Pan the God
The great Arcadian god Pan is probably one of the most well known gods in Greek history. Everyone has heard of Pan, and would more than likely recognize him if they saw him today. His unmistakable physique distinguished him from all other gods: "He had the feet of a goat, two horns on his forehead, loved noise and dancing, was hairy, dirty, lusty, ugly, and disheveled; yet, in his own way he was a charming creature" (Carpenter and Gula, 103). He was considered a lesser divinity of Earth, the god of woods and fields. Pan was very of the people, and was particularly fond of shepherds. He was considered their special protector; in a general sense he was a divinity of the country, of sheep, goats, and other grazing flocks, of forests, valleys, hills, and glens (Carpenter and Gula, 103). He was, on the whole, easy-going and lazy, loving nothing better than his afternoon nap, and revenged himself on those who disturbed him with a sudden loud shout from a grove, or grotto, which made the hair bristle on their heads, hence where the word panic is said to have been derived from (Graves,101).Pan was the son of Hermes, the Roman god Mercury, who also had duties as protector of flocks and herds, and was the foste
Then Pan fell in love with an Arcadian Naiad-a water nymph-Syrinx, who was an imitator in appearance and mannerisms of Artemis. It is said Syrinx emulated Artemis so closely that the only obvious difference was that Artemis carried a golden bow, whereas Syrinx's was made of wood. But Syrinx disdained Pan, and spurning his love and prayers, refused to take him as a sweetheart, who was neither man nor goat (Pan, Greek Mythology). So Pan pursued the chaste Syrinx from Mount Lycaeum to the River Ladon in western Arcadia, where she could no longer flee the pursuing Pan. She begged her sister nymphs of the river to change her form. The nymphs listened to Syrinx's prayers, and responded to them by changing her into marsh reeds to camouflage with those of the riverbank. Pan suspected what had happened, and in a fury, cut several of the reeds at random. He realized with all the reeds around, that there was no chance he would find the girl, so he sat there sighing; but as he sat, wind by chance happened to blow over the freshly cut reeds, and created a sound not too much different from the sighing Pan. Pan was enchanted by these sounds, being the musician that he was, so he decided to preserve them. He cut several different lengths of the reeds, varying from short to long, and fastened the together with a base of wax, to keep forever with him. Even today they are still referred to as the Pipes of Pan (Carpenter and Gula, 104). In short, Pan was a playful god who lived in the mountains with goats, not in the palaces of Mount Olympus. Because of this, the common people of the Hellenic world more readily identified with Pan than any of the Olympian gods. He was a god of the people, for the people, and by the people; the shepard people of Greece were in dire need of a goat god when Pan was finally born. What
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Approximate Word count = 1226
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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