The culture of the satyrs could be expressed as a spirit, one that would have seemed foreign and strange to the native Greeks as Dionysus was to begin with, also. The concept of patron deities to the city states would not be so strange if you think about it. Do our cities not even now show distinct personalities or “character” as they say?
They do. The wisdom of the city would be the wisdom of the spirit of the city, and the wisdom of those who were not city dwellers …
They have patron sports teams now. Indeed, it’s seen at least unofficially as being quite necessary. Modern cities without a patron sports team are subconsciously seen almost as if they were castrated. Even the small city where I now live has two local sports teams. The Mill Rats and the Sea Dogs.
The satyrs were the male followers of Silenus and Pan. Pan was seen as god of the fields, of the wilderness such as it was in Greece, and the satyr people likely favoured the countryside, were likewise likely nomadic and protective of their women, maybe to the point of them seeming to be hidden.
Sound like gypsies. They may have had much in common with gypsies. They might even have been earlier gypsies. It’s hard to say.
They were known for their love of wine, not an uncommon habit for cultures that had to preserve a drinking source. The practice of alchemy was making the rounds well before it was organized in any formal way, and Satyrs as well as Chiron were well known for their mastery of medicine. Comprehension of medicine and brewing often go hand in hand.
Alcohol kills germs. Yes, which would prevent water born illness. Avoidance of “evil spirits” circulating through your tribe.
They invented beer? The Egyptians did and may have been the people who gave rise to the legend of satyrs, yes.
Egyptian – gyptian – gypsy.
Though they also may have been people from the Caucus Mountains, maybe even from the northern reach of the Indian peninsula. It remains impossible to say, but there are a great many examples of Pan like figures from India, dancing and animal gods being quite common in their legends, even the playing of pipes much like Pan is commonly shown as carrying. Over the passage of time cultures have emerged and dispersed. The wisdom and lore of the satyr people may have even been the product of intercultural syncretism. The rod of Aesculapius has examples both in Hindu mysticism and in Egyptian hermetic lore as well.
American Medical Association symbol. Indeed.
The Roman empire would come to fall at the hands of a culture not unlike that of the satyrs, even to the point of the Visigoths, I believe it was, actually having an antlered god.
I thought you might be referring to the Christians. Actually, the rise of Christianity served to support and strengthen Roman claims. This is why they would in time come to adopt it as a state religion, thus the holy empire of Byzantium. Among Pan’s many attributes, he was also a god of theatrical criticism.
Early 300’s – Constantine. The satyr people likely lived alongside the Romans and Greeks for quite some time.
As mysterious as they may have seemed to the city dwellers, the fear the city dwellers had of things like forests would have not been shared by them, and their ability to survive in the “wilderness” would likely have been seen as requiring the favour of a god. But to connect Pan’s role as a god of theatrical criticism to something concrete, the “barbarians”, the goths, as much as they did live peaceably alongside the native people during their migrations, were also known for vandalizing and mocking the local culture which might have been difficult for the locals to really understand. What do you think?
Romans were jerks.
Forests were regarded as “dangerous and mysterious” well into the 19th Century… (which might be why I live in one!).
This might even have been what motivated the Roman attempt to conquer the north-men.
The habit of singing, as well as ecstatic prophecy, one of Chiron, Pan and Silenus’ gifts, was not unknown among the druids. Actually, a common practice in the branch of the druid order known as the ovates, and later preserved by the bards. Ovates would have been seen as “witches” by outsiders such as the Romans.
It occurs to me that the habit of singing would be a good way to avoid stumbling onto dangerous wildlife in a forest.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~