by Lady Cynthia

Created on: September 12, 2008

Who was Pan? Legend has it that Pan was a Greek god that loved to play his pan pipes. He over saw the shepherds and their flocks, the mountains, hunters, and rustic music. Pan is also connected to fertility and the season of spring.
Pans greatest passion, besides playing the pipes was chasing the little wood nymphs. They feared him greatly and would always run and hide when he was about. Often the spurned him and that led to dire consequences. You don't shun a god and get away with it.

Of course Pan was probably not a pretty sight. He had the bearded face of man , but the horns and body of a goat. He also had a snub nose and pointy ears.
Wandering through the woods unseen by man, they felt fear; for they could not see Pan, but they could forever hear his rustic music upon his pipes. He caused men to cower in fright.
How did the pipes come about? He crafted them himself from a nymph. Syrnix, a little nymph spurned his advances. She ran and ran till she reached her sisters. They turned her into a clump of reeds. As the winds blew through the reeds they played a beautiful melody. Not knowing which reed she had become he pulled seven of them, then fashioned his pan-pipes from the reeds. Now for all eternity she would sing. Another nymph, Echos scorned the love of all men. Pan ordered her killed. She was torn to pieces and spread all over the earth to always repeat every ones last word. And that's how the word echo came about. There was also a nymph, Pitys, who was turned into a pine tree for trying to escape him.
Some myths say Pan was the son of Zeus and others say Hermes but all say his mother was a Nymph.
There is also some controversy over his name. The greek word pan means all but actually the gods name was derived from pa-on which means, herdsman. He earned his name by pleasing all the gods with his Homeric Hym to Pan.
Pan was a sexual beast, and he loved orgies. Though the forest nymphs feared him the Maenads.
He had everyone of them in groups as well as single. But Pans greatest sexual conquest was the moon goddess Selene. He hid his ugly body in sheepskin and pulled her from the sky where he seduced her.
Of all the greek gods pan is the only one that died. It is not known how he died , but a divine voice came to a sailor, Thamus , and bade him spread the word. Pan was dead.
To this day Pan is still worshipped by some, and his reed pipes can be heard if you travel through the night forest in Arcadia

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