Silenus in the context of "Greek god"

The cult of Dionysus consisted of devotees who involved themselves in forms of ecstatic worship in reverence of Dionysus. An ecstatic ritual performed by the cult included the orgeia, a forest rite involving ecstatic dance during the night. The Dionysia and Lenaia festivals in Athens were dedicated to Dionysus, as well as the phallic processions. These processions often featured villagers parading through the streets with large phallic representations. The cult of Dionysus traces back to at least Mycenaean Greece, since his name is found on Mycenean Linear B tablets as 𐀇𐀺𐀝𐀰 (di-wo-nu-so). However, many view Thrace and Phrygia as the birthplace of Dionysus, and therefore the concepts and rites attributed to his worship. Dionysian worship was especially fervent in Thrace and parts of Greece that were previously inhabited by Thracians, such as Phocis and Boeotia. Initiates worshipped him in the Dionysian Mysteries, which were comparable to and linked with the Orphic Mysteries, and may have influenced Gnosticism. It is possible that water divination was an important aspect of worship within the cult.

The cult was strongly associated with satyrs, centaurs, and sileni, and its characteristic symbols were the bull, the serpent, tigers/leopards, ivy, and wine. One reason for Dionysus's association with the silent is that Silenus, a chief figure among them, was said to have taught Dionysus the art of wine-making. Dionysus himself is often shown riding a leopard, wearing a leopard skin, or in a chariot drawn by panthers, and is also recognized by his iconic thyrsus. Besides the grapevine and its clashing alter-ego, the poisonous ivy plant, both sacred to him, the fig was another one of his accredited symbols. Additionally, the pinecone that topped his thyrsus linked him to Cybele, an Anatolian goddess. The Dionysian effect the god had on women also bores a resemblance to Krishna, an Indian god who enchanted female gopis with music to venture into the forest in the night.

In Greek mythology, a satyr (Ancient Greek: σάτυρος, romanized: sátyros, pronounced [sátyros]), also known as a silenus or silenos (Ancient Greek: σειληνός, romanized: seilēnós [seːlɛːnós]), and sileni (plural), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but, by the sixth century BC, they were more often represented with human legs. Comically hideous, they have mane-like hair, bestial faces, and snub noses and they always are shown naked. Satyrs were characterized by their ribaldry and were known as lovers of wine, music, dancing, and women. They were companions of the god Dionysus and were believed to inhabit remote locales, such as woodlands, mountains, and pastures. They often attempted to seduce or rape nymphs and mortal women alike, usually with little success. They are sometimes shown masturbating or engaging in bestiality.

In classical Athens, satyrs made up the chorus in a genre of play known as a "satyr play", which was a parody of tragedy and known for its bawdy and obscene humor. The only complete surviving play of this genre is Cyclops by Euripides, although a significant portion of Sophocles's Ichneutae has also survived. In mythology, the satyr Marsyas is said to have challenged the god Apollo to a musical contest and been flayed alive for his hubris. Although superficially ridiculous, satyrs were also thought to possess useful knowledge, if they could be coaxed into revealing it. The satyr Silenus was the tutor of the young Dionysus, and a story from Ionia told of a silenos who gave sound advice when captured.

In Greek mythology, the Nysiads or Nysiades (Ancient Greek: Νυσιάδες) were Oceanid nymphs of mythical Mount Nysa. Zeus entrusted the infant god Dionysus to their care, and the Nysiads raised him with the assistance of the old satyr-god Silenus. When Dionysus was grown, the Nysiads joined his company as the first of the Maenads.

In Greek mythology, Melia or Melie (Ancient Greek Μελία, Μελίη) was the name of several figures. The name Melia comes from μελία, the ancient Greek word for ash-tree. In the plural, the Meliae were a class of nymphs associated with trees, particularly ash-trees. There were several other nymphs (or possible nymphs) named Melia, not necessarily associated with trees, these include:

• Melia, a Theban cult figure, who was the mother of Tenerus and Ismenus, by Apollo. She was said to be a daughter of Oceanus.
• Melia, mother of Phoroneus and Aegialeus, by her brother Inachus, the Argive river-god. She was also said to be a daughter of Oceanus.
• Melia, an Oceanid and a Bithynian nymph, who was the mother, by Poseidon, of Amycus, king of the Bebryces.
• Melia, the mother by Silenus of Dolion, the eponym of the Doliones. This is according to the third-century BC poet and grammarian Alexander Aetolus, as reported by the late first-century BC-early first-century AD geographer Strabo.
• Melia, the mother by Apollo of Keos, the eponym of the island Keos, according to the third-century BC poet Callimachus.

Two other personages named Melia, are known from scholia citing the fifth-century BC mythographer Pherecydes:

The Amykos Painter (active around 430–400 BC in Lucania) was the name given to a South Italian vase painter who worked in the ancient Greek red-figure pottery technique. His exact date of birth and death are unknown.

As with any of the artisans working during the (late) fifth century BC, very little is understood about the Amykos Painter's life. It is generally agreed by scholars that the Amykos Painter learned his trade in Athens. He owes his name to a depiction on a Lucanian hydria depicting Amykos, who was the featured subject in one of his surviving works which currently resides at the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris. Among countless other vases, there is also a red-figure bell-krater depicting Silenus and two maenads which has been attributed to him.

In Greek mythology, Astraeus or Astraios (/əˈstriːəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἀστραῖος means "starry") may refer to three various figures:

• Astraeus, one of the Titans, son of Eurybia and Crius. He was the father of the four Anemoi by his wife Eos.
• Astraeus, son of Silenus and chief of the satyrs who came to join Dionysus in the Indian War.
• Astraeus, a Mysian son of Poseidon. In the height of Athena's nocturnal solemnities, he deflowered his sister by mistake and took a ring at the same time from her finger. The next day, understanding the error which he had committed, Astraeus in his grief threw himself headlong into the river Adurus. This was called later on Astraeus after him and afterwards changed into the Caicus, the son of Hermes.