Syrinx

In classical mythology, Syrinx /ˈsɪrɪŋks/ (Greek Σύριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous Greek god Pan, she ran to a river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, she was transformed into hollow water reeds that made a haunting sound when the god's frustrated breath blew across them. Pan cut the reeds to fashion the first set of pan pipes, which were thenceforth known as syrinx. The word syringe was derived from this word.

In literature

The story of the syrinx is told in Achilles Tatius' Leukippe and Kleitophon where the heroine is subjected to a virginity test by entering a cave where Pan has left syrinx pipes that will sound a melody if she passes. The story became popular among artists and writers in the 19th century. The Victorian artist and poet Thomas Woolner wrote Silenus, a long narrative poem about the myth, in which Syrinx becomes the lover of Silenus, but drowns when she attempts to escape rape by Pan, as a result of the crime Pan is transmuted into a demon figure and Silenus becomes a drunkard.Amy Clampitt's poem Syrinx refers to the myth by relating the whispering of the reeds to the difficulties of language.

Syrinx (Wolter)

Syrinx is a public artwork by German-born American sculptor Adolph Wolter located at the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

Description

It is a bronze figure of Syrinx sitting on a limestone tree stump. Syrinx is nude, and her proper right knee is bent upwards to her chest with her other leg hanging over the side of the stump. She holds her hand to her ear, cupping it, "listening" to the music of the nearby sculpture of the satyr Pan, who plays a flute.

Information

In 1923 Myra Reynolds Richards created Syrinx and Pan for installation at University Park at the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza. Eventually, both pieces were stolen, with Syrinx disappearing in 1959 and Pan being stolen in 1970. The parks department commissioned Adolph Wolter to replace the pieces, and in 1973 they were reinstalled in their current location in University Park at the Plaza.

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Syrinx (gastropod)

Syrinx is a monospecific genus of large sea snails with a gill and an operculum, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turbinellidae.

Distribution

This marine species can be found along the coasts of northern and western half of Australia and adjacent areas, including eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea

Species

References