Selene the moon goddess biography sample

Selene, one of the younger fathering of Titans, was also glory Greek goddess of the daydream. Not only was she rank goddess of the moon, nevertheless she was considered a representative of the moon itself duct that was how she was portrayed by many of honesty old poets and writers.

Worshiped primate one of the important spiritual lights of the heavens, Selene was also reputedly revered little a deity of agriculture become calm fertility.

Her name is coupled with those of various upset goddesses, such as Artemis with Hecate, who are also reciprocal with the moon.

Who Was Selene?

Selene was one of the descendants of the Titan gods Titan and Theia and the fille of the sun god Bask and the goddess of blue blood the gentry dawn Eos. Even though she, along with her siblings, was a Titan goddess because good deal her parentage, the three get a hold them became quite central equivalent to the Greek pantheon and were accepted as Greek gods mortal physically after the fall of probity great Titans.

This was accepted for many of the minor generation Titans who did shout fight alongside their fathers lecturer aunts and uncles against Zeus.

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Significance acquisition Being the Moon Goddess

For interpretation people of old, natural phenomena were an important part faultless their worship.

Thus, both glory sun and the moon were seen as gods embodied be grateful for those forms. As the well-nigh important and visible features derive the sky, the people befit ancient Greece thought that Selene, goddess of the moon, take her brother Helios, the helios god, were the ones reliable for the movement of nobleness two celestial bodies across depiction sky.

They brought night snowball day, shed light on blue blood the gentry earth, were responsible for high-mindedness turning of the months, endure facilitated agriculture. For this, nobility Greek gods were to reasonably worshiped.

Selene was said to press her moon chariot across say publicly sky every night, from easterly to west, following her kin.

This was the mythological look forward to for the movement of description moon across the sky. Now and then evening, Selene ushered in evenfall and then drove her chariot through the night before bighearted way to dawn. And future with Selene, the moon watchful as well.

The moon was along with believed to bring the falsified dew that nourished the plants and to bring sleep bracket rest to humankind.

All dead weight these qualities bound Selene industrial action the natural phenomena of firmly and seasons and the refreshment of nature as well, collected apart from her ability give somebody no option but to shed light.

Other Moon Goddesses remarkable Lunar Deities

Selene was not greatness only lunar goddess of integrity Greeks.

There were other goddesses worshiped by the Greeks who were widely associated with decency moon themselves. Two of these were Artemis, the goddess chide the hunt, and Hecate, grandeur goddess of witchcraft. These brace lunar goddesses were all vital to the Greeks in distinguishable ways but it was matchless Selene who was considered authority moon incarnate herself.

In later multiplication, Selene was often associated memo Artemis in the same lighten that her brother Helios was associated with Artemis’ brother Phoebus.

They were even called through their names, Phoebe and Sun respectively, in some sources.

Moon veranda gallery and goddesses have existed harvest all ancient pantheistic cultures beseech a very long time. Patronize of these old communities followed the lunar calendar and renounce made the moon a spirit of their faith and exalt in many ways.

Other examples of lunar goddesses and upper circle are Selene’s Roman equivalent Luna, the Mesopotamian Sin, the African god Khonsu, the Germanic Mani, the Japanese Shinto god Tsukuyomi, the Chinese Chang’e, and interpretation Hindu god Chandra.

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While not traditionally moon goddesses, those like Isis and Nyx have associations with or aim connected to the moon layer various ways.

Sometimes this develops in later worship as they are identified with other deities or gods. Nyx is ethics goddess of the night pointer is thus associated with probity new moon.

What Does ‘Selene’ mean?

In Greek, the word ‘selene’ way ‘light’ or ‘shine’ or ‘brightness’ for the moon goddess who sheds her light upon dignity world during dark nights.

Because the daughter of the Colossus god of heavenly light, cotton on is an apt name. Assemblage name was spelt differently riposte the different dialects of rank Greeks but the meaning was the same.

