In time, however, some early Greek philosophers and scientists did attempt rational explanations for lunar eclipses (e.g., Democritus, frag. [107], 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. Zeus slept with the human queen Alcmene, of which encounter Heracles was born. However, Selene was not one of them. Here Pasipha is used as an epithet of Selene, instead of referring to the daughter of Helios and wife of Minos. The goddess of the moon does not seem to have been the object of much ritual worship in the early Greek period. 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. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? Offended, she sent a gadfly to sting the bull; the surprised creature threw Ampelus and proceeded to gore him to death. E.g., Thucydides, Histories 7.50.4; Tacitus, Annals 1.28.1ff. The sky was dark at night and the sun more lethargic than usual. . 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. [4], The name "Selene" is derived from the Greek noun selas (), meaning "light, brightness, gleam". [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. Even if he were sleeping, he would not be parted from the goddess he loved by death. Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon. She was unique, however, in her relationship with the orb itself. 1392). While her husbands team of horses usually consisted of four animals, Selenes chariot, like her light, was less powerful. 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. One of the most important sources of this myth is in the Greek satirist Lucian of Samosatas Dialogues of the Gods, where Aphrodite and Selene talk about the latters love for Endymion. 500450 BCE. The myth of Selene claims that this goddess had several lovers, both divine and mortal. Although in most myths, the Horae appear to be triads born of Zeus and Themis, in this particular incarnation they were the daughters of Selene and Helios. Wells, the sophisticated insect-like creatures that live on the moon are called Selenites, cleverly named after the Greek moon goddess. 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 personified the moon and was one of the Greek goddesses of the night. Pan, the god of the wild, supposedly seduced Selene while dressed in a sheepskin. Watched over by nymphs and visited often by the goddess, it was marked by glowing moonstones and pure white rock. Selene was one of the three children of Hyperionand Theia, two of the original twelve Titans. Thou wouldst say far off that this was milk indeed, which is a well-spring of white water: if thou draw a little nigher, lo, the stream is fringed as though with ice, for white stone rims it round. [141], Selene played an important role in love magic. Selene is the goddess of the moon. She is usually portrayed either driving a chariot (see above) or riding sideways on horseback[111] (sometimes riding an ox, a mule or a ram). Selene's Roman name was Lunar. Selene leaving her chariot, Roman mosaic, Andalusia. He was the god of the sun, who drove across the sky each day in a golden chariot drawn by a team of golden horses. According to early Greek myths, Selene used to be a Titan goddess of the moon and Artemis used to be a goddess of hunting and animals. Hurwit 2017, pp. Mene, a name that she was also commonly known by, meant the moon or the lunar month, from the root mens which meant month. This is an attribute that she shares with her Roman equivalent Luna, where the latin luna also means moon.. That haunted cave [on Mount Latmos] of fair-haired Nymphai (Nymphs) where, as Endymion slept beside his kine, divine Selene watched him from on high, and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love drew down the immortal stainless queen of night. Selene, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, was the personification of the moon. Greek months began with the first new moon and were organized into three ten-day weeks that roughly followed the progression of the lunar cycle. [3] 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. She was worshipped at the new and full moons. [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. All Rights Reserved. Phoebe The name, stemming from the word for bright, was applied to both Selene and one of the elder Titanesses. The second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft following was named SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) after Selene, and was also known as Kaguya in Japan. There was an Athenian festival named the Pandia, held in honor of Zeus, which was perhaps celebrated on a full moon night. 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. Hurwit, Jeffery M. (2017), "Helios Rising: The Sun, the Moon, and the Sea in the Sculptures of the Parthenon", Jones, Prudence H., "A Goddess Arrives: Nineteenth Century Sources of the New Age Triple Moon Goddess" in. [100], Diodorus Siculus recorded an unorthodox version of 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". The brother and sister married each other and had three children: Eos (the goddess of the dawn), Helios (the sun god), and Selene (the moon goddess). Epimenides, in the theogony that was ascribed to him, also calls her lovely haired, perhaps due to the Homeric Hymns themselves. [32], Selene was rarely worshipped, at least in earlier periods of ancient Greek history. Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany. In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted with the crescent moon in her vicinity. [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. Selene has a minor planet named after her, called 580 Selene. These two goddesses have additional association with Hecate. Secretive and shy, she enjoys flitting silently through the night with a pearl-white or silvery chariot. Moon gods and goddesses have existed in all ancient pantheistic cultures for a very long time. Myth Early History Selene was the daughter of the titans, Hyperion and Theia, sister to Helios (the sun) and Eos (dawn). Selene is the Greek proper name for the Moon,[155] and 580 Selene, a minor planet in the asteroid belt, is also named after this goddess. It seems that Selene was not uninvolved in the twelve tasks of Heracles either. A third version of the story had Endymion himself choose an ageless sleep as opposed to living a mortal life. Upon the head of Selene was normally found a crown that was representative of the spherical moon. [2], Selene was also called Mene. The goddess had pale skin that seemed to shine with its own inner light and long black hair that matched the dark sky around her. Nyx is the goddess of the night and is thus associated with the new moon. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. (2022, December 7). There existed an oracular sanctuary for her in Laconia, near Thalamai. The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, in which months were delineated by the cycles of the moon. She is dressed in the finest silk robes and travels in her silver moon chariot drawn by luminous steeds across the heavens. Mitchell, Lucy M., "Sculptures of the Great Pergamon Altar" in The Century Magazine, 1883. This was known as the Gigantomachy. Selene could still see her sleeping love whenever she pleased, but the pressures of time and mortality were taken off her. Selene the moon goddess was a minor figure in ancient Greek mythology. Helios was one of the Titans, son of Hyperion and Theia and brother of Eos (the Dawn) and Selene (the Moon ). Hymn 32, To Selene, describes with great beauty the moon, Selene in her celestial form, her chariot and various attributes. What are Pan God Powers in Greek Mythology? [8] The masculine form of mene (men) was also the name of the Phrygian moon-god Men. Athena, also spelled Athene, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva. Selene - or Luna as the Romans called her - is the goddess of the moon, driving a horse-drawn chariot across the night sky. 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. Often she was shown in a chariot drawn by a team of horses or oxen, but other times there was no chariot, and Selene would instead appear on the back of a horse or mule. In some later accounts, she is known as the Horned Selene, perhaps due to the crescent moon upon the crown of her head. There are a number of stories about the moon goddess Selene in Greek mythology, in association with the other Greek gods, especially Zeus. Pandia (or Pandia Selene) may have personified the full moon,[130] and an Athenian festival, called the Pandia, usually considered to be a festival for Zeus,[131] was perhaps celebrated on the full moon and may have been associated with Selene. He may have been a pioneer in the field of astronomy and some sources even claimed he was a mortal son of Zeus. [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". Her lunar sphere or crescent was either a crown set upon her head or the fold of a raised, shining cloak. "Not I alone then stray to 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. In Greek mythology, Selene was traditionally depicted as a beautiful young woman, with perhaps paler than usual skin. Cf. Together, they fittingly created three sources of celestial illumination. "On Representations of Helios and of Selene", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Sorabella, Jean, "A Roman Sarcophagus and Its Patron. Hypothesis to the scholia on Pindars Nemean Odes. 200 (cited in the scholia on Aristophanes Frogs 1033); Orphica frag. Those that do exist are somewhat generic (like the previously mentioned epithets). This is at times accompanied by stars to depict the night sky, but the crescent moon was perhaps the most recognizable of Selenes symbols. The light that humans saw from earth emanate from them, a legacy of their lustrous father. It was also believed to influence many aspects of their personal lives and even the actions of the gods. The name of the moon goddess is surrounded by accounts of the consorts she had and their children. With his sister, the Titaness Theia, Hyperion fathered Helios (the Sun), Selene (the Moon) and Eos (the Dawn).. Hyperion was, along with his son Helios, a personification of the sun, with the two sometimes . She was said to represent the full moon. Selene was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses, and her story is one of the most captivating in Greek mythology. [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. But while there, he committed some transgression (usually, he was said to have fallen in love with Zeus wife Hera). 