, Yamaguchi prefecture is one of many fertility shrines in Japan that still exist today. Also present in festivals such as the Danjiri Matsuri (だんじり祭)^[13] in Kishiwada, Osaka prefecture , the Kanamara Matsuri, in Kawasaki, and the Hōnen Matsuri (豊年祭 Harvest Festival), in Komaki (小牧市 Komaki-shi), Aichi Prefecture (愛知県 Aichi-ken) , though historically phallus adoration was more widespread.

Balkans[link]

The bear on the arms of Portein, Switzerland has a clearly visible red phallus, in accordance with the long-held tradition.^{[citation needed]}

Kuker is a divinity personifying fecundity, sometimes in Bulgaria and Serbia it is a plural divinity. In Bulgaria, a ritual spectacle of spring (a sort of carnival performed by Kukeri) takes place after a scenario of folk theatre, in which Kuker's role is interpreted by a man attired in a sheep- or goat-pelt, wearing a horned mask and girded with a large wooden phallus. During the ritual, various physiological acts are interpreted, including the sexual act, as a symbol of the god's sacred marriage, while the symbolical wife, appearing pregnant, mimes the pains of giving birth. This ritual inaugurates the labours of the fields (ploughing, sowing) and is carried out with the participation of numerous allegorical personages, among which is the Emperor and his entourage.^[14]

Switzerland[link]

In Switzerland, heraldic bears occurring on various coats of arms had to be painted with bright red penises, or risk being mocked as she-bears. An instance of such an omission led to an angry letter by the authorities of Appenzell in 1579 to the city counsel of St. Gallen. The conflict was resolved by a well-respected bishop, after nearly escalating into a war.^[15] (See Bears in heraldry).

The Americas[link]

Figures of Kokopelli and Itzamna (as the Mayan tonsured maize god) in Pre-Columbian America often include phallic content. Additionally, over forty large monolithic sculptures (Xkeptunich) have been documented from Terminal Classic Maya sites with the majority of examples occurring in the Puuc region of Yucatán (Amrhein 2001). Uxmal has the largest collection with eleven sculptures now housed under a protective roof on site. The largest sculpture was recorded at Almuchil measuring more than 320 cm high with a diameter at the base of the shaft measuring 44 cm.^[16]

Psychoanalysis[link]

The symbolic version of the phallus, a phallic symbol is meant to represent male generative powers. According to Sigmund Freud's theory of psychoanalysis, while males possess a penis, no one can possess the symbolic phallus. Jacques Lacan's Ecrits: A Selection includes an essay titled The Significance of the Phallus which articulates the difference between "being" and "having" the phallus. Men are positioned as men insofar as they are seen to have the phallus. Women, not having the phallus, are seen to "be" the phallus. The symbolic phallus is the concept of being the ultimate man, and having this is compared to having the divine gift of God.

In Gender Trouble, Judith Butler explores Freud's and Lacan's discussions of the symbolic phallus by pointing out the connection between the phallus and the penis. She writes, "The law requires conformity to its own notion of 'nature'. It gains its legitimacy through the binary and asymmetrical naturalization of bodies in which the phallus, though clearly not identical to the penis, deploys the penis as its naturalized instrument and sign" (135). In Bodies that Matter, she further explores the possibilities for the phallus in her discussion of The Lesbian Phallus. If, as she notes, Freud enumerates a set of analogies and substitutions that rhetorically affirm the fundamental transferability of the phallus from the penis elsewhere, then any number of other things might come to stand in for the phallus (62).

Modern use of the phallus[link]

A woman riding a phallic mechanical bull at EXXXOTICA New York 2009

Penis costume at a 2005 parade in San Francisco

The phallus is often used to advertise pornography, as well as the sale of contraception. It has often been used in provocative practical jokes^[17] and has been the central focus of adult-audience performances.^[18]

The phallus has a new set of art interpretations in the 20th century with the rise of Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology. One example is "Princess X"^[19] by the Romanian modernist sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi. He created a scandal in the Salon in 1919 when he represented or caricatured Princess Marie Bonaparte as a large gleaming bronze phallus. This phallus likely symbolizes Bonaparte's obsession with the penis and her lifelong quest to achieve vaginal orgasm.^[20]

See also the Most Phallic Building contest for modern examples of phallic designs.

Modern art[link]

Monument to the Carnation Revolution, Lisbon, Portugal

During the modern era, many sculptors have created some public phallic works of art, some more subtle, others more clear and evident. One of these examples may be the statue in honor to the Carnation Revolution on the top of one hill in Lisbon, Portugal from the sculptor João Cutileiro^[21]. Another example, more subtle, may be the statue named Crystal in the most famous central public square in Stockholm, the Sergel's square, from the sculptor Edvin Öhrström, which may be seen as a subtle phallic structure, like many other obelisks in the world.

See also[link]

Notes[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Phallus

References[link]