Gods of the Woods, and Rural Deities.
PAN.
_Ques._ Who was Pan?
_Ans._ He was a woodland deity, and was honored by the Romans as the
god of shepherds and the patron of fishing and fowling. The Latins
sometimes called him Incubus or the "Nightmare," and at Rome he was
worshipped as Lupercus, or Lynceus. His origin is uncertain, but he is
said by some authors to have been a son of Mercury and a nymph of
Arcadia.
_Ques._ How is Pan represented?
_Ans._ As half man, and half goat, having a human head ornamented with
horns, and a garland of pine: he holds in one hand a crooked staff,
and in the other a pipe of uneven reeds. The music which he made on
this rude instrument was so sweet as to cheer the gods.
_Ques._ What famous action is related of Pan?
_Ans._ When the Gauls, under their King Brennus, made an irruption
into Greece, and were about to plunder the temple of Apollo at Delphi,
Pan suddenly showed himself, and so terrified them that they fled in
disorder. Hence it comes that any sudden and unreasonable terror which
spreads through an assemblage of persons, particularly an army, is
called a panic.
_Ques._ What was the origin of Pan's reeds?
_Ans._ A beautiful nymph, named Syrinx, was so persecuted by this god,
that she prayed the water-nymphs to help her, and change her into
reeds, which they did. Pan saw the transformation, and was much
grieved. He took some of the reeds away for a remembrance. On applying
them to his lips, he found they produced the most melodious sounds, so
that he formed them into a rustic pipe. Milk and honey were offered to
Pan.
SATYRS AND FAUNS.
_Ques._ Who were these?
_Ans._ They were hideous monsters who dwelt in forests, and were, like
Pan, half man and half goat.
TERMINUS.
_Ques._ Who was Terminus?
_Ans._ He was the god of boundaries. His statue was only a square
stone, or a painted log of wood. It is probable that the Romans did
not suppose Terminus to be a person, but only used the name as another
term for justice, which forbids any one to trespass on another's
boundaries.
Landmarks and boundary stones were considered sacred by the Romans;
they were crowned with garlands on festivals, offerings were laid upon
them, and it was death for any one to remove one. When Constantine
embraced Christianity, and placed the cross on his standard, he
replaced these Terminal stones by the Christian emblem, and the custom
of erecting wayside crosses, which became afterwards almost universal,
is said to date from this epoch.
Terminus had a temple on the Tarpeian rock. It is said that when
Tarquin the Proud wished to build a temple to Jupiter on the spot, the
god of boundaries refused to give way.
VERTUMNUS.
_Ques._ Who was this deity?
_Ans._ He is generally reckoned as one of the rural divinities, and
was worshipped as such by the ancient Sabines. The name comes from the
Latin word verto, (to turn or change,) and was bestowed upon him in
allusion to his power of taking any form he pleased. Vertumnus
presided over the seasons; he was the husband of Pomona. Statues of
this god were erected in every town of Italy. His festival called
Vertumnalia, was kept in October.