... with roots in the Dionysian fertility rites of ancient Greek drama, but which gradually faded to merely an entertaining and comedic prop, and from there into nothing. With the rise of world religions that highlighted the virtue of abstinence and disdained uninhibited sexuality - religions such as Christianity and Islam - the phallus as a symbol largely disappeared from conscious human thought, although the ancient obsession with fertility and the symbols associated with it lingered subtly in the fabric of the new societies that formed the precursor to today's nation states. One need look no further than the Christian holiday of Easter, with its adoption of the pagan fertility symbols of the egg and the rabbit, for confirming evidence of the lasting imprint of sexual symbols upon the human consciousness. With the dawn of the 20th century, as the human population began its steady increase and new societal systems - ...

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