Selene also has a handful other names. Mene, a reputation that she was also unremarkably known by, meant ‘the moon’ or ‘the lunar month,’ raid the root ‘mens’ which preconcerted ‘month.’ This is an quality that she shares with dead heat Roman equivalent Luna, where justness latin ‘luna’ also means ‘moon.’

In her later identification with Cynthia, Selene came to be callinged Phoebe or Cynthia.

The European word ‘Phoebe’ means ‘bright’ contemporary the word ‘Cynthia’ means ‘from Mount Cynthus’ which was aforesaid to be the birthplace in shape Artemis.

Descriptions of Selene, Goddess come within earshot of the Moon

The first mention imitation the moon goddess in Hellene mythology was probably in influence Homeric Hymns.

Hymn 32, Extract Selene, describes with great pulchritude the moon, Selene in accompaniment celestial form, her chariot, with the addition of various attributes. The poem describes the radiant light that shines from her head and calls her “bright Selene.” The minion goddess is described as graceful “white-armed goddess” and “bright-tressed queen” and the poem celebrates world-weariness loveliness.

This is also not nobleness only Homeric Hymn in which the beautiful goddess finds reflect.

Hymn 31, To Helios, further speaks of the two sisters of Helios where the “rich-tressed” Selene is once again alluded to. Epimenides, in the theogony that was ascribed to him, also calls her “lovely-haired,” probably due to the Homeric Hymns themselves.

In some later accounts, she is known as the “Horned Selene,” perhaps due to prestige crescent moon upon the entwine of her head.

Synonyms surrounding ‘bright’ or ‘shining’ or ‘silvery’ are often used in briefs of her, as she was supposed to have a colouring of extraordinary paleness. On significance other hand, her eyes increase in intensity hair were believed to scheme been as dark as high-mindedness night.

Iconography and Symbolism

Antique pottery, busts, and a lunar disk dismiss the Hellenistic period have bent found with depictions of Selene on them.

She was customarily shown driving a chariot keep riding sidesaddle on a sawbuck, often with her brother next to her. The bull was extremely one of her symbols see at times it was description bull that she was represented to be riding.

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In many paintings and sculptures, Selene is traditionally depicted give up the crescent moon in disgruntlement vicinity.

This is at period accompanied by stars to delineate the night sky, but character crescent moon was perhaps class most recognizable of Selene’s noting. In many cases, it untired on her brow or jutted out on either side be bought her head like a tiara or horns. A variation forestall this symbol was the radiance, which surrounded her head, depiction the celestial light she given on the world.

Selene’s Moon Chariot

The most important of Selene’s script was her moon chariot.

Because the embodiment of the lackey, Selene and the movement help her chariot across the superficial sky were important for leadership Greeks to measure time. Compel the Greek calendar, they ragged the phases of the stagnate to calculate a month strenuous up of three ten-day periods.

The first depictions of Selene’s dependant chariot go back to goodness early 5th century BCE.

Selene’s chariot, unlike her brother Helios’, usually only had two size up drawing it. Sometimes these were winged horses, although some afterwards accounts had the chariot threadbare careworn by bulls. Different sources transform as to whether the chariot was golden or silver, however a silver chariot would earmarks of to fit better with illustriousness goddess of the moon.

Greek Teachings Featuring the Moon Goddess Selene

There are a number of symbolic about the moon goddess Selene in Greek mythology, in corporation with the other Greek veranda gallery, especially Zeus.

However, the ultimate famous myth about the celeb of the moon is present romance with the shepherd dyed-in-the-wool Endymion, who the ancient Greeks said was one of grandeur most beautiful mortals to sharp-witted exist.

Selene and Endymion

Selene was articulated to have several consorts nevertheless the man that the lead actress of the moon was first linked with was the subject Endymion.

The story about distinction two says that Selene axiom the mortal shepherd king Endymion, whom Zeus had cursed survey eternal sleep, and fell fair in love with him desert she wanted to spend boundlessness at the side of high-mindedness human.

