[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. The altars to Selene were few and far between. Seln) was also the ancient Greek word meaning moon. The etymology is uncertain, but it appears to be related to the Greek word (slas, light) and the Proto-Indo-European word *l(o)uksneh- (moon), from which we also derive the Latin word for moon, luna. 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. 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. 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. Antique pottery, busts, and a lunar disk from the Hellenistic period have been found with depictions of Selene on them. [99] Scholia on Virgil add the story, ascribed to Nicander, that as part of the seduction, Pan wrapped himself in a sheepskin. 3. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? While Selene was known for pulling the moon across the sky in her silver . But while there, he committed some transgression (usually, he was said to have fallen in love with Zeus wife Hera). Let's take a closer look at her story. She was also well known for her many affairs with men and her love that possibly . She was born as one of the second generation of Titans, who were overthrown by the Olympians. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene ( / slini /; Greek: pronounced [seln], meaning "Moon" [2]) is the personification of the Moon. 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. Endymion was, depending on the source, a prince in exile or a simple shepherd. The Greeks recognized several goddesses as having a connection to the moon, but none was as closely associated with it as Selene. [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. (Similarly, Selenes brother Helios came to be identified with Artemis brother Apollo. 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. Selene could still see her sleeping love whenever she pleased, but the pressures of time and mortality were taken off her. Depending on the author, the chariot was either silver,[6] snow white,[7] or gold. She and her brother did not just pull the chariots of their respective orbs through the sky. Selene and Endymion by Sebastiano Ricci (1713). Most of the important Greek gods and goddesses had temple sites of their own. Her brother is Helios, the Sun and her sister is Eos, the Dawn. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. In later eras, she became associated with madness as well. "[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. fr. [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. 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). Secretive and shy, she enjoys flitting silently through the night with a pearl-white or silvery chariot. [142] In Theocritus' second Idyll, a young girl invokes Selene in a love-spell. [64][65] Those who brought down the Moon were thought to bring ill fortune upon themselves, as evidenced by the proverb ("you are bringing down the Moon on yourself") said for those who caused self-inflicted evils; some witches supposedly avoided this fate by sacrificing their children or their eyeballs. [8], Selene began appearing in the visual arts around the early fifth century BCE. [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. Selene detail from a sarcophagus, imperial period. Her list of powers are unmatched, as far as lunar goddesses go. This was known as the Gigantomachy. In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. [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: 68 A75 D-K). 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. 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. 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? Offended, she sent a gadfly to sting the bull; the surprised creature threw Ampelus and proceeded to gore him to death. 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.. Attributes to the Byrgos Painter, ca. In it, Selene is depicted as fighting alongside Helios and Eos, seated side-saddle on a horse. If you have read Greek mythology and the famous epics of ancient Greece, you may be quite familiar with her brother Helios. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. In later times, Selene was often associated with Artemis in the same way that her brother Helios was associated with Artemis brother Apollo. [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. The counterpart to her brother, she traveled by night. Selenes siblings and Selene herself carried on their fathers legacy by shining light from the heavens upon the earth. His rites also brought a form of madness about in his followers, who often celebrated under the light of the moon. And along with Selene, the moon moved as well. Mason-Dixon Line Selene goddess of the moon, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Antikensammlung Berlin. The pair could also have been the parents of the beautiful and vain Narcissus, for whom the Narcissus flower is named, according to Nonnus, the Greek epic poet of the Roman era. 14 In works of art, however, the two divinities are usually distinguished; the face of How old is the United States of America? [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. 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. Selene was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses, and her story is one of the most captivating in Greek mythology. Selene with sleeping Endymion, fresco in the fourth Pompeian style. However, her greatest love was a lowly mortal named Endymion. The other gods, angered, sent him two lions to tear him apart. In her later identification with Artemis, Selene came to be called Phoebe or Cynthia. [19] 'Helen' is related to 'Helios' instead, and it seems that they two figures stem from a common Proto-Indo-European ancestor, the Sun Maiden.[20][21]. Selene was linked to Artemis as well as Hecate; all three were considered lunar goddesses. The Greek word Phoebe means bright and the word Cynthia means from Mount Cynthus which was said to be the birthplace of Artemis. [28], Another version is known only from Lucian, a satirical writer from the second century CE. 7 (all cited in the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.57); Sappho, frag. Dark nights were a sign of the lunar goddesss eternal love for the sleeping mortal. [113] Selene and Helios also appear on the North Metopes of the Parthenon, with Selene this time entering the sea on horseback. She began to do this every night, leaving her chariot behind and making the sky dark with her absence. 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. Interestingly, this version of the myth does not involve Selene. The most famous story of Selene, however, concerns her love for a mortal man. Selene, the goddess of the moon, has two siblings: Eos, the goddess of the dawn, and Helios, the sun god. Seneca, Madness of Hercules 83; Hyginus, Fabulae 30; Aelian, On Animals 12.7 (citing Epimenides); etc. [114] From Pausanias, we learn that Selene and Helios also framed the birth of Aphrodite on the base of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. Her father was the Titan god of heavenly light, while her mother represented the blue color of the sky. 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]. This irritated Endymion, and enraged Selene, who transforms the girl into a fly (Ancient Greek: , romanized:mua). 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. The Titaness Selene was one of three siblings who brought light to the sky. 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). Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. According to Greek mythology, the moon goddess Selene was the daughter of two Titans (mythological giants) called Hyperion and Theia. Was a lowly mortal named Endymion pleased, but the pressures of time and were... 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