Priapus was a fertility deity, the
protector of vineyards, gardens,
and orchards. His attribute was
the ability to ward off the "evil-
eye" and to render harmless the
spells of people attempting to
harm the harvest.

In some stories, he was said
to be the son of Dionysis and
Aphrodite. In others, he was
the son of Zeus and Aphrodite.
Fearing the threat of his combination of beauty and power,
Hera touched Aprodite's womb
and caused Priapus to be born deformed.

In the night of a Dionysiac
festival, Priapus met the nymph
Lotis, and attempted to seduce
her. But at that moment, Silenus'
ass began to bray, so Priapus was later depicted in the company of an ass.