Apollo is a god with several attributes but after regaining his lyre from the possession of the Hermes, his role as the god of music stood out but there was also a deity who was said to rival even the god apollo when it came to musical talent and his name was pan (the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr). And this is the story of their great magical dispute.
Pan, who was also the god of the woods was always a deity that was despised by his peers, However, after inventing the syringe flute, his musical talent blossomed, and the god then became respected, and he was followed wherever he went. Pan would wander through the woods and meadows with his new friend King Midas, the latter was known for his ability to turn everything he touched to gold but this ability of his ended up becoming a curse and after it was removed by the god of wine Dionysus, Midas repudiated his wealth and especially the vile metal which had become a trauma for him and so he lived modestly in the forest and it was there that he met Pan and the 2 individuals became great friends.
The ego of the god of the woods Pan begun to grow due to all the praise and admiration he received from those who listened to his songs and Pan began to believe that he was the greatest musician ever and he started to boast about it, but, in the audience, a nymph-a nature spirit, said that the god apollo could very well be the greatest of all musicians and then Pan blasphemed by saying that even Apollo's lyre is obscured before the magnificent sound of Pan's own flute, he even went further to say since Apollo was soooo good then why doesn't he challenge him to a musical duel.
Midas tried to warn his friend about the dangers and lack of wisdom in his act of wanting to challenge Apollo, as Apollo is the god of music. So, Pan's challenge reached Apollo's ears who quickly accepted it and left for the place marked out for the battle to be held.
"So are you the one who has been saying that he can defeat the god of music in a dispute " Apollo said and Pan replied "the god of music, the god of the sun, the god of prophecy, you have accumulated many roles but today I will relieve you of one" in an arrogant tone. "You couldn't even beat Orpheus my mortal son not to speak of I, the great Apollo" Apollo dissed.
The gods, nymphs and other forest creatures all gathered to listen to the greatest musical contest ever. Pan took up his flute and began to play a melodious tune, his skill was remarkable, the melody thrilled all those who listened to him play and when he eventually finished playing, he was cheered, and they even thought he would hardly be defeated but the god Apollo wasn't even shaken and after tuning his lyre, he prepared to play his music and when he did begin, it was brilliant, the god's chords were perfect and the harmony was absolute, no sound could be more divine the audience shouted in admiration and awe, the nymphs eyes dripped tears as they were filled with strong emotions, victory seemed eminent for the god Apollo, the men pointed to Apollo as the winner, the nymphs and the fauns (also known as Satyrs in Greek) although they liked both, they also chose the god of music.
Midas was then required to give his verdict, he looked at his friend who was dejected due to his impending and utter defeat, then Midas said, "Today Apollo moved everyone with his music, but Pan's flute but Pan's flute was no less than perfect" and so he proceeded to declare that Pan's flute was superior, Midas knew that his friend had already lost the contest and so he decided to give his friend a consolation vote, but he didn't expect the reaction of the god Apollo who had wanted to humiliate Pan with a unanimous victory and so the god approached Midas and said, "You seem to have an interest in music but I believe that those ears of yours are not useful to you, but I can fix that ".
And so, Apollo used his godly powers to punish Midas and so Midas grew donkey ears and Apollo told him that with those everyone would be able to recognize what a great music critic he was.