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Did ancient Greeks really have teeny, tiny tallywackers?
Why is it that ancient Greek and Roman paintings, sculptures and other works of art depict males with such small genitalia? My first thought was that the artists wished to draw the viewer's attention to other, more important, aspects of the work. However, my roommate has pointed out that this treatment has the opposite effect. I really don't think evolution has treated us as kindly as this artwork might lead us to believe. So why the small penises?
Phil, Los Angeles
Phil, it's time we had a little talk about the Greeks.
You remember the Greeks. They were the guys (and it was mostly guys - women at the time were mainly relegated to childbearing and housekeeping or sex objecthood, and were seldom heard from) who pretty much invented what we now think of as Western civilization. Their ideas about culture and society, which the Romans copied, influence us to this day. The Greeks also..., we'll get into a discussion of Greek sexual preferences some other time. For now let's just say they were fascinated by male beauty, and in particular by (ahem) the penis.
The Greeks weren't shy...