M. was originally a Phrygian river-god; to the Greeks he was a satyr or silen (Silen, Satyr). He is either the teacher of the flute-player Olympus (Hyg. Fab. 165) or his son (Apollod. 1,24). The starting point of the myth of M. is the goddess Athena and her invention of the aulos, a double flute. The effort of playing the flute distorts Athena’s face (Apollod. 1,24), inciting the mockery of Hera and Aphrodite (Hyg. Fab. 165). The goddess immediately discards the instrument and cur…