FicWad

eye see Burke, Structure and History, p. 40; and Bonfante, Erruscan, p. 102. The phallic indication was common over a
Specially liable to malign influence; so the smith naturally supplied the best possible protection for the horses
by which he got his living. In
Rome, Fascinus, afterwards identified with the foreign god Priapus, was a very early god and was symbolized under
the form of a phallus. It was believed his principal duty was to avert bad and evil spirits. Victorious generals had the
image of Fascinus before their cars within their rejoicing march in Rome in order to be shielded against the evil eye
(see E.R.E., S.V. "Phallism"). In the archaic Shinto religion of Japan the phallus was a sacred object and was
offered at village shrines of the rice country to avert disaster for example famine or disease (see Rawson, Simple
Erotic Artwork, p. 72). On the island of Nias when a disease has broken out, then odd and frightful figures with
Amazing big organs of sex are set up to frighten away the evil spirit causing the sickness (E.R.E., S.V.
"Phallism").
39. The evidence
Demonstrates that in some scenarios the phallus and its symbolism are not apotropaic but rather to secure fecundity. A really
common feature in the Dionysaic service was the "phallophoria," the taking round of the figure in wood
of the male sexual organ, a rite that is a kind of the magic of fertilization. A similar ritual has been observed to
be still performed by the Greek Christians in the neighbourhood of Visa, the old Bizye, the capital of the old
Thracian kings. [See R. M. Dawkins, "The Modern Carnival in Thrace and the Cult of Dionysus," Journal of
5: 1071. For more on the source of the
"phallophoria" see Henri Auguste Couat, Arisrophane et I'Ancienne Comedie Attique, (Paris, 1902), pp. 182,276,
381. Similar phallic processions were and in some instances still are performed in order to remove barrenness and
Safe fertility.
aloft with great pomp, fastened to the end of a very long post, something that reminds us of the "phallophoria"
described by Aristophanes. (For references in honour of Legba see Ellis, Ewe-Speaking. p. 44). A similar phallic

228

Source of Nudity in Greek Sports
The importance of the human body and its symbolism as an incarnation of
energy and power has been accentuated by many writers. Kenneth Clark noted
that "it was the Greeks, by their idealization of man, who turned the individual
body into an incarnation of energy." Also,
The Greeks found in the nude two embodiments of energy, which lived on
throughout European art practically until our own time. They are the athlete and the
hero; and from the start they were closely associated with one another. 40
It's probable that the early Greek warrior-sportsman or hero-athlete believed that
time provided him with electricity and energy for his duties.
the hero in whose honour the games at Olympia may have been held until Zeus
There is, truly, a close
Link between Heracles and this sort of nudity. Enough evidence exists to
show that Heracles' aboriginal feature was warlike and brave. Both material
and literary sources suggest that Heracles initially appeared as a warrior. The
most primitive figures discovered at Olympia signify nude warriors equipped with
large helmets, little shields, and spears. These helmeted statues that may
Symbolize Heracles were votive offerings of the successful athletes dedicated to
him, and took the form of the hero. In a later age, the votive offerings of
Olympia frequently took the form of the Olympian-Zeus in whose honour then the
Olympic Games were held.41
Heracles has been "traditionally a naked hero"42 and he appears bare in many
Occasionally he appears nude and lightly armed fighting against enemies.43
Heracles appears naked in the temple of Zeus at Olympia in the metope of the
Cretan Bull. Gardiner considered that this storyline is old and that nakedness by the
artist with no support from tradition isn't feasible. Again, the same
can be said of the scene in the metope where Heracles appears naked receiving
44
from Atlas the apples of the Hesperides. At Corinth, we learn from Pausanias