260 M-W; Epimenides, FHG 4 frag. She is dressed in the finest silk robes and travels in her silver moon chariot drawn by luminous steeds across the heavens. Selene. 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. [78] In his dialogue between Aphrodite and Eros, Lucian also has Aphrodite admonish her son Eros for bringing Selene "down from the sky". Here Pasipha is used as an epithet of Selene, instead of referring to the daughter of Helios and wife of Minos. It is of course a tale that began in Ancient Greece, but the story of Endymion is one taken up with vigour by Renaissance artists and the imagery of the Moon goddesses visiting the eternal sleeping mortal was often repeated. The masculine form, Phoebus, was used in reference to either Apollo or. Most of the important Greek gods and goddesses had temple sites of their own. Who was Vesta, the Goddess of the Hearth? In Greek literature, Eos is presented as a daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, the sister of the sun god Helios and the moon goddess Selene. Without Selene giving way to Eos, Helios could not bring the sun back to the world. [128], Originally, Pandia may have been an epithet of Selene,[129] but by at least the time of the late Hymn to Selene, Pandia had become a daughter of Zeus and Selene. At night he drove below the edge of the world in the west, circling below Gaia to reappear on the eastern horizon by morning. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene, Avi Kapach is a writer, scholar, and educator who received his PhD in Classics from Brown University. These three lunar goddesses were all important to the Greeks in different ways but it was only Selene who was considered the moon incarnate herself. 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. [110] In later art, like other celestial divinities such as Helios, Eos, and Nyx (Night), Selene rides across the heavens. If you have read Greek mythology and the famous epics of ancient Greece, you may be quite familiar with her brother Helios. Indeed, the Greek comic playwright Aristophanes said in the 5th century BCE that the worship of the moon was a sign of barbarian communities and not to be emulated by the Greeks. [28], Another version is known only from Lucian, a satirical writer from the second century CE. In post-classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. Surviving descriptions of Selene's physical appearance and character, apart from those which would apply to the moon itself, are scant. There are a few different versions of the myth. Attributes to the Byrgos Painter, ca. Two winged steeds pulled her across the sky each night. 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. iPhone History: A Timeline of Every Model in Order GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 1 (86 IMAGES) . Nonnus describes how, as Ampelus was riding a bull, he made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. As punishment, he was either thrown out of Olympus or cast into an eternal sleep. 3. However, her greatest love was a lowly mortal named Endymion. Thus, both the sun and the moon were seen as gods embodied in those forms. 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. Nonnus, Dionysiaca 12.1ff (who names Helios as the father of the Horae but does not name the mother). [31] Mesomedes of Crete calls her (glauk, "silvery grey"). For the people of old, natural phenomena was an important part of their worship. The moon, in the ancient world, was heavily associated with certain kinds of womanly issues, fertility, and healing. There are three different ways you can cite this article. "On Representations of Helios and of Selene", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Sorabella, Jean, "A Roman Sarcophagus and Its Patron. In Greek mythology, Hyperion (/ h a p r i n /; Greek: , 'he who goes before') was one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia (the Earth) and Uranus (the Sky). 10; Pisander, Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (FGrH) 16 frag. If your web page requires an HTML link, please insert this code: . Selene was the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. [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. Selenes role in this war was not only to fight against the giants. Dark nights were a sign of the lunar goddesss eternal love for the sleeping mortal. Selene could still see her sleeping love whenever she pleased, but the pressures of time and mortality were taken off her. 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. 1999, Mark P. O. Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, Classical Mythology, page 43, Balancing Arria is the union of Selene and Endymion. Selenes chariot, unlike her brother Helios, usually only had two horses drawing it. [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 crescent moon, full moon, and dark moon, as delinted by the divisions of the calendar month).[154]. [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. 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. Worshiped as one of the important celestial lights of the heavens, Selene was also reputedly revered as a deity of agriculture and fertility. The Greek word for the moon was also the word used to delineate the months. [148] Records show that a type of cake called (bos, "ox") decorated with horns to represent the full moon or an ox was offered to her and other divinities like Hecate, Artemis and Apollo. Her grandparents are Gaia, (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky). Way). Her name is linked with those of various other goddesses, such as Artemis and Hecate, who are also associated with the moon. Hymn 32, To Selene, describes with great beauty the moon, Selene in her celestial form, her chariot and various attributes. 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. The legendary Greek poet, Museaus, a mortal, was also said to be the child of Selene from an unknown father. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. This is at times accompanied by stars to depict the night sky, but the crescent moon was perhaps the most recognizable of Selenes symbols. Selene's Roman name was Lunar. This was the mythological explanation for the movement of the moon across the sky. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. Her sister Eos was the light of dawn and their brother Helios drew the chariot of the sun across the sky each day. Hyginus, preface to Fabulae. She announced the coming of her younger brother. Helius, Selene, Eos, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Nike, Boreas, Zephyrus, Astra) GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 8 (83 IMAGES) While there were many goddesses associated with the moon and lunar powers, Selene personified the moon and its light. Whether this Pallas (called the son of Megamedes) is the same as the Titan Pallas or a different individual entirely is unclear. She was depicted as a woman riding sidesaddle on a horse or driving a chariot drawn by a pair of winged steeds. Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases. Her name was spelt differently in the different dialects of the Greeks but the meaning was the same. 116, no. [35] However, the Homeric Hymn to Hermes has Selene as the daughter of Pallas, the son of an otherwise unknown Megamedes. Helios was one of the Titans, son of Hyperion and Theia and brother of Eos (the Dawn) and Selene (the Moon ). Even if he were sleeping, he would not be parted from the goddess he loved by death. As the goddess of the division of the months, Selene was a goddess of time. 3/4, 1973, pp. [88], Ampelus was a very beautiful satyr youth, loved by the god Dionysus. Though Selene had many consorts, the most famous of them was Endymion, a handsome young mortal. 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). 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. Her list of powers are unmatched, as far as lunar goddesses go. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, making Selene one of the most important deities in the passage of time. Selene was a beautiful goddess with long, flowing . With Zeus she is the mother of Pandeia goddess of dew. 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. 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. Orphism, Cosmogony, and Genealogy (Mus. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. Hurwit 2017, pp. The name of the moon goddess is surrounded by accounts of the consorts she had and their children. While her husbands team of horses usually consisted of four animals, Selenes chariot, like her light, was less powerful. Attic red-figure kylix showing Selene riding the chariot of the moon, drawn by two winged horses. Who were Zeus' Lovers? [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. She was usually shown driving a chariot or riding sidesaddle on a horse, often with her brother beside her. [31], Ampelus was a handsome young male satyr and the first love of the god Dionysus. 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. [63][66], Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion. Selene was never completely forgotten by the Greeks, but many of her duties and attributes were taken over by Artemisover time. Selene then turned Lilaeus into a mountain, Mt. Selene was one of the three children of Hyperionand Theia, two of the original twelve Titans. Selene (probably) and Helios adorned the east pediment of the Parthenon, where the two, each driving a four-horsed chariot, framed a scene depicting the birth of Athena, with Helios and his chariot rising from the ocean on the left, and Selene and her chariot descending into the sea on the right. 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. 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