PAN is depicted on the inside of the Pan Arcadian Federation of America logo. He was the god of shepherds and flocks and lived on the mountains of Arcadia, according to the ancient Greeks. Shepherds regarded him as their protector who lived only in natural spaces.
Especially the ancient Arcadians worshipped Pan and acknowledged him to be their own god. They dedicated shrines to him, such as the ones on Mount Lykaion and Megalopoli, they built altars and carried out rituals in his honor.
According to the ancient Greeks, Pan usually roamed around the natural landscapes and mountains of Arcadia, such as Mount Mainalo, Mount Lykaion and Mount Afrodisio, as well as the Ladon river. He wandered amongst rocks, mountains and rivers playing tunes with his flute. He is actually thought to be the one who invented the syrinx, namely the flute, which is now called the “Pan flute”. His worship was widespread throughout Greece and beyond along with the worship of the rest of the Olympian gods.
On April 22, 1931 twelve Arcadians living in the USA (Dimos Poulos, Anestis Fanos, Michael J. Bacopoulos, Michael Loris, Gus Limbers, Vasilios Velisarios, George J. Bacopoulos, Liberius E. Alimisis, Stephen Massas, George Carboulon, Constantine Nicolopoulos and Chris Staikos) decided to assemble all of the associations and signed an application through which the license for the foundation of the Pan Arcadian Federation of America was granted.
The federation had such a resonance that both American and Greek dignitaries attended the banquet of the 15th Conference of the Pan Arcadian Federation of America at the Hotel Astor, New York, on August 17, 1946 with Konstantinos Karamanlis, the Greek Prime Minister and later President of Greece, being one of them.
The Arcadians who live away from their homeland are always on the lookout and as American citizens they play a crucial role in strengthening the bonds between Greece and the USA.
Through its initiatives, the Pan Arcadian Federation of America is present in the new global environment by constantly adapting to new conditions.
Founding Declaration of the Pan Arcadian Federation of America
(April 22, 1931)