What is Phallus?
[[File:Pompeya erótica5.jpg|thumb|A [[fresco]] (type of wall painting) of [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] with a giant erect penis that was found on a wall in the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] city of [[Pompeii]]. The fresco, now in the National Archaeological Museum in [[Naples]], is believed to have been painted between 89 B.C. and 79 [[Anno Domini|A.D.]]]] [[Image:Herma Demosthenes Glyptothek Munich 292.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Herma of [[Demosthenes]] on the market place of [[Athens]], work by Polyeuktos ~280 BC.]] [[File:Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn 07.jpg|thumb|Giant lingam from [[Wat Pho]] in [[Bangkok]]]] [[File:Three lingams Goa Gajah.jpg|thumb|Three lingams from [[Goa]]]] The word '''phallus''' refers to an erect [[penis]], to a penis-shaped object such as a [[dildo]], or to a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus, or as being ''phallic'' (as in 'phallic symbol'). Such symbols represent the fertility associated with the male sexual organ, and the male [[orgasm]]. == Culture == === Symbol of sex and fertility === When an erect penis is shown in art, it is often called a phallus ({{respelled|p=on|<small>FA</small>-ləs}}). [[Eroticism|Erotic]] (sexually exciting) art has shown phalluses for a very long time. Pictures of men with erections appear on [[Ancient history|ancient]] objects and in paintings. The erect penis was also a [[symbol]] or sign of [[health]] and [[fertility]] (the ability to give life). The Hohle Fels phallus was found in a [[cave]] in [[Germany]]. It is a piece of stone carved to look like a penis that is about 28,000 years old.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jonathan Amos|title=Ancient phallus unearthed in cave|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4713323.stm|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=25 July 2005}}</ref> From the fourth [[millennium]] [[Anno Domini|B.C.]] (4000–3001 B.C.), [[Ancient Egypt]]ians [[worship]]ped Min as the [[gods|god]] of [[sexual reproduction|reproduction]] and the maker of al