Syrinx- Greek SpiritSpirit · Nymph

The Nymph of Ladon

Syrinx was a naiad of the River Ladon in Arcadia and a follower of Artemis who had devoted herself to chastity and the hunt. She carried a bow and dressed in the manner of the goddess — Ovid says she could have been mistaken for Artemis herself, except that her bow was of horn where the goddess's was of gold. She resisted the advances of satyrs and woodland spirits, and it was this devotion to virginity that drew Pan's attention.

The god spotted her returning from the hunt on Mount Lycaeum and was seized with desire. When he called out, Syrinx fled without hearing his words. She ran through the trackless Arcadian wilderness until the sandy banks of the River Ladon blocked her path. Trapped, she begged her sister nymphs to transform her. Just as Pan lunged and seized what he believed to be her body, he found himself grasping marsh reeds. As the wind sighed through them, the reeds produced a thin, mournful sound. Pan, moved by the sweetness of the tone and his own unrequited longing, cut reeds of unequal length and bound them with wax into the first pan pipes. He called the instrument syrinx, after the nymph he had lost.

A Story Within a Story

The tale has a second life as a story within a story. When Zeus sent Hermes to slay Argus Panoptes — the hundred-eyed guardian Hera had set to watch over the transformed Io — Hermes lulled the monster to sleep with music and narration. He told the story of Pan and Syrinx, playing the reed pipes as he spoke. One by one, the hundred eyes of Argus closed. Hermes never finished the tale — Argus fell asleep before its end, and Hermes struck.