Faunus was the Roman god of the wild countryside, especially forests, plains, and fields, and he was associated with prophecy. In later art he was often shown with horns, ears, or goatlike legs after Roman writers identified him with the Greek god Pan.
Faunus was one of Rome’s old indigenous deities, among the di indigetes. He was linked to rustic life, animal fertility, agriculture, and untamed woodland. In one tradition he was also a legendary king of Latium who became a protective god after death. When connected especially with cattle fertility, he could be called Inuus.
His prophetic aspect appears in the figure of Fatuus, sometimes treated as Faunus’s prophetic or feminine counterpart. Oracles associated with him were delivered through dreams and voices to worshippers sleeping on the fleeces of sacrificed lambs. Sacred prophetic sites included a grove near Tibur and the Aventine Hill.
Faunus is frequently confused with Pan because the two were culturally blended through interpretatio Romana. Pan, however, was originally Greek, while Faunus was Roman. Silvanus was another neighboring rustic deity, but his emphasis was more specifically on woodland boundaries and forests.