- Pan (mythology)
Infobox Greek deity
Caption = Pan teaching hiseromenos , the shepherdDaphnis , to play the panpipes 2nd century AD Roman copy of Greek original ca. 100 BC attributed to Heliodorus (found inPompeii )
Name = Pan
God_of = God of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds and rustic music
Abode =Arcadia
Symbol =
Consort =
Parents =Hermes and Penelope
Siblings=
Children=
Mount =
Roman_equivalent =Faunus Pan (Greek polytonic|Πάν,
genitive polytonic|Πανός) is the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music: "paein" means to pasture. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as afaun orsatyr . He is recognized as the god of fields, groves, and wooded glens; because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and season of spring.Pan's
ancient Roman equivalent wasFaunus , and they were bothHorned God deities. For this reason he is popular among manyNeopagans and occultic groups.Origins
The parentage of Pan is unclear; in some myths he is the son of
Zeus , though generally he is the son ofHermes , with whom his mother is said to be anymph , sometimesDryope or, inNonnus , "Dionysiaca" (14.92), a Penelope ofMantineia in Arcadia. [This is not thePenelope who was the wife of Odysseus.] His nature and name are alluring, particularly since often his name is mistakenly thought to be identical to the Greek word "pan," meaning "all", when in fact the name of the god is derived from the word "pa-on", which means "herdsman" and shares its prefix with the modern English word "pasture". In many ways he seems to be identical to Protogonus/Phanes.Probably the beginning of the linguistic misunderstanding is the Homeric Hymn to Pan, which describes him as delighting "all" the gods, and thus getting his name. The Roman counterpart to Pan is
Faunus , another version of his name, which is at least Indo-European. However, accounts of Pan's genealogy are so varied that it must lie buried deep in mythic time. Like other nature spirits, Pan appears to be older than the Olympians, if it is true that he gaveArtemis her hunting dogs and taught the secret of prophecy toApollo . Pan might be multiplied as the Panes (Burkert 1985, III.3.2; Ruck and Staples 1994 p 132 [Pan "even boasted that he had slept with every maenad that ever was—to facilitate that extraordinary feat, he could be multiplied into a whole brotherhood of Panes.")] ) or the "Paniskoi". Kerenyi (1951 p 174) notes fromscholia thatAeschylus in "Rhesus" distinguished between two Pans, one the son of Zeus and twin ofArcas , and one a son ofKronos . "In the retinue ofDionysos , or in depictions of wild landscapes, there appeared not only a great Pan, but also little Pans, Paniskoi, who played the same part as theSatyr s".Worship
The worship of Pan began in
Arcadia , and Arcadia was always the principal seat of his worship. Arcadia was a district of mountain people whom other Greeks disdained. Arcadian hunters used to scourge the statue of the god if they had been disappointed in the chase (Theocritus. vii. 107).Pan inspired sudden fear in lonely places,
Panic ("panikon deima"). Following the Titans' assault on Olympus, Pan claimed credit for the victory of the gods because he had inspired disorder and fear in the attackers resulting in the word 'panic' to describe these emotions. Of course, Pan was later known for his music, capable of arousing inspiration, sexuality, or "panic", depending on his intentions. In theBattle of Marathon (490 BC), it is said that Pan favored the Athenians and so inspired panic in the hearts of their enemies, the Persians.Mythology
The goat-god
Aegipan was nurtured byAmalthea with the infantZeus in Crete. In Zeus' battle withTyphon , Aegipan andHermes stole back Zeus' "sinews" that Typhon had hidden away in theCorycian Cave . ["In this Hermes is clearly out of place. He was one of the youngest sons of Zeus and was brought into the story only because... he was a master-thief. The real participant in the story was Aigipan: the god Pan, that is to say. in his quality of a goat ("aix"). (Kerenyi 1951:28). Kerenyi points out that Python of Delphi had a son Aix (Plutarch , "Moralia" 293c) and detects a note of kinship betrayal.] Pan aided his foster-brother in the battle with the Titans by blowing his conch-horn and scattering them in terror. According to some traditions,Aegipan was the son of Pan, rather than his father.One of the famous myths of Pan involves the origin of his trademark
pan flute .Syrinx was a lovely water-nymph of Arcadia, daughter of Landon, 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 belovedSyrinx . Henceforth Pan was seldom seen without it.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 first had one child:Iambe .Pan also loved a nymph named
Pitys , who was turned into a pine tree to escape him.Erotic aspects
Pan is famous for his sexual powers, and is often depicted with an erect
phallus .Diogenes of Sinope , speaking in jest, related the myth of Pan learningmasturbation from his father,Hermes , and teaching the habit to his beloved shepherds. [Dio Chrysostom , "Discourses," vi. 20.]He was believed by the Greeks to have plied his charms primarily on maidens and shepherds, such as
Daphnis . Though he failed with Syrinx and Pitys, Pan didn't fail with theMaenads —he had every one of them, in one orgiastic riot or another. To effect this, Pan was sometimes multiplied into a whole tribe of Panes.Pan's greatest conquest was that of the moon goddess
Selene . He accomplished this by wrapping himself in a sheepskin to hide his hairy black goat form, and drew her down from the sky into the forest where he seduced her.Pan and music
Once Pan 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 with his rustic melody gave great satisfaction to himself and 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 judgement. He 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 adonkey .In another version of the myth the first round of the contest was a tie so they were forced to go to a second round. In this round, Apollo demanded that they play standing on their heads. Apollo, playing on the lyre, was unaffected, however Pan's pipe couldn't be played while upsidedown, so Apollo won the contest.Capricornus
The
constellation Capricornus is often depicted as a sea-goat, a goat with a fish's tail: see Aigaion or Briareos, one of the Hecatonchires. One mythFact|date=February 2007 that would seem to be invented to justify a connection of Pan with Capricorn says that when Aigipan, that is Pan in his goat-god aspect,Kerenyi 1951:95.] was attacked by the monsterTyphon , he dove into the Nile; the parts above the water remained a goat, but those under the water transformed into a fish.Epithets
Aegocerus was an epithet of Pan descriptive of his figure with the horns of a goat. [Lucan, ix. 536] [
Lucretius , v. 614.]History
The worship and belief of Pan has been documented for millennia.
