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selene greek mythology

"[42], According to the Homeric Hymn to Selene, the goddess bore Zeus a daughter, Pandia ("All-brightness"),[43] "exceeding lovely amongst the deathless gods". Given the tales about the Gigantomachy, it is also clear that the siblings worked well together and there do not seem to be any tales of rivalry or hatred between them, quite an unusual affair by the standards of the old Greek gods and goddesses. 7 (all cited in the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.57); Sappho, frag. 1392). 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. [117] Selene also appears on horseback as part of the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar. Hill, D. E. "THE THESSALIAN TRICK." Not only was she the goddess of the moon, but she was considered a personification of the moon itself and that was how she was portrayed by many of the old poets and writers. H. G. Evelyn-White; cf. [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. Selene was said to drive her moon chariot across the sky every night, from east to west, following her brother. [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. 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. She was often said to be the mother of the Horai, the personifications of the division of time and the seasons. In Greek mythology, Selene was the Titan goddess of the moon. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. The eternally sleeping Endymion was proverbial,[71] but exactly how this eternal sleep came about and what role, if any, Selene may have had in it is unclear. This is also not the only Homeric Hymn in which the beautiful goddess finds mention. Sometimes these were winged horses, although some later accounts had the chariot drawn by bulls. Like Artemis, Selene was sometimes called Phoebe, a name that means bright one.. Selene (Greek mythology) The goddess of the Moon. Selene is reputed to have had romantic relationships with her cousin Zeus as well and they had at least three daughters together, if not more children. fr. 245 M-W; Pherecydes, FHG 1 frag. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. All Rights Reserved. [106], According to pseudo-Plutarch, Lilaeus was an Indian shepherd who only worshipped Selene among the gods and performed her rituals and mysteries at night. Selene and Endymion by Sebastiano Ricci (1713). Only a handful of religious centers of Selene are known from the ancient world. She and her brother did not just pull the chariots of their respective orbs through the sky. Nonnus describes how, as Ampelus was riding a bull, he made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene. Lilaeon. Selene. Mythopedia, December 07, 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene. Hurwit 2017, pp. Goddess Selene is often portrayed in art and in myths generally, riding a chariot across the sky. But the Greek cult of Selene grew more and more prevalent towards the end of the Hellenistic period (32331 BCE). They included: The lunar goddesses sometimes worked together. Because Basileia's other brothers envied these offspring, and feared that Hyperion would try to seize power for himself, they conspired against him. 14 In works of art, however, the two divinities are usually distinguished; the face of The scientist Jons Jacob Berzelius named it such since the element was very similar in nature to tellurium, which was named after the Earth, whose Greek name is Tellus. She was the personification of the moon, but was also associated with lunar elements such as tides, months, and even lunacy. Interestingly, this version of the myth does not involve Selene. 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. [37] Other accounts give still other parents for Selene: Euripides has Selene as the daughter of Helios (rather than sister),[38] while an Aeschylus fragment possibly has Selene as the daughter of Leto,[39] as does a scholium on Euripides's play The Phoenician Women which adds Zeus as the father. There are different versions of this story. Selene was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses, and her story is one of the most captivating in Greek mythology. Her name is linked with those of various other goddesses, such as Artemis and Hecate, who are also associated with the moon. While her husbands team of horses usually consisted of four animals, Selenes chariot, like her light, was less powerful. He may have been a pioneer in the field of astronomy and some sources even claimed he was a mortal son of Zeus. Hecate and her followers, for example, asked Selene for her cooperation in their magic. He was the god of the sun, who drove across the sky each day in a golden chariot drawn by a team of golden horses. The myth of Selene, the moon goddess, is no exception. It was also believed to influence many aspects of their personal lives and even the actions of the gods. She was depicted as a woman riding sidesaddle on a horse or driving a chariot drawn by a pair of winged steeds. Grapevines then rose from Ampelus corpse, from which the heartbroken Dionysus made wine for the first time. The moon was also believed to bring the night dew that nourished the plants and to bring sleep and rest to humankind. The Greek word for the moon was also the word used to delineate the months. Selene and Endymion, fresco on ceiling by Giuseppe Antonio Orelli, circa 1730-1770, Palazzo Riva. