There are many famous deities from the stories of Ancient Greece, and yet one of the most recognisable is not one of the main Olympians but is a non-humanoid god, and that god is Pan.

There are various stories about the birth of Pan, and although many point to Hermes as being his father, after a union with a nymph, but a more logical choice of parentage would be that Pan was the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. This logic would allow for the inclusion of several stories about Pan where he seems to predate the Olympian gods. Pan indeed is said to have been the one who taught Apollo about prophecy, and provided Artemis with her hunting hounds.

As previously mentioned Pan is one of the most recognisable of gods. Pan is normally described as having the lower half of his body as if he was a goat, in much the same way as satyrs and fauns were normally described. Additionally he was said to have a wrinkled face with a chin that projected out, and from his forehead there were two prominent horns. It was an image indeed that was taken onboard by Christians as descriptive of Satan.

The looks of Pan did not stop him from a achieving a revered position in Greek mythology, and Pan was worshipped as the god of shepherds and their flocks. The name itself, Pan, is normally said to have derived from the Greek Pa-on meaning herdsman. This association provided Pan with one of his emblems, that of the shepherd’s crook.

Pan’s other main emblems are linked with his love life, something that took up much of his time as he searched for conquests amongst shepherds, nymphs and maidens. Pan is of course most closely associated with the Panpipes. This instrument came about as Pan fell in love with a water nymph called Syrinx. It was though a love that the nymph did not reciprocate and so she fled into the care of her sisters. In order to disguise Syrinx she was changed into a reed, hidden amongst the others by the river. Pan though was not finished in the chase, and although unable to locate the exact reed that Syrinx had been changed into, he cut away seven reeds and made them into the instrument we know today.

Pan is also often depicted with a crown of pine needles, and again this is a reference to another lost love. Pitys was another nymph who sought to avoid the attention of Pan, and changed herself into a pine tree in order that Pan could not find her. Another nymph who turned down the advances of Pan, was the more famous Echo, and in some tales it was Pan who had the voice Echo separated from her body in revenge.

Despite these set backs, Pan was not without his successes. Pan is said to have cavorted with all of the numerous Maenads, the female followers of Dionysus. Equally Pan was successful in tricking the Moon, the goddess Selene, into joining with him. This he did by disguising himself to hide his lower half in order that she should be seduced.

Despite his conquests offspring have not been recorded and it is only in some tales that Pan is said to have been the father of the other major goat god, Aegipan.

Aside from his sexual activity, Pan is most renowned for his music, and having invented the Panpipes he put them to the test in a contest against the lyre of Apollo. It was though a contest that Pan was to lose.

Other stories about Pan are rare, and although he was often linked to the travels of Dionysus, his other major stories relate to Pan’s role in major battles. Pan was said to have taken credit for the defeat of the Titans when they tried to conquer Mount Olympus, he claiming that he has inspired “panic” amongst them. It was a story mirrored during the Battle of Marathon, when Pan inspired the same panic amongst the Persian forces, allowing for the victory of the Athenians.

As Pan was said to have been born in Arcadia it is perhaps not surprising that Arcadia was the primary area of Greece that worshipped the god. There was though a respectable level of respect paid to Pan across the rest of Greece though, including Argos and Aegina, especially where herdsmen were prevalent.

In addition to being the god of flocks and shepherds, Pan was also given the task of looking over groves, fields and wooded valleys.

Other than Pan’s looks, there was one other factor that set him apart from the other Greek deities, and that is the fact that Pan is the only one said to have died. There are no tales told about the way that Pan died, but Plutarch tells of how the news was told to a sailor, Thamus, by the voice of another god.

Pan may not be classed as one of the greatest of Greek gods, but his role in looking after shepherds was a vital one for the agrarian population of ancient Greece. He is often depicted solely as a follower of Dionysus but it is an interesting task to ponder why of all of the Greek gods it was only Pan who was said to have died.