THE PLAYFUL PAN

The playful Pan, with the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, is the Ancient Greek god of Nature, goats, rustic music, shepherds, and flocks, and is often associated with fertility, sexuality, and eroticism. No wonder in THE DEADLIEST LIE, Miriam would stop at the Park of Pan on her way home from the agora after seeing Judah: “As I’d climb to its summit along a walkway shadowed by dwarf pines, I’d spiral around its fir-cone shaped hill, passing the grotto dedicated to Pan, and marvel at the series of artificial terraces and waterfalls wreathed in rainbows. All the while, the turtledoves in its gardens and the blackbirds along its secluded, sylvan pathways would accompany me with their songs. When I’d reached the summit, I’d look out at the magnificent view encircling me, especially at the walls that once enclosed the city’s sprawl, and imagine my own future like the city’s, pressing to expand beyond today’s constraints.” Like many young woman, Miriam is torn between duty and desire. She is cconstrained to obey her father, who has betrothed her to Noah, but she is intoxicated with Judah.

Are you wondering how she resolves this conflict?