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Fast Facts on: PanGreek goat god gets goingAppearance: Horned, furry, half-man, half-goat, a bit on the short side. But not unattractive in the original bad-boy sense.
Symbol or Attribute:His horns. His "pan-pipe", a curved row of small flutes also called the "syrinx" - Syrinx was a maiden who turned herself into reeds to hide from Pan. Strengths: Lusty. An able musician. Weaknesses: Lusty. Also likes noise and loud music. Can incite 'panic', a mindless fear or rage, sometimes at the order of the goddess Rhea. Not adverse to tearing people apart on occasion. Birthplace: Usually said to be the son of Hermes and Dryope, a tree-nymph, he is associated with Arcadia, a beautiful but wild part of Greece. Penelope is also sometimes said to be his mother; his father is invariably Hermes. Spouse: Aix or Aex. Children: Twelve "panes", also part goat like their father; numerous other children. Some Major Temple Sites: Pan had many sanctuaries, especially in Arcadia. The ancient travel writer Pausanias mentions temples and altars to him at Lykosoura, Despoine, at the river Garates, and near Tegea. Basic Story: Pan is the god who watches over flocks, forests, mountains, and all wild things. While he is usually despoiling maidens and others, he can also be gentle and is said to have talked Psyche out of commiting suicide over her thwarted love for Eros. Interesting Fact: The name "Pan" means "All" and some believe that Pan was originally a much more powerful, all-encompassing god who got downsized with the advent of the Olympians. Less well-known tales give him powers as a sea-god with the epithet Haliplanktos, as a healer of epidemics through cures revealed in dreams, as an oracle-god, and other aspects. The sea-god aspect was a subject of debate even among ancient writers, who couldn't quite figure out how that happened. More Fast Facts on Greek Gods and Goddesses: Olympian Gods and Goddesses - Greek Gods and Goddesses at Home - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Artemis - Athena - Demeter - Hades - Hercules Hermes - Pan - Persephone - Poseidon - Zeus. |
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