Ancient Roman Marble figure of Priapus. - (9×5×5 cm)

Superb and finely detailed roman Priapus in marble from the Ist century A. D. Acquired from a Spanish private collection, A. L in the 70's, ex Bonham's 2016. Priapus, son of Aphrodite and Dionysus, was the god of gardens, orchards and the pleasures of the flesh; he presided over the fertility of the fields and the prosperity of the herds. The first fruits of the gardens, vineyards and fields were offered to him, along with milk, honey and cakes. He was especially honored in Lampskaya; his festivals, the priapaea, were accompanied by various disorders. In Rome, his cult was more restrained. There he had retained his oriental character, he was the demon of all exuberant vegetation, the symbol of all carnal appetites. His special domain was the gardens and the trees, where his image, described with such verve by Horace, served both as a scarecrow and as a deliverance from the evil eye. He appears in the procession of Bacchus or Venus, in the form of an old man wrapped in an oriental robe, who carries grapes and fruit in his bosom; he is the god of the prosperity of the fields. His image was even placed on tombs like those of Venus and Cupid. He was an emblem of the eternal force of regeneration which animates nature and renews it unceasingly; and, in singular contrast, his lascivious attire made him one of the favorite characters of the popular scene. He is most often depicted as hairy, with legs and horns of a goat, holding a rod or a sickle in his hand. He was later identified with the god Pan. Priapic mythology. It is not very easy to determine in a precise way the place occupied by Priapus in the whole of Greek mythology. He was a deity of Asiatic origin, probably very ancient, but whose cult only spread to the Hellenes rather late. Here we see anthropomorphism personifying an idea, that of generation, of the productive energy of nature, both in humans and in the animal and vegetable kingdom. Priapus is therefore represented as ithyphallic, the phallus being considered as the symbol of generative power. Hence, in the cult of Priapus, an obscene side, the only one known in general, which certain erotic writers have endeavored to emphasize. We have several myths about the birth of Priapus, which are probably only variants of a single tradition. According to this tradition, the god was the fruit of the love of Zeus and Aphrodite. The goddess of love did not escape Hera's vindictive jealousy. When Aphrodite was about to lay down her burden, Zeus' lawful wife came to her and laid her hand on her belly. The result was that Aphrodite gave birth to a repulsive-looking being with a huge tongue and belly. In horror, she fled, abandoning the newborn, who was taken in and raised by shepherds. Another version makes Priapus the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, while a different tradition gives him the father of Adonis. According to this legend, Aphrodite, the wife of Dionysus, took advantage of his trip to India to have a guilty relationship with Adonis. When Dionysus returned, after having initially given him the warmest welcome, Aphrodite fled to Lampsacus, where, thanks to the intervention of Hera, she gave birth to a child whose sight she could not bear. Finally, Priapus was said to be the son of Dionysus and the Naiad Chione. Among the adventures attributed to Priapus and put into circulation at a rather late date, we should mention the one that the god had with the nymph Lotis, which recalls the legend of Pan and Syrinx. At the moment when Priapus believes he has reached his goal, the virgin is transformed into the tree that bears his name, the lotus. It was also said that the god's enterprise had only failed because, just as he was about to violate the sleeping nymph, Silenus' donkey started to bray, which allowed Lotis to escape. In anger, Priapus killed the animal that had thwarted his plans. The donkey is also involved in another adventure in which Priapus does not play a very brilliant role. Dionysus, it is said, had given the human voice to a donkey that had served as his mount. This animal, having met Priapus, had a discussion about the dimensions of their virile organ. The god killed the donkey and Dionysus placed it among the stars. It is difficult to understand the basis of this myth. We only know that in Lampsacus they sacrificed donkeys to Priapus. The Seller can prove that the lot was obtained legally. Important information. The seller guarantees that he is entitled to ship this lot. The seller will take care that any necessary permits will be arranged. The seller will inform the buyer about this if this takes more than a few days. IMPORTANT: For destinations outside of European territory: all our items will be shipped after obtaining a definitive LICENSE EXPORTATION by the Ministry of Culture of Spain. We inform our clients that it may take between 4-8 weeks. According to Spanish legislation, items sent outside the European Union are subject to export taxes. The taxes will be added to the invoice, at the buyer's expense. These export fees are fixed on the final auction price and the tax rate is not applied directly on the total value of the item to be exported, but rather the different percentages by sections are applied to it: - Up to 6,000 euros: 5%. / From 6,001 to 60,000 euros: 10%. #Julius. Caesar