In the classical texts, we find many variants of the mythological punishment of Marsyas.
As main reference we follow Apollodorus’s description in his “Library of Greek Mythology”, and Hyginus’ “Fabulae”, extending some of the details based on different versions of this mythological narrative.
According to the myth, the goddess Athena amuses the other gods of the Olymp in a banquet-like meal while playing a wind instrument invented by her – named aulos or tibia. This instrument resembled a double flute made out of bones. When she was playing the aulos, her cheeks puffed out which made other gods – especially the goddesses Hera and Aphrodite – make fun of her. Annoyed by the laughs she cursed the instrument and threw it away to Earth.One Day, a satyr called Marsyas was roaming around the mountains and found that divine instrument. The sound of the aulos was so beautiful that the satyr decided to learn and master it. With practice, he became an excellent musician and felt very proud of his musical talents – daring to challenge Apollo (god of the poets and musicians) to a contest to nominate the best musician, and having the Nysiades (nymphs from the Mount Nysa) as referee (King Midas appears as spectator in some other variants).
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