Emilie Meyer
Pan is a figure from Greek mythology, a pastoral god from Arcadia, who was believed to dwell in the mountains and forests of Greece. The worship of Pan began in Arcadia, which was always the principal seat of his worship. Pan was strongly associated with music and its magical powers, and he is credited with inventing the syrinx musical instrument, better known as the panpipes. In the late nineteenth century, Pan became an increasingly common figure in literature and art. Between 1895 and 1914, it became common to speak of a 'cult of Pan', at least in literary circles.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Earliest appearance in literature | Pindar's Pythian Ode iii. 78 |
| Associated with | Mother goddess, Rhea or Cybele |
| Worship began in | Arcadia |
| Worshipped in | Natural settings, caves or grottoes |
| Exceptions | Sanctuary of Pan on the Neda River gorge, Temple of Pan at Apollonopolis Magna in ancient Egypt |
| Identified with | Phanes/Protogonos, Zeus, Dionysus, Eros |
| Represented as | Goat-horned, goat-legged, bestial facial features |
| Worshipped by | Shepherds, hunters |
| Worship included | Sacrifices of goats, sheep, food, clay statues, vases, lamps, grasshoppers made of gold |
| Associated with | Delphi, Athens, music, panpipes |
| Worship in Roman times | Portrayed as a youth with a small pair of horns |
| Cult in the 19th century | Subversive, gothic elements in literature |
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What You'll Learn
Pan's origins and parentage
Pan, the ancient Greek god of shepherds, the mountain wilds, and hunting, was born in Arcadia, the mountainous, wild, and rustic central region of Peloponnese. He was worshipped primarily in the highlands of the Peloponnese, where rustics tended herds of goats. The traditional centre of his cult was Mount Maenalus in Arcadia.
In classical sculpture, Pan was depicted as a goat-legged and horned man with bestial facial features. In the Roman era, he was sometimes portrayed as a youth with just a small pair of horns to suggest his goatish nature. In literature, he first appeared in Pindar's Pythian Ode iii. 78, where he is associated with a mother goddess, perhaps Rhea or Cybele. Pindar refers to maidens worshipping Cybele and Pan near the poet's house in Boeotia.
The worship of Pan began in Arcadia, which was always the principal seat of his worship. Arcadia was a district of mountain people, culturally separated from other Greeks. Arcadian hunters would scourge the statue of the god if they had been disappointed in the chase. Being a rustic god, Pan was not worshipped in temples or other built edifices, but in natural settings, usually caves or grottoes such as the one on the north slope of the Acropolis of Athens.
There are various accounts of Pan's parentage. In some early sources, he is called the child of Penelope by Apollo. Other sources report that Penelope slept with all 108 suitors in Odysseus' absence, and gave birth to Pan as a result. This myth reflects the folk etymology that equates Pan's name (Πάν) with the Greek word for "all" (πᾶν). According to Apollodorus, there were two distinct divinities named Pan: one was the son of Hermes and Penelope, and the other had Zeus and a nymph named Hybris for his parents and was the mentor of Apollo. Pausanias records that Penelope had been unfaithful to her husband, who banished her to Mantineia upon his return. Other sources name Hermes and Oeneis as Pan's parents, while scholia on Theocritus have Aether and Oeneis as his parents.
In Greek mythology, Pan is often depicted as having amorous intentions towards nymphs and goddesses. He is credited with inventing the syrinx musical instrument, better known as the panpipes, which he created to remember his lost love, Syrinx.
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Worship of Pan
Pan is the ancient Greek god of shepherds and the mountain wilds. He is considered one of the oldest Greek gods and is associated with nature, wooded areas, and pasturelands. In classical sculpture, Pan is depicted as a goat-legged and horned man with bestial facial features. His Roman equivalent is Faunus, a nature god with similar attributes.
The worship of Pan began in Arcadia, which was always the principal seat of his worship. Arcadia was a district of mountain people, culturally separated from other Greeks. Pan was worshipped primarily in the highlands of the Peloponnese where rustics tended herds of goats. The traditional centre of his cult was Mount Maenalus in Arcadia. Being a rustic god, Pan was not worshipped in temples or other built edifices but in natural settings, usually caves or grottoes such as the one on the north slope of the Acropolis of Athens. These are often referred to as the Cave of Pan.
The only exceptions are the Sanctuary of Pan on the Neda River gorge in the southwestern Peloponnese – the ruins of which survive to this day – and the Temple of Pan at Apollonopolis Magna in ancient Egypt. In the fourth century BC, Pan was depicted on the coinage of Pantikapaion. Archaeologists, while excavating a Byzantine church of around 400 AD in Banyas, discovered in the walls of the church an altar of the god Pan with a Greek inscription dating back to the second or third century AD.
In the myth, Syrinx was a beautiful wood nymph whom Pan met while she was walking home. To escape him, she ran away without stopping to hear his compliments. He pursued her until she came upon her sisters, who turned her into a reed that made a hauntingly beautiful melody when the wind passed through them. Still infatuated, he cut a bunch of reeds down, not knowing which one was her, and fashioned them into pipes. He was rarely seen without them since that day.
In Ancient Roman mythology, a similar god is called Faunus. The mythological stories involving Pan usually involve his romantic interest in a lovely goddess of the woods who spurns his advances and gets turned into an inanimate object to escape him or who otherwise flees from his ugly appearance. One story concerns Syrinx, a beautiful wood nymph. She flees from Pan’s attentions, and her fellow goddesses turn her into a river reed to hide her from him. As the winds blow through the reeds, they make a gentle musical sound.
