Needing a bit of silliness today after becoming a walking pre-existing condition yesterday. If you’ve ever been to Ypsilanti you’ve spotted the iconic water tower whose shape receives an alternative perception so to speak. So of course I had to make one. Photo cred to Eridony on Flickr. Swipe to see my reversible wall hanging.
An Introduction to Priapus. If you haven’t heard of this crazy guy, then allow me to brighten your day. Originally Priapus arose as a minor Greek god of fertility, with his effigies being placed on farms to protect crops from thieves, that’s right, he was an ancient scarecrow. But as you can tell from these depictions, he wasn’t your ordinary scarecrow, for he threatened thieves with his giant red cock.
Later adopted by the Romans he became the center of some spectacularly sexual (and at times violent) poems as collected in the Priapeia (stay tuned for our favorites!)
So mosaics weren’t in the cards for all Roman citizens, so there were MANY ways to dispel the evil eye and spirits. May I introduce you to the tintinnabulum ie penis wind chimes.
Why yes, his penis is turning into a dog and trying to attack him.
Ancient Romans had a very interesting idea about how sight worked. They believed that your eyes shot out these little particles that went and grabbed whatever it is that you were looking at and brought it back to you. So seeing was very much physical. MEANING that you could also put harmful intent behind that look and cause real life damage. Hence, the EVIL EYE!
How do you keep yourself safe? Well, laughter was a great deterrent, and what’s more funny that a pygmy with a giant backward facing penis?! That’s right. NOTHING. This image is of a Roman mosaic found in Antioch (modern day Turkey) showing one of the ways to keep you, your family, and your house guests safe from the evil eye (and demons too mind you) while at home.
Let’s just appreciate this image for a moment shall we? Dwarf with a giant dong? Check. Evil eye getting impaled with a sword (extra phallic symbol for ya) and pitchfork, and devoured by a dog, cat, scorpion, snake, and bird.
The Larco Museum in Lima, Peru has an epic collection of erotic art from Pre-Columbian Peru. Here are a few of the wonderful nuggets to be found in the collection
