Answer: The Greek God of Nature

The English word “panic”, a state of extreme fear that renders one unable to think or act rationally, entered into the English language during the early 1600s via the French word “panique” (which shares the same definition).

In turn, French gained the word by borrowing the Greek word “panikon” which literally means “pertaining to Pan”. Pan, the Greek god who presided over nature, wilderness, as well as shepherds and their flocks, was considered responsible for the mysterious and unidentifiable sounds one hears while out in the wild. As such, that rustle or animal cry that sends your heart racing and you in turn running through the forest in fear is “of Pan” and the source of your panic.