Scarecrows and God Priapus (Gk)

Did you know the God Priapus of Greek Mythology may have been the first scarecrow?

The Greek god of Priapus is patron of livestock, fertility, fruits, gardens, and male genitalia.  Priapus is often thought to be the son of Aphrodite and Dionysus...the Goddess of Love and God of drunken orgies, respectively.  Hera, wife of Zeus, in her vengeful ways, cursed Priapus to ugliness and impotence when he was still in the womb.  He was refused entrance to Mount Olympus by the other gods and was tossed into a field where he was brought up by Shepherds. He fell in love with a nymph and pursued her endlessly, she wanted nothing to do with him and eventually fairies and sprites took pity on her and turned her into a Lotus lower. His anger and hatred of this caused him to be cursed with a freakishly large and permanently erect male genitalia (some say the Gods cursed him with this).Priapus

So...how does this connect with scarecrows? As much as 3000 years ago farmers have been making scarecrows in an attempt to scare critters out of their crop fields with perhaps the first scarecrows being made by Egyptians.  It is believed that 2500 years ago Greek farmers carved or made their scarecrows in the form of Priapus for two reasons: he was ugly (to scare off the critters) and his large genitalia (aided in fertility of the crops).  History of Scarecrows

The Romans, in their copy-cat ways, also have Priapus and some say he is of Roman origin in which he is commonly thought of us the son of Bacchus and Venus, the Roman counterpart to Dionysus and Aphrodite.  temples may have been erected to him (pun intended) as the protective deity of vineyard and other crop fields, he would protect from not only critters but also thieves.  Myths About the Roman God Priapus

Some scholars also suggest that the common garden gnome is based on Priapus, however, I tend to think they are based off of what they are called...gnomes or dwarves.  They have no real imagery to that of Priapus who is ugly, and garden or lawn gnomes do not scare critters off from gardens and scarecrows are purported to do.  

If scarecrows aren't enough to scare you, how about "penis worms" which are a group of burrowing marine animals known as Priapulidea (relax, they don't live in penises but presumably just are shaped as such).  There is, however, a medical condition known as Priapism in which a male has a permanently engorged penis although I doubt then (men) think that's a bad thing.

Either way...Priapus is alive and well so anytime you see a scarecrow or a garden gnome give a small wave to it or if you can, leave an offering of grain or seeds before it as an honor to Priapus.