Pimlico Priapus

When the area around an old police station in Pimlico was redeveloped into apartments in 2007, the developers commissioned a statue by the Scottish sculptor Alexander Stoddart for the site. He created a rather unusual and confusing depiction of the minor Greek god Priapus.

Priapus was a fertility god associated with multiple agricultural activities, particularly gardens, so a statue of him might at first make sense for the proposed location, which is across the street from a large grassy lawn. But Priapus is also associated with male fertility and is typically depicted with a very large phallus. Displaying Priapus in this way in a residential neighborhood would have been problematic. 

The final result is a peculiar compromise. The statue is shaped like a pillar with the god’s head on top, which copies the form of ancient Greek herms used to depict gods related to fertility and sexuality. While the ancient Greek herms would have typically included a phallus attached to the front, the sculptor decided to not attach it and instead retained it in a drawer in his study.

The statue’s head is decorated with grapevines, symbolizing Priapus’s connection with vineyards and viticulture.  Two hands emerge from either side of the top of the pillar, with one holding a pair of gardening shears (appropriate for a god of gardening), and the other holding what appears to be finger cymbals. The pillar itself is also decorated with bees and other insects, and feet can be seen at the bottom of the pillar. The front of the pillar bears the inscription "Now we have raised thee Priapus of bronze, such as the times admit but if births make full the flock, then you shall be of gold,” which originates from Virgil’s Eclogues.

Given the statue’s location on a relatively quiet residential street in an area where few tourists visit, it is something that few people will encounter without deliberately seeking it out. Those who do find it but who do not understand the full backstory will almost certainly be confused by the statue’s appearance.