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Saturn- An ancient Italian deity, identified with the Greek Cronus. His wife was Ops. He was the god of seedtime and harvest and was represented as bearing a sickle or scythe. As he was later confused with the Greek chronos “time,” Father Time is still represented with a scythe. Before becoming a god he is said to have ruled in Italy during the golden age.
Satyr- A sylvan deity, or demigod, represented as a monster, half man and half goat; having horns on his head, a hairy body, and the feet and tail of a goat. The satyrs belong to the train of Bacchus, and are distinguished for lasciviousness and riotousness. Although mortal, they are superior to the cares and sorrows of mortal life.
Scylla- A maiden whose body Circe, in a fit of jealousy, transformed so that the heads of hideous barking dogs grew about her haunches. She later inhabited the rock opposite the whirlpool Charybdis and lay in wait to snatch sailors from ships which came too close to her.
Sedrat- The lotus tree which stands on the right-hand side of the invisible throne of Allah. Its branches extend wider than the distance between heaven and earth. Its leaves resemble the ears of an eggplant. Each seed of its fruit encloses a houri, and two rivers issue from its roots. Numberless birds sing among its branches, and numberless angels rest beneath its shade.
Silenus- The older satyrs were generally termed sileni; but the one who always accompanied Dionysus and who brought up and instructed him is commonly known as the Silenus. He is represented as a jovial old man, with a bald head, pug nose, and rubicund visage, and generally as intoxicated, riding on a donkey or supported by satyrs. He was fond of music and dancing. It is a peculiar feature in his character that he was an inspired prophet, yet, when he was drunk and asleep he was in the power of mortals, who might compel him to prophesy and sing by surrounding him with chains of flowers.
Silvanus or Sylvanus- An Italian deity presiding over woods, forests, and fields.
Sirens- Sea goddesses, said by some to be two in number, by others three, and even four. Homer mentions but two, and describes them as maidens, dwelling upon an island and detaining with them every voyager who was allured thither by their captivating music. They would have decoyed even Ulysses on his return to Ithaca, had he not commanded his sailors to tie him to the mast and fill their own ears with wax. By others they were described as daughters of the river god Achelous, and companions of Proserpina, after whose seizure they were changed into birds, that they might fly in search of her. In an unhappy contest with the Muses in singing, they lost their wings as a punishment. Others make them sea nymphs, with a form similar to that of the Tritons, with the faces of women and the bodies of flying fish. Their fabled abode was placed by some on an island near Cape Pelorus in Sicily, by others, on the islands or rocks called Sirennusæ, not far from the promontory of Surrentum on the coast of Italy.
Sirius- Known in mythology as the faithful dog of Orion, and set in the heavens as a bright star by Diana when she mourned the display of her archery with caused Orion’s death. See Orion.
Siva- The third of the great triad of Hindu deities, regarded as the destroyer. See Vishnu.
Sol- Although the Greeks and Romans worshipped Apollo as the god and dispenser of light, and in view of this attribute named him Phœbus, yet they conceived another divinity distinguished from Apollo, especially in the earlier fables, under the literal name applied to designate the sun, viz., Sol, or Helios.
Specter of the Brocken- Among German myths, a singular colossal apparition seen in the clouds at certain times of the day by those who ascend the Brocken, or Blocksberg, the highest of the Harz mountains.
Sphinx- A monster said to be a daughter of Chimæra, and living in the neighborhood of Thebes. Seated on a rock, she put a riddle to every Theban that passed by, and whoever was unable to solve it was killed by the monster. The calamity induced the Thebans to proclaim that whoever should deliver the country of the sphinx should obtain the kingdom and marry the recently widowed Theban queen, Jocasta. The riddle ran as follows: “What is that which has one voice, and at first four feet, then two feet, and at last three feet, and when it has most is weakest?” Œdipus explained the enigma by saying that it was man, who, when an infant, crawls on all fours, when a man, goes on two feet, and when old, uses a staff, a third foot. The monster immediately flung herself into the sea and perished. The form of the so-called Egyptian sphinxes is that of a winged lion with a human head and bust, always in a lying attitude, whereas the Greek sphinxes are represented in any attitude that might suit the fancy of the artist.
Styx- One of four rivers of the lower world, often called the river of hate, because its name comes from a Greek word meaning “to hate.” It was said to flow nine times round the infernal regions. The second river was Acheron, river of woe. The third river, Cocytus, flower out of the river Styx, and the murmur of its waters, the sound of which resembled howlings, was inexpressibly dismal; Phlegethon, the fourth river, rolls slowly along with waves of fire. As a mythical being, Styx is described as a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. As a nymph, she dwelt at the entrance of Hades in a lofty grotto that was supported by silver columns. She was the divinity by whom the gods took oath. On such an occasion Iris fetched a cup full of water from the river Styx, and the god confirmed his oath by drinking the draught.
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