Pan was an accomplished musician, and the pipe he played is part of a well-known myth. Always in pursuit of a female, Pan was chasing a nymph named Syrinx (pronounced SEER-eenks), who was devoted to the goddess Artemis (pronounced AHR-tuh-miss) and not interested in romance, across the countryside. Syrinx reached an impassable stream with sandy banks. To escape from Pan, she called on her sister nymphs within the stream to transform her into a stand of reeds growing along the bank. When Pan reached the stand of reeds, he sighed in despair. The air of his sigh vibrated across the reeds, making a beautiful sound.
Pan cut down the reeds and crafted them into the first flute of its kind, thereafter known as a syrinx.
Pan’s musicianship was also the subject of another myth. Pan boasted to his follower Midas that his songs were greater than those of anyone else, even greater than those of the god Apollo (pronounced uh-POL-oh). Apollo took this as a challenge, and the two played against each other in a contest. Although Pan played well, Apollo’s songs were even more masterful. All who heard the contest agreed that Apollo was the winner, except for Pan’s follower Midas. When Midas protested Apollo’s victory, the god transformed Midas’s ears into the ears of a donkey.
Although Pan was a playful figure who enjoyed chasing nymphs, he could be very ill-tempered if his sleep was disturbed. In Greek mythology, Pan helped Zeus and the other gods of Olympus overthrow the early gods called Titans. He did this by blowing into a shell and making a loud roar that frightened the Titans.
World History
