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Myth Pan and Syringa. Pan

Legends and myths of ancient Greece (ill.) Kun Nikolai Albertovich

PAN AND SYRINGA

And the arrows of the golden-winged Eros did not escape the great Pan. He fell in love with the beautiful nymph Syringa. The nymph was proud and rejected the love of everyone. As for the daughter of Latona, the great Artemis, so for Syringa, hunting was a favorite pastime. Syringa was often even mistaken for Artemis, she was so beautiful young nymph in his short clothes, with a quiver over his shoulders and a bow in his hands. Like two drops of water, she then resembled Artemis, only her bow was made of horn, and not golden, like that of the great goddess.

Pan, god - patron of flocks and shepherds. Pan has a pipe in his hand.

(Statue 1st century BC)

Pan once saw Syringa and wanted to approach her. The nymph looked at Pan and fled in fear. Pan could barely keep up with her, trying to catch up with her. But the path was blocked by a river. Where should the nymph run? Siringa stretched out her hands to the river and began to pray to the god of the river to save her. The river god heeded the nymph's pleas and turned her into a reed. Pan ran up and wanted to hug Syringa, but he only hugged the flexible, quietly rustling reed. Pan stands, sighing sadly, and in the gentle rustling of the reeds he hears the farewell greetings of the beautiful Syringa. Pan cut several reeds and made a sweet-sounding pipe out of them, fastening the unequal ends of the reed with wax. Pan named the pipe Syringa in memory of the nymph. Since then, the great Pan loves to play the syringa pipe in the solitude of the forests, resounding with its gentle sounds in the surrounding mountains.

Pan. Myth of Pan and Syringa. N. A. Kun. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece

God Pan, although he was one of ancient gods Greece, had in the Homeric era and later, until the 2nd century. BC, of little significance. The very fact that the god Pan was depicted as half-man - half-goat (a relic of totemism) indicates the antiquity of this god. Initially, Pan was the god of the forest, the god of shepherds, and the guardian of flocks. Even in Arcadia and Argos, where Pan was more revered, he was not included among the Olympian gods. But gradually the god Pan loses his original character and becomes the patron god of all nature.

Among the retinue of Dionysus one could often see the god Pan. When the great Pan was born, his mother, the nymph Dryope, looked at her son and fled in horror. He was born with goat legs and horns and a long beard. But his father, Hermes, was delighted at the birth of his son, he took him in his arms and carried him to bright Olympus to the gods. All the gods rejoiced loudly at the birth of Pan and laughed as they looked at him.
God Pan did not stay to live with the gods on Olympus. He went into the shady forests, into the mountains. There he grazes his flocks, playing a sonorous pipe. As soon as the nymphs hear the wonderful sounds of Pan’s pipe, they rush to him in crowds, surround him, and soon a merry round dance moves along the green, secluded valley, to the sounds of Pan’s music. Pan himself loves to take part in the dances of the nymphs. When Pan is cheerful, then a cheerful noise rises in the forests along the mountain slopes. Nymphs and satyrs frolic merrily along with the noisy goat-footed Pan. When the hot afternoon comes, Pan retires to the dense thicket of the forest or to a cool grotto and rests there. It is dangerous to disturb Pan then; he is quick-tempered, he can send heavy oppressive dream, he can, suddenly appearing, frighten the traveler who disturbed him. Finally, can he send panic fear, such horror is when a person rushes headlong to run, without making out the road, through forests, through mountains, along the edges of abysses, not noticing that flight threatens him with death every minute. It happened that Pan inspired such fear in an entire army, and it turned into an uncontrollable flight. You should not irritate Pan - when he flares up, he is formidable. But if Pan is not angry, then he is merciful and good-natured. He sends many blessings to the shepherds. The great Pan, a cheerful participant in the dances of frantic maenads, a frequent companion of the god of wine Dionysus, protects and cares for the herds of the Greeks. (Myth of Pan and Syringa)

