{"id":53905,"date":"2017-07-05T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=53905"},"modified":"2017-07-05T19:37:52","modified_gmt":"2017-07-06T02:37:52","slug":"paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddy Power Slammed For ‘Defacing’ Historic Fertility Symbol"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mischievous Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has been criticized for \u201cdefacing\u201d the Cerne Abbas Giant, a possibly ancient hillside chalk drawing in Dorset, England.<\/p>\n

\"Paddy
New balls please: It seems even the Cerne Abbas giant is excited about Wimbledon this year, maybe a little too excited. Paddy Power\u2019s latest prank has drawn disapproval from the National Trust. (Image: Paddy Power)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 180-foot-tall sexually-explicit image on the side of a hill towering over the quiet village of Cerne Abbas depicts a naked man wielding a club and sporting a 30-foot erection.<\/p>\n

But since Paddy Power arrived under cloak of darkness sometime this week, he has been wielding a tennis racket.<\/p>\n

Paddy Power says it\u2019s a celebration of Wimbledon<\/a> and, specifically, the apparent fertility of UK number one Andy Murray, who revealed at the weekend that he and his wife Kim were expecting their second child.<\/p>\n

Through history, the site been seen as a powerful fertility symbol, for one very obvious, 30-foot reason, a tradition that inspired the bookmaker to create this touching celebration of Murray\u2019s good news.<\/p>\n

According to local folklore, childless couples who make love on the hillside will be blessed with offspring.<\/p>\n

National Trust Takes a Dim View<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But not everyone enjoyed Paddy Power\u2019s tribute. A spokeswoman for the National Trust, the organization charged with protecting Britain\u2019s numerous historic places and spaces, said: “We\u2019re fans of tennis as much as anyone and pleased to hear of Andy Murray\u2019s news, however we do not encourage any defacing of the Cerne Abbas Giant, however it was done.<\/p>\n

“The Cerne Abbas Giant is protected… and we are very concerned about any publicity stunt that may in future encourage damage to this fragile site,” she added.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The addition of tennis gear is temporary, of course, and will do no lasting damage to the giant. Meanwhile, Paddy Power said it had made a \u00a35,000 donation to the National Trust.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time pranksters have added their own addition and embellishments to the figure. In 2007 the local press reported that a man claiming to be \u201cthe Purple Phantom\u201d had painted the giant\u2019s manhood purple.<\/p>\n

Who Created the Giant?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The provenance and age of the Cerne Abbas giant is mysterious. Many believe it to be an ancient representation of a Saxon or Celtic god, while others have suggested it may be a depiction of the Roman divine hero Hercules.<\/p>\n

Curiously, there is no written record of its existence before the 17th<\/sup> century, in contrast with another chalk hill drawing, the White Horse of Uffington, which has been referenced across the centuries and is known to be 3,000 years old.<\/p>\n

That may be because it was covered in undergrowth until 400 years ago, but it also makes it likely it was the work of a 17th<\/sup> Century prankster. In which case, its creator would have probably approved of Paddy Power\u2019s<\/a> shenanigans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mischievous Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has been criticized for \u201cdefacing\u201d the Cerne Abbas Giant, a possibly ancient hillside chalk drawing in Dorset, England. The 180-foot-tall sexually-explicit image on the side of a hill towering over the quiet village of Cerne Abbas depicts a naked man wielding a club and sporting a 30-foot erection. But since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":53920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPaddy Power Slammed For \u201cDefacing\u201d Historic Fertility Symbol<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paddy Power\u2019s latest stunt has the Cerne Abbas Giant, a hill chalk drawing in Dorset, England, wielding a tennis racket.\u00a0\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paddy Power Slammed For \u201cDefacing\u201d Historic Fertility Symbol\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paddy Power\u2019s latest stunt has the Cerne Abbas Giant, a hill chalk drawing in Dorset, England, wielding a tennis racket.\u00a0\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-05T21:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-07-06T02:37:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/giant-20170703034202444.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"614\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"409\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/\",\"name\":\"Paddy Power Slammed For \u201cDefacing\u201d Historic Fertility Symbol\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/giant-20170703034202444.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-05T21:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-07-06T02:37:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Paddy Power\u2019s latest stunt has the Cerne Abbas Giant, a hill chalk drawing in Dorset, England, wielding a tennis racket.\u00a0\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paddy-power-slammed-defacing-historic-fertility-symbol\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/giant-20170703034202444.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/giant-20170703034202444.jpg\",\"width\":614,\"height\":409,\"caption\":\"New balls please: It seems even the Cerne Abbas giant is excited about Wimbledon this year, maybe a little too excited. 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