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. Depending on the author, the chariot was either silver,[6] snow white,[7] or gold. 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. Hypothesis to the scholia on Pindars Nemean Odes. In fact, there were several female deities who shared this domain. Zeus put Endymion into an eternal sleep so the goddess could see him forever as a beautiful young man. Antique pottery, busts, and a lunar disk from the Hellenistic period have been found with depictions of Selene on them. Many people believed that labor and childbirth was easiest during the full moon and prayed to Selene for aid. Many of Selenes epithetsincluding (agl, gleaming), (pasiph, all-shining), and (tanyspteros, long-winged)reflected her lunar qualities and other distinctive attributes. In their stories, it is Diana, the Roman counterpart of Artemis, who falls in love with the beautiful mortal. A variation of this symbol was the nimbus, which surrounded her head, depicting the celestial light she bestowed on the world. 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. 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. While Selenes best known consort may have been Endymion and the mythic romance between the moon goddess and the mortal has been documented in many places, he was not the only person that she was involved with. She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun-god Helios, and Eos, goddess of the dawn. [145] Plutarch wrote that Selene was called upon in love affairs because she, the Moon, constantly yearns for the Sun, and compared her in that regard to Isis. The name of the moon goddess is surrounded by accounts of the consorts she had and their children. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Selene, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, was the personification of the moon. Greek mythology has beautiful explanations for many natural phenomena. In some later accounts, she is known as the Horned Selene, perhaps due to the crescent moon upon the crown of her head. The moon was thought to influence people in other ways, as well. However, hers might not be a name that is quite as well-known. 500450 BCE. [11], Just as Helios, from his identification with Apollo, is called Phoebus ("bright"), Selene, from her identification with Artemis, is also called Phoebe (feminine form). [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. Whether by request or as punishment, Zeus put Endymion into an ageless sleep so he would remain eternally youthful beneath the night sky. [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. However, the most famous myth about the goddess of the moon is her romance with the shepherd king Endymion, who the ancient Greeks said was one of the most beautiful mortals to ever exist. Selene then turned Lilaeus into a mountain, Mt. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. "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. 127 ff (trans. While most of the Homeric Hymns were written in the seventh or sixth century BCE, the Homeric Hymn to Selene was probably composed no earlier than the fourth century BCE. the crescent moon, full moon, and dark moon, as delinted by the divisions of the calendar month).[154]. [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. 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. However, her greatest love was a lowly mortal named Endymion. [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. We knew of her that she was a goddess of the moon, but so was Artemis (Greek mythology) . Zeus slept with the human queen Alcmene, of which encounter Heracles was born. This might have had a role in the later identification of Selene with Hecate, who was, after all, the goddess of witchcraft and spells. For other uses, see, Detail of Selene from a Roman sarcophagus, A winged Selene seems to be unique to this. [132] At Athens, wineless offerings (nephalia) were made to Selene, along with other celestial gods, Selene's siblings Helios and Eos, and Aphrodite Ourania;[133] in Attica, it seems that Selene was identified with Aphrodite. Selene and Endymion relief, Alessandro and Lancellotto Pusterla's gravestone, 16th century. [110] In later art, like other celestial divinities such as Helios, Eos, and Nyx (Night), Selene rides across the heavens. Plutarch, On Rivers 18, who describes how Hera and Selene created the Nemean Lion with a foam-filled chest and magical spells. Like every celestial goddess , there was a yin to Selene's yang; In this case, there were two yins. The most famous story of Selene, however, concerns her love for a mortal man. [73] However, Apollodorus says that because of Endymion's "surpassing beauty, the Moon fell in love with him, and Zeus allowed him to choose what he would, and he chose to sleep for ever, remaining deathless and ageless". 