GöttinGer Miszellen

Beiträge zur ägyptologischen Diskussion

Heft 256

Göttingen 2018
I nhaltsverzeIchnIs

KURzBEMERKUNGEN

Backes, Burkhard: Darf man auf Unrecht treten? zu einer Formulierung

im Lebensmüden und in Sargtext 816 ................................................. 5

MISzELLEN

Bennett, James E.: Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figurines in

the Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough ................................................. 7

Beuthe, Tatjana: The Two Brothers: A Re-evaluation of Their Kinship ....... 17

Castañeda Reyes, José Carlos: An Approach to the Role of the nds

in the Social History of Ancient Egypt ................................................. 25

Castillos, Juan José: The Myth of Elite Redistribution in Ancient Egypt ..... 41

Feucht, Erika: zwei koptische Stoffe .......................................................... 49

First, Grzegorz: zwei Grabkegel aus dem Nationalmuseum

in Gdańsk (Polen) ............................................................................... 53

Goddio, F. / Kuzniar, J.: Thônis-Héracléion. Poids et pierres

de pivotement ..................................................................................... 59

Gundacker, Roman: The Descent of Kawab and Hetepheres II................. 65

Hönig, Werner: Symbolkraft der Geometrie im Alten Ägypten ................... 93

King, Maiken Mosleth: The Christians of Terenouthis: a modern myth ...... 107

Kitat, Sara: The Cult of God Priapus in Egypt during the

Græco-Roman Period ......................................................................... 115

Miatello, Luca: Inferring the Construction Process of Two Geometric

Algorithms ........................................................................................... 125

Sakamoto, Tsubasa: Chronologie révisée des cimetières royaux

de Nobadia ......................................................................................... 143

Shafik, Sameh: Khety of Beni Hassan and his ideal offering list ................ 157

Sperveslage, Gunnar: Quoth the Raven: Nevermore! zur frühzeitlichen

Stele Nr. 127 aus Abydos ................................................................... 167
GM 256 (2018) 115

The Cult of God Priapus in Egypt during the Græco-Roman Period

Sara Kitat

Abstract:
The Greek god Priapus, the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, was one of the most
prominent Roman ithyphallic deities. His popularity reached its peak by the
Roman times and he endowed many functions as divine patron of mariners,
guardian of gardens, vineyards, and flocks. Priapus became the one who
guaranteed for the fishermen good fishing and the landowners good harvest. He
was also the divine protector of mercenary culture, and sea-borne traders. He
identified the borders of the beaches, and harbors of the sea. The cult of Priapus in
Egypt was briefly mentioned by several historians such as Diodurus and Plutarch.
They mentioned that Priapus played a crucial role in the Osirian myth in certain
ithyphallic rituals after the dismemberment of Osiris. Herodotus equated
between the Greek god Priapus or even Pan with god Min and Horus in Egypt.
According to the discovered statuettes of Priapus, the veneration of this god
emerged in places where Greeks and Romans lived and spread their cults. The
three places where the statuettes of Priapus were discovered are Karanis, Marina
El-Alamein, and Amheida in Dakhala oasis.

Keywords: Priapus, ithyphallic, Karanis, Alexandria, Amheida

The Greek god Priapus (Πρίεπο),1 was one of the most prominent Roman ithyphallic
deities.2 The origin of the deity's name Πφίαπος, Πφίηπος, Πρίεπος is still obscure.3
However, it might be driven from the word “βφεϐπυος” which means “laughing voice”.
Other scholars assumed that Priapus name is originated from the Semitic language
meaning “the donor of the beautiful fruit ”.4
Priapus was the son of Dionysus5 and Aphrodite.6 In another myth, he was the
offspring of Aphrodite and Zeus7 who fell in love with the beautiful deity. During her

1
W. H. Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie, Dritter Band
Zweite Abteilung (Leipzig 1902-1909), 2980; Ch. Picard, Dictionnaire de la Mythologie Grecque et
Romaine (Paris 1958), 394; C. Moser, “Naked Power: The Phallus as an Apotropaic Symbol in the
Images and Texts of Roman Italy”, Undergraduate Humanities Forum 2005-6: Word & Image 11
(January 2006): 29, http://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2006/11.
2
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2976; Picard, Dictionnaire, 394; Ph. Borgeaud, The Cult of God Pan
in Ancient Greece, K. Atlass, J. Redfiled (trans.) (Chicago 1988), 211, no.81; P. Steward, “Fine Art and
Coarse Art: the Image of Roman Priapus”, Art History 20 (December 1997), 575; Moser, “Naked
Power”, 3-4.
3
See, The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2277 http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl;
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2980-2981.
4
L. C. Smithers, and R. Burton, Priapeia sive diversorum poetarum in Priapum lusus or Sportive
Epigramson Pripaus by divers poets in English verse and prose (1890, scanned at www.sacred-texts.com,
December 2000) http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/priap/priapeia.htm; The Suda Online: Byzantine
Lexicography, entry pi 2276; Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2980-2981.
5
B. U. Durette, “The History and Interpretation of the ʻAldobrandini Wedding’; Bachus, Fertility and
Marriage in the Time of Augustsus”, (PhD diss., Florida State University 1992), 212, 216-218.
6
The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2277; Ch. H. Oldfather, Diodorus of Sicily, Book
IV (Cambridge 1967), 355-356; Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2976-2978; Picard, Dictionnaire, 394;
Borgeaud, The Cult of God Pan in Ancient Greece, 211; M. Jordan, Encyclopedia of Gods; over 2,500
Deities of the World (New York 1993), 209. D. M. Field, Greek and Roman Mythology (London 1997),
116 GM 256 (2018)

