Silenus

Greek mythology

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main reference

  • Greek psykter depicting reveling satyrs
    In Satyr and Silenus

    Silenus, in Greek mythology, creatures of the wild, part man and part beast, who in Classical times were closely associated with the god Dionysus. Their Italian counterparts were the Fauns (see Faunus). Satyrs and Sileni were at first represented as uncouth men, each with a…

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Greek folklore and religion

  • Exekias: Greek amphora depicting Achilles slaying Penthesilea
    In Greek mythology: Myths of the gods

    …deities with bestial features) and sileni (old and drunken folk deities) were the nymphs’ male counterparts. Like sea deities, sileni possessed secret knowledge that they would reveal only under duress. Charon, the grisly ferryman of the dead, was also a popular figure of folktale.

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