In ancient Greek mythology and religion , Selene ( / s ɪ ˈ l iː n iː / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Σελήνη pronounced [selɛ̌ːnɛː] seh- LEH -neh , meaning "Moon") is the goddess and personification of the Moon . 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 drives her moon chariot across the heavens. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus , Pan , and the mortal Endymion . In post-classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis , much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo . Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate and all three were regarded as moon and lunar goddesses , but only Selene was regarded as the personification of the Moon itself.
60-590: Her equivalent in Roman religion and mythology is the goddess Luna . The name "Selene" is derived from the Greek noun selas ( σέλας ), meaning "light, brightness, gleam". In the Doric and Aeolic dialects, her name was also spelled Σελάνα ( Selána ) and Σελάννα ( Selánna ) respectively. Selene was also called Mene . The Greek word mene , meant the moon, and the lunar month. The masculine form of mene ( men )
120-441: 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. In Lucian's Icaromenippus [ fi ] , Selene complains to the titular Menippus of all the outrageous claims philosophers are making about her, such as wondering why she
180-593: A scholium on Euripides 's play The Phoenician Women which adds Zeus as the father. Furthermore, in Virgil 's Aeneid , when Nisus calls upon Selene/the Moon, he addresses her as "daughter of Latona." According to the Homeric Hymn to Selene , the goddess bore Zeus a daughter, Pandia ("All-brightness"), "exceeding lovely amongst the deathless gods". The 7th century BC Greek poet Alcman makes Ersa ("Dew")
240-484: A chariot across the heavens. There are no mentions of Selene's chariot in either Homer or Hesiod , but the Homeric Hymn to Selene , gives the following description: The air, unlit before, glows with the light of her golden crown, and her rays beam clear, whensoever bright Selene having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean, and donned her far-gleaming raiment, and yoked her strong-necked, shining team, drives on her long-maned horses at full speed, at eventime in
300-420: A fragment from a poem, possibly written by Pamprepius , she is called κυανῶπις ( kyanṓpis , "dark-eyed"). Mesomedes of Crete calls her γλαυκὰ ( glaukà , "silvery grey"). 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
360-462: A god or a goddess personified an object or a concept, they inherited the gender of the corresponding noun; selene, the Greek noun for 'Moon', is a feminine one (whereas men is a masculine one), so the deity embodying it is also by necessity female. In PIE mythology, the Moon, which is a male figure, was seen as forming a pair–usually wedlock–with the Sun, which is a female figure, and which in Greek mythology
420-441: A mountain, Mt. Lilaeon. Ovid mentions how in the myth of Phaethon , Helios' son who drove his father's chariot for a day, when Phaethon lost control of the chariot and burned the earth, Selene in the sky looked down to see in amazement her brother's horses running wild lower than normal. In antiquity, artistic representations of Selene/Luna included sculptural reliefs, vase paintings, coins, and gems. In red-figure pottery before
480-474: 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). While the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two, described as "snow-white" by Ovid . In some later accounts the chariot was drawn by oxen or bulls. Though the moon chariot is often described as being silver, for Pindar it was golden. In antiquity,
540-423: A sign to mortal men. ... Hail, white-armed goddess, bright Selene, mild, bright-tressed queen! Two other sources also mention her hair. The Homeric Hymn to Helios uses the same epithet εὐπλόκαμος ("bright-tressed"), used in the above Hymn to Selene (elsewhere translated as "rich-", "lovely-", or "well-tressed"), while Epimenides uses the epithet ἠυκόμοιο ("lovely-haired"). In late accounts, Selene (like
600-414: A wall painting that uniquely focuses on Luna alone shows one of the horses of the team as light in color, with the other a dark brown. A biga of oxen was also driven by Hecate , the chthonic aspect of the triple goddess in complement with the "horned" or crescent-crowned Diana and Luna. The three-form Hecate ( trimorphos ) was identified by Servius with Luna, Diana, and Proserpina . According to
660-439: Is also called Phoebe (feminine form). Also from Artemis, Selene was sometimes called "Cynthia", meaning "she of Mount Cynthus " (the birthplace of Artemis). Selene, along with her brother, her sister and the sky-god Zeus, is one of the few Greek deities of a clear Proto-Indo-European origin, although they were sidelined by later non-PIE newcomers to the pantheon, as remaining on the sidelines became their primary function, to be
