In books, in museums or in a city that preserves its origins, have we ever come across ancient greek sculptures. Colossal pieces, of a whitish color and that, in most cases, represent strong men or beautiful women, trying to reproduce them in the most real way possible based on how mythology projected them. In the case of male figures, there is a detail that does not go unnoticed: a small penis or micropenis.
This organ of the human body of men tends to appear tiny, somewhat divergent from the slender bodies and huge or large muscles of the great mythical personalities they accompany. But It is a detail made on purpose by the artists, since all of them were based on a factor so that the penis of the statues was small.
As Andrew Lear, a Harvard history professor, explains, a large penis on a statue “could signify poor impulse control and an inability to act prudently.” Likewise, the historian tells Quartz that in Ancient Greece, “a small penis was an aspect coveted by the alpha and dominant male, since it was synonymous with refinement, heroism and prudence.” “They were characteristics of a good man who avoided at all costs to behave like a beast,” he adds.
As the website points out, there is a “contrast between the non-erection male genitalia of ideal men (heroes, gods, athletes) and the thick, erect penis of satyrs (mythical beings characterized by their carefree, drunken, and wild lust) and other types of non-ideal men.” “Statues of very old and decrepit men were often depicted with large penises,” she adds.
Aristophanes, who was a playwright from Athens and the main exponent of the ancient Greek comic genre, described this idea of the “ideal man” in his famous work “The Clouds”: “Healthy chest, broad shoulders, short tongue, strong buttocks and small member. ”. But perhaps the greatest work that represents this virtue is David, by Michelangelo, the greatest expression of the Renaissance in Italy.
Size matters, but in a different situation than today
The ideal of Ancient Greece has nothing to do with that of today, where the large penis is related to power, domination or, simply, masculinity. There are several theories about how the question of the male sexual organ has evolved since then, and one of them, according to Lear, has to do with pornography. However, the professor adds that in both societies, ideas about the size of the penis have nothing to do with reality or aesthetics.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no clear evidence that a larger penis is associated with greater sexual satisfaction. There is also no evidence that a small penis is a sign of moderation and rationality”, he concludes.
The social pressure that men face because of their physique also plays a determining role in the paradigm shift. “Greek men saw themselves naked all the time in the gym, so they must have been aware, somehow, that not all admirably moderate men had small penises and not all excessive, cowardly or drunken men had a long penis”, declared the professor.
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