Phallic symbol

The phallic symbol (from the Latin phallus and this from the Greek φαλλός, phallos) refers to the concepts of virility and fertility and has been present in culture since Antiquity. This is any object that visually resembles a penis or similar things, referring to these symbols as "something phallic." The use or cult of these symbols is usually called^{[citation required]} falism, a neologism not yet included by the Royal Spanish Academy.

Physical anatomy

The phallus refers to the erect penis or refers to the male sexual organ of certain birds, differentiating it anatomically from the penis of a mammal.

Phallic symbols in art

Ancient sculptures representing phalluses are found in many places around the world. There are traces in ancient Greece and Rome. It is also a very common symbol in India, where there is what is known as the lingam or phallus of the deva or god Shiva.

One of the oldest, which was found at the beginning of 2005, is the so-called "Hohle phallus", dating from the Stone Age, with an approximate age of 28,000 years, discovered in the Hohle Fels cave.

Shakespeare often added phallic symbols to his works, playing on words, for example, with swords and knives representing masculinity.

Obelisks and menhirs

In general terms, it is considered that almost all ancient elongated and erect monuments, such as obelisks, the "tree" Djed and menhirs are stylized phallic representations and usually signify power and fertility; Many times the images of snakes also tend to have phallic meanings (see Kukulkan, Renenutet, Kundaliní, etc.). In the case of the Djed, it is also one of the ancient symbols of the resurrection (along with the lotus, the dung beetle or ḫpru or Jopirru, etc., although these do not have any phallic aspect, they share with the obelisk and the "tree" Djed various symbolisms). As for Hindu or Indian yoga, Kundaliní is an allegory of the Śakti or latent vital force that conveniently "awakened" would allow palingenesis or samādhi.

Phallic symbols and religion

Phallic symbols in religion, anthropologically speaking, refer to the ritual worship of the human penis by default. These references have been found in many ancient cultures, such as India, Sumeria and ancient Greece.

Shivaism

The linga (or lingam) is still used in the Shiva religion as a symbol of worship of the Hindu god Shiva. The use of this symbol is a tradition since ancient times in India. Some scholars believe that lingam worship originates from the Indus Valley culture and the phallic worship of earlier prehistoric cultures.

The lingam is usually found together with the ioni (in English yoni), a representative symbol of the female sexual organ.

Ancient Greece

In traditional Greek religion, Hermes, before being considered the god of messengers in Greek mythology, was a phallic deity associated with male fertility. This would explain the conditions of his descendant Pan, depicted on multiple occasions with a constant erection. The god Priapus would also have these characteristics.

Ancient Scandinavia

In this culture, the Norse god Freyr is also considered a phallic deity that represents male fertility and love. A figurine of this god has been found in Sweden, where Freyr is seen amusing himself with an upright organ, something also confirmed by Adam of Bremen in his description of the statue of Freyr in the temple at Uppsala. There is also a myth about Völsa þáttr, which tells the story of a Norwegian family who worshiped the stuffed penis of a horse.

Ancient Rome and Latin countries

In ancient Rome, a phallic figurine was used as a jewel that served to ward off the evil eye, since it was considered to have an apotropaic effect, and at the same time bring good luck (In today's Italy, especially in the Mezzogiorno and in countries where Italian immigration has been or is important, there remains a cultural trait that seems to come from such figurines: for example, those made with gold, silver, terracotta or a red coral with phallic shape or if not similar to that of a flame, the cornicello or cornetto napoletano, corno napoletano or napolitano horn) in the same way, since the horn, in terms of imitative magic, is a phallic symbol, as well as the cornucopia. On the other hand, it is worth remembering that the radical vir (vires), from which, among others, the word vigor is derived, originally means the phallus. In a similar way, in certain areas of Spain there are amulets and manual signs called higa.

Japan

Even today (and with a ritual aspect quite similar to that of the ancient Roman carnivals), in Japan and especially in the city of Kawasaki, the celebration assigned to Shintoism called Kanamara Matsuri is held, in which the phallus is celebrated (directly in sculptures or in foods shaped like a human penis) as a symbol of strength or vigor, fertility and good luck.

Christianity

Although the phallus is far from being adored, idolized or venerated in Christianity (a religion that, on the contrary, has been characterized by calling into question explicit sexuality and directly prohibiting idolatry of pagan origin), at a popular level secular there are in certain areas some dulias of those described by anthropology as "phallic saints", since they have been considered propitiators of fertility.