Priapus

Priapus is a fertility god in Greek mythology usually shown with an exaggerated phallus due to a permanent erection (hence the medical term priapism) (“PRIAPUS : Greek & Mysian God of Vegetable Gardens & Fertility.”)

//Probably the most moving mass-sight of all human mass-experience, far more so than the spectacle of so many virgins going to be sacrificed to some heathen Principle, some Priapus—the sight of young men, the light quick bones, the bright gallant deluded blood and flesh…marching away to battle// (AA 97).

Here Mr. Compson was expressing his distaste for women, showing endorsement of the patriarchy, discussing how males are the superior sex. Along with this he is “referring to both sacrifices as a ritualistic slaughter of the young by their elders, a slaughter that both young and old find aesthetically pleasing and politically necessary” (Urgo). These sacrifices were usually either to uphold and perhaps increase the reputation of a certain land or to please the gods in times of uncertainty (Urgo). If these sacrifices were not made there could be chaotic consequences, such as losing a war (See Clytemnestra for example).

Works Cited

Urgo, Joseph. //Reading Faulkner: Absalom, Absalom!//. Mississippi: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2010. Print.

“PRIAPUS : Greek & Mysian God of Vegetable Gardens & Fertility.” //Theoi Greek Mythology//. Theoi Project. Web. 11 Dec 2013.