Pan (mythology)
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[[Image:Pan and Daphnis.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Pan teaching his [[eromenos]], the shepherd [[Daphnis]], to play the panpipes 2nd century AD Roman copy of Greek original ca. 100 BC attributed to Heliodorus (found in [[Pompeii]]).]]
'''Pan''' ([[Greek language|Greek]] {{polytonic|Πάν}}, [[genitive]] {{polytonic|Πανός}}) is the [[Greek mythology|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 a [[faun]] or [[satyr]]. 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 was [[Faunus]], and they were both [[Horned God]] deities. For this reason he is popular among many [[Neopagans]] and [[occult|occultic]] groups.
==Origins==
The parentage of Pan is unclear; in some [[Mythology|myth]]s he is the son of [[Zeus]], though generally he is the son of [[Hermes]], with whom his mother is said to be a [[nymph]], sometimes [[Dryope]] or, in [[Nonnus]], ''Dionysiaca'' (14.92), a Penelope of [[Mantineia]] in Arcadia.<ref>This is not the [[Penelope]] who was the wife of Odysseus.</ref> 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 [[Eros (mythology)|Protogonus]]/[[Phanes (mythology)|Phanes]].
Probably the beginning of the linguistic misunderstanding is the [[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn to Pan]], which describes him as delighting ''all'' the gods, and thus getting his name. The [[Roman Empire|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 [[Twelve Olympians|Olympians]], if it is true that he gave [[Artemis]] her hunting dogs and taught the secret of prophecy to [[Apollo]]. Pan might be multiplied as the '''Panes''' (Burkert 1985, III.3.2; Ruck and Staples 1994 p 132<ref>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.")</ref>) or the ''Paniskoi''. Kerenyi (1951 p 174) notes from [[scholia]] that [[Aeschylus]] in ''Rhesus'' distinguished between two Pans, one the son of Zeus and twin of [[Arkas]], and one a son of [[Kronos]]. "In the retinue of [[Dionysos]], or in depictions of wild landscapes, there appeared not only a great Pan, but also little Pans, Paniskoi, who played the same part as the [[Satyr]]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 [[Mount Olympus|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 the [[Battle 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==
{{Greek myth (other gods)}}
The goat-god [[Aegipan]] was nurtured by [[Amalthea]] with the infant [[Zeus]] in Crete. In Zeus' battle with [[Typhon]], Aegipan and [[Hermes]] stole back Zeus' "sinews" that Typhon had hidden away in the [[Corycian Cave]].<ref>"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.</ref> Pan aided his foster-brother in the [[Titanomachy|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 beloved [[Syrinx]]. Henceforth Pan was seldom seen without it.
[[Echo (mythology)|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 (mythology)|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 learning [[masturbation]] from his father, [[Hermes]], and teaching the habit to his beloved shepherds.<ref>[[Dio Chrysostom]], ''Discourses,'' vi. 20.</ref>
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 the [[Maenads]]—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 (material)|sheepskin]]<ref name="Kerenyi"/> 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 (god)|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 judgment. 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 a [[donkey]].
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 unaffected, however Pan's pipe couldn't be played while upsidedown and so Apollo won the contest.
===Capricornus===
The [[constellation]] [[Capricornus]] is often depicted as a sea-goat, a goat with a fish's tail: see [[Hecatonchires|Aigaion or Briareos, one of the Hecatonchires]]. One myth{{Fact|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,<ref name="Kerenyi">Kerenyi 1951:95.</ref> was attacked by the monster [[Typhon]], 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.<ref>[[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]], ix. 536</ref><ref>[[Lucretius]], v. 614.</ref>
==History==
[[Image:Vrubel pan.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''Pan'', [[Mikhail Vrubel]] 1900.]]
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 of [[Tiberius]] (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 of [[Paxi]]. A divine voice hailed him across the salt water, "Thamus, are you there? When you reach [[Pelodes|Palodes]],<ref>[http://omega.cohums.ohio-state.edu/mailing_lists/CLA-L/2002/07/0398.php "Where or what was Palodes?"].</ref> 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-great [[Tammuz]] is dead') for 'Thamus, Great Pan is dead!' Certainly, when [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] toured Greece about a century after Plutarch, he found Pan's shrines, sacred caves and sacred mountains still very much frequented.
===Symbolism of Satan===
It is likely that the demonized images of the [[incubus (demon)|incubus]] and even the horns and [[Cloven-hoof|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 [[Neopaganism|Neopagans]] today, where he is considered a powerful deity and an [[archetype]] of male virility and sexuality, called the [[Horned God]]. He is particularly worshipped within [[Hellenic Neopaganism]] and [[Wicca]]. In Wicca, the archetype of the [[Horned God]] is highly important, as represented by such deities as the Celtic [[Cernunnos]], Indian [[Pashupati]] and of course the Greek Pan.
A modern account of several purported meetings with Pan is given by [[R. Ogilvie Crombie]] (born [[Edinburgh]], 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 including [[Edinburgh]], on the island of [[Iona]] and at the [[Findhorn Foundation]], all in [[Scotland]].
