Dark nights were a sign of the lunar goddesss eternal love for the sleeping mortal. [140] Nonnus also identified Selene with Eileithyia. She was essentially urban and civilized, the antithesis in many respects of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors. 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. 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. In Greek mythology, Ceto was a goddess of the water. The History of Guns, Greek Mythology: Stories, Characters, Gods, and Culture, Aztec Mythology: Important Stories and Characters, Greek Gods and Goddesses: Family Tree and Fun Facts, Roman Gods and Goddesses: The Names and Stories of 29 Ancient Roman Gods, Descriptions of Selene, Goddess of the Moon, Greek Myths featuring the Moon Goddess Selene, iPhone History: A Timeline of Every Model in Order, US History Timeline: The Dates of Americas Journey, Ancient Civilizations Timeline: 16 Oldest Known Cultures From Around The World, Why Are Hot Dogs Called Hot Dogs? She was said to represent the full moon. Kapach, Avi. Selene, (Greek: "Moon") Latin Luna, in Greek and Roman religion, the personification of the moon as a goddess. 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. Selenes Roman counterpart was called Luna (from the Latin word meaning moon). But while there, he committed some transgression (usually, he was said to have fallen in love with Zeus wife Hera). 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. 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 . 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. On the other hand, her eyes and hair were believed to have been as dark as the night. Who was Vesta, the Goddess of the Hearth? While most of the Homeric Hymns were written in the seventh or sixth century BCE, the Homeric Hymn to Selene was probably composed no earlier than the fourth century BCE. 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. Goddess Selene is often portrayed in art and in myths generally, riding a chariot across the sky. [122] As frequently depicted on Roman sarcophagi, Selene, holding a billowing veil forming a crescent over her head, descends from her chariot to join her lover, who slumbers at her feet. Selene was said to drive her moon chariot across the sky every night, from east to west, following her brother. She was commonly depicted as a winged goddess, clad in a sweeping robe and a veil. While we often think little of the moon today, in the ancient Greek world the moons cyclical movement through the sky played a central role in their concept of time. 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. Kapach, A. [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. Two of the original twelve Titans descended from Uranus and Gaia, Hyperion was the Titan god of heavenly light while Theia was the Titan goddess of vision and the aether. She was depicted as a woman riding sidesaddle on a horse or driving a chariot drawn by a pair of winged steeds. The Greek word Phoebe means bright and the word Cynthia means from Mount Cynthus which was said to be the birthplace of Artemis. 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. She and her brother did not just pull the chariots of their respective orbs through the sky. [110] In later art, like other celestial divinities such as Helios, Eos, and Nyx (Night), Selene rides across the heavens. [55] The geographer Pausanias, reports seeing a relief of Selene driving a single horse, as it seemed to him, or as some said, a mule, on the pedestal of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia (c. 435 BC). She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. 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. It is of course a tale that began in Ancient Greece, but the story of Endymion is one taken up with vigour by Renaissance artists and the imagery of the Moon goddesses visiting the eternal sleeping mortal was often repeated. 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. [108], In antiquity, artistic representations of Selene/Luna included sculptural reliefs, vase paintings, coins, and gems. Most famous classical poets describe her beauty as so intriguing that gods and mortals alike could not resist her godly charms. Together, they fittingly created three sources of celestial illumination. Selene has a minor planet named after her, called 580 Selene. Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 10.336ff; cf. 1999, Mark P. O. Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, Classical Mythology, page 43, Balancing Arria is the union of Selene and Endymion. While other goddesses were associated with the night in more general terms, Selene was believed to be the embodiment of the moon herself. [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. She announced the coming of her younger brother. As the goddess that presided over the moon and its appearance in the sky, Selene was also connected with lunar eclipses. Grapevines then rose from Ampelus corpse, from which the heartbroken Dionysus made wine for the first time. [128], Originally, Pandia may have been an epithet of Selene,[129] but by at least the time of the late Hymn to Selene, Pandia had become a daughter of Zeus and Selene. Her request granted, Selene visited him regularly; some sources even reported that they had children together (see above).[27]. We learn of Selenes family, her parents and siblings and the children that she went on to have, from various different sources and Greek myths. 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. Multiple sources say that she had a hand in the creation of the Nemean Lion, whether that was only Selene working on her own or in conjunction with Hera. Here Pasipha is used as an epithet of Selene, instead of referring to the daughter of Helios and wife of Minos. The bull panicked, threw Ampelus and gored him to death. 