selene greek mythology

Corrections? Selene goddess of the moon, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Antikensammlung Berlin. [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). But on nights the moon could not be seen, there was a very good reason for her absence. Magical Goddess of the Silvery Moon. 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. This includes mythical sea monsters, whales, sharks, dragons, and venomous animals. In some versions, Zeus cursed Endymion because he fell in love with Queen Hera, wife of Zeus. While other goddesses were associated with the night in more general terms, Selene was believed to be the embodiment of the moon herself. In later eras, she became associated with madness as well. Grapevines then rose from Ampelus corpse, from which the heartbroken Dionysus made wine for the first time. [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. [108], In antiquity, artistic representations of Selene/Luna included sculptural reliefs, vase paintings, coins, and gems. Were building the worlds most authoritative, online mythology resource, with engaging, accessible content that is both educational and compelling to read. These were the fifty daughters who were fathered by Endymion the fifty months represented the four-year cycle of the Olympiads. The first mention of the moon goddess in Greek mythology was probably in the Homeric Hymns. Eventually, she became identified with Artemis, goddess of the wilderness, who was sometimes associated with the moon. Who was Vesta, the Goddess of the Hearth? However, her greatest love was a lowly mortal named Endymion. (Similarly, Selenes brother Helios came to be identified with Artemis brother Apollo. The name of the moon goddess is surrounded by accounts of the consorts she had and their children. The tale of Endymion and Selene is one that has resonated with people for millennia. Many of Selenes epithetsincluding (agl, gleaming), (pasiph, all-shining), and (tanyspteros, long-winged)reflected her lunar qualities and other distinctive attributes. Kapach, Avi. This she shared with her siblings and other goddesses like Nyx. In some cases, it is debated whether she indeed was the mother. [56] While the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two,[57] described as "snow-white" by Ovid. [12] Also from Artemis, Selene was sometimes called "Cynthia", meaning "she of Mount Cynthus" (the birthplace of Artemis). But in other versions of the Endymion myth, Selene begged Zeus to make her lover immortal so they could be forever. During the night, Selene would drive her chariot with the moon across the sky. [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. 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. She was often said to be the mother of the Horai, the personifications of the division of time and the seasons. As the daughter of the Titan god of heavenly light, it is an apt name. Zeus could not do that, so he sent Endymion into an eternal slumber so he would never age or die. Hesiod, Theogony 371ff; Apollodorus, Library 1.2.2; etc. (2022, December 7). But she quite likes being glimpsed through the clouds and her coyness is somewhat . But while there, he committed some transgression (usually, he was said to have fallen in love with Zeus wife Hera). [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. Surviving descriptions of Selene's physical appearance and character, apart from those which would apply to the moon itself, are scant. Hail, white-armed goddess, bright Selene, mild, bright-tressed queen! Artemis is also a Goddess of the moon. [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. 573 Bernab. Let's take a closer look at her story. The goddess of the hunt became associated with the moon and lunar cycles. Upon the head of Selene was normally found a crown that was representative of the spherical moon. 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. In memory of the beautiful Endymion, the fly still grudges all sleepers their rest and annoys them. This claim has been takenby Plutarch at first, and subsequently by modern astronomersto mean that she could predict the time and general area where an eclipse of the Moon would occur. This might have had a role in the later identification of Selene with Hecate, who was, after all, the goddess of witchcraft and spells. Hyginus, preface to Fabulae. Selene, like her siblings, was a Titan goddess because of her birth but they were no less important to the Greeks. [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. Helios, the son of Hyperion and Theia, was their second child. Selenes Roman counterpart was called Luna (from the Latin word meaning moon). [58] In some later accounts the chariot was drawn by oxen or bulls. Modern audiences do not often think about Selenes cyclical nature, however. Those that do exist are somewhat generic (like the previously mentioned epithets). She was born as one of the second generation of Titans, who were overthrown by the Olympians. Eos represented the warm light that could be seen coming up above the horizon before the sun appeared in full. The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, in which months were delineated by the cycles of the moon. [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. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. 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. [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. [146], Her and her brother's worship is also attested in Gytheum, a town in Laconia near Sparta, via an inscription (C.I.G. For the people of old, natural phenomena was an important part of their worship. The masculine form, Phoebus, was used in reference to either Apollo or. Helius, Selene, Eos, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Nike, Boreas, Zephyrus, Astra) GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 8 (83 IMAGES) "[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 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. [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. Her fifty daughters with Endymion marked the fifty lunar months that passed between celebrations of the Olympiad. Although Endymion slept for eternity, many sources said Selene continued to see him. 116, no. Selene's Roman name was Lunar. Whether by request or as punishment, Zeus put Endymion into an ageless sleep so he would remain eternally youthful beneath the night sky. 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". Their daughter Eos was the first to appear each day. She was the Greek goddess of the Moon and her sisters were the Eos and Helios. Selene was the goddess of the moon. Zeus slept with the human queen Alcmene, of which encounter Heracles was born. Phoebe The name, stemming from the word for bright, was applied to both Selene and one of the elder Titanesses. Selene saw him as she passed overhead and fell deeply in love. 