Of all the classical Olympian gods, only the death of Pan was "announced," according to Plutarch. This book is Pan's reminiscence, as he realizes that he has lost his immortality, that he is the last of the Olympian gods. Pan recalls his life, his many loves, his role in the Battle of Marathon, the rivalries of the Olympian gods -- proud Zeus, jealous Hera, and Pan's rival Apollo. The book is an evocation of ancient Greece and a meditation on the coming end of one's life. Although a lesser god, Pan -- half-man and half-goat -- realizes that he is the last of his breed and the only link between the fading classical age and an unfolding new one.