Satyr

In Greek mythology, Satyrs (Σάτυροι - Satyri) are mythological half-man and half-goat nature entities that roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus.

Mythology

Satyrs are most commonly described with of the upper half of a man and the lower half of a goat or, less commonly, with the lower half of a horse, and they possesse a long thick tail, either goat or horse. Mature Satyrs are often depicted with goat horns, while juveniles are often shown with bony nubs on their foreheads.Attic painted vases depict satyrs as being strongly built with flat noses, large pointed ears, long curled (archaic?) hair, full beards, and wreaths of vine or ivy circle their heads. Satyrs often carry the thyrsus, the rod of Dionysus tipped with a fircone.

In some recent works they have become 'more human' with less animalistic characteristics, until only the tail remains to show that they are satyrs. In most books, drawings, and such however, they still have their general half goat, half man appearance.

They are described as roguish but faint-hearted folk: subversive and dangerous, yet shy and cowardly. As Dionysiac creatures they are lovers of wine, women, and men, and are instinctively ready for every physical pleasure. They roam to the music of pipes (auloi), cymbals, castanets and bagpipes, and love to dance with the nymphs (with whom they are obsessed with and often pursue), and have a special form of dance called Sikinnis. .

Because of their love of wine, they are often represented with a winecup in hand, and appear often in the decoration of winecups. , and are said to strike terror into men.

They tended to engage in revelry with Dionysus and were killed in the mythical Indian war campaign of Dionysus. Nonnius notes that Marsyas could hardly have survived being flayed by Apollo.

Satyrs are not immortal and unlike immortal creatures, they grow old. On painted vases and other Greek art, satyrs are represented in the three stages of a man's life. Mature satyrs are bearded, and they are shown as balding, a humiliating and unbecoming disfigurement in Greek culture. The older satyrs are commonly called sileni, who may be distilled to a single personification of satyrlike dotage, drunken Silenus, the tutor of Dionysus.

Satyrs in Greek Mythology and Art

In earlier Greek art Satyrs appear as old and ugly, but in later art, especially in works of the Attic school, this savage character is softened into a more youthful and graceful aspect. There is a famous statue said to be a copy of a work of Praxiteles, representing a graceful satyr leaning against a tree with a flute in his hand.

Older satyrs were known as Sileni, the younger Satyrisci, and the hare was the symbol of the shy and timid satyr. Greecian spirits known as Calicantsars have a noticable resemblance to the ancient satyrs; they have goats' ears and the feet of asses or goats, are covered with hair, and love women and the dance.

Although they are not mentioned by Homer, in a fragment of Hesiod's works they are called brothers of the mountain nymphs and Kuretes, strongly connected with the cult of Dionysus, and are an idle and worthless race. In the Dionysus cult, male followers are known as satyrs and female followers are maenads.

In Attica there was a species of drama known as the Satyric; it parodied the legends of gods and heroes, and the chorus was composed of satyrs and sileni. In the Athenian 'satyr plays,' (q.v.) 5th century BCE, the chorus commented on the action. This 'satyric drama' burlesqued the serious events of the mythic past with lewd pantomime and subversive mockery. One complete satyr play from the 5th century BCE survives, the Cyclops of Euripides.

Satyrs in Roman Mythology

Roman satyrs were conflated in the popular and poetic imagination with Latin spirits of woodland and with the rustic spirit Pan, called the Panes.

Roman satyrs were descibed as goatlike from the haunches to the hooves, and were often pictured with larger horns, even ram's horns. Roman poets often conflated them with the [[Faun]s.

Roman satire (q.v.) is a literary form, a poetic essay that was a vehicle for biting, subversive social and personal criticism. Though Roman satire is sometimes thoughtlessly linked to the Greek satyr plays, satire's only connection to the satyric drama is through the subversive nature of the satyrs themselves, as forces in opposition to urbanity, decorum, and civilization itself.

Other References

In the Authorized Version of Isa. Xiii. 25, xxxiv. 14 the word "satyr" is used to render the Hebrew sh'lrlm, "hairy ones." A kind of demon or supernatural being known to Hebrew folk-lore as inhabiting waste places is meant; a practice of sacrificing to the sh'irlm is alluded to in Lev. xvii. ~ hii where E. V. has "devils." They correspond to the "shaggy demon of the mountain-pass" (azabb al-akaba) of old Arab legend. Christian mythology demonized all pagan nature spirits such as satyrs by associating them with demons and devils, though in fairness they do resemble the Jewish goat-man demon Azazel to whom the scapegoats were sent. The herdsmen of Parnassus also believed in a demon of the mountain who is lord of hares and goats.

A papyrus bearing a long fragment of a satyr play by Sophocles, given the title 'Tracking Satyrs' (Ichneutae), was found at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, 1907.

Baby satyr

Baby satyrs, or child satyrs, are mythological creatures related to the satyr. They appear in popular folklore, classical artworks, film, and in various forms of local art.

Some classical works depict young satyrs being tended to by older, sober satyrs, while there are also some representations of child satyrs taking part in Bacchanalian/Dionysian rituals (including drinking alcohol, playing musical instruments and dancing).

The presence of a baby or child satyr in a classical work, such as on a Greek vase, was mainly an aesthetic choice on the part of the artist. However, the role of a child in Greek art might imply a further meaning for baby satyrs - Eros, the son of Aphrodite, is consistently represented as a child or baby, and Bacchus, the divine sponsor of satyrs, is seen in numerous works as a baby, often in the company of the satyrs. A prominent instance of a baby satyr outside of ancient Greece is Albrecht Dürer's 1505 engraving, Musical Satyr and Nymph with Baby (Satyr's Family). There is also Victorian-era napkin ring depicting a baby satyr next to a barrel which further represents the perception of baby satyrs as partaking in the Bacchanalian festivities.

Revivals, Reveries, and Reconstructions: Images of Antiquity in Prints from 1500 to 1800 - Exhbition at Philadelphia Museum of Art

There is also reference in various works of the Rococo period depicting child or baby satyrs in Bacchanalian celebrations. Some works depict female satyrs with their children; others describe the child satyrs as playing an active role in the events, including one instance of a painting by Jean Raoux (1677-1735). Mlle Prévost as a Bacchante depicts a child satyr playing a tambourine while Mlle Prévost, a dancer at the Opéra, is dancing as part of the Bacchanal festivities. [1]

Baby satyrs can be found in some modern art collections [2]. There are also examples on the internet of baby satyrs being represented in garden sculpture [3].

Speculative accounts of baby satyrs have cropped up in various local folklores and contemporary mythologies. Some Greek-oriented college parties may include Bacchanalian characters, including baby satyrs.

See also

• Faun - Italian
• Leszi - Slavic mythology
• Sileni - early Greek mythology
• Torgo - one of the main characters (and by far the most popular) in the movie "Manos" The Hands of Fate
• Centaur - half man/half horse from Greek mythology

References

• Harry Thurston Peck Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, 1898: 'Faunus', 'Pan', 'Silenus'.