The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World - Judika Illes 2005

Satyrs
The Horned One and The Devil

Satyrs are ancient Greek wilderness spirits who physically resemble the goat-god Pan. Satyrs have the head and torso of man, horns and legs of a goat, and the tail of either a goat or a stallion. They make their home in forests and mountains but are part of the retinue of Dionysus and travel in his processionals.

Satyrs are wild, uncontrollable spirits associated with sex, dancing, and intoxication. They are always sexually aroused; an ancient Mediterranean aphrodisiac root charm called satyrion root allegedly bestowed the satyr’s vaunted sexual prowess on human men.

Satyrs famously chase nymphs, the Greek female woodland spirits, frequently catching them, often to the nymphs’ delight. Satyrs dance with Maenads, a popular motif in ancient Greek art. The satyrs’ formalized traditional dance led to the origins of Greek drama, the tragic goat-song.

Satyrs are musicians: they play flutes, often the double vertical flutes rather than Panpipes. When Athena threw away the flute she invented, a satyr picked it up and preserved it.

See also Fauns, Pan, Se’irim; BOTANICALS: Roots; CREATIVE ARTS: Dance: Dance of the Maenads, Goat Dance, Music: Flute; DICTIONARY: Maenad; DIVINE WITCH: Dionysus; PLACES: Forest.