The finger
Classical era
!The [Cynic philosopher) Diogenes, pictured by Gérôme with the large jar in which he lived; when strangers at the inn were expressing their wish to catch sight of the great orator Demosthenes, Diogenes is said to have stuck out his middle finger and exclaimed "This, for you, is the demagogue of the Athenians."](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Jean-L%C3%A9onG%C3%A9r%C3%B4me-Diogenes-Walters37131.jpg/250px-Jean-L%C3%A9onG%C3%A9r%C3%B4me-Diogenes-Walters37131.jpg)
Classical era
The middle finger gesture was used in ancient times as a symbol of sexual intercourse, in a manner meant to degrade, intimidate, and threaten the individual receiving the gesture. It also represented the phallus, with the fingers next to the middle finger representing testicles; from its close association, the gesture may have assumed apotropaic potency. In the 1st-century Mediterranean world, extending the finger was one of many methods used to divert the ever-present threat of the evil eye.
Classical era
!Roman stone busts from [Bar Hill Fort, Scotland. Silenus and bearded man with middle finger extended in the "infamis digitus" to ward off the evil eye. A video of the figure on the right has been made.](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Romanwallinscotl00macduoftraw0479stonebusts.png/250px-Romanwallinscotl00macduoftraw0479stonebusts.png)
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