Satyr

Satyr, in Greek Mythology, were a race of woodland deities, half human, half animal in their attributes. They are generally described as roaming the hills in the train of Dionysus (Bacchus). In appearance they were at once grotesque and repulsive, like all old woodland demons. They are described as robust in frame, with broad snub noses, large pointed ears like those of animals (whence they are sometimes called theres, 'wild beasts'), bristly and shaggy hair, rough skin, little horny knobs on their foreheads, and small tails. The satyrs are of course sensual in their inclinations, and ravishers of the woodland nymphs, fond of music, dancing, wine, and of the deep slumbers that follow a debauch. To men they were mostly inimical. The Roman poets identified them with the Fauni of their own mythology, and gave them larger horns and those goats' feet with which they are so often represented (see FAUNS). Ancient sculpture was fond of the Satyr as a subject; the older satyrs were called Sileni, and were represented as already described; the younger had a handsomer and more pleasing exterior—e.g. Praxiteles' famous Satyr at Athens.