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 Greek word Phoebe means bright and the word Cynthia means from Mount Cynthus which was said to be the birthplace of Artemis. [117] Selene also appears on horseback as part of the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar. 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. [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. Hesiod, Theogony 371ff; Apollodorus, Library 1.2.2; etc. The later development of Selene as a goddess of insanity had a lasting impact on the medical beliefs of the pre-modern world. [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. Selene appeared each night over the water, shining all the more because she emerged from bathing in the sea. The Homeric Hymn to Helios uses the same epithet ("bright-tressed"), used in the above Hymn to Selene (elsewhere translated as "rich-", "lovely-", or "well-tressed"),[26] while Epimenides uses the epithet ("lovely-haired"). Selene then turned Lilaeus into a mountain, Mt. As the goddess of the division of the months, Selene was a goddess of time. Selene detail from a sarcophagus, imperial period. [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. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene ( / slini /; Greek: pronounced [seln], meaning "Moon" [2]) is the personification of the Moon. Occasionally Selenes chariot was pulled by oxen or bulls, again differentiating it from the faster vehicle of her brother. [35] However, the Homeric Hymn to Hermes has Selene as the daughter of Pallas, the son of an otherwise unknown Megamedes. [127] Selene (along with Helios, Nyx and others) received an altar at the sanctuary of Demeter at Pergamon, possibly in connection with the Orphic mysteries. [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. [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. Upon the head of Selene was normally found a crown that was representative of the spherical moon. Every evening, Selene ushered in nightfall and then drove her chariot through the night before giving way to dawn. [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. She was descended . She was also well known for her many affairs with men and her love that possibly . Divine Selene watched over the earth from the sky for three days and the night lingered so that day would not dawn. [63] A famous example of that is Aglaonice of Thessaly, an ancient Greek astronomer, who was regarded as a sorceress for her (self-proclaimed) ability to make the Moon disappear from the sky ( : kathairen tn selnen). 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). 3/4, 1973, pp. Nonnus describes how, as Ampelus was riding a bull, he made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene. [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). [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. 7 (all cited in the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.57); Sappho, frag. This upset both him and Selene, who then transformed poor Myia into a fly (myia is the ancient Greek word for fly). Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.54ff; Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.1.4; Apollodorus, Library 1.7.5; cf. 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. Occasionally she asked her brother to take over her duties so she could spend more time on the ground with Endymion. 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. [78] In his dialogue between Aphrodite and Eros, Lucian also has Aphrodite admonish her son Eros for bringing Selene "down from the sky". Having risen to power in the generation of Zeus, they were universally revered and worshiped. Homeric Hymn 4.99100. In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. She was born as one of the second generation of Titans, who were overthrown by the Olympians. However, hers might not be a name that is quite as well-known. Her brother is Helios, the Sun and her sister is Eos, the Dawn. Homeric Hymns 32.14ff, trans. Selene personified the moon and was one of the Greek goddesses of the night. Selene was more than just a lunar goddess, she was the embodiment of the moon and its light. [59] Though the moon chariot is often described as being silver,[60] for Pindar it was golden. 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. Her lunar sphere or crescent was either a crown set upon her head or the fold of a raised, shining cloak. While Selene was known for pulling the moon across the sky in her silver . Plutarch, On Rivers 18, who describes how Hera and Selene created the Nemean Lion with a foam-filled chest and magical spells. Moon gods and goddesses have existed in all ancient pantheistic cultures for a very long time. 573 Bernab. 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. [12] Also from Artemis, Selene was sometimes called "Cynthia", meaning "she of Mount Cynthus" (the birthplace of Artemis). 1. What are Hades Powers that are Really Scary? Francoise Gury, Selene/Luna, in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (Zurich: Artemis, 1994), 7:70615. The ancient Greeks believed that a lunar eclipse was the work of a witch, particularly the witches of Thessaly. The second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft following was named SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) after Selene, and was also known as Kaguya in Japan. The crescent moon, full moon, and dark moon corresponded to the three states of being embodied by the Fates. Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. Often when one god supplanted another in a particular domain, the stories that involved that god were changed to reflect this. 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. [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). 