Phallic saints

Phallic saints are representations of saints or local deities who are invoked for fertility. The representations of the phallus are benevolent symbols of prolificacy and reproductive fruitfulness, and objects of reverence and especial worship among barren women and young girls.

Phallic saints are representations of actual saints or local deities who are invoked for fertility. More than representations of the phallus, phallic saints are benevolent symbols of and reproductive fruitfulness, and objects of reverence and especial worship among barren women and young girls.

Many are legitimate saints who acquired their priapic attributes through the process of folk etymology. Sir William Hamilton (1730–1803) reported that, among the wax representations of body parts then presented as offerings to Cosmas and Damian at Isernia, near Naples, on their feast day, those of the penis are the most common. Hamiliton's observations led Richard Payne Knight to write his Account of the Remains of the Worship of Priapus, in which he reproduced examples of the effigies.

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