The Wisdom of Silenos

Silenos, the father of the satyrs, is an ambivalent, mysterious creature. In the ancient Greek satyr plays he is depicted as old, lecherous, cowardly and drunken – a figure to laugh at. But he was also the tutor of the god Dionysos. And his response to King Midas, who captured him and forced him to reveal what is best for human beings, became known as the ‘wisdom of Silenos’.