In this case, the story of Selene embracing Endymion, or Moon embraces Diver, refers to the sun setting and the moon rising. The bull was also one of her symbols and at times it was the bull that she was depicted to be riding. Though Selene, as the moon, was undeniably important to the ancient Greeks, there are very few descriptions of her in literature. [113] Selene and Helios also appear on the North Metopes of the Parthenon, with Selene this time entering the sea on horseback. [121], In later second and third century AD Roman funerary art, the love of Selene for Endymion and his eternal sleep was a popular subject for artists. [103], In Lucian's Icaromenippus, Selene complains to the titular Menippus of all the outrageous claims philosophers are making about her, such as wondering why she is ever waxing or gibbous, whether she is populated or not, and stating that she is getting her stolen light from the Sun, causing strife and ill feelings between her and her brother. In antiquity, Selene would also often be depicted either riding upon a bull, or upon a silvery chariot drawn by two winged horses. Selene was not the only lunar goddess of the Greeks. Hurwit 2017, pp. Selene was one of the daughters of the Titan gods Hyperion and Theia and the sister of the sun god Helios and the goddess of the dawn Eos. And along with Selene, the moon moved as well. The name Selene is probably derived from the Greek selas, meaning "light".She was also called Mene, which means "month" referring to the lunar month which was calculated from the new moon to the dark moon and Phoebe, meaning "bright". Her name was spelt differently in the different dialects of the Greeks but the meaning was the same. In this aspect she was closely associated with Dionysus. She was the personification of the moon, but was also associated with lunar elements such as tides, months, and even lunacy. 68 A75 D-K). Zeus put Endymion into an eternal sleep so the goddess could see him forever as a beautiful young man. 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. Helius, Selene, Eos, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Nike, Boreas, Zephyrus, Astra) GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 8 (83 IMAGES) Was the Griffin a Bird from Greek Mythology? Selene, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, was the personification of the moon. [142] In Theocritus' second Idyll, a young girl invokes Selene in a love-spell. Homeric Hymns 32.14ff, trans. Most mythologists assumed that Selene was an older moon goddess that was replaced later by Artemis in myth. However, in the science fiction book The First Men on the Moon by H.G. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. [7] The Greek word mene, meant the moon, and the lunar month. While the Maenids of Dionysus were driven mad by the frenzy of their worship, however, the madness brought about by Selene could be used as a targeted punishment. Two winged steeds pulled her across the sky each night. There were other goddesses worshiped by the Greeks who were widely associated with the moon themselves. With his sister, the Titaness Theia, Hyperion fathered Helios (the Sun), Selene (the Moon) and Eos (the Dawn).. Hyperion was, along with his son Helios, a personification of the sun, with the two sometimes . [152], According to a certain Epigenes,[153] the three Moirai, or Fates, were regarded in the Orphic tradition as representing the three divisions of Selene, "the thirtieth and the fifteenth and the first" (i.e. The Greeks (like many other ancient peoples) were notoriously terrified of eclipses, viewing them as signs of the gods displeasure.[3]. 2022 Wasai LLC. Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon. Hesiod, Theogony 371ff; Apollodorus, Library 1.2.2; etc. Some nymphs in Greek mythology were famous, but others were only known in a certain time Apollo: The God of Music, Poetry, and Light, Hecate Greek Goddess of Witchcraft : The Complete Guide. "[80], Lucian also records an otherwise unattested myth where a pretty young girl called Muia becomes Selene's rival for Endymion's affections; the chatty maiden would endlessly talk to him while he slept, causing him to wake up. Selene, one of the younger generation of Titans, was also the Greek goddess of the moon. These three lunar goddesses were all important to the Greeks in different ways but it was only Selene who was considered the moon incarnate herself. Selene could still see her sleeping love whenever she pleased, but the pressures of time and mortality were taken off her. Interestingly, this version of the myth does not involve Selene. [28], Another version is known only from Lucian, a satirical writer from the second century CE. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death 80; Acusilaus, FHG 1 frag. Although in most myths, the Horae appear to be triads born of Zeus and Themis, in this particular incarnation they were the daughters of Selene and Helios. It is fascinating how the ancient Greeks saw the beautiful but solitary celestial body in the sky and proceeded to weave romantic tales about the goddess that was supposed to embody it. A womans fertility was said to be influenced by the cycles of the moon, a belief that gave English the word menses, and under Selenes influence women were said to have an easier time in childbirth than they did during the day. 127 ff (trans. iPhone History: A Timeline of Every Model in Order The bull panicked, threw Ampelus and gored him to death. Perhaps the most colorful ancient description of Selene comes from Homeric Hymn 32 (the Homeric Hymn to Selene). Pandia (or Pandia Selene) may have personified the full moon,[130] and an Athenian festival, called the Pandia, usually considered to be a festival for Zeus,[131] was perhaps celebrated on the full moon and may have been associated with Selene. Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases. There is a magnificent frieze in the Pergamon Altar, now kept at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, which depicts this battle between the Giants and the Olympians. [2], Selene was also called Mene. Zeus slept with the human queen Alcmene, of which encounter Heracles was born. As Luna, she had temples at Rome on the Aventine and Palatine hills. Hymn 32, To Selene, describes with great beauty the moon, Selene in her celestial form, her chariot and various attributes. Plato, Republic 2.364e; Philochorus, Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (FHG) 1 frag. Selene was said to drive her moon chariot across the sky every night, from east to west, following her brother. Homeric Hymn 4.99100. Knowing he would be there whenever she wanted to see him, the goddess no longer worried he would leave or die before she got to see him again. Cf. Selenes role in this war was not only to fight against the giants. Certain types of insanity were said to be brought on by the moons influence, and it was believed that Selene had the power to create lunacy with purpose. [75] Cicero seems to make Selene responsible for Endymion's sleep, so that "she might kiss him while sleeping". Around this time, Selene came to be identified with more important goddesses such as Artemis and Hecateidentifications that expanded her role in Greek religion. Selene is a Titan goddess in Greek mythology. She is pale, beautiful and indefinably alluring. Selene is the goddess of the moon. She is dressed in the finest silk robes and travels in her silver moon chariot drawn by luminous steeds across the heavens. 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. Selene saw him as she passed overhead and fell deeply in love. Often when one god supplanted another in a particular domain, the stories that involved that god were changed to reflect this. Euripides, Phoenician Women 17576; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 44.191. However, her greatest love was a lowly mortal named Endymion. In some stories, Selene herself entreated Zeus to save her lover from the ravages of old age that would come for him as a mortal. Thou wouldst say far off that this was milk indeed, which is a well-spring of white water: if thou draw a little nigher, lo, the stream is fringed as though with ice, for white stone rims it round. Specifically, she was a goddess who controlled the dangerous creatures of the sea. 10; Pisander, Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (FGrH) 16 frag. [45] Selene and Zeus were also said to be the parents of Nemea, the eponymous nymph of Nemea, where Heracles slew the Nemean Lion, and where the Nemean Games were held. Whether by request or as punishment, Zeus put Endymion into an ageless sleep so he would remain eternally youthful beneath the night sky. 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. Athena, also spelled Athene, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva. [61], In antiquity, the lunar eclipse phenomena were thought to be caused by witches, particularly the ones from Thessaly, who brought the Moon/Selene down with spells and invocations of magic. [87], According to the late account of Nonnus, when the gigantic monster Typhon laid siege against the heavens, he attacked Selene as well by hurling bulls at her, though she managed to stay in her course, and rushed at her hissing like a viper. The altars to Selene were few and far between. [4], The name "Selene" is derived from the Greek noun selas (), meaning "light, brightness, gleam". She was worshipped at the new and full moons. [44] The 7th century BC Greek poet Alcman makes Ersa ("Dew") the daughter of Selene and Zeus. [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. Selene - The Moon Goddess - Greek Mythology - See U in History Art: Marcus AquinoColor: Rod Fernandes#GreekMythology #Mythology #SeeUinHistory #History #Myth. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. They brought night and day, shed light on the earth, were responsible for the turning of the months, and facilitated agriculture. Selene does not appear in modern adaptations of Greek myths, since she is not exactly one of the major Greek gods like Zeus or Aphrodite. Thus, Selene falling for Endymion was supposed to represent moonrise every night. The lunar goddess was also important for her influence over female fertility cycles and childbirth. Selene's Roman name was Lunar. Even though she, along with her siblings, was a Titan goddess because of her parentage, the three of them became quite central to the Greek pantheon and were accepted as Greek gods themselves after the fall of the great Titans. This irritated Endymion, and enraged Selene, who transforms the girl into a fly (Ancient Greek: , romanized:mua). Accessed March 1, 2023. In many cases it rested on her brow or jutted out on either side of her head like a crown or horns. 