116, no. How Did Uranus get its Name as Per Greek Mythology? Selene's Roman name was Lunar. There is a magnificent frieze in the Pergamon Altar, now kept at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, which depicts this battle between the Giants and the Olympians. [120] Selene's head is sometimes surrounded by a nimbus, and from the Hellenistic period onwards, she is sometimes pictured with a torch. The Theoi Project galleries contain more than 1,200 images of ancient Greek and Roman art. Selene was one of the three children of Hyperionand Theia, two of the original twelve Titans. The crescent moon, full moon, and dark moon corresponded to the three states of being embodied by the Fates. According to the Homeric Hymn 32, Selene and Zeus together had a daughter named Pandia. [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). It did not take long for Zeus to notice something was amiss. Kapach, Avi. Attributes to the Byrgos Painter, ca. Here Pasipha is used as an epithet of Selene, instead of referring to the daughter of Helios and wife of Minos. The masculine form, Phoebus, was used in reference to either Apollo or. [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. Her brother is Helios, the Sun and her sister is Eos, the Dawn. It was devoted to Selene, under the name Pasiphae, and to Helios. 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. SELENE was 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. Epimenides, in the theogony that was ascribed to him, also calls her lovely haired, perhaps due to the Homeric Hymns themselves. Kapach, Avi. The brother and sister married each other and had three children: Eos (the goddess of the dawn), Helios (the sun god), and Selene (the moon goddess). Selene. 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. Selene saw him as she passed overhead and fell deeply in love. Her lunar sphere or crescent was either a crown set upon her head or the fold of a raised, shining cloak. 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. Greek Gods / Helios. 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). There was an Athenian festival named the Pandia, held in honor of Zeus, which was perhaps celebrated on a full moon night. 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. In time, however, some early Greek philosophers and scientists did attempt rational explanations for lunar eclipses (e.g., Democritus, frag. Zeus had enough sympathy for Selene to not kill Endymion outright, but he put the human man in an enchanted sleep on Mount Latmus in the East so Selene would have no further reason to descend to earth each night. Selene was not the only goddess the Greeks associated with the moon. [25], Two other sources also mention her hair. 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. Plato, Republic 2.364e; Philochorus, Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (FHG) 1 frag. [78] In his dialogue between Aphrodite and Eros, Lucian also has Aphrodite admonish her son Eros for bringing Selene "down from the sky". In antiquity, Selene would also often be depicted either riding upon a bull, or upon a silvery chariot drawn by two winged horses. 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. Selene and Endymion standing next to each other, sarcophagus fragment, end of 2nd century AD. Two of these were Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, and Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. It is unclear how much of a choice Endymion himself may have had in the matter, although there are versions of the myth which say that Endymion had fallen in love with the beautiful moon goddess as well and asked Zeus to keep him in a state of eternal sleep so that he could be with her forever. This, of course, is not the first celestial body to be named after the goddess since Selene is the proper Greek name for the moon itself. Selene's Role She was the goddess of the moon, which she drove every night across the skies. This article was most recently revised and updated by, From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Selene-Greek-and-Roman-mythology, Ancient Origins - Celestial Goddess Selene: The Ancient Greek Goddess of the Moon. 17th century bronze statue of Hercules and the Nemean Lion; possibly French. 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. [27], In late accounts, Selene (like the moon itself) is often described as having horns. In other words, Selene was the moon (similar to the Roman Luna or even the Norse Mni). The goddess of the moon does not seem to have been the object of much ritual worship in the early Greek period. Selene also has several other names. Is the Mother of Castor and Pollux a Goddess? [67] The late 7th-century early 6th-century BC poet Sappho apparently mentioned Selene and Endymion. Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 2:131819. Some even said that the Nemean Lion, as the offspring of Selene, had originally fallen from the moon.[30]. 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. [97] Hyginus says that Selene had "nourished" the lion in a "two-mouthed cave". Whenever the moon could not be seen in the night sky, it was because Selene had paused to take in Endymions beauty once again. Like most of the Titans, Selene was rarely worshipped in the ancient world. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Athena, also spelled Athene, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva. Pandia was the personification of the full moon and may have originally been another name for Selene before the myths made her the daughter of Selene and Zeus. (2022, December 7). 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/. 