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. 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). The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, making Selene one of the most important deities in the passage of time. This irritated Endymion, and enraged Selene, who transforms the girl into a fly (Ancient Greek: , romanized:mua). [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. Hecate and her followers, for example, asked Selene for her cooperation in their magic. Each day she drives her two-horse chariot, heralding the breaking of the new day and her brother's arrival. In antiquity, Selene would also often be depicted either riding upon a bull, or upon a silvery chariot drawn by two winged horses. However, in the science fiction book The First Men on the Moon by H.G. Like most of the Titans, Selene was rarely worshipped in the ancient world. [1], Selene was often identified with other goddesses, including Men (also spelled Mene), the divine personification of the lunar month; Bendis, a goddess of Thracian origin; Hecate, a goddess of witchcraft; and (especially in later antiquity) Artemis, the goddess of hunting and wild things. Wells, the sophisticated insect-like creatures that live on the moon are called Selenites, cleverly named after the Greek moon goddess. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. 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. 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. Accessed on 27 Feb. 2023. Those that do exist are somewhat generic (like the previously mentioned epithets). [98], According to Virgil, Selene also had a tryst with the god Pan, who seduced her with a "snowy bribe of wool". There are a few different versions of the myth. 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, (Greek: "Moon") Latin Luna, in Greek and Roman religion, the personification of the moon as a goddess. 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. [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"). 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. 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 goddess had pale skin that seemed to shine with its own inner light and long black hair that matched the dark sky around her. [63][66], Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion. Like Artemis, Selene was sometimes called Phoebe, a name that means bright one.. Athena, also spelled Athene, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva. Selene also has a chemical element named after her, Selenium. Selene. Mythopedia, December 07, 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene. Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases. Selene was said to have several consorts but the man that the goddess of the moon was most linked with was the mortal Endymion. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. In some versions of the story, the goddess abandoned her duty and left the night sky so she could be with the man she loved. Another myth describes how Selene held her own against the monster Typhoeus when he attacked the gods. She and her brother did not just pull the chariots of their respective orbs through the sky. [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. Selene was the goddess of the moon. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death In other versions, Endymion was actually taken to Mount Olympus. Depending on the author, the chariot was either silver,[6] snow white,[7] or gold. Hurwit, Jeffery M. (2017), "Helios Rising: The Sun, the Moon, and the Sea in the Sculptures of the Parthenon", Jones, Prudence H., "A Goddess Arrives: Nineteenth Century Sources of the New Age Triple Moon Goddess" in. Selene, one of the younger generation of Titans, was also the Greek goddess of the moon. This might have had a role in the later identification of Selene with Hecate, who was, after all, the goddess of witchcraft and spells. 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. 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. The Greek word for the moon was also the word used to delineate the months. [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. 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 moon was also believed to bring the night dew that nourished the plants and to bring sleep and rest to humankind. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Selene was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses, and her story is one of the most captivating in Greek mythology. Many of Selenes epithetsincluding (agl, gleaming), (pasiph, all-shining), and (tanyspteros, long-winged)reflected her lunar qualities and other distinctive attributes. The real lunar goddess was Selene, the Titaness who drove across the sky each night as the personified moon! 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. Her presence is felt in something as simple as the names of the days of the week. And a memorial of her couch abides still neath the oaks; for mid the copses round was poured out milk of kine; and still do men marvelling behold its whiteness. [90], When Zeus desired to sleep with the mortal queen Alcmene and sire Heracles, he made the night last three days, and ordered Selene via Hermes to dawdle in the sky during that time. The name Selene is also quite popular in the English-speaking world. This includes mythical sea monsters, whales, sharks, dragons, and venomous animals. [88], Ampelus was a very beautiful satyr youth, loved by the god Dionysus. [125] An oracular sanctuary existed near Thalamai in Laconia. Attributes to the Byrgos Painter, ca. [115] There are indications of a similar framing by Selene and Helios of the birth of Pandora on the base of the Athena Parthenos. Is the Mother of Castor and Pollux a Goddess? 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