‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’: Here’s Who Pan Is & Why He Is So Important

One of the things that we know about the story of ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ is that there are a lot of side stories that are involved in the greater storyline of Percy Jackson’s journey. It was in episode 4 of the series that Grover mentioned something about Pan, who was only talked about in passing but was never really important in the episode. However, as the books say, Pan has an important role to play in the future. So, who is Pan, and why is he so important?

Pan is the Greek god of the wild

After defeating Medusa in episode 3 of ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians,’ Percy and his companions were now on a train to continue their more important journey to get to Los Angeles and eventually retrieve the master bolt from the Underworld. While they were on their way there, they saw centaurs galloping across the field, prompting Percy and his friends to talk about them.

Grover, of course, was the one who was most knowledgeable about the centaurs because of the seemingly close ties that they had with the Satyrs. He talked about how the centaurs were supposedly on a quest to find Pan and that this was their mission. So, who exactly is Pan in ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians?’

According to mythology and the ‘Percy Jackson’ book series, Pan is the Greek god of the wild and folk music. He was born the son of Hermes and the nymph named Driope. It was his status as the god of the wild that allowed him to form close relationships with different nature-based spirits and creatures. This explains why Grover and the other Satyrs have a close connection with Pan, as they basically treat him as their patron god.

However, around 2,000 years before the events of ‘Percy Jackson,’ Pan disappeared. But before disappearing, he told Lysas to spread the word of his death, as most people accepted that he was indeed dead. But the Satyrs and most of the creatures and spirits close to nature weren’t willing to accept this.

In the storyline of the live-action series, Grover mentioned that Pan disappeared a long time ago due to the fact that humans were destroying the environment and were straying farther and farther away from nature. Still, the creatures and spirits close to nature were unwilling to accept that he was gone for good.

It is a Satyr’s dream to find Pan

The reason why Pan is so important to the storyline of ‘Percy Jackson’ is the fact that he is part and parcel of Grover’s own character development, given that the dream of a Satyr is to go on a quest to look for Pan.

In the book, it is almost every Satyr’s dream to apply for a searcher’s license through the Council of Cloven Elders to go on a journey to find Pan. The problem is that no Satyr who has ever gone on a quest to search for Pan has ever come back due to the perils associated with the Golden Fleece, which gives off a scent that is similar to Pan. It is the Golden Fleece’s scent that attracts Satyrs, prompting them to have to deal with the dangers associated with it and dying as a result.

According to the books, Grover lost his father and grandfather to the quest. He even mentions in ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ that his uncle Ferdinand, who was the very same Satyr statue he found in Medusa’s lair, went on a quest to look for Pan.

The books say that the only reason why Grover went on a quest with Percy to retrieve the master bolt was the fact that the Council of Cloven Elders wouldn’t give him a searcher’s license unless he completed this quest. He eventually goes on this quest and ends up running into the Golden Fleece as a result.

In the live-action series, however, it was mentioned by Grover that every Satyr dreamed of becoming a centaur so that they could go on a quest to find Pan. In that regard, it does seem like ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ are looking to tie the Satyrs and centaurs together in relation to Pan. We might even end up seeing Grover becoming a centaur somewhere down the line, depending on what happens in the future.

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