The manus fica, “fig hand”, was an obscene hand gesture that was thought to represent female genitalia. Romans associated the fig with female fertility and eroticism; the fruit was sacred to Bacchus. Whether made as an apotropaic gesture, worn as an amulet or affixed to a larger object, the manus fica was used for magical protection against the evil eye. The pater familias, the head of the family, would make the manus fica sign during the Lemuria festival to ward off evil spirits in the household. The fascinus or fascinum was the embodiment and representation of the divine phallus. The word fascinus can be referred to the deity himself (Fascinus), to amulets modelled in the shape of phalli and to spells used to invoke the god’s protection. Phallic appliqués and amulets in Ancient Rome were talismans used to ward off the evil eye, bad luck and envy, targeted against the fertility of animal, crop and person. As the ancient author Pliny attests, even babies and soldiers wore such charms to invite divine protection.