Hermes tells the tale of Pan and Syrinx to Argus Panoptes in Ovid's Metamorphoses, using the story and the sound of pan pipes to close the giant's hundred eyes before slaying him.
The myth of Syrinx is embedded within Io's story in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Hermes narrates Syrinx's transformation to distract Argus, who guards the captive Io, linking the two nymphs' fates through narrative framing.
Pan pursued the naiad Syrinx through Arcadia until she was transformed into marsh reeds by the river nymphs. Pan cut the reeds and fashioned them into the pan pipes, his signature instrument.
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