Homeric HymnsGreek MythologyAncient Myth / ComparativeAncient GreekShareHomeric Hymns 19Lang - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableLangLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Homeric Hymns 1Homeric Hymns 2Homeric Hymns 3Homeric Hymns 4Homeric Hymns 5Homeric Hymns 6Homeric Hymns 7Homeric Hymns 8Homeric Hymns 9Homeric Hymns 10Homeric Hymns 11Homeric Hymns 12Homeric Hymns 13Homeric Hymns 14Homeric Hymns 15Homeric Hymns 16Homeric Hymns 17Homeric Hymns 18Homeric Hymns 19Homeric Hymns 20Homeric Hymns 21Homeric Hymns 22Homeric Hymns 23Homeric Hymns 24Homeric Hymns 25Homeric Hymns 26Homeric Hymns 27Homeric Hymns 28Homeric Hymns 29Homeric Hymns 30Homeric Hymns 31Homeric Hymns 32Homeric Hymns 33Homeric Hymns 34›Xviii. To PanHomeric Hymns 19ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1[Pan. With Goat and Shepherd's Crook. Terra cotta Statuette from Tanagra, in the British Museum: lang230.jpg] 2Tell me, Muse, concerning the dear son of Hermes, the goat-footed, the twy-horned, the lover of the din of revel, who haunts the wooded dells with dancing nymphs that tread the crests of the steep cliffs, calling upon Pan the pastoral God of the long wild hair. Lord is he of every snowy crest and mountain peak and rocky path. Hither and thither he goes through the thick copses, sometimes being drawn to the still waters, and sometimes faring through the lofty crags he climbs the highest peak whence the flocks are seen below; ever he ranges over the high white hills, and ever among the knolls he chases and slays the wild beasts, the God, with keen eye, and at evening returns piping from the chase, breathing sweet strains on the reeds. In song that bird cannot excel him which, among the leaves of the blossoming springtide, pours forth her plaint and her honey-sweet song. With him then the mountain nymphs, the shrill singers, go wandering with light feet, and sing at the side of the dark water of the well, while the echo moans along the mountain crest, and the God leaps hither and thither, and goes into the midst, with many a step of the dance. On his back he wears the tawny hide of a lynx, and his heart rejoices with shrill songs in the soft meadow where crocus and fragrant hyacinth bloom all mingled amidst the grass. 3They sing of the blessed Gods and of high Olympus, and above all do they sing of boon Hermes, how he is the fleet herald of all the Gods, and how he came to many-fountained Arcadia, the mother of sheep, where is his Cyllenian demesne, and there he, God as he was, shepherded the fleecy sheep, the thrall of a mortal man; for soft desire had come upon him to wed the fair- haired daughter of Dryops, and the glad nuptials he accomplished, and to Hermes in the hall she bare a dear son. From his birth he was a marvel to behold, goat-footed, twy-horned, a loud speaker, a sweet laugher. Then the nurse leaped up and fled when she saw his wild face and bearded chin. But him did boon Hermes straightway take in his hands and bear, and gladly did he rejoice at heart. Swiftly to the dwellings of the Gods went he, bearing the babe hidden in the thick skins of mountain hares; there sat he down by Zeus and the other Immortals, and showed his child, and all the Immortals were glad at heart, and chiefly the Bacchic Dionysus. Pan they called the babe to name: because he had made glad the hearts of all of them. Hail then to thee, O Prince, I am thy suppliant in song, and I shall be mindful of thee and of another lay. ‹Previous chapterHomeric Hymns 18Next chapterHomeric Hymns 20›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg