Note 11 — VIRGINITY AND ITS TRADITIONS.

“According to Festus, Mutinus is a god differing wholly from Priapus, having a public sanctuary at Rome, where the statue was placed sitting with penis erect. Newly mated girls were placed in his lap, before being led away to their husbands, so that the deity might appear to have foretasted their virginity, this being supposed to render the bride fruitful.” (Priapeia: Cosmopoli, 1890.) Schurig (Gynæcologia: op. cit. sup.) instances the Indian custom of deflowering young brides by means of an enormous priapus in the temples.