Pan

• #2573
•  Greek (culture)
•  Forest Dweller (attribute)
•  Rural (attribute)
•  Friendly (behaviour)

A guardian of the wild with the body of a human up with horns and that of a goat below. He particularly watches over flocks, herds and beehives. He is the son of Hermes and the Nymph Dryope. He has a wild nature but he taught Hermes the art of playing the pipes and taught Apollo the art of prophecy. He seduced Nymphs such as Eupheme and Echo. In fact Pan loved to chase and flirt with Nymphs. At one time he chased the Nymph Syrinx who transformed into reeds to hide from him. Pan knew that she had done this and used those reeds to craft his pan-pipes.

Some consider Pan to be a god. He is a god of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music. He is usually seen wandering the hills playing his pan-pipes and chasing Nymphs. When people travelled through the woods and other remote places of the wilderness, they would keep a look out for Pan. If they could not see Pan they would panic and feel uneasy as Pan warded off danger. But for those who had abandoned nature for civilization would panic upon seeing Pan.

The name 'Pan' comes from the Arkadian word for rustic. The name was later used by the ancient Greeks to mean 'all'. Pan is frequently identified with other rustic gods such as Nomois, the shepherd, Marsays the Phrygian Satyr and Aristaios the shepherd-god of northern Greece.

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