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Ancient Romans Used Flying Penis Charms To Ward Off Bad Luck

Ancient Romans Used Flying Penis Charms To Ward Off Bad Luck

The amulets were thought to keep away illness and bad luck

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

With things going the way they are in the world right now; you might be in the market for a new good luck charm.

And you might want to take a leaf out of the Ancient Romans who armed themselves with amulets shaped like flying penises to stave off illness and bad luck... tempted?

Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons
Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons

The bizarre pieces would be worn around people's necks or hung up in the family home in an attempt to safeguard against anything untoward.

According to expert Anthony Philip Corbeill, who spoke to Atlas Obscura, the amulets have been found by archaeologists around the world, including in Italy and Israel.

Corbeill explained that back in the olden days the folks who wore the flying d***s believed they would be given 'divine power'.

He added: "The sexual energy of the phallus was tied directly to its power in reproduction."

Vassil/Wikimedia Commons
Vassil/Wikimedia Commons

Experts say the lucky charms were often worn around the necks of young boys, with their parents believing it would keep their kids safe and was a way to show off their status. Little girls had similar symbols they wore.

With child mortality rates so high in Ancient Rome - around half of kids died before the age of five - it's likely that worried parents would be willing to try supernatural methods to keep their little ones safe.

For double the protection, there's also penis amulets - known as fascinus - with a penis at one end and a clenched fist at the other. Kinky.

The clenched fist, according to Atlas Obscura, is called the 'fig' and is symbolic of penis and genitals in general, so having one of these would make your lucky charm twice as lucky. Double luck or not, I'm not sure I'd be willing to rock around with one of these around my neck.

And while we're on the subject of archaeology and bad luck, last December an archaeologist has accidentally let off the world's oldest stink bomb after cracking open a 1,700-year old Roman egg found at a dig in Buckinghamshire.

In Roman society eggs symbolised fertility and rebirth, and eggshells have been found in other UK Roman sites before - but never a complete egg.

The team behind the discovery believe that the eggs and the basket may have been placed in the waterlogged pit as food offerings in a religious ceremony.

Featured Image Credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikimedia Commons

Topics: Interesting, Weird