In ancient Greek mythology, as in any other pantheon, there is a personification of the Moon. Among the Hellenes, it was Selena. The mythology of ancient Rome has a similar character - Diana. Often they are considered a reflection of the same image.
Moon Goddess
In ancient Greek mythology, one of the central characters are the titans - the gods of the second generation. They had many children. In the series of these offspring of the third generation was Selena. Mythology attributes to her the image of the moon. The Hellenes treated this lonely night luminary with special reverence.
Titan Hyperion and his wife Theia had three children. One of the bottom was Selena. Mythology reveals the name of her brother Helios - the solar deity, as well as Eos - the goddess of dawn. Thus, these relatives personified the entire heavenly element. For the Greeks, the distant cloudy expanses were an unknown world beyond the limits of human consciousness. Therefore, the image that Selena possessed received a special mystical shade. Mythology says that she is the youngest daughter of Titan parents, born after Helios and Eos.
Relations with other gods
To understand who Selena is in Greekmythology, just look at her relationship with other deities of the ancient Greek pantheon. It is believed that she was one of the lovers of Zeus. From this connection was born Pandya, in honor of which a magnificent festival was held in Athens every year, dedicated to the vernal equinox. On this day, the goddess of the moon bathed in the ocean waters, put on silver clothes and harnessed mighty horses to her chariot to set off again across the sky.
Also, Selene of ancient Greek mythology was associated with Pan. This god of wildlife, cattle breeding and shepherds was fascinated by the moon. To attract Selene, the powerful native of Arcadia transformed into a magnificent white ram.
Cult of Selena
Selena was worshiped in many areas of Ancient Greece. In Olympia, the ancient image of the goddess riding a horse is still preserved. The famous geographer Strabo mentioned that the daughter of a titan was especially revered even in the most remote corners of the then ancient civilization (for example, in inaccessible mountainous Albania). Most often, marble monuments were dedicated to Selena. The color of this natural material reminded the Greeks of the lunar shade. Selena could be depicted alone or inside her heavenly chariot. The goddess had much in common with Artemis. She was not only beautiful, but also a wise woman. She knew all the stars and the deepest secrets of the sky.
Poets of that time wrote their works, drawing inspiration from the stories told by Greek mythology. Selena is present in the poems and poems of Pindar andAeschylus. Masters of literature compared it with a sparkling night eye. For the Greeks, the moon was not just a night decoration. The celestial body was used as a reference point; days could be counted from it.
In addition, the moon was also a beacon for the stars that she led. In this regard, the poets compared Selena with a beautiful woman who carried a torch. The goddess was associated with silver and the silver color that came from the moon illuminated the night sky.
Endymion
Selena fell in love with Endymion, famous for his amazing beauty. He was the king of Elis, where he had a cult for a long time. According to local belief, Selene gave birth to fifty children from Endymion, which symbolized the fifty lunar cycles between the Olympic Games. The names of some of them have survived to this day. Nemea is the new moon, Pandea is the waning phase, Meniscus is the crescent moon, and Mena is the full moon.
Endymion begged Zeus for immortality and eternal youth at the cost of deep sleep. Every night, Selena returns to the young man and silently admires him. Greek priests and poets believed that this story is the personification of the daily meeting of the Sun and the Moon.
Night Wanderer
Together with the arrival of the night, Selene in the sky replaced Hemera, who personified the day. The goddess of the moon had not only horses, but also buffaloes with mules, which she could also harness to her chariot.
Selena in Greek mythology had a mandatory attribute in the formwings that helped her travel across the starry ocean. On her head was a crown of gold. Decoration with its light dispelled the darkness of the night and helped travelers not to go astray. Every full moon, the Greeks held a sacrifice in honor of the daughter of Hyperion.
Modern Greek retained the name of Selene as a common noun for the Moon as a celestial body. Thanks to this, the image of the goddess is one of the most obvious and straightforward in ancient mythology. An asteroid discovered in 1905 by the German astronomer Max Wolf, who was fond of ancient Greek history, was named after Selena.
