What is the Masonic Goat?
Pan is one of the most ancient of mythological gods. Originally he was a gentle, rather whimsical god with a sense of humor, the Arcadian god of the shepherds, chief of the inferior deities, the child of Mercury and Penelope. Pan possessed long ears and horns; the lower half of his body was that of a goat. He invented Pan’s Pipes, or syrinx. From him we have the word “panic,” the state into which barbarians were thrown on invading ancient Greece and seeing Pan. When the early Christians drew upon mythology, they modified and changed it; gentle Pan became Satan! To the common mind, Satan, or the devil, was a he-goat. Thus the devil came into possession of horns and a tail and the familiar cloven hoofs. Later, the devil was supposed to appear riding on a goat. In the early days of Masonry in London, the enemies of the Fraternity employed ridicule; processions of Mock Masons, the Gormogons and other organizations, made fun of the society; they said that Freemasons were accustomed to raise
