This deviation has been labeled as containing themes not suitable for all deviants.
Log in to view

Deviation Actions

Belmontty's avatar

Moonlight

By
Published:
2.6K Views

Description

In Greek mythology satyr  greek σάτυρος satyrospronounced one of a troop of ithyphallic male companions of Dionysus with horse -like (equine) features, including a horse-tail, horse-like ears, and sometimes a horse-like phallus because of permanent erection. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but in 6th-century BC black -fogure pottery human legs are the most common. 

In Roman Mythology there is a concept similar to satyrs, with goat-like features: the faun, being half-man, half-goat. Greek-speaking Romans often used the Greek term saturos when referring to the Latinfaunus, and eventually syncretized the two. The female "Satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing.

The satyr's chief was Silenus, a minor deity associated (like Hermes and Priapus) with fertility. These characters can be found in the only complete remaining satyr play, Cyclops, by Euripides, and the fragments of Sophocles' (Tracking Satyrs). The satyr play was a short, lighthearted tailpiece performed after each trilogy of tragedies in Athenian festivals honoring Dionysus. There is not enough evidence to determine whether the satyr play regularly drew on the same myths as those dramatized in the tragedies that preceded. The groundbreaking tragic playwright Aeschylus is said to have been especially loved for his satyr plays, but none of them have survived.

The goat on the left has a short goat tail, but the Greek satyr on the right has a long horse tail, not a goat tail (Attic ceramic, 520 BC).

Satyrs acquired their goat-like aspect through later Roman conflation with Faunus, a carefree Italic nature spirit of similar characteristics and identified with the Greek god Pan. Hence satyrs are most commonly described in Latin literature as having the upper half of a man and the lower half of a goat, with a goat's tail in place of the Greek tradition of horse-tailed satyrs; therefore, satyrs became nearly identical with faunus. Mature satyrs are often depicted in Roman art with goat's horns, while juveniles are often shown with bony nubs on their foreheads.

Image size
1500x1800px 1.8 MB
Mature
© 2015 - 2024 Belmontty
Comments5
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Candiddy's avatar

Hey-hay, satyrs, as very real and here at Deviant Art !