May 11, 2016 23:00:00

Why is the penis of an old statue so small?

When I look at the statues in the museum, I am impressed with their beauty, but on the other hand, I am wondering, 'Why are all the penises so small?' Ellen Oledson, an art history expert, gives a serious explanation of this question.

“Why do all old statues have such small penises?” | How To Talk About Art History

https://howtotalkaboutarthistory.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/why-do-all-old-statues-have-such-small-penises/

Oledson decided to write a blog on the topic 'Why is the penis of an old statue so small?' Because of a question from a blog reader. It is speculated that the 'old statues' shown by the reader refer to statues made during the period of ancient Greece and Rome.

There are two reasons why the penis of ancient Greek statues is small. First, the statue's penis is in a relaxed state. And another reason is that the standards of masculine beauty at that time were very different from those of today. Larger penises are found to be valuable in modern times as an indicator of masculinity, but in ancient Greece it was thought that smaller penises were better than larger ones. According to historian Kenneth J. Dover's book '

Greek Homosexuality, ' large penises were more culturally associated with 'stupidity,' 'lust,' and 'ugliness' at the time. It was said that the value was placed.

However, there are also statues with huge penises. For example, the following is a statue of

a satyr with a huge penis. Satyrs are mythical creatures who loved wine, women and boys.

The following is a statue of

Priapus , the god of male fertility. Priapus is cursed by the god Hera for eternal erection, impotence, ugliness, and stupidity, and is hated by other gods.

As you can see in the example above, the large penis seen in ancient Greece was associated with lust and stupidity, and with animal-like behavior like a satyr. It seems that the 'ideal person' in ancient Greece was an intelligent and rational person, and although sexual activity was preferred, it was rather the idea that a small penis could be more logical.

And because ancient Greek statues were all about balance and idealism, large penis statues with humor and grotesque were rarely made.

The people of ancient Rome did not have as negative an impression of a large penis as ancient Greece, but the size of the penis remains small in the statue. After that, the statues of ancient Greece and Rome had a great influence on the Renaissance era, and the custom of 'small penis' was passed down to future generations.

Michelangelo's statue of David is famous as a statue with a small penis made during the Renaissance. In 2005, two Florentine doctors published a dissertation stating that 'David's penis is getting smaller due to horror,' according to which all parts of David's body are horrified before the battle with the giant. It shows that the penis is no exception. Interpreting art, regardless of historical background, is very interesting, says Oledson.