This article is about the Greek goddess. For other uses, see
Selene (disambiguation). Selene

The Moon Goddess Abode
Moon Symbol Crescent, raised cloak, bull, rooster, dog, and torch Consort
Endymion Parents
Hyperion and
Theia Siblings
Helios and
Eos Children Fifty daughters to Endymion;
Pandia to Zeus Roman equivalent
Luna In
Greek mythology,
Selene (Greek Σελήνη
[selɛ̌ːnɛː] '
moon';) is the goddess of the moon. She is the daughter of the
Titans Hyperion and
Theia, and sister of the
sun-god Helios, and of
Eos, goddess of the dawn. 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 classical times, Selene was often identified with
Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with
Apollo.
[1] Both Selene and Artemis were also associated with
Hecate, and all three were regarded as
lunar goddesses, although only Selene was regarded as the personification of the moon itself. Her Roman equivalent is
Luna.
[2] Contents
4 The moon chariot
5 Depictions
6 Cult
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
Names
The etymology of
Selene is uncertain, but if the name is of Greek origin, it is likely connected to the word
selas (σέλας), meaning "light".
[3] Just as Helios, from his identification with Apollo, is called
Phoebus ("bright"), Selene, from her identification with Artemis, is also commonly referred to by the epithet
Phoebe (feminine form).
[4] The original
Phoebe of Greek mythology is Selene's aunt, the Titaness mother of
Leto and
Asteria, and grandmother of Apollo, Artemis, and Hecate. Also from Artemis, Selene was sometimes called "Cynthia".
[5] Selene was also called
Mene.
[6] The word
men (feminine
mene), meant the moon, and the lunar month. It was also the name of the
Phrygian moon-god
Men.
[7] Origin
The usual account of Selene's origin is given by
Hesiod. In the
Theogony, 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."
[8] 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."
[9] Here
Euryphaëssa ("wide-shining") is probably an epithet of Theia.
[10] Other accounts make Selene the daughter of the Titan
Pallas[11] or of Helios.
[12] Lovers and offspring
Endymion and Selene, by
Sebastiano Ricci (1713),
Chiswick House, England
Endymion
Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal
Endymion.
[13] The late 7th-century – early 6th-century BC poet
Sappho apparently mentioned Selene and Endymion.
[14] However, the first direct account 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:
[15] "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 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.' "
Quintus Smyrnaeus'
The Fall of Troy tells that, while Endymion slept in his cave beside his cattle, "Selene watched him from on high, and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love drew down the immortal stainless Queen of Night."
[16] The eternally sleeping Endymion was proverbial;
[17] 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.
[18] A scholiast on Apollonius says that, according to
Epimenides, Endymion, having fallen in love with Hera, asked Zeus to grant him eternal sleep.
[19] However,
Apollodorus says that because of Endymion's "surpassing beauty, 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."
[20]Cicero seems to make Selene responsible for Endymion's sleep, so that "she might kiss him while sleeping."
[21] From
Pausanias we hear that Selene was supposed to have had by Endymion fifty daughters, who possibly represented the fifty lunar months of the
Olympiad.
[22]Nonnus has Selene and Endymion as the parents of the beautiful
Narcissus, but in other accounts, including
Ovid's Metamorphoses, Narcissus was the son of
Cephissus and
Liriope.
[23] Others
According to the
Homeric Hymn to Selene, the goddess bore
Zeus a daughter,
Pandia ("all-brightness"),
[24] "exceeding lovely amongst the deathless gods".
[25]Alcman makes
Herse ("dew"), the daughter of Selene and Zeus.
[26] Selene and Zeus were also supposed by some to be the parents of Nemea, the eponymous
nymph of
Nemea, where
Heracles slew the
Nemean Lion, and where the
Nemean Games were held.
[27] Some accounts also make Selene and Zeus the parents of
Dionysus, but this may be the result of confusing
Semele, the usual mother of Dionysus, with Selene because of the similarity of their names.
[28] Whereas for Hesiod, the
Nemean Lion was born to
Echidna and raised by
Hera,
[29] other accounts have Selene involved in some way in its birth or rearing.
Aelian,
On Animals 12.7, states: "They say that 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".
