AACHEN, Hans von
(b. 1552, Köln, d. 1615, Praha)

Pan and Selene

1600-05
Oil on panel, 40 x 49 cm
Private collection

Pan is the Greek god of nature who watches over shepherds and their flocks. He is most commonly depicted as having the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, with the upper body and hands of a human male, resembling a faun.

Pan enticed the moon goddess Selene. Pan accomplished this feat by wrapping himself in a sheepskin to hide his hairy black goat form, and drew Selene down from the sky into the forest where he seduced her.