Pan and Syringa

And the arrows of the golden-winged Eros did not escape the great Pan. He fell in love with the beautiful nymph Syringa. The nymph was proud and rejected the love of everyone. As for the daughter of Latona, the great Artemis, so for Syringa, hunting was a favorite pastime. Syringa was often even mistaken for Artemis, so beautiful was the young nymph in her short clothes, with a quiver over her shoulders and a bow in her hands. Like two drops of water, she then resembled Artemis, only her bow was made of horn, and not golden, like that of the great goddess. (Myth of Pan and Syringa)

Contest between Pan and Apollo

Pan was proud of his flute playing. One day he challenged Apollo himself to a competition. It was on the slopes of Mount Tmola. The judge was the god of this mountain. In a purple cloak, with a golden cithara in his hands and a laurel wreath, Apollo appeared at the competition. Pan was the first to start the competition. The simple sounds of his shepherd's pipe were heard, they gently rushed along the slopes of Tmol. Pan finished. When the echoes of his pipe fell silent, Apollo struck the golden strings of his cithara. The majestic sounds of divine music poured out. Everyone standing around, enchanted, listened to Apollo’s music. The golden strings of the cithara thundered solemnly, all nature plunged into deep silence, and in the midst of the silence a melody full of wondrous beauty flowed in a wide wave. Apollo finished; the last sounds of his cithara died away. The god of Mount Tmola awarded Apollo victory. Everyone praised the great kifared god. Only Midas did not admire Apollo’s performance, but praised simple game Pana. Apollo became angry, grabbed Midas by the ears and pulled them out. Since then, Midas has donkey ears, which he diligently hides under a large turban. And the saddened Pan, defeated by Apollo, retreated deeper into the thicket of the forests; The tender sounds of his pipe are often heard there, full of sadness, and young nymphs listen to them with love.

Rubens, Pan and Syringa. Where is the nymph running?

Rubens, Pan and Syringa.
Where is the nymph running?

P.P. Rubens. "Pan and Syringa"

- Girl, how beautiful you are! Everyone is probably pestering you?
- Yes.
- And you refuse everyone?
- Yes.
- You'll regret it!

This anecdote comes to mind when you see the painting “Pan and Syringa”. Two actors: furry, goat-legged, muscular creature male(Pan) and a young maiden (nymph Syringa).

He seems to grab her, she seems to fight back. In his hands is a transparent cape, which, apparently, was on the girl. She's still holding her right hand, covering up your charms. And the red blanket has almost fallen off, barely hanging on to his shoulder.

His intentions are clear: he wants to achieve her. And she doesn’t need this at all. His left hand is already hugging the girl, but in fact it is an armful of reeds, a hint at the development of events. It takes place in the swamp thickets (not the most suitable place for love affairs). But his love got to him (“You are good, reeds, in the evening!”).

Who are they, the characters in the picture? Their story is told by Hermes, who went on the instructions of Zeus to kill Argus and free his mistress Io, whom Zeus turned into a cow (hiding his sins), and then was forced to give her to his jealous wife Hera (and Hera knew exactly who this cow was! ). A confusing story... And so Hermes with his pipe got to Argus, began to play with the intention of putting him to sleep and, answering the question of the half-asleep watchman, where this magic pipe came from, told him about how Pan chased Syringa, how she left him ran away, and what came of it all.

Pan is the son of Hermes (in the Greek pantheon of gods - Hermes, in the Roman - Mercury). Hermes is a god, the son of Zeus. But for some reason he decided to earn extra money as a shepherd and went to Arcadia for this (Arcadia is a region of Greece). What and why is unclear, but “what happened happened.” And how a simple mortal immortal shepherd fell madly in love with a nymph who could not resist him... And here it’s time to remember Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin: “The queen gave birth that night to either a son or a daughter, Not a mouse, not a frog, but unknown animal." The nymph gave birth to a boy: “He had horns, with the legs of a goat, noisy, laughing” (Homeric hymns, “To Pan”).

Rubens, "Pan and Syringa". Fragment. Pan

Hermes was a normal child. And he became quite handsome as an adult. How did it happen that he was born like this, to put it mildly? unusual son, it is unclear: either he was in too much of a hurry, or the nymph desperately resisted. But that's how it happened.

Mother, naturally, was beside herself:

So Pan became orphaned, he never heard from his mother and never met her.

