Selene

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SELENE was the Titan goddess of the moon. She was depicted as a woman riding sidesaddle on a horse or driving a chariot drawn by a pair of winged steeds. Her lunar sphere or crescent was either a crown set upon her head or the fold of a raised, shining cloak. She was sometimes said to drive a team of oxen and her lunar crescent was likened to a pair of bull's horns.

Selene's great love was the shepherd prince Endymion. The beautiful boy was granted eternal youth and immortality by Zeus and placed in a state of eternal slumber in a cave near the peak of Lydian Mount Latmos (Latmus). His heavenly bride consorted with him there in the night.

A number of other goddesses were also associated with the moon, however, only Selene was represented by the old Greek poets represented as the moon incarnate. Other Greek moon goddesses included Pasiphae, the Leukippides (Leucippes), Eileithyia, Hekate (Hecate), Artemis, Bendis, and Hera (who sometimes doubled for Selene in the Endymion myth).


Parents:[edit]

Father: Hyperion
Mother: Thea

Children:[edit]

  • Pandia - goddess of the full moon
  • Ersa - goddess of the dew, a daughter of the rain-god Zeus and moon-goddess Selene. Her moisture nourished the plants of the earth.
  • Nemea - Naiad-nymph of the springs of the town of Nemea in Argolis (southern Greece).