27. The Roman Flying Phallic God
The most famous Roman maiden supposedly impregnated by Fascinus was Ocrisia, the mother of Rome’s sixth king, Servius Tullius. Ocrisia was a foreign noblewoman captured in war, and made a slave in the household of Rome’s King Tarquinius. As the legend went, Ocrisia was a “maiden”, and one day, as she performed the sacred rites of the Vestal Virgins, a disembodied winged phallus flew in and impregnated her. The result was Servius Tullius, who was raised in the royal household. Although a slave, Tullius so impressed King Tarquinius that he eventually freed him and gave him his daughter’s hand in marriage. After the king’s death, he was succeeded on the throne by Servius, his son-in-law and son of the divine Fascinus.
Fascinus’ name gave rise to the Latin verb “fascinare“. It means the power to use the Fascinus, entrance, or cast a spell since the flying phallic god was supposed to have such powers. Fascinus’ worship declined with the rise of Christianity, and eventually vanished, along with the rest of antiquity’s pagan pantheon. Nonetheless, a trace of Fascinus is still with us today. The etymology of the English word “fascinate” traces back to the Latin word “fascinare“, and the flying Roman god.