| Saytr | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Saytr, Silenus, Silenos, Sileni |
|
First Appearance |
Greek Myth |
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Created by |
Greek Myth |
Origin[]
In Greek mythology, a satyr is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but, by the sixth century BC, they were more often represented with human legs. Comically hideous, they have mane-like hair, bestial faces, and snub noses and they always are shown naked. Satyrs were characterized by their ribaldry and were known as lovers of wine, music, dancing, and women. They were companions of the god Dionysus and were believed to inhabit remote locales, such as woodlands, mountains, and pastures. They often attempted to seduce or rape dryads, nymphs, and mortal women alike, usually with little success.
Over the course of Greek history, satyrs gradually became portrayed as more human and less bestial. They also began to acquire goat-like characteristics in some depictions as a result of conflation with the Pans, plural forms of the god Pan with the legs and horns of goats. The Romans identified satyrs with their native nature spirits, fauns. Eventually the distinction between the two was lost entirely. Since the Renaissance, satyrs have been most often represented with the legs and horns of goats. Representations of satyrs cavorting with nymphs have been common in western art, with many famous artists creating works on the theme. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, satyrs have generally lost much of their characteristic obscenity, becoming more tame and domestic figures. They commonly appear in works of fantasy and children's literature, in which they are most often referred to as "fauns".
According to a fragment from the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, satyrs are sons of the five granddaughters of Phoroneus and therefore siblings of the Oreads and the Kouretes. The satyr Marsyas, however, is described by mythographers as the son of either Olympos or Oiagros. Hansen observes that "there may be more than one way to produce a satyr, as there is to produce a Cyclops or a centaur." The classical Greeks recognized that satyrs obviously could not self-reproduce since there were no female satyrs, but they seem to have been unsure whether satyrs were mortal or immortal.
List of Notable Satyrs from Myth:[]
| Name | Text | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Astraeus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | son of Silenus and brother of Leneus and Maron; chief of the satyrs who came to join Dionysus in the Indian War |
| Babys | Plutarch, Moralia | brother of Marsyas, he challenged Apollo to a music contest and lost. |
| Cissus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | turned into an ivy plant; contested in footrunning with Ampelus |
| Gemon | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Hypsicerus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India; character is likely a fabrication of Nonnus' (name translates to "tall-horn") |
| Iobacchus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | |
| Lamis | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Leneus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | son of Silenus and brother of Astraeus and Maron; a satyr who contested in footrunning with Ampelus |
| Lenobius | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Lycon | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Lycus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | son of Hermes and Iphthime, and brother of Pherespondus and Pronomus |
| Maron | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | son of Silenus and brother of Astraeus and Leneus; charioteer of Dionysus |
| Marsyas | ||
| Napaeus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Oestrus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Onthyrius | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | killed by Tectaphus during the Indian War |
| Orestes | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India; character is likely a fabrication of Nonnus' (name translates to "mountain-dweller") |
| Petraeus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Phereus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Pherespondus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | herald of Dionysus during the Indian War and son of Hermes and Iphthime, and brother of Lycus and Pronomous |
| Phlegraeus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Pithos | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | another satyr killed by Tectaphus |
| Poemenius | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India; character is likely a fabrication of Nonnus' (name translates to "Pastoral") |
| Pronomus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | son of Hermes and Iphthime, and brother of Lycus and Pherespondus |
| Pylaieus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | another Satyr killed by Tectaphus |
| Scirtus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India |
| Silenus | ||
| Thiasus | Nonnus, Dionysiaca | one of the leaders of the satyrs who joined the army of Dionysus in his campaign against India; character is likely a fabrication of Nonnus' (name translates to "cult-association") |
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of satyrs from before January 1, 1930 are in the public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Hesiod, Fragments
- The Homeric Hymns
- Aesop Fables
- Greek Lyric II Anacreontea, Fragments
- The Library (Apollodorus)
- The Library of History
- Geography (Strabo)
- Description of Greece (Pausanias)
- The Orphic Hymns
- Historical Miscellany
- Deipnosophistae
- Life of Apollonius of Tyana
- Dionysiaca
- Io (1911)
- Costanza / Costanzo (written between 1550 - 1555)
- The Shepherdess and the Sweep (1845)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Strange Journey #1
- The Beyond #9, 17
- Captain Marvel Adventures #44
- Wotalife Comics #1
- Feature Comics #76
- Zoot Comics #13b
- Science Comics #7
- Terrors of the Jungle #7
Public Domain Film Appearances[]
- Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
Notes[]
- In Manos: The Hands of Fate, one of the characters, Torgo, was intended to be a satyr.