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. [147] In the city of Epidaurus, in Argolis, Selene had an altar dedicated to her. "[42], According to the Homeric Hymn to Selene, the goddess bore Zeus a daughter, Pandia ("All-brightness"),[43] "exceeding lovely amongst the deathless gods". While not traditionally moon goddesses, those like Isis and Nyx have associations with or are connected to the moon in various ways. Selene fought back the giant, locking horns with Typhon; afterwards, she carried many scars on her orb, reminiscent of their battle. [78] In his dialogue between Aphrodite and Eros, Lucian also has Aphrodite admonish her son Eros for bringing Selene "down from the sky". "[2][150][151], The ancient Greeks called Monday "day of the Moon" ( ) after her. [117] Selene also appears on horseback as part of the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar. [143] The idyll opens with the girl ordering her maid to bring potions and magical utensils, followed by an invocation to Selene and Hecate, and finally the rather lengthy spell itself; once she finishes her spell, the girl recounts to Selene of how she met and was betrayed by her lover, and calls upon the goddess to witness and help her, hence the love tail is woven into the love spell. 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. Their names differed from the other triads of Horae and they were considered to be the personifications of the four seasons itself. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. It was only later, when Selene began to be conflated with other lunar goddesses, that she was openly worshiped. 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. The name Selene is also quite popular in the English-speaking world. Their daughter Eos was the first to appear each day. [102], Plutarch recorded a fable-like story in which Selene asked her mother to weave her a garment to fit her measure, and her mother replied that she was unable to do so, as she kept changing shape and size, sometimes full, then crescent-shaped and others yet half her size. Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. Selene personified the moon and was one of the Greek goddesses of the night. Selene is often eclipsed by the popularity of Artemis as a lunar goddess, but as the personification of the moon itself she had a significant impact on the lives and views of the Greek people. In antiquity, Selene would also often be depicted either riding upon a bull, or upon a silvery chariot drawn by two winged horses. As time progressed, they merged into one identity. Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. Corrections? [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. That leaves Artemis and Selene. 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. Her brother is Helios, the Sun and her sister is Eos, the Dawn. The second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft following was named SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) after Selene, and was also known as Kaguya in Japan. It is unclear how much of a choice Endymion himself may have had in the matter, although there are versions of the myth which say that Endymion had fallen in love with the beautiful moon goddess as well and asked Zeus to keep him in a state of eternal sleep so that he could be with her forever. In memory of the beautiful Endymion, the fly still grudges all sleepers their rest and annoys them. Selene featured in few myths, with the most famous ones being the tales that tell of her lovers: Zeus, Pan and the mortal Endymion. Francoise Gury, Selene/Luna, in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (Zurich: Artemis, 1994), 7:70615. [46], From Pausanias we hear that Selene was supposed to have had fifty daughters, by her lover Endymion, often assumed to represent the fifty lunar months of the Olympiad. They put Hyperion to the sword, and drowned Helios in the river Eridanus. Selene's Role She was the goddess of the moon, which she drove every night across the skies. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? [144] And, according to a scholium on Theocritus, Pindar wrote that lovesick women would pray to Selene for help, as Euripides apparently had Phaedra, Selene's great-niece, do in his lost play Hippolytus Veiled. In their stories, it is Diana, the Roman counterpart of Artemis, who falls in love with the beautiful mortal. It was devoted to Selene, under the name Pasiphae, and to Helios. Selenes siblings and Selene herself carried on their fathers legacy by shining light from the heavens upon the earth. [125] An oracular sanctuary existed near Thalamai in Laconia. This eventually led to the identification of Selene with Artemis, also associated with fertility and the moon in various ways. This is at times accompanied by stars to depict the night sky, but the crescent moon was perhaps the most recognizable of Selenes symbols. [5], Selenes moon chariotsimilar to the sun chariot of her brother Helios and the dawn chariot of her sister Eoswas probably her most distinctive and consistent attribute. 1. [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. 199; Strabo, Geography 14.1.8; Catullus, Odes 66.5; Propertius, Elegies 2.15; Ovid, Heroides 15.89ff, 18.59ff; Seneca, Phaedra 309ff; Hyginus, Fabulae 271; Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 8.28ff; Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 19; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2.325ff, 4.195ff, 7.237ff, and passim; Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 10.125ff; etc. [97] Hyginus says that Selene had "nourished" the lion in a "two-mouthed cave". [88], Ampelus was a very beautiful satyr youth, loved by the god Dionysus. Often she was shown in a chariot drawn by a team of horses or oxen, but other times there was no chariot, and Selene would instead appear on the back of a horse or mule. [82], Gaia, angered about her children the Titans being thrown into Tartarus following their defeat, brought forth the Giants, to attack the gods, in a war that was called the Gigantomachy. In the Homeric Hymn to Selene, she bears the beautiful Pandeic to Zeus, while Alcman says they are the parents of Herse, the dew. Every evening, Selene ushered in nightfall and then drove her chariot through the night before giving way to dawn. Selene was more than just a lunar goddess, she was the embodiment of the moon and its light. Nonnus describes how, as Ampelus was riding a bull, he made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene. 127 ff (trans. For other uses, see, Detail of Selene from a Roman sarcophagus, A winged Selene seems to be unique to this. Sometimes this develops in later worship as they are identified with other deities or gods. 