Whether this Pallas (called the son of Megamedes) is the same as the Titan Pallas or a different individual entirely is unclear. The crescent moon, full moon, and dark moon corresponded to the three states of being embodied by the Fates. If youve ever wondered what role the moon played in ancient life, here is your chance to learn about how the Greeks viewed Selene, the personification of the moon. As the goddess of the division of the months, Selene was a goddess of time. 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. [1], Selene was often identified with other goddesses, including Men (also spelled Mene), the divine personification of the lunar month; Bendis, a goddess of Thracian origin; Hecate, a goddess of witchcraft; and (especially in later antiquity) Artemis, the goddess of hunting and wild things. In antiquity, Selene would also often be depicted either riding upon a bull, or upon a silvery chariot drawn by two winged horses. 3/4, 1973, pp. Upon the head of Selene was normally found a crown that was representative of the spherical moon. In the most familiar account, Selene first saw the beautiful Endymion as he lay sleeping in a cave on Mount Latmus. The myth of Selene, the moon goddess, is no exception. 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 had two siblings, Helios and Eos. 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. [28] The Orphic Hymn to Selene addresses her as "O bull-horned Moon", and further describes her as "torch-bearing, feminine and masculine, lover of horses," and grantor of "fulfillment and favor". The goddess of the hunt became associated with the moon and lunar cycles. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (/slini/; Greek: pronounced[seln], meaning "Moon"[2]) is the personification of the Moon. (Also, the name of the Titan Goddess Phoebe and an epithet of Artemis.). [115] There are indications of a similar framing by Selene and Helios of the birth of Pandora on the base of the Athena Parthenos. 200 (cited in the scholia on Aristophanes Frogs 1033); Orphica frag. Selene is a Titan goddess. The phases of the moonespecially the new moon and the full moonplayed a central role in the ancient Greeks understanding of time and agriculture. The sky was dark at night and the sun more lethargic than usual. [7] The Greek word mene, meant the moon, and the lunar month. [61], In antiquity, the lunar eclipse phenomena were thought to be caused by witches, particularly the ones from Thessaly, who brought the Moon/Selene down with spells and invocations of magic. [122] As frequently depicted on Roman sarcophagi, Selene, holding a billowing veil forming a crescent over her head, descends from her chariot to join her lover, who slumbers at her feet. [123], Moon figures are found on Cretan rings and gems (perhaps indicating a Minoan moon cult), but apart from the role played by the moon itself in magic, folklore, and poetry, and despite the later worship of the Phrygian moon-god Men, there was relatively little worship of Selene. She was essentially urban and civilized, the antithesis in many respects of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors. Her presence is felt in something as simple as the names of the days of the week. H. G. Evelyn-White. A third version of the story had Endymion himself choose an ageless sleep as opposed to living a mortal life. Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.54ff; Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.1.4; Apollodorus, Library 1.7.5; cf. Selene was the goddess of the moon. [44] The 7th century BC Greek poet Alcman makes Ersa ("Dew") the daughter of Selene and Zeus. [112], Selene was often paired with her brother Helios. Selene goddess of the moon, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Antikensammlung Berlin. 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. Because Basileia's other brothers envied these offspring, and feared that Hyperion would try to seize power for himself, they conspired against him. 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. Pandia Usually said to be the daughter of Selene and Zeus, Pandia was also sometimes given as another name for Selene herself. Like most of the Titans, Selene was rarely worshipped in the ancient world. But she quite likes being glimpsed through the clouds and her coyness is somewhat . He may have been a pioneer in the field of astronomy and some sources even claimed he was a mortal son of Zeus. In memory of the beautiful Endymion, the fly still grudges all sleepers their rest and annoys them. [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". In her later identification with Artemis, Selene came to be called Phoebe or Cynthia. Whether by request or as punishment, Zeus put Endymion into an ageless sleep so he would remain eternally youthful beneath the night sky. Pan, the god of the wild, supposedly seduced Selene while dressed in a sheepskin. Well, go on, and steel thy heart, wise though thou be, to take up thy burden of pain, fraught with many sighs."