It was a conspicuous rendering of a penis big and arching upwards It cannot have had any practical

the peoples living in Etruria and other regions of historical Italy. The utilization of male nudity and female exposure among the Gauls reveals the survival of early , but was meant as a phallic exhibit, a demonstration of power, a danger signal of exactly the same nature as
the helmets hammered into the shape of lion masks which appeared concurrently. The man in armour with his

223

Journal of Sport History, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Winter, 1985)

Nick Stournaras and Nick Corbetis, eds.,
Olympia 1971 amount 3. (Courtesy of Mike Roberts Colour Creation).

cod-piece and the baboon demo his erect dick as an aggressive signal to other baboons to keep off objective at the
same effect" (p. 165). The author also notes that tendencies towards genital activity of an aggressive nature are
repressed in our current civilization and that today's guys aren't conscious of potentials like those openly
expressed in the Near East and--at least verbally--among the ancient Norsemen. This implies, according to the
author, that reasonable comprehension of the aggressive aspects of phallic symbolism is lost too; and this in turn
indicates that understanding of the signal function of a phallic symbolism in dominance-submission patterns has
vanished from the consciousness--notwithstanding that these patterns still remain unchanged and watchful of actions
224

Source of Nudity in Greek Athletics

A Proto-Attic Vase. (Courtesy
surprised to see in the state of Maabar, India that guys went to battle naked
with only a lance and a shield.
the rainy season tanks and rivers threaten to blow up their banks, guys stand
naked on the embankments; and if too much rain falls, nude men point
firebrands at the skies, as in the case of rain-magic. 2: When Nature Calls (1995) and Powder (1995) being merely a few examples from is supposed to
"shock" the forces that sent the rain and cause its cessation. To a primitive
Fighter the phallus was an emblem of power having prophylactic virtue against
the assaults of the enemy. Roman soldiers marching into battle taken phallic
symbols on their standards. The distinct state of the sexual organ of a warrior
engaged in deadly battle is a matter well comprehended in the Polynesian
superstition.24
24.
p. 369; W. Crooke, "Nudity in India in Custom and Ritual," Journal of the
Royal Anthropological Institute 49 (1919): 248; George Ryley Scott, Phallic Worship (New Delhi, 1975). p, 109,
Gza Rohelm, Animism, Magic and the Divine King (London. 1972). p. 21.
Among the Kiwi Papuans of
British New Guinea the penis of a slain foe is cut off and dried. Before a fight a small piece of it mixed with banana
is given to the youthful warriors to make them stronger. [See Gunnar Landman, The Kiwai Papuons of British Awesome
Guinea (London, 1927), p. 1281. Also see Rohelm, Animism. p. 20.

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Journal of Sport History, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Winter, 1985)

The apotropaic use of the phallus is clearly exposed in the Greek herms which
consisted of a square stone pillar surmounted by a man's bearded head and
bearing an erect phallus.
Markets, at intersection26 and at the frontiers, constantly facing away from
the protected premises. The exact same sort of sculpture can be found in some present
cultures, like on Borneo and Nias, Bali and the Nikobar Islands as items of
superstition against the spirits of the Dead.27
W. Burkert wrote on the significance of the display of phallus:
I cannot find any real explanation before ethology observed that there are species
of monkeys, living in groups, of whom the men act as guards: They sit up at the
outposts, confronting outside and presenting their erect genital organ. This is an
"Critter ritual" in the sense noted above: the fundamental function of sexual activity is



suspended for the benefit of communication; every person approaching from the
outside will find this group will not consist of helpless wives and kids,
but enjoys the complete protection of masculinity.28

Scientists also found that within a group of squirrel monkeys, one animal
25. The ongoing belief in the apotropaic power of phallus appears to account for its look on the
doorways of fresh buildings in major cities of India. The guardian figures frequently protecting either side of the entrance
[See Clarence Maloney, The Evil Eye (Fresh York,
1976). pp. 114, 1251. For Means to Have A Sex Favorable Attitude of human phalli are arch upon the outdoor timbers of
Legba or