Three nondescript quotations in ancient authors were all that was known of the play until 1912,[1] when the extensive remains of a second-century CE papyrus roll of the Ichneutae were published among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri.

With more than four hundred lines surviving in their entirety or in part, the Ichneutae is now the best preserved ancient satyr play after Euripides' Cyclops, the only fully extant example of the genre.

A newborn Hermes has stolen Apollo's cattle, and the older god sends a chorus of satyrs to retrieve the animals, promising them the dual rewards of freedom and gold should they be successful.

Approaching the cave in which baby Hermes is hiding, they hear him playing the lyre, which he has just invented.

The nymph of the mountain in which Hermes is hiding, Cyllene, explains to them the nature of the musical instrument.