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Phallus
A phallus (pl.: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic.
Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely, iconically—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 fertility and cultural implications that are associated with the male sexual organ, as well as the male orgasm.
The term is a loanword from Latin phallus, itself borrowed from Greek φαλλός (phallos), which is ultimately a derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰel- "to inflate, swell". Compare with Old Norse (and modern Icelandic) boli, "bull", Old English bulluc, "bullock", Greek φαλλή, "whale".
The Hohle phallus, a 28,000-year-old siltstone phallus discovered in the Hohle Fels cave and reassembled in 2005, is among the oldest phallic representations known.
Eighteen models of circumcised phalli, carved from local chalk, were discovered in subterranean complexes at Maresha, Israel, dating to before the conquest of Idumaea by the Jewish Hasmoneans in the late 2nd century BCE. Most are life-sized and apparently erect, and several retain traces of red or black pigment. Scholars have associated them with Dionysian or Hermetic cults, apotropaic functions, or healing rituals. Their circumcised form is notable, as depictions of exposed glans were regarded as indecent in Hellenistic art. The Maresha examples therefore indicate that circumcision was practiced among the Idumaeans before the reign of John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean ruler who conquered Idumaea around 110 BCE and, according to the historian Josephus, compelled the Idumaeans to adopt Jewish law and circumcision. The Maresha finds are consistent with other evidence, such as the Zenon papyri (259 BCE) and biblical references to circumcised Edomites. This suggests that Idumaean circumcision predated the Hasmonean conquest, rather than being introduced forcibly under the Hasmoneans as described by Josephus.
The phallus played a role in the cult of Osiris in ancient Egyptian religion. When Osiris' body was cut in 14 pieces, Set scattered them all over Egypt, and his wife Isis retrieved all of them except one, his penis, which a fish swallowed; Isis made him 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.
In traditional Greek mythology, Hermes, the 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 fertility god. Pan, son of Hermes, was often depicted as having an exaggerated erect phallus.
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Phallus AI simulator
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Phallus
A phallus (pl.: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic.
Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely, iconically—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 fertility and cultural implications that are associated with the male sexual organ, as well as the male orgasm.
The term is a loanword from Latin phallus, itself borrowed from Greek φαλλός (phallos), which is ultimately a derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰel- "to inflate, swell". Compare with Old Norse (and modern Icelandic) boli, "bull", Old English bulluc, "bullock", Greek φαλλή, "whale".
The Hohle phallus, a 28,000-year-old siltstone phallus discovered in the Hohle Fels cave and reassembled in 2005, is among the oldest phallic representations known.
Eighteen models of circumcised phalli, carved from local chalk, were discovered in subterranean complexes at Maresha, Israel, dating to before the conquest of Idumaea by the Jewish Hasmoneans in the late 2nd century BCE. Most are life-sized and apparently erect, and several retain traces of red or black pigment. Scholars have associated them with Dionysian or Hermetic cults, apotropaic functions, or healing rituals. Their circumcised form is notable, as depictions of exposed glans were regarded as indecent in Hellenistic art. The Maresha examples therefore indicate that circumcision was practiced among the Idumaeans before the reign of John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean ruler who conquered Idumaea around 110 BCE and, according to the historian Josephus, compelled the Idumaeans to adopt Jewish law and circumcision. The Maresha finds are consistent with other evidence, such as the Zenon papyri (259 BCE) and biblical references to circumcised Edomites. This suggests that Idumaean circumcision predated the Hasmonean conquest, rather than being introduced forcibly under the Hasmoneans as described by Josephus.
The phallus played a role in the cult of Osiris in ancient Egyptian religion. When Osiris' body was cut in 14 pieces, Set scattered them all over Egypt, and his wife Isis retrieved all of them except one, his penis, which a fish swallowed; Isis made him 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.
In traditional Greek mythology, Hermes, the 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 fertility god. Pan, son of Hermes, was often depicted as having an exaggerated erect phallus.