Humanitext Reader

Lucian · Dialogues of The Gods §2.1-2.4

Pan Claiming Hermes as His Father

Passage 2 of 25 · Greek

Summary

The goat-like Pan approaches Hermes, claiming him as his father, and boasts of his birth secret, musical talents, and military exploits. Although utterly dumbfounded, Hermes reluctantly accepts him on the condition that Pan does not call him father in public.

§2.1ΠΑΝ Χαῖρε, ὦ πάτερ Ἑρμῆ.
PAN Greetings, Father Hermes.
ΕΡΜΗΣ Μὴ καὶ σύ γε.
HERMES Not you too!
ἀλλὰ πῶς ἐγὼ σὸς πατήρ;
But how am I your father?
ΠΑΝ Οὐχ ὁ Κυλλήνιος Ἑρμῆς ὢν τυγχάνεις;
PAN Are you not, as it happens, Cyllenian Hermes?
ΕΡΜΗΣ Καὶ μάλα.
HERMES Certainly.
πῶς οὖν υἱὸς ἐμὸς εἶ;
How then are you my son?
ΠΑΝ Μοιχίδιός εἰμι, ἐξ ἔρωτός σοι γενόμενος.
PAN I am a love-child, born to you from a passion.
ΕΡΜΗΣ Νὴ Δία, τράγου ἴσως τινὸς μοιχεύσαντος αἶγα· ἐμοὶ γὰρ πῶς, κέρατα ἔχων καὶ ῥῖνα τοιαύτην καὶ πώγωνα λάσιον καὶ σκέλη διχαλὰ καὶ τραγικὰ καὶ οὐρὰν ὑπὲρ τὰς πυγάς;
HERMES By Zeus, perhaps some he-goat committed adultery with a she-goat; for how could you belong to me, having horns, a nose like that, a shaggy beard, cloven goat-like legs, and a tail above your buttocks?
ΠΑΝ Ὅσα ἂν ἀποσκώψῃς με, τὸν σεαυτοῦ υἱόν, ὦ πάτερ, ἐπονείδιστον ἀποφαίνεις, μᾶλλον δὲ σεαυτόν, ὃς τοιαῦτα γεννᾷς καὶ παιδοποιεῖς, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀναίτιος.
PAN No matter how much you mock me, your own son, Father, you make yourself a subject of reproach—or rather yourself, who begat and procreated such a thing, whereas I am blameless.
ΕΡΜΗΣ Τίνα καὶ φῄς σου μητέρα;
HERMES And who do you say is your mother?
ἤ που ἔλαθον αἶγα μοιχεύσας ἔγωγε;
Did I, without realizing it, commit adultery with a she-goat?
ΠΑΝ Οὐκ αἶγα ἐμοίχευσας, ἀλλ’ ἀνάμνησον σεαυτόν, εἴ ποτε ἐν Ἀρκαδίᾳ παῖδα ἐλευθέραν ἐβιάσω.
PAN You did not commit adultery with a she-goat, but remind yourself if you ever forced a freeborn girl in Arcadia.
τί δακὼν τὸν δάκτυλον ζητεῖς καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ ἀπορεῖς;
Why do you bite your finger and search your mind, being at a loss for so long?
τὴν Ἰκαρίου λέγω Πηνελόπην.
I mean Penelope, the daughter of Icarius.
ΕΡΜΗΣ Εἶτα τί παθοῦσα ἐκείνη ἀντ' ἐμοῦ τράγῳ σε ὅμοιον ἔτεκεν;
HERMES Then what possessed her to give birth to you, who resemble a goat, instead of me?
§2.2ΠΑΝ Αὐτῆς ἐκείνης λόγον σοι ἐρῶ· ὅτε γάρ με ἐξέπεμπεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀρκαδίαν, Ὦ παῖ, μήτηρ μέν σοι, ἔφη, ἐγώ εἰμι, Πηνελόπη ἡ Σπαρτιᾶτις, τὸν πατέρα δὲ γίνωσκε θεὸν ἔχων Ἑρμῆν Μαίας καὶ Διός.
PAN I will tell you her own words; for when she was sending me off to Arcadia, she said, "My child, I am your mother, Penelope of Sparta, but know that you have as your father the god Hermes, son of Maia and Zeus.
εἰ δὲ κερασφόρος καὶ τραγοσκελὴς εἶ, μὴ λυπείτω σε· ὁπότε γάρ μοι συνῄει ὁ πατὴρ ὁ σός, τράγῳ ἑαυτὸν ἀπείκασεν, ὡς λάθοι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὅμοιος ἀπέβης τῷ τράγῳ. ΕΡΜΗΣ Νὴ Δία, μέμνημαι ποιήσας τοιοῦτόν τι.
And if you are horned and goat-legged, let it not grieve you; for when your father united with me, he likened himself to a he-goat so that he might escape notice, and for this reason you turned out resembling the he-goat." HERMES By Zeus, I remember doing such a thing.
ἐγὼ οὖν ὁ ἐπὶ κάλλει μέγα φρονῶν, ἔτι ἀγένειος αὐτὸς ὢν σὸς πατὴρ κεκλήσομαι καὶ γέλωτα ὀφλήσω παρὰ πᾶσιν ἐπὶ τῇ εὐπαιδίᾳ;
Shall I then, who pride myself greatly on my beauty, while being myself still beardless, be called your father and incur laughter among all for this fine offspring?
