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satyr
satyr , in Greek mythology, part bestial, part human creature of the forests and mountains. Satyrs were usually represented as being very hairy and having the tails and ears of a horse and often the horns and legs of a goat. An important part of Dionysus' entourage, they were lustful, fertile creatu...
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silenus
silenus , in Greek mythology, part bestial and part human creature of the forests and mountains. Part of Dionysus' entourage, the sileni are usually represented as aged satyrs—drunken, jolly, bald, fat, bearded, and possessing horse ears. According to some myths they were prophets; but accordi...
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Faunus
Faunus , in Roman religion, woodland deity, protector of herds and crops. He was identified with the Greek Pan. His festival was observed on Dec. 5 with dancing and merrymaking. Another festival, the Lupercalia , held in February, is also generally believed to have been in honor of him. He was atte...
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Marsyas
Marsyas , in Greek mythology, Phrygian satyr. He found the flute that Athena had invented but had thrown away. He became so skillful with the instrument that he challenged the lyre-playing Apollo to a contest. Apollo accepted on the condition that the victor might do as he would with the vanquished....
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Midas
Midas , in Greek mythology, king of Phrygia. Because he befriended Silenus, the oldest of the satyrs, Dionysus granted him the power to turn everything into gold by touch. But when even the food that he touched turned to gold, Midas begged to be relieved of his gift. Dionysus allowed him to wash awa...
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John Wilmot Rochester, 2d earl of
John Wilmot Rochester, 2d earl of 1647-80, English poet and courtier, b. Ditchley, Oxfordshire. Most notorious and dissolute of the Restoration rakes, he lost the favor of Charles II on several occasions because of his recklessness. His most celebrated poem is his Satyr Against Mankind (1675). Al...
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Sir David Lindsay
Sir David Lindsay , c.1490-c.1555, Scottish poet. He was a courtier and diplomat by profession. As a writer he was a harsh satirist and moralist who directed most of his invective against the Roman Catholic Church. He never formally left the church, but his exposure of its abuses gives him a place s...
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nymph
nymph , in Greek mythology, female divinity associated with various natural objects. It is uncertain whether they were immortal or merely long-lived. There was an infinite variety of nymphs. Some represented various localities, e.g., acheloids, or nymphs of the River Achelous; others were identified...
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Praxiteles
Praxiteles , fl. c.370-c.330 BC, famous Attic sculptor, probably the son of Cephisodotus . His Hermes with the Infant Dionysus, found in the Heraeum, Olympia, in 1877, is the only example of an undisputed extant original by any of the greatest ancient masters. It was found in the same place where...
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Sophocles
Sophocles , c.496 BC-406 BC, Greek tragic dramatist, younger contemporary of Aeschylus and older contemporary of Euripides , b. Colonus, near Athens. A man of wealth, charm, and genius, Sophocles was given posts of responsibility in peace and in war by the Athenians. He was a general and a priest...
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