Let’s take a look now at the various stages of producing children, which was so important in the Roman world because of the high death rate in infancy and the necessity to retain a stable population. The second Priapus fresco has been found in the House of the Vettii. (Image: La Repubblica) What’s Behind the Priapus Fresco? He was the firstborn son of Lucius Aelius Caesar, Hadrian’s first adopted son and heir, and was born on December 15, 130. He was raised and schooled in Rome and served numerous political positions before ascending to the throne. McGinn, Thomas A.J. (2004). The Economy of Prostitution in the Roman World. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0472113620.

Priapus became associated with the rustic gods of Greece such as Pan and the satyrs. While he shared their lustful nature and connection to agriculture, his origins were likely in Anatolia and he was never as widely recognized in Greece itself as the older rural deities.J. Gordon Melton (1996, 5th ed.). Encyclopedia of American Religions (Detroit, Mich.: Gale) ISBN 0-8103-7714-4 p. 952. He was thrown down to Earth where he was eventually discovered by a group of shepherds. They raised him for a time, until he was sent to join the satyrs and rustic gods whole held sway over the countryside. His Origins in the East Art historians often interpreted this replication as reflecting a narrowness of the Roman creative imagination, but in the late twentieth century, Roman art started to be reevaluated on its own terms: certain perceptions about the nature of Greek sculpture may in fact be founded on Roman artistry. Although there were numerous equestrian statues, they seldom lasted since it was customary practice in the late empire to melt down bronze statues for reuse as material for coinage or new sculptures.

Statues of Priapus also served as guardians of homes, fields, and crops, providing a "no trespassing" sign, of sorts. In this case, Priapus represented the threat of violent rape, a common punitive measure in the ancient world. Epigrams inscribed upon these statues, later collected in Priapeia (see below), show Priapus using sodomy as a warning toward transgressors of the boundaries he protected much like a herm (a boundary marker): So what is are sheela-na-gigs? They are statues with exaggerated vulvas that they are gleefully opening up to the world. They are often found on churches, which seems like the last place you would find an exhibitionist female statue. Most commonly found in Ireland and Britain sheela na gig-like sculptures can also be found in mainland Europe. When they appear on churches they are usually positioned over doorways or windows. It is as if the portal being opened by the statue is mirrored in the one below. Before we attempt to answer ‘why’ the god Priapus is depicted weighing his penis on the Priapus fresco at the House of the Vettii, we must first understand ‘how’ he was worshiped. a b Robert Christopher Towneley Parker. "Priapus". The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth. Oxford University Press 2003.This is often thought to be the reason he was connected to Dionysus – he depicted one of the negative affects wine could have on a man who consumed too much. Anyone who has had much exposure to ancient Roman culture will know that the phallus and phallic symbols are found everywhere and in the most unlikely contexts. As well as being a symbol of male power, fertility and sexuality, they are used to invoke good fortune. They are carved into masonry, on horses’ harness fittings, from Pompeii we have bizarre oil lamps in the shape of winged phalluses, and they were a popular talisman for men’s jewellery. (Modern pendants descended from these talismans have a different form - when the pendants were later banned for being obscene, the phallus was replaced with a shark’s tooth.) There was also a kind of statue called a herm where male genitalia were carved half way up a column with a bust or head on top. As well the phallic symbols carved into masonry at Vindolanda and along Hadrian’s Wall, a Priapus statue was unearthed at Vindolanda. Priapus is a fertility god; a huge erect phallus is (literally) his outstanding characteristic. Our statue is one of only two found in Roman Britain so far. Whosoever steals a rosebud or absconds with herb or apple, hateful to both boys and women let him burst from such a stiffness as you notice in my middle (...) [11] The ancient Roman moon goddess, Luna, derives her name from the Latin lucere, meaning ‘to shine’ and was seen not only as the divine embodiment of the moon but also the female counterpart of the sun, Sol.