Statue of Pan. Hever Castle, Kent, England.
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.
Pan is the Greek god of wild nature. He protected shepherds, sheep, and goats. Pan's name is said to derive from the Greek word "paein", which means "to eat" from which come the Latin word "pascere" that means "to pasture." He was born in a central region of Greece called Arcadia and his mother and mother were Hermes
According to an account of his birth, his mother was so horrified by his appearance that she ran away leaving him to be raised by nymphs. He has horns, beard, and legs of a goat, and he is able to shout so loudly
that he terrifies people and animals. He would usually shout to those who disturbed him while he was sleeping. The word panic derives from his name.
His personality has also a gentler side. He was in fact a skillful musician . He played so well the reed pipe called syrinx,
that he challenged the sun god Apollo in a musical contest. But unfortunately, Pan lost and
Apollo received the prize for playing his lyre.
Pan's musical instrument was called after the name of a nymph that tried to escape from his
Tired to be pursued by Pan, the nymph Syrinx transformed herself in a stand of reeds. In revenge, Pan used the reeds to make a pipe that calls the nymph's name. The Romans identified Pan with either Faunus or Silvanus.
When Zeus overthrew his tyrannical father Cronus, Pan helped him making part of the Titans
flee terrified by Pan's shouts. Because of Pan's role in Zeus' fight against Cronos, one of the moons of the planet Saturn was named after him.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our online store
includes fun classroom activities
for you and your students. Issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist
are also full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science!
You might also be interested in:
In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leto (Letona). He was the twin brother of the goddess Artemis. He was the god of the Sun, logic, and reason, and was also a fine musician and...more
Ahsonnutli was the sky father and chief deity of the Navajo Indians. He created heaven, Earth, and the sky. Each of the four cardinal directions was supported by a giant. Each direction was also associated...more
Amphitrite was one of the fifty Nereids, the attendants of the sea-god Poseidon. Poseidon (Neptune) had fallen in love with Amphitrite after seeing her dancing on the island of Naxos. Amphitrite rejected...more
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was known to the Romans as Venus. There were actually two different Aphrodites, one was the daughter of Uranus, the other the daughter of Zeus and...more
In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Jupiter(in Greek Zeus) and Leto (Letona). He was the god of the Sun, logic, and reason, and was also a fine musician and healer. Leto travelled all over Greece...more
According to an ancient Greek legend, the figure of a gigantic crab was placed in the nighttime sky by the goddess Hera to form the constellation Cancer. Hera was the jealous wife of the sky god, Zeus....more
In the Northern Hemisphere sky is the constellation Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and that of his wife Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia claimed that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the sea nymphs,...more