Selene

:This page is on the Greek goddess. For other uses, see Selene (disambiguation).

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In Greek mythology, Selene (Σελήνη, "moon") (the Roman moon goddess being Luna ) was an ancient lunar deity, and the daughter of the Titans

Related Topics:
Greek mythology - Roman - Lunar deity - Titan

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Hyperion and Theia.

Related Topics:
Hyperion - Theia

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A moon goddess is invariably a major role. If her name is Greek it is connected with selas "light" (Kerenyi p. 197). Selene was eventually largely supplanted by Artemis, thus, later writers sometimes describe her as a daughter of Zeus, or of Pallas. In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, with its characteristically insistent patrilineality, she is "bright Selene, daughter of the lord Pallas, Megamedes' son."

Related Topics:
Artemis - Zeus - Pallas - Homeric ''Hymn to Hermes''

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In the traditional divine genealogy, Helios, the sun, is her brother: after her brother, Helios finished his journey across the sky, Selene began her own journey as night fell upon the earth. Her sister Eos is goddess of the dawn. Eos, it will be remembered, also carried off a human lover, Cephalus (Burkert 1985 p. 176).

Related Topics:
Helios - Eos - Cephalus

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Apollonius of Rhodes (4.57) tells how she loved a handsome shepherd— or in the version Pausanias knew a king of Elis, or a hunter— named Endymion from Asia Minor. He was so beautiful that Selene asked Zeus to grant him eternal life so he would never leave her: her asking permission of Zeus reveals itself as an Olympian transformation of an older myth: Cicero (Tusculanae Disputationes) recognized that the moon goddess had acted autonomously. Alternatively, Endymion made the decision to live forever in sleep. Every night, Selene slipped down behind Mount Latmus near Miletus. (Pausanias v.1.5). Selene had fifty daughters from Endymion, including Naxos. The sanctuary of Endymionat Heracleia on the southern slope, is a horseshoe-shaped chamber with an entrance hall and pillared forecourt.

Related Topics:
Apollonius of Rhodes - Elis - Endymion - Asia Minor - Cicero - Mount Latmus - Miletus - Pausanias - Naxos - Heracleia

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Though the story of Endymion is best known today, the Homeric hymns tell that Selene also bore Zeus three daughters including Pandia, the "utterly shining" full moon, and, according to some sources, the Nemean Lion as well. She also had an affair with Pan, who seduced her by wrapping himself in a sheepskin (Kerenyi p 19) gave her the yoke of white oxen that drew the chariot in which she is represented in sculptured reliefs, with her windblown veil above her head like the arching canopy of sky.

Related Topics:
Zeus - Pandia - Nemean Lion - Pan

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In art, Selene was depicted as a beautiful woman with a pale face, riding a silver chariot pulled by a yoke of oxen or a pair of horses. Often, she was shown riding a horse or bull, wearing robes and a half-moon on her head and carrying a torch.

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In Rome, Luna ("moon") had a temple on the Aventine Hill. It was built in the 6th century BC but was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome under Nero.

Related Topics:
Rome - Aventine Hill - 6th century BC - Great Fire of Rome - Nero

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In the collection known as the Homeric hymns there is a Hymn to Selene Selene is described in Apollodorus 1.2.2; Hesiod's Theogony 371; Nonnius 48.581; Pausanias 5.1.4; and Strabo 14.1.6, among others.

Related Topics:
Homeric hymns - Apollodorus - Hesiod - Theogony - Nonnius - Pausanias - Strabo

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The name is the root of selenology, the study of the moon that corresponds to geology. The name appears in fiction as the character Adam Selene in the novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein.

Related Topics:
Selenology - Adam Selene - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein

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The chemical element selenium was named after Selene.

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