Why did Greek statues have small penises ?

Doesn't size matter ?

When one looks at the Farnese Hercules in Naples, The Hercules fighting Acheloüs in the Louvre, or yet other renown Ancient Greek statues, one can’t help but notice something. Although the men, or gods (or semi-gods) depicted have perfectly muscular and proportionate bodies, they always have small penises.

A few shots from the Louvre

One could think that was the normal penis size, at the time and location. However, the more I got interested in Greek sculpture, the more I noticed that there were instances of characters with significantly larger penises.

There is a minor god, named Priapus, that was always represented with an erected male genitalia. However, it embodied nothing close to perfection. The legend says he was cursed by Hera, and abandoned by his mother Aphrodite, as she was disgusted by the newborn’s appearance.

In fact, anytime Greek culture represented men with a large phallus, they were either monsters, barbarians or rapists. Deeply inhabited by an animalistic nature.

The silly question I’m trying to answer today, actually has a lot to do with the vision of the ideal man by the Greeks. Here’s why :