Pan is one of the oldest gods in Greek mythology. For the Ancient Greeks, Pan was a theoi nomioi – a rustic god of the countryside, the pastures and wild forests, who lived in the mountains and forests of Arcadia, Greece.
Like many Greek gods and goddesses, Pan’s origin story is a little convoluted. Depending on the myth, Pan’s dad was either Hermes, Zeus, or Dionysus, and his mom a wood nymph, an unnamed mortal woman, or Penelope (the badass bitch who waited for Odysseus for a really long time).
Regardless of who Pan’s parents were, the myths are clear on one thing: Pan’s parents were freaked the f*ck out when he was born.
Why?
The short version? Baby Pan was a bit, well, unconventional looking.
The long version? Pan was born with horns, a beard (and we’re talking a no-shave-November style beard), a pug nose, tail, and goat legs.
Basically, the kid came out half-goat, half-human. We can’t really blame Mama(s) Pan for freaking out a bit at this.
Luckily for Pan, the gods on Mount Olympus were used to seeing and creating weird beings and they loved the little bugger.1
Some say the gods named the strange-looking baby “Pan”, which literally means “All” because they all adored him. 2
Aww!
Besides his unconventional looks, Pan had a decent number of skills. No matter the myth, he was at least 50% god, after all. Here are some of the features commonly attributed to Pan:
