Ιθυφαλλικά άσματα
In antiquity, the phallus was a mockup of an erect men’s genital organ, which was made of leather and was used in the phallic procession. During the feast, the participants wore phalluses hanging on their chest or between their thighs, wearing long dresses and masks, as well as ivy wreaths on their heads. The ritual had a praying character for the fertility of the habitants of Athens and for the increase of population.
Moreover, during Thesmoforia feasts, all women that came praying for fertility brought phalluses made of dough, and which they threw from a cliff in honor of Euvoulos. All participants in Phalliforia procession were singing songs in specific meter, which was called phallic.
The following song seems like a traditional phallic meter satirical song, saved through the centuries:
Ανάγετ’, ευρυχωρίαν
τω θεώ ποιείτε
θέλει γαρ ο θεός ορθός εσφυδωμένος
διά μέσου βαδίζειν.
“Αποσυρθείτε, κάντε για τον θεό απλοχωριά,
θέλει ο θεός ορθός και σφριγηλός από τη μέση μέση να περνά”
Make space for the great god
Who wishes to pass through the crowds standing upright
Make space for the god to walk amongst us
As he wishes to walk standing out proud
Reference: Andriotis Ν.P., Editor of the Historical Dictionary of Greek Language , Ν.Α., Great Greek Encyclopedia, Vol. Ιb΄, page. 935
Special thanks to musician, composer and musicologist Petros Tabouris for granting us the Ithyfallic song to sing during the event