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Roman Fascinus Phallic Amulet from circa 200 B.C. - 100
A.D.
Bronze measuring 3.4 x 2.0 x 2.0 cm and weighs 22.67 grams
This kind of phallic amulet jewelry was worn in ancient Greek
and Roman times to ward off the Evil Eye. Roman myths, such as the begetting of
Servius Tullius, suggest that this phallus was an embodiment of a
masculine generative power located within the hearth, regarded as sacred. The
fascinus was thought particularly to ward off evil from children, mainly
boys, and from conquering generals. Intriguing authentic ancient Roman artifact.
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In
ancient Roman religion and magic, the
fascinus or fascinum was the embodiment of the divine
phallus.
The word can refer to the deity himself (Fascinus), to phallus
effigies and
amulets, and to the spells used to invoke his
divine protection.
Pliny calls it a medicus invidiae, a
"doctor" or remedy for envy (invidia,
a "looking upon") or the
evil eye.
Mural of
Priapus depicted with the attributes of Mercury
in a fresco found in
Pompeii
A graphic representation of the power of the fascinus to ward off the
evil eye is found on a Roman
mosaic that depicts a phallus
ejaculating into a disembodied eye; a
1st-century BC
terracotta figurine shows "two little
phallus-men sawing an eyeball in half." As a divinized phallus, the fascinus
shared attributes with
Mutunus Tutunus, whose shrine was supposed to
date from the
founding of the city, and the imported Greek
god Priapus.
The
Vestal Virgins tended the cult of the
fascinus populi Romani, the sacred image of the phallus that was one of the
tokens of the safety of the state. It was thus associated with the
Palladium. Roman myths, such as the begetting
of
Servius Tullius, suggest that this phallus was an embodiment of a
masculine generative power located within the hearth, regarded as sacred.
Augustine, whose primary source on Roman
religion was the lost theological works of
Varro, notes that a phallic image was carried
in procession annually at the festival of
Father Liber, the Roman god
identified with
Dionysus or Bacchus, for the purpose of
protecting the fields from fascinatio, magic compulsion:
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Varro says that certain rites of Liber were celebrated in Italy which
were of such unrestrained wickedness that the shameful parts of the male
were worshipped at crossroads in his honour. … For, during the days of
the
festival of Liber, this obscene member,
placed on a little trolley, was first exhibited with great honour at the
crossroads in the countryside, and then conveyed into the city itself. …
In this way, it seems, the god Liber was to be propitiated, in order to
secure the growth of seeds and to repel enchantment (fascinatio)
from the fields. |
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Phallic charms, often winged, were ubiquitous in Roman culture, from jewelry
to bells and windchimes to lamps. The fascinus was thought particularly
to ward off evil from children, mainly boys, and from conquering generals. Pliny
notes the custom of hanging a phallic charm on a baby's neck, and examples have
been found of phallus-bearing rings too small to be worn except by children.
When a general celebrated a
triumph, the Vestals hung an effigy of the
fascinus on the underside of his
chariot
to protect him from invidia.
The "fist and phallus" amulet was prevalent amongst soldiers. These are
phallic pendants with a representation of a (usually) clenched fist at the
bottom of the shaft, facing away from the
glans.
Several examples show the fist making the manus fica or "fig
sign", a symbol of good luck. The largest known collection comes from
Camulodunum.
Etymology
The English word "fascinate" ultimately derives from Latin fascinum
and the related verb fascinare, "to use the power of the fascinus,"
that is, "to practice magic" and hence "to enchant, bewitch."
Catullus
uses the verb at the end of Carmen 7, a
hendecasyllabic poem addressing his lover
Lesbia; he expresses his infinite desire for kisses that cannot be counted by
voyeurs nor "fascinated" (put under a spell) by a malicious tongue; such bliss,
as also in Carmen 5, potentially attracts invidia.
Fescennine verses, the satiric and often lewd
songs or chants performed on various social occasions, may have been so-named
from the fascinum; ancient sources propose this etymology along with an
alternative origin from
Fescennia, a small town in
Etruria.
A phallus is a
penis, especially when
erect, an object that resembles a penis, or a
mimetic image of an erect penis.
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.
Polyphallic wind chime from Pompeii; a bell hung from each
phallus
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