Satyrs (Mythology)

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In Greek mythology; satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus that roamed the woods and mountains. The word Satire, meaning human follies or mistakes, comes from the word Satyr.

Biography

Satyr and Silenus, in Greek mythology, creatures of the wild, part man and part beast, who in Classical times were closely associated with the god Dionysus. Their Italian counterparts were the Fauns (seeFaunus). Satyrs and Sileni were at first represented as uncouth men, each with a horse’s tail and ears and an erect phallus. In the Hellenistic age they were represented as men having a goat’s legs and tail. The occurrence of two different names for the creatures has been explained by two rival theories: that Silenus was the Asian Greek and Satyr the mainland name for the same mythical being; or that the Sileni were part horse and the Satyrs part goat. Neither theory, however, fits all the examples in early art and literature. From the 5th century BC the name Silenus was applied to Dionysus’ foster father, which thus aided the gradual absorption of the Satyrs and Sileni into the Dionysiac cult. In the Great Dionysia festival at Athens three tragedies were followed by a Satyr play (e.g., Euripides’ Cyclops), in which the chorus was dressed to represent Satyrs. Silenus, although bibulous like the Satyrs in the Satyr plays, also appeared in legend as a dispenser of homely wisdom.

Characteristics

There were different legends about the origins of satyrs in Greek mythology. In some, they were the sons of the god Hermes, and in others, they were sons of various nymphs, who were the female spirits of nature. In any case, the satyrs were held to be wild forest creatures. Led by the god Pan (a son of Hermes), the satyr drank wine and played flutes. In addition, they were highly sexual in nature, so they were said to chase after nymphs and mortal women alike. In this way, they symbolized the wildness and animalism of nature.

The satyrs were associated with a few gods. The first was Pan, the chief of the satyrs, who was generally not as wild as his brethren satyrs in Greek mythology. He was a patron god of shepherds and hunters. In the earlier period of Greek mythology, Pan was the chief of a group of nature spirits called the Panes, who were at times depicted as having animal heads and, at times, goat legs.

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