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A Satyr and His Figurine

Jaimee Uhlenbrock

Abstract

An unusual terracotta group from Sicily of a satyr running off with a terracotta figurine leads to questions about the meaning of its iconography and its possible relationship to cultural developments in Sicily in the first half of the fifth century.

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  • 1 In my choice of the term “satyr” to indicate the male figure in this group, I defer to the Musée du (...)
  • 2 Musée du Louvre, CA 4318, from Sicily, first half of the fifth century B.C.E., findspot unknown.
  • 3 According to the website of the Musee du Louvre: figurine - Louvre site des collections; Schneider- (...)
  • 4 van Rooijen 2021, 371. The attempt by van Rooijen to situate this iconographic type of satyr and fi (...)

1A terracotta group now in the Musée du Louvre and dated early in the fifth century B.C.E. is enigmatic for its iconography. The group, mold made and 13.5 cm in height, comprises a running ithyphallic satyr1 carrying what appears to be an overly large terracotta figurine of a well-known Sicilian type (fig. 1a).2 The satyr, shown with a leering face, is bearded, balding, and has animal-like ears. He runs vigorously toward the left in a Knielauf, holding either a drinking horn against his right hip with his right hand,3 or his own tail,4 while against his left knee he supports the figurine with his open fingers that barely emerge from beneath its base. The figurine type represents a seated female, whose body is rendered as a flat board with a very shallow lap and with a naturalistic head wearing a polos; a single pectoral with pendants stretches from shoulder to shoulder. 

Fig. 1a. A satyr and his figurine, first half of the fifth century B.C.E. from Sicily. Musée du Louvre, CA 4318. Fig. 1b. A satyr and his figurine, first half of the fifth century B.C.E. from Sicily. Present location unknown.

Fig. 1a. A satyr and his figurine, first half of the fifth century B.C.E. from Sicily. Musée du Louvre, CA 4318. Fig. 1b. A satyr and his figurine, first half of the fifth century B.C.E. from Sicily. Present location unknown.

Fig. 1a. Photo: © 2019 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Stéphane Maréchalle. https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010261434. Fig. 1b. Photo: after Schneider-Herrmann, fig. 1.

  • 5 Dewailly 1992; Albertocchi 2004; van Rooijen 2021, 123–161.
  • 6 Schneider-Herrmann 1968.
  • 7 van Rooijen 2021, 371, no. 198. I owe this reference to Marina Albertocchi.

2Many examples of the type of pectoral figurine that is held by the satyr appear as votives in ritual contexts belonging to both the sanctuary and the grave in southwestern Sicilian contexts of the later 6th and earlier 5th centuries B.C.E.5 However, the iconographic composition of this particular figurine group as a whole is unusual. One other example of undocumented provenience that belonged to Lili Byvanck-Quarles van Ufford was published in 1968 by Gisela Schneider-Herrmann with the hope that its publication would generate curiosity (fig. 1b).6 Yet, to my knowledge, the type does not seem to have provoked any particular interest. The Quarles van Ufford group appears identical to the Louvre group, as a side-by-side comparison of the two groups shows, and it is very probable that they both are descended from the same prototype and perhaps were even produced from the same mold. This is suggested by several prominent defects in the Louvre composition that may have been transferred from the mold that made this group and that also appear in identical places in the Quarles van Ufford group. These concern a pitted spall above the point of the beard of the satyr, a second on his elbow, and a third one located more or less at his hip, among others. The identical placement and character of these defects that occur on both terracotta groups could lead to the suggestion that these photographs were simply of one and the same terracotta object, were it not for the slightly curved neck of the presumed drinking horn. Yet, the fact that the Louvre example was already in the Louvre when the Quarles van Ufford group was published in 1968 eliminates this possibility. A third, but fragmentary, example was brought to light in Akragas,7 but unfortunately its exact find-spot and context has not been recorded. 

  • 8 For the general iconographic scheme, three roughly contemporary examples suffice: the tondo of a re (...)

3In any case, the satyr in the Sicilian terracotta group is seemingly not engaged in a ritual, or dedicatory action, as is suggested by his presumed drunkenness and his sexual arousal. These pertain to emotional states mired in violence and lustful abandon that accompanied female abduction, an iconographic theme that was popular in the first half of the fifth century B.C.E.8 But in the case of the terracotta group, the gestures of the satyr are not threatening, as one hand holds the presumed drinking horn and the other gently supports the figurine that rests in his open hand. The contrast between the agitated satyr and the rigid pectoral figurine that he supports offers a clue to a possible meaning for the group, as will be seen below. 

  • 9 Blinkenberg 1917.
  • 10 Albertocchi 2000.