pregnancy, goddess Hera, the main wife of Zeus, became jealous and feared that the
child of Aphrodite and Zeus would inherit the beauty of his mother and the powers of
his father. Thus, when Aphrodite was about to have her child Priapus, Hera touched the
belly of Aphrodite and cursed the child to be born deformed with an ugly and fleshy
body.8 Being born as an ithyphallic9 satyr-like creature,10 his mother abandoned him11
to the hillside.12 The child was discovered by the shepherds who raised him and
worshiped his virility.13 That is why it was said that Priapus was a rustic god.14 Another
legend made Priapus the son of Aphrodite and Adonis, with the same function of Hera
in deforming Priapus.15 Carmina Priapea, poems were sort of ironic and religious
poems consecrated for this deity and his ithyphallic abilities in warding off the evil eye.
During the early Greek times, the cult of this deity did not spread widely until the
Macedonian Period (4th–2nd century B.C). His popularity reached its peak by the Roman
times.16 Many scholars confirm the Greek and even Phrygian origin of this deity;
Phrygia was the place where the cult of Priapus was well-known.17 Despite the
existence of the Priapic cult in Troad during the 5th century B.C.18, the cult of this deity
did not spread in western region of the Mediterranean Sea before the 3rd century B.C.
The Priapic cult reached France and entered Italy by the 2nd century B.C.19
As early as the 2nd–3rd century B.C, the cult of god Priapus, cult spread widely in
Italy. He endowed many functions as divine patron of mariners,20 guardian of gardens,21
vineyards,22 and flocks.23 Priapus became the one who guaranteed for the fishermen
good fishing and the landowners good harvest.24 He was also the divine protector of

69, 148; this was mentioned by both Strabo 13.1.12, Paus. 9.31.2; Durette, “The History and
Interpretation of the ʻAldobrandini Wedding’”, 231, 327 no.110.
7
The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2277; Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2978;
Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395; Field, Greek and Roman Mythology, 69, 148.
8
Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395; Field, Greek and Roman Mythology, 69, 148.
9
Jordan, Encyclopedia of Gods, 209; Borgeaud, The Cult of God Pan in Ancient Greece, 211, no. 81;
Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395; Field, Greek and Roman Mythology, 69.
10
Jordan, Encyclopedia of Gods, 209; Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395.
11
Borgeaud, The Cult of God Pan in Ancient Greece, 211, no. 81.
12
Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395.
13
Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395.
14
The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2277; Steward, “Fine Art and Coarse Art”, 575;
Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395.
15
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2978-2979; Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395; Field, Greek and Roman
Mythology, 148; Steward, “Fine Art and Coarse Art”, 575; Moser, “Naked Power”, 2-3,5, 33; for more
details see, Horace and D. Ferry, “Priapus”, Poetry, vol. 190, no. 1, The Translation Issue (April 2007),
36-39. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20607684; H. Elomaa, “The Poetics of the Carmina Priapea”, (PhD
diss., University of Pennsylvania 2015), 1-215; J. Uden “The Vanishing Gardens of Priapus”, Harvard
Studies in Classical Philology 105 (2010), 189-219. http://hdl.handle.net/2144/5440; J. Dines, “What
was an ΟΠΏΡΟΦΥΛΆΚΙΟΝ?”, in eds. G. Khan et al. Studies on the Text and Versions of the Hebrew
Bible in Honour of Robert Gordon (Leiden 2011), 201.
16
Jordan, Encyclopedia of Gods, 209.
17
Jordan, Encyclopedia of Gods, 209.
18
Moser, “Naked Power”, 27, 33; the city of Priapus in Asia Minor was mentioned by Pliny in NH 5.38;
Picard, Dictionnaire, 394.
19
Moser, “Naked Power”, 29-32.
20
Moser, “Naked Power”, 3-4, 33-35, 37; Jordan, Encyclopedia of Gods, 209.
21
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2979-2983; Picard, Dictionnaire, 394; R. Renaud, T. Danièle, “Deux
statues de satyres découvertes dans les fouilles anciennes à Beaucaire”, Monuments et mémoires de la
Fondation Eugène Piot, tome 91 (2012), 57. http://www.persee.fr/doc/piot_1148-
6023_2012_num_91_1_1739 ; Moser, “Naked Power”, 3-4, 33-35; Field, Greek and Roman Mythology,
148-149; The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2275.
22
Picard, Dictionnaire, 394; Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2981.
23
The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2277; Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2980;
Moser, “Naked Power”, 3-4, 33-35.
24
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2980; The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2275.
GM 256 (2018) 117

mercenary culture, and sea-borne traders.25 Several Greek poems praised this god as
god of harbors and all sorts of seamanship.26 Being similar to his role in marking the
borders of the gardens, Priapus identified the borders of the beaches, and harbors of the
sea.27 His amulets and votive objects were used during sea voyages on board to ensure
the safety of the travellers.28 Priapus was venerated as a god of human fertility29 and
marriage. Thus, he became the protective deity from thieves and female invaders.30
The cult of this god was associated with the concept of death.31 His figure was found
on a limited scale decorating Roman tombs.32 This deity enjoyed the virtue of turning
away the “evil eye”33 and the envious who sought to harm the crops.34 In addition,
Priapus was connected with of sympathetic magic.35 He became a part of the cortege of
Dionysus,36 just like Silene and the Satyrs and was often represented with the
companion of an ass.37