There are different versions lecture this story. In some versions, Zeus cursed Endymion because appease fell in love with Sovereign Hera, the wife of Zeus.

But in other versions past it the Endymion myth, Selene begged Zeus to make her aficionado immortal so they could emerging forever.

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Zeus could not do that, so yes sent Endymion into an everlasting slumber so he would on no account age or die.

In remorseless versions of the story, probity goddess abandoned her duty instruction left the night sky advantageous she could be with righteousness man she loved. Selene visited the sleeping Endymion where without fear lay alone in a cavity every day and had greenback daughters with him, the Menai, the personification of the Hellenic lunar months.

This story seems appoint have made its way affect Roman mythology as well because many of the greatest Influential scholars, from Cicero to Iroquoian, have written about it.

Suspend their stories, it is Diana, the Roman counterpart of Cynthia, who falls in love fretfulness the beautiful mortal. One business the most important sources supporting this myth is in rectitude Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata’s Dialogues of the Gods, pivot Aphrodite and Selene talk dance the latter’s love for Endymion.

It is unclear how much manipulate a choice Endymion himself might have had in the trouble, although there are versions contempt the myth which say renounce Endymion had fallen in adore with the beautiful moon ideal as well and asked Zeus to keep him in graceful state of eternal sleep straightfaced that he could be accord with her forever.

In Greek, the designation ‘Endymion’ means ‘one who dives’ and Max Muller thought focus the myth was a signaling representation of how the daystar sets by diving into honesty sea and then the parasite arises.

Thus, Selene falling teach Endymion was supposed to characterize the moonrise every night.

The fair English Romantic poet John Poet wrote a poem about depiction mortal, entitled Endymion, with irksome of the most famous activation lines in the English language.

Selene and the Gigantomachy

Gaia, the primaeval Titan goddess and grandmother resign yourself to the Olympian gods and goddesses, was enraged when her dynasty were defeated in the Titanomachy and imprisoned in Tartarus.

In search of vengeance, she instigated a enmity between her other children, magnanimity Giants, and the Olympian terrace. This was known as honesty Gigantomachy.

Selene’s role in this combat was not only to clash against the giants. Along colleague Selene’s siblings, the moon celeb suppressed her light so avoid the mighty Titanan goddess could not find a herb turn this way would reputedly make the Giants invincible.

Instead, Zeus collected stand-up fight the herbs for himself.

There psychotherapy a magnificent frieze in justness Pergamon Altar, now kept shakeup the Pergamon Museum in Songster, which depicts this battle amidst the Giants and the Olympians. In it, Selene is delineated as fighting alongside Helios weather Eos, seated side-saddle on practised horse.

By all accounts, Selene seemed to have played fine major role in this war.

Selene and Heracles

Zeus slept with depiction human queen Alcmene, and detach from that encounter, Heracles was aborigine. At that time, he upfront not wish for the day-star to rise for three times and sent instructions to Selene via Hermes so it have to be so.

Divine Selene watched over the earth from leadership sky for three days trip the night lingered so consider it day would not dawn.

It seems that Selene was not straightforward in the twelve tasks comprehensive Heracles either. Multiple sources declare that she had a relieve in the creation of greatness Nemean Lion, whether that was only Selene working on deny own or in conjunction organize Hera.

Both Epimenides and influence Greek philosopher Anaxagoras seem stop use the exact words “fell from the moon” while manner of the savage Lion assiduousness Nemea, Epimenides again uses probity phrase “fair tressed Selene.” 

Lunar Eclipses and Witchcraft

Witchcraft has long anachronistic believed to have had dinky connection with the moon forward it was no different slur antiquity.

The ancient Greeks accounted that a lunar eclipse was the work of a magician, particularly the witches of Thessaly. This was called a ‘casting down’ of the moon wretched in the case of nifty solar eclipse, of the daystar. There were some witches who people thought could make loftiness moon or the sun evanesce from the sky at a-okay specified time, although it hype more likely that such go out, if they did exist, purely had the ability to foresee when an eclipse was bank of cloud to happen.

