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| Apollo and Marsyas (1490-1500), Pietro Perugino. Louvre. | |
A Silenus from Phrygia, the son of Hyagnis, Olympus (3) or Oeager. He was the follower of the goddess Cybele, and, according to one version, the inventor of the double-flute. According to another version, Athena was the one who invented the flute and played on it at a banquet of the gods. Although her music was delightful and seemed to entertain the gods, she noticed that Hera and Aphrodite were silently laughing. Then she went into a Phrygian forest, started to play beside a stream and watched her reflection in the water. When she saw how distorted her face was whilst playing, she immediately threw the flute away, and laid a curse on anyone who picked it up. Marsyas was the innocent victim of this curse. He found the flute and he went about Phrygia in Cybele's train playing it. The flute produced the lovely sounds, which delighted everyone. Soon, there were some rumors that Marsyas' music was so beautiful that even Apollo himself could not produce the better one on his lyre. This angered Apollo, who challenged Marsyas to a contest. Marsyas accepted, and the agreement was that the winner could inflict any punishment he wished on the loser. The Muses were named as a jury. At first, the contest proved that both Marsyas and Apollo are equal, the Muses were charmed by both instruments. But then Apollo tricked Marsyas. He challenged him to both play and sing at the same time, and to hold his instrument upside down. While Apollo easily managed to do so with his lyre, Marsyas couldn't do it with the flute, and he failed. Apollo was declared as the winner, and he took a very cruel revenge on Marsyas: he flayed him alive and nailed his skin to a pine tree. This event took place near the river which now bears Marsyas' name. The legend of Marsyas inspired Myron to make the figures of Athena and Marsyas (5th century BC), which stood on the Athenian Acropolis. In the Hellenistic art, the punishment of Marsyas was a very popular subject.