A few months ago, I spotted in a charity shop the very unusual artefact depicted above at the beginning of this ShukerNature blog post; and after recognising what it was, I lost no time in purchasing it for the princely sum of just £5. It is a replica of a Greek stone bust dating from c.400 BC, which portrays the head of a satyr. Read on...
Thursday, August 09, 2012
KARL SHUKER: Sex and the single satyr
A few months ago, I spotted in a charity shop the very unusual artefact depicted above at the beginning of this ShukerNature blog post; and after recognising what it was, I lost no time in purchasing it for the princely sum of just £5. It is a replica of a Greek stone bust dating from c.400 BC, which portrays the head of a satyr. Read on...
The female satyr was not entirely unknown, but it was a product of direct invention rather than folklore. Most depictions only occur since the Renaissance.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the reason satyrs pursued nymphs is that the nymph, who did not have animal parts, was nonetheless reckoned the female of the satyr. I've never heard of a male nymph.