Priapus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Priapus

8 passages from 5 ancient authors that tell of Priapus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Priapus was a minor fertility god in Greek mythology, who was also the protector of livestock, fruit plants, and male genitals. He was depicted as hav... For the story in one place, read our article on Priapus.

Theocritus (1)

Theocritus, Idylls 1.1–152Idyll 1: Thyrsis' lament for DaphnisA goatherd persuades the shepherd Thyrsis to sing the song of the sufferings of Daphnis, and offers him a carved ivy-wood cup, whose scenes he describes. In the song the Nymphs are called to mourn as Daphnis wastes away for love, and Hermes, Priapus and the herdsmen come to ask what ails him. Daphnis answers Aphrodite's taunts, bids the wild beasts farewell, and dies.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.6.1–4.7.4Priapus, Hermaphroditus and the MusesThe historian gives an Egyptian myth of Osiris, slain and dismembered by the Titans, to explain Priapus, whom others call the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, and he adds a short account of Hermaphroditus. He then treats the Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne in the usual account, quotes Homer and Hesiod for their number and names, and offers a reason for each name.

Ovid (2)

Ovid, Fasti 6.317–394Fasti 6: Hestia (Vesta) and Priapus; Zeus (Jupiter) the BakerOvid tells how Priapus, at a feast of Cybele, creeps toward the sleeping Hestia (Vesta) and is exposed by Silenus's braying ass, which explains the garlanded asses. He then tells of the Gauls besieging the Capitol, where Zeus (Jupiter) has loaves of grain thrown at the enemy, giving the altar of Baker Jupiter.
Ovid, Fasti 1.337–456Fasti 1: The first animal sacrifices; Priapus and LotisOvid describes early offerings of spelt and salt, then tells why animals came to be sacrificed: the sow to Demeter (Ceres), the goat to Dionysus (Bacchus), and the ox and sheep, with the story of Aristaeus, his bees and Proteus. At a feast of Bacchus, Priapus creeps toward the sleeping nymph Lotis, and Silenus' ass brays and wakes her, so the ass is sacrificed. The section ends with birds killed for the gods.

Strabo (3)

Strabo, Geography 13.1.10–19The Aesepus coast: Priapus, Adrasteia, PariumStrabo follows the coast from Zeleia and the Aesepus, noting the tomb of Memnon and the place where Ganymede was said to be carried off. He describes the cult of Priapus, the temple of Nemesis said to have been founded by Adrastus, and the Ophiogeneis of Parium, who cure snakebite and descend from a hero changed from a serpent into a man. He also mentions Proconnesus, the marble quarry, and Aristeas the Arimaspeian poet, and ends with the people and sights of Lampsacus.
Strabo, Geography 8.6.22–25The Isthmus, Crommyon's sow and the fall of CorinthStrabo describes the harbours of Corinth, the Diolcus and the pine grove of the Isthmian Poseidon (Neptune). He mentions Crommyon, scene of the fable of the sow Theseus killed, and Tenea, where Polybus brought up Oedipus. He tells how Mummius razed Corinth and Caesar restored it, then covers Orneae with its Priapus temple, Phlius and Sicyon.
Strabo, Geography 13.1.1–6The Troad: boundaries and the Aeolian migrationStrabo opens the Troad, a deserted country covered with ruins but famous, and warns that Homer and later writers disagree about its places and limits. He gives the geography of Mount Ida, with Lectum and Zeleia as its foot-like projections. He also tells how the Aeolian colonists set out under Orestes, with his son Penthilus, then Archelaus and Gras, who took the greater part to Lesbos, and how Cleuas and Malaus later founded Cyme.

Virgil (1)

Virgil, Eclogues 7.1–70Eclogue 7: Corydon and ThyrsisMeliboeus tells how Daphnis, sitting under an ilex, invited him to rest while two young Arcadians, Corydon and Thyrsis, held a singing contest, and he let his own work wait. They sing in alternate verses, Corydon asking for skill in song and offering the Delian Maid a boar's head, while Thyrsis offers Priapus milk and cakes. They call on Galatea and Phyllis and contrast cool shade with a warm hearth. Meliboeus says Thyrsis strove for victory in vain.