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A faun, as painted by Hungarian painter Pál Szinyei Merse in 1867

A drawing of a Faun.

Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before their conflation with Greek satyrs, they and Faunus were represented as naked men (e.g. the Barberini Faun). Later fauns became copies of the satyrs of Greek mythology, who themselves were originally shown as part-horse rather than part-deer.

By the Renaissance, fauns were depicted as two-footed creatures with the horns, legs, and tail of a deer and the head, torso, and arms of a human; they are often depicted with pointed ears. These late-form mythological creatures borrowed their look from the satyrs, who in turn borrowed their look from the god Pan of the Greek pantheon. They were symbols of peace and fertility, and their Greek chieftain, Silenus, was a minor deity of Greek mythology.

Nymph and Faun (cast in lead) in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

Romans believed fauns stirred fear in men traveling in lonely, faraway or wild places. They were also capable of guiding men in need, as in the fable of The Satyr and the Traveller, in the title of which Latin authors substituted the word Faunus. Fauns and satyrs were originally quite different creatures: Whereas late-period fauns are half-man and half-goat, satyrs originally were depicted as stocky, hairy, ugly dwarves or woodwoses, with the ears and tails of horses. Satyrs also were more woman-loving than fauns, and fauns were rather foolish where satyrs tended to be sly.

Ancient Roman mythological belief included a god named Faunus often associated with bewitched woods, and conflated with the Greek god Pan and a goddess named Fauna who were goat people.

The Barberini Faun (located in the Glyptothek in Munich, Germany) is a Hellenistic marble statue from about 200 , found in the Mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian (the Castel Sant'Angelo) and installed at Palazzo Barberini by Cardinal Maffeo Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII). Gian Lorenzo Bernini restored and refinished the statue.

The House of the Faun in Pompei, dating from the 2nd century , was so named because of the dancing faun statue that was the centerpiece of the large garden. The original now resides in the National Museum in Naples and a copy stands in its place.

The French symbolist Stéphane Mallarmé's well-known masterpiece (published in 1876) describes the sensual experiences of a faun who has just woken up from his afternoon sleep and discusses his encounters with several nymphs during the morning in a dreamlike monologue. The composer Claude Debussy based his symphonic poem (1894) on the poem, which also served as the scenario for a ballet entitled (or Afternoon of a Faun) choreographed to Debussy's score in 1912 by Vaslav Nijinsky.

Barberini Faun ( Glyptothek, Munich) c.  200 BCE

Statue of a faun; Vatican, Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection

Fauns in a wooded landscape. The second version of a composition by Bril from 1620 now in the City Art Gallery in Bradford. The figures have been attributed to Pietro Paolo Bonzi ( c.  1575-1636)

Ivory Faun by Baron Triqueti, c.  1860

Faun and goat, Ludwig Knaus ( c.  1868).

Sleeping Diana Watched by Two Fauns, 1877-1885, by Arnold Böcklin.

Maenad and Fauns, 1902-1912, by Isobel Lilian Gloag.

Young Faun, 1902, by Franz Stuck.

Faun (satyr) of Praxiteles in the Capitoline Museum, Rome

Nathaniel Hawthorne's (1860) romance The Marble Faun is set in Italy, and was said to have been inspired by his viewing the Faun of Praxiteles in the Capitoline Museum.[8]

In H.G. Wells' (1895) The Time Machine, in the year 802,701CE , while exploring the far future, the Time Traveller sees "a statue - a faun, or some such figure, minus the head."[9]

Mr. Tumnus, in C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1949), is a faun. Lewis said that the famous The Chronicles of Narnia story all came to him from a single picture he had in his head of a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels through a snowy wood. In the film series, fauns are distinct from satyrs, which are more goat-like in form.

In Lolita, the protagonist is attracted to pubescent girls whom he dubs "nymphets"; "faunlets" are the male equivalent.

In the 1981 film My Dinner with Andre, it is related how fauns befriend and take a mathematician to meet Pan.

In Guillermo del Toro's 2006 film El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth), a faun guides the film's protagonist, Ofelia, to a series of tasks, which lead her to a wondrous netherworld.

In Rick Riordan's The Son of Neptune (2011), the character Don is a faun. In the book, several fauns appear, begging for money. Due to his memory of the Greek satyrs, Percy Jackson feels like there should be more to fauns. Also, in the prequel to The Son of Neptune, The Lost Hero, Jason Grace calls Gleeson Hedge a faun upon learning that he is a satyr. In the third instalment in the series, The Mark of Athena, Frank Zhang calls Hedge a faun.[citation needed ]

In The Goddess Within, a visionary fiction novel written by Iva Kenaz, the main heroine falls in love with a faun.

In the Spyro video game series, Elora is a faun from Avalar, who helps Spyro the dragon navigate the world around him.

In Carnival Row, fauns or 'pucks' are one of the mythical creatures that are part of the series.

Media related to Fauns at Wikimedia Commons

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Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before their conflation with Greek satyrs, they and Faunus were represented as naked men (e.g. the Barberini Faun). Later fauns became copies of the satyrs of Greek mythology, who themselves were originally shown as part-horse rather than part-deer.

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The existence of mystical beings like the Faun and fairies adds to Pan's Labyrinth's atmosphere of a fairy tale. These mythical creatures serve as Ofelia's advisers and allies in her quest.Their imaginative nature adds to the story's unearthly and ethereal mood.

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"In the depths of darkness, where reality intertwines with enchantment, the mandrake root of Pan's Labyrinth blooms as a bewitching symbol of sacrifice and salvation. Its twisted form echoes the challenges faced by those who dare to venture into the realms of imagination, where the roots of courage take hold and the fragile flower of hope blossoms against all odds."

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The mandrake root metaphor for change and rebirth. It helps blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy.

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"In the labyrinth of the human mind, there are many doors yet to be opened, and endless paths yet to be discovered. It is in the depths of our own darkness that we find the light that guides us through the maze of life."

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The labyrinth itself serves as a metaphor for the process of coming to terms with oneself and the challenges that must be overcome in order to undergo personal development. With all of life's twists, turns, challenges, and hidden truths, it symbolizes how complicated life is and can be.

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The Pale Man represents the all-seeing, yet unseeing, nature of evil with his eyes hidden in the palms of his hands.

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"The Pale Man does not speak in words, for he is a creature of darkness and silence. His message is one of terror and hunger, whispered through the hollows of his eyes and the cold breath of his presence."

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"In the mystical labyrinth of Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece, the faun emerges as a whimsical guardian of dreams and a symbol of resilience. With his otherworldly grace and enigmatic wisdom, he reminds us that even in the darkest corners of reality, the light of imagination can guide us towards hope and transcendence."