Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
The Rural Deities explained
This chapter describes Pan, the god of woods and fields, his attributes, and his association with nature and music.
What happens
This chapter describes Pan, the god of woods and fields, his attributes, and his association with nature and music. It also covers other rural deities like Sylvanus and Faunus, various classes of nymphs (Naiads, Oreads, Nereids, Dryads), and the belief that wood-nymphs perish with their trees. The text reflects on the pagan tendency to personify natural phenomena and includes poetic reflections by Milton, Wordsworth, Schiller, and Mrs. E. Barrett Browning on the loss of such mythology with the rise of Christianity.
Themes in this chapter
Cultural Transmission and Education
The chapter transmits classical mythology about rural deities and nymphs, and includes poetic reflections from Milton, Wordsworth, Schiller, and Browning, showing how these myths were preserved and reinterpreted in later literature.
Mortality and Immortality
The distinction between immortal nymphs (Naiads, Oreads, Nereids) and mortal wood-nymphs (Dryads/Hamadryads) who perish with their trees, and the theme of the 'death' of Pan with the rise of Christianity.
Characters to notice
- Pan
God of woods, fields, flocks, and shepherds; inventor of the syrinx; associated with panic terror and later as a symbol of the universe and nature.
- Sylvanus
Latin divinity with characteristics nearly identical to Pan, considered the same personage under a different name.
- Faunus
Latin divinity similar to Pan and Sylvanus, representing rural and forest deities.
- Triton
Mentioned in Wordsworth's poem as a figure from classical mythology, blowing his wreathed horn.
- Proteus
Mentioned in Wordsworth's poem as a sea deity rising from the sea.
Key passages
“Pan, the god of woods and fields, of flocks and shepherds, dwelt in grottos, wandered on the mountains and in valleys, and amused himself with the chase or in leading the dances of the nymphs.”
Pan, the deity of forests, pastures, and shepherds, lived in caves, roamed hills and valleys, and enjoyed hunting or dancing with the nymphs.
Describes Pan's domain and activities.
“Hence sudden fright without any visible cause was ascribed to Pan, and called a Panic terror.”
Unexplained fear was attributed to Pan and termed 'panic terror'.
Explains the origin of the term 'panic'.
“The wood-nymphs, called Dryads or Hamadryads, were believed to perish with the trees which had been their abode and with which they had come into existence.”
Wood-nymphs, known as Dryads or Hamadryads, were thought to die along with the trees they inhabited.
Highlights the mortality of wood-nymphs.
“It was a pleasing trait in the old Paganism that it loved to trace in every operation of nature the agency of deity.”
A charming aspect of ancient paganism was its tendency to see divine influence in all natural processes.
Reflects on the pagan worldview.