selene greek mythology

7 (all cited in the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.57); Sappho, frag. [63][66], Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion. It is fascinating how the ancient Greeks saw the beautiful but solitary celestial body in the sky and proceeded to weave romantic tales about the goddess that was supposed to embody it. [102], Plutarch recorded a fable-like story in which Selene asked her mother to weave her a garment to fit her measure, and her mother replied that she was unable to do so, as she kept changing shape and size, sometimes full, then crescent-shaped and others yet half her size. To link to this article in the text of an online publication, please use this URL: https://historycooperative.org/selene-greek-goddess-of-the-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. In other words, Selene was the moon (similar to the Roman Luna or even the Norse Mni). Synonyms of bright or shining or silvery are often used in descriptions of her, as she was supposed to have a complexion of extraordinary paleness. He may have been a pioneer in the field of astronomy and some sources even claimed he was a mortal son of Zeus. Moon gods and goddesses have existed in all ancient pantheistic cultures for a very long time. The first depictions of Selenes moon chariot goes back to the early 5th century BCE. In the Homeric Hymn to Selene, she bears the beautiful Pandeic to Zeus, while Alcman says they are the parents of Herse, the dew. The goddess took offense, and sent a gadfly to sting Ampelus' bull. Selene was the goddess of the moon. There was an Athenian festival named the Pandia, held in honor of Zeus, which was perhaps celebrated on a full moon night. [117] Selene also appears on horseback as part of the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar. [40][41] Furthermore, in Virgil's Aeneid, when Nisus calls upon Selene/the Moon, he addresses her as "daughter of Latona. [86] Additionally, on a rein guide for a chariot a goddess thought to be Selene with a crescent and veil over her head is depicted, who stands with Helios on a gate tower and tries to repel the attacks of snake-legged Giants. A third version of the story had Endymion himself choose an ageless sleep as opposed to living a mortal life. Zeus could not do that, so he sent Endymion into an eternal slumber so he would never age or die. (2022, December 7). This eventually led to the identification of Selene with Artemis, also associated with fertility and the moon in various ways. Selene saw him as she passed overhead and fell deeply in love. [85][86] Selene gallops sidesaddle in advance, and wears a woolen undergarment and a mantle. These two goddesses have additional association with Hecate. Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany. Witchcraft has long been believed to have had a connection with the moon and it was no different in antiquity. 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. Selene fought back the giant, locking horns with Typhon; afterwards, she carried many scars on her orb, reminiscent of their battle. Sometimes these were winged horses, although some later accounts had the chariot drawn by bulls. Monday, which the ancient Greeks named after the moon in honor of the moon goddess Selene, is still called that today, even though we might have forgotten the origins. There were other goddesses worshiped by the Greeks who were widely associated with the moon themselves. In rarer traditions, she is the daughter of the Titan Pallas. The light that humans saw from earth emanate from them, a legacy of their lustrous father. Selene was not the only lunar goddess of the Greeks. Deciphering the Role of Helios, the Sun God of Greek Mythology. Kapach, Avi. Selene also has a chemical element named after her, Selenium. She was the goddess of the dawn and brought new light to the world every morning. Helios was one of the Titans, son of Hyperion and Theia and brother of Eos (the Dawn) and Selene (the Moon ). Greek Mythology >> Galleries GALLERIES. The talkative Myia would sit with Endymion as he slept his eternal sleep, chattering endlesslyso much so that Endymion eventually woke up. 200 (cited in the scholia on Aristophanes Frogs 1033); Orphica frag. The fifty daughters of Selene and Endymion mark the fifty lunar months of the four year Olympiad Cycle. 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. [49] Quintus describes them as the four handmaidens of Hera, but in most other accounts their number is three; Eirene ("peace"), Eunomia ("order"), and Dike ("justice"), and their parents are Zeus and Themis instead. Selene leaving her chariot, Roman mosaic, Andalusia. Selene's Roman name was Lunar. 