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Giovanni Lattanzi

The god Priapus—associated with sexuality, fertility and agriculture—is usually depicted with a large, erect phallus. In the Lupanar, Priapus is doubly endowed. Paintings of the deity are often found near Roman doorways; his mighty phallus was thought to ward off the demons that lurked inside unlit rooms. The Lupanar Priapus, then, is an even more powerful guardian, though his second phallus may have simply been rendered for comic effect.