Directory

Encyclopedia

NodeWorks
                              ENCYCLOPEDIA

Link Checker

Home
Encyclopedia : P : PR : PRI :

Priapus

 

Priapus

In Greek mythology, Priapos was a fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. (Roman equivalent: Mutinus Mutunus) He was a son of Dionysos and Aphrodite. Sculptures of Priapus with large, ithyphallic genitalia were placed on gardens and fields to guarantee an abundant crop. He was much more popular in Roman mythology than in Greek.

He tried to rape Lotis, and she was changed into a lotus plant to protect her. In Ovid's Fasti, an imbibed Lotis is attempted by the aroused Priapus, at which time one of Silenus's donkeys (he was hosting the feast) with "raucous braying" revealed Priapus' intentions and the entire party had a good laugh at his expense. To repay the donkey for the embarrassment, the annual feast (sometime during May) of Priapus is begun by the sacrifice of a donkey to the diminutive and ironic garden-god.

The medical condition priapism gets its name from Priapus.



NodeWorks boosts web surfing!
Page Returned in 0.363 seconds - HTML Compressed 69.1%

This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
 GNU Free Documentation License
© 2008 Chamas Enterprises Inc.