What is Priapus?
[[File:Pompeya erótica6.jpg|thumb|upright|Fresco of Priapus from [[Pompeii]]]] '''Priapus''' was a minor [[fertility]] god in [[Greek mythology]], who was also the protector of [[livestock]], [[fruit|fruit plants]], and [[penis|male genitals]]. He was depicted as having an oversized and permanent erection. Sources differ as to who his parents were. Some say he was the son of the god [[Dionysus]] and the goddess [[Aphrodite]]; [[Dionysus]] and [[Chione]]; [[Hermes]] and [[Aphrodite]]; [[Zeus]] and [[Aphrodite]]; or [[Pan]] and [[Aphrodite]]. According to the myth, [[Hera]] cursed him while he was still in the womb of [[Aphrodite]], because she was jealous that the Trojan prince Paris had picked [[Aphrodite]] as being the most beautiful of the goddesses and had given the Golden Apple of Eris to her. Hera's curse made Priapus impotent, ugly and foul-minded. The gods did not want Priapus to live with them on [[Olympus]], and he was left on a hillside on Earth. There, he was taken by shepherds who raised him. Priapus later tried to rape the goddess [[Hestia]], but was hit by a donkey, and this caused Priapus to lose his erection. He also became the patron god of merchant sailing, protecting and guiding them through rough seas. It was common for merchants to carry a Priapus figure or a [[phallus]] on their ships as protection. ==Related pages== {{Commonscat|Priapus}} * [[Mutunus Tutunus]] - [[Roman mythology]] version of Priapus {{Religion-stub}} [[Category:Greek gods and goddesses]]