The Satyrs formed the core of Dionysus's wild retinue, the thiasos, accompanying the god on his travels, revels, and campaigns. They danced, drank, and celebrated his rites across the Greek world.
The Satyrs and Maenads together composed Dionysus's sacred retinue. In vase painting and ritual, the male satyrs pursued and danced alongside the ecstatic female worshippers of the god.
Marsyas was a member of the Satyrs, famous for challenging Apollo to a musical contest. Flayed alive after losing, his fate became a cautionary myth about hubris against the gods.
Silenus is the eldest and wisest of the Satyrs, often depicted as their leader and father figure. In Athenian satyr plays, Silenus served as the chorus leader of the satyr band.
In Euripides' Cyclops, a band of Satyrs led by Silenus are shipwrecked on Sicily and enslaved by Polyphemus. They are freed when Odysseus blinds the Cyclops.
Priapus was closely associated with the Satyrs as a fellow member of Dionysus's rustic retinue. Both shared domains of fertility and the wild, and appear together in pastoral art and poetry.
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