The antique Greek dance, after sculptured and painted figures . nity of a cult. Silcnes andSatyrs, bearded, with bare heads and hairy bodies, are the guestsof the forests. Pans, with their cloven hoofs, take their pleasureat the summits of the rocky places; Centaurs roam on the moun-tains ; Nymphs, at the mouths of the rivers, give food to the younggod; Naiades and Menades of all ranks form around Dionysos acourt of folly, in the etiquette of which dancing holds a uniqueplace. Though the aspect of these companions of Dionysos underwentimportant changes as time passed, they are always recogniza
The antique Greek dance, after sculptured and painted figures . nity of a cult. Silcnes andSatyrs, bearded, with bare heads and hairy bodies, are the guestsof the forests. Pans, with their cloven hoofs, take their pleasureat the summits of the rocky places; Centaurs roam on the moun-tains ; Nymphs, at the mouths of the rivers, give food to the younggod; Naiades and Menades of all ranks form around Dionysos acourt of folly, in the etiquette of which dancing holds a uniqueplace. Though the aspect of these companions of Dionysos underwentimportant changes as time passed, they are always recognizable. 389. The Silenes and the Satyrs are not of the same mythologicalorigin; though so nearly alike in form that they may be mistakenone for the other. The primitive Silenus is of brutal aspect; he ismade more hideous by his dress of the head and skin of some animal(Figs. 523, 415, 578). He may have the feet and tail of a horse(Fig. 386). In this form he is seen on many of the black-figuredvases. In the fifth century B. C. the face of the Silenus becomes less. 254 THE DANCERS simian, though he still possesses his bestial characteristics (). Little by little this fantastic being loses his grosser symbols;his face becomes human, his feet cease to be hoofs, his tail is short-ened. The fourth century B. C. brings in a type of a young Silenus,with waving hair and laughing mouth; he is the Satyr who becamethe Roman faun (Fig. 180). The Hellenistic period did not renouncethe old-man type of Silenus, though he did not re-main a beast, he was still drunken. Gross of body,hairy, bald-headed, crowned with ivy (Fig. 573), theartists of all periods represented him as an old manbut not always a grotesque. He joyously carriesthe infant Dionysos in his arms, his face expressingpaternal tenderness (E. Pottier). Thus there aretwo distinct types, which are easily Pan is the pastoral deity. He lives on thesummits of the Arcadian hills and is the genius ofthe mountains.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherl, booksubjectdance