Moreover, he decided to show his son to the Olympian gods:

Rubens, "Pan and Syringa". Fragment. Syringa

What kind of business this boy had, what he did, how he grew up is unknown. It is reliably known that he spent time in the company of nymphs, sang, played, and danced. As for all this, perhaps with everyone, but information has reached us only about a select few. He is immortal, which is (probably) why his games continue to this day.

Now about Syringa. She is a nymph, the daughter of a river god from Arcadia. And I did what...

Multi-stemmed syringa (Photo: Color, Shutterstock)

And she was beautiful - a copy of Diana, only the bow was not golden. All activities - running through the forest half naked (and maybe even without clothes), seducing all male creatures with your beauty, and then escaping from everyone in order to remain a girl in honor of Diana (Ortygian goddess - Diana, Ortygia - ancient name Delos Island, homeland of Diana).

One day Pan saw her, was completely stunned and also began to chase her, seeking reciprocity. She doesn’t care, she runs away and runs away. And here are reeds, a swamp, a river. There is nowhere to run further. Apparently, she didn’t know how to swim, and she was also incredibly tired. And she asked her water sisters to hide her. Pan had already caught up with her, hugged her - and then he saw that he was holding an armful of reeds in his hands.

He groaned with frustration:

Pan teaches Daphnis to play the syringa

There was a nymph Syringa - she turned into a reed, and then into a flute, which received given name"syringa". Two paired pipes different lengths- the primary version of the flute. Over time, the instrument became more complex, the design changed, and the flute became transverse. But the longitudinal flute also developed: it became multi-barreled. Each trunk, each tube makes its own sound.

By the way, about Pan's dad, Hermes. Let's go back to the beginning, when Hermes tells Argus where such a pipe came from that puts you to sleep. This means that the son (Pan) provided the father (Hermes) with syringa. Why and why? Maybe Pan was convinced that the sounds of his flute put him to sleep (and used this in his communication with the nymphs)? And Hermes, knowing this, asked his son to make one for him when he went to kill Argus?

In general, a cheerful family with terrible heredity. Syringa was right: it is better to be a reed than to suffer from such a thing. Pan’s complaints that he remained in his own interests, his words that the memory of the nymph will remain in the sounds and name of the flute, is nothing more than a ploy to pity another nymph.

The instrument became a symbol of pastoral, rural idyll. Moreover, the statue “Pan teaching Daphnis to play the syringa” has been preserved: the art of seduction with the help of musical instrument passed from one craftsman to another. IN in this case– Daphnis, who seduced Chloe (although the flute did not participate in that process).

Here's the story. And if you cut a reed and blow into it, you will hear an echo of an ancient tale about how he was catching up with her, and she ran away...

Fate cannot tell the stars - at an hour prepared by them or displeasing to them, but under the sky of Arcadia, in the womb of the nymph Dryope, a god with a strange fate was conceived. The story about him.
The baby was born with a gray beard, crowned with goat horns, and by the grace of God he received goat hooves as a gift for dexterity. The name of God is Pan. (Damn the rhythm!)
Seeing him, Dryope's mother did not recover from horror for long, for at that very moment she disappeared, leaving her son to the mercy of fate and accidentally forgetting that he was only the fruit of her sweet copulations. The gray-haired and bearded baby never had to know the affection or love of a mother, and did such a monster need love? - I’ll ask you. The father, the dexterous and cunning Hermes, the messenger of the gods, in his usual carelessness did not disdain the gift of fate, did not reject his son and took him to Olympus. The Olympians, having had plenty of fun with their young fellow freak, released Pan to earth, where he spent his time in fun and games among the nymphs and satyrs, and the thicket of the forest became his home. The gods left Pan alone, but not Eros, the mocking, mischievous boy. And without missing a beat, his arrow, poisoned by the poison of love, pierced the innocent heart of Pan. And from now on nothing could turn his Fate away from Pan. And what was destined for her, beyond the control of the gods, came true: one day the forest god saw the nymph Syringa, keen on hunting, whose beauty and dexterity were not inferior to Artemis herself, and passionately and doomedly fell in love with the free girl. When he came out to her from the forest thicket, Syringa was so frightened of him that faster than the wind rushed away from the terrible creature. In vain the confused wind tangled in her loose hair, whispering in the voice of Pan: don’t run away, I won’t hurt you - Syringa didn’t hear him. In vain did the foliage try to encircle her figure, in vain did the grass tangle at her feet, rustling and rustling: Pan is kind and pure, he is the patron of those beautiful forests in which you hunt, he will not offend you, - Syringa did not hear them. It was then that Pan first saw his reflection in Syringa’s eyes, overcome with horror and disgust. For the first time he thought about his bitter fate.