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#1732783808809720-468: Is as the daughter of Hyperion and Theia , and sister of Helios and Eos . She was, however, the subject of one of the thirty-three Homeric Hymns , which gives the following description: And next, sweet voiced Muses, daughters of Zeus, well-skilled in song, tell of the long-winged Moon. From her immortal head a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the beauty that ariseth from her shining light. The air, unlit before, glows with
780-584: Is distinguished from both Diana and Juno, who also appear on it. The Romans dated the cultivation of Luna as a goddess at Rome to the semi-legendary days of the kings . Titus Tatius was supposed to have imported the cult of Luna to Rome from the Sabines , but Servius Tullius was credited with the creation of the Temple of Luna on the Aventine Hill , just below a temple of Diana. The anniversary of
840-461: 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 . She asks Menippus to report her grievances to Zeus , with the request that Zeus wipes all these natural philosophers from the face of the earth. Zeus agrees, urged by Selene's complaints and having long intended to deal with
900-640: Is more likely related to 'Helios' instead, and it seems that the two figures stem from a common Proto-Indo-European ancestor, the Sun Maiden. Surviving descriptions of Selene's physical appearance and character, apart from those which would apply to the moon itself, are scant. There is no mention of Selene as a goddess in either the Iliad or the Odyssey of Homer , while her only mention in Hesiod 's Theogony
960-482: Is not always a distinct goddess, but sometimes rather an epithet that specializes a goddess, since both Diana and Juno are identified as moon goddesses. In Roman art , Luna attributes are the crescent moon plus the two-yoke chariot ( biga ). In the Carmen Saeculare , performed in 17 BC, Horace invokes her as the "two-horned queen of the stars" ( siderum regina bicornis ), bidding her to listen to
1020-597: Is recognized in the male deity and Selene's brother Helios. It seems however that unlike the Dawn (Eos) and the Sun (Helios), the Moon had very little importance in PIE mythology. Although attempts have been made to connect Selene to Helen of Troy due to the similarity of their names, in two early dedications to Helen from Laconia her name is spelled with a digamma ( Ancient Greek : Ϝελένα , romanized : Weléna ), ruling out any possible connection between them. 'Helen'
1080-410: Is three; Eirene ("peace"), Eunomia ("order"), and Dike ("justice"), and their parents are Zeus and Themis instead. Lastly, Selene was said to be the mother of the legendary Greek poet Musaeus , with, according to Philochorus , the father being the legendary seer Eumolpus . Like her brother Helios, the Sun god, who drives his sun chariot across the sky each day, Selene is also said to drive
1140-417: The quadriga represents the sun's course through the four seasons, while the biga represents the Moon, "because it travels on a twin course with the sun, or because it is visible both by day and by night—for they yoke together one black horse and one white." Luna in her biga was an element of Mithraic iconography, usually in the context of the tauroctony . In the mithraeum of S. Maria Capua Vetere,
1200-684: The Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar . Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth , Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin Lūna [ˈɫ̪uːnä] ). She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun, Sol , conceived of as a god. Luna is also sometimes represented as an aspect of the Roman triple goddess ( diva triformis ), along with Diana and either Proserpina or Hecate . Luna
1260-482: The Gigantomachy . When Gaia heard of a prophecy that a mortal would help the gods to defeat the giants, she sought to find a herb that would make them undefeatable. 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. Selene's participation in the battle is evidenced by her inclusion in the Gigantomachy frieze of
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#17327838088091320-529: The Great Fire of Rome during the reign of Nero . As Noctiluna ("Night-Shiner") Luna had a temple on the Palatine Hill , which Varro described as shining or glowing by night. Nothing else is known about the temple, and it is unclear what Varro meant. The Kalends of every month, when according to the lunar calendar the new moon occurred, was sacred to Juno, as all Ides were to Jupiter . On
