free download here - Michael Llewellyn-Smith

The Death of Pan
there is for many other ancient gods and spirits.) Originally a deity
the Arcadian mountains, the most primitive part of classical Greece, he
wandered goat-legged through the woods, guarding the flocks and
herds, seducing nymphs, spending the lazy afternoons in sleep. Responsible
for the herds, he was also the cause of those sudden inexplicable
thrills of communal fear which went shivering from beast to beast and
set them madly running. Panic. Unsuspecting travellers in rural
Arcadia would be shattered by his sudden mischievous shout. He
caused the groundless terror that walks in desolate places. In other
ways the cult was down to earth; if the Arcadians failed to get a sufficiently
large bag of game, they would thrash Pan’s image with wild
squills, which by removing evil influences strengthened the god for his
proper function.
There is a survival here too. The squill is an irritant and was used as
a purgative before certain ritual acts. Lucian tells how Menippus was
purged and cleansed with leeks before being allowed to consult the
oracle of the dead. It is natural that such purgative plants come to be
regarded as potent to expel evil influences. Thus in Pythagoras the
squill is a charm to be hung over the doorway, and will avert evil from
the house; and it has exactly the same function in Crete today, though
to this has been added the more positive property of promoting good.
For the squill is now regarded as immortal; age cannot wither it, and
it will ensure good luck to the household. This agelessness is explained
in the story of Alexander the Great so well known to sailors 1 ; and
although it is a digression, it is too good to be left out:
King Alexander when he had fought many battles and taken the
whole world, so that all trembled before him, called his wise men and
asked:
‘Tell me, you who possess the writings of Fate, can I succeed in
living for many years, so as to enjoy this world where I have made
everything my own?’
‘King, your powers are great, but what the fates have written cannot
be unwritten. Only one thing can make you enjoy your kingdom and
glory, so as to become immortal. But it is difficult, very difficult.’
‘I’m not asking if it’s difficult, only what it is,’ said Alexander.
‘Ah, then, my king, according to your command. ... It is the water
of immortality. If anyone drinks it he need no longer fear death. But
he who goes to fetch it must pass between two mountains which close
in on each other like a vice. Not even a bird can get through. The
number of princes and lordlings who lost their lives in that fearful
trap! And if you do get through the two mountains, there’s a sleepless
105