[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: In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. Selene, one of the younger generation of Titans, was also the Greek goddess of the moon. 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. The Story of Selene. These two goddesses have additional association with Hecate. 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. Please like and share this article if you found it useful. 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]. 127 ff (trans. 3. Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. 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. She was worshipped at the new and full moons. These were Eiar, Theros, Cheimon, and Phthinoporon, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. In Greek mythology, Selene was the Titan goddess of the moon. Orphism, Cosmogony, and Genealogy (Mus. Selene is a Titan goddess. She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun-god Helios, and Eos, goddess of the dawn. 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. Surviving descriptions of Selene's physical appearance and character, apart from those which would apply to the moon itself, are scant. 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). . To cite this article in an academic-style article or paper, use: Rittika Dhar, "Selene: The Titan and Greek Goddess of the Moon", History Cooperative, September 20, 2022, https://historycooperative.org/selene-greek-goddess-of-the-moon/. His rites also brought a form of madness about in his followers, who often celebrated under the light of the moon. Different sources vary as to whether the chariot was golden or silver, but a silver chariot would seem to fit better with the goddess of the moon. [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). [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. But unlike other night goddesseslike Nyx, Hecate, and sometimes even ArtemisSelene represented the moon itself. Is the Mother of Castor and Pollux a Goddess? Both of these Goddesses are also associated with Hecate. [7] The Greek word mene, meant the moon, and the lunar month. Selene was said to have several consorts but the man that the goddess of the moon was most linked with was the mortal Endymion. Omissions? She announced the coming of her younger brother. Thus, both the sun and the moon were seen as gods embodied in those forms. In some versions, Zeus cursed Endymion because he fell in love with Queen Hera, wife of Zeus. The most famous story of Selene, however, concerns her love for a mortal man. 116, no. Selene and Endymion by Sebastiano Ricci (1713). And if Selene and Helios did not work together, as the personifications of the moon and the sun, there would be absolute chaos in the world. Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 10.336ff; cf. Does the sculpted girl speak to women too?" [116] Pausanias also reports seeing stone images of Helios, and Selene, in the market-place at Elea, with rays projecting from the head of Helios, and horns from the head of Selene. Selene. Mythopedia, December 07, 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene. What are Pan God Powers in Greek Mythology? Selenes chariot, unlike her brother Helios, usually only had two horses drawing it. There are a few different versions of the myth. In some later accounts, she is known as the Horned Selene, perhaps due to the crescent moon upon the crown of her head. [113] Selene and Helios also appear on the North Metopes of the Parthenon, with Selene this time entering the sea on horseback. 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. [142] In Theocritus' second Idyll, a young girl invokes Selene in a love-spell. What are Hades Powers that are Really Scary? [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. This eventually led to the identification of Selene with Artemis, also associated with fertility and the moon in various ways. When Selene spied him sleeping in a cave, she immediately fell in love and asked Zeus to extend his sleep for all eternity. Her presence is felt in something as simple as the names of the days of the week. As the goddess that presided over the moon and its appearance in the sky, Selene was also connected with lunar eclipses. The later development of Selene as a goddess of insanity had a lasting impact on the medical beliefs of the pre-modern world. [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. H. G. Evelyn-White; cf. Selene herself, upon discovering this, took her own life. [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. 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. 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. 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. Although in most myths, the Horae appear to be triads born of Zeus and Themis, in this particular incarnation they were the daughters of Selene and Helios. Many of these old communities followed the lunar calendar and that made the moon a center of their faith and worship in many ways. Her grandparents are Gaia, (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky). They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. Selene was, while not worshiped openly, apparently the object of many spells and invocations addressed to her by young women. The fifty daughters of Selene and Endymion mark the fifty lunar months of the four year Olympiad Cycle. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th-4th century bce. [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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. She was the goddess of the dawn and brought new light to the world every morning. All Rights Reserved. 14)" in, Osborne, Robin, "Looking on Greek Style. Having risen to power in the generation of Zeus, they were universally revered and worshiped. Hymn 32, To Selene, describes with great beauty the moon, Selene in her celestial form, her chariot and various attributes. Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 2:131819. 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. Because the Greek endyein meant "to dive," the name Endymion ("Diver") at first simply described the process of the setting sun "diving" into the sea. 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. As the most important and visible features in the sky, the people of ancient Greece thought that Selene, goddess of the moon, and her brother Helios, god of the sun, were the ones responsible for the movement of the two celestial bodies across the sky. 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. The ancient Greeks believed that a lunar eclipse was the work of a witch, particularly the witches of Thessaly. Lilaeon. Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. Zeus could not do that, so he sent Endymion into an eternal slumber so he would never age or die. 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. Selene was the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. "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. Selene was one of the daughters of the Titan gods Hyperion and Theia and the sister of the sun god Helios and the goddess of the dawn Eos. Selene was said to drive her moon chariot across the sky every night, from east to west, following her brother. Selene had an altar at Pergamon, at the sanctuary of Demeter, the goddess of spring. Selenes role in this war was not only to fight against the giants. 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. Moon gods and goddesses have existed in all ancient pantheistic cultures for a very long time. 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