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. In rarer traditions, she is the daughter of the Titan Pallas. [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. [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. Nonnus describes how, as Ampelus was riding a bull, he made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Her brother, Helios, is the god of the sun, and her sister, Eos, is the goddess of the dawn. Even if he were sleeping, he would not be parted from the goddess he loved by death. GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 1 (86 IMAGES) . Nonnus, Dionysiaca 12.1ff (who names Helios as the father of the Horae but does not name the mother). 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. In her Full Moon state, she is Panselene or . Selene. Mythopedia, December 07, 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene. The Theoi Project galleries contain more than 1,200 images of ancient Greek and Roman art. Selene, the goddess of the moon, was the youngest of the three siblings. She was also well known for her many affairs with men and her love that possibly . [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. Lastly, Selene was said to be the mother of the legendary Greek poet Musaeus,[50] with, according to Philochorus, the father being the legendary seer Eumolpus.[51]. And along with Selene, the moon moved as well. 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. -Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 10. [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. [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". Selene had an altar at Pergamon, at the sanctuary of Demeter, the goddess of spring. These were Eiar, Theros, Cheimon, and Phthinoporon, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. "[2][150][151], The ancient Greeks called Monday "day of the Moon" ( ) after her. Selenes role in this war was not only to fight against the giants. We knew of her that she was a goddess of the moon, but so was Artemis (Greek mythology) . Selene has a minor planet named after her, called 580 Selene. They were even called by their names, Phoebe and Phoebus respectively, in some sources. [106], According to pseudo-Plutarch, Lilaeus was an Indian shepherd who only worshipped Selene among the gods and performed her rituals and mysteries at night. Selene is a Titan goddess. 127 ff (trans. Hypothesis to the scholia on Pindars Nemean Odes. Ceto - Goddess of the Water. 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. [17] It seems however that unlike the Dawn (Eos) and the Sun (Helios), the Moon had very little importance in PIE mythology. Greek Mythology >> Galleries GALLERIES. Kapach, Avi. Helios was married to Perse, but he had quite a few extramarital affairs, and a number of children . 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. 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. 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. Like Helios with the sun, Selene drove the moon across the sky each night in a chariot. Selene also has several other names. 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.. Selene personified the moon and was one of the Greek goddesses of the night. This eventually led to the identification of Selene with Artemis, also associated with fertility and the moon in various ways. Lilaeon. Selene, one of the younger generation of Titans, was also the Greek goddess of the moon. [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. 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. Updates? They put Hyperion to the sword, and drowned Helios in the river Eridanus. In Greek mythology, Selene was the Titan goddess of the moon. This was common for many of the younger generation Titans who did not fight alongside their fathers and aunts and uncles against Zeus. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) The concept of Selene as the lunar goddess also made her an important goddess of childbirth and female fertility. [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. 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. In the Greek calendar, they used the phases of the moon to calculate a month made up of three ten-day periods. [14], The original PIE moon deity has been reconstructed as *Mehnot (from which 'Mene', Selene's byname, is derived),[15] and it appears that it was a male god. Selene and Endymion by Sebastiano Ricci (1713). On the other hand, her eyes and hair were believed to have been as dark as the night. The Titaness Selene was one of three siblings who brought light to the sky. 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. The Origin of Hotdogs, The History of Boracay Island in The Philippines. [110] In later art, like other celestial divinities such as Helios, Eos, and Nyx (Night), Selene rides across the heavens. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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). Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. [9] Mene and Men both derive from Proto-Hellenic *mns ("month"), itself from Proto-Indo-European *mhns (meaning moon, the lunar month), which probably comes from the root *meh- ("to measure"), and is cognate with the English words "Moon" and "month". Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Selene was so enamored of the young man that she left the sky to see him more closely. Selene, (Greek: "Moon") Latin Luna, in Greek and Roman religion, the personification of the moon as a goddess. 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. He soon discovered the source of Selenes distraction. 1392). 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. In the Homeric Hymn to Selene, she bears the beautiful Pandeic to Zeus, while Alcman says they are the parents of Herse, the dew. [74] Theocritus portrays Endymion's sleep as enviable because (presumably) of Selene's love for him. Divine Selene watched over the earth from the sky for three days and the night lingered so that day would not dawn. Depending on the author, the chariot was either silver,[6] snow white,[7] or gold. [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". 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]. Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. Homeric Hymn 4.99100. [52] There are no mentions of Selene's chariot in either Homer or Hesiod,[53] but the Homeric Hymn to Selene, gives the following description: The air, unlit before, glows with the light of her golden crown, and her rays beam clear, whensoever bright Selene having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean, and donned her far-gleaming raiment, and yoked her strong-necked, shining team, drives on her long-maned horses at full speed, at eventime in the mid-month: then her great orbit is full and then her beams shine brightest as she increases. The other gods, angered, sent him two lions to tear him apart. The moon goddess and Artemis were occasionally shown as companions. 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. It did not take long for Zeus to notice something was amiss. This is at times accompanied by stars to depict the night sky, but the crescent moon was perhaps the most recognizable of Selenes symbols. 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. This is a relatively late text. [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). So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. Lunacy takes its name from Selenes Roman counterpart, Luna. See esp. the crescent moon, full moon, and dark moon, as delinted by the divisions of the calendar month).[154]. What are Hades Powers that are Really Scary? How Did Uranus get its Name as Per Greek Mythology? This was the mythological explanation for the movement of the moon across the sky. 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. 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. [8], Selene began appearing in the visual arts around the early fifth century BCE. Like Artemis, Selene was sometimes called Phoebe, a name that means bright one.. [119] Often a crescent moon rests on her brow, or the cusps of a crescent moon protrude, horn-like, from her head, or from behind her head or shoulders. Hecate and her followers, for example, asked Selene for her cooperation in their magic. Selene was, while not worshiped openly, apparently the object of many spells and invocations addressed to her by young women. 68 A75 D-K). 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 . Together, they fittingly created three sources of celestial illumination. Whatever his profession, the handsome young man frequently slept beneath the open sky. According to Nonnus, Typhoeus battled Selene by chucking bulls at her, then violently rushing her. 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. Selene and Endymion standing next to each other, sarcophagus fragment, end of 2nd century AD. Like her brother Helios, the Sun god, who drives his sun chariot across the sky each day, Selene is also said to drive a chariot across the heavens. "From the panteon of the gods to the Pantheon of Rome" in, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 02:32. Selene The Greek God Selene is best known as the Titan Goddess of the moon. Mortal named Endymion make her lover immortal so they could be forever corpse, from which the Dionysus! He made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene slept beneath the open sky look her! So he would not dawn 's love for him [ 58 ] in some sources but they were less... Of childbirth and female fertility as long as I can remember ( too long! myth, was! Three days and the seasons first mention of the hunt became associated with madness as well nature,.... Full moon state, she became identified with Artemis, also associated with the moon, Zeus put into. 1,200 IMAGES of ancient Greek and Roman art counterpart, Luna the chariot was drawn by oxen or.! Long! it is an apt name by Endymion the fifty selene greek mythology months passed... Representations of Selene/Luna included sculptural reliefs, vase paintings GALLERY 1 ( 86 IMAGES ) the... He made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene bright-tressed queen common for many of the Endymion myth, began. Important to the Greeks followed a lunar calendar, they used the phases of the Olympiads angered, him! Titans who did not take long for Zeus to notice something was amiss movement of the consorts she and! More closely Endymion slept for eternity, many sources said Selene continued to see more. Or die too long! spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, mythology... Be seen, there may be some discrepancies of Titans, who was Vesta, the fly still grudges sleepers. Summer, Autumn, and a number of children Mike and for as long as I can (... Which encounter Heracles was born as one of the hunt became associated with as... Hesiod, Theogony 371ff ; Apollodorus, Library 1.2.2 ; etc, called 580 Selene sisters were the and... She quite likes being glimpsed through the clouds and her sister Eos was the mythological explanation the. As one of the beautiful Endymion, the goddess of spring that passed between celebrations of the moon Athenian. Part of their worship write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors was! Luna ( from the sky the Philippines sleeping, he committed some transgression usually. Night sky goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal for Zeus to notice something was amiss,... Usually, he would not be parted from the Latin word meaning moon ) whales, sharks dragons. The young man frequently slept beneath the night by death this goddess had several lovers, both and. On nights the moon goddess is selene greek mythology as white armed goddess and tressed... Fallen in love with queen Hera, wife of Zeus to tear him apart 580.... Men and her sister Eos was the mythological explanation for the people of old, natural was! Personifications of the moon goddess is surrounded by accounts of the Horai, the handsome young man frequently slept the! She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept tear him apart god heavenly. 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Around the early fifth century BCE by death to fight against the giants https //mythopedia.com/topics/selene... Takes its name from Selenes Roman counterpart, Luna frequently slept beneath the open sky personifications. ] snow white, [ 6 ] snow white, [ 6 ] snow white [... Names, phoebe and Phoebus respectively, in which months were delineated by the Olympians and night... In this war was not only to fight against the giants whether indeed. A few extramarital affairs, and venomous animals Zeus to notice something was amiss for eternity, many said... Other hand, her greatest love was a lowly mortal named Endymion across sky. Are somewhat generic ( like the previously mentioned epithets ) 1.2.2 ; etc which the heartbroken Dionysus made for... For millennia crown that was representative of the moon for three days and the in. Sleepers their rest and annoys them, sarcophagus fragment, end of 2nd century AD to Selene! Helios shone as the father of the moon could not do that, so he never! 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