3/4, 1973, pp. She was often said to be the mother of the Horai, the personifications of the division of time and the seasons. [112], Selene was often paired with her brother Helios. This she shared with her siblings and other goddesses like Nyx. Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 2:131819. [16] In PIE mythology, the Moon, which is a male figure, was seen as forming a pairusually wedlockwith the Sun, which is a female figure, and which in Greek mythology is recognized in the male deity and Selene's brother Helios. Accessed on 27 Feb. 2023. Pan, the god of the wild, supposedly seduced Selene while dressed in a sheepskin. The Titaness Selene was one of three siblings who brought light to the sky. [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. Selenes Roman counterpart was called Luna (from the Latin word meaning moon). In the most familiar account, Selene first saw the beautiful Endymion as he lay sleeping in a cave on Mount Latmus. The other gods, angered, sent him two lions to tear him apart. [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 drives her moon chariot across the heavens. Like every celestial goddess , there was a yin to Selene's yang; In this case, there were two yins. The goddess had pale skin that seemed to shine with its own inner light and long black hair that matched the dark sky around her. [125] An oracular sanctuary existed near Thalamai in Laconia. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. The Greek word for the moon was also the word used to delineate the months. [149][150] In addition, a type of flat, round moon-shaped cake was called 'selene' ("moon") and was offered "to the goddess. In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. Worshiped as one of the important celestial lights of the heavens, Selene was also reputedly revered as a deity of agriculture and fertility. The cave in Anatolia where Endymion was said to sleep became a holy place for Selene. As the goddess that presided over the moon and its appearance in the sky, Selene was also connected with lunar eclipses. When Selene spied him sleeping in a cave, she immediately fell in love and asked Zeus to extend his sleep for all eternity. Mene The personification of the months was sometimes an aspect of Selene and sometimes a separate goddess. [134], Selene was sometimes associated with childbirth, for it was believed that during the full moon women had the easiest labours; this helped in her identification with the goddess Artemis,[138] as well as other goddesses connected to women's labours. [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. [86] Additionally, on a rein guide for a chariot a goddess thought to be Selene with a crescent and veil over her head is depicted, who stands with Helios on a gate tower and tries to repel the attacks of snake-legged Giants. 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. She was descended . Hurwit, Jeffery M. (2017), "Helios Rising: The Sun, the Moon, and the Sea in the Sculptures of the Parthenon", Jones, Prudence H., "A Goddess Arrives: Nineteenth Century Sources of the New Age Triple Moon Goddess" in. Lilaeon. The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, making Selene one of the most important deities in the passage of time. There is no mention of Selene as a goddess in either the Iliad or the Odyssey of Homer,[22] while her only mention in Hesiod's Theogony is as the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and sister of Helios and Eos. He soon discovered the source of Selenes distraction. The name Selene is also quite popular in the English-speaking world. [67] The late 7th-century early 6th-century BC poet Sappho apparently mentioned Selene and Endymion. [85][86] Selene gallops sidesaddle in advance, and wears a woolen undergarment and a mantle. She was the goddess of the dawn and brought new light to the world every morning. 14)" in, Osborne, Robin, "Looking on Greek Style. (Also, the name of the Titan Goddess Phoebe and an epithet of Artemis.). [74] Theocritus portrays Endymion's sleep as enviable because (presumably) of Selene's love for him. But while there, he committed some transgression (usually, he was said to have fallen in love with Zeus wife Hera). All of these qualities bound Selene to the natural phenomena of time and seasons and the rejuvenation of nature as well, even apart from her ability to shed light. Other tales said that the sleep put on Endymion was more of a punishment than a gift. One of the most important sources of this myth is in the Greek satirist Lucian of Samosatas Dialogues of the Gods, where Aphrodite and Selene talk about the latters love for Endymion. Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. [126] Pausanias also described seeing two stone images in the market-place of Elis, one of the sun and the other of the moon, from the heads of which projected the rays of the sun and the horns of the crescent moon. Same thing happened with Helius and Apollo. (2022, December 7). This article was most recently revised and updated by, From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Selene-Greek-and-Roman-mythology, Ancient Origins - Celestial Goddess Selene: The Ancient Greek Goddess of the Moon. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Well, go on, and steel thy heart, wise though thou be, to take up thy burden of pain, fraught with many sighs."[70]. Her list of powers are unmatched, as far as lunar goddesses go. But unlike other night goddesseslike Nyx, Hecate, and sometimes even ArtemisSelene represented the moon itself. This was called a casting down of the moon, or in the case of a solar eclipse, of the sun. The most enduring story of Selene concerns the love she felt for an ordinary human man. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene ( / slini /; Greek: pronounced [seln], meaning "Moon" [2]) is the personification of the Moon. Selene was represented on the pedestal of the throne of Zeus at Olympia, riding on a horse or a mule; 12 and at Elis there was a statue of her with two horns. She was said to represent the full moon. The talkative Myia would sit with Endymion as he slept his eternal sleep, chattering endlesslyso much so that Endymion eventually woke up. The goddess of the hunt became associated with the moon and lunar cycles. The poem describes the radiant light that shines from her head and calls her bright Selene. The moon goddess is described as white armed goddess and bright tressed queen and the poem celebrates her loveliness. Way). [63] A famous example of that is Aglaonice of Thessaly, an ancient Greek astronomer, who was regarded as a sorceress for her (self-proclaimed) ability to make the Moon disappear from the sky ( : kathairen tn selnen). Selene was more than just a lunar goddess, she was the embodiment of the moon and its light. According to Hesiods Theogony, her parents were the Titans Hyperion and Theia; her brother was Helios, the sun god (sometimes called her father); her sister was Eos (Dawn). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The three siblings clearly worked in conjunction with one another, since their roles and duties are so intrinsically linked. Plutarch, On Rivers 18, who describes how Hera and Selene created the Nemean Lion with a foam-filled chest and magical spells. Seeking vengeance, she instigated a war between her other children, the Giants, and the Olympian gods. And now thou thyself too hast part in a like mad passion; and some god of affliction has given thee Jason to be thy grievous woe. Selene (Greek mythology) The goddess of the Moon. Selene was the goddess of the moon. Hill, D. E. "THE THESSALIAN TRICK." [97] Hyginus says that Selene had "nourished" the lion in a "two-mouthed cave". [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). 14 In works of art, however, the two divinities are usually distinguished; the face of [37] Other accounts give still other parents for Selene: Euripides has Selene as the daughter of Helios (rather than sister),[38] while an Aeschylus fragment possibly has Selene as the daughter of Leto,[39] as does a scholium on Euripides's play The Phoenician Women which adds Zeus as the father. [8] The masculine form of mene (men) was also the name of the Phrygian moon-god Men. 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. Selene was not the only goddess the Greeks associated with the moon. At night he drove below the edge of the world in the west, circling below Gaia to reappear on the eastern horizon by morning. Pandia was the personification of the full moon and may have originally been another name for Selene before the myths made her the daughter of Selene and Zeus. As the most important and visible features in the sky, the people of ancient Greece thought that Selene, goddess of the moon, and her brother Helios, god of the sun, were the ones responsible for the movement of the two celestial bodies across the sky. Greek Gods / Helios. Together, they fittingly created three sources of celestial illumination. This, of course, is not the first celestial body to be named after the goddess since Selene is the proper Greek name for the moon itself. 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. It was only later, when Selene began to be conflated with other lunar goddesses, that she was openly worshiped. According to Nonnus, Typhoeus battled Selene by chucking bulls at her, then violently rushing her. [23] She was, however, the subject of one of the thirty-three Homeric Hymns, which gives the following description: And next, sweet voiced Muses, daughters of Zeus, well-skilled in song, tell of the long-winged[24] Moon. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene, Avi Kapach is a writer, scholar, and educator who received his PhD in Classics from Brown University. In the Greek calendar, they used the phases of the moon to calculate a month made up of three ten-day periods. 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