Silenus

Also known as: SIL / Sil · Family: Gods · Role: satyr and slave · First appears: Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 1

Silenus, also known as SIL and Sil, is a Dionysian satyr and slave. During the war against the giants, he fought Enceladus, declaring, “Piercing the buckler of Enceladus, I slew him with my lance.” When pirates seized Dionysus, Silenus pursued them by sea with his children, but at Ætna he and his satyrs were captured by Polypheme and reduced to slavery, tending the flocks of their Cyclops master.

In Scene 1, Silenus agrees to trade Polypheme’s provisions for Odysseus’s wine, and in Scene 2 he barters away lambs and cheeses without permission. After Silenus accuses the strangers of stealing his goods, Polypheme orders Odysseus and his companions killed and cooked. Later, Odysseus offers to take Silenus, his friends, and his father aboard his vessel, while Silenus identifies Maron as one he once held in his arms when the boy was young.

In Scene 4, Silenus links his drinking to Dionysus, saying the god admired him for his beauty, and identifies himself with Ganymede as “Jove’s own Ganymede.”

Relationship record

Life events

• Silenus kills Enceladus with his lance during the war against the giants.(Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 1)
  • With: Enceladus
  • “Piercing the buckler of Enceladus, I slew him with my lance.”
• Pirates seize Dionysus, prompting Silenus to pursue them by sea.(Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 1)
  • With: Dionysus
  • “For since ’gainst thee Saturnia roused, To bear thee far away, Etruria’s race Of impious pirates, I soon caught th’ alarm, And sailed in quest of thee with all my children”
• Silenus and his satyrs are captured by Polypheme and reduced to slavery.(Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 1 · 📍 Ætna)
  • With: Polypheme
  • “By one of these Were we made captives, and beneath his roof To slavery are reduced. Our master’s name Is Polypheme”
• Silenus agrees to trade the Cyclops’s provisions for Odysseus’s wine.(Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 1 · 📍 Ætna)
  • With: Odysseus
  • “Produce them: while the day Yet lasts, should we conclude our merchandise.”
• Silenus barters Polypheme’s lambs and cheeses to Odysseus’s party for wine without permission.(Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 2)
  • With: Polypheme Odysseus
  • “These lambs to us he bartered for our wine, And of his own accord, when he had drank, Yielded them up; no violence was used: But the account he gives is utter falsehood, Since he was caught without your privity Vending your goods.”
• Polypheme orders the strangers killed and cooked after Silenus accuses them of stealing his goods.(Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 2)
  • With: Polypheme Odysseus
  • “Indeed! go whet the knives Without delay, collect a mighty pile Of wood, and light it up with flaming brands, They shall be slain immediately, and broiled To satisfy my appetite with viands Hot from the coals.”

Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 1

• enemies with Enceladus “Piercing the buckler of Enceladus, I slew him with my lance.”
• employer: Polypheme “Our master’s name Is Polypheme; instead of Bacchus’ orgies We tend the flocks of an accursed Cyclops.”
• friends with Dionysus “Thy votary once, but now a slave To yonder one-eyed Cyclops, I abide In this detested cave: Covered with a goat’s vile hide, Thy friend, alas! exposed to scorn Wanders helpless and forlorn.”
• friends with Odysseus “My dearest friend, you mention what we long Have stood in need of.”
• ward: Maron “Whom erst, while yet a boy I in these arms sustained.”
• with Odysseus (Silenus and Ulysses negotiate a trade of provisions for wine.) “Produce them: while the day Yet lasts, should we conclude our merchandise.”

Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 3

• friends with Dionysus “And I to Bacchus, to thy ancient friend Far different from this Cyclops, will restore thee.”
• patron: Odysseus “Thee, and thy friends, and thy decrepit sire, This done, aboard my vessel will I place, And from this region with a double tier Of oars convey.”

Euripides, The Cyclops — Scene 4

• with Dionysus (Silenus claims Bacchus favored him with a kiss because of his beauty.) “Only the gentle Bacchus gave that kiss, Because I look so blooming.”
• admirer: Dionysus “I drank because the generous god of wine Declared that he admired me for my beauty.”
• with Ganymede (Silenus claims to be Ganymede while intoxicated.) “I, O Cyclops, Am Jove’s own Ganymede.”

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Extracted from the original text of Greek Tragedy. Made with Rho MD.