There's something weird about all the ancient Greek statues. Have you noticed it yet?

Size doesn't matter. Photo Courtesy: TheLallantop

Be it Hrithik Roshan, John Abraham, or any other good-looking Bollywood actor--English magazines and newspapers often refer to them as Greek Gods. Especially while talking about their chiseled abs and square shoulders. In popular culture, the term 'Greek God' is often used for men who have taunt bodies with rippling muscles. As if someone has purposely sketched them on their bodies with a pencil.

Hrithik Roshan has often been called a Greek God. Photo Courtesy: TheLallantop

Greek mythology is read by millions of people around the globe. Be it television, books, or cinema--it finds existence everywhere. Now, have you watched Brad Pitt--starrer Troy? Well, that's based on Greek mythology too.

And now, let's talk some more about Greek Gods. They were not deities you worshipped with folded hands. They did not conceive the idea of any new religion. These were Gods with super-human strength. Some were mortal, while some were immortal. These Gods were not wound-proof. Meaning they could get injured. Hell, they could even lose all their powers. Interestingly, these Gods would also fight amount themselves. Now, as you would know, an offspring produced by God and a human is called a Demi God. You can call them half-Gods.

Remember Brad Pitt in Troy? Photo Courtesy: Facebook

All these Gods find representation in most of the artwork in Europe. Not to mention, all of them look the same. They have similar physique in the paintings, sculpture, art, and other crafts. But, apart from their bodies, there's another thing that is a common point in all of them. Their genitals.

Their male members have often left the lovers of art a tad confused. All these Gods, super humans, and kings have large frames and strong bodies, but when it comes to their penises--they are rather insignificant in size. In fact, it strikes as a little odd in comparison to their humongous bodies.

Laocoon and his sons, Greek statue in marble. Photo Courtesy: Artsy.com

In India, hundreds of products are sold that guarantee penis enlargement in mere few weeks. Obviously they are nothing but a scam. The reason why people fall prey to such fraud is because we believe bigger the penis the more masculine the man is. We ridicule those who have average or small penises. We crack jokes at their expense. However, you will be shocked to know that in ancient Greece things were quite the opposite.

Around three thousand years ago, the standards and parameters to judge beauty were different. Large penises were not considered sexual and neither they were seen as emblem of manhood. Aristophanes was a popular playwright of that time. He once wrote, "The ideal traits of a male are a gleaming chest, bright skin, broad shoulders, tiny tongue, strong buttocks, and a little prick."

Historian Paul Chrystal, who also conducted research into this ancient ideal, wrote, "The small penis was consonant with Greek ideals of male beauty."

Zeus/ Poseidon in bronze. Photo Courtesy: Artsy.com

Large penises were considered beastly and were looked down upon. Someone who was bestowed with a large package was not seen as a gentleman. "In Greek comedy, fools also routinely sported large genitals--the sign of stupidity, more of a beast than a man. If large phalluses represented gluttonous appetites, then the conclusion can be drawn that the small, flaccid penis represented self-control," writes Alexxa Gotthardt for the website Artsy.

Oh! How drastically things have changed. Now, men with big penises are seen as 'real men.' Evidently, porn industry has a lot to do with it. Many people believe that only men with large organs can sexually satisfy women. However, many sex experts have argued that only four inches of a woman's vagina is sensitive to touch or penetration. Though, porn begs to differ.

Maybe the definition of masculinity has changed with time. But, its implication remains the same. It dominated women then, and it dominates women now.

(The story was originally written by Prateeksha Pandey for The Lallantop in Hindi. Translated by Sarwat Fatima for OddNaari)