112114; Palagia 2005, Examples, among many others, include sarcophagi in the, This Epigenes has been tentatively identified with, Although usually the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, as in, Online version at Demonax | Hellenic Library, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, "Kaguya Another Chapter for the Lunar Saga", Online version at Harvard University Press, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, Online version at the Perseus Digital Library, Online version at the Perseus Digital Library (Latin), Classical mythology in western art and literature, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Selene&oldid=1142206020, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles having different image on Wikidata and Wikipedia, Pages using sidebar with the child parameter, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Cohen, Beth, "Outline as a Special Technique in Black- and Red-figure Vase-painting", in. In other versions, Endymion was actually taken to Mount Olympus. [81], Philologist Max Mller's interpretation of solar mythology as it related to Selene and Endymion concluded that the myth was a narrativized version of linguistic terminology. [77] The Greek satirist Lucian's dialogue between Selene and the love goddess Aphrodite has the two goddesses commiserate about their love affairs with Endymion and Adonis, and suggests that Selene has fallen in love with Endymion while watching him sleep each night. Artemis is also a Goddess of the moon. Endymion 10; Pisander, Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (FGrH) 16 frag. According to Hesiods Theogony, Selene was born of Hyperion and Theia. [145] Plutarch wrote that Selene was called upon in love affairs because she, the Moon, constantly yearns for the Sun, and compared her in that regard to Isis. [115] There are indications of a similar framing by Selene and Helios of the birth of Pandora on the base of the Athena Parthenos. Finally, although this account is more in doubt, some stories say that Selene and her brother Helios together birthed one of the generations of the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons. Without Selene giving way to Eos, Helios could not bring the sun back to the world. Selene visited the sleeping Endymion where he lay alone in a cave everyday and had fifty daughters with him, the Menai, the personification of the Greek lunar months. [1], Selene was often identified with other goddesses, including Men (also spelled Mene), the divine personification of the lunar month; Bendis, a goddess of Thracian origin; Hecate, a goddess of witchcraft; and (especially in later antiquity) Artemis, the goddess of hunting and wild things. In the more familiar tradition, however, the Horae were the daughters of Zeus and Themis, and there were only three of them (even their names are completely different: Eirene, Eunomia, and Dike). How Did Uranus get its Name as Per Greek Mythology? These were the fifty daughters who were fathered by Endymion the fifty months represented the four-year cycle of the Olympiads. Were building the worlds most authoritative, online mythology resource, with engaging, accessible content that is both educational and compelling to read. Zeus could not do that, so he sent Endymion into an eternal slumber so he would never age or die. She was known for being the only Greek moon goddess portrayed as the embodiment of the moon by the ancient poets. Selene, one of the younger generation of Titans, was also the Greek goddess of the moon. What are Pan God Powers in Greek Mythology? At night he drove below the edge of the world in the west, circling below Gaia to reappear on the eastern horizon by morning. In memory of the beautiful Endymion, the fly still grudges all sleepers their rest and annoys them. Names of the Goddess. [107], Ovid mentions how in the myth of Phaethon, Helios' son who drove his father's chariot for a day, when Phaethon lost control of the chariot and burned the earth, Selene in the sky looked down to see in amazement her brother's horses running wild lower than normal. In her Full Moon state, she is Panselene or . Although she counts as a goddess in her own right, Selene often gets associated with archer goddess, Artemis, who is also a moon goddess. "[2][150][151], The ancient Greeks called Monday "day of the Moon" ( ) after her. