The one odd feature in this otherwise unremarkable relief is the tree, “a bare, stocky tree with severely cut-back branches.” Rising stiffly behind Pan, the massive trunk of this plant curves over the god’s head framing his figure under a semi-arch. Carved in right profile, the Goat God fits snugly in the vertical space thus created like a statue in a niche. There is an unusual lack of natural movement in the resulting composition, as the tree has a lifeless quality which would be more appropriate to an inanimate object than a live plant.
Athens, NM 1382. Votive relief of white marble, broken to the right. Height: 0.48. Max. Width: 0.29. Found in Piraeus in 1842; now at the National Archaeological Museum, cat. 1382. Pan, bearded and goatfooted, is shown standing under a massive tree carved against the left edge of the relief. In his left hand, now damaged, he holds what appears to be a lagobolon. Fourth century BC [see I.N. Svoronos, Τὸ ἐν Ἀθήναις Ἐθνικόν...

