selene greek mythology

500450 BCE. [56] While the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two,[57] described as "snow-white" by Ovid. Her brother, Helios, is the god of the sun, and her sister, Eos, is the goddess of the dawn. GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 1 (86 IMAGES) . Eos represented the warm light that could be seen coming up above the horizon before the sun appeared in full. Selene, one of the younger generation of Titans, was also the Greek goddess of the moon. Way). Virgil, Georgics 3.391ff; Servius on Virgils Georgics 3.391 (citing the second-century BCE poet Nicander as the original source). Greek mythology has beautiful explanations for many natural phenomena. Her request granted, Selene visited him regularly; some sources even reported that they had children together (see above).[27]. Selene, goddess of the moon, truly represented the moon itself to the Greeks. According to Hesiods Theogony, Selene was born of Hyperion and Theia. 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 . [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. Some nymphs in Greek mythology were famous, but others were only known in a certain time Apollo: The God of Music, Poetry, and Light, Hecate Greek Goddess of Witchcraft : The Complete Guide. Selene and Helios together were said to be the parents of the four Horae, the goddesses of the seasons. Lilaeon. 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). Her appearance matched the night sky she drove through. Selene, the goddess of the moon, was the youngest of the three siblings. They put Hyperion to the sword, and drowned Helios in the river Eridanus. Selene leaving her chariot, Roman mosaic, Andalusia. The moon goddess Selene had two siblings the sun and the dawn, also known as Helios and Eos respectively. Thou wouldst say far off that this was milk indeed, which is a well-spring of white water: if thou draw a little nigher, lo, the stream is fringed as though with ice, for white stone rims it round. Secretive and shy, she enjoys flitting silently through the night with a pearl-white or silvery chariot. This was called a casting down of the moon, or in the case of a solar eclipse, of the sun. There are a number of stories about the moon goddess Selene in Greek mythology, in association with the other Greek gods, especially Zeus. Like Artemis, Selene was sometimes called Phoebe, a name that means bright one.. Selene was so enamored of the young man that she left the sky to see him more closely. She began to do this every night, leaving her chariot behind and making the sky dark with her absence. [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. [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: Accessed March 1, 2023. 1. Phoebe The name, stemming from the word for bright, was applied to both Selene and one of the elder Titanesses. [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. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Rheinisches Museum Fr Philologie, vol. [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. These were the fifty daughters who were fathered by Endymion the fifty months represented the four-year cycle of the Olympiads. 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. In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. What are Hades Powers that are Really Scary? The goddess had one temple that was also an oracle near Thalamae in Laconia. Selene was not the only lunar goddess of the Greeks. The bull panicked, threw Ampelus and gored him to death. Their daughter Eos was the first to appear each day. In later times, Selene was often associated with Artemis in the same way that her brother Helios was associated with Artemis brother Apollo. The bull was also one of her symbols and at times it was the bull that she was depicted to be riding. Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. Even now, this moon goddess of the ancient world has not quite gone out of our lives and her presence can be felt in small but subtle reminders. Selene was said to drive her moon chariot across the sky every night, from east to west, following her brother. [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). Thus, both the sun and the moon were seen as gods embodied in those forms. She was known for being the only Greek moon goddess portrayed as the embodiment of the moon by the ancient poets. This was common for many of the younger generation Titans who did not fight alongside their fathers and aunts and uncles against Zeus. 200 (cited in the scholia on Aristophanes Frogs 1033); Orphica frag. According to the Catalogue of Women, Endymion was the son of Aethlius (a son of Zeus), and Zeus granted him the right to choose when he would die. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. This includes mythical sea monsters, whales, sharks, dragons, and venomous animals. Both of these Goddesses are also associated with Hecate. [2], Selene was also called Mene. ), The name Selene (Greek , translit. [96] Pseudo-Plutarch's On Rivers has Hera collaborating with Selene, "employing magical incantations" to create the Nemean Lion from a chest filled with foam. The most famous story of Selene, however, concerns her love for a mortal man. 14 In works of art, however, the two divinities are usually distinguished; the face of While not traditionally moon goddesses, those like Isis and Nyx have associations with or are connected to the moon in various ways. Artemis is also a Goddess of the moon. As the moon, Selene occupied an important place in popular religion. Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 10.336ff; cf. [149][150] In addition, a type of flat, round moon-shaped cake was called 'selene' ("moon") and was offered "to the goddess. According to Hesiod's 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). Selene could still see her sleeping love whenever she pleased, but the pressures of time and mortality were taken off her. Seneca, Madness of Hercules 83; Hyginus, Fabulae 30; Aelian, On Animals 12.7 (citing Epimenides); etc. 