Pan
Pan is the Greek god of fields, pasture, and guide to shepherds. Because of his associations with fields and groves, he’s also attributed to being a deity of spring, and fertility. Many people mistake his name, “Pan” as the Greek word, “pan” which means, “all.” However, the word that Pan’s name comes from is the word pa-on, which means herdsman. The word pa-on also shares its prefix with the Modern English word for pasture. The gods who were the parents of Pan are always varied. Some Greek mythology claims that Pan is one of the sons of Zeus, although most claim he is instead a son of Hermes and a nymph. Further research has led others to speculate that Pan was one of the first gods; in origin somewhat like Aphrodite, who came from the sea, and whose parentage was also much pondered but remains as yet unknown. Although Aphrodite’s origins are more metaphoric in their anonymous fashion, Pan’s mysterious background serves to make him seem as though he was a god before the Greeks conceived of him, and before the Romans conceived of Faunus, his Roman counterpart.
Panic comes from Pan; the Greek word “Panikon”, meaning, pertaining to Pan. According to legend, Pan would accost lonely travelers in the forest with strange noises, rustling, in the hopes of making them leave his territory. Historians believe that the reason people have misinterpreted Pan’s name, is because of the Homeric Hymn to Pan. Pan was described as pleasing ‘all’ the gods, and thus getting his name. According to Greek and Roman mythology, it was Pan who gave Artemis her hunting dogs, and it was Pan who taught Apollo the secret of divining prophecy. Like Faunus, who had the fauni, smaller faun creatures like children Pan had the same entourage. Surrounding Pan would be Panes, or Paniskoi. Another source, has said there were two Pans, one was a son of Zeus, and the twin to Arkas, –though little is known of him, other than that it means something relative to Arcadia, where the main cult of Pan resided. The other Pan was supposedly a son of Cronos.