The ancient Greeks told of a beautiful forest nymph named Pitys. Her alluring form and grace captivated Pan, the rustic half-goat god of herds and meadows. He pursued her amorously, and Pitys fled his advances, giving way to a frantic chase. She escaped through the forests, until she came to the edge of a cliff and stumbled upon a rock, falling to the rocky gorge down below. She cried out to Gaia, the Earth Mother, who felt deep compassion for her, and saved her from death by transforming her into a new tree. Pitys became the pine tree.

Ever since, the pine tree spread all over the world and Pan held the pine sacred in her honor. Pitys has allowed multiple uses of herself to mankind, though she still weeps resinous tears and cries softly in the wind.