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? Watched over by nymphs and visited often by the goddess, it was marked by glowing moonstones and pure white rock. Instead, Zeus collected all the herbs for himself. While her brother was clad in shining gold, her light was softer and more clear. Hyperions role is not fully known today, but given that he was the god of heavenly light in all its forms, it may be assumed that his children, powerful as they were in their individual capacities, only held a fraction of the might of their Titan father. These two goddesses have additional association with Hecate. Selene, like her siblings, was a Titan goddess because of her birth but they were no less important to the Greeks. Surviving descriptions of Selene's physical appearance and character, apart from those which would apply to the moon itself, are scant. Pan, the god of the wild, supposedly seduced Selene while dressed in a sheepskin. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Gaia, the primordial Titan goddess and grandmother to the Olympian gods and goddesses, was enraged when her children were defeated in the Titanomachy and imprisoned in Tartarus. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. The Theoi Project galleries contain more than 1,200 images of ancient Greek and Roman art. While we often think little of the moon today, in the ancient Greek world the moons cyclical movement through the sky played a central role in their concept of time. 573 Bernab. Occasionally she asked her brother to take over her duties so she could spend more time on the ground with Endymion. The moon goddess was said to have had several lovers, including Zeus and the wild god Pan. Although Zeus had taken many mortal lovers, the goddess of the moon had been abandoning her duties and could cause chaos if she continued. 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. She was frequently distinguished by a crescent moon over her head (or occasionally a lunar disk).[9]. -Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 10. 3/4, 1973, pp. 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. (Similarly, Selenes brother Helios came to be identified with Artemis brother Apollo. A third version of the story had Endymion himself choose an ageless sleep as opposed to living a mortal life. "On Representations of Helios and of Selene", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Sorabella, Jean, "A Roman Sarcophagus and Its Patron. Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. Mene The personification of the months was sometimes an aspect of Selene and sometimes a separate goddess. The Origin of Hotdogs, The History of Boracay Island in The Philippines. 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. [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. Together, they fittingly created three sources of celestial illumination. 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. [58] In some later accounts the chariot was drawn by oxen or bulls. [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). Some even said that the Nemean Lion, as the offspring of Selene, had originally fallen from the moon.[30]. Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 2:131819. [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". Please like and share this article if you found it useful. Selene was written off and Artemis became the goddess of the moon, hunting, and animals. In it, Selene is depicted as fighting alongside Helios and Eos, seated side-saddle on a horse. While her husbands team of horses usually consisted of four animals, Selenes chariot, like her light, was less powerful. Selene - or Luna as the Romans called her - is the goddess of the moon, driving a horse-drawn chariot across the night sky. The moon goddess and Artemis were occasionally shown as companions. Their names differed from the other triads of Horae and they were considered to be the personifications of the four seasons itself. [10] The Greek Stoic philosopher Chrysippus interpreted Selene and Men as, respectively, the female and male aspects of the same god. Without Selene giving way to Eos, Helios could not bring the sun back to the world. Nonnus describes how, as Ampelus was riding a bull, he made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene. In some later accounts, she is known as the Horned Selene, perhaps due to the crescent moon upon the crown of her head. [79] While Quintus Smyrnaeus wrote that, while Endymion slept in his cave beside his cattle: and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love, drew down the immortal stainless Queen of Night. 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. 14)" in, Osborne, Robin, "Looking on Greek Style. The sky was dark at night and the sun more lethargic than usual. Hymn 31, To Helios, also speaks of the two sisters of Helios where the rich-tressed Selene is once again alluded to. Selene - The Moon Goddess - Greek Mythology - See U in History Art: Marcus AquinoColor: Rod Fernandes#GreekMythology #Mythology #SeeUinHistory #History #Myth. Her lunar sphere or crescent was either a crown set upon her head or the fold of a raised, shining cloak. She was the goddess of the dawn and brought new light to the world every morning. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. 245 M-W; Pherecydes, FHG 1 frag. In Greek mythology, Ceto was a goddess of the water. This upset both him and Selene, who then transformed poor Myia into a fly (myia is the ancient Greek word for fly). Lunacy takes its name from Selenes Roman counterpart, Luna. [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. Selene's Role She was the goddess of the moon, which she drove every night across the skies. 