The Great God Pan: A History of His Cult

by John Kruse

The revived cult of Pan recognizes him as the god of fields, groves and wooded glens. Connecting him to fertility and the season of spring, with his entourage of fauns and satyrs pursuing and copulating with woodland nymphs. The word panic ultimately derives from the god's name. He is the eponymous Piper at the Gates of Dawn in The Wind in the Willows In the late 19th century Pan became an increasingly common figure in literature and art. and there was an astonishing resurgence of interest in the Pan motif. He appears in poetry, in novels and children's books, and is referenced in the name of the character Peter Pan. The conception of Pan has continued to evolve. He is now seen by many as an eco-guardian, a protector of the landscape and natural resources from human depredations. He remains a relevant and vital figure.

Genres: Nonfiction

116 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2021

About the author

I have worked as an adviser in the voluntary sector for several decades, and have also been a freelance trainer and consultant for the last 21 years. This work led directly to the legal non-fiction I have written- my various books on enforcement (bailiff) law.

Since my late teens I have always aspired to be a novelist and, when my daughter told me she'd never read any of my books about bailiff law (and who can blame her?!) I resolved to write some stories. Now I'm hooked and have plenty of ideas in the pipeline!

I have published through established law publishers, but my fiction work has all been self published using Kindle and, for paperback copies, Amazon's CreateSpace tool. All the books are available through Amazon.

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is best described as an English Lit senior thesis. It’s full of wonderful excerpts from other works in describing the many facets of Pan. It’s main focus is the Victorians and the Romantics obsession with Pan. There is not a lot of discussion of a cult in the sense that most people who pick this book up are used to the idea of cults. There aren’t descriptions of Ancient Greek rites in honor of Pan in this book. It’s a great resource for finding inspired works about Pan, however.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 3 out of 5]

Det finns en sagobok som en fd kollega rekommenderade - den tudelade markisen eller något sådant. Denna bok om Pan är lite snarlik - pan beskrivs ur många facetter inklusive som populärikon och det väsen författaren framställer är ganska avvikande från den bild av en liminalgud som konventionell litteratur betonar. Likväl läsvärd.

[Nut Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kruse uses the term cult freely, yet has little to say about the actual worship of the god. Instead, this would be more accurately described as a history of Pan (and satyrs) in art and literature, with a heavy focus on his significance during the 19th and early (pre WWI) 20th century. This history is extensive, including both well known depictions such as Francois Boucher's "Pan and Syrinx" painting, and the brief reference in The Wind and the Willows, to the quite obscure, such as music inspired by or vaguely associated with Pan. He reviews the various interpretations of the god over different periods, but the main focus is literary references during the Victorian period. Though interesting, much of the material is extremely niche and likely of most interest to history buffs interested in neo-classical revival