In times of the Roman Empire, vulva and phallus charms were used to protect people from disasters. According to Monika Gesell[1], an outstanding fact is that phallus charms were reproduced in a lifelike way, whereas vulva charms were only suggestively recreated or depicted symbolically in the form of sea shells. In her opinion, this points to a "taboo of depiction" rather than a lack of artistic competence[2]. For the scientist, this is an omission of the female sex[3]. The human ethnologist Eibl-Eibesfeldt refers to a "similar use and creation of these charms in various civilizations around the world and suggests "a similar perception, expression and expression behaviour". (...) "This assumption is supported by the interrelation of motive and function"[4]. In a scientific context the aforementioned charms are related to superstition in so far as "the exposure of both male and female genitals or the application of the symbol" is described as „an effective measure in order to scare away evil, illness, storm and crop failure"[5]. The question why people chose the symbol of sexual organs in order to repel disasters remains open and unanswerable.

(Translation: C. Wilhelm)