In Greek mythology, a satyr is a male nature spirit with mane-like hair, ears and tail resembling a horse and legs with cloven hooves, resembling a horse and a permanent, exaggerated erection, symbolizing his immoderate sexual desire. They were companions of Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility and ritual ecstasy and were believed to inhabit remote areas like, mountains, woodlands and pastures. With the sole intention to enjoy sex, they often run after the nymphs, bacchantes and even the mortal women, usually with little success.

Bacchantes, also known as maenads, were depicted in the ancient Greek mythology as the female followers of Dionysus, the Roman equivalent to Bacchus. They were portrayed as the raving ones or the mad women, as they often turn into a state of ecstatic frenzy through a combination of wild dancing and intoxication. While performing the rites, they would dress in fawn skins and weave ivy-wreaths around their heads. Apart from such occasions, the bacchantes are always depicted naked or scantily clad, wearing a crown of flowers, dancing or playing music.

In his exotic sculpture Satyr and Bacchante, the French sculptor Jean-Jacques Pradier depicted the attempted rape of bacchantes by a satyr. However, from the facial expression of the young woman, it does not seem to be the situation of rape.

There lingers an enigmatic curve on her lips, which suggests that she is not trying to resist his aggressions, rather enjoying the embrace and willingly giving herself to her lover. The harshness of rape is also not evident in the attitude of the satyr, a rural divinity symbolizing temptation and extreme desire, as he is shown holding the beautiful naked girl lovingly in his arms with a smile on his face.

In the sculpture, both the figures are represented on a human scale and the bodies are sculpted with such meticulous attention that the flesh seems malleable and living. Taking the pretext of a mythological subject, the artist carefully glorified the beauty and sensuality of the female body, departing from the classical ideal to offer a new, bold and ambiguous style.

When exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon in 1834, it caused a sensation among the viewers and the critics alike, for its subject, as well as for its realistic treatment. It created a shocking wave, both for its obvious ethical and aesthetic reasons. Though the artist belonged to the neo-classical school, which was dominant in French art in those days, he deviated in this particular work and heralded the arrival of the Romantic Movement, which denies any compromise or false modesty a front-on, an erotic vision of the sexual relationship between male and female.

It is claimed by many that there is a striking resemblance between the pretty bacchante and Juliette Drouet, a French actress, with whom Pradier had a daughter and who later became the mistress of the famous French novelist Victor Hugo.