25
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2980-2981; Moser, “Naked Power”, 3-4, 33-35.
26
W. H. Parker, Priapea: Poems for a Phallic God (London 1988), 5. AG 5.54; Moser, “Naked Power”,
37.
27
Neilson, “A Terracotta Phallus from Pisa Ship E”, 249; Moser, “Naked Power”, 37.
28
A wooden votive figurine of Priapus was discovered among the Roman shipwreck near Marseille
dating back to the 1st century A.D. A bronze proembolion (secondary ram) with a phallus attached to its
frontal part of head was discovered in a Roman wreck in the Rhine and dates back to the 2nd century A.D.
For further detail see, Neilson, “A Terracotta Phallus from Pisa Ship E”, 248-253, 251; Moser, “Naked
Power”, 37-39; Herter, “De Priapo”, 214-216.
29
F. Hassan et al. Alexandria; Graeco-Roman Museum, a Thematic Guide (Cairo 2002), 208; Moser,
“Naked Power”, 35-36; the word priapic is used to refer to the ithyphallic iconography in minor; Hassan
et al. Alexandria; Graeco-Roman Museum, 208.
30
Moser, “Naked Power”, 35-36.
31
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2980-2981; Moser, “Naked Power”, 3-4, 33-35.
32
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2980; a white marble altar was discovered in Roman colony north of
Venice called Aquilia. This altar dates back to the 1st -3rd century A.D. and represents the figure of
Priapus. For further detail see, H. R. Neilson, “A Terracotta Phallus from Pisa Ship E: More Evidence for
the Priapus Deity as Protector of Greek and Roman Navigators”, The International Journal of Nautical
Archaeology (2002) 31.2: 248-253; Moser, “Naked Power”, 39.
33
Plutarch mentioned that the brides in Rome sit on the statues of Priapus to protect them from the evil
eye see Plutarch, “Quaestio convivalis 5.7”, in Plutarch in the Religious and Philosophical Discourse of
Late Antiquity”, eds. R. M. Berchman, and J. F. Finamore, Studies in Platonism, Neoplatonism, and the
Platonic Tradition, vol.14 (Leiden 2012), 174.
34
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2979-2980; Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395 literary and archaeological
sources depict the deity as a big deified phallus protecting from any evil powers. For further details see,
Moser, “Naked Power”, 3-4.
35
Horace, Satires, 1,8,1-7; Renaud, Danièle, “Deux statues de satyres”, 58; Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-
395; The magical features of Priapus were discussed by Horace in his Satire 1.8. Horace described
Priapus that he was transformed by a carpenter from fig tree trunk into a statue of the ithyphallic deity
who could ward off the thieves as well as the undesirable birds from the gardens of Maecenas see,
Horace, Satires, 1,8,1-7; Horace, Satires, Epistles, and Ars Poetca, H. Rushton Fairclough (trans.)
(Cambridge, 1952), 95-102; Herter, “De Priapo”, 4-6; S. Sharland, “Priapus Magic Marker: Literary
Aspects of Horace Satire 1.8”, Acta Classica XLVI (2003), 97-109; Elomaa, “The Poetics of the Carmina
Priapea”, 34-37, 89-97; A. Richlin, The Garden of Priapus: Sexuality and Aggression in Roman Humor
(New York, 1992), 174–85.
36
Durette, “The History and Interpretation of the ʻAldobrandini Wedding’”, 216-218; Picard,
Dictionnaire, 394-395; Renaud, Danièle, “Deux statues de satyres”, 57; Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon,
2977-2978.
37
A Greek legend tells us that during a Dionysian feast, Priapus met the nymph called Lotis whom he
loved. At night, he wanted to surprise her, but at the time he was about to reach his goal, the ass of Silene
began to bawl, awakening Lotis and all the Bachantes and te beautiful nymph ran away from the danger
of the phallic god. This legend was told in Rome where the role of Lotis was replaced with goddess Vesta.
Since then, an ass was sacrificed to god Priapus. During the feast of goddess of Vesta, donkeys crowned
with flower wreathes became a part of the celebrations; Picard, Dictionnaire, 394-395; Herter, “De
Priapo”, 266-267.
118 GM 256 (2018)

In the Roman times, the cult of Priapus witnessed an obvious development as he

appeared in the fusion of other deities. In the 2nd century AD, Athenaeus in his
Deipnosophista 1.20.30 stated that Priapus is the same as Dionysus. Furthermore,
Pausanias (10.19.2) mentioned that Priapus was worshipped as phallic Dionysus. He
was the Greek rendering of the Roman Bacchus and became a part of the Bacchic
companions.38 In Greek myth, Priapus was identified with almost all ithyphallic rustic
deities such as; the Titans, Orthanes, Tychon, and Conisalus.39
The cult this deity was represented in religion as a new Dionysus.40 His cult was
found in gardens, a suitable place for this exotic and festive god. Statues and reliefs
depicting Priapus were found in gardens which were his sacred place.41 Priapus was
described to be the marker of the gardens making their boundaries to identify their
shapes.42 Thus, Priapus who was the divine protector of the boundaries and roadways,
was used as a Herm or a kind of Terminus. In this case, the statue of the god appeared in
the form of a long block carved with certain information such as; the size of the estate.
This might explain the association of Priapus with the Greek god Hermes.43
In Greek and Roman art, the statues of Priapus belonged to the rustic cultic statues
being made of rough materials, most often of wood.44 Despite being threatened by fire,
the wooden statues of Priapus compensate with the nature of Priapus as god of gardens
and fields. Part of Marital Epigram 8.40 says; “Preserve the wood for the master's
hearth, if it turns out-you too are wood.” Smith described the presence of humble
wooden statues of Priapus in the gardens as a “flimsy scarecrow.”45 Poem 10 of
Carmina Priapea46 describes the unpretentious wooden statues of this deity. The
charterer of this god was clearly expressed by the artists through his inferior pieces of
art revealing his phallic and rustic nature.47 In art, Priapus was remarked with certain
characteristic features, the (male?) breasts, big genitals and a long beard48 and erected
phallus.49

