The vases also make it clear that this was a widely practised custom. Since in some men the distended foreskin may no longer close properly, allowing the long penis to hang out in unsightly fashion, a string could be used to avoid such an unattractive spectacle, at least to judge from the evidence of vase painting. To expose a long penis, and especially the head, was regarded as shameless and dishonourable, something we see only in depictions of slaves and barbarians.
Satyrs are also so depicted, evidently for comic effect. Here it is almost exclusively symposiasts and komasts who have their phallus bound up in the same manner as Anacreon, and as a rule they are older men, or at least mature and bearded. The way the mantle is draped actually emphasizes the poet's nudity and calls attention to a striking detail that has barely been noticed before: he has tied up the penis and foreskin with a string, a practice known as infibulation (or, in Greek, kynodesme) …But many examples of kynodesme in contemporary vase painting (fig. The Mask of Socrates: The Image of the Intellectual in Antiquity. A penile fibula is a ring, attached with a pin through the foreskin to fasten it above the glans penis.Namba – a traditional penis sheath from Vanuatu.Koteka – a penis sheath traditionally worn by native male inhabitants of some ethnic groups in New Guinea to cover their genitals.Codpiece (from Middle English: cod, meaning " scrotum") – a covering flap or pouch that attaches to the front of men's trousers, enclosing the genital area.The Romans however preferred to use a ring known as a fibula, rather than a band, to conceal the glans. The Kynodesme was also used by the Etruscans and Romans who called it a ligatura praeputii. There is earlier evidence from the images of athletes on Ancient Greek pottery. It is first alluded to in literature in the 5th century BC, in the partially preserved satyr play Theoroi by Aeschylus. In ancient Rome, this form of non-surgical infibulation might thus be used by singers as a regimen for preserving the voice. In Greek and Roman medical practice, the uncontrolled dispersing of semen was thought to weaken men, and was particularly thought to affect the quality of the masculine voice. The usage of the kynodesme might have also helped to naturally elongate the foreskin, which was seen as desirable. Modesty and decency demanded that men who showed themselves naked in a public setting, such as athletes or actors, must conceal their glans.
The public exposure of the penis head was regarded by the Greeks as dishonourable and shameful, something only seen in slaves and barbarians. Below: the tie around the foreskin is connected to a loop around the scrotum. Above: the tie around the foreskin is connected to a belt-like loop around the waist. The two different ways in which the kynodesme may be tied.