Obscureish Greek Creature?

[Pokonic]

Elo, I seem to have hit a upper limit in which Google magic can provide (because, naturaly, every horse monster in greek myth is apperently a centaur). I need a name for a half-horse half-man creature in the same vein as a satyr. I have seen versions in which had the lower bodies of a donkey, but I have yet to see this creature mentioned anywhere besides a very old history book. Anyone know exactly what I am talking about?

[Tavar]

You don't mean Centaurs, right? You mean something like a Satyr, but with a horses legs instead of whatever else?

[Fragenstein]

Could it be Ipotane? Horse based precursors to the satyrs. There are also fishy versions.

EDIT: actually, satyrs did vary in body type with both donkey and horse legged versions. Where did you see them?

[Pokonic]

You don't mean Centaurs, right? You mean something like a Satyr, but with a horses legs instead of whatever else?

Yep, just two legs.


Could it be Ipotane? Horse based precursors to the satyrs. There are also fishy versions.

EDIT: actually, satyrs did vary in body type with both donkey and horse legged versions. Where did you see them?

Ohh, that sounds like them. Thanks!

As for where I saw them, it was a while ago. Good book, actualy, named-dropped a few figures and such that I could not find in a actual high school textbook on greek myth. Just remember them being mentioned, and attempted to find out more about them. Turns out, I could not. :smallbiggrin:

[Fragenstein]

Yep, just two legs.



Ohh, that sounds like them. Thanks!

As for where I saw them, it was a while ago. Good book, actualy, named-dropped a few figures and such that I could not find in a actual high school textbook on greek myth. Just remember them being mentioned, and attempted to find out more about them. Turns out, I could not. :smallbiggrin:

Well let me know if it turns out otherwise. I detest leaving a client unsatisfied. I could do better with an actual computet at hand.

[Aotrs Commander]

Fawns?

Sileni? (Which are basically satyrs with horse parts instead of goat.) They're even Greek...

[HeadlessMermaid]

Could it be Ipotane? Horse based precursors to the satyrs. There are also fishy versions.
I'm pretty sure that "Ipotane" is not part of Greek mythology - or even a Greek word. It must be from Mandeville (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mandeville) and his account of supposed travels in faraway lands, where mythical creatures (http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/ipotane.htm) abound. Later it appeared in a Narnia illustration (http://images.wikia.com/narnia/images/f/f4/Ipotane.jpg), and it might have been included in bestiaries in between. Basically, it's medieval. That said, you can certainly use it if you like it.


Sileni? (Which are basically satyrs with horse parts instead of goat.) They're even Greek...
Yes, Silenus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silenus) fits the bill. Sometimes he's described as a regular man, sometimes as a man with the ears and legs of a horse. Either way, he's the drunk and wise follower/tutor of Dionysus, the god of wine. The name is also used in plural (Sileni), so it doesn't need to be a unique creature. You can use a bunch of them in an encounter.

[Fragenstein]

I'm pretty sure that "Ipotane" is not part of Greek mythology - or even a Greek word. It must be from Mandeville (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mandeville) and his account of supposed travels in faraway lands, where mythical creatures (http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/ipotane.htm) abound. Later it appeared in a Narnia illustration (http://images.wikia.com/narnia/images/f/f4/Ipotane.jpg), and it might have been included in bestiaries in between. Basically, it's medieval. That said, you can certainly use it if you like it.


Yes, Silenus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silenus) fits the bill. Sometimes he's described as a regular man, sometimes as a man with the ears and legs of a horse. Either way, he's the drunk and wise follower/tutor of Dionysus, the god of wine. The name is also used in plural (Sileni), so it doesn't need to be a unique creature. You can use a bunch of them in an encounter.

My information is coming from March, J., Cassell's Dictionary Of Classical Mythology, London, 1999. ISBN 030435161X

To quote:

"The typical Ipotane looked overall human, but had the legs, hindquarters, tail, and ears of a horse. However, some had humanlike rather than horselike legs (compare with early Centaurs, whose front legs were often humanlike).

"The Sileni were Ipotanes who were followers of Dionysus. These Ipotanes were drunks, and looked mainly like other Ipotanes except that they were usually bald and fat with thick lips and squat noses, and had the legs of a human. Later, sileni lost the plural connotation and the only references were to one individual named Silenus (Roman equivalent: Silvanus), the teacher and faithful companion of the wine-god Dionysus."

There are a few other resources out there backing it up, but ancient mythology is a tricky issue. I might be wrong. It's just as likely the image Pokonic saw was a horse-legged satyr.

[HeadlessMermaid]

My information is coming from March, J., Cassell's Dictionary Of Classical Mythology, London, 1999. ISBN 030435161X
OK, I looked that up in Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Cassells-Dictionary-Classical-Mythology-JENNY/dp/030435161X), and here's what the first review says:
"I've read a number of classical dictionaries over the years, and one thing I especially like about this one is that it doesn't restrict its fairly exhaustive listings strictly to ancient sources. It does sometimes mention modern takes on classical myths, like Kazantzakis's The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel and T.S. Eliot's Leda and the Swan."

If it's a good dictionary (as it seems), it should cite sources for everything. Would it be a terrible hassle if I asked you to look up the source for "Ipotanes"? It would set the matter straight in a pinch. :smallsmile:


There are a few other resources out there backing it up, but ancient mythology is a tricky issue. I might be wrong.
It's certainly tricky, but when we're talking about Greco-Roman mythology, we have a crapload of primary sources. And when a word is missing not only from the dictionaries, but also from the entire corpus of Perseus Digital Library (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/search), I'm inclined to believe it's a recent invention and not an ancient word at all. (I could be wrong. Maybe I failed spectacularly at using the search engine properly, or maybe the corpus isn't as complete as I thought.)

My other clue is that it doesn't look like a proper Greek word. If it's a masculine noun (which is the only option that makes sense), it can't possibly end in -e in the singular number. If the etymology is horse-related, in should start with hippo-. (I looked that up, too, in case there was a simple spelling error, but no luck.) It looks a lot more like a word that a medieval author with some vague knowledge of Greek would make up.


It's just as likely the image Pokonic saw was a horse-legged satyr.
Or a Silenus, which is exactly that. Or, he read the caption "Ipotanes" in book which wasn't too stringent with sources. In any case, this is an academic matter now - I'm pretty sure that Pokonic has already designed the encounter, and is having loads of fun regardless. :smalltongue:

[Clertar]

I guess it's been solved.

If you're looking for a good book on Greek mithology, I highly recommend The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, by Roberto Calasso. A really good book.

[Traab]

They arent greek but Tikbalang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikbalang) might count as a horse/man creature.