Semen in the ancient world is seen from a creative force to an unclean toxin. In early anatomical thinking the semen is stored in the head. It flows through the spine and bones.
In Sumerian (c. 3400 BCE) water also means 'semen'.
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The God Enki, Lord of the Abzu or waters of creation, ejaculates to form the waters of earth. In ancient Mesopotamia the Abzu is the source of all life.
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In a story of Enki and how Enki got pregnant, the God eats eight sacred plants. The plants come from his own sperm, which is removed from the womb of Uttu, Enki's latest unwilling sexual conquest, by Mountain Mother Goddess Ninhursag, and cast into the ground.
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After eating the plants the God becomes ill with swellings. They form in his jaw, his teeth, his mouth, his hip, his throat, his limbs, his side and his rib. He's made himself pregnant and has no way to give birth.
Although angry at Enki because he ate the sacred plants, Ninhursag takes pity on him. She receives Enki's ab (semen) and takes inside her the swellings and pain.
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Ninhursag gives birth to eight divinities:
Abu - jaw - snake and vegetation god
Nanshe - throat - goddess of marshes, nature, dream interpretation, justice
Nintul - hip
Ninsutu - tooth - medicine goddess, perhaps
Ninkasi - mouth - goddess of beer and brewing
Dazimua - side - name means 'water of life'
Enshagag - limbs - god associated with date palms
Ninti - rib
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In Hurrian myth, the god Kumarbi becomes pregnant when he bites off the testicles of Sky God Anu. His head must be split so he can give birth to Teshub, the Storm God, his son and mortal enemy.
New Guinea
Among the Sambia tribe in Papua, many believe semen provides sexual maturity to the younger men. Semen of older men bestows manliness and wisdom to the younger. Younger men fellate their elders to receive their authority and powers, and enter adulthood.
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In the Hebrew bible, semen is impure. It's stated in Leviticus 15:16-18 and 32: "16 When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening."
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, semen from masturbation of the self-created first god, Atum, gives life to the god of Air Shu and his consort Tefnut, the lion-headed goddess of moisture, dew and rain. Together Shu and Tefnut give birth to the primordial gods Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky).
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Geb and Nut have sex, and Geb impregnates Nut. Shu separates Geb from Nut during the act of love, creating a space in which life can take place. This is depicted as Shu standing on or by a prone Geb, while lifting the arching body of Nut high overhead.
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In the Egyptian myth of the battle between gods Horus, the falcon-headed god, and Set, chaos god of storms and war. Set has sex with Horus either as a domination display, or by permission for a favor.
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Set's semen is poisonous and makes Horus sick. In some stories Horus fools Set by catching the semen in his hand. After this, Goddess Isis has Horus ejaculate into a pot. She takes it to the garden of Set (Seth). The gardener tells her Set likes lettuce.
Isis pours the semen of Horus onto the lettuce. When Set returns to the garden and eats the lettuce, he becomes pregnant by the semen of the falcon-headed god. Told what he's done, Set doesn't believe he ingested the semen of Horus.
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Horus and Set stand before the council of judgment, where god Thoth presides. Thoth puts his hands on Horus and calls upon the semen of Set to come out.
Nothing happens. Thoth then puts his hands on Set and commands the semen of Horus to come out. The semen emerges as a golden solar disc upon Set’s forehead.
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Enraged, Set tries to take off the solar disc but cannot. Thoth removes the disc from Set's forehead and sets it as a crown on his own head. In this way both semen (virility, fertility) and falcons (Horus) are associated with kingship.
The Babylonian Twelve Days of Zagmuk ritual falls on the first day of the first month, which used to be March. During this time the King must perform various tasks. One task is to have sex with a naditum priestess in a re-enactment of the mating of An (sky) and Ki (earth).
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Chinese Medicine
Jing - Qigong and Chinese medicine center on the energy force 精 (pinyin: jīng). The word also means essence or spirit. Jing is important to develop and accumulate.
As sexual energy it dissipates with ejaculation. The act of masturbation is considered energy suicide.