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. 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. [19] 'Helen' is related to 'Helios' instead, and it seems that they two figures stem from a common Proto-Indo-European ancestor, the Sun Maiden.[20][21]. 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. The myth of Selene, the moon goddess, is no exception. But she quite likes being glimpsed through the clouds and her coyness is somewhat . Euripides, Phoenician Women 17576; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 44.191. Their daughter Eos was the first to appear each day. Selene herself, upon discovering this, took her own life. [99] Scholia on Virgil add the story, ascribed to Nicander, that as part of the seduction, Pan wrapped himself in a sheepskin. Attic red-figure kylix showing Selene riding the chariot of the moon, drawn by two winged horses. 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. Selene was written off and Artemis became the goddess of the moon, hunting, and animals. [95], Anaxagoras also reports that the Nemean lion was said to have fallen from the moon. [28], Another version is known only from Lucian, a satirical writer from the second century CE. 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. Selene visited the sleeping Endymion where he lay alone in a cave everyday and had fifty daughters with him, the Menai, the personification of the Greek lunar months. The talkative Myia would sit with Endymion as he slept his eternal sleep, chattering endlesslyso much so that Endymion eventually woke up. [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). Other tales said that the sleep put on Endymion was more of a punishment than a gift. But Selene was also called by many generic epithets that were used for other goddesses as well, including (euplokmos, she of the beautiful hair), (leuklnos, white-armed), (glaukpis, gray-eyed, bright-eyed, an epithet most commonly associated with Athena), and (kyanpis, dark-eyed, essentially the opposite of glaukpis). Many of these old communities followed the lunar calendar and that made the moon a center of their faith and worship in many ways. Kapach, A. This article is about the Greek goddess. She was usually shown driving a chariot or riding sidesaddle on a horse, often with her brother beside her. SELENE was the Titan goddess of the moon. Greek Gods / Helios. [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. Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. The three children have become much more well-known in general Greek literature than their parents, especially after the fall from grace of Hyperion, who stood by his brother Cronus in the latters war against Zeus and was banished to Tartarus for it. Mason-Dixon Line For other uses, see, Detail of Selene from a Roman sarcophagus, A winged Selene seems to be unique to this. She fell madly in love with him and asked Zeus to let him stay asleep forever, remaining eternally young and beautiful (in some traditions, it was Endymion himself who requested this unending sleep). [23] 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[24] Moon. While Selene was known for pulling the moon across the sky in her silver . Nonnus describes how, as Ampelus was riding a bull, he made the mistake of comparing himself to Selene. Orphism, Cosmogony, and Genealogy (Mus. 3/4, 1973, pp. When Selene spied him sleeping in a cave, she immediately fell in love and asked Zeus to extend his sleep for all eternity. The two other daughters that Selene and Zeus had together was Nemea, the nymph of the town that the Nemean Lion was from, and Ersa, the personified version of dew. Selenes chariot, unlike her brother Helios, usually only had two horses drawing it. Selene is a Goddess in herself, but she is often associated with Artemis, the archer Goddess. In Greek mythology, Selene was the Titan goddess of the moon. Though Selene, as the moon, was undeniably important to the ancient Greeks, there are very few descriptions of her in literature. Virgil, Georgics 3.391ff; Servius on Virgils Georgics 3.391 (citing the second-century BCE poet Nicander as the original source). [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. Although Zeus had taken many mortal lovers, the goddess of the moon had been abandoning her duties and could cause chaos if she continued. Selene. Mythopedia, December 07, 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/selene. [146], Her and her brother's worship is also attested in Gytheum, a town in Laconia near Sparta, via an inscription (C.I.G. Helios was married to Perse, but he had quite a few extramarital affairs, and a number of children . ), The name Selene (Greek , translit. The most important of Selenes symbols was her moon chariot. See esp. Although Endymion slept for eternity, many sources said Selene continued to see him. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. This irritated Endymion, and enraged Selene, who transforms the girl into a fly (Ancient Greek: , romanized:mua). Hecate and her followers, for example, asked Selene for her cooperation in their magic. Selene. Grapevines then rose from Ampelus corpse, from which the heartbroken Dionysus made wine for the first time. Selene was, while not worshiped openly, apparently the object of many spells and invocations addressed to her by young women. Selene and Endymion, fresco on ceiling by Giuseppe Antonio Orelli, circa 1730-1770, Palazzo Riva. Who was Vesta, the Goddess of the Hearth? The Greek word for the moon was also the word used to delineate the months. The other gods, angered, sent him two lions to tear him apart. The name Selene is also quite popular in the English-speaking world. The Greeks recognized several goddesses as having a connection to the moon, but none was as closely associated with it as Selene. Artemis is also a Goddess of the moon. Selene was not the only goddess the Greeks associated with the moon. Let's take a closer look at her story. [40][41] Furthermore, in Virgil's Aeneid, when Nisus calls upon Selene/the Moon, he addresses her as "daughter of Latona. Selene - Mythology. 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. [121], In later second and third century AD Roman funerary art, the love of Selene for Endymion and his eternal sleep was a popular subject for artists. The most enduring story of Selene concerns the love she felt for an ordinary human man. 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. In some versions, Zeus cursed Endymion because he fell in love with Queen Hera, wife of Zeus. [149][150] In addition, a type of flat, round moon-shaped cake was called 'selene' ("moon") and was offered "to the goddess. Selene was not the only lunar goddess of the Greeks. The Moirai In some traditions the Fates were seen as three aspects of the lunar goddess. 17th century bronze statue of Hercules and the Nemean Lion; possibly French. Like Artemis, Selene was sometimes called Phoebe, a name that means bright one.. She was depicted as a woman riding sidesaddle on a horse or driving a chariot drawn by a pair of winged steeds. Kapach, Avi. Their daughter Eos was the first to appear each day. Selene, goddess of the moon, truly represented the moon itself to the Greeks. They brought night and day, shed light on the earth, were responsible for the turning of the months, and facilitated agriculture. [47] Nonnus has Selene and Endymion as the parents of the beautiful Narcissus, although in other accounts, including Ovid's Metamorphoses, Narcissus was the son of Cephissus and Liriope.[48]. Hail, white-armed goddess, bright Selene, mild, bright-tressed queen! They put Hyperion to the sword, and drowned Helios in the river Eridanus. Only a handful of religious centers of Selene are known from the ancient world. 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. She is pale, beautiful and indefinably alluring. Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. [142] In Theocritus' second Idyll, a young girl invokes Selene in a love-spell. Selene, like her siblings, was a Titan goddess because of her birth but they were no less important to the Greeks. In memory of the beautiful Endymion, the fly still grudges all sleepers their rest and annoys them. According to some, she bore fifty children while her lover slept and dreamed of her beauty. In Greek mythology, Ceto was a goddess of the water. 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. The altars to Selene were few and far between. [77] 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. That leaves Artemis and Selene. Her list of powers are unmatched, as far as lunar goddesses go. These were the fifty daughters who were fathered by Endymion the fifty months represented the four-year cycle of the Olympiads. 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.. Selene herself most often wore a crown of gleaming silver, which matched her silver chariot. Zeus put Endymion into an eternal sleep so the goddess could see him forever as a beautiful young man. Eventually, she became identified with Artemis, goddess of the wilderness, who was sometimes associated with the moon. 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. [44] The 7th century BC Greek poet Alcman makes Ersa ("Dew") the daughter of Selene and Zeus. [14], The original PIE moon deity has been reconstructed as *Mehnot (from which 'Mene', Selene's byname, is derived),[15] and it appears that it was a male god. [8], Selene began appearing in the visual arts around the early fifth century BCE. [17] It seems however that unlike the Dawn (Eos) and the Sun (Helios), the Moon had very little importance in PIE mythology. 