PAN
The Greek god of shepherds and flocks, Pan is usually identified as the son of Hermes and the nymph Callisto, although some sources cite Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, as his mother. Native to Arcadia, he had a satyr’s body: the head, torso, and arms of a man and the horns, ears, and legs of a goat. He was amorous and playful but could be formidable if disturbed while sleeping. His haunts were caves, mountains, and lonely places; in these remote areas he was said to be capable of inducing sudden, irrational fear (“panic”) among men and animals. Pan was also known for his musical talent (declared by King Midas to be superior even to Apollo’s) and as the inventor of the syrinx, a reed pipe named for a nymph he had pursued. Among Pan’s other loves were the nymphs Pitys and Echo and the moon-goddess Selene.

      The worship of Pan began to spread beyond Arcadia in the early fifth century bce. Herodotus reported that Pan assisted the Athenians in defeating the Persians at the batde of Marathon (490 bce) and that afterward a cave shrine was dedicated to him on the Acropolis.

      A curious story told by Plutarch recounts that, during the reign of Tiberius (14-37 ce), travelers on a ship sailing along the western coast of Greece heard a great voice shout that Pan was dead. In Christian legend, this tale was associated with the death and resurrection of Christ and implicitly with the end of the pagan era; the theme became especially popular with nineteenth-century poets. Pan’s name was regularly associated by ancient authors with the Greek word pan (“all”) and thus he was sometimes seen as a universal god. Because of his half-animal body and his lusty nature. Pan is often depicted as an allegorical personification of bestial nature overcome by Love (Eros, Amor) in treatments of the theme “Amor vincit omnia” (“Love conquers all”).

      The Romans identified Pan with the pastoral god Faunus, an oracular deity who revealed the future by dreams or by supernatural voices in sacred groves. Like Pan, he was said to have the legs and horns of a goat. His followers were fauns, who were similar to the Greek satyrs but thought to be more benign. The Romans also associated Pan with Silvanus, a god of wild, uncultivated land.

     

      Classical Sources. Homeric Hymns, “To Pan.” Herodotus, Histories 2.145, 6.105-06. Orphic Hymns n, ‘To Pan.” Theocritus, Idylls 1.15-18. Virgil, Eclogues 2.31-36,10; Georgies 3.391-93. Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.689-713, 11.146-79, 14.635-41; Fasti 2.267ff., 4.762. Apollodorus, Biblioteca 1.4.1, E7.38. Plutarch, De dtfectu oraculorum 17.419b; Numa. Pau-sanias. Description of Greece 1.28.4, 8.36.8, 8.42.2—3, 8.54.6— 7,10.23.7. Philostratus, Imagines 2.11.

      Further Reference. Merivale, Patricia. 1969. Pan the Goat-God: His Myth in Modem Times. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

      Listings are arranged under the following headings:

      General List Loves of Pan

      See also Bacchanalia; Daphnis and Chloe; Eros, Triumphant; Midas, Judgment; Syrinx; Satyrs and Fauns.