38
For further details see, Durette, “The History and Interpretation of the ʻAldobrandini Wedding’” 212,
216-218.
39
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2976-2977, 2981.
40
Oldfather, Diodorus of Sicily, 355-356, 359; Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2976-2977, 2981;
Dines, “What was an ΟΠΏΡΟΦΥΛΆΚΙΟΝ?” 201, 203; The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography,
entry pi 2275.
41
Herter, “De Priapo”, 214-216; Hassan et al. Alexandria; Graeco-Roman Museum, 208; Moser, “Naked
Power”, 35-36; the word priapic is used to refer to the ithyphallic iconography in minor; Hassan et al.
Alexandria; Graeco-Roman Museum, 208.
42
Herter, “De Priapo”, 214-21; Neilson, “A Terracotta Phallus from Pisa Ship E”, 249; Moser, “Naked
Power”, 37.
43
Oldfather, Diodorus of Sicily, 359; Herter, “De Priapo”, 214-216; Picard, Dictionnaire, 395;
44
Tibullus’ Elegy 1.10 threw the light on the nature of this deity and the materials used in making his
statuettes. Part of his writings says; ʻthe wooden god stood in a little shrine. And he was friendly if you
had offered him the fruit of the grape’. Thus, the wooden statuettes of this god symbolized peace as well
as virtue referring to the rustic character of Priapus. On the contrary, the gold, bronze and iron and stone
made statuettes depicted Priapus who was introduced to the luxury Roman sculpture referring to war and
vices. On the other hand, Herter confirms that the origin behind making statutes for Priapus of wood is
because of his origin myth that mentions that he was originally a fig tree trunk; Steward, “Fine Art and
Coarse Art”, 583-586, 588; Herter, “De Priapo”, 266-268.
45
Steward, “Fine Art and Coarse Art”, 575-576; Herter, “De Priapo”, 266-268; Dines, “What was an
ΟΠΏΡΟΦΥΛΆΚΙΟΝ?”, 203, 209.
46
Steward, “Fine Art and Coarse Art”, 576; For more about Carmina Priapea see, C. Goldberg, Carmina
Priapea; Einleitung Übersetzung, Interpretation und Kommentar (Heidelberg, 1992); Horace and David
Ferry, “Priapus”, 36-39.
47
For the iconography of Priapus in Roman art see, Steward, “Fine Art and Coarse Art”, 575-583.
48
The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2277; C. I. Hardiman, “The Nature of the
Hellenistic Domestic Sculpture in Its Cultural and Spatial Contexts”, (PhD diss., The Ohio State
University, 2005), 234, no. 132; https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=osu1117560146&
disposition=inline; an example of the statuettes of Priapus is a small statuette preserved now in the
GM 256 (2018) 119

The cult of god Priapus in Egypt was briefly mentioned by several historians. For
instance, Diodurus (Book i. 88) equated between the ram cult and the cult of the Greek
god Priapus categorizing this god with Greek god Pan and the satyrs.50 The basic
powers of Priapus were originated from his ithyphallic character.51 Diodorus (4.6.2-4)
mentioned that Priapus played a crucial role in the Osirian myth.52 When the Titans led
by god Seth (Typhon) made a conspiracy against Priapus, they cut his body into several
pieces and divided them among themselves. As for his phallic member, it was thrown
into the Nile. However, Isis could kill the Titans and refashioned the body of her
husband again. Since the only missing organ was his phallus, Isis ordered the priests to
pay it to the honor of the gods in the temples placing it in an erect position. From this
myth, the birth of Priapus of Egypt was originated. Diodorus named this god also
Ithyphallus, Tychon and was venerated in every place in Egypt where his statues were
placed to protect gardens and vineyards. Diodorus described Priapus as the one “who
punishes any who cast a spell over some fair thing which they possess.” He was
involved in the sacred rites, particularly those of Dionysus and was introduced in the
offerings of the laughter and sport accompanies. In addition, Diodorus stated that
Priapus was equated with the ithyphallic Egyptian god Min.53
The connection between Osiris and Priapus was confirmed by Plutarch (On Isis and
Osiris, 18) who referred to the priestesses’ usage of Priapus or in other word “herm”54 in
certain ithyphallic rituals after the dismemberment of Osiris.55 Plutarch mentioned that
Isis erected a statue for the missing male member creating be this way the rites of the
phallus.56 These rituals were mainly originated from Priapus who was equated with
Dionysus.57 Plutarch mentioned also that Priapus was named Horus by the Egyptians.58

