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Romans Used to Ward Off Sickness With Flying Penis Amulets

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Centuries ago, before modern medicine, in a time when humans fought disease and sickness in more, uh, mystical ways, ancient Romans centered on a solution that today might get you reported, or at least looked at askance: amulets for you and your children shaped like giant penises. The amulets—and also, frequently, wind chimes—were shaped like a fascinum, or a divine penis, to ward off disease and the evil eye .
But they were used for more than that, too, as ancient Roman boys also wore the amulets , called bullae, to indicate their social status (like whether they were slaves or free boys), while young girls had a similar counterpart. In order to increase the efficacy of a bulla or another adornment, such as a kid’s ring, they were crafted into the shape of, or adorned with, giant penises.
“The sexual energy of the phallus was tied directly to its power in reproduction,” according to classicist Anthony Philip Corbeill. The fertile power of a phallus, it was thought, would keep them safe.
This was important, primarily because in the Roman world, children were exceptionally vulnerable to sickness, with up to half of all Roman children dying before the age of five, according to the Journal of Interdisciplinary History . Which made it understandable, then, that mothers resorted to magical methods to protect their offspring.
But, as Pliny the Elder noted in his Natural History , fascina weren’t just limited to kids: “Infants are under the especial guardianship of the god Fascinus, the protector, not of infants only, but of generals as well.” Which means that when a general was parading through Rome in triumph, surrounded by booty and slaves, he’d likely also have a fascinum hanging on his chariot. Or, as Pliny described: “It is the image of this divinity that is attached beneath the triumphant car of the victorious general, protecting him, like some attendant physician, against the effects of envy.”
Other fascina are double-headed. One side of the amulet is a penis, the other a clenched fist. What does the latter symbolize? A fist with the thumb thrust up between the index and middle figures is often called the “fig,” or mano fica. It’s a dirty thumbs-up that’s symbolic of a penis and genitalia in general; so carving both a talisman with both a fascinum and a “fig” on it would make this twice as powerful at warding off evil.
And then there are the penis bullae with wings carved on them (cue the Red Bull ad here ). Why turn a fascinum into a half-genital, half-bird hybrid? Flying capabilities made them more effective threats—and thus better protectors—against invidia (envy, or the evil eye), but they were also a throwback to the ancient Greeks, from whom the Romans co-opted some cultural and religious ideas. In this case, it might’ve started with language. “The Greek word for ‘wing’ also served as a euphemism for phallus,” Erich Segal wrote in The Death of Comedy . This pun also rears its head in Plato’s Phaedrus , in which Eros (erotic love) has to grow his wings before he can “take flight.”
As a result of the fascinum’s effectiveness, Pliny claimed its worship formed “part of the Roman rites.” Its worship was “entrusted to the Vestal Virgins,” the chaste priestesses of the goddess Vesta. It might seem a bit odd to give a giant phallus monument to virgins, but the Vestals were actually all about fertility. As the classicist Mary Beard noted in a 1980 article , “it seems as if the virgin was not looked upon as sterile but as a mediator of stored up, potential procreative power.”
And, today, fascina live on in the English language, in the word “fascinate.” If you’re fascinated with something, in other words, you might just be thinking that it looks like a penis.
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Harry Pettit , Senior Digital Technology and Science Reporter
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ANCIENT Roman used amulets shaped like flying penises to ward off bad luck and illness.
Evidence of the bizarre trinkets, which were hung up in homes and worn around people's necks, has been found at archaeological sites stretching from Italy to Israel.
It was believed the phallus, often depicted with feathered wings, would give the owner divine power.
Phalluses were common symbols in Roman culture, particularly in the form of phallic charms, also called the fascinum.
"The sexual energy of the phallus was tied directly to its power in reproduction," classicist Anthony Philip Corbeill told Atlas Obscura in 2016.
Amulets and wind chimes shaped like flying penises have been found by plenty of archaeologists down the years.
