DeDanaan

Filed by Aine MacDermot

Pan : Pan is the Greek mythological god of woods and fields, flocks and herds, and shepherds and huntsmen. Since in Greek “pan” means “all or everything,” the god Pan pervades all things, including food or fertility. He is the son of either Mercury or Jupiter or even various other parents. Though he walks upright, he has horns, legs, and a tail like a goat’s, while his head, arms, and chest are like a man’s. His musical pipe — which he is credited with inventing — is called “syrinx” and is named for a nymph who was changed into a reed to escape Pan’s advances. His companions are often satyrs, half-man, half-horselike creatures. Pan was worshipped as a nature deity and so is one of the most ancient of the Greek gods. The Greek festivals to Pan were later taken over by the Romans, who identified him with the nature spirit Faunus. You use his name when you say the word “panic,” for, though he was considered a good guy, he was said to frighten lonely travelers who thought the strange sounds they heard at night were made by him.