Endymion
Endymion was a beautiful shepherd whom the moon goddess Selene loved so deeply that she asked Zeus to grant him eternal sleep — so she could gaze upon him forever.
The Legend of Endymion
A beautiful shepherd on Mount Latmos, Endymion caught the eye of the moon goddess Selene, who fell in love as he slept. Zeus offered Endymion any wish; he chose eternal sleep and eternal youth. Selene visited him nightly, bathing him in silver light, and bore him fifty daughters. Some say it was Hera who cast the sleep as a punishment, others that Artemis granted it as a kindness. His myth echoes the divine obsessions of Apollo for Daphne and Eos for Cephalus — mortals caught in the longing of immortals.
Parents
Aethlius (or Zeus)
Children
Fifty daughters by Selene
Symbols
Fun Fact
Keats' poem "Endymion" (1818) opens with one of literature's most famous lines: "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever."
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Selene
⚡ godTitaness of the moon
The Titaness who personified the moon, driving her silver chariot across the night sky. She fell in love with the mortal Endymion and visited him nightly as he slept.
Selene
⚡ godTitaness of the moon
Selene was the Titaness who drove the silver chariot of the moon across the night sky — she loved the mortal Endymion and visited him each night as he slept eternally.
Selene
🏔 titanTitan goddess of the moon
The Titan goddess who drove the silver chariot of the moon across the night sky, daughter of Hyperion and Theia.
Ariadne
🗡 herolove
Cretan princess who saved Theseus with a ball of thread, was abandoned on Naxos, and became the immortal wife of Dionysus.
Psyche
🗡 heroMortal whose love conquered a god
Psyche was a princess so beautiful that Aphrodite was jealous — she married Eros in darkness and lost him when she looked, then won him back through impossible labours.
Goddess of the Moon
💭 conceptMoon, night sky, lunar cycles
Selene drives her silver chariot across the night sky, illuminating the world with reflected light.
Ganymede
🗡 herobeauty
Most beautiful mortal boy, abducted by Zeus (as an eagle) to serve as cupbearer of the gods on Olympus.
Hyas
🗡 heroHunting, grief, stars
Hunter whose death from a lion or boar caused such grief in his sisters that they were transformed into the Hyades star cluster
Adonis
🗡 heroBeautiful youth loved by Aphrodite
Adonis was a youth of such extraordinary beauty that Aphrodite herself fell in love with him — his death and annual rebirth became a metaphor for the cycle of seasons.
Ariadne
🗡 heroPrincess who saved Theseus from the Labyrinth
Daughter of King Minos who fell in love with Theseus and gave him the thread that allowed him to escape the Labyrinth after slaying the Minotaur.
Ganymede
🗡 heroCup-bearer of the gods
A beautiful Trojan prince abducted by Zeus to serve as cup-bearer on Olympus. Ganymede became immortal and was placed among the stars as the constellation Aquarius.
Heracles
🗡 heroGreatest of all Greek heroes
The son of Zeus and Alcmene who performed twelve impossible labours and was the only hero to achieve full godhood after death.