SATYR - In Greek mythology, satyrs are young humans, possibly with horse ears, that roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus. In mythology they are often associated with male sex drive and Greco-Roman art often portrays them with erections.

Their chief was called Silenus, a minor deity associated with fertility. These characters can be found in the remaining Satyr plays: Cyclops by Euripedes and Sophocles' The Searching Satyrs. The satyr play was a lighthearted follow-up attached to the end of each trilogy of tragedies in Athenian festivals honoring Dionysus. These plays would take a lighthearted approach to the heavier subject matter of the tragedies in the series, featuring heroes speaking in tragic iambic verse and taking their situation seriously as "straight men" to the flippant, irreverent and obscene remarks and antics of the satyrs.

Posted in: Mythical Creatures, Satyr and Greek Mythology.