by Sarah Todd

Created on: November 10, 2008

Although not one of the twelve Olympians, Pan is perhaps the most recognisable of all the Greek deities. The god of nature, woods and pastures, of shepherds and their flocks, hunting, rustic music, Pan is also affiliated to fertility and spring, the season of new life. His image and mythology has stood the test of time, and today Pan is acknowledged and observed by many Neo-pagan and occult groups.

Pan's heritage is vague. Like many gods representative of nature, he may have been worshipped before the Olympian gods. Some legends claim he is the son of Zeus, while others name his father as Hermes, the messenger of the gods. His mother was a nymph, and although her identity is also unclear, the most popular names include Dryope, Dionysiaca and Penelope of Arcadia.

It is said when Pan was born his nurse saw the newborn infant's face and beard, and fled in terror. This is the reason that irrational fears and terror also known as panic are said to be instigated by Pan. When the Titans attacked Olympus, Pan claimed the fear and disorganisation he induced among the aggressors inspired their panic and subsequent defeat. During the Battle of Marathon Pan inspired the same emotion in the Persians, enabling his favoured Athenians to achieve their classic victory.

With a wrinkled face and prominent chin and the horns, hindquarters and legs of a goat, Pan was usually depicted as a satyr with a reed pipe, a shepherd's crook and a branch or crown of pine needles. Pan had no problem climbing rocks and was a swift runner. One of his favourite occupations was chasing nymphs through the forests and over the mountains in the guise of a goat. His attentions were not always welcomed by the objects of his affection, and many of them often fled from him in terror.

The mountain nymph Pitys was turned into a pine tree to escape from Pan. He features in a variation of the tale of the nymph Echo, which casts her as a great dancer and singer who scorns the love of all men. The lecherous Pan was enraged, and ordered his followers to kill her. Echo was torn into pieces and cast all over earth. Gaia, the earth goddess, received Echo's pieces, whose voice remains to this day, repeating the last words of other people's sentences. Despite his role in Echo's death, some myths claim Pan fathered two children with her, Iambe and Lynx.

One of the objects most often associated with Pan is the aptly named pan flute, and the story of its creation reflect yet another of his erotic pursuits. When Pan met

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