Silenus (si-lē´nus).—A name specially applied to a [satyr] (q.v.) who brought up and instructed Bacchus and was his constant companion. He is described as a bald-headed, jovial old man, generally intoxicated, and hence unable to trust his own legs to carry him safely. He generally rode on an ass. He possessed prophetic powers, which he could be made to exercise by surrounding him with chains of flowers while he was drunk and asleep.
Silvanus (sil-vā´nus).—A Latin deity presiding over woods and forests.
Sinon (sin´on).—Son of Æsimus, who allowed the Trojans to take him prisoner, and then persuaded them to take the famous wooden horse into their city. See “[Troy].”
Sirenes (sī-rē´nēz), or Sirens (si´renz).—Sea nymphs, three in number, who had the power of enticing mariners to their destruction on dangerous rocks by their sweet music. In order to get his ship away in safety from them, Ulysses stuffed the ears of his companions with wax and then tied himself to the mast of the vessel, and did not release himself till he could no longer hear their charming voices. They dwelt on an island near the southwest coast of Italy.
Sisyphus (sis´i-fus).—Son of Æolus and king of Corinth; notorious for his avarice and deceit. His punishment in the lower world was to roll to the top of a hill a huge marble block, which no sooner reached the top than it rolled down again: hence a never-ending punishment.
Siva.—The third of the Hindu triad of divinities, who, among a thousand names, bears also that of Mahadeva. The greatest confusion exists as to his attributes; now he is said to be the destroyer, and now the creative principle.
Somnus (som´nus).—The god of sleep; was a son of Night and a brother of Death.
Soracte (sō-rak´tē).—A high mountain, near the Tiber, in Etruria, on the summit of which was a temple of Apollo.
Specter of the Brocken.—Among German myths, a singular colossal apparition seen in the clouds, at certain times of the day, by those who ascend the Brocken, or Blocksberg, the highest peak of the Hartz mountains.
Sphinx (sfingks).—A she-monster, who proposed a riddle to the Thebans, and murdered all who failed to guess it (see “[Œdipus”]). In works of art she is represented with a woman’s bust on the body of a lioness. The word Sphinx (Gr.) means the Throttler, from her manner of killing her victims.