Auguste Jacquet de Beaucaire Museum in France. It was discovered in the district of Saint-Denis in
Beaucaire in 1841and introduced to the collection of the Museum in 1927. This piece represents Priapus
as a standing naked man in the ithyphallic iconography. His male member was broken and restored by the
museum. The tunic is depicted tied around his neck and covering with its folds his left arm. The god is
represented holding different fruits, namely a pine cone, apples, vine leaves and a bunch of grapes on the
left bent arm. For further detail see, Renaud, Danièle, “Deux statues de satyres” 54-58, fig. 17; for more
details concerning the iconography of Priapus in art see, Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2982-2990.
49
The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2277.
50
Röscher, Ausführliches Lexikon, 2977; W. Budge, From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt (New York
1988, 2nd ed.), 75; W. Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians; or Studies in the Egyptian Mythology, vol. 2
(Chicago 1904), 353; for further detail see, Borgeaud, The Cult of God Pan in Ancient Greece, 76-77.
51
Oldfather, Diodorus of Sicily, 355-356; G. Massey, Ancient Egypt Light of the World; a Work of
Reclamation and Restitution in Twelve Books, vol. 1 (London- New York-Bahrain 2004), 35-38.
52
Oldfather, Diodorus of Sicily, 357-358; Picard, Dictionnaire, 395; Dines, “What was an
ΟΠΏΡΟΦΥΛΆΚΙΟΝ?”, 201.
53
Oldfather, Diodorus of Sicily, 357-358; Dines, “What was an ΟΠΏΡΟΦΥΛΆΚΙΟΝ?”, 201; H.
Bonnet, Reallexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte (Berlin-New York, 2000), 464.
54
M. Rigoglioso, The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece (New York 2009), 27; A. Avagianou,
Sacred Marriage in the Rituals of Greek Religion (Bern 1991), 180-181; Dines, “What was an
ΟΠΏΡΟΦΥΛΆΚΙΟΝ?”, 203, 209.
55
Rigoglioso, The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece, 27; A. L. Boozer, “Artifact and Activity: The
Material Culture of Domestic Living”, in A. L. Boozer (ed.), Amheida II: A Late Romano-Egyptian
House in Dakhleh Oasis: Amheida House B2 (New York, 2015), 193.
56
Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride, ed. J. G. Griffiths (Cardiff, 1970), 18; A. J. Valpy, “On the Mysteries of
Eleusis”, The Classical Journal XL, eds. Abraham John Valpy, and Edmiund Enery Barker (Cambridge,
1829), 264-265.
57
Valpy, “On the Mysteries of Eleusis”, 264-265; According to hieros gamos, certain actual erotic rites
were practiced in the rituals of Priapus who was equated with god Dionysus; Rigoglioso, The Cult of
Divine Birth in Ancient Greece, 26-27.
58
G. Parthey, Plutarch über Isis und Osiris; nach neuverglichenen Handschriften mit Übersetzung und
Erläuterungen herausgegeben (Berlin, 1850), 252, 304; The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry
pi 2276.
120 GM 256 (2018)

In addition, Herodotus who saw for every Greek deity an Egyptian counterpart
equated the Greek god Priapus or even Pan with god Min and Horus in Egypt.59 The
identification between Priapus and Horus was also confirmed in syncretism of.
Macrobius.60 In the Byzantine lexicography Suda, figures of god Min were named as
“the statue of Priapus called Horus by the Egyptians”61 and was described with the
following words; “In his right [hand] he holds a scepter, as if the dry land and the sea
issued from him, and in his left he holds his erect member, since he makes the seeds
hidden in the soil become visible [sc. as growing plants]. The wings [signify] the speed
of his motion; the circle of the disk [suggests] his circumference[?], for they imagine he
same thing for the sun. the same thing for the sun.”62
Furthermore, the Egyptian earth god Geb is also identified with Priapus. This
identification is based on the same function of the two deities who were gods of earth,
fruits as well as plants. Geb is the “Lord of Aliment” whose fertility powers of earth are
ithyphallically represented.63
In the Smithers and Burtun’s edition of Priapeia, the cult of Priapus appeared in
Egypt and then was exported to Rome. The generative powers of Priapus were
venerated in Egypt in the fusion of the bull-god Apis. Since the syllable pri or pre means
principle, production, natural or original source, the word Priapus was translated as
“principle of production or of fecundation of Apis.”64 This opinion was also confirmed
by Herter who stated that the cult of Priapus came originally from Alexandria to Italy;
an opinion that could be accepted.65
Priapus was especially venerated in Alexandria and his cult involved special rites.66
The cult of herms was well-known in Alexandria by the Hellenistic times onwards.
These figurines were highly worshipped because of their fertility qualities.67 The herms
of Priapus began to be found in the vineyards in Egypt to ward off the evil eyes and to
guarantee the fertility of the land as early as the Hellenistic period. They were regarded
sort of a divine “scarecrow.”68
Few surviving statuettes depict the shape of this god in Egypt. The first discovered
statuette of Priapus was discovered in Karanis in El-Fayoum (fig.1). It is a white marble
one (H: 17.5 cm and D 6.5 cm)69. This small statuette was discovered by the
excavations of Michigan University in Karanis in 1924-1935.70 Its head is missing and
59
S. Najovitis, Egypt, the Trunk of the Tree, Vol. II: A Modern Survey of and Ancient Land, vol. II: the
Consequences, how Egypt became the Trunk of the Tree (New York, 2004), 278-280; Smithers, and
Burton, Priapeia, http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/priap/priapeia.htm; The Suda Online: Byzantine
Lexicography, entry pi 2276 http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl; Bonnet, Reallexikon, 464.
60
Smithers, and Burton, Priapeia, http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/priap/priapeia.htm .
61
The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2276; K. Geens, Panopolis, a Nome Capital in
Egypt in the Roman and Byzantine Period (ca. AD 200-600) Trismegistos Online Publications Special
Series (Leuven, 2007), 311. http://www.trismegistos.org/top.php.
62
The Suda Online: Byzantine Lexicography, entry pi 2276; Smithers, and Burton, Priapeia,
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/priap/priapeia.htm .
63
Massey, Ancient Egypt Light of the World, 35-38.
64
Smithers, and Burton, Priapeia, http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/priap/priapeia.htm .
65
H. Herter, “De Matino Titinu”, Rhein. Mus. Lxxvi (1927), 418-432; see also, “Bibliography: Græco-
Roman Egypt A. Papyri (1927-1928)”, JEA 15 (1929), 115.
66
E. K. Gazda, and C. Hessenbruch, “Sculptures in Stone”, in E. K. Gazda, et al. (eds.) Guardians of the
Nile; Sculptures in Karanis in the Fayoum (c.250 B.C.- AD 450) (Ann Arbor, 1978), 36-37; Michael
Grant, Eros in Pompeii (New York, 1975), 124.
67
Gazda, and Hessenbruch, “Sculptures in Stone”, 37.
68
Dines, “What was an ΟΠΏΡΟΦΥΛΆΚΙΟΝ?”, 203, 209.
69
A. L. Boozer, “Figurines”, in A. L. Boozer (ed.) Amheida II: A Late Romano-Egyptian House in
Dakhleh Oasis: Amheida House B2, (New York 2015), 304, fig. 10.4 http://dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/
amheida-ii-house-b2/; Gazda, and Hessenbruch, “Sculptures in Stone”, 36-37, cat. no. 27.
70
J. Griffiths, “Preface”, in E. K. Gazda, et al. (ed.), Guardians of the Nile; Sculptures in Karanis in the
Fayoum (c. 250 B.C.–AD 450) (Ann Arbor 1978), 5.
GM 256 (2018) 121