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Pan in literature and art
Pan, the ancient Greek god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds and rustic music, has had a significant presence in literature and art, with his image and associations enduring and evolving over centuries.
One of the most famous literary depictions of Pan appears in the nympholept Nymphs and Shepherds, written by the ancient Greek poet Longus. Pan is characterized as a playful and mischievous god who falls in love with a nymph named Syrinx. In a typical nympholeptic story, Syrinx transforms into a reed to escape Pan's advances, from which he fashions the first pan pipes, lamenting that if he cannot have his love, he will at least have her voice. This story has been influential, with the pipes or syrinx becoming one of Pan's most recognizable attributes in art and literature.
During the Renaissance, Pan was often depicted in art and poetry as a symbol of untamed nature and rustic simplicity, sometimes contrasted with the sophistication and order of classical antiquity. In visual art, he is often shown with his pipes, surrounded by nymphs and satyrs, or in a pastoral landscape, reflecting the contemporary fascination with idealized rural life.
Pan also appears in more modern literature, perhaps most famously in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. While not a direct depiction of the ancient god, the character of Peter Pan, with his pipes and ability to play enchanting music, draws on Pan's mythological attributes. The name "Peter Pan" itself is said to have been inspired by the god, with "pan" being a playful pun on the word "boy."
In the 20th century, Pan's image continued to evolve, sometimes taking on more sinister connotations. For example, in Eva Ibbotson's young adult novel, The Secret of Platform 13, Pan is depicted as a menacing figure, luring travelers to their deaths with his enchanting music. Similarly, in Tom Robbins' novel Still Life with Woodpecker, Pan is associated with chaos and anarchy, reflecting a more modern interpretation of the ancient god's unruly nature.
In conclusion, Pan has been a enduring and versatile figure in literature and art, with his image and associations evolving to fit the aesthetic and thematic needs of each new era. Whether as a symbol of rustic simplicity, a playful but dangerous force of nature, or an embodiment of anarchic freedom, Pan continues to captivate and inspire artists and writers.
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Pan in Greek art
Pan, the ancient Greek god of shepherds and the mountain wilds, was a common subject in ancient art. In classical sculpture, he was depicted as a goat-legged and horned man with bestial facial features. In later art, the human parts of his form were emphasised.
In the late 19th century, there was a resurgence of interest in the Pan motif in literature and art. He appears in poetry, novels, and children's books, and is referenced in the name of the character Peter Pan.
In art, Pan has been depicted in various paintings, including:
- The Bacchante (1853) by Jean-Leon Gerome
- Rosaleen Norton's Pan (Beren Belarus)
- The Triumph of Pan (Nicolas Poussin)
- Pan Playing his Pipes (Paulus Moreelse)
- Pan spying on a sleeping nymph (French School)
- The Garden of Pan (1886-1887)
- Apollo as a Winner about Pan (ca. 1637, Jacob Jordaens, Flemish School)
- Pan and Syrinx (ca. 1510, Giovanni Agostino da Lodi)
- The Contest between Apollo and Pan
- Satyr Playing the Pipe - Jupiter's Childhood (ca. 1639)
A statue of Pan can be found in the gardens of Schwetzingen Palace in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Archaeologists have also discovered an altar of the god Pan with a Greek inscription dating back to the second or third century AD in the walls of a Byzantine church in Banyas.
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Pan in modern times
In modern times, the goat-god Pan has continued to capture the Western imagination, appearing in various forms of media, including literature, art, film, and music.
In the 19th century, Pan became a significant figure in the Romantic movement of Western Europe, and in the 20th century, he played a role in the Neopagan movement. During this time, he also became an increasingly common figure in literature and art, appearing in poetry, novels, and children's books. J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan is one such example, with the character of Peter representing a golden age of pre-civilisation, both in the minds of very young children and in the natural world outside human influence.
In literature and art, Pan is often depicted as a dangerous, destabilising force, or conversely, as a source of fertility and renewal. This duality is reflected in Peter Pan's character, who is both charming and selfish, emphasising our cultural confusion about whether human instincts are natural and good, or uncivilised and bad.
In her book, *The God of the Witches*, published in 1933, Egyptologist Margaret Murray theorised that Pan was one form of a horned god worshipped across Europe by a witch-cult. This theory influenced the Neopagan notion of the Horned God as an archetype of male virility and sexuality, a highly important figure in Wicca.
In his book, *Pan: The Great God's Modern Return*, Paul Robichaud explores Pan's many incarnations and how he has been imagined in mythology, art, literature, music, spirituality, and popular culture through the centuries. Robichaud's work highlights the long history of variation in both what Pan represents and how he is understood and represented.
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Frequently asked questions
The cult of Pan dates back to ancient Greece, where he was worshipped as the god of shepherds and the mountain wilds.
Pan was worshipped primarily in the highlands of the Peloponnese and in caves, notably the Korkykeion cave on the slopes of Mount Parnassos and the Vari cave in Attica.
In the 19th century, there was a resurgence of interest in the cult of Pan, particularly in literary circles. However, it is unclear if the "cult of Pan" at this time refers to a literal religious following or simply a fascination with the figure in artistic and literary works.
