The tiny bronze figure represents an elderly, bearded, balding man with thick lips and a plump nose. The find, just 4.5 cm tall, was found using a metal detector.
At first sight the figure seemed so finely detailed that the finder took it home in the belief that it was a modern object. Later she handed it over to the National Museum of Denmark. Here experts were quickly able to ascertain that the figure represented not a man, but Silenus.
In Greek mythology, Silenus (Greek: Seilenos) was a companion and tutor of the wine god Dionysus. He appeared together with satyrs and other creatures in the wine god’s entourage, resembling a satyr, although, he was considerably older. The character Silenus ended up as a very special genre of figure creatures known as sileni.
Story: Peter Pentz, Science Nordic | Photo: National Museum of Denmark
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