Pan
Pan was the goat-legged god of the wild, shepherds, and mountain meadows whose sudden appearance could cause "panic" — the irrational terror named after him.
The Myth of Pan
Pan had the legs, horns, and shaggy beard of a goat and the torso of a man, dwelling in the wild forests of Arcadia. Son of Hermes (in most accounts), he played the syrinx — panpipes he invented after the nymph Syrinx fled him and was transformed into reeds by river nymphs. His music echoed through the mountains where he guarded flocks and danced with nymphs and satyrs. Pan could inspire sudden, irrational fear — "panic" — in travellers who encountered him in lonely places. He used this power at the Battle of Marathon, routing the Persians for Athens. Pan recovered Zeus's sinews from Typhon's cave alongside Hermes. He competed musically with Apollo and once lured Selene into the woods with a white fleece.
Children
Silenus (in some traditions)
Symbols
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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Pan
⚡ godGod of the wild, shepherds, rustic music
The goat-legged god of wilderness, shepherds, and rustic music. Pan's sudden appearance caused irrational terror in travelers — the origin of the word "panic."
Pan
⚡ godGod of shepherds and wild panic
The goat-footed god of shepherds, wilds, and rustic music whose sudden appearance caused the terror that bears his name: panic.
Faunus
⚡ godForests, fields, flocks, prophecy
Roman god of the wild, forests, and flocks, equivalent to the Greek Pan
Panes
🐉 creaturenature spirits
A race of goat-legged nature spirits modelled after the god Pan, haunting wild mountains and forests
Panic
💭 conceptFear, terror, sudden irrational dread
Sudden uncontrollable fear, from the god Pan whose shouts in the wilderness caused stampedes of terror.
Phobos
⚡ godGod of fear and panic in battle
Phobos was the god of fear who accompanied his father Ares into battle, spreading terror before the armies.
Silvanus
⚡ godForests, boundaries, woodland
Roman god of forests and uncultivated land, protector of boundaries between wild and civilised spaces
Satyrs
🐉 creaturewilderness, Dionysus
Half-human woodland spirits with horse or goat features who formed the raucous entourage of Dionysus, embodying untamed natural impulses.
Apollo
⚡ godGod of light, music, prophecy, and plague
Apollo was the most complex Olympian — god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, plague, and rational thought, the divine embodiment of Greek civilisation.
Fauns
🐉 creaturewoodland, pastoral
Goat-legged woodland spirits of Roman origin that became conflated with Greek Satyrs and Pans in later mythological tradition.
Satyr
🐉 creatureSpirits of wild nature
Satyrs were rustic nature spirits of the woodlands, companions of Dionysus, depicted with horse-like ears and tails, known for their love of wine, music, and revelry.
Apollo
⚡ godGod of prophecy, music, and plague
The radiant god of light, prophecy, music, healing, and plague — the most complex deity in the Greek pantheon.