Pan

Pan Europe
The Greek worshippers of this goat-horned, goat-legged god were none too certain whether he was a single deity or a group of deities. Legend makes Pan the son of Hermes, and the favourite of Dionysus, the fertility god. His birthplace was Arcadia, the pastoral state in the centre of the Peloponnese. Pan played on the syrinx and haunted caves and lonely rural places. He was playful and energetic, but irritable, especially if disturbed during his siesta. He could inspire fear, a sudden groundless fright, in both men and animals. By blowing on a conch shell he created panic when Zeus led the gods against Kronos and the Titans. Like other Olympians, he enjoyed chasing nymphs, and especially Echo.

The death of Pan was reported during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius(AD14–37). A ship sailing from Greece to Italy was becalmed off the island of Paxos. Suddenly a voice from the shore three times cried,‘Tammuz!’The pilot, whose name was...

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