The Death of Pan
If one were to believe the Greek historian
Plutarch (in "The Obsolescence of Oracles" ("Moralia", Book 5:17)), Pan is the only Greek god who is dead. During the reign ofTiberius (A.D. 14-37), the news of Pan's death came to one Thamus, a sailor on his way to Italy by way of the island ofPaxi . A divine voice hailed him across the salt water, "Thamus, are you there? When you reach Palodes, [ [http://omega.cohums.ohio-state.edu/mailing_lists/CLA-L/2002/07/0398.php "Where or what was Palodes?"] .] take care to proclaim that the great god Pan is dead." Which Thamus did, and the news was greeted from shore with groans and laments.Robert Graves ("The Greek Myths") suggested that the Egyptian Thamus apparently misheard "Thamus Pan-megas Tethnece" 'the all-greatTammuz is dead' for 'Thamus, Great Pan is dead!' Certainly, when Pausanias toured Greece about a century after Plutarch, he found Pan's shrines, sacred caves and sacred mountains still very much frequented.ymbolism of Satan
It is likely that the demonized images of the incubus and even the horns and cloven hooves of
Satan , as depicted in much medieval and post-medieval Christian literature and art, were taken from the images of Pan.Neopaganism
Pan is praised and/or worshipped by some Neopagans today, where he is considered a powerful deity and an
archetype of male virility and sexuality, called theHorned God . He is particularly worshipped withinHellenic Neopaganism andWicca . In Wicca, the archetype of theHorned God is highly important, as represented by such deities as the CelticCernunnos , IndianPashupati and of course the Greek Pan.A modern account of several purported meetings with Pan is given by
R. Ogilvie Crombie (bornEdinburgh , lived 1899-1975), in the books "The Findhorn Garden" (Harper & Row, 1975) and "The Magic Of Findhorn" (Harper & Row, 1975). Crombie claimed to have met Pan many times at various locations includingEdinburgh , on the island ofIona and at theFindhorn Foundation , all inScotland .Faunus
In
Roman mythology , Pan's counterpart wasFaunus , a nature spirit who was the father ofBona Dea (Fauna, his feminine side)Other portrayals of Pan
In fiction and literature
Pan is often portrayed in literature, stage, and cinema, as a symbolic or cultural reference. Following are some notable examples:
*"Percy Jackson & The Olympians " byRick Riordan . He is a character sought out by all the satyrs for their quests.
*"Pan's Labyrinth " byGuillermo del Toro (Spanish title: El Laberinto del Fauno, 2006). Although the faun featured in the film is not Pan, the English title refers to the faun-like god.
*"The Great God Pan " byArthur Machen .
*"The Blessing of Pan" byLord Dunsany .
*"The Goat-foot God" byDion Fortune
*"The Touch of Pan" byAlgernon Blackwood .
*"The Garden at 19" and "The Horned Shepard" byEdgar Jepson .
*"Jitterbug Perfume " byTom Robbins , Pan plays a prominent role throughout the whole plot.
*"The Great God Pan" byDonna Jo Napoli .
*"Tales Of Pan", children's book byMordicai Gerstein .
*Pan is one of the main characters is "Journey into Nature: A Spiritual Adventure" byMichael J. Roads .
*"Pan - God of The Woods" by Lawrence Spencer.
*"Rainbows Falling on My Head : The Magic of the Great God Pan" byAl G. Manning .
*"Pan : Great God of Nature" byLeo Vinci
*"News For The Delphic Oracle", poem byWilliam Butler Yeats , in the collection "Last Poems" (1939).