§2.3ΠΑΝ Καὶ μὴν οὐ καταισχυνῶ σε, ὦ πάτερ· μουσικός τε γάρ εἰμι καὶ συρίζω πάνυ καπυρόν, καὶ ὁ Διόνυσος οὐδὲν ἐμοῦ ἄνευ ποιεῖν δύναται, ἀλλὰ ἑταῖρον καὶ θιασώτην πεποίηταί με, καὶ ἡγοῦμαι αὐτῷ τοῦ χοροῦ·
PAN And yet I shall not disgrace you, Father; for I am musical and play the pipe very clearly, and Dionysus can do nothing without me, but has made me his companion and fellow-reveler, and I lead the chorus for him.
καὶ τὰ ποίμνια δὲ εἰ θεάσαιό μου, ὁπόσα περὶ Τεγέαν καὶ ἀνὰ τὸ Παρθένιον ἔχω, πάνυ ἡσθήσῃ·
And if you should see my flocks, as many as I have around Tegea and up on Mount Parthenium, you would be highly pleased.
ἄρχω δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἀρκαδίας ἁπάσης· πρῴην δὲ καὶ Ἀθηναίοις συμμαχήσας οὕτως ἠρίστευσα Μαραθῶνι, ὥστε καὶ ἀριστεῖον ᾑρέθη μοι τὸ ὑπὸ τῇ ἀκροπόλει σπήλαιον.
I rule over the whole of Arcadia too; and the other day, having fought alongside the Athenians, I distinguished myself so at Marathon that the cave under the Acropolis was chosen for me as a prize of valor.
ἢν γοῦν εἰς Ἀθήνας ἔλθῃς, εἴσῃ ὅσον ἐκεῖ τοῦ Πανὸς ὄνομα.
At any rate, if you go to Athens, you will know how great the name of Pan is there.
§2.4ΕΡΜΗΣ Εἰπὲ δέ μοι, γεγάμηκας, ὦ Πάν, ἤδη;
HERMES But tell me, have you already married, Pan?
τοῦτο γάρ, οἶμαι, καλοῦσίν σε.
For that, I believe, is what they call you.
ΠΑΝ Οὐδαμῶς, ὦ πάτερ· ἐρωτικὸς γάρ εἰμι καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀγαπήσαιμι συνὼν μιᾷ.
PAN By no means, Father; for I am amorous and would not be content with living with one.
ΕΡΜΗΣ Ταῖς οὖν αἰξὶ δηλαδὴ ἐπιχειρεῖς.
HERMES So you clearly make attempts on the she-goats.
ΠΑΝ Σὺ μὲν σκώπτεις, ἐγὼ δὲ τῇ τε Ἠχοῖ καὶ τῇ Πίτυϊ σύνειμι καὶ ἁπάσαις ταῖς τοῦ Διονύσου Μαινάσι καὶ πάνυ σπουδάζομαι πρὸς αὐτῶν.
PAN You are mocking, but I consort with Echo and Pitys, and with all the Maenads of Dionysus, and am highly favored by them.
ΕΡΜΗΣ Οἶσθα οὖν, ὦ τέκνον, ὅ τι χαρίσῃ τὸ πρῶτον αἰτοῦντί μοι;
HERMES Do you know then, my child, what favor you will grant me, who am asking you for the first thing?
ΠΑΝ Πρόσταττε, ὦ πάτερ· ἡμεῖς μὲν ἴδωμεν ταῦτα.
PAN Command, Father; let us see what it is.
ΕΡΜΗΣ Καὶ πρόσιθί μοι καὶ φιλοφρονοῦ· πατέρα δὲ ὅρα μὴ καλέσῃς με ἄλλου ἀκούοντος.
HERMES Come close to me and be affectionate; but see to it that you do not call me father when anyone else is listening.

Notes

  1. 2.1Μὴ καὶ σύ γε — A strong rejection of the greeting `χαῖρε` or the address `πάτερ`. It involves an ellipsis of a verb such as `ποιεῖ` or `λέγε` ("Do not you too [do/say so]").
  2. 2.1ἔλαθον αἶγα μοιχεύσας — The construction of `λανθάνω` with a participle, meaning "escape notice in doing something" or "do something without realizing/unintentionally". Here Hermes asks in self-mockery whether he, without even realizing it, had committed adultery with a goat.
  3. 2.1τί παθοῦσα — The idiomatic expression `τί παθών / τί παθοῦσα` with a finite verb, which conveys surprise, indignation, or bewilderment, meaning "what possessed her to..." or "what on earth happened to her that...".
  4. 2.4τοῦτο γάρ, οἶμαι, καλοῦσίν σε — An etymological pun on the name "Pan" (Πάν) and "everything" (πᾶν). In response to the question "have you married?", there is a double meaning implied in "for that, I believe, is what they call you," suggesting his nature of loving everything/everyone.

Cite this passage

Lucian, Dialogues of The Gods §2.1-2.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg068.humanitext-grc3:2.1-2.4

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