Greek God Pan

Pan was the Greek patron deity of shepherds and hunting. Also because he played the pan flute he was seen as also having some influence over music of the time. In paintings, mosaics and statues of the time Pan was depicted as having a body that was half human and half goat with the goat portion of his body being from the waist down with a set of goat horns on his head.

Rather then living on Mount Olympus as most of the other gods of Greek mythology did Pan was envisioned as living in the wilds of the forest. In Greek mythology there is more then one version that accounts for the parentage of Pan, so exactly how he came into being is unclear. In most of the myths that account for Pans origins he is depicted as being the son of Hermes and a nymph while some accounts have him being the son of Zeus.

Other more rare mythological accounts of Pans parentage place him as being one of the sons of Cronus the Titan who was defeated by the Olympians. While his lineage is unclear one thing that is clear is that Pan by virtue of the fact that he is a nature god was one of the earliest god figures to be portrayed in ancient Greek mythology.

Pan was most recognized by the Arcadians who were a mountain people that urban Greeks held in disdain and viewed as being the "hillbilly's or hicks" of their time. The Arcadians subsisted by herding and hunting and looked to Pan for assistance in both of these endeavors.

The music that Pan played on his flute was considered to be magical and was thought to have the effect of instilling great emotion both positive and negative in its listeners. In fact, Pan with his music is credited in Greek mythology as being the decisive factor in the Battle of Marathon when his music caused the enemies of the Athenians to panic.

The myth that accounts for the creation of the pan flute that he played tells of Pan chasing the beautiful nymph Syrinx to the banks of the River Ladon where he finally caught up with her. Syrinx called to the water nymphs for help and to rescue her from being violated by Pan they turned her into river reeds.

When the wind blew through the reeds that she had been turned into her voice could be heard in the beautiful sounds that were produced. Pan was also seen by ancient Greeks as having super charged sexual powers and in much of the artwork that depicted him he was featured with an erection.