Lastly, the association of the
Satyrs with the Silenuses, Fauns, and Silvanuses, proves that the
Satyrs also were woodland deities. These goat-formed spirits of the
woods have their counterparts in the folk-lore of Northern Europe.
Thus, the Russian wood-spirits, called _Ljeschie_ (from _ljes,_
"wood"), are believed to appear partly in human shape, but with the
horns, ears, and legs of goats. The _Ljeschi_ can alter his stature
at pleasure; when he walks in the wood he is as tall as the trees;
when he walks in the meadows he is no higher than the grass. Some of
the _Ljeschie_ are spirits of the corn as well as of the wood;
before harvest they are as tall as the corn-stalks, but after it
they shrink to the height of the stubble. This brings out--what we
have remarked before--the close connexion between tree-spirits and
corn-spirits, and shows how easily the former may melt into the
latter. Similarly the Fauns, though wood-spirits, were believed to
foster the growth of the crops. We have already seen how often the
corn-spirit is represented in folk-custom as a goat.
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