4The seated and standing types of pectoral figurines that were brought to light from southwestern Sicilian contexts, and especially their peculiar board-like form, lead Christian Blinkenberg to see in them references to the archaic agalma of Athena Lindia, the goddess of the sanctuary on the acropolis of Lindos in Rhodes. Since the Lindian Chronicle stated that this ancient image was richly adorned, Blinkenberg argued that the pectorals were to be classified as adornment, and that the presence of these types in centers in Sicily that had been founded by Rhodian colonists proved that these types represented the Rhodian Athana Lindia.9 Thus, for many researchers following Blinkenberg, the pectoral figurines represented Athena Lindia, even though no such terracotta type has ever been found in Rhodes. Yet, Marina Albertocchi still has argued for an origin in Asia Minor, although not specifically Rhodes.10 Currently, this pectoral type is viewed as a polyvalent image useful for the worship of any divinity, but no one to date has addressed the origin of this type of Sicilian image satisfactorily.

5The salient characteristic of these pectoral types of figurines is their lack of any bodily presence, a feature that surely removed them from the earthly realm, while their board-like structure could have endowed them with an antiquity that might have recalled, if only on some unconscious level, an ancient image, or even the ‘first’ image, an ancient agalma made of a plank of wood. 

  • 11 Ashmolean Museum AN1931.39; Richter 1987, 355, fig. 474. I owe this reference to Alan Shapiro.
  • 12 See note 8 above.

6Such a suggestion calls to mind a representation of the abduction of the Palladion from Troy by Diomedes, as seen in the tondo of an Apulian red-figured cup by the Diomed Painter of the early 4th century, where the energetically running figure of Diomedes is in distinct contrast to the static and rigid agalma that he carries (fig. 2).11 This same contrast is evident in the terracotta group, even though it predates the cup by a century. Yet, our satyr has a face of malicious glee as he appears to be running away from “something” in evident vigorous motion, while he carefully supports a substitute for an ancient cult image. But should this pectoral figurine really be understood as a substitute, a figurine? Could one argue that the pectoral figurine in this group actually would have been understood as an ancient cult image? The fact that the satyr is shown running could underscore the hasty and impious nature of his action. If so and taking a clue from the scene of the abduction of the Palladion by Diomedes, then one could read in this terracotta group a drunken and sexually aroused satyr who has abducted the agalma, a metonym for divine protection and intervention, in a theatrical and burlesque parody based on current scenes of female abduction.12 

Fig. 2. Diomedes abducting the Palladion from Troy, red-figured cup by the Diomed Painter, early fourth century B.C.E., from Apulia. Ashmolean Museum AN1931.39.

Fig. 2. Diomedes abducting the Palladion from Troy, red-figured cup by the Diomed Painter, early fourth century B.C.E., from Apulia. Ashmolean Museum AN1931.39.

Photo: courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum

  • 13 Dover 2015; Barnes 2023, 44. For Epicharmus within the theatrical environment of Syracuse in the ea (...)
  • 14 Barnes 2023, 51.

7Indeed, the very bawdy character of this group, whose main protagonist is a hypersexualized satyr possibly abducting a cult image, begs to find its inspiration within a theatrical orbit, or perhaps even within a taste for the raucous performances that eventually developed into early satyr plays in Sicily. It may not be a coincidence that this figurine group is dated squarely within the career of Epicharmus of Syracuse, an early comic playwright, whose floruit has been placed in the first half of the fifth century B.C.E.13 We are told by Barnes that the comedies of Epicharmus contain much “mythical burlesque and…spoofing on Homer.”14 It may very well be within this general cultural framework that one can situate the origin of the terracotta group of a satyr and his figurine that may have been a “spoof,” to use Barnes’ word, on the Homeric tale of the abduction of the Palladion.

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Bibliography

 Albertocchi, M. 2000. “Le terrecotte di Athena Lindia: il problema dell’influsso ionico nella creazione di un tipo coroplastico.” In Atti del Convegno: Die Ägäis und das westliche Mittelmeer. Beziehungen und Wechselwirkungen 8. bis 5.Jh. v.Chr. (Vienna 1999), edited by F. Krinzinger, 349–356. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Albertocchi, M. 2004. Athana Lindia: le statuette siceliote con pettorali di età arcaica e classica. Rome: G. Bretschneider.

Barnes, R.J. 2023. “Epicharmus, Sicily, and Early Greek Philosophy.” In Paideia on Stage, edited by P. Mitsis, V. Pichugina, and H.L. Reid, 43–74. Parnassos Press – Fonte Aretusa. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.11660128.8.

Beazley, J.D. 1984. Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Blinkenberg, Ch. 1917. L’image d’Athana Lindia. Copenhagen: Høst & søn.

Boscher, K. 2014. “Epicharmus and Early Sicilian Comedy.” In The Cambridge Companion to Greek Comedy, edited by M. Revermann, 79–94. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Brett, A.B. 1955. Catalogue of Greek Coins in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts.

