Silenus
Silenus, the snub-nosed and drunken tutor of Bacchus
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Silenum Proper-name noun masculine genitive plural, Proper-name noun masculine accusative singular of Silenus
- Silenus, the tutor and constant attendant of Bacchus; represented as baldheaded, with short horns and a flat nose, as drunken, lascivious, and mounted on an ass, Hor. A. P. 239; Verg. E. 6, 14; Ov. A. A. 1, 543; id. F. 1, 399; 1, 413; 6, 339; id. M. 11, 90; 11, 99; Cic. Tusc. 1, 48, 114; Hyg. Fab. 191.—Plur.: Sīlēni, gods of the woods, satyrs, Cat. 64, 252; Plin. 35, 10, 36, § 110; cf. Serv. Verg. E. 6, 14.—
- II A Greek historian, Cic. Div. 1, 24, 49; Liv. 26, 49; Nep. Hann. 13, 3; Plin. 4, 22, 36, § 120.
(Σειληνός), or Seile'nus. It is remarked in the article Satyrus, that the older Satyrs were generally termed Sileni (comp. Schol. ad Nicand. Alex. 31), but one of these Sileni is commonly the Silenus, who always acts a prominent part in the retinue of Dionysus, from whom he is inseparable, and whom he is said to have brought up and instructed. (Diod. 4.14; Orph. Hymn. 53. 1.) Like the other Satyrs he is called a son of Hermes (Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 6.13), but others call him a son of Pan by a nymph, or of Gaea (Nonn. Dionys. 14.97, 29.262; Aelian, Ael. VH 3.18; comp. Porphyr. Vit. Pythag. 16 ; Clemens, Cohort. ad Gent. p. 24.) Being the constant companion of Dionysus, he is, like the god, said to have been born at Nysa (Catull. 64, 253), and Diodorus (3.72) even represents him as king of Nysa ; he moreover took part in the contest with the Gigantes, and slew Enceladus, putting the others to flight by the braying of his ass. (Eurip. Cycl.) He is described as a jovial old man, with a bald head, a puck nose, fat and round like his wine bag, which he always carried with him, and generally as intoxicated. As therefore he cannot trust to his own legs, he is generally riding on an ass (Ov. Fast. 1.399, 3.749), or he is supported by other Satyrs and Satyrisci. (Verg. Ecl. 6.13 ; Lucian, Deor. Cone. 4.) In every other respect he is described as resembling his brethren in the fondness for sleep, wine and music. He is mentioned along with Marsyas and Olympus as the inventor of the flute which he is often seen playing (Strab. x. p.470), and a special kind of dance was called after him Silenus, while he himself is designated as the dancer. (Anacr. 38. 11; Paus. 3.25.2; Lucian, Icarom. 27.) But it is a peculiar feature in his character that he was conceived also as an inspired prophet, who knew all the past and the most distant future (Aelian, Ael. VH 3.18; Virg. Eclog. vi, 31, &c.), and as a sage who despised all the gifts of fortune (Cic. Tuscul. 1.48); so that he becomes the representative of that wisdom which conceals itself behind a rough and uncouth external appearance, whence he is likened to Socrates. (Plat. Sympos. 32 ; Xenoph. Sympos. 5 § 7.) When he was drunk and asleep, he was in the power of mortals who might compel him to prophesy and sing by surrounding him with chains of flowers. (Aelian, Ael. VH 3.18; Philostr. Imay. 1.22, Vit. Apoll. 6.27; Ov. Met. 11.91.) Silenus had a temple at Elis, where Methe (Drunkenness) stood by his side handing him a cup of wine. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 164, &c.; C. O. Muller, Ancient Art and its Remains, § 386.) [L.S]
(Σειληνός or Σιληνός), literary.
1. A native of Calatia (Σειληνὸς ὁ Καλατιανός), an historical writer. Athenaeus (xii. p. 542a), quotes from the third book of a work by him, entitled Σικελικά. The same work is probably referred to by Diogenes Laertius (2.3, 11). He also wrote upon Roman history, and is mentioned by Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Ant. Rom. 1.6), who charges him with a want of care and accuracy, and by Livy (26.49) when speaking of the operations of Scipio Africanus the elder, in Spain. This Silenus is, doubtless, identical with Σιλανὸς ὁ συγγραφεύς, mentioned by Strabo (iii. p.172), who remarks that he, as well as Artemidorus, was ignorant of the reason why the fountain in the temple of Hercules at Gades rose when the tide fell, and fell when the tide rose. It is probably this writer also who is quoted by Stephanus (s. v. Παλική), and by Pliny (Plin. Nat. 4.22). Photius also (s. v. Σαρδόνιος γέλως), mentions what Silenus says ἐν β́ τῶν περὶ Συρακόσσας. Cicero (de Div. 1.24) quotes from Silenus (of whom he remarks : is autem diligentissime res Hannibalis persecutus est) an account of a dream that Hannibal had after the capture of Saguntum. (Comp. Corn. Nep. Hannib. extr.)
2. It was probably a different writer from the last who is quoted several times by Athenaeus and others as the author of a work on foreign words (γλῶσσαι). Athenaeus mentions him frequently along with Cleitarchus. (Athen. xi. pp. 468, a. 475, d. 478, e. 482, f. xiv. p. 644f., &c. ; comp. Schol. ad Apoll. Rhod. 1.1299; Eustath. ad Od. 7.102, p. 1571.) Silenus also compiled a collection of fabulous histories. (Tzetzes in Lycophr. 786; Schol. Hom. Od. 1.75, where he is called a Chian, as he is also by Eustathius, ad Od. 19.407, p. 11871, and Eudocia, pp. 43, 312, 394 ; Vossius, de Hist. Graecis, p. 498, ed. Westermann.) [C.P.M]
an architect who wrote a work on the Doric order, de Symmetriis Doricorum. He was apparently of an early age and a little later than the scene painter Agatharchus, who was contemporary with Aeschylus. (Vitruv. vii. praef. § 12.) [P.S]
- , Σιληνός, the snub-nosed and drunken tutor of Bacchus, C., V., H., O.—Plur, gods of the woods, satyrs, Ct.
(Σειληνός). A sort of Satyr who in mythic legends accompanies the god Bacchus, and who is said to have brought up and instructed him. Like the other Satyrs, he is called a son of Hermes; but others make him a son of Pan by a nymph, or of Gaea. Being the constant companion of Bacchus, he is said, like the god, to have been born at Nysa. Moreover, he took part in the contest with the Giants, and slew Enceladus. He is described as a jovial old man, with a bald head, a blunt nose, fat and round like the wine bag that he always carried with him, and generally intoxicated. As he could not trust his own legs, he is generally represented riding on an ass or supported by other Satyrs (Ovid, A. A. i. 543). In every other respect he is described as resembling his brethren in their love of sleep, wine, and music. He is mentioned, along with Marsyas and Olympus, as the inventor of the flute, which he is often seen playing; and a special kind of dance was called after him “Silenus,” while he himself is designated as the dancer. But it is a peculiar feature in his character that he was conceived also as an inspired prophet, who knew all the past and the most distant future, and as a sage who despised all the gifts of fortune. When he was drunk and asleep, he was in the power of mortals, who might compel him to prophesy and sing by surrounding him with chains of flowers. Silenus was probably at first a deity presiding over springs and running streams, and so the wine-skin with which he is frequently represented was doubtless originally a water-skin (Lucian, Deor. Conc. 4).