Loves of PAN
The amorous goat-god Pan was a relentless pursuer of lovely nymphs, most of whom rejected him. His most famous chase was after Syrinx, who turned into a stand of reeds as he reached for her. Best known among his other unsuccessful conquests were Echo and Pitys.br>
      Echo, whose desire was for the self-absorbed Narcissus, spurned Pan, who punished her by causing a group of shepherds to fly into such a panic that they dismembered her. According to one tradition, Gaia hid the fragments of her body, allowing them to sing and imitate sounds.br>
      After Pitys rejected him, Pan changed her into a pine tree; her name is the Greek word for “pine.” In another version of the story, the nymph’s transformation occurred after Boreas, the north wind, caused her to fall against a rock as she fled from Pan.br>
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      The moon-goddess Selene (Luna)—linked to Artemis (Diana)—was another of Pan’s loves. As she rode in her silver chariot, he lured her into the woods by offering her the beautiful white fleece from a goat. He is also said to have given her a herd of white oxen.br>
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      Classical Sources. Pindar, Fragments 95. Moschus, Bucolics 6. Virgil, Eclogues 2.31-36; Georgies 3.391-93- Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 2, “Pan and Hermes.” Longus, Daphnis and Chloë 1,2, 3.23. Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2.108, 2.118,42.259, 44.191. See also Narcissus; Syrinx.