The book comprises a catalogue raisonnée of appearances of the Myth of Marsyas in the Roman visual arts (with bibliographic references), with an appendix of appearances of the myth in Greek art. An extended iconographic study examines the transmission of Greek models into Roman painting, sculpture, mosaic and decorative arts; a parallel study of classical literary references reviews changing perceptions of the myth through time, relating these to the developing representation of different episodes of the story in classical art. The book is extensively illustrated by photographs and line drawings.

The pivotal episode involves a musical contest between the satyr Marsyas, playing the double flutes, and the god Apollo playing the cithara or lyre - needless to say, the god won... Variously signifying the triumph of classical civilization over eastern barbarism or the transcendence of the soul, liberated from the earthly body (Marsyas' punishment was to be flayed), hence the myth's appearance in Roman funerary art, episodes of the story were also popular in decorative contexts, most likely reflecting cultural aspirations of artists/patrons/consumers, in reference to several famous classical artworks featuring the story, now lost; or alternatively, knowledge of Marsyas' mythical role as a follower of Cybele and minor river deity in Asia Minor: Ovid linked these separate strands in the Metamorphoses by having the executed satyr's flowing blood transformed into the source of the eponymous River Marsyas.

This summary contributed by the author Dr Piers Rawson, photographer and writer, whose CV may be found at Scenae