Marsyas

views updated Jun 27 2018

Marsyas in Greek mythology, a satyr who challenged Apollo to a contest in flute playing and was flayed alive when he lost; the river Marsyas in Asia Minor is said to have sprung either from his blood, or from the tears of his mourners. The episode is the subject of one of Titian's best-known paintings, The Flaying of Marsyas (c.1570–6).

More From encyclopedia.com