Selene - Mythology. Same thing happened with Helius and Apollo. This she shared with her siblings and other goddesses like Nyx. [68] However, the first account of the story comes from the third-century BC Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes, which tells of Selene's "mad passion" and her visiting the "fair Endymion" in a cave on Mount Latmus:[69], And the Titanian goddess, the moon, rising from a far land, beheld her [Medea] as she fled distraught, and fiercely exulted over her, and thus spake to her own heart: But on nights the moon could not be seen, there was a very good reason for her absence. Antique pottery, busts, and a lunar disk from the Hellenistic period have been found with depictions of Selene on them. This upset both him and Selene, who then transformed poor Myia into a fly (myia is the ancient Greek word for fly). She is pale, beautiful and indefinably alluring. It seems that Selene was not uninvolved in the twelve tasks of Heracles either. 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, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, was the personification of the moon. Selene was not the only lunar goddess of the Greeks. Zeus put Endymion into an eternal sleep so the goddess could see him forever as a beautiful young man. There are a number of stories about the moon goddess Selene in Greek mythology, in association with the other Greek gods, especially Zeus. 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. In another story she was loved by Pan. Having risen to power in the generation of Zeus, they were universally revered and worshiped. Rheinisches Museum Fr Philologie, vol. Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. Homeric Hymn 32.313, trans. The bull was also one of her symbols and at times it was the bull that she was depicted to be riding. 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. It did not take long for Zeus to notice something was amiss. 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). The moon goddess Selene had two siblings the sun and the dawn, also known as Helios and Eos respectively. [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. Plato, Republic 2.364e; Philochorus, Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (FHG) 1 frag. Accessed on 27 Feb. 2023. Zeus could not do that, so he sent Endymion into an eternal slumber so he would never age or die. Selene the moon goddess was a minor figure in ancient Greek mythology. The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, in which months were delineated by the cycles of the moon. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. Together, they fittingly created three sources of celestial illumination. 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. "[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. This is at times accompanied by stars to depict the night sky, but the crescent moon was perhaps the most recognizable of Selenes symbols. But unlike other night goddesseslike Nyx, Hecate, and sometimes even ArtemisSelene represented the moon itself. [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. As the daughter of the Titan god of heavenly light, it is an apt name. Pandia Usually said to be the daughter of Selene and Zeus, Pandia was also sometimes given as another name for Selene herself. Her grandparents are Gaia, (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky). H. G. Evelyn-White. According to Nonnus, Typhoeus battled Selene by chucking bulls at her, then violently rushing her. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. "[42], According to the Homeric Hymn to Selene, the goddess bore Zeus a daughter, Pandia ("All-brightness"),[43] "exceeding lovely amongst the deathless gods". 3/4, 1973, pp. Learn more about our mission. [125] An oracular sanctuary existed near Thalamai in Laconia. 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". [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. 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. The tale of Endymion and Selene is one that has resonated with people for millennia. "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. The goddess of the moon does not seem to have been the object of much ritual worship in the early Greek period. 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. 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. According to Hesiod's 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). That haunted cave [on Mount Latmos] of fair-haired Nymphai (Nymphs) where, as Endymion slept beside his kine, divine Selene watched him from on high, and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love drew down the immortal stainless queen of night. [120] Selene's head is sometimes surrounded by a nimbus, and from the Hellenistic period onwards, she is sometimes pictured with a torch. Another myth describes how Selene held her own against the monster Typhoeus when he attacked the gods. According to Lucian, Selene had a rival for Endymions love named Myia. 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. 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 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). 260 M-W; Epimenides, FHG 4 frag. [63][66], Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion. The moon was also believed to bring the night dew that nourished the plants and to bring sleep and rest to humankind. In some later accounts, she is known as the Horned Selene, perhaps due to the crescent moon upon the crown of her head. Although Endymion slept for eternity, many sources said Selene continued to see him. 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. Although she counts as a goddess in her own right, Selene often gets associated with archer goddess, Artemis, who is also a moon goddess. Selene, like her siblings, was a Titan goddess because of her birth but they were no less important to the Greeks. Francoise Gury, Selene/Luna, in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (Zurich: Artemis, 1994), 7:70615. See esp. Grapevines then rose from Ampelus corpse, from which the heartbroken Dionysus made wine for the first time. Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. [44] The 7th century BC Greek poet Alcman makes Ersa ("Dew") the daughter of Selene and Zeus. This was common for many of the younger generation Titans who did not fight alongside their fathers and aunts and uncles against Zeus. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene, Avi Kapach is a writer, scholar, and educator who received his PhD in Classics from Brown University. Endymion 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. Were building the worlds most authoritative, online mythology resource, with engaging, accessible content that is both educational and compelling to read. Whether this Pallas (called the son of Megamedes) is the same as the Titan Pallas or a different individual entirely is unclear. 2022 Wasai LLC. Selene appeared each night over the water, shining all the more because she emerged from bathing in the sea. [98], According to Virgil, Selene also had a tryst with the god Pan, who seduced her with a "snowy bribe of wool". Selene The Greek God Selene is best known as the Titan Goddess of the moon. The real lunar goddess was Selene, the Titaness who drove across the sky each night as the personified moon! Although Zeus had taken many mortal lovers, the goddess of the moon had been abandoning her duties and could cause chaos if she continued. If youve ever wondered what role the moon played in ancient life, here is your chance to learn about how the Greeks viewed Selene, the personification of the moon. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). [72] A scholiast on Apollonius says that, according to Epimenides, Endymion fell in love with Hera, and Zeus punished him with eternal sleep. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. Let's take a closer look at her story. Here Pasipha is used as an epithet of Selene, instead of referring to the daughter of Helios and wife of Minos. In other words, Selene was the moon (similar to the Roman Luna or even the Norse Mni). [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 Greeks followed a lunar calendar, making Selene one of the most important deities in the passage of time. [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. The most enduring story of Selene concerns the love she felt for an ordinary human man. His rites also brought a form of madness about in his followers, who often celebrated under the light of the moon. The ancient Greeks believed that a lunar eclipse was the work of a witch, particularly the witches of Thessaly. 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. Did a Lion-Headed Monster Exist in Greek Mythology. The moon goddess and Artemis were occasionally shown as companions. Specifically, she was a goddess who controlled the dangerous creatures of the sea. While her husbands team of horses usually consisted of four animals, Selenes chariot, like her light, was less powerful. Lunacy takes its name from Selenes Roman counterpart, Luna. 1. [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. She was worshipped at the new and full moons. [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. [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. One of the names given for Selene, and occasionally for an independent personification, was Mene. Even if he were sleeping, he would not be parted from the goddess he loved by death. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. Hesiod, Theogony 371ff; Apollodorus, Library 1.2.2; etc. 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. For the people of old, natural phenomena was an important part of their worship. We knew of her that she was a goddess of the moon, but so was Artemis (Greek mythology) . Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [56] While the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two,[57] described as "snow-white" by Ovid. [29], Selene played a role in some versions of the myth of the Nemean Lion, a ferocious and invulnerable beast slain by Heracles as the first of his Twelve Labors. [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. Her presence is felt in something as simple as the names of the days of the week. From her immortal head a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the beauty that ariseth from her shining light. The first depictions of Selenes moon chariot goes back to the early 5th century BCE. Hymn 31, To Helios, also speaks of the two sisters of Helios where the rich-tressed Selene is once again alluded to. [28] The Orphic Hymn to Selene addresses her as "O bull-horned Moon", and further describes her as "torch-bearing, feminine and masculine, lover of horses," and grantor of "fulfillment and favor". However, her greatest love was a lowly mortal named Endymion. This might have had a role in the later identification of Selene with Hecate, who was, after all, the goddess of witchcraft and spells. Her father was the Titan god of heavenly light, while her mother represented the blue color of the sky. Greek months began with the first new moon and were organized into three ten-day weeks that roughly followed the progression of the lunar cycle. "[139] Roman philosopher Cicero connected Selene's Roman counterpart Luna's name to childbirth goddess Lucina's, both deriving from "light" (thus bringing the unborn child into the light). Sometimes this develops in later worship as they are identified with other deities or gods. 3 Most Important Characters in Greek Mythology, 5 Awesome Greek Mythology Fiction Books for Kids, Aphrodite Facts: Awesome Facts about the Goddess of Love and Beauty. Their daughter Eos was the first to appear each day. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. 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. Selene is a Titan goddess in Greek mythology. Selene herself, upon discovering this, took her own life. 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. [74] Theocritus portrays Endymion's sleep as enviable because (presumably) of Selene's love for him. This article is about the Greek goddess. Privacy. 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). 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. Her request granted, Selene visited him regularly; some sources even reported that they had children together (see above).[27]. The Moirai In some traditions the Fates were seen as three aspects of the lunar goddess. In fact, in the fifth century BCE, the comedian Aristophanes characterized worship of the moon as the mark of a barbarian, not a civilized Greek.[33]. Most famous classical poets describe her beauty as so intriguing that gods and mortals alike could not resist her godly charms. Secretive and shy, she enjoys flitting silently through the night with a pearl-white or silvery chariot. 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