Editing Silenus (section)

{{short description|Ancient Greek mythological figure}}
{{Other uses|Silenus (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Silenoz}}
{{Infobox deity
| type             = Greek
| name             = Silenus
| image            = Sileno del 100-150 con testa di età flavia, da originali del primo ellenismo della cerchia di lisisppo.JPG
| alt              = 
| caption          = [[Roman art|Roman copy]] of [[Hellenistic art|Hellenistic]] statue of Silenus holding a bunch of grapes and a cup of wine, [[Vatican Museums]] (Pius-Clementine Museum, Room of the Muses), Rome
| god_of           = God of [[drunkenness]] and [[winemaking]]
| abode            = [[Nysa (mythology)|Nysa]]
| symbol           = [[Wine]], [[grape]]s, [[kantharos]], [[thyrsos]], [[wineskin]], [[panthera|panther]], [[donkey]]
| consort          = [[Hermaphroditus]]
| parents          = [[Pan (god)|Pan]], or [[Hermes]] and [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaea]]
| siblings         = 
| children         = foster father of [[Dionysus]], [[Pholus (mythology)|Pholus]]
| Roman_equivalent = 
}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Silenus''' ({{IPAc-en|s|aɪ|ˈ|l|iː|n|ə|s}}; {{langx|grc|Σειληνός|Seilēnós}}, {{IPA|grc|seːlɛːnós|IPA}}) was a companion and [[tutor]] to the [[wine]] [[Greek god|god]] [[Dionysus]]. He is typically older than the [[satyr]]s of the Dionysian retinue (''[[thiasos]]''), and sometimes considerably older, in which case he may be referred to as a '''Papposilenus'''. ''Silen'' <ref>{{Cite journal |last=van Hoorn |first=G. |date=November 1954 |title=Choes and Anthesteria |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/627643 |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=74 |doi=10.2307/627643 |jstor=627643 |via=Cambridge University Press|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and its plural ''sileni'' refer to the mythological figure as a type that is sometimes thought to be differentiated from a satyr by having the attributes of a horse rather than a goat, though usage of the two words is not consistent enough to permit a sharp distinction.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

Silenus presides over other [[daimon]]s and is related to musical creativity, prophetic ecstasy, drunken joy, drunken dances and gestures.<ref>Georgieff, D. 2017. The essence of the Dionysian mysteries. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.36183.06568</ref>

In the [[decorative arts]], a "silene" is a Silenus-like figure, often a "mask" (face) alone.