Fauns and Satyrs

[sally austin]

Lost in the forest, everything looks the same, you feel eye watching you.  Is it a bear? Anxiety begins to take possession and you begin to panic. 

The Southern Europeans of Italy and Greece believed that this was caused by Fauns and Satyrs.

Spirits of the wild that are often confused for the other, they are often seen in the company of nymphs, Dionysus, Pan, and other gods.  Satyr appear as hairy humans with horse or goat ears and tail,  The Faun have the lower bodies of  bipedal horses or goats and often have horns. Both love music, alcohol,sex and are traditionally shown with rather painful looking erections.  Females were later created by poets. 

Famous Satyr and Fauns are

Pan, Greek is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, rustic music, and companion of the nymphs

Faunus, Roman god of forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus.

Fauna, Roman goddess of the same things Faunus is.

Silenus, Dionysus' tutor and friend. King of Nysa. He usually has horse-like features and is depicted as older than other Satyr

Masryas, A faun who challenged Apollo to a music contest and after loosing was flayed by the god for his hubris.

In popular culture there are

The Men of Leng, created by HP Lovecraft

CS Lewis' Mr Tumnus

Grover Underwood from the Percy Jackson series

Phil from Disney's Hercules