1380-458: The Nones , she was honored as Juno Covella, Juno of the crescent moon. Both Juno and Diana were invoked as childbirth goddesses with the epithet Lucina . Luna is often depicted driving a two-yoke chariot called a biga , drawn by horses or oxen. In Roman art, the charioteer Luna is regularly paired with the Sun driving a four-horse chariot ( quadriga ). Isidore of Seville explains that
1440-446: The Pergamon Altar , fighting against Giants next to her siblings Helios and Eos and her mother Theia in the southern frieze. Selene gallops sidesaddle in advance, and wears a woolen undergarment and a mantle. 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. According to
1500-464: 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. References to this magical trick, variously referred to as καθαιρεῖν ( kathaireĩn ), are scattered throughout ancient literature, whereas eclipses of both the Sun and the Moon were called kathaireseis ("casting-downs") by
1560-427: The Greek populace. 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 ( καθαιρεῖν τὴν σελήνην : kathaireĩn tén selénen ). This claim has been taken–by Plutarch at first, and subsequently by modern astronomers–to mean that she could predict the time and general area where an eclipse of
1620-584: The Latmian cave, nor do I alone burn with love for fair Endymion; oft times with thoughts of love have I been driven away by thy crafty spells, in order that in the darkness of night thou mightest work thy sorcery at ease, even the deeds dear to thee. 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. Well, go on, and steel thy heart, wise though thou be, to take up thy burden of pain, fraught with many sighs." The eternally sleeping Endymion
1680-593: The Lion of Nemea fell from the moon", and quotes Epimenides as saying: 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. Anaxagoras also reports that the Nemean lion was said to have fallen from the moon. Pseudo-Plutarch 's On Rivers has Hera collaborating with Selene, "employing magical incantations" to create
1740-402: The Moon fell in love with him, and Zeus allowed him to choose what he would, and he chose to sleep for ever, remaining deathless and ageless". Theocritus portrays Endymion's sleep as enviable because (presumably) of Selene's love for him. Cicero seems to make Selene responsible for Endymion's sleep, so that "she might kiss him while sleeping". The Roman playwright Seneca , has Selene abandoned
1800-477: The Moon would occur. Those who brought down the Moon were thought to bring ill fortune upon themselves, as evidenced by the proverb ἐπὶ σαυτῷ τὴν σελήνην καθαιρεῖς ("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. In popular and common belief, Selene as the Moon came to be associated with physical growth, menstruation and sickness,
1860-475: The Nemean Lion from a chest filled with foam. Hyginus says that Selene had "nourished" the lion in a "two-mouthed cave". According to Virgil , Selene also had a tryst with the god Pan , who seduced her with a "snowy bribe of wool". Scholia on Virgil add the story, ascribed to Nicander , that as part of the seduction, Pan wrapped himself in a sheepskin. Diodorus Siculus recorded an unorthodox version of
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1920-489: The birth of Aphrodite on the base of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia . There are indications of a similar framing by Selene and Helios of the birth of Pandora on the base of the Athena Parthenos . 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. Selene also appears on horseback as part of
1980-591: The daughter of Selene and Zeus. 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. 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 . Nonnus has Selene and Endymion as
2040-401: The deathless Gods who live in the wide heaven". The Homeric Hymn to Helios follows this tradition: "Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaëssa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios", with Euryphaëssa ("widely shining") probably being an epithet of Theia. However, the Homeric Hymn to Hermes has Selene as the daughter of Pallas,
2100-437: The early 5th century BC, she is depicted only as a bust, or in profile against a lunar disk. In later art, like other celestial divinities such as Helios, Eos, and Nyx (Night), Selene rides across the heavens. She is usually portrayed either driving a chariot (see above) or riding sideways on horseback (sometimes riding an ox, a mule or a ram). Selene was often paired with her brother Helios. Selene (probably) and Helios adorned
2160-624: 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. Selene and Helios also appear on the North Metopes of the Parthenon, with Selene this time entering the sea on horseback. From Pausanias, we learn that Selene and Helios also framed