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. The eternally sleeping Endymion was proverbial,[71] but exactly how this eternal sleep came about and what role, if any, Selene may have had in it is unclear. Selene was one of the three children of Hyperionand Theia, two of the original twelve Titans. The first depictions of Selenes moon chariot goes back to the early 5th century BCE. Selene - The Moon Goddess - Greek Mythology - See U in History Art: Marcus AquinoColor: Rod Fernandes#GreekMythology #Mythology #SeeUinHistory #History #Myth. Helios, the son of Hyperion and Theia, was their second child. [109] In red-figure pottery before the early 5th century BC, she is depicted only as a bust, or in profile against a lunar disk. Each day she drives her two-horse chariot, heralding the breaking of the new day and her brother's arrival. He may have been a pioneer in the field of astronomy and some sources even claimed he was a mortal son of Zeus. Selene was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. [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. Selene. Mythopedia, 7 Dec. 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene. The scientist Jons Jacob Berzelius named it such since the element was very similar in nature to tellurium, which was named after the Earth, whose Greek name is Tellus. The myth of Selene, the moon goddess, is no exception. Her list of powers are unmatched, as far as lunar goddesses go. This article is about the Greek goddess. Other tales said that the sleep put on Endymion was more of a punishment than a gift. 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. [29] Empedocles, Euripides and Nonnus all describe her as (glaukpis, "bright-eyed", a common epithet of the goddess Athena)[30] while in a fragment from a poem, possibly written by Pamprepius, she is called (kyanpis, "dark-eyed"). [2], Selene was also called Mene. [3] Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate and all three were regarded as moon and lunar goddesses, but only Selene was regarded as the personification of the Moon itself. Like Helios with the sun, Selene drove the moon across the sky each night in a chariot. However, in the science fiction book The First Men on the Moon by H.G. 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. The ancient Greeks saw her as the actual representation of the moon. 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. Lunacy takes its name from Selenes Roman counterpart, Luna. Her presence is felt in something as simple as the names of the days of the week. Attic red-figure kylix showing Selene riding the chariot of the moon, drawn by two winged horses. Pan, the god of the wild, supposedly seduced Selene while dressed in a sheepskin. [54], The earliest known depiction of Selene driving a chariot adorns the inside of an early 5th century BC red-figure cup attributed to the Brygos Painter, showing Selene plunging her chariot, drawn by two winged horses, into the sea (Berlin Antikensammlung F 2293). SELENE was the Titan goddess of the moon. Virgil, Georgics 3.391ff; Servius on Virgils Georgics 3.391 (citing the second-century BCE poet Nicander as the original source). The people of Sparta claimed that Ares had been nursed by a nymph called Thero. 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. Zeus put Endymion into an eternal sleep so the goddess could see him forever as a beautiful young man. Modern audiences do not often think about Selenes cyclical nature, however. [118], Selene is commonly depicted with a crescent moon, often accompanied by stars; sometimes, instead of a crescent, a lunar disc is used. Occasionally she asked her brother to take over her duties so she could spend more time on the ground with Endymion. Selene leaving her chariot, Roman mosaic, Andalusia. [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. [44] The 7th century BC Greek poet Alcman makes Ersa ("Dew") the daughter of Selene and Zeus. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Selene (probably) and Helios adorned the east pediment of the Parthenon, where the two, each driving a four-horsed chariot, framed a scene depicting the birth of Athena, with Helios and his chariot rising from the ocean on the left, and Selene and her chariot descending into the sea on the right. 1392). Selene was written off and Artemis became the goddess of the moon, hunting, and animals. [76] The Roman playwright Seneca, has Selene abandoned the night sky for Endymion's sake having entrusted her "shining" moon chariot to her brother Helios to drive. 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. Although Endymion slept for eternity, many sources said Selene continued to see him. But in the case of her daughters with Endymion, it is widely known that Selene gave birth to the fifty daughters known as the Menai. Selene saw him as she passed overhead and fell deeply in love. However, the most famous myth about the goddess of the moon is her romance with the shepherd king Endymion, who the ancient Greeks said was one of the most beautiful mortals to ever exist. Hecate and her followers, for example, asked Selene for her cooperation in their magic. Different sources vary as to whether the chariot was golden or silver, but a silver chariot would seem to fit better with the goddess of the moon. The first mention of the moon goddess in Greek mythology was probably in the Homeric Hymns. Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon. A third version of the story had Endymion himself choose an ageless sleep as opposed to living a mortal life. [25], Two other sources also mention her hair. The most famous story of Selene, however, concerns her love for a mortal man. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine.
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