Nymphs were worshiped as individuals or as pluralities, usually shown in Greek art
as triads. Three recurrent themes appear in the lore of the nymphs throughout the
Greek world: first, the nymphs are present in the landscape; they are connected with
water supplies and the rural pursuits of the herdsman and beekeeper. They are also
associated with procurement of raw materials from the land: timber, stone, and ores.
Second, nymphs have to do with rites of passage and the social dimension of the
nymphe ̄as bride, in addition to the general nurture of the young. Third, as the
daughters and consorts of the local rivers, or the mothers and wives of primordial
heroes, nymphs are ubiquitous in narratives of founding and colonization, the stories
through which Greek communities established their claims and affective ties to
the land.
Goat-Footed, Noise-Loving Pan
Pan is distinctive among the Greek gods because of his hybrid human–animal form
(theriomorphism). Originally a guardian of the goats whose character he shares, he
achieved panhellenic status only in the fifth century, when his cult was introduced
from Arcadia to Athens and rapidly diffused to the rest of the Greek world. Many
etymologies have been put forward for his name, which is also known in the com-
pound form Aigipan (Goat-Pan). The most convincing makes it a cognate of Latin
pastor, so that Pan is ‘‘one who grazes the flocks.’’ In Arcadia itself, Pan’s myth and
cult were not standardized (see also Chapter 17). There were conflicting views of his
genealogy, the most common being that he was the son of Zeus and twin of the
national hero Arcas, or that he was the son of Hermes and Penelope (Herodotus
2.145; Borgeaud 1988: 42). His connection with Zeus sprang from their association
on Mount Lycaeum, a focus of ethnic identity for the Arcadians. Pan possessed a
sanctuary on the south slopes of Lycaeum, where in keeping with his identity as both
goat and goatherd, he offered asylum to any animal being pursued by a wolf (lykos).
A votive dump excavated here revealed many late archaic and early classical bronze
figures, cut-out plaques, and terracottas with hunters, men carrying animals for
sacrifice, and Hermes. As at the Cretan sanctuary of Hermes at Kato Syme, where
male rites of passage were celebrated in a pederastic context, both youthful and
mature males are depicted in the objects from Lycaeum. The bronzes include dead
foxes, a standard courtship gift presented by adult males to their favorite youths.
Inscribed pots show that the sanctuary was sacred to Pan, whose role as a god of the
hunt and Master of Animals made him well suited, like Hermes, to sponsor matur-
ation rituals (Hu ̈binger 1992).
The Athenians believed that Pan sent them a message on the eve of Marathon
(490 BC) via Philippides, who ran 145 miles to ask for aid from the Spartans. Passing
through Arcadia, he saw an apparition of the god, who asked why the Athenians did
not honor him in spite of the good deeds that he had done and would yet do for
them. When they learned of Pan’s epiphany, the Athenians concluded that he had
contributed to the victory at Marathon and instituted his worship with an annual
festival including a torch race. Pan’s official sanctuary was a grotto on the northwest
slope of the Acropolis, but he quickly became a resident of the Attic countryside,
Nature Deities 63