ABSTRACT
With the advantage of hindsight, the timing of the legend of the death of Archetypal Pan has proved to be a significant indicator of the decline of the Greek tradition of worship of the divine in nature. This chapter explores the legend of the death of Pan in the context of the idea that what is psychological does not die but rather sinks into the unconscious. It investigates its meaning in the context of the first century when it was introduced by the Greek philosopher Plutarch, and the way it has been reinterpreted through history since that time and up until the present. As reported by the Plutarch, that death is historically situated within a decade of the crucifixion of Jesus by the inclusion of the interest of Tiberius Caesar in the legend Pan is a repository for unconscious projections of being human and of the Greek psyche that envisioned Pan's nature.
