> _In ancient Roman religion and magic, the fascinus or fascinum was the embodiment of the divine phallus._ ![[the-ancients-were-wild-the-divine-phallus.jpg]] > _The word can refer to phallus effigies and amulets, and to the spells used to invoke his divine protection._ > > _Pliny called it a medicus invidiae, a "doctor" or remedy for envy (invidia, a "looking upon") or the evil eye._ ![[fascinum-01.jpg]] > _The English word "fascinate" ultimately derives from Latin fascinum and the related verb fascinare, "to use the power of the fascinus", that is, "to practice magic" and hence "to enchant, bewitch"._ ![[fascinum-02.jpg]] > _Catullus uses the verb at the end of Carmen 7, a hendecasyllabic poem addressing his lover Lesbia;_ ![[fascinum-05.jpg]] > _he expresses his infinite desire for kisses that cannot be counted by voyeurs nor "fascinated" (put under a spell) by a malicious tongue; such bliss, as also in Carmen 5, potentially attracts invidia._ ![[fascinum-04.jpg]] > _Phallic charms, often winged, were ubiquitous in Roman culture, appearing as objects of jewellery such as pendants and finger rings, relief carvings, lamps, and wind chimes (tintinnabula)._ ![[fascinum-07.jpg]] > _Fascinus was thought particularly to ward off evil from children, mainly boys..._ ![[fascinum-06.jpg]] > _The protective function of the phallus is usually related to the virile and regenerative powers of an erect phallus..._ ![[fascinum-09.jpg]] > _though in most cases the emotion, shame, or laughter created by obscenity is the power that diverts the evil eye._ ![[fascinum-08.jpg]] > -The Dynamic Read-Writable Free Encyclopedic Repository of the Modern State of Human Knowledge