There are around twenty varieties of lilac, the most famous being the common lilac or Syringa Vulgaris. The botanical name Syringa means “reed” in Latin and evokes a legend cited it Ovid’s Metamorphoses. According to Greek mythology, lilac is associated with the story of Pan, the god of forests and fields.
Half-goat, half-man, Pan had fallen madly in love with a nymph named Syrinx, but the beautiful nymph was impervious to his lust and constantly hid from his gaze. Yet the more she hid, the more fervently the god desired her. Pan’s attentions thus became a torture for Syrinx, who sought to flee his advances. One day, on her way back from Mount Lykaion, Pan saw her and began chasing her. To escape the god’s uncontrollable passion, Syrinx fled across fields until she reached the peaceful waters of a sandy river. There, halted by the water, she threw herself into the river and was transformed into a reed. Just when Pan reached out to grasp her, he found himself embracing not the nymph’s body, but marsh reeds. Pan gathered a few stems and, binding reeds of different lengths with wax, made a flute. He named his flute “Syrinx” and declared “This will allow me to talk to you forever”.
