Strewing in profusion gay,
Verdant foliage all the way.
Freed from toil, the labourer blythe
Flings aside the spade and scythe,
Glad to trip in nimble jig,
The earth which he dislikes to dig."
Horace.
They were the divinities of the woods and fields, and were represented as having the legs, feet, and ears of goats; the remainder of the body being human; the lamb and kid were offered to them by the peasants with great solemnity.
The Sylvans were the children of the foster father of God Bacchus, who accompanied the latter in all his travels. Bacchus having been well received and entertained at the court of Midas, King of Phrygia, he obtained from him the choice of whatever recompense he should name. Midas demanded the power of turning all that he touched into gold.