?Why do ancient Greek statues have small penises
The ancient Greeks were famous for their obsession with the male human body in their sculptures of famous and powerful men. The statues were huge bodies with muscular, taut bodies. These statues sometimes appeared wearing loose robes, but were often completely naked.
Most of the great men in ancient Greek art were depicted as large, firm, and shiny. But why wasn't the penis this way? Part of the answer may lie in how the penises of less impressive men were depicted, Lear and other historians have suggested.
To the modern viewer, these statues appear to be ideal except for one important essential point, which the historian Andrew Lear, a specialist in Greek art and intimate life, describes as having small, sometimes very small, penises compared to the average human size, and they are often flabby as well.
?Why do Greek statues have small penises
Many contemporary historians and art lovers have been struck by the shy nature of the penises shown in traditional statues of gods, emperors and other elite Greek men, from Zeus to celebrated athletes. These small organs seem in contrast to the rest of the massive body and the larger mythological figures that accompany them. But the ancient Greeks had their reasons for this aesthetic choice.
Going back to the ancient Greek world around 400 BC, we find that large erect penises were not desirable or a sign of strength or power.
The ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, in his play The Clouds (419–423 B.C.), encapsulated the ideal qualities of his male peers as shiny breasts, fair skin, broad shoulders, a small tongue, strong buttocks, and small penises. Historian Paul Crystal has researched this ancient ideal, arguing that small penises fit the Greek ideal of male beauty in his 2016 book, In Bed with the Ancient Greeks. “It was a sign of high culture and the highest ideal of civilization,” he writes.
Greek statues
When they depicted the forest gods, those mythical creatures who were half human and half animal, they presented them with large, erect penises as an expression of perversion, lust, and their inability to control themselves, qualities that were abhorrent to Greek society.
Historian Crystal writes: Large penises were considered something obscene, vulgar, and outside the cultural norm, something that accompanied the uncivilized savages of the world, and indeed these beings (demigods) with large penises can be seen on a number of jars and decorations drinking and enjoying themselves without restraint.
In Greek comedy, too, large penises were associated with fools, according to Crystal. This was a sign of stupidity and of the person being more of a monster than a human being. The same was true of the Egyptians, who were longtime enemies of the Greeks.
Greek statues
Using this method, the Greeks presented demigods, fools, and adversaries as antitheses to male gods and heroes who were honored for their intelligence and self-control (in addition to other qualities that require self-control, such as loyalty and wisdom). Lear continues that if a large penis indicates gluttony, then we can conclude that a small, flaccid penis indicates self-control.
Unlike today, where having a large penis is seen as a sign of strength, Crystal writes: “The penis was not a symbol of virility and virility for the ancient Greeks as it was for other civilizations,” he continues. “Strength comes from a man’s intelligence and intellect, which qualifies him to be a father, to increase the size of his family and his home, or Okios [Greek for house or family home], and to preserve his city.”
There is no doubt that the depiction of the penis in Greek art of varying sizes was symbolic, and this may indicate, as Lear suggests, why most artists of the era depicted males in this way even when the character or narrative did not require it. Lear says: They used the penis as a standard for character, for it indicated the man's integrity or perversion. While the cultural symbolism of the penis has changed since then, some things have not. Now we can see that sex is the essential factor in a man's ability to control.
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