Small Ithyphallic Statue

Candi Sukuh

This small, headless, well-developed (plump) ithyphallic statue is positioned just inside the square base at the right of the pyramid platform, facing north (previous page). Such figures, while admittedly erotic even in today's sense of the word, had a much more important function in the ancient world: they embodied the concepts of fertility and protection. (See, for example, the Priapus fresco from ancient Pompeii, and the lingam and yoni design at Candi Ceto.)