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Wild, windswept, rocky and remote, Astypalaia is not an obvious place for the unearthing of some of the world's earliest erotic graffiti.
Certainly, Dr Andreas Vlachopoulos, a specialist in prehistoric archaeology, didn't think so when he began fieldwork on the Aegean island four years ago. Until he chanced upon a couple of racy inscriptions and large phalluses carved into Astypalaia's rocky peninsula at Vathy. The inscriptions, both dating to the fifth and sixth centuries BC, were "so monumental in scale" – and so tantalisingly clear – he was left in no doubt of the motivation behind the artworks.
"They were what I would call triumphant inscriptions," said the Princeton-trained professor who found them while introducing students to the ancient island world of the Aegean. "They claimed their own space in large letters that not only expressed sexual desire but talked about the act of sex itself," he told the Guardian. "And that is very, very rare."
Chiselled into the outcrops of dolomite limestone that dot the cape, the inscriptions have provided invaluable insight into the private lives of those who inhabited archaic and classical Greece. One, believed to have been carved in the mid-sixth century BC, proclaimed: "Nikasitimos was here mounting Timiona (Νικασίτιμος οἶφε Τιμίονα).
"We know that in ancient Greece sexual desire between men was not a taboo," added Dr Vlachopoulos, who returned to the far-flung island last week to resume work with a team of topographers, photographers, conservationists and students. "But this graffiti … is not just among the earliest ever discovered. By using the verb in the past continuous [tense], it clearly says that these two men were making love over a long period of time, emphasising the sexual act in a way that is highly unusual in erotic artwork. "
originally posted by: Kangaruex4Ewe
a reply to: skunkape23
Isn't that the same symbol that is used on your official letterhead skunkape?
originally posted by: MarlinGrace
a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe
Finally some real porn and none of this doom porn..
Check out Khajuraho for some additional ancient erotisism. They have it down, or up whichever way you want to look at it. It's no wonder India has such a large population. Just a little over a thousand years old.
originally posted by: Expat888
Up until the invention of the abrahamic religions society was far less prudish and inhibited ..
Many early civilizations left erotic figurines and drawings ..
Interesting find ..
S&F
originally posted by: Spider879
originally posted by: MarlinGrace
a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe
Finally some real porn and none of this doom porn..
Check out Khajuraho for some additional ancient erotisism. They have it down, or up whichever way you want to look at it. It's no wonder India has such a large population. Just a little over a thousand years old.
You taking about that Temple right? yeah I peeped that sometime ago,the Peruvians got some pretty raunchy pottery stuff aslo
The Ancient Erotic Art
Of
The Larco Museum
Or
Larco Museo
Shocking how the ancients got down and dirty and we thought we invented everything.
originally posted by: Shiloh7
a reply to: Spider879
We can also lolok to India for exhibits of very erotic patronage. The Kamasutra I think dates back to some 400BCE so I don't doubt there would be a lot of eroticism although their fabulous Hindu Temples seem to have been constructed before the 10th century CE.
Just as a side-line after looking at those magnificent temples and the couples looking so very happy with each other. What makes me smile, especially when I see some a woman waddlying along with all the 'modest regalia she can get on without tripping up, is that its clear that garb was to protect from the sand and its ageing and wear on her skin originally - modesty was probably observed principally by mothers trying to protect their daughters from unwanted men's attentions, especially in the desert countries as some men there price their women much like cattle.'
Each spring, people flock to Kawasaki, Japan, to celebrate Kanamara Matsuri, aka the "Festival of the Steel Phallus."
Held this year on April 6, the festival is a celebration of the penis and fertility. People parade gigantic phallic-shaped mikoshi (portable Shinto shrines) down the streets during the event, as revelers suck on penis lollipops, buy penis-themed memorabilia and pose with sculptures in the shape of -- you guessed it -- penises.
According to the BBC, the festival is believed to have roots in the 17th century, when prostitutes are said to have prayed for protection from sexually transmitted infections at Kawasaki's Kanamara shrine.
Today, the festival reportedly raises awareness about safe sex practices and fundraises for HIV prevention.