Via Cruelty

 

The Greek god Pan was of the stuff that gods were made of, half man, half goat, notorious for his ravishing of humans and other drunken debauchery. 

One day Pan encountered a young wood nymph as she danced through the forest, singing to the trees. Her name was Syrinx. It's a beautiful name, isn't it? Syrinx.

Maybe it was something to do with the half that was goat, Syrinx refused Pan's advances and fled. Being a god and accustomed to getting his own way, Pan pursued her. Rather than surrender her honour Syrinx threw herself in a river, and drowned.

For weeks Pan could be seen sitting on the bank of that river. Some reeds sprung up in the place where Syrinx died, the wind rushing through them reminded Pan of her voice, whispering of joy and of melancholy.

And so, via cruelty, Pan invented the flute.

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