Papposilenus playing the crotals, theatrical type of the satyr play, Louvre

Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of tragicomedy, similar to the modern-day burlesque style. They always featured a chorus of satyrs and were based in Greek mythology and contained themes of, among other things, drinking, overt sexuality (often including large phallic props), pranks and general merriment. At the Athenian Dionysia, playwrights usually submitted four plays to the competition: three tragedies and one satyr play. The satyr plays were preformed at the end of the festival as spirited entertainment to lighten the atmosphere after many hours of Tragedy. They were also generally much shorter, around half the length of an average Tragedy. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 418 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1374 × 1968 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 418 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1374 × 1968 pixel, file size: 1. ... This article is about the museum: for building history, see Palais du Louvre, for higher education, see École du Louvre. ... The Temple to Athena, the Parthenon Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around three thousand years. ... Photograph of Sally Rand, 1934. ... Ancient Greek Satyr statuette In Greek mythology, satyrs (in Greek, Σάτυροι — Sátyroi) are young humans, possibly with horse ears, that roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the telling of stories created by the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the general, on the ancient Greek civilization. ... This article is about the symbol of the erect penis. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα - Athína) is the largest city and capital of Greece, located in the Attica prefecture of Southern Greece. ... The Dionysia was a large religious festival in ancient Athens in honour of the god Dionysus, the central event of which was the performance of tragedies and comedies. ... In general usage a tragedy is a play, movie or sometimes a real world event with a sad outcome. ...

Satyric drama was one of the three varieties of Athenian drama (the other two being tragedy and comedy). Its origin can be traced back to Pratinas of Phlius (about 500 BC). It is probable that, after settling in Athens, he adapted the old dithyramb with its chorus of satyrs, which was customary in his native place, to the form of tragedy which had been recently invented in Athens. This new kind of drama met with so much approval, and was so much developed by Pratinas himself, as well as by his son Aristeas, by Choerilus, by Aeschylus, and the dramatists who succeeded him, that it became the custom to act a satyric drama after a set of three tragedies. The seriousness of the preceding plays was thus relieved, while the chorus of satyrs and Sileni, the companions of Dionysos, served to indicate the original connexion between that divinity and the drama. This does not cite its references or sources. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke[[ laughter in general). ... Pratinas was one of the earliest tragic poets of Athens, he was a native of Phlius in Peloponnesus. ... Phlius was a Greek city in the northwestern Argolid, in the Peloponnese. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created... The dithyramb was originally an ancient Greek hymn sung to the god Dionysus. ... In early tragedy, no parts were played by a single actor; because the actor left the stage often to change roles, the chorus was especially dominant. ... Ancient Greek Satyr statuette In Greek mythology, satyrs (in Greek, Σάτυροι — Sátyroi) are young humans, possibly with horse ears, that roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus. ... There were several poets named Choerilus: Choerilus (tragic poet) Choerilus of Iasus - epic poet Choerilus of Samos - epic poet This is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Bust of Aeschylus from the Capitoline Museums, Rome Aeschylus (525 BC—456 BC; Greek: Ασχύλος) was a playwright of Ancient Greece. ... In Greek mythology, Ipotanes were a race of half-horse, half-humans, unlike the satyrs, who were half-goat. ... Bacchus by Caravaggio Dionysus, the name of a god, is occasionally confused with one of several historical figures named Dionysius. ...

The material for a satyric drama, like that for a tragedy, was taken from an epic or mythology, and the action, which took place under an open sky, in a lonely wood, the haunt of the satyrs, had generally an element of tragedy; but the characteristic solemnity and stateliness of tragedy was somewhat diminished, without in any way impairing the splendour of the tragic costume and the dignity of the heroes introduced. The amusing effect of the play did not depend so much on the action itself, as was the case in comedy, but rather on the relation of the chorus to that action. That relation was in keeping with the wanton, saucy, and insolent, and at the same time cowardly, nature of the satyrs. The number of persons in the chorus is not known, although there were probably either twelve or fifteen, as in tragedy. In accordance with the popular notions about the satyrs, their costume consisted of the skin of a goat, deer, or panther, thrown over the naked body, and besides this a hideous mask and bristling hair. The dance of the chorus in the satyric drama was called sicinnis, and consisted of a fantastic kind of skipping and jumping. The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... In early tragedy, no parts were played by a single actor; because the actor left the stage often to change roles, the chorus was especially dominant. ...

Sophocles is known to have written a satyr play in which the baby Perseus is allowed to play with a satyr's penis, as that fragment survives. Another play discusses the need to gang rape Helen.^[1] Sophocles (ancient Greek: ; 495 BC - 406 BC) was the second of three great ancient Greek tragedians. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Antonio Canova, completed 1801 (Vatican Museums) Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas (Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας), the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits helped establish the hegemony of Zeus and the Twelve... The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ... For the domesticated crop plant called rape, see rapeseed. ... In Greek mythology, Helen (Greek: , Helénē), better known as Helen of Troy, was the daughter of Zeus and Leda and the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. ...

The only satyr play to survive in its entirety is Euripides' Cyclops. Scholars also have large fragments of a Sophocles comedy called Ichneutae (Tracking Satyrs), and still smaller pieces of other satyr plays exist. A statue of Euripides Euripides (Greek: Ευριπίδης) (c. ... The Cyclops is an Ancient Greek satyr play by Euripides, the only complete satyr play that has survived. ... Sophocles (ancient Greek: ; 495 BC - 406 BC) was the second of three great ancient Greek tragedians. ... The Tracking Satyrs (or Ichneutae) is a fragmentary satyr play by Sophocles written during the 5th century BC. Fragments of the play were discovered in Egypt in 1907. ...

The Romans did not imitate this kind of drama in their literature, although, like the Greeks, they used to have merry after-pieces following their serious plays.

Notes

The College of Staten Island is one of the hybrid colleges of the City University of New York. ...

References

• Easterling, P. E. (Editor), Bernard M. W. Knox (Editor); The Cambridge History of Classical Literature; Volume I Part 2: Greek Drama Cambridge University Press; Reprint edition (1993). ISBN 0521359821.
• Seyffert, Oskar; Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, "Satyric Drama" (1894).

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Classical Antiquities by Oskar Seyffert, edited by Henry Nettleship and J. E. Sandys (1894). The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...