Aegean Island Erotic Graffiti

Earliest known erotic graffiti found on an Aegean island

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A Greek archaeologist has discovered a set of ancient erotic graffiti on a stone on the Aegean island of Astypalaia, believed to date back more than 2,500 years.  Engravings of phalluses and inscriptions detailing racy sexual encounters between two men shed light on the private lives of those who inhabited ancient Greece, according to a news report in The Guardian .

Astypalaia belongs to an island group of twelve major islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and is home to just 1,300 residents. The island is steeped in history; it has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and has seen occupation by the Carians, Minoans, Venetians, Turks, Italians, British, and Germans, until it was finally integrated in Greece in 1948.

Dr Andreas Vlachopoulos, a specialist in prehistoric archaeology, was conducting fieldwork on the island of Astypalaia when he discovered the erotic art and words chiselled into dolomite limestone on the rocky peninsula at Vathy. Dr Vlachopoulos explained that he was in no doubt as to what the images were intended to represent.


Erotic graffiti found on Astypalaia

Erotic graffiti found on Astypalaia. Photograph: Helena Smith

Two penises were engraved into the limestone along with the inscription: "Nikasitimos was here mounting Timiona” (Νικασίτιμος οἶφε Τιμίονα). Dr Vlachopoulos explained that in the Greek language the use of the past continuous tense suggests that the lover’s tryst did not just occur on one occasion but that the two men were regularly meeting at that spot.

Based on the presence of other carvings, such as oared ships, daggers, waves of the sea, and spirals, which reflect the style of early Cycladic art, the archaeologist estimates that the inscriptions date to around the fifth or sixth century BC.

Dr Vlachopoulos said that the inscriptions have provided invaluable insight into the private lives of those who inhabited archaic and classical Greece.

Featured image: The Greek island of Astypalaia. Photo source .

By April Holloway


angieblackmon's picture

aw, love is love, no matter the year!

love, light and blessings


It's amusing to think that the sort of stuff marker penned on bus shelters everywhere is part of an ancient tradition! 



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