Citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum believed penises provided protection, prosperity, and good luck, and incorporated them into everything from furniture to oil lamps. Frescos on the walls of homes depicted erotic encounters between wood nymphs and satyrs. Erotica was everywhere.

After the excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the 19th century, the sexy objets were put on display in the National Archeological Museum of Naples.

But when the future King of the two Sicilies Francis I visited with his wife and young daughter in 1819, he was shocked by the explicit imagery. He ordered all the erotic items removed from view and locked in a secret cabinet, where access could be restricted to mature gentleman of high moral standing.

By Ella Morton on Atlas Obscura via Slate.