MARSYAS

[Greek] After Athena first played the flute she had invented, she threw it away because it made her cheeks look puffy when she played it. A satyr named Marsyas found it. He played so well on it he challenged Apollo to a music playing contest to see who made prettier music. Apollo won the contest and wanted to punish Marsyas for thinking he played better than him. Apollo chased him and when he caught him, in a cave near Calaenae in Phrygia, cut off his skin¹. The satyr's blood turned into the river Marsyas.