Fascinus
In ancient Roman religion and magic, the fascinus or fascinum was the embodiment of the divine phallus. When a general celebrated a triumph, the Vestals hung an effigy of the Fascinus on the underside of his chariot to protect him from invidia. Phallic charms, often winged, were ubiquitous in Roman culture.
About Fascinus in brief
In ancient Roman religion and magic, the fascinus or fascinum was the embodiment of the divine phallus. The word can refer to the deity himself, to phallic effigies and amulets, and to the spells used to invoke his divine protection. When a general celebrated a triumph, the Vestals hung an effigy of the Fascinus on the underside of his chariot to protect him from invidia. Phallic charms, often winged, were ubiquitous in Roman culture, appearing as objects of jewellery such as pendants and finger rings, relief carvings, lamps, and wind chimes.
There are very few Roman images of people wearing a phallic charm. Other symbols may have been interchangeable with thephallus, such as the club of Hercules. The victory of the phallUS over the power of the evil eye may be represented by a disembodied eye. For example, the motif is shown in several examples of Roman art from Leptis Magna in Libya.
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This page is based on the article Fascinus published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 29, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