[70]. Her request granted, Selene visited him regularly; some sources even reported that they had children together (see above).[27]. While the Maenids of Dionysus were driven mad by the frenzy of their worship, however, the madness brought about by Selene could be used as a targeted punishment. It was devoted to Selene, under the name Pasiphae, and to Helios. 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. Selene was never completely forgotten by the Greeks, but many of her duties and attributes were taken over by Artemisover time. 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. Helios, the son of Hyperion and Theia, was their second child. The Homeric Hymn 31 sings praises to all the children of Hyperion, referring to Eos as rosy armed Eos and to Helios as tireless Helios.. [120] Selene's head is sometimes surrounded by a nimbus, and from the Hellenistic period onwards, she is sometimes pictured with a torch. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? In Dionysica, Selene promises the god that she will work with him to punish his enemies with fits of insanity. Nonnus, Dionysiaca 12.1ff (who names Helios as the father of the Horae but does not name the mother). Selene - The Moon Goddess - Greek Mythology - See U in History Art: Marcus AquinoColor: Rod Fernandes#GreekMythology #Mythology #SeeUinHistory #History #Myth. Attic red-figure kylix showing Selene riding the chariot of the moon, drawn by two winged horses. 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. The concept of Selene as the lunar goddess also made her an important goddess of childbirth and female fertility. Did a Lion-Headed Monster Exist in Greek Mythology. 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. Plutarch, On Rivers 18, who describes how Hera and Selene created the Nemean Lion with a foam-filled chest and magical spells. While Selene was known for pulling the moon across the sky in her silver . The goddess of the moon does not seem to have been the object of much ritual worship in the early Greek period. From her immortal head a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the beauty that ariseth from her shining light. Her fifty daughters with Endymion marked the fifty lunar months that passed between celebrations of the Olympiad. Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases. [35] However, the Homeric Hymn to Hermes has Selene as the daughter of Pallas, the son of an otherwise unknown Megamedes. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene, Avi Kapach is a writer, scholar, and educator who received his PhD in Classics from Brown University. In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. [89] One day, in Nonnus' account, Ampelus rode on a bull, and proceeded to compare himself to Selene, saying that he was her equal, having horns and riding bulls just like her. [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. [117] Selene also appears on horseback as part of the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. The bull panicked, threw Ampelus and gored him to death. [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. According to Hesiods 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 is a Titan goddess in Greek mythology. Although Zeus had taken many mortal lovers, the goddess of the moon had been abandoning her duties and could cause chaos if she continued. As Luna, she had temples at Rome on the Aventine and Palatine hills. In Greek mythology, Selene was the Titan goddess of the moon. 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. 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. GREEK VASE PAINTINGS GALLERY 1 (86 IMAGES) . As the daughter of the Titan god of heavenly light, it is an apt name. According to Lucian, Selene had a rival for Endymions love named Myia. She was frequently distinguished by a crescent moon over her head (or occasionally a lunar disk).[9]. [25], Two other sources also mention her hair. The personification of the Sun, he was portrayed as driving a four-horse chariot across the sky on a daily basis. Divine Selene watched over the earth from the sky for three days and the night lingered so that day would not dawn. Thus, Selene falling for Endymion was supposed to represent moonrise every night. Even though she, along with her siblings, was a Titan goddess because of her parentage, the three of them became quite central to the Greek pantheon and were accepted as Greek gods themselves after the fall of the great Titans. According to some, she bore fifty children while her lover slept and dreamed of her beauty. Selene and Endymion, fresco on ceiling by Giuseppe Antonio Orelli, circa 1730-1770, Palazzo Riva. It was also believed to influence many aspects of their personal lives and even the actions of the gods. Along with presiding over dangerous sea creatures, Ceto produced her own set of frightening . Kapach, Avi. ", Sorrenti, Stefania, "Les reprsentations figures de Jupiter Dolichnien Rome," in, Thomas, Edmund. She was the personification of the moon, but was also associated with lunar elements such as