the pillar of the herm is also broken. The whole body is draped here is a tight cloak
which cover the hand of the deity. The frontal surface of this figure with its producing
belly is obviously polished unlike the rough back part. The right arm is sculptured to be
bent on the chest. The left arm is depicted resting on the side and projecting slightly
forward. The lower part of the cloak, a hole is found in the center which was apparently
used to receive the phallus of the deity. This statute was identified to be a herm figure of
god Priapus. The left hand which was one exposed was probably used to hold one of the
emblems of this deity such as; the cornucopia, the oil jar, or the leaf staff.71 According
to the style of this herm, this piece dates back to the late Hellenistic period or the late
Roman era72.
The second discovered statuette for Priapus is a small marble one which was
discovered in a Roman house in Marina El Alamien (fig.2). In the same Roman house
which dates back to the 4th century AD, an alabaster torso statuette of goddess
Aphrodite, a large marble statue of Dionysus as well as a terrra-cotta lamp bearing the
shape of god Dionysus were discovered. These pieces were published by Daszewski in
Mélanges de l'Ecole française de Rome. Antiquité in 1991.73 Like the previous-
mentioned statue, Priapus is also depicted here as a nude standing youth. The cloak is
tied around his neck and the folds of the clothes are clearly sculptured. The god is
depicted his right arm bent resting on his side. The lower part of his torso and the head
of the statue are missing.
Finally, in Dakhala Oasis, particularly in Amheida Roman House B2, Room 7, a
statuette of a naked male body was discovered (catalogue nr: 10.8 , height 11.90 cm)
(fig.3). Unlike the two previous mentioned pieces, this statuette is made of limestone.
Despite of its smooth body, part of the arms, the head, as well the legs are missing.
However, this piece is a well sculptured piece of art with somehow massive dimensions.
The remaining lower part reveals the existence of a wide torso. The sculpture of the
statute suggests a Greek influence. Despite that all the attributes are missing
(cornucopia oil, jug, phallus, and staff), this statuette might represent Priapus herm
whose cult was popular during the Hellenistic period like that of Priapus of Karanis.
The statue was discovered among the Dakhleh Oasis Project (DOP) and published by
Boozer in Amheida II in 2105.74 Excavations were carried out in this site in the period
between 2005 and 2007 and resulted in discovering this house and the artifacts that date
back to the Roman era.75
From this brief survey appears the veneration of Greek god Priapus in Egypt during
the Græco-Roman era. This veneration is mentioned by many historians and confirmed
by archaeological evidence. According to the discovered statuettes of Priapus, the
veneration of this god emerged in places where Greeks and Romans lived and spread
their cults. Furthermore, the cult of Priapus appeared in places having certain
geographical or agricultural qualities. The three places where the statuettes of Priapus
were discovered are Karanis, Marina El-Alamein, and Amheida in Dakhala oasis.
Kranais and Trimithis (Amheida) were rather categorized as small villages while
Alexandria and the surrounding territories (including Marina El-Alamien) were

