PHALLUS-FASCINUS Authentic Roman Bronze 18 kt Gold Pendant

This pendant was made with authentic Roman bronze from the 1st-3rd century AD. In ancient Roman religion and magic, the fascinus or fascinum was the embodiment of the divine phallus. The word can refer to phallus effigies and amulets, and to the spells used to invoke his divine protection. Pliny calls it a medicus invidiae, a "doctor" or remedy for envy (invidia, a "looking upon"), or the evil eye. 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". Catullus uses the verb at the end of Carme 7, a hendecasyllabic poem. Phallic charms, were ubiquitous in Roman culture, appearing as objects of jewelry such as pendants and finger rings, relief carvings, lamps, and wind chimes (tintinnabula). Fascinus was thought particularly to ward off evil from children, mainly boys, and from conquering generals. The protective function of the phallus is usually related to the virile and regenerative powers of an erect phallus. Varro notes the custom of hanging a phallic charm on a baby's neck, and examples have been found of phallus-bearing rings too small to be worn except by children. A 2017 experimental archaeology project suggested that some types of the phallic pendant were designed to remain pointing outwards, in the direction of travel of the wearer, to face any potential danger or bad luck and nullify it before it could affect the wearer.