My fingertips brushed over the stone wall. The sun shone brightly over the expansive complex of dusty ruins, and so I ducked into the shade of a small building, and was reaching for my water bottle when I glimpsed the carving on the wall.
A nude figure, strong and commanding. Crowning his head were thick ram’s horns, his gaze piercing as he stared outward from the stone. In between his legs, he was erect – a generous and impressive size.
I looked down at my guidebook, bemused. It only took a moment to locate the description of the small ruined site that I had wandered into.
*The god, whose name has been lost to time, is believed to have been a fertility idol, often depicted with a sizable phallus and multiple pregnant female companions. The carved reliefs along the antechamber walls are believed by researchers to depict the acolytes worshiping the deity.*
I moved further inward, curious now, until I saw the second scene.
The god figure was nearly twice the height of the little carved women, his arms outstretched, almost kindly, to those kneeling at his feet. Many of them turned their heads downwards, hands upraised in submission. One, however, gazed upwards into his eyes.