Editing Pan (god) (section)

== Worship ==
The worship of Pan began in [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]] which was always the principal seat of his worship. Arcadia was a district of [[mountain people]], culturally separated from other Greeks. Arcadian hunters used to [[scourge]] the statue of the god if they had been disappointed in the chase.<ref>Theocritus. vii. 107</ref>

Being a rustic god, Pan was not worshipped in temples or other built edifices, but in natural settings, usually [[cave]]s or [[grotto]]es such as the one on the north slope of the [[Acropolis of Athens]]. These are often referred to as the Cave of Pan. The only exceptions are the Sanctuary of Pan on the [[Neda (river)|Neda River]] gorge in the southwestern [[Peloponnese]] – the ruins of which survive to this day – and the Temple of Pan at [[Edfu|Apollonopolis Magna]] in [[ancient Egypt]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Horbury|first=William|title=Jewish Inscriptions of Graeco-Roman Egypt|year=1992|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-0-521-41870-6|page=208|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cCRC-wTphoYC&pg=PA208}}</ref> In the fourth century BC Pan was depicted on the coinage of [[Panticapaeum|Pantikapaion]].<ref>Sear, David R. (1978). ''Greek Coins and Their Values ''. Volume I: Europe (pp. 168–169). Seaby Ltd., London. {{ISBN|0 900652 46 2}}</ref>

Archaeologists, while excavating a [[Byzantine]] church of around 400 AD in [[Banias|Banyas]], discovered in the walls of the church an altar of the god Pan with a Greek inscription, dating back to the second or third century AD. The inscription reads, "''Atheneon son of Sosipatros of [[Antioch]] is dedicating the altar to the god Pan Heliopolitanus. He built the altar using his own personal money in fulfillment of a vow he made.''"<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/altar-to-greek-god-found-in-wall-of-byzantine-church-raises-questions-650825 Altar to Greek god found in wall of Byzantine church raises questions]</ref>{{Ancient Greek religion}}

In the [[mystery cult]]s of the highly syncretic [[Hellenistic religion|Hellenistic]] era,<ref>[[Mircea Eliade|Eliade, Mircea]] (1982) ''A History of Religious Ideas'' Vol. 2. University of Chicago Press. § 205.</ref> Pan is identified with [[Phanes (mythology)|Phanes/Protogonos]], [[Zeus]], [[Dionysus]] and [[Eros (mythology)|Eros]].<ref>In the second-century "Hieronyman Theogony', which harmonized [[Orphism (religion)|Orphic themes]] from the theogony of Protogonos with Stoicism, he is Protogonos, Phanes, Zeus and Pan; in the Orphic Rhapsodies he is additionally called Metis, Eros, Erikepaios and Bromios. The inclusion of Pan seems to be a Hellenic syncretization ([[M. L. West|West, M. L.]] (1983) The Orphic Poems. Oxford:Oxford University Press. p. 205).</ref>
=== Epithets ===
[[File:Roman fresco of Pan and Hermaphroditus, Pompeii.jpg|thumb|265px|Ancient Roman fresco of Pan and [[Hermaphroditus]] from the House of Dioscuri in [[Pompeii]], now in the [[National Archaeological Museum, Naples]]]]
* '''Aegocerus''' ({{Langx|grc|Αἰγόκερως|Aigókerōs|goat-horned}}) was an epithet of Pan descriptive of his figure with the horns of a goat.<ref>[[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]], ix. 536; [[Lucretius]], v. 614.</ref>
* '''Lyterius''' ({{Langx|grc|Λυτήριος}}), meaning ''Deliverer''. There was a sanctuary at [[Troezen]], and he had this epithet because he was believed during a plague to have revealed in dreams the proper remedy against the disease.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DL%3Aentry+group%3D22%3Aentry%3Dlyterius-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Lyterius]</ref>
* '''Maenalius''' ({{Langx|grc|Μαινάλιος}}) or '''Maenalides''' ({{Langx|grc|Μαιναλιδης}}), derived from mount [[Mainalo|Maenalus]] which was sacred to the god.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DM%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dmaenalius-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Maenalius]</ref>