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. Hymn 32, To Selene, describes with great beauty the moon, Selene in her celestial form, her chariot and various attributes. A variation of this symbol was the nimbus, which surrounded her head, depicting the celestial light she bestowed on the world. Selene, like her siblings, was a Titan goddess because of her birth but they were no less important to the Greeks. That leaves Artemis and Selene. All Rights Reserved. Together, they fittingly created three sources of celestial illumination. Selenes siblings and Selene herself carried on their fathers legacy by shining light from the heavens upon the earth. Her father was the Titan god of heavenly light, while her mother represented the blue color of the sky. 500450 BCE. This irritated Endymion, and enraged Selene, who transforms the girl into a fly (Ancient Greek: , romanized:mua). Homeric Hymns 32.14ff, trans. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. For this the Greek gods were to be worshiped. Selene is a Goddess in herself, but she is often associated with Artemis, the archer Goddess. [56] While the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two,[57] described as "snow-white" by Ovid. While her husbands team of horses usually consisted of four animals, Selenes chariot, like her light, was less powerful. [8], Selene began appearing in the visual arts around the early fifth century BCE. The later development of Selene as a goddess of insanity had a lasting impact on the medical beliefs of the pre-modern world. Lilaeon. ), The name Selene (Greek , translit. (Also, the name of the Titan Goddess Phoebe and an epithet of Artemis.). Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases. Selene goddess of the moon, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Antikensammlung Berlin. [7] The Greek word mene, meant the moon, and the lunar month. Their names differed from the other triads of Horae and they were considered to be the personifications of the four seasons itself. It was only later, when Selene began to be conflated with other lunar goddesses, that she was openly worshiped. 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. There are a few different versions of the myth. In post-classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. [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. See esp. [47] Nonnus has Selene and Endymion as the parents of the beautiful Narcissus, although in other accounts, including Ovid's Metamorphoses, Narcissus was the son of Cephissus and Liriope.[48]. Kapach, A. That was a basic unit of how the Greeks measured time in the old days. Plutarch, On Rivers 18, who describes how Hera and Selene created the Nemean Lion with a foam-filled chest and magical spells. Selene, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, was the personification of the moon. Indeed, it reflects the fascinating way the Greeks observed the . Her chariot was made of shining silver, bringing soft, clear light each night. As Luna, she had temples at Rome on the Aventine and Palatine hills. The months had their own personifications as well, who were all born from Selene. 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. Secretive and shy, she enjoys flitting silently through the night with a pearl-white or silvery chariot. 527532; Shear, pp. Her brother is Helios, the Sun and her sister is Eos, the Dawn. The personification of the Sun, he was portrayed as driving a four-horse chariot across the sky on a daily basis. 2. Selene, one of the younger generation of Titans, was also the Greek goddess of the moon. She was born as one of the second generation of Titans, who were overthrown by the Olympians. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. Her brother, Helios, is the god of the sun, and her sister, Eos, is the goddess of the dawn. Magical Goddess of the Silvery Moon. 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 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. 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. Attributes to the Byrgos Painter, ca. She was said to represent the full 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. [125] An oracular sanctuary existed near Thalamai in Laconia. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death The cave in Anatolia where Endymion was said to sleep became a holy place for Selene. [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. It did not take long for Zeus to notice something was amiss. In Greek mythology, Ceto was a goddess of the water. However, in the science fiction book The First Men on the Moon by H.G. She was worshipped at the new and full moons. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Selene and Endymion relief, Alessandro and Lancellotto Pusterla's gravestone, 16th century. Names of the Goddess. The most important of Selenes symbols was her moon chariot. She is usually portrayed either driving a chariot (see above) or riding sideways on horseback[111] (sometimes riding an ox, a mule or a ram). Selene is probably most famous for her love of Endymion, a handsome young man from Asia Minor (though some said that he was from Elis). Did a Lion-Headed Monster Exist in Greek Mythology. [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. If your web page requires an HTML link, please insert this code: . 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