==Faunus==
{{main|Faunus}}
In [[Roman mythology]], Pan's counterpart was [[Faunus]], a nature spirit who was the father of [[Bona Dea]] ([[Fauna (goddess)|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 and the Olympians series]]'' by [[Rick Riordan]]. He is only a minor secondary character in the first three books.
*''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' by [[Guillermo del Toro]] (Spanish title: El Laberinto del Fauno, 2006). Although the faun featured in the film is not Pan, the [[English language|English]] title refers to the faun-like god.
*''[[The Great God Pan]]'' by [[Arthur Machen]].
*''The Blessing of Pan'' by [[Lord Dunsany]].
*"The Goat-foot God" by [[Dion Fortune]]
*"The Touch of Pan" by [[Algernon Blackwood]].
*''The Garden at 19'' and ''The Horned Shepard'' by [[Edgar Jepson]].
*''[[Jitterbug Perfume]]'' by [[Tom Robbins]], Pan plays a prominent role throughout the whole plot.
*''The Great God Pan'' by [[Donna Jo Napoli]].
*''Tales Of Pan'', children's book by [[Mordicai Gerstein]].
*Pan is one of the main characters is "Journey into Nature: A Spiritual Adventure" by [[Michael J. Roads]].
*"Pan - God of The Woods" by Lawrence Spencer.
*"Rainbows Falling on My Head : The Magic of the Great God Pan" by [[Al G. Manning]].
*"Pan : Great God of Nature" by [[Leo Vinci]]
*"News For The Delphic Oracle", poem by [[William Butler Yeats]], in the collection "Last Poems" (1939).
*"Pan With Us" by [[Robert Frost]], Poem 26 from ''A Boy's Will''.
*"[[The Lawnmower Man]]" by [[Stephen King]].
*"The Call of Wings" by [[Agatha Christie]]
*In the short story "[[The Magic Barrel]]" by [[Bernard Malamud]], main character Pinye Salzman is compared to Pan.
*''Hymn To Pan'' by [[Aleister Crowley]].
*"A Musical Instrument" and "The Dead Pan", poems by [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]].
*Pan, as god of the beasts, appears in ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'', chapter 7 of [[The Wind in the Willows]] by [[Kenneth 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 in [[Knut Hamsun]]'s ''[[Pan (novel)|Pan]]''
*Appears in ''[[Greenmantle]]'' (1988) by [[Charles de Lint]] and in ''Cloven Hooves'' by Megan Lindholm (1991)
*[[George Pérez]]'s first [[Wonder 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" in [[E.E. Cummings]]'s poem, [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/images/modeng/public/Cum2Dia/CumDi580.jpg "in Just-"],
*Pan appears as [[Mr. Tumnus]] in [[C. 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). See [[Narnia]] for all three references.
*Pan is mentioned in the [[Star Trek: The Original Series]] episode [[Who Mourns for Adonais?]], when the character [[Apollo]], an alien who visited Earth during the time of the Greeks with his companions and in-turn inspired [[Greek mythology]], says that [[Mr 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" by [[Elayne Wareing Fitzpatrick]].
*"Screams of Pan" by [[Jason Fury]].
*"Pan", a double-villanelle by [[Oscar Wilde]].
===In music===
*[[Boujeloud (album)|Boujeloud]] by [[Master Musicians of Joujouka]].
*''The Pan Within'' and ''The Return of Pan'', two songs by [[The Waterboys]].
*[[Animal Collective]] has a song entitled "I See You Pan" on their release [[Hollinndagain]]..
*In the original programme for [[Gustav Mahler]]'s [[Symphony No. 3 (Mahler)|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, by [[Karol Szymanowski]].
*"On Becoming Water", "Praise Pan, Great God Pan", and "Transformation Mantra" by [[Prim Family]].
*In "Joueur de flute" by Albert Roussel one of the four movements is after Pan
===In video games===
*Pan is a high-level antagonist in the computer game [[Freedom Force (computer game)|''Freedom Force'']]. He plays a Pan flute that hypnotizes player characters into attacking their allies.
*Pan appears in [[King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella]] as a satyr playing a magical flute with hypnotic abilities.
*Pan appears as a Greek god in Dungeons and Dragons.
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==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, London
==See also==
*[[Pangu]]
*[[Puck (mythology)|Puck]]
*[[Erotic art in Pompeii]]
*[[Faun]]
*[[Satyr]]
*[[Kokopelli]]
*[[Daveli's Cave]]
*[[Syrinx]]
==External links==
{{Commonscat|Pan (mythology)}}
*[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]
[[Category:Nature gods]]
[[Category:Love and lust gods]]
[[Category:Arts gods]]
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[[Category:Greek gods]]
[[Category:Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Pederastic heroes and deities]]
[[Category:Sexuality in ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Offspring of Zeus]]
[[Category:Offspring of Hermes]]
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