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. Many of Selenes epithetsincluding (agl, gleaming), (pasiph, all-shining), and (tanyspteros, long-winged)reflected her lunar qualities and other distinctive attributes. In rarer traditions, she is the daughter of the Titan Pallas. When Gaia heard of a prophecy that a mortal would help the gods to defeat the giants, she sought to find a herb that would make them undefeatable. Like every celestial goddess , there was a yin to Selene's yang; In this case, there were two yins. One of the names given for Selene, and occasionally for an independent personification, was Mene. Selene and Endymion by Sebastiano Ricci (1713). Chiswick House, London, UK. According to early Greek myths, Selene used to be a Titan goddess of the moon and Artemis used to be a goddess of hunting and animals. ), The name Selene (Greek , translit. Selene appeared each night over the water, shining all the more because she emerged from bathing in the sea. Pandia Usually said to be the daughter of Selene and Zeus, Pandia was also sometimes given as another name for Selene herself. Selene with sleeping Endymion, fresco in the fourth Pompeian style. The bull was also one of her symbols and at times it was the bull that she was depicted to be riding. Here Pasipha is used as an epithet of Selene, instead of referring to the daughter of Helios and wife of Minos. The Homeric Hymn 31 sings praises to all the children of Hyperion, referring to Eos as rosy armed Eos and to Helios as tireless Helios.. [72] A scholiast on Apollonius says that, according to Epimenides, Endymion fell in love with Hera, and Zeus punished him with eternal sleep. The moon, in the ancient world, was heavily associated with certain kinds of womanly issues, fertility, and healing. The chemical element Selenium was named after Selene by Jns Jacob Berzelius, because of the element's similarity to the element tellurium, named for the Earth (Tellus).[156][157]. "Not I alone then stray to the Latmian cave, nor do I alone burn with love for fair Endymion; oft times with thoughts of love have I been driven away by thy crafty spells, in order that in the darkness of night thou mightest work thy sorcery at ease, even the deeds dear to thee. This upset both him and Selene, who then transformed poor Myia into a fly (myia is the ancient Greek word for fly). After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. Some even said that the Nemean Lion, as the offspring of Selene, had originally fallen from the moon.[30]. Interestingly, this version of the myth does not involve Selene. She and her brother did not just pull the chariots of their respective orbs through the sky. The goddess of the hunt became associated with the moon and lunar cycles. Often when one god supplanted another in a particular domain, the stories that involved that god were changed to reflect this. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. [95], Anaxagoras also reports that the Nemean lion was said to have fallen from the moon. Selene fought back the giant, locking horns with Typhon; afterwards, she carried many scars on her orb, reminiscent of their battle. 14 In works of art, however, the two divinities are usually distinguished; the face of [127] Selene (along with Helios, Nyx and others) received an altar at the sanctuary of Demeter at Pergamon, possibly in connection with the Orphic mysteries. Cf. Does the sculpted girl speak to women too?" Learn more about our mission. Selene, the goddess of the moon, has two siblings: Eos, the goddess of the dawn, and Helios, the sun god. They included: The lunar goddesses sometimes worked together. The tale of Endymion and Selene is one that has resonated with people for millennia. Quintus Smyrnaeus makes Selene, by her brother Helios, the mother of the Horae, goddesses and personifications of the four seasons; Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Many people believed that labor and childbirth was easiest during the full moon and prayed to Selene for aid. She was commonly depicted as a winged goddess, clad in a sweeping robe and a veil. The two other daughters that Selene and Zeus had together was Nemea, the nymph of the town that the Nemean Lion was from, and Ersa, the personified version of dew. [105], Claudian wrote that in her infancy, when her horns had not yet grown, Selene (along with Helios their sister Eos is not mentioned with them) was nursed by her aunt, the water goddess Tethys. As the embodiment of the moon, Selene and the movement of her chariot across the night sky was important for the Greeks to measure time. Not only was she the goddess of the moon, but she was considered a personification of the moon itself and that was how she was portrayed by many of the old poets and writers. This is at times accompanied by stars to depict the night sky, but the crescent moon was perhaps the most recognizable of Selenes symbols. Selene was so enamored of the young man that she left the sky to see him more closely. Together, they fittingly created three sources of celestial illumination. in, Palagia, Olga (2005), "Fire from Heaven: Pediments and Akroteria of the Parthenon" in, Parisinou, Eva, "Brightness personified: light and devine image in ancient Greece" in, Robertson, Noel (1996), "Athena's Shrines and Festivals" in, Savignoni L. 1899. 