When a Greek God's Schlong is Deemed Too Long

The story of Apollo in the Place Messéna, Nice.

While travelling, I spend much time photographing the places I visit, capturing in pixels everything from the obvious to the tiny details. Later, when writing about my experiences, I tend to delve more deeply into the history and stories surrounding each place.

When writing about our brief travels through the Côte d’Azur I wanted to find out the name of the fountain in Nice in which Apollo stands. In doing so, I also learned of the Fontaine du Soleil’s controversial history.

Today, the fountain is home to a seven-meter-high marble statue of Apollo, along with five smaller bronze statues representing Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Apollo, of course, is centre stage. But despite his divinity, and being almost 60 years old, Apollo spent more than thirty years in exile, before being reinstalled as the fountain’s centrepiece in 2011.

Created by Alfred Auguste Janniot, Apollo was first unveiled in 1956 to much chatter, à la Niçoise. The people of Nice objected to Apollo’s four chariot-bearing horses being on his head, likening the statue to a then-current advert for a Renault 4CV (where CV represents horsepower), nicknaming him “the four horsepower statue”.

But that wasn’t the only cause for controversy.

Apollo’s nakedness was his undoing, with the size, or lack thereof, of his male appendage being the subject of much debate. Those of a conservative bent believed he was too well endowed, whereas many older — perhaps more experienced? — women thought he could’ve been blessed with something altogether larger. Either way, students took to adorning Apollo’s renowned member with a variety of decorations, further minimising the statue’s standing as a serious work of art. Janniot, deciding to take matters into his own hands, chiselled Apollo’s talking point down to what he hoped would be a more acceptable size.

As far as the Catholic ladies of the League of Femenine Virtue were concerned the resizing operation only scratched the surface of their objection.

Apollo was still as naked as the day he was unveiled. So, too, were the bronze sculptures. And the Catholic ladies were firm in their opinion that they all had to go. Pressure was brought to bear and sometime in the 1970s the ladies’ mission succeeded.

All six statues were dismantled and removed to more inconspicuous locations. Apollo went briefly to the Mayor’s office before being moved further out of town, near to the Charles Ehrmann football stadium. The bronzes were moved to a rather more insalubrious home next to a water treatment plant, where they remained until they were spotted by a journalist researching a story in 2007.

The journalist was intrigued enough to write an article about his discovery and, as a result, the bronze statues were reinstated, but without their overseeing god, Apollo, who wasn’t granted the right to return for another four years. The Fontaine du Soleil has now been restored to its former glory. Even if we can’t say the same for Apollo.