[62] References to this magical trick, variously referred to as (kathairen), are scattered throughout ancient literature, whereas eclipses of both the Sun and the Moon were called kathaireseis ("casting-downs") by the Greek populace. Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. [2], Selene was also called Mene. 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). Selene was so enamored of the young man that she left the sky to see him more closely. [25], Two other sources also mention her hair. [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. 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. As the moon, Selene occupied an important place in popular religion. Did a Lion-Headed Monster Exist in Greek Mythology. [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. Her request granted, Selene visited him regularly; some sources even reported that they had children together (see above).[27]. Another myth describes how Selene held her own against the monster Typhoeus when he attacked the gods. Rheinisches Museum Fr Philologie, vol. Zeus slept with the human queen Alcmene, of which encounter Heracles was born. [98], According to Virgil, Selene also had a tryst with the god Pan, who seduced her with a "snowy bribe of wool". 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. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) Hymn 32, To Selene, describes with great beauty the moon, Selene in her celestial form, her chariot and various attributes. The personification of the Sun, he was portrayed as driving a four-horse chariot across the sky on a daily basis. 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. We knew of her that she was a goddess of the moon, but so was Artemis (Greek mythology) . Occasionally Selenes chariot was pulled by oxen or bulls, again differentiating it from the faster vehicle of her brother. While other goddesses were associated with the night in more general terms, Selene was believed to be the embodiment of the moon herself. Well, go on, and steel thy heart, wise though thou be, to take up thy burden of pain, fraught with many sighs."[70]. At that time, he did not wish for the sun to rise for three days and sent instructions to Selene via Hermes so it should be so. The moon was also believed to bring the night dew that nourished the plants and to bring sleep and rest to humankind. In her later identification with Artemis, Selene came to be called Phoebe or Cynthia. [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. A third version of the story had Endymion himself choose an ageless sleep as opposed to living a mortal life. The Greek word for the moon was also the word used to delineate the months. Selene was a beautiful goddess with long, flowing . [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. Selene goddess of the moon, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Antikensammlung Berlin. Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. 10; Pisander, Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (FGrH) 16 frag. [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. Selene and Endymion standing next to each other, sarcophagus fragment, end of 2nd century AD. 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. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 1 (86 IMAGES) . 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. Selene and Endymion relief, Alessandro and Lancellotto Pusterla's gravestone, 16th century. H. G. Evelyn-White. One of the names given for Selene, and occasionally for an independent personification, was Mene. In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. The moon, in the ancient world, was heavily associated with certain kinds of womanly issues, fertility, and healing. 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. She is pale, beautiful and indefinably alluring. Selene is the Greek proper name for the Moon,[155] and 580 Selene, a minor planet in the asteroid belt, is also named after this goddess. In time, however, some early Greek philosophers and scientists did attempt rational explanations for lunar eclipses (e.g., Democritus, frag. Selene was the ancient Greek Titan goddess of the moon. [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). Selenes chariot, unlike her brother Helios, usually only had two horses drawing it. [120] Selene's head is sometimes surrounded by a nimbus, and from the Hellenistic period onwards, she is sometimes pictured with a torch. 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. But on nights the moon could not be seen, there was a very good reason for her absence. As time progressed, they merged into one identity. Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 10.336ff; cf. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Offended, she sent a gadfly to sting the bull; the surprised creature threw Ampelus and proceeded to gore him to death. Endymion was, depending on the source, a prince in exile or a simple shepherd. 2. [72] A scholiast on Apollonius says that, according to Epimenides, Endymion fell in love with Hera, and Zeus punished him with eternal sleep. [8] The masculine form of mene (men) was also the name of the Phrygian moon-god Men. In later times, Selene was often associated with Artemis in the same way that her brother Helios was associated with Artemis brother Apollo. The real lunar goddess was Selene, the Titaness who drove across the sky each night as the personified moon! Mason-Dixon Line [146], Her and her brother's worship is also attested in Gytheum, a town in Laconia near Sparta, via an inscription (C.I.G. [56] While the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two,[57] described as "snow-white" by Ovid. [112], Selene was often paired with her brother Helios. Greek mythology has beautiful explanations for many natural phenomena. 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]. However, in the science fiction book The First Men on the Moon by H.G. Selene then turned Lilaeus into a mountain, Mt. Selene was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses, and her story is one of the most captivating in Greek mythology. Selene fought back the giant, locking horns with Typhon; afterwards, she carried many scars on her orb, reminiscent of their battle. The light that humans saw from earth emanate from them, a legacy of their lustrous father. 127 ff (trans. [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". This was called a casting down of the moon, or in the case of a solar eclipse, of the sun. Endymion The most well-known story of Selene is her love of the mortal man Endymion. Like Helios with the sun, Selene drove the moon across the sky each night in a chariot. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (/slini/; Greek: pronounced[seln], meaning "Moon"[2]) is the personification of the Moon. [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. However, hers might not be a name that is quite as well-known. According to some, she bore fifty children while her lover slept and dreamed of her beauty. [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. In ancient Greek mythology, Selene, is the Titan goddess of the moon and is said to drive her glowing chariot powered by beautiful white horses across the sky each night. She was often said to be the mother of the Horai, the personifications of the division of time and the seasons. [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"). I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. Selene is the goddess of the moon. "On Representations of Helios and of Selene", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Sorabella, Jean, "A Roman Sarcophagus and Its Patron. Selene, goddess of the moon, truly represented the moon itself to the Greeks. 17th century bronze statue of Hercules and the Nemean Lion; possibly French. ", Sorrenti, Stefania, "Les reprsentations figures de Jupiter Dolichnien Rome," in, Thomas, Edmund. in, Palagia, Olga (2005), "Fire from Heaven: Pediments and Akroteria of the Parthenon" in, Parisinou, Eva, "Brightness personified: light and devine image in ancient Greece" in, Robertson, Noel (1996), "Athena's Shrines and Festivals" in, Savignoni L. 1899. In rarer traditions, she is the daughter of the Titan Pallas. 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. Word for the moon, in the case of a solar eclipse, of story... Often associated with Artemis in the ancient world, was heavily associated with the night a... 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