*"Pan With Us" byRobert Frost , Poem 26 from "A Boy's Will".
*"The Lawnmower Man " byStephen King .
*"The Call of Wings" byAgatha Christie
*In the short story "The Magic Barrel " byBernard Malamud , main character Pinye Salzman is compared to Pan.
*"Hymn To Pan" byAleister Crowley .
*"A Musical Instrument" and "The Dead Pan", poems byElizabeth Barrett Browning .
*Pan, as god of the beasts, appears in "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn", chapter 7 ofThe Wind in the Willows byKenneth Grahame .
*"Gravity's Rainbow " by Thomas Pynchon
*Pan appears in "The Circus of Dr. Lao " and its movie adaptation, "7 Faces of Dr. Lao ".
*Pan is the primary, metaphorical theme inKnut Hamsun 's "Pan"
*Appears in "Greenmantle " (1988) byCharles de Lint and in "Cloven Hooves" by Megan Lindholm (1991)
*George Pérez 's firstWonder Woman story shows a duplicitous Pan tricking Princess Diana. He fools everyone, including Hermes, who is horrified when informed of Pan's death after he has been shown an image of Pan's horned skull in the dirt and vows revenge.
*Pan appears at the end of a short cartoon named 'Ramble On' by Tom Parkinson.
*Pan is described, metaphorically, as "the/ goat-footed/ baloonMan" inE.E. Cummings 's poem, [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/images/modeng/public/Cum2Dia/CumDi580.jpg"in Just-"] ,
*Pan appears asMr. Tumnus inC. S. Lewis ' books "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" (1950), "TCN: The Horse and His Boy" (1954), and "TCN: The Last Battle" (1956). SeeNarnia for all three references.
*Pan is mentioned in the episodeWho Mourns for Adonais? The characterApollo , an alien who visited Earth with his companions during the time of the Greeks and thus inspiredGreek mythology , says thatMr Spock 'reminds [him] of Pan. I never liked him'.
*In Percy Jackson & The Olympians Grover is searching for Pan, who has vanished 2,000 years ago.
*"Shepherds of Pan on the Big Sur-Monterey Coast" byElayne Wareing Fitzpatrick .
*"Screams of Pan" byJason Fury .
*"Pan", a double-villanelle byOscar Wilde .
*Pan-like character, Phil the Satyr, voiced by actor Danny DeVito in animated Disney film "Hercules"In music
*"Pan and Syrinx" by the Danish composer
Carl Nielsen .
*Boujeloud byMaster Musicians of Joujouka .
*"The Pan Within" and "The Return of Pan", two songs byThe Waterboys .
*Animal Collective has a song entitled "I See You Pan" on their releaseHollinndagain ..
*In the original programme forGustav Mahler 's Third Symphony the first movement had the subtitle 'Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In'.
*"Dryades et Pan" is the last of three "Myths" for violin and piano, Op. 30, byKarol Szymanowski .
*"On Becoming Water", "Praise Pan, Great God Pan", and "Transformation Mantra" byPrim Family .
*In "Joueur de flute" byAlbert Roussel , one of the four movements is after Pan
*Johann Johannsson, The Great God Pan is Dead.
*"La Flute de Pan" (Pan et les Bergers, Pan et l'oiseaux, Pan et les Nymphes) by Jules MouquetIn video games
*Pan is a high-level antagonist in the computer game "Freedom Force". He plays a Pan flute that hypnotizes player characters into attacking their allies.
*Pan appears in as a satyr playing a magical flute with hypnotic abilities.
*Pan appears as a Greek god in Dungeons and Dragons.
Notes
References
*cite book|authorlink=Walter Burkert|last=Burkert|first=Walter|year=1985|title=Greek Religion|publisher=Harvard University Press
*cite book|authorlink=Karl Kerenyi|last=Kerenyi|first=Karl|year=1951|title=The Gods of the Greeks|publisher=Thames & Hudson
*cite book|last=Ruck|first=Carl A.P.|coauthors=Danny Staples|year=1994|title=The World of Classical Myth|publisher=Carolina Academic Press|isbn=0-89089-575-9
*cite book|last=Borgeaud|first=Philippe|year=1979|title=Recherches sur le Dieu Pan|publisher=Geneva University
*Vinci, Leo (1993), "Pan: Great God Of Nature", Neptune Press, Londonee also
*
Pangu
*Puck
*Erotic art in Pompeii
*Faun
*Satyr
*Kokopelli
*Daveli's Cave
*Syrinx External links
* [http://www.androphile.org/preview/Library/Mythology/Greek/Daphnis/Pan_and_Daphnis.htm The story of Pan and Daphnis]
* [http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Phaunos.html Original resources on Faunus/Phaunos]
* [http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Pan.html Original resources on Pan]
* [http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Pan.html Pan Mythology]
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