PAN. The Arcadian god of shepherds, huntsmen, and country folk, and
chief of the inferior deities, is usually considered to have been the
son of Mercury and Penelope. After his birth he was metamorphosed into
the mythical form in which we find him depicted, namely, a horned,
long-eared man, with the lower half of the body like a goat. He is
generally seen playing a pipe made of reeds of various lengths, which
he invented himself, and from which he could produce music which
charmed even the gods. These are the Pan-pipes, played by Punch and
Judy showmen. Pan’s terrific appearance once so frightened the Gauls
when they invaded Greece that they ran away though no one pursued them;
and the word _panic_ is said to have been derived from this episode.
The Fauns, who greatly resembled Pan, were his attendants.
“Piping on their reeds the shepherds go,
Nor fear an ambush, nor suspect a foe.”