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Some academics propose that this is the origin of the modern cult of garden gnomes. And today many believe that no garden is happy without its resident gnome...

Priapos, Garden Protector



According to Greek legend, Priapos (praɪˈeɪpəs/; Greek, Latin Priapus) was exposed at his birth on a bleak mountainside, so ugly was he. Discovered by shepherds and raised by them, he remained foreshortened in all but one attribute: his mighty male member. Back then, two millennia and more ago, crops might be devastated by pests and pathogens. Rabbits and rats, birds and other beasts were obvious. Others like locusts arrived seemingly from nowhere. Starvation could and did result.
Greeks such as Aristotle were close observers of physical facts and so the forefathers of modern Western scientific thought. Their observations, however, failed to result in practical aid for beleaguered crops. Those labouring in gardens, fruit groves and fields, perforce, turned to the deities. Who better than Priapos? Protector of vegetables, vineyards, orchards and beehives, with his generous endowment he doubtlessly could ensure fertility. By 2500 B.C., wooden statues were being erected to assure this and protect crops. In order to emphasis this, in one hand he held a club, in the other a sickle. And if all this failed, at least the birds had a convenient perch. Greek culture was much admired by the upstart Romans, ignoring Cato the Elder who despised Hellenization. Indeed, the nobility frequently spoke Greek in preference over their native Latin. Unsurprisingly they also adopted Greek deities. Sometimes this was done with barely a change in their names and attributes. So, it was with Priapos, or Priapus in his change of venue. He was welcomed into Roman horticulture and viticulture, even art. The famed fresco in the House of the Vettii, Pompeii survives as do numerous statues that once stood in gardens and entranceways. Behind the Roman armies as they spread north, west and east through Europe, came Priapus as a garden protector. Some academics propose that this is the origin of the modern cult of garden gnomes. And today many believe that no garden is happy without its resident gnome . . .

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Wes Porter -- Bio and Archives

Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.


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