Problems arise because, according to Qigong theory, energy from many pathways and meridians becomes diverted during sexual excitement.
Jing transfers itself to the sexual organs. The orgasm and ejaculation expel the energy from the system completely.
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The scientific term for semen in Chinese is 精液 (pinyin: jīng yè, literally: fluid of essence/jing) and the term for sperm is 精子 (pinyin: jīng zǐ, literally: basic element of essence/jing).
Medicine of India
In Ayurveda, semen is said to be made from forty drops of blood. It is considered to be the end of the food digestion cycle.
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A natural system of medicine, Ayurveda originates in India from an oral tradition as far back as c. 5000 BCE. Its practice is widespread today in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
One of the key aspects of Hindu religion is abstinence called brahmacharya. It can be lifelong or during a specific period or on specific days. Brahmacharya attaches great importance to semen retention. Self-restraint is a virtue.
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Abstinence is important to enlightenment. Brahmacharya is more than celibacy, it is a spiritual state. A person strives to completely control body and mind through ascetic means.
Yogic texts also emphasize the importance of semen retention. It's featured in yoga such as Mula Bandha and Aswini Mudra. Awini Mudra is also known as the Horse stance.
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Ashwini mudra exercises the muscles of the rectum, colon and perineum. It increases blood flow to the penis. It releases abdominal stiffness under the navel. This is an exercise for men with premature ejaculation, or those who want to withhold or control semen release.
Mul bandha or root lock draws the root chakra (Muladhara) up and in. The root chakra is at the base of the torso, or perineum, the area between the anus and genitals. Its color is red and it's associated with a lotus of 4 red petals.
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In Sanskrit, the planet Venus is called Shukra or zukra, meaning semen.
Greek philosophy
In Ancient Greece, Aristotle (4th century BCE) has a lot to say about semen:
"... semen is the residue derived from nourishment, that is of blood, that has been highly concocted to the optimum temperature and substance. This can only be emitted by the male as only the male, by nature of his being, has the heat required to concoct blood into semen."
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According to Aristotle, there is a direct connection between food and semen: "Sperms are the excretion of our food, or to put it more clearly, as the most perfect component of our food."
The connection between food and physical growth, on the one hand, and semen, on the other, gives Aristotle the forum to warn against engaging in sexual activity at too early an age. He say this will "affect the growth of their bodies".
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Aristotle contends that vital nourishment for the growth of the body is used in production of semen. Sexual activity should begin when growth is no longer abundant. When the body reaches full height, transformation of nourishment into semen won't drain growth essence.
Aristotle also describes the region around the eyes as the part of the head most fruitful of seed. The effects of sexual indulgence upon the eyes recognizes the seed as coming from the head, specifically the liquid area of the eye.
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Pythagoreans profess semen is a drop of the brain [τὸ δε σπέρμα εἶναι σταγόνα ἐγκέφαλου].
Greek Stoic philosophy conceives of the Logos spermatikos ("seminal word") as the principle of active reason rendering passive matter fertile.
The Jewish philosopher Philo speaks in sexual terms of the Logos as the masculine principle of reason which sows seeds of virtue in the feminine soul. Christian Platonist Clement of Alexandria likens the Logos to physical blood as the substance of the soul.
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Clement notes the belief of animal semen as foam of the animal's blood. Clement purveys an early Christian view that "the seed ought not be wasted nor scattered thoughtlessly nor sown in a way it cannot grow."
In the world of ancient medicine, women are believed to have their own version of semen, stored in the womb and released during climax. Retention was believed to cause hysteria.
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The term hysteria is first noted in ancient Egyptian medicine of c. 2000 BCE. The ancients perceive feminine issues as a "wandering womb", believing the womb travels around in the body.
Male hysteria is known since the mid-19th century, but connected to trauma and not sexuality. In a sexual context, in the Victorian era men are considered vulnerable to spermatorrhoea.
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Spermatorrhoea, or involuntary release of semen without sexual stimulation, is seen as a medical disorder with corrupting and devastating effects on mind and body. Treatment is enforced chastity, avoidance of masturbation, and possibly circumcision.
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