



Min, an early god known as ‘the maker of gods and men,’ was among the first Egyptian deities to have large statues raised to them. If you know anything about the Egyptian god Min it is that he is ithyphallic – his statues will not let you forget that fact. To describe something as ithyphallic is to say it has an erect penis. It is thought that these images were used as a sort of sexual menu telling punters exactly what was on offer, in much the same way a picture of a hamburger helps a foreign tourist order in a restaurant.
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In the Lupinare, one of Pompeii’s pleasure houses, were a series of wall paintings showing couples in various sexual positions. Excavations have revealed exactly what Roman towns were like and one of the entertainments offered in Pompeii was a trip to a brothel. When Vesuvius erupted it both destroyed and preserved Pompeii. With potential language barriers popping up how then was a prostitute to earn her living? From the graffiti found in the ruins of the town we know that visitors were speaking a variety of languages from Latin to Greek to Oscan and maybe Hebrew. As with any archaeological find it may well have had a ritual meaning, but it is also possible that our ancestors were like us and simply preferred their porn 3D. What the Lovers was originally intended for is unknown. From different angles the Lovers can also appear as a pair of breasts or dangling testicles. This resemblance to a penis continues if the statue is turned sideways. But without facial features on either figure it gives their heads a somewhat phallic appearance. When viewed from the side it is unmistakably a pair with their legs wrapped around each other during sex. The person who created the Lovers used a stone tool to pick out the details. While at first it merely looks like a crude piece of carving it is in fact a clever work of art. The 10cm tall statue is thought to come from the Natufian Culture of the ancient middle east. Currently held in the British Museum, the Ain Sakhri Lovers were discovered in a cave near Bethlehem. The oldest image we have of two people having intercourse comes from 11,000 years ago. SEE ALSO: 10 Sex Myths We All Believe 10 Ain Sakhri Lovers Here are ten of the most shocking pieces of erotic art from the deep past. It can therefore be a shock when we are confronted with the naughty, erotic, or frankly bizarre sexual imagery that our ancestors reveled in. When artefacts were excavated in the past they were often suppressed if they did not fit the cultivated image people had of the ancient world. Many of the white sculptures in museums today were originally painted in gaudy colors as you can see on our list of Top 10 Color Classical Reproductions. In fact the ancient world was often dirty, smelly, and noisy. In this serene Golden age intellectuals wandered about in clean streets surrounded by elegant and gleaming white statues. When we picture the ancient world, it is often an idealized society we conjure up.
