fun fact about dicks in pompeii

aaronthielforpresident-blog:

thoodleoo:

so everyone knows that there are lots of dicks in pompeii. dicks on the floors. dicks over the doors. pompeii’s just full of dicks. this is because the phallus, to the ancient romans, was a sign of prosperity and good luck- it symbolized fertility, scared away robbers, and other such delights. and pompeii in particular was just full of good luck dicks.

but my absolute favorite kind of pompeian prosperity dick is one that i learned about on my tour of italy: oven dicks. see, we’ve found slots above oven doors where erect phalloi would project out of the wall. just hangin out there, above the bread. for good luck, see. and my tour leaders told me a very fun fact about these particular phalloi. it’s very likely that these phalloi had a special purpose, being associated with bread. chances are, bakers would rub the phallus as they were baking to help ensure a certain property and dicks and bread share.

so, y’know. to make the bread rise.

Dicks Out for Pompeii