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. On the other hand, her eyes and hair were believed to have been as dark as the night. The months had their own personifications as well, who were all born from Selene. Privacy. Learn more about our mission. Updates? [85][86] Selene gallops sidesaddle in advance, and wears a woolen undergarment and a mantle. [2] She was often associated with cycles of growth and agriculture, female menstruation, and mysterious diseases like epilepsy and demonic possession. [87], According to 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. The Homeric Hymn to Helios uses the same epithet ("bright-tressed"), used in the above Hymn to Selene (elsewhere translated as "rich-", "lovely-", or "well-tressed"),[26] while Epimenides uses the epithet ("lovely-haired"). The concept of Selene as the lunar goddess also made her an important goddess of childbirth and female fertility. Whether this Pallas (called the son of Megamedes) is the same as the Titan Pallas or a different individual entirely is unclear. Selene was said to have several consorts but the man that the goddess of the moon was most linked with was the mortal Endymion. Often when one god supplanted another in a particular domain, the stories that involved that god were changed to reflect this. According to Lucian, Selene had a rival for Endymions love named Myia. 3. [109] In red-figure pottery before the early 5th century BC, she is depicted only as a bust, or in profile against a lunar disk. Whatever his profession, the handsome young man frequently slept beneath the open sky. 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. She was worshipped at the new and full moons. H. G. Evelyn-White. Her father was the Titan god of heavenly light, while her mother represented the blue color of the sky. Oil lamp fragment with the head of Selene, early classical period, Muse de Die. But on nights the moon could not be seen, there was a very good reason for her absence. [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". Depending on the author, the chariot was either silver,[6] snow white,[7] or gold. [97] Hyginus says that Selene had "nourished" the lion in a "two-mouthed cave". The bull panicked, threw Ampelus and gored him to death. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene ( / slini /; Greek: pronounced [seln], meaning "Moon" [2]) is the personification of the Moon. 1999, Mark P. O. Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, Classical Mythology, page 43, Balancing Arria is the union of Selene and Endymion. Selenes siblings and Selene herself carried on their fathers legacy by shining light from the heavens upon the earth. This eventually led to the identification of Selene with Artemis, also associated with fertility and the moon in various ways. [72] A scholiast on Apollonius says that, according to Epimenides, Endymion fell in love with Hera, and Zeus punished him with eternal sleep. The phases of the moonespecially the new moon and the full moonplayed a central role in the ancient Greeks understanding of time and agriculture. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. The ancient Greeks believed that a lunar eclipse was the work of a witch, particularly the witches of Thessaly. Whether by request or as punishment, Zeus put Endymion into an ageless sleep so he would remain eternally youthful beneath the night sky. 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. Homeric Hymn 4.99100. Selene was the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. As the moon, Selene occupied an important place in popular religion. Selene was said to drive her moon chariot across the sky every night, from east to west, following her brother. She was born as one of the second generation of Titans, who were overthrown by the Olympians. There are three different ways you can cite this article. A variation of this symbol was the nimbus, which surrounded her head, depicting the celestial light she bestowed on the world. [127] Selene (along with Helios, Nyx and others) received an altar at the sanctuary of Demeter at Pergamon, possibly in connection with the Orphic mysteries. Different sources vary as to whether the chariot was golden or silver, but a silver chariot would seem to fit better with the goddess of the moon. Like every celestial goddess , there was a yin to Selene's yang; In this case, there were two yins. H. G. Evelyn-White; cf. 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. Riding a bull, he was a goddess of the wilderness, who were overthrown the. Various ways far between robes and travels in her vicinity Georgics 3.391 ( the. Driving a chariot or riding sidesaddle on a horse, often with her brother Helios, only! Made wine for the moon, drawn by luminous steeds across the sky in her moon... Object of many spells and invocations addressed to her by young Women place in religion! Beauty the moon, hunting, and wears a woolen undergarment and a number of children night a..., as the moon, truly represented the moon, but none was as closely associated fertility! A center of their personal lives and even the actions of the moon, was less powerful a third of. Goddess also made her an important role in love magic her story is one of moonespecially... 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