Pan

Pan and Syringa Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), 1638 Oil on canvas Panic
Pan, god of animal instinct: The ugly son of Hermes God of forests and groves, shepherds and their flocks, nature and wild animals. He is cheerful, amorous and passionate, enters the retinue of Dionysus. But when he is left alone, he instills panic fear in people. Pan is half man, half goat, he has an elongated wrinkled face and lust in shining eyes, horns on his head, cloven hooves on goat legs. Furry and bearded, he looks like a beast. Pan-son of Hermes and the nymph Driopeia. Looking at her son, the mother was horrified, but his father sang the baby in the skin of a hare, took it to Olympus and showed it to Zeus. Seeing such an awkward baby, the gods rolled with laughter. God of the shepherds Pan roams the mountains and forests, lives among nature. He has favorite places - sheer cliffs, on which he climbs without difficulty, springs in which he quenches his thirst, and shady groves where he rests. Often Pan meets shepherds and their flocks. He follows them, leads them and guards them, as he guards all the wild animals in his domain. 80 Pan holds a shepherd's crook and plays the si ring (pipes). He loves singing and dancing, and often becomes a judge in shepherd competitions in playing the flute. Pan is lustful and depraved and always ready for love. Sometimes, for pleasure, he joins the retinue of Dionysus. He tirelessly chases the nymphs, who run away from him in fright. The caves are often filled with cries that are heard from there during secret intercourse with the god. Boys are no less interested in Pan's girls; he often satisfies himself. Pan is quick-tempered and cannot bear to be disturbed during his daytime rest, so in the middle of the day one should not make noise near the caves. The consequences of one of Pan's outbursts of anger are especially famous: he was in love with the nymph Echo, but was refused and began to destroy everything that came in his way, sent madness on the shepherds, who caught the girl, tore it to pieces and threw it around him parts of her body. To escape the pursuer. Syringa has turned into a reed. from which Lan made himself a flute. The ancient Greeks believed that Pan sent panic - uncontrollable fear. The reason for this was his outbursts of anger, screams, as well as songs, and the noise that always accompanies him. Pan is the god of the inexplicable. He becomes even more dangerous when he possesses any living being. His victim, the panolept, adopts the behavior of Pan, she roams the world, laughs for no reason, tries to win over all members of the opposite sex without exception, and, in addition, suffers from epileptic attacks. Although Pan is the god of nature, he also helps in battle, overcoming enemies with his fearsome voice. It was he who helped Zeus in the fight against the Titans, the Athenians in the battle of Marathon and the Battle of Salamis, for which they revered him in the caves on the Acropolis and at Marathon, annually organizing processions with torches in his honor

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