[30] Quintus Smyrnaeus makes Helios and Selene (the Sun and Moon) the parents of the
Horae, goddesses of the seasons.
[31] Smyrnaeus describes them as the four handmaidens of
Hera, but in most accounts their number is three, and their parents are Zeus and
Themis.
According to
Virgil, Selene also had a tryst with the great god
Pan, who seduced her with a "snowy bribe of wool."
[32] Scholia on Virgil add that the god wrapped himself in a sheepskin.
[33] Selene was also said to be the mother of the legendary Greek poet
Musaeus.
[34] The moon chariot
Like her brother Helios, the Sun, who drives his chariot across the sky each day, Selene is also said to drive across the heavens.
[35] The
Hymn to Selene, provides a description:
[36] "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 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 is inside 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.
[37] Though the moon chariot is often described as being silver,
[38] for
Pindar it was golden.
[39] And while the sun chariot has four horses, Selene's usually has two,
[40] described as "snow-white" by
Ovid,
[41] or was drawn by oxen or bulls.
[42] Depictions
Surviving descriptions of Selene's physical appearance and character, apart from those which would apply to the moon itself, are scant. Three early sources mention Selene's hair. Both the
Hymn to Helios and the
Hymn to Selene use the word "εὐπλόκαμος", variously translated as "rich", "bright," or "beautiful haired," and Epimenides uses the epithet "lovely-haired."
[43] The
Hymn to Selene describes the goddess as very beautiful, with long wings and a golden diadem, calling her "white-armed" and "benevolent".
[44]Aeschylus calls Selene "the eye of night."
[45] The
Orphic Hymns give Selene horns and a torch, describing her as "all-seeing", "all-wise", a lover of horses and of vigilance, and a "foe of strife" who "giv'st to Nature's works their destin'd end".
[46] In antiquity, artistic representations of Selene included sculptural reliefs, vase paintings, coins, and gems.
[47] In
red-figure pottery before the early 5th century BC, she is depicted only as a bust, or in profile against a lunar disk.
[48] 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, or riding sidesaddle on horseback (or sometimes on an ox or bull, mule, or ram).
[49]

Detail of a
sarcophagus depicting
Endymion and Selene, shown with her characteristic attributes of lunate crown and billowing veil (
velificatio) [50] Paired with her brother Helios, Selene adorned the east pediment of the
Parthenon, where the two framed a scene depicting the birth of
Athena, with Helios driving his chariot rising from the ocean on the left, and Selene and her chariot descending into the sea on the right.
[51] From Pausanias, we learn that Selene and Helios also framed the birth of
Aphrodite on the base of the
Statue of Zeus at Olympia.
[52] There are indications of a similar framing by Selene and Helios of the birth of
Pandora on the base of the
Athena Parthenos.
[53] Selene also appears on horseback as part of the
Gigantomachy frieze of the
Pergamon Altar.
[54] Selene is commonly depicted with a crescent moon, often accompanied by stars; sometimes, instead of a crescent, a lunar disc is used.
[55] 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.
[56] Selene's head is sometimes surrounded by a
nimbus, and from the Hellenistic period onwards, she is sometimes pictured with a torch.
[57] 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.
[58] 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.
[59] In post-Renaissance art, Selene is generally depicted as a beautiful woman with a pale face and long, lustrous black hair, driving a silver chariot pulled either by a
yoke of
oxen or a pair of
horses.[
citation needed]
Cult
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.
[60] An oracular sanctuary existed near Thalamai in
Laconia; described by
Pausanias, it contained statues of Pasiphaë and Helios. Here
Pasiphaë is used as an epithet of Selene, instead of referring to the
daughter of Helios and wife of
Minos.
[61] Pausanias also described seeing two stone images in the market-place of
Elis, one of the sun and the other of the moon, from the heads of which projected the rays of the sun and the horns of the crescent moon.
[62] Originally Pandia may have been an epithet of Selene,
[63] but by at least the time of the late
Homeric Hymn, Pandia had become a daughter of Zeus and Selene. Pandia (or Pandia Selene) may have personified the full moon,
[64] and an Athenian festival, called the
Pandia, usually considered to be a festival for
Zeus,
[65] was perhaps celebrated on the full-moon and may have been associated with Selene.
[66]