Silenus, to whom Socrates was often compared in appearance, was the constant companion of Dionysus, and was represented as a bald, dissolute old man, with a flattened nose, generally riding upon an ass. In spite of his appearance and habits he was regarded as an inspired prophet, as in Virgil's Sixth Eclogue , and he is thus a suitable type of the wisdom which conceals itself beneath an uncouth exterior.