Selene - Revision history

Irlandos at 11:14, July 13, 2006

2006-07-13T11:14:57Z

Irlandos: /* Lovers */

2006-07-13T11:14:24Z

Lovers

Irlandos: /* Genealogy */

2006-07-13T11:12:16Z

Genealogy

Irlandos at 11:10, July 13, 2006

2006-07-13T11:10:55Z

New page

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Selene''' (Σελήνη, "moon") was an ancient lunar deity and the daughter of the [[titans]] [[Hyperion]] and [[Theia]]. She was identified with the Roman moon goddess, '''Luna'''.

Like most moon deities, Selene plays a fairly large role in her pantheon. However, Selene was eventually largely supplanted by [[Artemis]], and Luna by [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]. In the collection known as the [[Homeric hymns]], there is a ''Hymn to Selene'' (xxxii), paired with the hymn to Helios. Selene is described in [[Apollodorus]] 1.2.2; [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' 371; [[Nonnius]] 48.581; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] 5.1.4; and [[Strabo]] 14.1.6, among others.

The etymology of ''Selene'' is uncertain, but if the word is of Greek origin, it is likely connected to the word ''selas'', meaning "light". (Karl Kerenyi (1951). ''The Gods of the Greeks'' (pp. 19, 197). The name is the root of ''selenology'', the study of the geology of the Moon. The chemical element selenium was also named after Selene.

==Depictions==
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.

==Myths==
===Genealogy===
In the traditional divine genealogy, [[Helios]], the sun, is Selene's brother: after her brother, Helios, finishes his journey across the sky, Selene begins her own journey as night fell upon the earth. Her sister, [[Eos]], is goddess of the dawn. Eos also carried off a human lover, [[Cephalus]],<ref>Burkert, Walter (1985). ''Greek Religion'' (p. 176).</ref> which mirrors a myth of Selene and [[Endymion]].

As a result of Selene being conflated with Diana, later writers sometimes Selene as a daughter of [[Zeus]], like Artemis, or of [[Pallas]] the Titan. In the [[Homeric hymns|Homeric ''Hymn to Hermes'']], with its characteristically insistent [[patrilineality]], she is "bright Selene, daughter of the lord Pallas, Megamedes' son."

===Lovers===
[[Apollonius of Rhodes]] (4.57) tells how Selene loved a mortal, the handsome male prostitute —or, in the version Pausanias knew, a king— of [[Elis]], or otherwise called a hunter or shepherd, named [[Endymion (mythology)|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 (geographer)|Pausanias]] v.1.5). Selene had fifty daughters from Endymion, including [[Naxos (mythology)|Naxos]]. The sanctuary of Endymion at [[Heracleia]] on the southern slope of Latmus is a horseshoe-shaped chamber with an entrance hall and pillared forecourt.

Though the story of Endymion is the best-known one today, the Homeric hymn to Selene (xxxii) tells that Selene also bore [[Zeus]] a daughter, [[Pandia]], the "utterly shining" full moon. According to some sources, the [[Nemean Lion]] was her offspring as well. She also had an affair with [[Pan]], who seduced her by wrapping himself in a sheepskin<ref name="Kerenyi"/> and 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. In the Homeric hymn, her chariot is drawn by long-maned horses.

{{Credit wikipedia}}

[[Category:Greek goddesses]]
[[Category:Titans]]

