Penelope

🌿 nymphΠηνελόπη

nature, pastoral

A mountain nymph of Arcadia who, in one tradition, was the mother of Pan by Hermes — distinct from O‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍dysseus's famous wife.

The Myth of Penelope

The name Penelope is inseparable from Homer's faithful wife, but an older Arcadian tradition tells o‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍f a different Penelope — a nymph of the wild mountains, daughter of Dryops, who caught the eye of Hermes. The messenger god came to her in the form of a goat (fitting, given what followed), and their union produced Pan, the goat-footed god of shepherds, panic, and wild places.

When Pan was born — hairy, horned, and goat-legged — his nurse screamed and fled. But Hermes was delighted. He wrapped the infant in a hare's skin and carried him to Olympus, where the gods laughed with pleasure at the strange little creature. They named him Pan, 'all,' because he brought joy to all of them.

This Penelope is almost certainly the older figure, a local Arcadian nymph who was later eclipsed when Homer gave her name to Odysseus's wife. Some ancient writers tried to merge them, claiming that the Homeric Penelope had an affair with Hermes (or with all the suitors) and bore Pan. Most scholars consider this a later confusion. The nymph and the queen shared a name, not an identity.

Parents

Dryops

Children

Pan (by Hermes)

Symbols

goatmountainspipes

Fun Fact

The name Penelope almost certainly belonged to this Arcadian nymph before Homer borrowed it for Odysseus's wife — making the faithful queen a namesake of Pan's wild mother.