International Journal of Surgical Pathology http://ijs.sagepub.com/
Finding Apotropaic Images in Dermatopathology
Jose Aneiros-Fernández, Luis Requena, Isabel Dulcey and Francisco F. Nogales INT J SURG PATHOL 2013 21: 147 DOI: 10.1177/1066896912473356 The online version of this article can be found at: http://ijs.sagepub.com/content/21/2/147 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com
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473356 onal Journal of Surgical PathologyAneiros-Fernández et al.
IJSXXX10.1177/1066896912473356Internati
International Journal of Surgical Pathology 21(2) 147–148 © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1066896912473356 http://ijs.sagepub.com
Finding Apotropaic Images in Dermatopathology
Jose Aneiros-Fernández, MD1, Luis Requena, MD, PhD2, Isabel Dulcey, MD1, and Francisco F. Nogales, MD, PhD1
Figure 1. (A) Art imitates nature: Travertine bas-relief from Pompeii. From the Gabinetto segreto, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Naples, Italy. (B) Nature imitates art: Hair follicle as an apotropaic object (hematoxylin and eosin, original magnification 200×)
Apotropaic, meaning to cast aside, from ancient Greek apotrópaios ( ποτρόπαιος), from ποτρέπω, from πό (away) and τρέπω (flip), is a term referring to a type of traditional magic common to many cultures. Intending to ward off evil, objects (amulets, charms) or body gestures were employed, some of these are considered nowadays as obscene (gesto dell’ombrello, far manichetta, bras d’honneur, corte de mangas—Italian, French, and Spanish respectively, for the V-sign). Apotropaic objects to ward off the evil eye often include depictions of hands (the khomsah or hand of Fatima or Miriam in Muslim and Jewish cultures, respectively), eyes, and generative organs such as the vulva (the
Carthaginian Tanit sign and medieval Sheela na Gigs sculptures from churches in Ireland and Britain) and phalli, which in many Far Eastern cultures (lingam) to the Mediterranean,1 were used in a mystical way but are devoid of any erotic or obscene component, being found 1
University of Granada Medical School, Granada, Spain Fundación Jiménez Diaz, Madrid, Spain
2
Corresponding Author: Francisco F. Nogales, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada Medical School, Av Madrid 11, Granada 18012, Spain Email:
[email protected]
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often on tombstones representing the genius or generative force of the deceased, which was impervious to the decaying of the mortal flesh.2 In the Roman world, phalli often represented the god Priapus, a manifest image of the fertility of nature, and its amulets were used to safeguard gardens, houses, and baths from evil. The apotropaic force of the phallus is represented in this bas-relief from Pompeii (Figure 1A), where it was found over the oven of the bakery next to the house of Pansa (VI.6.18). The inscribed words Hic habitat felicitas, CIL IV 1454 (here dwells happiness) were intended to protect the business and its dwellers from evil.2
The junior pathologist’s (JA-F) highly honed visual pattern recognition skills allowed the identification of this apotropaic object (Figure 1B) in a facial skin biopsy of a 56-year-old farm laborer presenting with a torpid cutaneous ulcer. References 1. Hildburgh WL. Indeterminability and confusion as apotropaic elements in Italy and in Spain. Folklore. 1944;4:133-149. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1944.9717738. 2. Varone A. Eroticism in Pompeii. Los Angeles, CA: J Paul Getty Museum; 2001:15-16.
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