A huge outline sculpted into the chalk hillside above the village of Cerne Abbas representing a naked, sexually aroused, club-wielding giant.
Public perceptions are wide-ranging, is he smutty, humorous or offensive? Certainly he has been used to advertise products as diverse as condoms, jeans and bicycles. Many couples today believe him to be a unique aid to fertility.
The Cerne Abbas figure has conventionally been viewed as a great symbol of ancient spirituality. A mound below the giant's left hand may be the sculpted remnant of a severed head which he once clutched - a rather grisly if common ancient Celtic religious symbol.
Alternatively, the Roman hero Hercules was often depicted naked with a club in his right hand and a lion skin draped over his left shoulder. Scientific tests have suggested that there might once have been something draped over the giant's left side, but long grassed over.
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Cerne Abbas Giant