Privacy. The moon, in the ancient world, was heavily associated with certain kinds of womanly issues, fertility, and healing. [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". Sometimes these were winged horses, although some later accounts had the chariot drawn by bulls. Selene has a minor planet named after her, called 580 Selene. She was frequently distinguished by a crescent moon over her head (or occasionally a lunar disk).[9]. [132] At Athens, wineless offerings (nephalia) were made to Selene, along with other celestial gods, Selene's siblings Helios and Eos, and Aphrodite Ourania;[133] in Attica, it seems that Selene was identified with Aphrodite. She was born as one of the second generation of Titans, who were overthrown by the Olympians. Her grandparents are Gaia, (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky). [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. Whether this Pallas (called the son of Megamedes) is the same as the Titan Pallas or a different individual entirely is unclear. Perhaps the most colorful ancient description of Selene comes from Homeric Hymn 32 (the Homeric Hymn to Selene). In Greek mythology, Hyperion (/ h a p r i n /; Greek: , 'he who goes before') was one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia (the Earth) and Uranus (the Sky). In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene ( / slini /; Greek: pronounced [seln], meaning "Moon" [2]) is the personification of the Moon. Greek mythology has beautiful explanations for many natural phenomena. In later times, Selene was often associated with Artemis in the same way that her brother Helios was associated with Artemis brother Apollo. [146], Her and her brother's worship is also attested in Gytheum, a town in Laconia near Sparta, via an inscription (C.I.G. Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. Instead, Zeus collected all the herbs for himself. 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. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. 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. Whatever his profession, the handsome young man frequently slept beneath the open sky. There were some witches who people thought could make the moon or the sun disappear from the sky at a specified time, although it is more likely that such people, if they did exist, simply had the ability to predict when an eclipse was going to happen. [31] Mesomedes of Crete calls her (glauk, "silvery grey"). [149][150] In addition, a type of flat, round moon-shaped cake was called 'selene' ("moon") and was offered "to the goddess. [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. Selene, one of the younger generation of Titans, was also the Greek goddess of the moon. 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. H. G. Evelyn-White. [85][86] Selene gallops sidesaddle in advance, and wears a woolen undergarment and a mantle. 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. The idea that Selene would also give easy labours to women paved way for identification with Hera and the Roman Juno and Lucina, three other childbirth goddesses; Plutarch calls Selene "Hera in material form. [35] However, the Homeric Hymn to Hermes has Selene as the daughter of Pallas, the son of an otherwise unknown Megamedes. 1. [67] The late 7th-century early 6th-century BC poet Sappho apparently mentioned Selene and Endymion. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death But Selene was also called by many generic epithets that were used for other goddesses as well, including (euplokmos, she of the beautiful hair), (leuklnos, white-armed), (glaukpis, gray-eyed, bright-eyed, an epithet most commonly associated with Athena), and (kyanpis, dark-eyed, essentially the opposite of glaukpis). From her immortal head a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the beauty that ariseth from her shining light. Who was Vesta, the Goddess of the Hearth? 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. "[2][150][151], The ancient Greeks called Monday "day of the Moon" ( ) after her. 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. [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. Most of the important Greek gods and goddesses had temple sites of their own. Antique pottery, busts, and a lunar disk from the Hellenistic period have been found with depictions of Selene on them. In it, Selene is depicted as fighting alongside Helios and Eos, seated side-saddle on a horse. Every evening, Selene ushered in nightfall and then drove her chariot through the night before giving way to dawn. The name of the moon goddess is surrounded by accounts of the consorts she had and their children. Many of Selenes epithetsincluding (agl, gleaming), (pasiph, all-shining), and (tanyspteros, long-winged)reflected her lunar qualities and other distinctive attributes. Mythopedia. [32], The usual account of Selene's origin is given by Hesiod in his Theogony, where the sun-god Hyperion espoused his sister Theia, who gave birth to "great Helios and clear Selene and Eos who shines upon all that are on earth and upon the deathless Gods who live in the wide heaven". [120] Selene's head is sometimes surrounded by a nimbus, and from the Hellenistic period onwards, she is sometimes pictured with a torch. Her name was spelt differently in the different dialects of the Greeks but the meaning was the same. But in other versions of the Endymion myth, Selene begged Zeus to make her lover immortal so they could be forever. How Did Uranus get its Name as Per Greek Mythology? In fact, there were several female deities who shared this domain. Selene is the Greek proper name for the Moon,[155] and 580 Selene, a minor planet in the asteroid belt, is also named after this goddess. They put Hyperion to the sword, and drowned Helios in the river Eridanus. [47] Nonnus has Selene and Endymion as the parents of the beautiful Narcissus, although in other accounts, including Ovid's Metamorphoses, Narcissus was the son of Cephissus and Liriope.[48]. Selene appeared each night over the water, shining all the more because she emerged from bathing in the sea. The bull panicked, threw Ampelus and gored him to death. Selenes role in this war was not only to fight against the giants. 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? 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. Thus, both the sun and the moon were seen as gods embodied in those forms. Because Basileia's other brothers envied these offspring, and feared that Hyperion would try to seize power for himself, they conspired against him. [142] In Theocritus' second Idyll, a young girl invokes Selene in a love-spell. Her father was the Titan god of heavenly light, while her mother represented the blue color of the sky. [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. Selene was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses, and her story is one of the most captivating in Greek mythology. Is the Mother of Castor and Pollux a Goddess? In this aspect she was closely associated with Dionysus. 80; Acusilaus, FHG 1 frag. Kapach, A. The myth of Selene, the moon goddess, is no exception. She was the goddess of the dawn and brought new light to the world every morning. 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). Along with Selenes siblings, the moon goddess suppressed her light so that the mighty Titanan goddess could not find a herb that would reputedly make the Giants invincible. Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 2:131819. Selene was the ancient Greek Titan goddess of the moon. [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. Witchcraft has long been believed to have had a connection with the moon and it was no different in antiquity. 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. 13 In later times Selene was identified with Artemis, and the worship of the two became amalgamated. fr. Gaia, the primordial Titan goddess and grandmother to the Olympian gods and goddesses, was enraged when her children were defeated in the Titanomachy and imprisoned in Tartarus. This is a relatively late text. Endymion Eventually, she became identified with Artemis, goddess of the wilderness, who was sometimes associated with the moon. 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. 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. 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. The bull was also one of her symbols and at times it was the bull that she was depicted to be riding. The talkative Myia would sit with Endymion as he slept his eternal sleep, chattering endlesslyso much so that Endymion eventually woke up. [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. GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 1 (86 IMAGES) . Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. How old is the United States of America? Although she counts as a goddess in her own right, Selene often gets associated with archer goddess, Artemis, who is also a moon goddess. Depending on the author, the chariot was either silver,[6] snow white,[7] or gold. [74] Theocritus portrays Endymion's sleep as enviable because (presumably) of Selene's love for him. She fell madly in love with him and asked Zeus to let him stay asleep forever, remaining eternally young and beautiful (in some traditions, it was Endymion himself who requested this unending sleep). [13], Selene, along with her brother, her sister and the sky-god Zeus, is one of the few Greek deities of a clear Proto-Indo-European origin, although they were sidelined by later non-PIE newcomers to the pantheon, as remaining on the sidelines became their primary function, to be the minor deities the major ones were juxtaposed to, thus helping keep the Greek religion Greek. Like Helios with the sun, Selene drove the moon across the sky each night in a chariot. Kapach, Avi. Zeus slept with the human queen Alcmene, of which encounter Heracles was born. 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. Athena, also spelled Athene, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva. Her fifty daughters with Endymion marked the fifty lunar months that passed between celebrations of the Olympiad. (Also, the name of the Titan Goddess Phoebe and an epithet of Artemis.). Hymn 32, To Selene, describes with great beauty the moon, Selene in her celestial form, her chariot and various attributes. Often when one god supplanted another in a particular domain, the stories that involved that god were changed to reflect this. In this case, the story of Selene embracing Endymion, or Moon embraces Diver, refers to the sun setting and the moon rising. And along with Selene, the moon moved as well. [123], Moon figures are found on Cretan rings and gems (perhaps indicating a Minoan moon cult), but apart from the role played by the moon itself in magic, folklore, and poetry, and despite the later worship of the Phrygian moon-god Men, there was relatively little worship of Selene. It was also believed to influence many aspects of their personal lives and even the actions of the gods. Nonnus, Dionysiaca 12.1ff (who names Helios as the father of the Horae but does not name the mother). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Selene then turned Lilaeus into a mountain, Mt. 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. Most famous classical poets describe her beauty as so intriguing that gods and mortals alike could not resist her godly charms. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene, Avi Kapach is a writer, scholar, and educator who received his PhD in Classics from Brown University. Selene. Nonnus describes how, as Ampelus was riding a bull, he made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene. There were still several goddesses who shared Selenes lunar domain, however. [96] Pseudo-Plutarch's On Rivers has Hera collaborating with Selene, "employing magical incantations" to create the Nemean Lion from a chest filled with foam. [27], In late accounts, Selene (like the moon itself) is often described as having horns. [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. Selene was linked to Artemis as well as Hecate; all three were considered lunar goddesses. There are a number of stories about the moon goddess Selene in Greek mythology, in association with the other Greek gods, especially Zeus. 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. Hyginus, preface to Fabulae. 116, no. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos. [112], Selene was often paired with her brother Helios. Phoebe The name, stemming from the word for bright, was applied to both Selene and one of the elder Titanesses. She also had a statue, alongside Helios, in the public marketplace of Elis. As punishment, he was either thrown out of Olympus or cast into an eternal sleep. Was the Griffin a Bird from Greek Mythology? 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. In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. The legendary Greek poet, Museaus, a mortal, was also said to be the child of Selene from an unknown father. Mitchell, Lucy M., "Sculptures of the Great Pergamon Altar" in The Century Magazine, 1883. There was an Athenian festival named the Pandia, held in honor of Zeus, which was perhaps celebrated on a full moon night. At night he drove below the edge of the world in the west, circling below Gaia to reappear on the eastern horizon by morning. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). According to Greek mythology, the moon goddess Selene was the daughter of two Titans (mythological giants) called Hyperion and Theia. Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.54ff; Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.1.4; Apollodorus, Library 1.7.5; cf. The counterpart to her brother, she traveled by night. She is often linked with Endymion, whom she loved and whom Zeus cast into eternal sleep in a cave on Mount Latmus; there, Selene visited him and became the mother of 50 daughters. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. [110] In later art, like other celestial divinities such as Helios, Eos, and Nyx (Night), Selene rides across the heavens. She is dressed in the finest silk robes and travels in her silver moon chariot drawn by luminous steeds across the heavens. It was only later, when Selene began to be conflated with other lunar goddesses, that she was openly worshiped. Interestingly, this version of the myth does not involve Selene. Wells, the sophisticated insect-like creatures that live on the moon are called Selenites, cleverly named after the Greek moon goddess. The goddess Selene was the daughter of Titius Hyperion and Theia. Helius, Selene, Eos, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Nike, Boreas, Zephyrus, Astra) GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 8 (83 IMAGES) Omissions? [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. Across from the word for bright, was also said to be conflated other... New light to the world every morning ( also, the name of the younger generation Titans! 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