What god of the wild had the legs and horns of a goat? Pan was the Greek god of the wild with goat legs, goat horns, and a rustic nature.
Pan ruled over mountain wilderness, wooded glens, fields, shepherds, and flocks, especially in Arcadia. Greek art commonly presents him as a man with the hindquarters, legs, ears, and horns of a goat. He is also famous for playing the panpipes, a set of reeds associated with the nymph Syrinx.
Pan’s sudden appearances and wild cries were believed to inspire sudden fear, which is the origin of the word “panic.” His character combined protection of rural life with untamed sexuality, fertility, music, and the unpredictability of nature.
A frequent mix-up is treating Pan as interchangeable with every goat-man figure. Faunus is his Roman counterpart, while satyrs are a broader class of wild male spirits. Silenus is another distinct woodland figure, usually portrayed as older and associated with Dionysus. Pan is the specific Greek deity identified by his goat form and pastoral domain.