Pan

The Goat-God; the king of the mountains; the protector of shepherds and flocks who lives in the forests and byways.

Pan was depicted with the head, chest and arms of a man and with the legs, horns and ears of a goat; he plays his seven reed pipe (syrinx) and variously helps and frightens travelers; he fought with the Olympians against the Titans of Kronos and for his terrifying war cry, his name is still associated with PANic fear.

Pan was hardly mentioned in the early myths but later stories recanted several of his lusty pursuits of the nymphs Echo, Syrinx and Pitys; the unwilling nymphs were transformed into various forms to escape the relentless Goat-God; Echo was made invisible and only capable of repeating the last words spoken to her; Syrinx was turned into a reed from which Pan made a flute (pan-pipe) which was named after her; Pitys was transformed into a pine tree.

One of the most notable historical accounts of Pan was given by the historian Herodotus, where he tells the story of how, before the battle of Marathon (490 BCE), the Athenian messenger, Phidippides, encountered Pan as he was running to Sparta to seek help against the Persian invasion; the Goat-God promised Phidippides that he would help the Athenians defeat the Persians; after the resounding defeat of the Persians, the worship of Pan was introduced at the city of Athens.

• Histories, book 6, chapter 105