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]. Accessed March 1, 2023. Secretive and shy, she enjoys flitting silently through the night with a pearl-white or silvery chariot. The menstrual cycles were known as moon cycles in many cultures of the world, measured as they were by the monthly lunar calendar. The altars to Selene were few and far between. [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. Her name was spelt differently in the different dialects of the Greeks but the meaning was the same. Eos represented the warm light that could be seen coming up above the horizon before the sun appeared in full. Privacy. [107], Ovid mentions how in the myth of Phaethon, Helios' son who drove his father's chariot for a day, when Phaethon lost control of the chariot and burned the earth, Selene in the sky looked down to see in amazement her brother's horses running wild lower than normal. [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. The three children have become much more well-known in general Greek literature than their parents, especially after the fall from grace of Hyperion, who stood by his brother Cronus in the latters war against Zeus and was banished to Tartarus for it. Selene is a Titan goddess. In Greek mythology, Ceto was a goddess of the water. 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. The most well-known story of Selene is her love of the mortal man Endymion. Did a Lion-Headed Monster Exist in Greek Mythology. Selene, (Greek: Moon) Latin Luna, in Greek and Roman religion, the personification of the moon as a goddess. 573 Bernab. [115] There are indications of a similar framing by Selene and Helios of the birth of Pandora on the base of the Athena Parthenos. Surviving descriptions of Selene's physical appearance and character, apart from those which would apply to the moon itself, are scant. The lunar goddess was also important for her influence over female fertility cycles and childbirth. Pandia Usually said to be the daughter of Selene and Zeus, Pandia was also sometimes given as another name for Selene herself. [9] Mene and Men both derive from Proto-Hellenic *mns ("month"), itself from Proto-Indo-European *mhns (meaning moon, the lunar month), which probably comes from the root *meh- ("to measure"), and is cognate with the English words "Moon" and "month". Were building the worlds most authoritative, online mythology resource, with engaging, accessible content that is both educational and compelling to read. Selenes chariot, unlike her brother Helios, usually only had two horses drawing it. Her brother, Helios, is the god of the sun, and her sister, Eos, is the goddess of the dawn. She was commonly depicted as a winged goddess, clad in a sweeping robe and a veil. The goddess of the hunt became associated with the moon and lunar cycles. [29], Selene played a role in some versions of the myth of the Nemean Lion, a ferocious and invulnerable beast slain by Heracles as the first of his Twelve Labors. "[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. [34] She also had a sacred statue (which stood alongside one of her brother Helios) in the public market of Elis.[35]. 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. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. Selene was not the only lunar goddess of the Greeks. In her later identification with Artemis, Selene came to be called Phoebe or Cynthia. [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. Magical Goddess of the Silvery Moon. [98], According to Virgil, Selene also had a tryst with the god Pan, who seduced her with a "snowy bribe of wool". [144] And, according to a scholium on Theocritus, Pindar wrote that lovesick women would pray to Selene for help, as Euripides apparently had Phaedra, Selene's great-niece, do in his lost play Hippolytus Veiled. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. 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"). 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. Selene was one of the three children of Hyperion and Theia, two of the original twelve Titans. Selene is the goddess of the moon. [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. Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany. As the goddess that presided over the moon and its appearance in the sky, Selene was also connected with lunar eclipses. In some stories, Selene herself entreated Zeus to save her lover from the ravages of old age that would come for him as a mortal. [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. Certain types of insanity were said to be brought on by the moons influence, and it was believed that Selene had the power to create lunacy with purpose. Helios was married to Perse, but he had quite a few extramarital affairs, and a number of children . 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. Selene with sleeping Endymion, fresco in the fourth Pompeian style. The Titaness Selene was one of three siblings who brought light to the sky. 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.

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selene greek mythology

Video Présentation des "Voix pour Albeiro", par la Fondation Albeiro Vargas

selene greek mythology

Émission "Un cœur en or" France Bleu Pays Basque - Mars 2004

selene greek mythology

selene greek mythology

selene greek mythology

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selene greek mythology