71
Gazda, and Hessenbruch, “Sculptures in Stone”, 36-37, cat., no. 27; for a statuette of god Pan wear-ing
a similar cloak see, S. Reinach, Repertoire de reliefs grecs et romans, tome III (Paris 1909), III, 83.5; A.
Adriani, A Repertorio d' arte dell'Egitto Greco-romano II (Cambiago 1961), pl. 66, fig. 211.
72
Gazda, and Hessenbruch, “Sculptures in Stone”, 37.
73
W. A. Daszewski, “The Gods of the North-West Coast of Egypt in the Graeco-Roman Period”,
Mélanges de l'Ecole française de Rome. Antiquité , tome 103, n.1 (1991), 102-104, figs. 7, 9, 10.
74
Boozer, “Figurines”, 304, fig. 10.4.
75
A. L. Boozer, “Domestic Archaeology and the Romano-Egyptian House: An Integrated Research
Agenda”, in A. L. Boozer (ed.), Amheida II: A Late Romano-Egyptian House in Dakhleh Oasis:
Amheida House B2, (New York, 2015), 22 http://dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/amheida-ii-house-b2/
122 GM 256 (2018)

regarded as complete cities. They became important Greek and Roman settlements in
Egypt.76
Concerning Karanis (Kom Oushim) in El-Fayoum, it was a great center for Greeks
as well as Romans in Egypt.77 Being a part of El- Fayoum which was regarded the most
Hellenized region of Egypt,78 Karanis was inhabited since the 3rd century BC till the 5th
century A.D.79It was one of the most fertile regions since ancient Egypt onwards. Being
connected with the Nile with various channels, cultivation developed and spread in this
site especially during the Greek and Roman times.80 Based on the archaeological
discoveries, Karanis was once occupied with a great Roman urban society.81 It was
inhabited with an exceeding Greek and Roman agricultural community of landowners
till its complete decline in the middle of the 5th century A.D.82 The geographical
location and agricultural wealth of Karanis are two main factors that helped in the
emergence of Priapus cult there. The Greek guardian of fields and gardens was
apparently venerated by the Greeks and Romans who settled in Karanis. The statuette
might have been part of Priapus herm. This confirms the veneration of Priapus in
Karanis as guardian of fields and gardens and protector of boundaries.
Like the case of maritime city of Kyzikos in Asia Minor, Marina El Alamein was a
place for harbor settlements that were mentioned by many historians such as; Strabo,
Claudius Ptolemaeus, Pliny, Diodorus, Synesios of Cyrene, Hierocles, Stephanus of
Byzantium and George of Cyprus.83 De Cosson stated that after the establishment of
Alexandria, the Mareotic region was inhabited again after a period of abandonment.
Small towns, villages, and gardens spread in the coastal region on wide scale. Olive
cultivation and vineyards reached its peak in this place during the Græco-Roman era.
Macedonian soldier colonists settled there, introducing their cultic beliefs and were
involved in cultivation.84 Thus, the cult of Priapus in Marina El Alamein is quite logic.
In this part of the Mareotic region, gardens and fields appeared which were regarded as
places of veneration for Priapus. Moreover, Priapus, who was equated with the wine
and fertility god Dionysus, was indisputably worshipped in the Mareotic region; a place
whose wine was highly praised by many historians.85 Furthermore, Priapus was a divine
guardian for the sailors and sea merchants. Being a center for marine activities, Marina
76
P. Davoli, “Reflections on Urbanism in Graeco-Roman Egypt: a Historical and Regional Perspective”,
in E. Subías et al. (eds.) The Space of the City in Graeco-Roman Egypt Image and Reality (Tarragona,
2011), 69- 70.
77
Davoli, “Reflections on Urbanism in Graeco-Roman Egypt”, 70-81; for more details about the
archaeology and the papyri of Karanis see, P. van Minnen, “House-to-House Enquiries: An
Interdisciplinary Approach to Roman Karanis”, ZPE 100 (1994), 227-251.
78
Davoli, “Reflections on Urbanism in Graeco-Roman Egypt”, 70.
79
J. E. M. F. Bos, “The Implication of Ownership of Karanis: a Dynamic Approach to the Site
Management in Egypt”, Interpreting the Past, Who owns the Past? Heritage Rights and Responsibilities
in a Multicultural World Proceedings of the Second Annual Ename International Colloquium Provincial
(Brussels 2007), 96.
80
P. Davoli, “The Archaeology of the Fayoum”, in Ch. Riggs (ed.) The Oxford Handbook to Roman
Egypt, (Oxford 2012), 153-155.
81
Davoli, “Reflections on Urbanism in Graeco-Roman Egypt”, 75.
82
A. E. R. Boak, “The Population of Roman and Byzantine Karanis”, Historia 4 (1955), 157-162; J. G.
Keenan, “Deserted Villages: from the Ancient to the Medieval Fayyum”, Bulletin of the American
Society of Papyrologists 40 (2003), 123-127.
83
Daszewski, “The Gods of the North-West Coast of Egypt in the Graeco-Roman Period”, 92-93.
84
A. De Cossson, Mareotis; Being a Short Account of the History and Ancient Monuments of the North-
West Desert of Egypt and of Lake Mareotis (London 1935), 37-38, 64-69.
85
Strabo (xvii. 799) described the wine production in the place. He said that wine was matured by
keeping it for a period of time. Virgil in his Georg. ii. 91 threw the light on the qualities of the grapes in
this region. According to his description, grapes were white and cultivated in rich soil. Horace (Odes, i.
37) mentioned that the wine of Mareotis was the favorite for Queen Cleopatra. Finally, Athenaeus highly
praised the wine of Antylla, near Alexandria, and mentioned that there was a kind of taxes that were
estimated on this wine; De Cossson, Mareotis, 67-68.
GM 256 (2018) 123

