Italy: The Greek mythological figure Silenus, companion and tutor to the god Dionysus. A Roman copy sculpted in the 2nd century CE, Vatican Museum, Rome (2016)

In Greek mythology, Silenus was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue (thiasos), and sometimes considerably older, in which case he may be referred to as a Papposilenus.

The original Silenus resembled a folkloric man of the forest with the ears of a horse and sometimes also the tail and legs of a horse.[1] The later sileni were drunken followers of Dionysus, usually bald and fat with thick lips and squat noses, and having the legs of a human.

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CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

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Pictures From History