2220-534: The female and male aspects of the same god. Although no clear attestation for Selene herself (or any prodecessor of hers) has been discovered, in Mycenaean Greek the word for month 'men' has been found in Linear B spelled as 𐀕𐀜 (me-no, from genitive form μηνός , mēnós ). Just as Helios, from his identification with Apollo, is called Phoebus ("bright"), Selene, from her identification with Artemis,
2280-465: The first account of the story comes from the third-century BC Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes , which tells of Selene's "mad passion" and her visiting the "fair Endymion" in a cave on Mount Latmus : And the Titanian goddess, the moon, rising from a far land, beheld her [Medea] as she fled distraught, and fiercely exulted over her, and thus spake to her own heart: "Not I alone then stray to
2340-402: The girl into a fly ( Ancient Greek : μυῖα , romanized : muía ). In memory of the beautiful Endymion, the fly still grudges all sleepers their rest and annoys them. Philologist Max Müller 's interpretation of solar mythology as it related to Selene and Endymion concluded that the myth was a narrativized version of linguistic terminology. Because the Greek endyein meant "to dive,"
2400-445: The girls singing as Apollo listens to the boys. Varro categorized Luna and Sol among the visible gods, as distinguished from invisible gods such as Neptune , and deified mortals such as Hercules . She was one of the deities Macrobius proposed as the secret tutelary of Rome. In Imperial cult , Sol and Luna can represent the extent of Roman rule over the world, with the aim of guaranteeing peace . Luna's Greek counterpart
2460-457: The god Dionysus . 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. The goddess took offense, and sent a gadfly to sting Ampelus' bull. The bull panicked, threw Ampelus and gored him to death. When Zeus desired to sleep with the mortal queen Alcmene and sire Heracles, he made
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2520-418: The late account of Nonnus , when the gigantic monster Typhon laid siege against the heavens, he attacked Selene as well by hurling bulls at her, though she managed to stay in her course, and rushed at her hissing like a viper. Selene fought back the giant, locking horns with Typhon; afterwards, she carried many scars on her orb, reminiscent of their battle. Ampelus was a very beautiful satyr youth, loved by
2580-452: The latter particularly in the context of demonic possession or even epilepsy. Owing to her role as the moon goddess, she was sometimes called Nyctimedusa ( Ancient Greek : Νυκτιμέδουσα , romanized : Nuktimédousa ), meaning "queen of the night". Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion . The late 7th-century – early 6th-century BC poet Sappho apparently mentioned Selene and Endymion. However,
2640-400: The light of her golden crown, and her rays beam clear, whensoever bright Selene having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean, and donned her far-gleaming raiment, and yoked her strong-necked, shining team, drives on her long-maned horses at full speed, at eventime in the mid-month: then her great orbit is full and then her beams shine brightest as she increases. So she is a sure token and
2700-583: The mid-month: then her great orbit is full and then her beams shine brightest as she increases. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men. 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). The geographer Pausanias , reports seeing
2760-403: The minor deities the major ones were juxtaposed to, thus helping keep the Greek religion Greek. The original PIE moon deity has been reconstructed as *Meh₁not (from which 'Mene', Selene's byname, is derived), and it appears that it was a male god. The Greek offshoot of this deity however is female. The ancient Greek language had three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), so when
2820-405: The moon itself) is often described as having horns. 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". Empedocles , Euripides and Nonnus all describe her as γλαυκῶπις ( glaukṓpis , "bright-eyed", a common epithet of the goddess Athena ) while in
2880-428: The myth, in which Basileia, who had succeeded her father Uranus to his royal throne, married her brother Hyperion, and had two children, a son Helios and a daughter Selene, "admired for both their beauty and their chastity". Because Basileia's other brothers envied these offspring, and feared that Hyperion would try to seize power for himself, they conspired against him. They put Hyperion to the sword, and drowned Helios in
