# What is this horrid thing behind the pope? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990 "2008-03-27T23:43:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/21 "2008-03-28T10:44:21Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] Imagine being alone in the room with that thing? [/QUOTE] Yeah, ex-Hitler Youths are scary. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/22 "2008-03-28T11:05:03Z")
Pope Palpatine has altered the sculpture. Pray he does not alter it again. ---
**Author:** ![Galwegian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galwegian/32/3426_2.png) [@Galwegian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galwegian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/23 "2008-03-28T11:30:34Z")
According to [this](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4DD123DF936A35751C1A961948260) , it represents Jesus rising from the crater of a nuke! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/24 "2008-03-28T13:36:01Z")
Just to add to **Schnitte’s** answer - about 10 years ago I was turned away from entering St. Peter’s Basilica (because I was wearing shorts in Rome in July) by two very polite, but very stern & humorless men. One of them raised his arm to point at something, and I saw a compact (semi-)automatic weapon strapped to his ribs. I thanked them and moved on. And of course, in Dan Simmons _Hyperion_ series, the Swiss Guard is the premier military organization in the galaxy, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/25 "2008-03-28T14:00:24Z")
Some years back, National Geographic did an article on the Swiss Guard. They are comparable to US Secret Service agents who guard the President. The article showed photos of them training in martial arts in a gym that is part of their quarters at Vatican City. They are also quite skilled in the use of modern firearms and the plainclothes guards carry them. The ceremonial guards with the halberds are comparable to guards in dress uniform that you might see in front of Buckingham Palace. They’re trained bodyguards who happen to be assigned to ceremonial duty. AFAIK, they don’t carry a gun, but they are dedicated men trained in unarmed combat and I’ve never seen a photo of one who looked the least bit out of shape. I daresay the ceremonial guards are capable of delivering a pretty effective beatdown without a gun. Their ceremonial uniforms look silly to today’s eyes, but men dressed [like](http://www.swissvaticanguard.com/pic01/swissm.jpg) [that](http://www.alabarda.net/articulos/figuras/imagenes/landsknecht.jpg) were justifiably feared mercenaries once upon a time. Their ceremonial uniforms look less silly to me than [some](http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/820/20209278.JPG) I have seen. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/26 "2008-03-28T14:16:26Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] It looks like a prop from some kind of satanic horror movie. Imagine being alone in the room with that thing? [http://evilrepublic.com/pope.jpg](http://evilrepublic.com/pope.jpg) [/QUOTE] I saw the thread title and instantly thought, “Cthulhu”. I was expecting the link to contain a pic of some rococo masterpiece. Little did I realise… :eek: It really does look like a squid’s head on JC’s body, and the surrounds look like seaweed. It took some examining to see that that’s probably supposed to be hair blowing in the wind, not the head of a hideous submarine entity. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/27 "2008-03-28T14:22:13Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] I saw the thread title and instantly thought, “Cthulhu”. I was expecting the link to contain a pic of some rococo masterpiece. Little did I realise… :eek: It really does look like a squid’s head on JC’s body, and the surrounds look like seaweed. It took some examining to see that that’s probably supposed to be hair blowing in the wind, not the head of a hideous submarine entity. [/QUOTE] I came in here to post that. Catholicism is scary! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/28 "2008-03-28T14:25:10Z")
It needs a catchy name - you know - like Mummy Jesus (appearing in Chick tracts). Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/29 "2008-03-28T14:47:19Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] I saw the thread title and instantly thought, “Cthulhu”. I was expecting the link to contain a pic of some rococo masterpiece. Little did I realise… :eek: It really does look like a squid’s head on JC’s body, and the surrounds look like seaweed. It took some examining to see that that’s probably supposed to be hair blowing in the wind, not the head of a hideous submarine entity. [/QUOTE] In the Cafe Society thread linked in Post #4 I called it “Cthulhu-Jesus Rising From The Sargassum”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/30 "2008-03-28T14:49:57Z")
Sorry - post deleted. It was too horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/31 "2008-03-28T15:38:33Z")
I can’t resist to add a bit of party trivia. The Swiss Guard makes the Vatican the most heavily armed state in the world, percentage-wise. According to Wiki, the Vatican has a population of 821, and the Swiss Guard comprises 134 men. This means that about 16 per cent of the state’s population is regular army - the U.S. would have to have about 48 million men under arms to match that. In addition to the Swiss Guard, the Italian authorities also regularly police St Peter’s Square, based on a long-term understanding with the papal authorities. Which doesn’t mean that the Vatican won’t insist on its sovereignty if deemed necessary - when the commander of the Swiss Guard was murdered in 1998, Vatican authorities took care of the investigations themselves and politely declined Italian offers to assist. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/32 "2008-03-28T16:13:03Z")
It looks so underwater leviathany to me, I was certain it had to be some old scary sculpture of a pissed off Neptune/Poseidon appropriated by the Catholics and renamed Jesus. I mean, I could see sacrificing horses to a god that looked like that, couldn’t you? (Can’t sleep! Cthulhu-Jesus Rising From The Sargassum will eat me!) ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/33 "2008-03-28T16:31:19Z")
When I was there a couple of years ago, attending one of the Pope’s weekly addresses, I whispered to my boyfriend that it looked like they stuck the devil behind the Pope - a pretty good place to keep him, really. Like making the bad kid stand next to the teacher’s desk for the whole period. With Swiss Guards flanking him, where they can lunge at him with pointed sticks at the least sign of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/34 "2008-03-28T16:31:50Z")
I think it would make a dynamite prop for the next production of Wagner’s _Hedge Of The Valkyries_. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/35 "2008-03-28T17:15:29Z")
Isn’t this the exact kind of decor one would expect in the Ctholic Church? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/36 "2008-03-28T17:17:45Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] In the Cafe Society thread linked in Post #4 I called it “Cthulhu-Jesus Rising From The Sargassum”. [/QUOTE] It looks more like coral to me. Coral made of hate. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/37 "2008-03-28T17:26:44Z")
A lot of the modern art in the Vatican is pretty iffy. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/38 "2008-03-28T20:03:39Z")
I thought of the princes stuck in the giant hedges of thorns that protected Sleeping Beauty’s castle. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/39 "2008-03-28T20:20:02Z")
[QUOTE=The Chao Goes Mu] I came in here to post that. Catholicism is scary! :eek: [/QUOTE] But Cthulhucism is _really_ scary. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990/40 "2008-03-29T01:03:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Pericle Fazzini’s Resurrection. There are other perspectives of it that don’t look quite so demonic. Huh. My first guess was that it was supposed to be God trying to bring order (the Universe) out of the chaos of the (pre-universe) void. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-horrid-thing-behind-the-pope/442990.md?page=3)