Betsy Hughes, age 16, of Marion, Ohio, for her question:

WHO WAS THE GREEK GOD PAN?

Pan was the ancient Greek god of huntsmen and later of all nature. In art he is usually pictured as having the legs and feet of a goat with a manlike upper body and face. He also had a goat's horns and ears.

The Greeks believed that he roamed through the woods, fields, mountains and valleys, happily playing on a flute made of reeds.

Once Pan chased a nymph named Syrinx. Reaching a river bank and unable to run farther, she prayed for help. She was terrified by the creature that had been running after her. The goddess Artemis heard her prayer and changed her into a bundle of reeds.

Pan stood sadly by the river looking for the nymph who had vanished. He heard the beautiful sound the wind made blowing through the reeds. Cutting seven of the reeds in different lengths, Pan fastened them into the first shepherd's pipe or syrinx. He learned to play the instrument well.

Pan was regarded as the cause of sudden, unreasoning terror that happens from time to time. This terror, or panic, was named after Pan.