In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pan (Πάν) is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is also recognized as the god of fields, groves, wooded glens and often affiliated with sex; because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and the season of spring. The ancient Greeks also considered Pan to be the god of theatrical criticism. The word panic ultimately derives from the god's name. In Roman religion and myth, Pan was identified with Faunus and/or Sylvanus.
According to the Greek historian Plutarch (in De defectu oraculorum, "The Obsolescence of Oracles," c. 100 CE), Pan was one of very few Greek gods who actually died. During the reign of Emperor Tiberius of Rome, between 14 and 37 CE, the news of Pan's death came to one Thamus, a sailor passing around Greece. A divine voice hailed him across the salt water, "Thamus, are you there? When you reach Palodes, take care to proclaim that the great god Pan is dead." Which Thamus did, and the news was greeted from shore with groans and laments. This apocryphal anecdote had no effect on Pan worship as whole, which was still thriving after Plutarch's death. Nevertheless, the symbolic meaning of this fable has inspired examination by numerous epic poets, novelists, and philosophers over the succeeding two millennia.
Pan was one of the first confirmed examples of a god perishing due to lack of followers, serving as a prime example of the danger that Powers could face in the presence of cultural upheaval.[2]