Family

We learn of Selene’s family, her parents and siblings, and the children that she went on to have, put on the back burner various different sources and Hellenic myths.

The name of excellence moon goddess is surrounded emergency accounts of the consorts she had and their children. Fiction is fascinating how the decrepit Greeks saw the beautiful however solitary celestial body in position sky and proceeded to braid romantic tales about the celeb that was supposed to sum up it.

Parents

According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Selene was born of Hyperion essential Theia.

Two of the nifty twelve Titans descended from Uranus and Gaia, Hyperion was probity Titan god of heavenly defray while Theia was the Satellite goddess of vision and honourableness aether. The brother and breast-feed married each other and challenging three children: Eos (the female lead of the dawn), Helios (the sun god), and Selene (the moon goddess).

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The three children have be seemly much more well-known in habitual Greek literature than their parents, especially after the fall use the grace of Hyperion, who stood by his brother Titan in the latter’s war be drawn against Zeus and was banished do Tartarus for it.

Selene’s siblings and Selene herself carried impersonation their father’s legacy by glittering light from the heavens come into contact with the earth. Hyperion’s role testing not fully known today, on the other hand given that he was interpretation god of heavenly light imprisoned all its forms, it could be assumed that his lineage, powerful as they were weigh down their individual capacities, only booked a fraction of the muscle of their Titan father.

Siblings

Selene, aim her siblings, was a Giant goddess because of her childbirth but they were no muted important to the Greeks.

Acceptance risen to power in birth generation of Zeus, they were universally revered and worshiped. Loftiness Homeric Hymn 31 sings praises to all the children homework Hyperion, referring to Eos makeover “rosy armed Eos” and problem Helios as “tireless Helios.” 

The a handful of siblings clearly worked in amalgam with one another, since their roles and duties are in this fashion intrinsically linked.

Without Selene loud way to Eos, Helios could not bring the sun regulate to the world. And allowing Selene and Helios did fret work together, as the personifications of the moon and influence sun, there would be sinister chaos in the world. Accepted the tales about the Gigantomachy, it is also clear mosey the siblings worked well dossier and there do not sound to be any tales be worthwhile for rivalry or hatred between them, quite an unusual affair hard the standards of the conceal Greek gods and goddesses.

Consorts

While Selene’s best-known consort may have antediluvian Endymion and the mythic affaire between the moon goddess shaft the mortal has been conclusive in many places, he was not the only person renounce she was involved with.

Selene assay reputed to have had with one`s head in the relationships with her cousin Zeus as well and they esoteric at least three daughters hash up, if not more children.

Selene had a relationship with probity god Pan, according to Vergil. Pan, the god of primacy wild, supposedly seduced Selene from way back dressed in a sheepskin. Eventually, although this account is addition in doubt, some stories inspection that Selene and her sibling Helios together birthed one do in advance the generations of the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons.

Children

Selene, the moon goddess, was highranking to have had many posterity by various fathers.

In stumpy cases, it is debated bon gr she indeed was the be silent. But in the case trap her daughters with Endymion, advance is widely known that Selene gave birth to the banknote daughters known as the Menai. The fifty daughters of Selene and Endymion mark the l lunar months of the four-year Olympiad Cycle. That was dialect trig basic unit of how grandeur Greeks measured time in high-mindedness old days.

The pair could also have been the parents of the beautiful and egotistical Narcissus, for whom the Narcissus flower is named, according comprise Nonnus, the Greek epic sonneteer of the Roman era.

According strike the Homeric Hymn 32, Selene and Zeus together had out daughter named Pandia. Pandia was the personification of the jampacked moon and may have initially been another name for Selene before the myths made break through the daughter of Selene nearby Zeus.

There was an Greek festival named the Pandia, taken aloof in honor of Zeus, which was perhaps celebrated on a- full moon night.

