selene greek mythology

Mitchell, Lucy M., "Sculptures of the Great Pergamon Altar" in The Century Magazine, 1883. She was also well known for her many affairs with men and her love that possibly . [104] Zeus agrees, urged by Selene's complaints and having long intended to deal with the philosophers himself. Selene, like her siblings, was a Titan goddess because of her birth but they were no less important to the Greeks. [112], Selene was often paired with her brother Helios. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Grapevines then rose from Ampelus corpse, from which the heartbroken Dionysus made wine for the first time. Though Hesiod made the Nemean Lion the child of Echidna, other authors wrote that Selene gave birth to it or brought it up at Heras request. 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. The most enduring story of Selene concerns the love she felt for an ordinary human man. 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. [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. Greek mythology has beautiful explanations for many natural phenomena. Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. [110] In later art, like other celestial divinities such as Helios, Eos, and Nyx (Night), Selene rides across the heavens. Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History 3.57. In some versions, Zeus cursed Endymion because he fell in love with Queen Hera, wife of Zeus. [58] In some later accounts the chariot was drawn by oxen or bulls. Selene, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, was the personification of the moon. [40][41] Furthermore, in Virgil's Aeneid, when Nisus calls upon Selene/the Moon, he addresses her as "daughter of Latona. [4], The name "Selene" is derived from the Greek noun selas (), meaning "light, brightness, gleam". 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. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. Without Selene giving way to Eos, Helios could not bring the sun back to the world. The menstrual cycles were known as moon cycles in many cultures of the world, measured as they were by the monthly lunar calendar. 573 Bernab. [119] Often a crescent moon rests on her brow, or the cusps of a crescent moon protrude, horn-like, from her head, or from behind her head or shoulders. There are a few different versions of the myth. Chiswick House, London, UK. Hypothesis to the scholia on Pindars Nemean Odes. Selene's Role She was the goddess of the moon, which she drove every night across the skies. The cave in Anatolia where Endymion was said to sleep became a holy place for Selene. [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. Accessed March 1, 2023. 116, no. In the Homeric Hymn to Selene, she bears the beautiful Pandeic to Zeus, while Alcman says they are the parents of Herse, the dew. As the most important and visible features in the sky, the people of ancient Greece thought that Selene, goddess of the moon, and her brother Helios, god of the sun, were the ones responsible for the movement of the two celestial bodies across the sky. [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. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Selene, the goddess of the moon, was the youngest of the three siblings. That was a basic unit of how the Greeks measured time in the old days. The later development of Selene as a goddess of insanity had a lasting impact on the medical beliefs of the pre-modern world. The counterpart to her brother, she traveled by night. Same thing happened with Helius and Apollo. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Theoi Project galleries contain more than 1,200 images of ancient Greek and Roman art. Whether this Pallas (called the son of Megamedes) is the same as the Titan Pallas or a different individual entirely is unclear. [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. While not traditionally moon goddesses, those like Isis and Nyx have associations with or are connected to the moon in various ways. Dark nights were a sign of the lunar goddesss eternal love for the sleeping mortal. 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. Along with presiding over dangerous sea creatures, Ceto produced her own set of frightening . Selene and Endymion standing next to each other, sarcophagus fragment, end of 2nd century AD. She is pale, beautiful and indefinably alluring. Indeed, it reflects the fascinating way the Greeks observed the . After these deaths, her brother appeared in a dream to their grieving mother and assured her that he and his sister would now transform into divine natures; and:[101], that which had formerly been called the "holy fire" in the heavens would be called by men Helius ("the sun") and that addressed as "men" would be called Selen ("the moon"). 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. 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. Selene, (Greek: Moon) Latin Luna, in Greek and Roman religion, the personification of the moon as a goddess. 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. 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. In Dionysica, Selene promises the god that she will work with him to punish his enemies with fits of insanity. She and her brother did not just pull the chariots of their respective orbs through the sky. Selene was never completely forgotten by the Greeks, but many of her duties and attributes were taken over by Artemisover time. Kapach, A. In her Full Moon state, she is Panselene or . 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. But in other versions of the Endymion myth, Selene begged Zeus to make her lover immortal so they could be forever. [88], Ampelus was a very beautiful satyr youth, loved by the god Dionysus. Selene and Endymion by Sebastiano Ricci (1713). Hymn 31, To Helios, also speaks of the two sisters of Helios where the rich-tressed Selene is once again alluded to. Her brother Helios shone as the sun, while her sister Eos was the goddess of the dawn. To link to this article in the text of an online publication, please use this URL: https://historycooperative.org/selene-greek-goddess-of-the-moon/. He soon discovered the source of Selenes distraction. Selene, the goddess of the moon, has two siblings: Eos, the goddess of the dawn, and Helios, the sun god. How old is the United States of America? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Greeks (like many other ancient peoples) were notoriously terrified of eclipses, viewing them as signs of the gods displeasure.[3]. There existed an oracular sanctuary for her in Laconia, near Thalamai. 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. In another story she was loved by Pan. [115] There are indications of a similar framing by Selene and Helios of the birth of Pandora on the base of the Athena Parthenos. Nonnus, Dionysiaca 12.1ff (who names Helios as the father of the Horae but does not name the mother). Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 10.336ff; cf. Thus, Selene falling for Endymion was supposed to represent moonrise every night. These were the fifty daughters who were fathered by Endymion the fifty months represented the four-year cycle of the Olympiads. A third version of the story had Endymion himself choose an ageless sleep as opposed to living a mortal life. In many cases it rested on her brow or jutted out on either side of her head like a crown or horns. Upon the head of Selene was normally found a crown that was representative of the spherical moon. Surviving descriptions of Selene's physical appearance and character, apart from those which would apply to the moon itself, are scant. [79] While Quintus Smyrnaeus wrote that, while Endymion slept in his cave beside his cattle: and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love, drew down the immortal stainless Queen of Night. Selene was one of the three children of Hyperion and Theia, two of the original twelve Titans. This includes mythical sea monsters, whales, sharks, dragons, and venomous animals. 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. 3. ", Sorrenti, Stefania, "Les reprsentations figures de Jupiter Dolichnien Rome," in, Thomas, Edmund. . Both Epimenides and the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras seem to use the exact words fell from the moon while speaking of the savage Lion of Nemea, Epimenides again using the words fair tressed Selene.. Epimenides, in the theogony that was ascribed to him, also calls her lovely haired, perhaps due to the Homeric Hymns themselves. In post-classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. Their names differed from the other triads of Horae and they were considered to be the personifications of the four seasons itself. [142] In Theocritus' second Idyll, a young girl invokes Selene in a love-spell. After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. : https: //historycooperative.org/selene-greek-goddess-of-the-moon/: moon ) Latin Luna, in Greek and Roman,. The personifications of the Endymion myth, Selene was never completely forgotten by the Dionysus... Were known as moon cycles in many cultures of the moon, which drove. The later development of Selene as a goddess of the pre-modern world were a sign of the four itself! Eternal love for the sleeping mortal 88 ], Selene was often with! In various ways appearance and character, apart from those which would to! Old days the heartbroken Dionysus made wine selene greek mythology the first time agrees urged... 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