Pan - a Greek Legend

This piece is an article I wrote for the 2019/2020 "Wonky Broomstick Diary".  

 As you are walking out in the lushest part of the greenest forest you can imagine, a figure catches your eye. He’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before, cloven hooved, ancient eyes and ears which poke up out of his hair like an animal. He has horns like a goat and eludes a feeling of ancient wisdom, interspersed with playfulness and raw animalistic power. In his hand, he carries a musical instrument: a set of pipes made of reeds, and all about you, you can hear the sound of the leaves swishing so that they sound like the laughter of young women. You might well have just stumbled into the realm of the god Pan!

Pan is a well-known figure in modern paganism, known for his half-goat form and iconic “Pan pipes”.

 

This article will give you a run-down of where he originated, and how he had risen to become such a well-known deity.

Pan was first mentioned in ancient Greek mythology. He was first worshipped in the region of Arcadia as far back as the 4^th century BCE where he was heralded as the god of mountain and pasture. From there his image spread throughout Greece but whereas most of the Greek gods were worshiped at temples or shrines, Pan was rarely approached in this way, and was more often worshiped out in nature. Pan was thought also to be a close acquaintance (drinking buddy!) of Dionysus, the Greek god of festivity and wine, and there are several stories in the mythology about their antics! In Roman mythology, there is another remarkably similar god named Faunus and in modern understanding of Pan, some of Faunus’s traits have been incorporated, and some believe that he might well have been a cultural representation of the same god. Faunus, like Pan, was an animalistic god, being also half-goat and half man. In Roman terms, this amalgamation is a faun, named for Faunus, and in Greek terms it is a satyr. Both terms are nowadays used interchangeably. Both Faunus and Pan share the traits of being the god of pasture, mountain and fields, as well as having something of a reputation as erotic and sometimes lustful gods! There is ongoing debate still, as to whether Pan and Faunus are the same god, brother gods, or unrelated, however the stories told of them are remarkably similar!

Pan is, in general, seen as a happy-go-lucky sort of a chap! He was especially fond of Nymphs and is often referred to in conjunction with these creatures, quite literally! He is often portrayed as erotic, and many of the stories about him include some level of romance or sex – usually with nymphs although that is not unusual for a forest god, one would imagine! He drinks, sings, dances and frolics about the forests.

Despite his jolly and frivolous nature, some of the stories of Pan show his downfalls too, as he is often described as too hedonistic and unthinking in his pursuit of pleasure!  One of the most famous stories of Pan is that of how he forged his pan-pipes:

 Deep in the forests at the foot of a row of ancient mountains, there lived a wood nymph named Syrinx. Syrinx was the most beautiful of wood nymphs, with rich long hair and eyes which flashed with playful intrigue. She lived happily and was sister to the river nymphs of a nearby body of water. Pan, who walks all mountain paths and pastures, happened into

Pan and Syrinx by Edmund Dulak

Syrinx’s forest. The day was bright and lush, with the sunshine creating reflections on the water, and the scent of wildflowers in the air. Pan’s footsteps took him from the path, and towards a rushing waterfall nearby. There, he caught sight of Syrinx for the very first time, washing her thick and luscious hair in the waterfall. At once was taken by her beauty and her playful manner. She smiled, and he was lost – madly in love with her in the blink of an eye! Pan moved in closer as she sat out on the rocks, naked as nymphs are, and made a motion to speak with her, to entice her to come to him as so many of her kind had before. Syrinx, however, knowing of his reputation and unwilling to be the next in line of his conquests, jumped up at once and fled into the woods. Pan, thinking this was some game – for nymphs were known to play such – took off after her, laughing and enjoying the fun of the chase. Realising that Pan pursued her, Syrinx ran to her sisters, the river nymphs, and asked them to hide her from Pan, so that he would pass on and be about his business. The river nymphs did so, turning her into a reed on the edge of the river. Seeing this, Pan fell to his knees and begged the river nymphs to turn her back so that he might speak with her, but they – being scatty as nymphs often are – did not know the magics to undo the spells and so were unable to turn Syrinx back. As the days passed, the reeds that had been Syrinx melded in with the others which grew upon the banks of the river, wilting and rising again so that she became lost there. Pan mourned for long days at the side of the river, but as he sobbed, his breath cast over the reeds, sending out a song so mournful and beautiful that even the river nymphs themselves wept to hear it. Pan, in desperation that Syrinx not be lost, as well as in remorse for his unwitting participation in her downfall, cut seven reeds from the riverbank, and there he bound them together to become what is known as the Syrinx Pipes, or as they are more commonly known, Panpipes.

There are some slight variations to this tale, in some cases it is Zeus himself who turned Syrinx into a reed, and refused to turn her back in his annoyance at the nymphs and their games – something of a cautionary tale for young girls! In others Pan was said to have raped the nymph, or have tried to.

Despite this and other such pieces of folklore about him, somewhat unusually for Greek mythology, Pan doesn’t really seem to have a role in the god-politics of the time. Other than being the guardian of pastures and fields, he didn’t really have a role, spent no time involved in the usual antics which went on around Mount Olympus and did not engage with the power struggles with which Greek mythology is littered. Due to this, there are some scholars who believe that Pan actually predates Greek mythology and was incorporated into their stories as an outside agent. This debate has led to various theories about Pan’s origins, with some scholars claiming that he could be one of the oldest gods in existence, or even the original horned god, and that the Greek version of Pan is just another interpretation of him. I even read one article where Pan was cited to be possibly another aspect of the green man!

Whatever his origins, Pan has become a household name in witchy and pagan circles. Nowadays, rather than the god of pastures and fields, Pan is considered the shepherd between civilised life and the wilds, and in some cases, the guardian of the gate to faerie or other worlds. Pan is used most often used to represent sexual frenzy – not fertility or love, but raw lust and passion. He represents the inner self, the animalistic and primal self which follows hedonism and indulgence. He is said to control primal urges and one article even named him as the inventor of masturbation! In modern-day worship, Pan is still mostly worshipped out of doors, and can be called upon to strike passion and lust into your magics, rituals and circles. He can guide the mind away from the normality of civilised life, and allow you to step back to a more wild and unfettered state. Be wary though, as he is often set on his own pleasures, and has a reputation for carelessness with other beings!