He has a massive penis, holds a bag of coins, and has a bowl of fruit at his feet. These blocks were positioned at borders and boundaries for protection, and were so highly valued that in 415 BC when the hermai of Athens were vandalised prior to the departure of the Athenian fleet many believed this would threaten the success of the naval mission.Ī famous fresco from the House of the Vetti in Pompeii shows Priapus, a minor deity and guardian of livestock, plants and gardens. WikimediaĪ herm was a stone sculpture with a head (usually of Hermes) above a rectangular pillar, upon which male genitals were carved. We have already seen the phallus used in a range of domestic and commercial contexts in Pompeii, a clear reflection of its protective properties. Rather than being seen as erotic, its symbolism here was often associated with protection, fertility and even healing. The phallus would often be depicted on Hermes, Pan, Priapus or similar deities across various art forms. The phallus and fertilityĪlthough female nudity was not uncommon (particularly in association with the goddess Aphrodite), phallic symbolism was at the centre of much classical art. The application of sexual scenes to oil lamps by the Romans is perhaps the most likely scenario where the object was actually used within the setting of love-making.
Painted erotica was replaced by moulded depictions in the later Greek and Roman eras, but the use must have been similar, and the association of sex with drinking is strong in this series. Hetairai (courtesans) and pornai (prostitutes) may well have attended the same symposia, so the scenes may have been used as a stimuli. These types of scenes are especially popular on the kylix, or wine-cup, particularly within the tondo (central panel of the cup). Lest we try to claim any moral and liberal superiority in the 21st century, the infamous marble sculptural depiction of Pan copulating with a goat from the collection still shocks modern audiences.Īthenian red-figure kylix, attributed to Dokimasia Painter, c. Literature also felt the wrath of the censors, with works such as Aristophanes’ plays mistranslated to obscure their “offensive” sexual and scatalogical references. Since 2005, the collection has been displayed in a separate room the objects have still not been reunited with contemporary non-sexual artefacts as they were in antiquity. The cabinet was not opened to the general public until 2000 (despite protests by the Catholic Church). Very few therefore have seen the collection and those who have, are said to have no desire to repeat their visit. John Murray’s Handbook to South Italy and Naples (1853) sanctimoniously states that permission was exceedingly difficult to obtain:
Of course, the secrecy of the collection in the cabinet only increased its fame, even if access was at times difficult. These shutters restricted access to only male tourists willing to pay additional fees, until as recently as the 1960s. In Pompeii itself, where explicit material such as the wallpaintings of the brothel was retained in situ, metal shutters were installed. Found in a Samnite sanctuary in the old town of Cales (Calvi Risorta). That was, male scholars only.Įrotic terracotta sculptures in a showcase in the Gabinetto Segreto at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Access would be restricted to scholars, of “mature age and respected morals”. Shocked by the explicit imagery, he ordered all items of a sexual nature be removed from view and locked in the cabinet. The secret cabinet was founded in 1819, when Francis I, King of Naples, visited the museum with his wife and young daughter. The Gabinetto Segreto (the so-called “ Secret Cabinet”) of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli best typifies the modern response to classical sexuality in art – repression and suppression. This bewilderment only intensified after excavations began at the rediscovered Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. When the collection of antiquities first began in earnest in the 17th and 18th centuries, the openness of ancient eroticism puzzled and troubled Enlightenment audiences. And our interpretations of these images - often censorious in modern times - reveal much about our own attitudes to sex. The depictions of sexuality and sexual activities in classical art seem to have had a wide variety of uses.
However these classical images of erotic acts and genitalia reflect more than a sex obsessed culture.