Ladon River
An Arcadian river whose nymph daughter Syrinx was transformed into river reeds, giving Pan his pipes.
The Story of Ladon River
The river Ladon flowed through Arcadia and was personified as a god whose daughter was the nymph Syrinx. Pan — the rustic god of flocks, half-goat and half-man — fell in love with Syrinx and chased her to the river's edge. She called on her father for help, and just as Pan's hands closed on her, she was transformed into marsh reeds at the river's edge. Pan, grasping at her, found himself holding reeds; he heard the wind sighing through them and was so moved by the sound that he cut reeds of different lengths and bound them together to make the first pan-pipes, naming them the syrinx after his lost love.
Children
{Syrinx (nymph daughter)}
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "syringe" — the medical instrument — comes from "syrinx," because early syringes were made from hollow reeds, directly linking the mythological instrument to modern medicine.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Alpheus River
🏛 placegeography
The longest river in the Peloponnese, personified as a god who pursued the nymph Arethusa beneath the sea.
Cephissus River
🏛 placeSacred geography
A river in Boeotia and Attica sacred to multiple deities and personified as a river-god
Metope
🌿 nymphrivers, motherhood
A river nymph, daughter of the river Ladon, who married the river god Asopus and bore him twenty daughters — many of whom were abducted by gods.
Aegina
🌿 nymphrivers, islands
A river nymph abducted by Zeus and brought to the island that bears her name.
Creusa
🌿 nymphsprings, motherhood
A Naiad nymph of Thessaly who bore Hypseus and Stilbe to the river god Peneus.
Arethusa
🌿 nymphNymph who became a freshwater spring
Arethusa was a nymph of Artemis who was pursued by the river god Alpheus and transformed into a freshwater spring on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse.
Eridanus
🏛 placeSacred geography
A mythological river associated with the fall of Phaethon and later identified with the constellation and the Po River
Lilaea
🌿 nymphrivers, springs
A Naiad nymph of the spring that feeds the river Cephissus in Phocis, and the namesake of an ancient Greek town.
Peneus
⚡ godriver, Thessaly
River god of the Peneus in Thessaly, father of Daphne.
Asopus River
🏛 placegeography
A Boeotian river personified as a god whose daughters were repeatedly abducted by Olympian gods.
Stilbe
🌿 nymphrivers, light
A nymph of Thessaly, daughter of the river Peneus, who bore Centaurus and Lapithes to Apollo — thus originating both the Centaurs and the Lapiths.
Antiope
🌿 nymphrivers, motherhood
A nymph or princess loved by Zeus, who bore the twins Amphion and Zethus, builders of Thebes' walls.