ABSTRACT
The Homeric hymns, dating from the late sixth to mid-fifth centuries BCE, are among the oldest extant written record of the stories of the Greek gods. "The Homeric hymn to Pan" begins with Pan's birth. Even today, the Greek god Pan holds an archetypal image that reflects this aspect of the psyche. In other myths, Pan's desire exploded into chase and created panic in the nymphs and goddesses who despised the outcast Pan. But, ironically, in Pan's hunting ritual and myths comes a possible way out of the compulsive side of hypermasculinity. Ektithemi, an ancient Greek custom meaning to expose or set out, was practiced on newborns with birth defects. A "Pan tail is based on an ancient observation of an abnormality associated with diastematomyelia", also known as spinal dysraphism. In squilling, the cult approached Pan with both fear and aggression. This served as a way to come up against their own fears and aggressions in a ritualized manner.