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ===Lovers===
-[[Apollonius of Rhodes]] (4.57) tells how Selene loved a mortal, the handsome male prostitute &mdash;or, in the version Pausanias knew, a king&mdash; of [[Elis]], or otherwise called a hunter or shepherd, named [[Endymion (mythology)|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 (geographer)|Pausanias]] v.1.5). Selene had fifty daughters from Endymion, including [[Naxos (mythology)|Naxos]]. The sanctuary of Endymion at [[Heracleia]] on the southern slope of Latmus is a horseshoe-shaped chamber with an entrance hall and pillared forecourt.
+[[Apollonius of Rhodes]] (4.57) tells how Selene loved a mortal, the handsome male prostitute &mdash;or, in the version Pausanias knew, a king&mdash; of [[Elis]], or otherwise called a hunter or shepherd, named [[Endymion (mythology)|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 (geographer)|Pausanias]] v.1.5). Selene had fifty daughters from Endymion, including [[Naxos (mythology)|Naxos]]. The sanctuary of Endymion at [[Heracleia]] on the southern slope of Latmus is a horseshoe-shaped chamber with an entrance hall and pillared forecourt.
-Though the story of Endymion is the best-known one today, the Homeric hymn to Selene (xxxii) tells that Selene also bore [[Zeus]] a daughter, [[Pandia]], the "utterly shining" full moon. According to some sources, the [[Nemean Lion]] was her offspring as well. She also had an affair with [[Pan]], who seduced her by wrapping himself in a sheepskin<ref name="Kerenyi"/> and 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. In the Homeric hymn, her chariot is drawn by long-maned horses.
+Though the story of Endymion is the best-known one today, the Homeric hymn to Selene (xxxii) tells that Selene also bore [[Zeus]] a daughter, [[Pandia]], the "utterly shining" full moon. According to some sources, the [[Nemean Lion]] was her offspring as well. She also had an affair with [[Pan]], who seduced her by wrapping himself in a sheepskin ("Kerenyi" 1959) and 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. In the Homeric hymn, her chariot is drawn by long-maned horses.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 In [[Greek mythology]], '''Selene''' (Σελήνη, "moon") was an ancient lunar deity and the daughter of the [[titans]] [[Hyperion]] and [[Theia]]. She was identified with the Roman moon goddess, '''Luna'''.
-Like most moon deities, Selene plays a fairly large role in her pantheon. However, Selene was eventually largely supplanted by [[Artemis]], and Luna by [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]. In the collection known as the [[Homeric hymns]], there is a ''Hymn to Selene'' (xxxii), paired with the hymn to Helios.  Selene is described in [[Apollodorus]] 1.2.2; [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' 371; [[Nonnius]] 48.581; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] 5.1.4; and [[Strabo]] 14.1.6, among others.
+Like most moon deities, Selene plays a fairly large role in her pantheon. However, Selene was eventually largely supplanted by [[Artemis]], and Luna by Diana. In the collection known as the [[Homeric hymns]], there is a ''Hymn to Selene'' (xxxii), paired with the hymn to Helios.  Selene is described in [[Apollodorus]] 1.2.2; [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' 371; [[Nonnius]] 48.581; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] 5.1.4; and [[Strabo]] 14.1.6, among others.
 The etymology of ''Selene'' is uncertain, but if the word is of Greek origin, it is likely connected to the word ''selas'', meaning "light". (Karl Kerenyi (1951). ''The Gods of the Greeks'' (pp. 19, 197). The name is the root of ''selenology'', the study of the geology of the Moon. The chemical element selenium was also named after Selene.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Myths==
 ===Genealogy===
-In the traditional divine genealogy, [[Helios]], the sun, is Selene's brother: after her brother, Helios, finishes his journey across the sky, Selene begins her own journey as night fell upon the earth. Her sister, [[Eos]], is goddess of the dawn. Eos also carried off a human lover, [[Cephalus]],<ref>Burkert, Walter (1985). ''Greek Religion'' (p. 176).</ref> which mirrors a myth of Selene and [[Endymion]].
+In the traditional divine genealogy, [[Helios]], the sun, is Selene's brother: after her brother, Helios, finishes his journey across the sky, Selene begins her own journey as night fell upon the earth. Her sister, [[Eos]], is goddess of the dawn. Eos also carried off a human lover, [[Cephalus]], (Burkert, Walter (1985). ''Greek Religion'' (p. 176).) which mirrors a myth of Selene and [[Endymion]].
-As a result of Selene being conflated with Diana, later writers sometimes Selene as a daughter of [[Zeus]], like Artemis, or of [[Pallas]] the Titan. In the [[Homeric hymns|Homeric ''Hymn to Hermes'']], with its characteristically insistent [[patrilineality]], she is "bright Selene, daughter of the lord Pallas, Megamedes' son."
+As a result of Selene being conflated with Diana, later writers sometimes Selene as a daughter of [[Zeus]], like Artemis, or of [[Pallas]] the Titan. In the [[Homeric hymns|Homeric ''Hymn to Hermes'']], with its characteristically insistent patrilineality, she is "bright Selene, daughter of the lord Pallas, Megamedes' son."
 ===Lovers===