tides, months, and even lunacy. This irritated Endymion, and enraged Selene, who transforms the girl into a fly (Ancient Greek: , romanized:mua). She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun-god Helios, and Eos, goddess of the dawn. The first mention of the moon goddess in Greek mythology was probably in the Homeric Hymns. [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. Thus, both the sun and the moon were seen as gods embodied in those forms. [146], Her and her brother's worship is also attested in Gytheum, a town in Laconia near Sparta, via an inscription (C.I.G. [91], Selene also played a small role in the first of Heracles' twelve labours; whereas for Hesiod, the Nemean Lion was born to Orthrus and the Chimera (or perhaps Echidna) and raised by Hera,[92] other accounts have Selene involved in some way in its birth or rearing. Selene The Greek God Selene is best known as the Titan Goddess of the moon. [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. [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). Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany. Every evening, Selene ushered in nightfall and then drove her chariot through the night before giving way to dawn. Endymion Kapach, A. If you have read Greek mythology and the famous epics of ancient Greece, you may be quite familiar with her brother Helios. [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). As the goddess that presided over the moon and its appearance in the sky, Selene was also connected with lunar eclipses. She was also well known for her many affairs with men and her love that possibly . We learn of Selenes family, her parents and siblings and the children that she went on to have, from various different sources and Greek myths. [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. The name Selene is also quite popular in the English-speaking world. Their daughter Eos was the first to appear each day. The light that humans saw from earth emanate from them, a legacy of their lustrous father. The fifty daughters of Selene and Endymion mark the fifty lunar months of the four year Olympiad Cycle. Magical Goddess of the Silvery Moon. 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. [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. 116, no. [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. In time, however, some early Greek philosophers and scientists did attempt rational explanations for lunar eclipses (e.g., Democritus, frag. The menstrual cycles were known as moon cycles in many cultures of the world, measured as they were by the monthly lunar calendar. Attributes to the Byrgos Painter, ca. 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. [108], In antiquity, artistic representations of Selene/Luna included sculptural reliefs, vase paintings, coins, and gems. Selenes siblings and Selene herself carried on their fathers legacy by shining light from the heavens upon the earth. Selene was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses, and her story is one of the most captivating in Greek mythology. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death Worshiped as one of the important celestial lights of the heavens, Selene was also reputedly revered as a deity of agriculture and fertility. Whenever the moon could not be seen in the night sky, it was because Selene had paused to take in Endymions beauty once again. There are three different ways you can cite this article. Many of these old communities followed the lunar calendar and that made the moon a center of their faith and worship in many ways. Both of these Goddesses are also associated with Hecate. Deciphering the Role of Helios, the Sun God of Greek Mythology. Modern audiences do not often think about Selenes cyclical nature, however. Selene could still see her sleeping love whenever she pleased, but the pressures of time and mortality were taken off her. This was known as the Gigantomachy. Other tales said that the sleep put on Endymion was more of a punishment than a gift. Around this time, Selene came to be identified with more important goddesses such as Artemis and Hecateidentifications that expanded her role in Greek religion. Selene - or Luna as the Romans called her - is the goddess of the moon, driving a horse-drawn chariot across the night sky. Selene herself most often wore a crown of gleaming silver, which matched her silver chariot. For the people of old, natural phenomena was an important part of their worship. Her sister Eos was the light of dawn and their brother Helios drew the chariot of the sun across the sky each day. 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. These two goddesses have additional association with Hecate. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Her father was the Titan god of heavenly light, while her mother represented the blue color of the sky. 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. The people of Sparta claimed that Ares had been nursed by a nymph called Thero. 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