Pan and Daphnis

myminifactory

Pan, Greek god of untamed wilderness and rustic music, sits with his young companion Daphnis, instructing him on how to play the pan flute. Depicted here with his distinctive horns and legs, Pan tenderly holds his eromenos as he teaches. Daphnis, son of Hermes and a nymph, was said to be mortal despite his divine parentage. As a Sicilian shepherd, he was often described as an eromenos in a romantic relationship with an older male. According to tradition, a Naiad loved him and vowed to remain faithful, but she was eventually deceived by the king's daughter and blinded Daphnis or turned him into stone. Pan, who had fallen deeply in love with Daphnis, taught him how to play the pan pipes as seen in this work. The sculpture is believed to be a replica of an original created by Heliodoros, a renowned Rhodian sculptor.