Nina Lyon

The Great God Pan is all things to all men

Paul Robichaud explores the goat-man of antiquity’s many forms, including a proto-Christ figure and a semi-female devil

Pan by E. Louis Lessieux. [Alamy] 
issue 06 November 2021

Pan’s name is thought to derive from ‘paean’, the ancient Greek verb meaning ‘to pasture’. His half-man, half-goat form reflected his role in protecting flocks of goats and those who herded them among the wild hills of Arcadia. Panic was his superpower, freaking out mortals in the woods with distorted sounds, even neutralising hostile armies.

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