68 A75 D-K). Both Epimenides and the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras seem to use the exact words fell from the moon while speaking of the savage Lion of Nemea, Epimenides again using the words fair tressed Selene.. Every evening, Selene ushered in nightfall and then drove her chariot through the night before giving way to dawn. Selene. [63][66], Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion. From her immortal head a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the beauty that ariseth from her shining light. In ancient Greek mythology, Selene, is the Titan goddess of the moon and is said to drive her glowing chariot powered by beautiful white horses across the sky each night. But unlike other night goddesseslike Nyx, Hecate, and sometimes even ArtemisSelene represented the moon itself. There are a few different versions of the myth. Was the Griffin a Bird from Greek Mythology? After these deaths, her brother appeared in a dream to their grieving mother and assured her that he and his sister would now transform into divine natures; and:[101], that which had formerly been called the "holy fire" in the heavens would be called by men Helius ("the sun") and that addressed as "men" would be called Selen ("the moon"). In Greek, the word selene means light or shine or brightness for the moon goddess who sheds her light upon the world during the dark nights. Ceto - Goddess of the Water. This eventually led to the identification of Selene with Artemis, also associated with fertility and the moon in various ways. Another myth describes how Selene held her own against the monster Typhoeus when he attacked the gods. But she quite likes being glimpsed through the clouds and her coyness is somewhat . Selene was the ancient Greek Titan goddess of the moon. Accessed March 1, 2023. In later eras, she became associated with madness as well. In some cases, it is debated whether she indeed was the mother. [89] One day, in Nonnus' account, Ampelus rode on a bull, and proceeded to compare himself to Selene, saying that he was her equal, having horns and riding bulls just like her. Her sister Eos was the light of dawn and their brother Helios drew the chariot of the sun across the sky each day. Well, go on, and steel thy heart, wise though thou be, to take up thy burden of pain, fraught with many sighs."[70]. The most important of Selenes symbols was her moon chariot. 14)" in, Osborne, Robin, "Looking on Greek Style. Festivals and feasts were determined by the lunar calendar, giving Selene as Mene an important role in the worship of all the gods and goddesses. In many cases it rested on her brow or jutted out on either side of her head like a crown or horns. The altars to Selene were few and far between. Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History 3.57. There are three different ways you can cite this article. [4] Here she is represented as a radiant goddess, wearing a crown and beautiful robes and riding a horse-drawn chariot across the night sky: From her immortal head a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the beauty that ariseth from her shining light. Seneca, Madness of Hercules 83; Hyginus, Fabulae 30; Aelian, On Animals 12.7 (citing Epimenides); etc. [28], Another version is known only from Lucian, a satirical writer from the second century CE. Both Theocritus in his second Idyll and Pindar write about how young women would pray to or invoke spells in the name of the moon goddess for help with their love lives. [33] The Homeric Hymn to Helios follows this tradition: "Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphassa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios",[34] with Euryphassa ("widely shining") probably being an epithet of Theia. She announced the coming of her younger brother. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. The great English Romantic poet John Keats wrote a poem about the mortal, entitled Endymion, with some of the most famous opening lines in the English language. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th-4th century bce. While Selenes best known consort may have been Endymion and the mythic romance between the moon goddess and the mortal has been documented in many places, he was not the only person that she was involved with. [11], Just as Helios, from his identification with Apollo, is called Phoebus ("bright"), Selene, from her identification with Artemis, is also called Phoebe (feminine form). The counterpart to her brother, she traveled by night. [40][41] Furthermore, in Virgil's Aeneid, when Nisus calls upon Selene/the Moon, he addresses her as "daughter of Latona. Is the Mother of Castor and Pollux a Goddess? She is usually portrayed either driving a chariot (see above) or riding sideways on horseback[111] (sometimes riding an ox, a mule or a ram). [79] While Quintus Smyrnaeus wrote that, while Endymion slept in his cave beside his cattle: and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love, drew down the immortal stainless Queen of Night. [93] Aelian states: "They say that the Lion of Nemea fell from the moon", and quotes Epimenides as saying:[94], For I am sprung from fair-tressed Selene the Moon, who in a fearful shudder shook off the savage lion in Nemea, and brought him forth at the bidding of Queen Hera. Each day she drives her two-horse chariot, heralding the breaking of the new day and her brother's arrival. Selene also has a chemical element named after her, Selenium. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene ( / slini /; Greek: pronounced [seln], meaning "Moon" [2]) is the personification of the Moon. Deciphering the Role of Helios, the Sun God of Greek Mythology. This story seems to have made its way into Roman mythology as well since many of the greatest Roman scholars, from Cicero to Seneca, have written about it. Zeus heard of that, and ordered Selene as well as her siblings Helios (Sun) and Eos (Dawn) not to shine, and harvested all of that plant for himself. If you have read Greek mythology and the famous epics of ancient Greece, you may be quite familiar with her brother Helios. Who were Zeus' Lovers? While there were many goddesses associated with the moon and lunar powers, Selene personified the moon and its light. As the goddess of the division of the months, Selene was a goddess of time. There are a number of stories about the moon goddess Selene in Greek mythology, in association with the other Greek gods, especially Zeus. In later times, Selene was often associated with Artemis in the same way that her brother Helios was associated with Artemis brother Apollo. The light that humans saw from earth emanate from them, a legacy of their lustrous father. In the center of the main panel Selene descends from her chariot, whose horses are held by a nymph, to join Endymion, who lies to the right. And along with Selene, the moon moved as well. The goddess had one temple that was also an oracle near Thalamae in Laconia. [158] HMS Selene (P254), a 1944 British submarine and Ghia Selene, a concept car from the Ghia design studio from 1959, also bore her name. 3. That leaves Artemis and Selene. [25], Two other sources also mention her hair. [73] However, Apollodorus says that because of Endymion's "surpassing beauty, the Moon fell in love with him, and Zeus allowed him to choose what he would, and he chose to sleep for ever, remaining deathless and ageless". Though Selene, as the moon, was undeniably important to the ancient Greeks, there are very few descriptions of her in literature. In fact, there were several female deities who shared this domain. In Greek, the name Endymion means one who dives and Max Muller thought that the myth was a symbolic representation of how the sun set by diving into the sea and then the moon arose. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Zeus had enough sympathy for Selene to not kill Endymion outright, but he put the human man in an enchanted sleep on Mount Latmus in the East so Selene would have no further reason to descend to earth each night. The masculine form, Phoebus, was used in reference to either Apollo or. Other examples of lunar goddesses and gods are Selenes Roman equivalent Luna, the Mesopotamian Sin, the Egyptian god Khonsu, the Germanic Mani, the Japanese Shinto god Tsukuyomi, the Chinese Change, and the Hindu god Chandra. Upon the head of Selene was normally found a crown that was representative of the spherical moon. [27], In late accounts, Selene (like the moon itself) is often described as having horns. Way). Selene was the goddess of the moon. [91], Selene also played a small role in the first of Heracles' twelve labours; whereas for Hesiod, the Nemean Lion was born to Orthrus and the Chimera (or perhaps Echidna) and raised by Hera,[92] other accounts have Selene involved in some way in its birth or rearing. But the Greek cult of Selene grew more and more prevalent towards the end of the Hellenistic period (32331 BCE). [116] Pausanias also reports seeing stone images of Helios, and Selene, in the market-place at Elea, with rays projecting from the head of Helios, and horns from the head of Selene. Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases. Mene The personification of the months was sometimes an aspect of Selene and sometimes a separate goddess. By the 5th century bc Selene was sometimes identified with Artemis, or Phoebe, the bright one. She was usually represented as a woman with the moon (often in crescent form) on her head and driving a two-horse chariot. The myth of Selene, the moon goddess, is no exception. Selene - Mythology. Most famous classical poets describe her beauty as so intriguing that gods and mortals alike could not resist her godly charms. In Greek literature, Eos is presented as a daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, the sister of the sun god Helios and the moon goddess Selene. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Although Zeus had taken many mortal lovers, the goddess of the moon had been abandoning her duties and could cause chaos if she continued. Indeed, the Greek comic playwright Aristophanes said in the 5th century BCE that the worship of the moon was a sign of barbarian communities and not to be emulated by the Greeks. He soon discovered the source of Selenes distraction. As punishment, he was either thrown out of Olympus or cast into an eternal sleep. 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