Pan is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, hunting, sexuality, and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs.
Overview[]
He was depicted as being half human, while having the legs and horns of a goat, just like a faun; his Roman counterpart was Faunus. It is unclear as to who his parents were; his father may have been Zeus, Dionysus, Hermes, or Apollo. His mother may have been a nymph called Dryope, Penelope who later became the wife of Odysseus, or Aphrodite. Although it is generally accepted that his father was Hermes.
There were no temples attributed to Pan, but he was rather worshiped in natural settings such as caves. It was believed that he often chased nymphs in order to seduce them, but he was always turned down due to his ugly appearance. Moreover, the word 'panic' derives from the name of the goat-like deity. Pan's angry voice was so frightening, that caused panic to anyone who was unlucky to be close enough to hear it.
History[]
Competition with Apollo[]
Pan once had the audacity to compare his music with that of Apollo, and to challenge Apollo, the god of the lyre, to a trial of skill. Tmolus, the mountain-god, was chosen to umpire. Pan blew on his pipes and gave great satisfaction with his rustic melody to himself and to his faithful follower, Midas, who happened to be present. Then Apollo struck the strings of his lyre. Tmolus at once awarded the victory to Apollo, and all but Midas agreed with the judgment. Midas dissented and questioned the justice of the award. Apollo would not suffer such a depraved pair of ears any longer and turned Midas' ears into those of a donkey.
Musical Memento[]
One of the famous myths of Pan involves the origin of his pan flute, fashioned from lengths of hollow reed. Syrinx was a lovely wood-nymph of Arcadia, daughter of Ladon, the river-god. As she was returning from the hunt one day, Pan met her. To escape from his importunities, the fair nymph ran away and didn't stop to hear his compliments.
He pursued from Mount Lycaeum until she came to her sisters who immediately changed her into a reed. When the air blew through the reeds, it produced a plaintive melody. The god, still infatuated, took some of the reeds, because he could not identify which reed she became, and cut seven pieces (or according to some versions, nine), joined them side by side in gradually decreasing lengths, and formed the musical instrument bearing the name of his beloved Syrinx. Henceforth Pan was seldom seen without it.
Lasting Voice[]
Echo was a nymph who was a great singer and dancer and scorned the love of any man. This angered Pan, a lecherous god, and he instructed his followers to kill her. Echo was torn to pieces and spread all over earth. The goddess of the earth, Gaia, received the pieces of Echo, whose voice remains repeating the last words of others. In some versions, Echo and Pan had two children: Iambe and Iynx.
In other versions, Pan had fallen in love with Echo, but she scorned the love of any man but was enraptured by Narcissus. As Echo was cursed by Hera to only be able to repeat words that had been said by someone else, she could not speak for herself. She followed Narcissus to a pool, where he fell in love with his own reflection and changed into a narcissus flower. Echo wasted away, but her voice could still be heard in caves and other such similar places.
Pan also loved a nymph named Pitys, who was turned into a pine tree to escape him.