SATYRS, SILENI, MARSYES AND OTHERS
Written
by Konstantinos Konstantinidis of Amphiktyon
Satyrs,
Sileni and Marsyas, etc. were mythological and real beings of a very ancient
era who lived in the forests as herders grazing herds of animals or as
religious-social movements of the era. The Satyrs were the sons of
Hermes and the Nymph Hypthime or of Dionysus and Nicaea, while according to
others they were of unknown parents. Their name is derived from the
Doric "satyr" which means "excited" or from "sathi =
shameless" hence "sathyr" or Satyr, denoting that they had an
urge towards the female sex. Satyrs were companions of
Osiris and Dionysus, but also of Silenus. Satyrs were called young
people, and Silenous when they grew old. Distinguished Satyrs were Pan,
Silenus and Marsyas. They all had the same form and
lived in the forests. When they got drunk they
became furious and pursued the Nymphs and molested them. In other words, it was a
peculiar socio-religious movement. The vagabonds of their time,
we would say, were like the "hippies" etc. They did not do any work. There were probably such wild
people in ancient times and some argue that they are mythological beings and
were reproduced more slowly in real life. Pausanias says that a certain
Euphimus from Italy landed on an island of unknown name in the sea of Satyrida,
as sailors then called them. The inhabitants of the island
were Satyrs, and as they had women on board the ship, the Satyrs rushed like
raging bulls. The sailors, frightened, threw
a barbaric woman overboard so that the others could escape. Then the Satyrs all fell upon
her and raped her from all sides and on her body. Amymone, daughter of Danaus,
also suffered this torture of rape in Argos. Then the Argive Panoptes
killed a Satyr because he was harming the Arcadians and seizing their pastures. If these stories are true, as
Pausanias says, they were shepherds, they lived in the forests in ancient
times, they wore animal skins for clothing. From this they looked like
Satyrs from afar. So the Satyrs started from
them and later Dionysus created a body of satyrs in the various tours and
festivals, but also in the distant campaigns in Asia, Africa, Europe, etc. The
followers of Dionysus were characterized as satyrs because they danced, jumped
and shouted or sang loudly. Their dances were the Kordax,
the Sikinos and the Emmelia which the satyrs had discovered. These dances were danced and
sung by the farmers, shepherds and fishermen of Greece and they honored Pan as
a god and the islanders Poseidon. The Tityres were also a type
of Satyr, covering part of their body with skins. They played the double flutes
and beat another percussion instrument with their feet. The Mimallones were warrior
women and got their name because they imitated men in war or from barbaric
names of Thrace, Phrygia and they were Bacchae. Like the Mimallones, the
Tityres, Bacchae, Kladones and Voivodromos were cult orders.
Commentary:
1/
The problem of "sexual violence" and especially the rape of women is
as old as the two leaves. The rude satyrs did the same,
and so did the civilized ones with some power. Rape is a highly criminal,
humiliating act that offends the woman's personality. Therefore, it should be
punishable with the utmost punishment. However, the relevant law has
gone from one extreme to the other. Even innocent, albeit persistent,
flirtation incriminates the individual. In my youth, women were
tolerant of erotic words and teasing, even gestures towards people they knew
(e.g. trying to hug or kiss her). Today, they send you to prison even after
eighty years if a victim is alive and denounces you, if of course she remembers
it.
2/The Kordax or Kordakas was the most
provocative, obscene dance of comedy and is characterized as a "molar
orchesis" that is, one that indecently moves the loins - hence it is
considered a precursor of the molar dance, that is, the belly dance. Any Greek you ask will tell
you that belly dancing is Turkish, due to ignorance
3/Sikinos was the name given in ancient times
to the fast and noisy performance of a satyr drama that the Satyrs danced and
sang, accompanied by a flute or lyre, who for this reason were also called
"Sikinnistes". This reminds us of the pyrrhic dance that was first
danced by Achilles around the fire that burned his friend Patroclus. It is an aggressive dance that
also has defensive movements in it. In their honor, the Pontic
Greeks still dance it with pride, showing their high moral strength and their
love for their lost homeland.
4/ Emmelia. I have not found any evidence for Emmelia,
but everything indicates that it is the refined dances of the Aegean islands,
such as the Trata dance, a Syrtos dance, which is danced in the song "Our
trata is a scythe". The dance is performed at all
social events and gatherings. In Ikaria, they dance it with
specific movements in the chorus. The Trata symbolizes fishing. This famous dance is said to
celebrate the success of fishing every day and with it the Greek man of the Sea. The movements of the dance imitate
the movements of the nets. This is a very ancient dance,
as ancient as the habitation and fishing of the Aegean.
5/ It is said that Mnemosyne, daughter of
Uranus and Earth, lies with Zeus and gives birth to the nine Muses. Terpsichore was the Muse of
dance and music. Dance and music connect citizens to entertainment, military
and religious duties and date back to ancient times in worship. Initially, dances were
functional and worshipful. They had musical pieces and
dances for every use (for joy, wedding, sadness, dirges, celebrations,
preparation for battle, etc.)
6/ According to Aristotle, the giving of
weapons to adolescents was a sacrament. Young adolescents also
acquired the obligation to correctly perform the Pyrrhic war dance during which
the adolescent is judged on whether he is able to handle his weapons correctly. Something similar to the
precision exercises that recruits performed in the past. Today, with the change in the
battlefield, they may have to learn how to handle weapons of modern technology.
Final Lesson: Everything started in Greece
(19/7/25)
*Amphiktyon Major General (retd) Konstantinos
Konstantinidis Author, Member of the Society of Greek Writers
amphiktyon@gmail.com
http://amphiktyon.blogspot.com/ http://amphiktyon.org Anyone who wishes to be
deleted should return this with the indication "deletion" "in
accordance with article 14 of law 2672/98
No comments:
Post a Comment