MARSYAS (satyr musician)

Marsyas found flutes that Athena had discarded, a transgression she wished to keep permanent.^6,7,8 He imitated the sounds of the multi-reed pipe and transferred them to the flute, composing the Song of the Mother.^1,9 The Phrygians believed the local river was once Marsyas, and its waters carried his flutes to the Maeander.^9,7 He helped the Phrygians repel the Gauls by using river water and the music of his flute against the barbarian army.⁹

A rivalry with Apollo led to a musical contest in the valley of Aulocrenæ, ten miles from Apamea.^10,11 Marsyas initially impressed the judges by surpassing Apollo's first performance with his pipe music.^6,2 He argued that combining voice with instrument was unfair, but he ultimately failed to play his instrument upside down as required.^2,6 Apollo defeated him in a contest of skill, resulting in an excessive punishment that Hera described as a judicial murder.^2,12,13

According to Phrygian tradition, Apollo flayed Marsyas and hung his skin up.^14,6 Accounts differ on the tree used for the execution; some say it was a tall pine, while others identify it as a plane tree of exceptional height in the district of Aulocrene.^6,15 His skin was displayed in the market-place of Celaenae, though Strabo noted that Euripides incorrectly claimed Marsyas lived in that city.^14,16 The flutes belonging to Marsyas were eventually destroyed by fire.⁷

Marsyas is credited with inventing the Phrygian musical style and the flute alongside Seilenus and Olympus.^5,17 He is associated with the combination of Dionysiac and Phrygian religious rites.¹⁷ Apollo held a lasting hostility toward flute players because of his conflict with Marsyas.¹⁰ The fable of Olympus and Marsyas is set in the area of Apameia.¹⁸