selene greek mythology

Many of these old communities followed the lunar calendar and that made the moon a center of their faith and worship in many ways. 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. Two winged steeds pulled her across the sky each night. Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.54ff; Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.1.4; Apollodorus, Library 1.7.5; cf. Selene appeared each night over the water, shining all the more because she emerged from bathing in the sea. Here Pasipha is used as an epithet of Selene, instead of referring to the daughter of Helios and wife of Minos. [56] While the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two,[57] described as "snow-white" by Ovid. Selene, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, was the personification of the moon. Selene, the moon goddess, was reputed to have had many children by various fathers. Hail, white-armed goddess, bright Selene, mild, bright-tressed queen! ", Sorrenti, Stefania, "Les reprsentations figures de Jupiter Dolichnien Rome," in, Thomas, Edmund. E.g., Thucydides, Histories 7.50.4; Tacitus, Annals 1.28.1ff. iPhone History: A Timeline of Every Model in Order Helios, the son of Hyperion and Theia, was their second child. The most well-known story of Selene is her love of the mortal man Endymion. Each day she drives her two-horse chariot, heralding the breaking of the new day and her brother's arrival. [45] Selene and Zeus were also said to be the parents of Nemea, the eponymous nymph of Nemea, where Heracles slew the Nemean Lion, and where the Nemean Games were held. She was also well known for her many affairs with men and her love that possibly . [113] Selene and Helios also appear on the North Metopes of the Parthenon, with Selene this time entering the sea on horseback. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. She was known for being the only Greek moon goddess portrayed as the embodiment of the moon by the ancient poets. Artemis has been commonly associated with Selene. The goddess of the moon does not seem to have been the object of much ritual worship in the early Greek period. 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. 80; Acusilaus, FHG 1 frag. Obbink, Dirk (2002), "'All Gods are True' in Epicurus" in, Obbink, Dirk (2011) "56. How Did Uranus get its Name as Per Greek Mythology? He soon discovered the source of Selenes distraction. Selene was a beautiful goddess with long, flowing . 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. The first depictions of Selenes moon chariot goes back to the early 5th century BCE. That was a basic unit of how the Greeks measured time in the old days. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (/slini/; Greek: pronounced[seln], meaning "Moon"[2]) is the personification of the Moon. She is often linked with Endymion, whom she loved and whom Zeus cast into eternal sleep in a cave on Mount Latmus; there, Selene visited him and became the mother of 50 daughters. 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. The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, making Selene one of the most important deities in the passage of time. The great English Romantic poet John Keats wrote a poem about the mortal, entitled Endymion, with some of the most famous opening lines in the English language. Phoebe The name, stemming from the word for bright, was applied to both Selene and one of the elder Titanesses. GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 1 (86 IMAGES) . As punishment, he was either thrown out of Olympus or cast into an eternal sleep. [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. [146], Her and her brother's worship is also attested in Gytheum, a town in Laconia near Sparta, via an inscription (C.I.G. This was known as the Gigantomachy. There were still several goddesses who shared Selenes lunar domain, however. In the center of the main panel Selene descends from her chariot, whose horses are held by a nymph, to join Endymion, who lies to the right. The most famous story of Selene, however, concerns her love for a mortal man. 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. At night he drove below the edge of the world in the west, circling below Gaia to reappear on the eastern horizon by morning. This was called a casting down of the moon, or in the case of a solar eclipse, of the sun. Her lunar sphere or crescent was either a crown set upon her head or the fold of a raised, shining cloak. [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. Helios was married to Perse, but he had quite a few extramarital affairs, and a number of children . [93] Aelian states: "They say that the Lion of Nemea fell from the moon", and quotes Epimenides as saying:[94], For I am sprung from fair-tressed Selene the Moon, who in a fearful shudder shook off the savage lion in Nemea, and brought him forth at the bidding of Queen Hera. Selene could still see her sleeping love whenever she pleased, but the pressures of time and mortality were taken off her. [117] Selene also appears on horseback as part of the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Depending on the author, the chariot was either silver,[6] snow white,[7] or gold. [142] In Theocritus' second Idyll, a young girl invokes Selene in a love-spell. [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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. Selene was one of the three children of Hyperionand Theia, two of the original twelve Titans. [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". Most famous classical poets describe her beauty as so intriguing that gods and mortals alike could not resist her godly charms. [84] Selene's participation in the battle is evidenced by her inclusion in the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar, fighting against Giants next to her siblings Helios and Eos and her mother Theia in the southern frieze. Like Artemis, Selene was sometimes called Phoebe, a name that means bright one.. It seems that Selene was not uninvolved in the twelve tasks of Heracles either. Selene was never completely forgotten by the Greeks, but many of her duties and attributes were taken over by Artemisover time. 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. 200 (cited in the scholia on Aristophanes Frogs 1033); Orphica frag. Oil lamp fragment with the head of Selene, early classical period, Muse de Die. It was devoted to Selene, under the name Pasiphae, and to Helios. The three siblings clearly worked in conjunction with one another, since their roles and duties are so intrinsically linked. Selene. Mythopedia, December 07, 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene. 1. By all accounts, Selene seemed to have played a major role in this war. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. And if Selene and Helios did not work together, as the personifications of the moon and the sun, there would be absolute chaos in the world. The talkative Myia would sit with Endymion as he slept his eternal sleep, chattering endlesslyso much so that Endymion eventually woke up. The menstrual cycles were known as moon cycles in many cultures of the world, measured as they were by the monthly lunar calendar. The most important of Selenes symbols was her moon chariot. 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. 3 (cited in the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.57). [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). In her later identification with Artemis, Selene came to be called Phoebe or Cynthia. A variation of this symbol was the nimbus, which surrounded her head, depicting the celestial light she bestowed on the world. Selene and Endymion, fresco on ceiling by Giuseppe Antonio Orelli, circa 1730-1770, Palazzo Riva. Another myth describes how Selene held her own against the monster Typhoeus when he attacked the gods. Hypothesis to the scholia on Pindars Nemean Odes. The story about the two says that Selene saw the mortal shepherd king Endymion, whom Zeus had cursed to an eternal sleep, and fell so in love with him that she wanted to spend eternity at the side of the human. Accessed March 1, 2023. After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. In Greek mythology, Selene was traditionally depicted as a beautiful young woman, with perhaps paler than usual skin. In this case, the story of Selene embracing Endymion, or Moon embraces Diver, refers to the sun setting and the moon rising. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. As time progressed, they merged into one identity. If you thought Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon, you are only partially right. Thus, Selene falling for Endymion was supposed to represent moonrise every night. Without Selene giving way to Eos, Helios could not bring the sun back to the world. [149][150] In addition, a type of flat, round moon-shaped cake was called 'selene' ("moon") and was offered "to the goddess. The counterpart to her brother, she traveled by night. 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. [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. "From the panteon of the gods to the Pantheon of Rome" in, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 02:32. How old is the United States of America? The goddess had one temple that was also an oracle near Thalamae in Laconia. Lilaeon. Many people believed that labor and childbirth was easiest during the full moon and prayed to Selene for aid. Accessed on 27 Feb. 2023. Deciphering the Role of Helios, the Sun God of Greek Mythology. [75] Cicero seems to make Selene responsible for Endymion's sleep, so that "she might kiss him while sleeping". 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? The masculine form, Phoebus, was used in reference to either Apollo or. Like every celestial goddess , there was a yin to Selene's yang; In this case, there were two yins. 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