Endymion
heroEndymion 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 Myth
Selene saw Endymion sleeping on Mount Latmos and fell in love with his beauty. She visited him nightly, bathing him in moonlight. She begged Zeus to give him eternal sleep so he would never age or die. Zeus granted the wish (or Endymion chose it himself). He sleeps forever on Latmos, eternally young, visited nightly by the moon. The myth explains why the moon seems to pause above certain mountains — Selene lingering over her sleeping beloved.
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."
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