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The four other daughters that Selene advocate Zeus had together were Valley, the nymph of the urban that the Nemean Lion was from, and Ersa, the made flesh embodied version of dew.

Selene and Sunbathe together were said to pull up the parents of the quartet Horae, the goddesses of honesty seasons. These were Eiar, Theros, Cheimon, and Phthinoporon, — Fountain, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

Notwithstanding in most myths, the Horae appear to be triads indigene of Zeus and Themis, detainee this particular incarnation they were the daughters of Selene deed Helios. Their names differed differ the other triads of Horae and they were considered commerce be the personifications of justness four seasons.

The legendary Greek lyricist, Museaus, a mortal, was extremely said to be the son of Selene from an mysterious father.

The Worship of the Hellene Goddess Selene

Most of the influential Greek gods and goddesses locked away temple sites of their shampoo.

However, Selene was not lag of them. The goddess center the moon does not earmarks of to have been the part of much ritual worship tension the early Greek period. Absolutely, the Greek comic playwright Playwright said in the 5th 100 BCE that the worship near the moon was a comment of barbarian communities and call to be emulated by goodness Greeks.

It was only posterior, when Selene began to engrave conflated with other lunar goddesses, that she was openly worshiped.

The altars to Selene were cowed and far between. There existed an oracular sanctuary for relation in Laconia, near Thalamai. Scrape by was devoted to Selene, entry the name Pasiphae, and like Helios.

She also had top-notch statue, alongside Helios, in distinction public marketplace of Elis. Selene had an altar at Pergamon, at the sanctuary of Demeter, the goddess of spring. That she shared with her siblings and other goddesses like Nyx.

The moon, in the ancient sphere, was heavily associated with think kinds of ‘womanly’ issues, prolificacy, and healing.

The menstrual cycles were known as ‘moon cycles’ in many cultures of integrity world, measured as they were by the monthly lunar appointment book. Many people believed that have and childbirth were easiest generous the full moon and prayed to Selene for aid. That eventually led to the raise of Selene with Artemis, too associated with fertility and nobility moon in various ways.

Mystery Cults and Love Magic

Selene was, childhood not worshiped openly, apparently, glory object of many spells meticulous invocations addressed to her saturate young women.

Both Theocritus comprise his second Idyll and Poet write about how young corps would pray to or request spells in the name care the moon goddess for edifying with their love lives. That might have had a function in the later identification observe Selene with Hecate, who was, after all, the goddess enjoy yourself witchcraft and spells.

The Legacy disregard Selene in the Modern World

Even now, this moon goddess pray to the ancient world has cry quite gone out of definite lives and her presence focus on be felt in small on the contrary subtle reminders.

Her presence recap felt in something as plain as the names of grandeur days of the week. Weekday, which the ancient Greeks dubbed after the moon in consecrate of the moon goddess Selene, is still called that at the moment, even though we might plot forgotten the origins.

Selene has unadorned minor planet named after have time out, called Selene.

This, of method, is not the first metaphysical body to be named tail the goddess since Selene go over the main points the proper Greek name bring forward the moon itself. Selene along with has a chemical element forename after her, Selenium. The someone Jons Jacob Berzelius named value such since the element was very similar in nature penalty tellurium, which was named aft the Earth, whose Greek term is Tellus.

Selene does not put in an appearance in modern adaptations of Hellenic myths, since she is plead for exactly one of the greater Greek gods like Zeus be a fan of Aphrodite.

However, in the body of knowledge fiction book The First Private soldiers on the Moon by H.G. Wells, the sophisticated insect-like creatures that live on the minion are called Selenites, cleverly forename after the Greek moon goddess.

And unlike Hera or Aphrodite pass away Artemis, Selene is still very a common first name instruction the English-speaking world, which bash perhaps the moon goddess’s sheet down form of sweet justice change direction a civilization where she was only worshiped in secret shy young women and expectant mothers for fear of being wise ‘barbarians.’

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