Selene

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene is the goddess and symbol of the Moon. She is known as the beautiful goddess who rides a silver chariot across the night sky, lighting the world with her glow. Selene is the daughter of the powerful Titans Hyperion and Theia, and she has two important siblings: the sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos.

Many stories tell of Selene's love for different people. In myths, she falls in love with Zeus, the king of the gods, and also with Pan, a god of the wild, as well as her brother Helios and a mortal named Endymion. Later, during the time of Rome, Selene was often thought to be the same as the Roman goddess Luna. Together with Artemis and Hecate, Selene was seen as a powerful figure connected to the moon, guiding its phases and lighting the night.

Etymology and origins

Names

The name "Selene" comes from the Greek word selas, meaning "light" or "brightness". In some Greek dialects, her name was also spelled Selána or Selánna.

Selene was also known as Mene, a word that means the moon and the moon's month. The word mene has roots in very old languages, linking back to words for the moon and measuring time. Though we don't have clear proof of Selene herself in very old writings, we do find the word for "month" in ancient scripts.

Selene was sometimes called Phoebe, a name she shared with the goddess Artemis, and also "Cynthia", referring to her connection to Mount Cynthus, where Artemis was born.

Origin

Selene, along with her brother Helios and sister Eos, comes from very old beliefs that many different cultures shared. Though these figures were important, later Greek gods and goddesses became more famous, and Selene and her family became like background characters in the stories.

In the oldest beliefs, the moon was thought of as a male god who was paired with a female sun goddess. But in Greek stories, the moon is a female goddess because the Greek word for moon is feminine. Even though the moon didn't play a big role in the oldest stories, it still had its place in the family of gods and goddesses.

Some people tried to link Selene to Helen of Troy because their names sound similar, but this doesn't seem right. The name "Helen" is more likely connected to the sun god Helios, and both may come from a shared ancient ancestor called the Sun Maiden.

Descriptions

In stories from ancient Greece, Selene is the goddess of the Moon. She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and the sister of Helios, the sun god, and Eos, the goddess of dawn. Selene drives a chariot across the sky, pulling the Moon behind her.

One old poem describes Selene as having a beautiful, shining light that glows in the dark. It says she wears a golden crown and drives her horses quickly across the heavens. Other poems call her "lovely-haired" and describe her as having a bright, silvery appearance.

Family

Parents

Selene, the goddess of the Moon, has many different stories about her parents in ancient Greek tales. Most often, she is said to be the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and the sister of Helios, the sun god, and Eos, the goddess of dawn. Some stories say she was born to different parents, such as Pallas or even Helios himself.

Offspring

Selene is also known for having many children in these stories. She is said to have had a daughter named Pandia with Zeus. With Endymion, her lover, she was believed to have fifty daughters, representing the months in a Greek Olympic cycle. She was also said to be the mother of other figures like Narcissus, the Horae (goddesses of the seasons), and the poet Musaeus.

Mythology

Goddess of the Moon

Like her brother Helios, the Sun god, Selene is said to drive a chariot across the sky. The earliest known picture of Selene driving her chariot shows her on a cup from around 5th century BC. In old stories, people thought that witches could make the Moon disappear using magic. One famous story tells of Aglaonice, who could predict when the Moon would seem to disappear.

Endymion

Selene is best known for her story with a beautiful man named Endymion. Different tales tell how Endymion fell into a never-ending sleep, and Selene would visit him every night. Some stories say that the Moon goddess fell in love with him because of his beauty.

Gigantomachy

When the Giants tried to attack the gods, Selene fought alongside her family. She is shown in pictures from ancient times battling the Giants with her siblings.

Fight with Typhon

In one story, a huge monster named Typhon tried to attack the sky. Selene fought back against him, and their battle left marks on the Moon.

Ampelus

A beautiful youth named Ampelus, loved by the god Dionysus, once compared himself to Selene. This made Selene angry, and she sent a fly to cause his death.

Heracles

Selene helped when Zeus wanted to spend time with a mortal woman to have a son named Heracles. She also had a small part in one of Heracles' tasks, connected to a lion that was said to have come from the Moon.

Pan

The god Pan once tricked Selene with a piece of wool, and their story was told by ancient poets.

Other accounts

Different stories tell of Selene’s life and her family. One tale says she asked her mother to make her clothes, but her size changed too much. Another story tells of her turning a faithful follower into a mountain to protect him.

Iconography

In ancient times, artists showed Selene, the Moon goddess, in many ways. Early pictures on pots only showed her face or part of her body. Later, she was often shown riding across the sky in a chariot or on a horse, sometimes even on an ox, mule, or ram.

Selene was frequently shown with her brother Helios, the sun god. They both appeared on important buildings like the Parthenon, where Selene rode her chariot down into the sea while Helios rode his up from the ocean. Selene is usually pictured with a crescent moon or stars, and sometimes she wears a glowing circle around her head. Later Roman art often showed Selene visiting her lover Endymion as he slept forever.

Cult

Selene, the goddess of the Moon, had a smaller presence in ancient Greek worship compared to her brother, Helios, the sun god. She was mainly linked to important goddesses like Artemis and Hecate, and her worship often included these figures.

People believed Selene helped with childbirth, especially during the full moon, which connected her to goddesses like Artemis, Hera, and others. She was also called upon for love magic and was honored in places like Gytheum and Epidaurus. The day we now call Monday was named after her, as the "day of the Moon."

Orphic literature

In some old stories called Orphic tales, there were three Fates who were thought to be parts of Selene. They stood for three phases of the moon: the crescent moon, the full moon, and the dark moon. These phases match the way the months are divided in the calendar.

Namesakes

Selene is the Greek name for the Moon. A small object in space called 580 Selene, found between the planets, is named after her too. Scientists who study the Moon use the word "selenology" to describe their work.

The chemical element Selenium was named for Selene by a scientist named Jöns Jacob Berzelius. A Japanese moon-orbiting spacecraft called SELENE, also known as Kaguya, carried her name as well. Other things like a British submarine and a special car also used Selene's name.

Genealogy

In ancient stories from Greece, Selene is known as the goddess of the Moon. She is the daughter of two important figures called Titans, Hyperion and Theia. Selene has two siblings: Helios, the god of the Sun, and Eos, the goddess of the Dawn. Together, they are part of a special family in these old tales.