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© Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya - Barcelona
Omeka ID 2341
Hostafrancs
Roman world

Priapus of Hostafrancs

MAC BCN-001161

Object type
sculpture
Production date
100 / 200
Fabric
-
Museum
Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya - Barcelona
Culture
Roman world
Discovery location
Hostafrancs
Materials
sandstone
Township
Barcelona (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Barcelona, Barcelonès)
Technique
sculpting
Where is it?
Exposició permanent
Dimensions
215 cm
Description
Sculpture of Priapus which lacks his head, showing a large phallus rising throughout the coat. Priapus was a minor Greek god, who was incorporated into the Roman pantheon during the Hellenistic period. He was a deity associated with fertility, who was part of the retinue of Dionysus / Bacchus, and he was always represented with his most characteristic attribute, a huge phallus. Furthermore, he was also the god invoked to ensure the fertility of the fields and cattle, the abundance of fish, as well as lush gardens. In this particular sculpture, the god Priapus is holding up his garments to let us see a huge erect penis. With the skirt of his tunic he is holding flowers and fruits, to remind us of his divine nature of fertility and gardens. Owing to its size (more than 2m tall) and the flat finish to the back, probably the sculpture would have been attached to a monument or temple in a garden. It was found in July 1848 in a lot in Hostafrancs, near the Covered Cross, where there were some works. Most likely in this area there would have been a suburban villa in Roman times.

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