Dewailly, M. 1992. Les statuettes aux parures du sanctuaire de la Malophoros à Sélinonte. Contexte, typologie et interprétation d’une catégorie d’offrandes. Naples: Centre Jean Bérard.

Dover, K. 2015. Epicharmus. Oxford Classical Dictionary. Retrieved 9 Dec. 2025, from https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore9780199381135-e-2438.

Farnoux, A., and V. Jeammet, eds. 2024. L'Olympisme, une invention moderne, un héritage antique (exhibition catalogue). Paris: Hazan, Louvre éditions.

Konstantakos, Io. 2024. “Mythological Burlesque, Parody, and Literary Games, from Epicharmus to Aristophanes.” Veleia 41: 17–32. https://doi.org/10.1387/veleia.24885.

Richter, G. 1987. A Handbook of Greek Art. London: Phaidon Press.

Schneider-Herrmann, G. 1968. “Satyr mit Göttin und mit Nymphe.” Antike Kunst 11: 110–113.

van Rooijen, G. 2021. Goddesses of Akragas. A Study of Terracotta Votive Figurines from Sicily. Leiden: Sidestone Press.

Willi, A. 2012. “Challenging Authority: Epicharmus between Epic and Rhetoric.” In The Theater Outside Athens, edited by K. Bosher, 56–75. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Notes

1 In my choice of the term “satyr” to indicate the male figure in this group, I defer to the Musée du Louvre, although it is understood that the terms silen and satyr are used interchangeably in archaeological and art historical literature.

2 Musée du Louvre, CA 4318, from Sicily, first half of the fifth century B.C.E., findspot unknown.

3 According to the website of the Musee du Louvre: figurine - Louvre site des collections; Schneider-Herrmann, 1968, 11.

4 van Rooijen 2021, 371. The attempt by van Rooijen to situate this iconographic type of satyr and figurine within the coroplastic spectrum of standing or walking women who carry a child on their left shoulder appears wide of the mark. While the figurine is represented as sitting, the satyr obviously is running, and not resting on his right knee, while he clearly is not carrying the figurine on his left shoulder, but rather, is supporting it with his fingers.

5 Dewailly 1992; Albertocchi 2004; van Rooijen 2021, 123–161.

6 Schneider-Herrmann 1968.

7 van Rooijen 2021, 371, no. 198. I owe this reference to Marina Albertocchi.

8 For the general iconographic scheme, three roughly contemporary examples suffice: the tondo of a red-figure kylix by Douris in the Harvard Art Museums (1925.30.129; Beazley 1963, 436, no. 112); on side A of a red-figure amphora by the painter Oltos and the potter Pamphaios in the Musée du Louvre (S 1409; Farnoux and Jeammet 2024, 206, 207, fig. 92); the obverse of a Thasian coin of ca. 490 B.C.E. now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 08.342 (Brett 1955, no. 0852) with a satyr abducting a nymph has a particularly good parallel for the running pose of the satyr in the Louvre group: https://collections.mfa.org/objects/2730/stater-of-thasos-with-silenos-abducting-nymph?ctx=00b89f57-d9f3-4c3c-9d8b-9c695d5cbf57&idx=15

9 Blinkenberg 1917.

10 Albertocchi 2000.

11 Ashmolean Museum AN1931.39; Richter 1987, 355, fig. 474. I owe this reference to Alan Shapiro.

12 See note 8 above.

13 Dover 2015; Barnes 2023, 44. For Epicharmus within the theatrical environment of Syracuse in the early fifth century B.C.E, see Bosher 2014, 83–88; for Epicharmus and the burlesque origins of comic drama, see Konstantakos 2024, 18–26; for Epicharmus’ reputation, see Willi 2012, 56–57.

14 Barnes 2023, 51.

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List of illustrations

Title Fig. 1a. A satyr and his figurine, first half of the fifth century B.C.E. from Sicily. Musée du Louvre, CA 4318. Fig. 1b. A satyr and his figurine, first half of the fifth century B.C.E. from Sicily. Present location unknown.
Credits Fig. 1a. Photo: © 2019 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Stéphane Maréchalle. https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010261434. Fig. 1b. Photo: after Schneider-Herrmann, fig. 1.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/acost/docannexe/image/4364/img-1.jpg
File image/jpeg, 425k
Title Fig. 2. Diomedes abducting the Palladion from Troy, red-figured cup by the Diomed Painter, early fourth century B.C.E., from Apulia. Ashmolean Museum AN1931.39.
Credits Photo: courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum
URL http://journals.openedition.org/acost/docannexe/image/4364/img-2.jpg
File image/jpeg, 243k
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References

Electronic reference

Jaimee Uhlenbrock, “A Satyr and His Figurine”Les Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 25 | 2025, Online since 18 December 2025, connection on 15 May 2026. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/acost/4364; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/15efq

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About the author

Jaimee Uhlenbrock

State University of New York, New Paltz

uhlenbrj@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

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