Fibula (penile)

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Athlete infibulating himself (psykter by the Syriskos Painter, c. 480 BC) Syriskos Painter - Psykter with Athlete and Servant Boy and Youth and a Dog - Walters 4877 - Side B Detail.jpg
Athlete infibulating himself (psykter by the Syriskos Painter, c. 480 BC)
Mural from Cave 198, Kizil Caves, 6th century CE Mural, Cave 198, Kizil.jpg
Mural from Cave 198, Kizil Caves, 6th century CE

A penile fibula is foremost a ring, attached with a pin through the foreskin to fasten it above the glans penis. [1] It was mainly used by ancient Roman culture, though it may have originated earlier. [2] This ring type of fibula has been described akin to a "large modern safety pin". [3] Its usage may have had several reasons, for example to avoid intercourse, to promote modesty or the belief that it helped preserve a man's voice. Some Jews also utilized fibulas to hide that they were circumcised. [4] [5] The word fibula could also be used in general in Rome to denote any type of covering of the penis (such as with a sheath) for the sake of voice preservation or sexual abstinence; it was often used by masters on their slaves for this purpose. [6] Fibulas were frequent subject of ridicule among satirists in Rome. [7] [8] [6] [3] [9]

Infibulation could be also a surgical procedure in which two holes were pierced in the foreskin, so a metal clasp could be locked on them to close the prepuce shut. This procedure was similarly criticized by Celsus. [10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Schultheiss, D.; Mattelaer, J.J.; Hodges, F.M. (2003). "Preputial infibulation: From ancient medicine to modern genital piercing". BJU International. 92 (7): 758–763. doi: 10.1046/j.1464-410X.2003.04490.x . PMID   14616462.
  2. ↑ Buchli, Victor (2017). Material culture : critical concepts in the social sciences. Vol. 1 : Pt. 2. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9780415267205.
  3. 1 2 Younger, John (2004). Sex in the Ancient World from A to Z. Routledge. ISBN   9781134547029.
  4. ↑ "Epispasm: Circumcision in Reverse". www.cirp.org.
  5. ↑ "The Ancient World". Ares Publishers. 1985.
  6. 1 2 Golden, Mark; Toohey, Peter (1997). Inventing Ancient Culture: Historicism, Periodization and the Ancient World. Psychology Press. ISBN   9780415099608.
  7. ↑ Rubin, Nissan (2008). Time and Life Cycle in Talmud and Midrash: Socio-anthropological Perspectives. Academic Studies Press. pp. 54–. ISBN   978-1-934843-07-9.
  8. ↑ Hubbard, Thomas K. (2013). A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities. Wiley. pp. 356–. ISBN   978-1-118-61068-8.
  9. ↑ "Infibulation". www.sacred-texts.com.
  10. ↑ Frederick M. Hodges, The Ideal Prepuce in Ancient Greece and Rome: Male Genital Aesthetics and Their Relation to Lipodermos, Circumcision, Foreskin Restoration, and the Kynodesme. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, volume 57, p. 375-405
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