2940-512: The name Endymion ("Diver") at first simply described the process of the setting sun "diving" into the sea. In this case, the story of Selene embracing Endymion, or Moon embraces Diver, refers to the sun setting and the moon rising. Gaia , angered about her children the Titans being thrown into Tartarus following their defeat, brought forth the Giants , to attack the gods, in a war that was called
3000-457: The night last three days, and ordered Selene via Hermes to dawdle in the sky during that time. 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 , other accounts have Selene involved in some way in its birth or rearing. Aelian states: "They say that
3060-503: The night sky for Endymion's sake having entrusted her "shining" moon chariot to her brother Helios to drive. The Greek satirist Lucian 's dialogue between Selene and the love goddess Aphrodite has the two goddesses commiserate about their love affairs with Endymion and Adonis , and suggests that Selene has fallen in love with Endymion while watching him sleep each night. In his dialogue between Aphrodite and Eros, Lucian also has Aphrodite admonish her son Eros for bringing Selene "down from
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#17327838088093120-482: The parents of the beautiful Narcissus , although in other accounts, including Ovid 's Metamorphoses , Narcissus was the son of Cephissus and Liriope . 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. Quintus describes them as the four handmaidens of Hera, but in most other accounts their number
3180-480: The philosophers himself. 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 . According to pseudo-Plutarch , Lilaeus was an Indian shepherd who only worshipped Selene among the gods and performed her rituals and mysteries at night. The other gods, angered, sent him two lions to tear him apart. Selene then turned Lilaeus into
3240-437: The river Eridanus. Selene herself, upon discovering this, took her own life. 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: that which had formerly been called the "holy fire" in the heavens would be called by men Helius ("the sun") and that addressed as "menê" would be called Selenê ("the moon"). Plutarch recorded
3300-535: The sky". While Quintus Smyrnaeus wrote that, while Endymion slept in his cave beside his cattle: Divine Selene watched him from on high, and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love drew down the immortal stainless Queen of Night." Lucian also records an otherwise unattested myth where a pretty young girl called Muia becomes Selene's rival for Endymion's affections; the chatty maiden would endlessly talk to him while he slept, causing him to wake up. This irritated Endymion, and enraged Selene, who transforms
3360-515: The son of an otherwise unknown Megamedes. This Pallas is possibly identified with the Pallas , who, according to Hesiod's Theogony , was the son of the Titan Crius , and thus Selene's cousin. Other accounts give still other parents for Selene: Euripides has Selene as the daughter of Helios (rather than sister), while an Aeschylus fragment possibly has Selene as the daughter of Leto , as does
3420-475: The temple founding ( dies natalis ) was celebrated annually on March 31. It first appears in Roman literature in the story of how in 182 BC a windstorm of exceptional power blew off its doors, which crashed into the Temple of Ceres below it on the slope. In 84 BC, it was struck by lightning, the same day the popularis leader Cinna was murdered by his troops. The Aventine temple may have been destroyed by
3480-506: Was Selene . In Roman art and literature , myths of Selene are adapted under the name of Luna. The myth of Endymion , for instance, was a popular subject for Roman wall painting. Varro lists Luna among twelve deities who are vital to agriculture , as does Vergil in a different list of twelve, in which he refers to Luna and Sol as clarissima mundi lumina , the world's clearest sources of light. Varro also lists Luna among twenty principal gods of Rome ( di selecti ). In this list, Luna
3540-511: Was also the name of the Phrygian moon-god Men . Mene and Men both derive from Proto-Hellenic *méns ("month"), itself from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (meaning moon, the lunar month), which probably comes from the root *meh₁- ("to measure"), and is cognate with the English words "Moon" and "month". The Greek Stoic philosopher Chrysippus interpreted Selene and Men as, respectively,
3600-545: Was proverbial, but exactly how this eternal sleep came about and what role, if any, Selene may have had in it is unclear. 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. A scholiast on Apollonius says that, according to Epimenides , Endymion fell in love with Hera, and Zeus punished him with eternal sleep. However, Apollodorus says that because of Endymion's "surpassing beauty,
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