El-Alamein became certainly a cult center for Priapus. The discovery of other artifacts
of Aphrodite and Dionysus in this house confirms the existence of Dionysic cult in
Marina El-Alamein. In other words, Aphrodite, her son Priapus, and Dionysus as father
of Priapus or even as a counterpart of him were worshipped in this place.
Concerning Amheida, it is an important region in Dakhala oasis and reached its
greatest extent during the Roman Period.86 It is located in the northwest corner of the
Oasis.87 Together with Kelllis (Asmant El-Kharab) in the east, Amheida was one of the
major urban settlements in Dakhla Oasis during the Roman period.88 In ancient times,
Amheida was named Set Wah meaning “resting place”89 then Trimithis in the Græco-
Roman times.90 Depending on the papyri sources, Amheida gained the status of an
independent city in the Oasis Magna.91 The discovered Roman settlement of houses
confirms the existence of domestic as well as elite Roman inhabitants92 who seemed to
have introduced the cult of Priapus to this site. Priapus was apparently venerated at this
side as god of fertility. Together with god Bes who shared in the Osirian rites in this
site93 the ithyphallic god Priapus was venerated in Amheida. The small statuettes of
Priapus were discovered there in one of the Roman houses confirming his local
worship. Thus, it is possible that both the figurines of Bes and Priapus were part of the
Osirian rituals in Amheida.
From the previous preview, it could be concluded that historical sources confirm the
existence of the Priapic cult in Egypt as early as the Hellenistic era. Based on his
ithyphallic iconography and his function as a fertility god, Priapus was identified with
many Egyptian deities who shared the same iconography or function. Horus, Min, Apis,
Bes and god Geb were the most prominent deities who were equated with the Greek god
Priapus. Moreover, he was involved in the Osirian rites as he played a crucial role in the
completing the missing part of the divine body. All the statuettes of Priapus were
discovered in Roman houses in three different places in Egypt. Does this mean that the
veneration of Priapus in Egypt was rather a domestic cult and did develop to have
independent shrines or temples? In fact, further discoveries of Priapus in the future
might answer this question.

86
A. L. Boozer, “Situating the Case Study: The Dakhla Oasis and Amheida”, in A. L. Boozer (ed.)
Amheida II: A Late Romano-Egyptian House in Dakhleh Oasis: Amheida House B2, (New York, 2015),
98-99 http://dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/amheida-ii-house-b2/chapter2.xhtml; A. L. Boozer, “Memory and
microhistory of an empire: Domestic contexts in Roman Amheida”, in D. Borić (ed.) Egypt, Archaeology
and Memory (Oxford 2010), 143.
87
R. S. Bagnall and O. E. Kaper, “Introduction”, in R. S. Bagnall et al. (eds.) An Oasis City, (New York
2015), 4; Boozer, “Situating the Case Study: The Dakhal Oasis and Amheida”, 98-99; Davoli,
“Reflections on Urbanism in Graeco-Roman Egypt”, 83.
88
Davoli, “Reflections on Urbanism in Graeco-Roman Egypt”, 83.
89
Boozer, “Situating the Case Study: The Dakhal Oasis and Amheida”, 98-99.
90
Bagnall and Kaper, “Introduction”, 1; Boozer, “Situating the Case Study: The Dakhla Oasis and
Amheida”, 98-99; Boozer, “Memory and microhistory of an empire”, 139, 143; Davoli, “Reflections on
Urbanism in Graeco-Roman Egypt”, 83; this word might be originated from the Coptic word Trimhite,
which means “The Northern Storehouse.” For more detail see, Bagnall and Kaper, “Introduction”, 9; I.
Gardner, et al. Coptic Documentary Texts from Kellis, Volume I, P. Kell. V; P. Kell. Copt. 10–52; O.
Kell. Copt. 1–2 (Oxford 1999), 276 [19].
91
Boozer, “Situating the Case Study: The Dakhal Oasis and Amheida”, 98-99.
92
Boozer, “Situating the Case Study: The Dakhal Oasis and Amheida”, 98-99; for more information
about the discovered Roman houses in Amheida see, Boozer, “Memory and microhistory of an empire:
Domestic contexts in Roman Amheida”, 138- 157; Davoli, “Reflections on Urbanism in Graeco-Roman
Egypt”, 83-88.
93
Different amulets as well as statuettes of god Bes were discovered in Amheida. For further details see,
Boozer, “Artifact and Activity”, 193; A. Cervi, “Adornment”, in A. L. Boozer (ed.) Amheida II: A Late
Romano-Egyptian House in Dakhleh Oasis: Amheida House B2 (New York 2015), 315, fig. 11.5.
124 GM 256 (2018)

Fig.1. Herm fragment of Priapus Fig.2. Marble Statuette of Priapus

discovered in Karanis, white marble, late
Hellenistic period - the late Roman era
After: Gazda, and Hessenbruch,
“Sculptures in Stone”, 36, cat., no. 27
discovered in Marina El-Alamein, Roman
Period
After: Daszewski, “The Gods of the
North-West Coast of Egypt in the Graeco-
Roman Period”, 104, fig. 10

Fig.3. Limestone statuette of a naked male body, apparently Priapus, discovered in

Dakhlah oasis, Amheida House B2, Room 7, catalogue no. 10.8, Roman Period
After; Boozer, “Figurines”, 304, fig. 10.4