Now Pan did not dare to leave the forest thicket, furtively watching his beloved from behind the foliage of the trees. His strength left him, deep sadness consumed his soul. And exhausted by the torment of love, Pan prayed, forgetting about pride:
- Oh Gods! you are witnesses of my torment. Tear this passion out of my heart or deprive me of immortality! Having granted the fate of a mortal to love so much, grant me death itself!

Shocked by this gigantic torment of the awkward Pan, the gods froze in confusion. They have no power over Fate, and Zeus himself is powerless. And in his anger, he cursed his powerlessness - and then the serene sky trembled, the light dimmed, darkness enveloped the universe, but at that same moment he was cut in two by the deadly lightning of Zeus...
And she became blind from Syringa's flash...
-Who are you who saved me?
- I am Pan, and from now on I am your patron and protector.
- How can a poor girl thank you for your kindness, beautiful Pan?
- Stay with me always.
-Are you asking for so little?
- Ask? I am God, should I demand more?..
Oh, Pan, come to your senses - you can’t fool fate, look at Syringa! Syringa is sadder than night - from now on the world of light and colors, the world of forests and rivers, the world of flowers and the blue radiance of the sky has forever faded for her, the nymph will no longer hunt in the marvelous Arcadian forests. Day by day, hour by hour, the girl’s face became paler and sadder, the shadow of the underworld fell on it, and the cold of death blew in.
Hot, bitter tears stream down Pan's face, burning deep furrows of wrinkles on it: Is it possible, gods?! She is dying... Save her life, I resign myself to fate, but not her death. It was fitting for me to die, because is there a more meaningless creature in the world?! I beg you, give her back her sight, and give me back my pain...
And two bitter tears of the despairing god fell and fell on the dead eyelids of Syringa, and her sight returned, and she saw the ugly head of Pan! And she rushed away in horror, and now no force could stop her. Not remembering herself, she ran further and further until the fugitive’s path was blocked by the stormy streams of the river, whose willfulness was not inferior to fate. The unfortunate woman wrung her hands:
- O river, do not reject my prayer and save me from the forest monster!
The river did not reject the plea - and Syringa turned into a coastal reed. Pan ran out to the river and understood everything from the alarming rustling of the reeds. I went up to him, hugged him and cried: forgive me, Siringa, forgive me my love, which destroyed you. Pan cut several reeds and made a pipe, which has since been called Pan's flute, or syringa pipe.
Lonely and sad, Pan went forever into the forest. The satyrs and nymphs left him, joining a cheerful retinue with the young, cheerful Dionysus. But if you ever wander into the wilderness of Arcadia and hear the sounds of Pan's flute, your heart will never leave a longing like Pan's longing. Oh, no, this is not the sweet-sounding music of the darling of fate and Apollo - Orpheus, but also not the reckless song of Dionysus - this is the music of doom and the beauty of true love.
R.B. 1989

I once thought: nonsense, what words could there be here? The image of Pan can only be expressed in music, the image of Syringa in plastic, in dance. Pan is the owner of the forest and his music is the mood of the forest. Syringa is a child of this forest, her body feels and conveys the elusive mood of nature in every movement. In principle, they cannot meet or see each other, but they have never parted and form something single.
Today I am more tolerant and think that this text also has a right to exist, and without a twinge of conscience I attribute its shortcomings to the imperfect nature of the language, its nobility and wisdom, sufficient not to encroach on the honor of the borders beyond which music and plastic arts reign.
April 24, 1994

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