<P> Accounts of Pan's genealogy are so varied that it must lie buried deep in mythic time . Like other nature spirits, Pan appears to be older than the Olympians, if it is true that he gave Artemis her hunting dogs and taught the secret of prophecy to Apollo . Pan might be multiplied as the Pans (Burkert 1985, III. 3.2; Ruck and Staples, 1994, p. 132) or the Paniskoi . Kerenyi (p. 174) notes from scholia that Aeschylus in Rhesus distinguished between two Pans, one the son of Zeus and twin of Arcas, and one a son of Cronus . "In the retinue of Dionysos, or in depictions of wild landscapes, there appeared not only a great Pan, but also little Pans, Paniskoi, who played the same part as the Satyrs". </P> <P> The goat - god Aegipan was nurtured by Amalthea with the infant Zeus in Crete . In Zeus' battle with Typhon, Aegipan and Hermes stole back Zeus' "sinews" that Typhon had hidden away in the Corycian Cave . Pan aided his foster - brother in the battle with the Titans by letting out a horrible screech and scattering them in terror . According to some traditions, Aegipan was the son of Pan, rather than his father . </P> <P> One of the famous myths of Pan involves the origin of his pan flute, fashioned from lengths of hollow reed . Syrinx was a lovely wood - nymph of Arcadia, daughter of Landon, the river - god . As she was returning from the hunt one day, Pan met her . To escape from his importunities, the fair nymph ran away and didn't stop to hear his compliments . He pursued from Mount Lycaeum until she came to her sisters who immediately changed her into a reed . When the air blew through the reeds, it produced a plaintive melody . The god, still infatuated, took some of the reeds, because he could not identify which reed she became, and cut seven pieces (or according to some versions, nine), joined them side by side in gradually decreasing lengths, and formed the musical instrument bearing the name of his beloved Syrinx . Henceforth Pan was seldom seen without it . </P> <P> Echo was a nymph who was a great singer and dancer and scorned the love of any man . This angered Pan, a lecherous god, and he instructed his followers to kill her . Echo was torn to pieces and spread all over earth . The goddess of the earth, Gaia, received the pieces of Echo, whose voice remains repeating the last words of others . In some versions, Echo and Pan had two children: Iambe and Iynx . In other versions, Pan had fallen in love with Echo, but she scorned the love of any man but was enraptured by Narcissus . As Echo was cursed by Hera to only be able to repeat words that had been said by someone else, she could not speak for herself . She followed Narcissus to a pool, where he fell in love with his own reflection and changed into a narcissus flower . Echo wasted away, but her voice could still be heard in caves and other such similar places . </P>

Where is the name pan flute derived from