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A faun, as painted by Hungarian painter Pál Szinyei Merse

The Faun (Latin: faunus, Ancient Greek: φαῦνος, phaunos, pronounced [pʰaunos]) (also referred to as Satyr) are a subspecies of human. Notable features of Faun include bony horns which grow from above the temples, elongated ears, and furred “goat like” cloven footed legs. Faun frequently display high degrees of athleticism and a propensity for primal magic. Faun can interbreed with humans and their distinctive traits are passed on through dominant genes.

Evidence of Faun date back to antiquity. In ancient Rome they were worshiped as demigods, however their fortunes changed with the growth of Christianity which viewed them as abominations. During the dark ages faun were persecuted as daemons and went into hiding. As such, they primarily formed insular gypsy like nomadic communities. These communities traveled throughout Europe and the Americas but have largely remained out of public view until recently. Since the awakening Faun and Faun culture has begun to enter the public eye, however they still face significant discrimination in some areas.

Faun culture

The Faun peoples of Europe are known to practice open relationships and often raise their children in communal families. These familial groups range in size from four mating pairs up to 50 individuals. However

Romans believed fauns inspired fear in men traveling in lonely, remote or wild places. They were also capable of guiding humans 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 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 or asses. Satyrs also were more woman-loving than Fauns, and fauns were rather foolish where satyrs had more knowledge.

Genetics

Faun can interbreed with humans and produce viable offspring. The traits of faun appear to be passed along through dominant genes.

Notable Faun

The House of the Faun in Pompei, dating from the 2nd century BCE, 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.

In fiction

• The Marble Faun (1860) is a romance set in Italy by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was said to have been inspired after viewing the Faun of Praxiteles in the Capitoline Museum.
• Mr. Tumnus, in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia (1949), is a faun. Lewis said that the famous Narnia story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 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 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 Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno), a faun guides the film's protagonist, Ofelia, to a series of tasks, which lead her to a wondrous netherworld.
• Don, in Rick Riordan's The Son of Neptune (2011), 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.
• In The Goddess Within, a visionary fiction novel written by Iva Kenaz, the main heroine falls in love with a faun.
• In Lara Magradia's upcoming animated short film, The Troll's Dagger, Ainya, is a young, orphaned faun, who is a wanderer trying to survive on her own after her parents were killed by a pack of wolves.
• In the Spyro video game series, Elora is a faun from Avalar, who help Spyro the dragon navigate the world around him.
• In the Adventures of the Merkles Thalia is a faun from Avalar, who helps the Merkles sometimes.

See also

• Centaur
• Faunus
• Jinn
• Pan (god)
• Puck (mythology)
• Silvanus (mythology)
• Yaksha

References

Category:Mythological caprids Category:Roman mythology Category:Roman legendary creatures Category:Pan (god) Category:Mythological human hybrids Category:Animal gods Category:Horned deities Category:Forest spirits