MARSYAS  , in

Greek mythology, a Phrygian god or Silenus, son of Hyagnis . He was originally the god of the small river of the same name near Celaenae, an old Phrygian town . He represents the art of playing the flute as opposed to the lyre—the one the accompaniment of the worship of Cybele, the other that of the worship of Apollo . According to the legend, Athena, who had invented the flute, threw it away in disgust, because it distorted the features . Marsyas found it, and having acquired great skill in playing it, challenged Apollo to a contest with his lyre . Midas, king of Phrygia, who had been appointed judge, declared in favour of Marsyas, and Apollo punished Midas by changing his ears into ass's ears . In another version, the Muses were judges and awarded the victory to Apollo, who tied Marsyas to a tree and flayed him alive . Marsyas, as well as Midas and Silenus, are associated in legend with Dionysus and belong to the cycle of legends of Cybele . A statue of Marsyas was set 1 According to others, a reed-pipe made of the stalks of hemlock; the reading scutica (" whip ") has also been proposed.up in the Roman forum and colonies as a symbol of liberty . The contest and punishment of Marsyas were favourite subjects in Greek art, both painting and sculpture . In Florence there are several statues of Marsyas hanging on the tree as he is going to be flayed (see GREEK ART, fig . 54, Pl .

II.); Apollo and the executioner

complete the group . In the Lateran museum at Rome there is a statue representing Marsyas in the act of picking up the flute, a copy of a masterpiece by Myron (Hyginus, Fab . 167, 191; Apollodorus i . 4, 2; Ovid, Metam. vi . 382-400, xi . 145-193), for which see GREEK ART, fig . 64 (Pl . III.) .