In Greek mythology, the goddess of the Moon. There seems to have been no cult among the Greeks, but the Moon was important in witchcraft. She was depicted as a charioteer (the head of one of her horses may be seen among the Elgin Marbles).
For other uses, see Selene (disambiguation).In Greek mythology, Selene (Σελήνη, "moon";
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. The chemical element selenium was also named after Selene.
Depictions
In post-Renaissance art, Selene is generally depicted as a beautiful woman with a pale face, riding a silver chariot pulled by a yoke of oxen or a pair of horses. Essentially, Selene is the moon goddess but is literally defined as 'the moon'.
Myths
Genealogy
In the traditional pre-Olympian 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 falls upon the earth. Eos also carried off a human lover, Cephalus, which mirrors a myth of Selene and Endymion.
As a result of Selene being conflated with Artemis, later writers sometimes referred to Selene as a daughter of Zeus, like Artemis, or of Pallas the Titan. In the 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 hunter or shepherd—or, in the version Pausanias knew, a king— of Elis, 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.
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.
Luna
The Roman goddess of the moon, Luna, had a temple on the Aventine Hill.
In popular culture
The name appears in fiction as the character Adam Selene in the novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A.
Selene served as a major inspiration for the character of Lanfear in the Wheel of Time book series. Lanfear also used the name Selene as a pseudonym in the series.
The Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica makes a reference to her in their song "My Selene", from their album Reckoning Night.
Also, the Guatemalan band "La Tona" named one of its greatest hits "Selene".
In the manga and anime Sailor Moon the main character Usagi Tsukino was called Princess Serenity (Serenity in Japanese text could possibly also be read Selenity; Many fans believe that the name is a pun on both.) during her former life as the moon princess and was said to be a descendant of Selene;
The Selene is also a secret unlockable ship in the Playstation game Einhänder.
The DC comics superheroine, Mary Marvel, derives her grace from Selene.
A Marvel comics supervillainess, also known as the Black Queen, is also called Selene
In Gargoyles both Luna and Seline were two of the three Weird Sisters that granted Macbeth and Demona immortality.
The main character in Underworld and Underworld: Evolution is a woman named Selene who is a vampire.
In the book series, "Daughters Of The Moon" Selene is referred to as the goddess of the moon. The book series is based on Greek mythology, and some of the stories as to Selene's beginnings are twisted somewhat, but still mostly true. In the books, there are five teenage friends who are gifted with powers by Selene, and are battling the evil force called the Atrox.
User Comments Add a comment…