It's thought that young Roman boys wore them around their necks to broadcast their social status – such as whether or not they were slaves.
Parents believed the amulets would keep children safe due to their links to the god Fascinus.
This was important because child mortality was high across the empire, with up to half of all Roman kids dying before the age of five, according to a Columbia University study .
It was understandable, therefore, that mothers turned to "divine" objects to protect their youngsters – even if those objects were shaped like a sex organ.
But as Roman philosopher and author Pliny the Elder noted in his Natural History , it wasn't just children who sported the rude curios.
He wrote: "Infants are under the especial guardianship of the god Fascinus, the protector, not of infants only, but of generals as well."
If a Roman general returned to his home city following a victory, for instance, he would often have a fallus hanging from his charity, according to Pliny the Elder.
He wrote: "It is the image of this divinity that is attached beneath the triumphant car of the victorious general, protecting him, like some attendant physician, against the effects of envy."
It's believed the phallic amulets were sometimes given wings as it made them more effective at warding off evil.
Also, adding wings made them a throwback to the Ancient Greek gods, from whom the Romans co-opted some cultural and religious ideas.
The link may have spawned from differences in language.
"The Greek word for ‘wing’ also served as a euphemism for phallus," Erich Segal wrote in The Death of Comedy .
In other news, the posh grave of a suspected Iron Age warrior buried 2,000 years ago in Roman Britain was uncovered last month .
Bronze Age poo from "Britain's Pompeii" recently revealed how locals were riddled with parasites .
Ancient Chinese people gave their babies coneheads by moulding their skulls to show off how rich they were.
What do you think of the strange penis amulets? Let us know in the comments!
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk
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Harry Pettit , Senior Digital Technology and Science Reporter
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ANCIENT Roman used amulets shaped like flying penises to ward off bad luck and illness.
Evidence of the bizarre trinkets, which were hung up in homes and worn around people's necks, has been found at archaeological sites stretching from Italy to Israel.
It was believed the phallus, often depicted with feathered wings, would give the owner divine power.
Phalluses were common symbols in Roman culture, particularly in the form of phallic charms, also called the fascinum.
"The sexual energy of the phallus was tied directly to its power in reproduction," classicist Anthony Philip Corbeill told Atlas Obscura in 2016.
Amulets and wind chimes shaped like flying penises have been found by plenty of archaeologists down the years.
It's thought that young Roman boys wore them around their necks to broadcast their social status – such as whether or not they were slaves.
Parents believed the amulets would keep children safe due to their links to the god Fascinus.
This was important because child mortality was high across the empire, with up to half of all Roman kids dying before the age of five, according to a Columbia University study .
It was understandable, therefore, that mothers turned to "divine" objects to protect their youngsters – even if those objects were shaped like a sex organ.
But as Roman philosopher and author Pliny the Elder noted in his Natural History , it wasn't just children who sported the rude curios.
He wrote: "Infants are under the especial guardianship of the god Fascinus, the protector, not of infants only, but of generals as well."
If a Roman general returned to his home city following a victory, for instance, he would often have a fallus hanging from his charity, according to Pliny the Elder.
He wrote: "It is the image of this divinity that is attached beneath the triumphant car of the victorious general, protecting him, like some attendant physician, against the effects of envy."
It's believed the phallic amulets were sometimes given wings as it made them more effective at warding off evil.
Also, adding wings made them a throwback to the Ancient Greek gods, from whom the Romans co-opted some cultural and religious ideas.
The link may have spawned from differences in language.
"The Greek word for ‘wing’ also served as a euphemism for phallus," Erich Segal wrote in The Death of Comedy .
In other news, the posh grave of a suspected Iron Age warrior buried 2,000 years ago in Roman Britain was uncovered last month.
Bronze Age poo from "Britain's Pompeii" recently revealed how locals were riddled with parasites.
Ancient Chinese people gave their babies coneheads by moulding their skulls to show off how rich they were.
What do you think of the strange penis amulets? Let us know in the comments!
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk
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