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. This is at times accompanied by stars to depict the night sky, but the crescent moon was perhaps the most recognizable of Selenes symbols. [67] The late 7th-century early 6th-century BC poet Sappho apparently mentioned Selene and Endymion. Selene was one of the three children of Hyperion and Theia, two of the original twelve Titans. However, Selene was not one of them. Though Selene, as the moon, was undeniably important to the ancient Greeks, there are very few descriptions of her in literature. [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. 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. There are different versions of this story. [34] She also had a sacred statue (which stood alongside one of her brother Helios) in the public market of Elis.[35]. The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, in which months were delineated by the cycles of the moon. Though Selene almost never appears in modern adaptations of Greek mythology, she is nonetheless present in pop culture as the personification of the moon. "[139] Roman philosopher Cicero connected Selene's Roman counterpart Luna's name to childbirth goddess Lucina's, both deriving from "light" (thus bringing the unborn child into the light). Her grandparents are Gaia, (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky). Many of these old communities followed the lunar calendar and that made the moon a center of their faith and worship in many ways. Selene with sleeping Endymion, fresco in the fourth Pompeian style. [146], Her and her brother's worship is also attested in Gytheum, a town in Laconia near Sparta, via an inscription (C.I.G. But on nights the moon could not be seen, there was a very good reason for her absence. She asks Menippus to report her grievances to Zeus, with the request that Zeus wipes all these natural philosophers from the face of the earth. This eventually led to the identification of Selene with Artemis, also associated with fertility and the moon in various ways. [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). Her name was spelt differently in the different dialects of the Greeks but the meaning was the same. [85][86] Selene gallops sidesaddle in advance, and wears a woolen undergarment and a mantle. They brought night and day, shed light on the earth, were responsible for the turning of the months, and facilitated agriculture. 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). Hesiod, Theogony 371ff; Apollodorus, Library 1.2.2; etc. Her name is linked with those of various other goddesses, such as Artemis and Hecate, who are also associated with the moon. Selenes Roman counterpart was called Luna (from the Latin word meaning moon). [134], Selene was sometimes associated with childbirth, for it was believed that during the full moon women had the easiest labours; this helped in her identification with the goddess Artemis,[138] as well as other goddesses connected to women's labours. [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. [16][18], Although attempts have been made to connect Selene to Helene due to the similarity of their names, in two early dedications to Helen from Laconia her name is spelled with a digamma (Ancient Greek: , romanized:Welna), ruling out any possible connection between them. The Story of Selene. 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]. 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 is a relatively late text. Did a Lion-Headed Monster Exist in Greek Mythology. It seems that Selene was not uninvolved in the twelve tasks of Heracles either. Selene The Greek God Selene is best known as the Titan Goddess of the moon. The personification of the Sun, he was portrayed as driving a four-horse chariot across the sky on a daily basis. Selene was more than just a lunar goddess, she was the embodiment of the moon and its light. The lunar goddess was also important for her influence over female fertility cycles and childbirth. In many cases it rested on her brow or jutted out on either side of her head like a crown or horns. The Moirai In some traditions the Fates were seen as three aspects of the lunar goddess. [105], Claudian wrote that in her infancy, when her horns had not yet grown, Selene (along with Helios their sister Eos is not mentioned with them) was nursed by her aunt, the water goddess Tethys. 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. 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 menstrual cycles were known as moon cycles in many cultures of the world, measured as they were by the monthly lunar calendar. Their daughter Eos was the first to appear each day. [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. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. Selene, the moon goddess, was reputed to have had many children by various fathers. 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. 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". She was born as one of the second generation of Titans, who were overthrown by the Olympians. In other versions, Endymion was actually taken to Mount Olympus. Sometimes these were winged horses, although some later accounts had the chariot drawn by bulls. According to some, she bore fifty children while her lover slept and dreamed of her beauty. Selene goddess of the moon, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Antikensammlung Berlin. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. The crescent moon, full moon, and dark moon corresponded to the three states of being embodied by the Fates. Other tales said that the sleep put on Endymion was more of a punishment than a gift. 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. Witchcraft has long been believed to have had a connection with the moon and it was no different in antiquity. She was the Greek goddess of the Moon and her sisters were the Eos and Helios. What are Pan God Powers in Greek Mythology? [141], Selene played an important role in love magic. . 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