Goddess of the Moon
Selene drives her silver chariot across the night sky, illuminating the world with reflected light.
The Meaning of Goddess of the Moon
Selene, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, rode a chariot drawn by two white horses (or sometimes oxen) across the sky each night, her silver crown casting pale light over the sleeping world. Her most famous myth involves the shepherd Endymion, whose beauty captivated her so completely that she begged Zeus to grant him eternal sleep so he would never age or die. Zeus agreed, and Endymion sleeps forever in a cave on Mount Latmus while Selene visits him each night, bending down from the sky to kiss his face. She bore him fifty daughters, sometimes identified with the fifty months of the Olympiad cycle. By the Classical period, Artemis absorbed many of Selene's lunar attributes, and the two were frequently conflated in literature and worship.
Parents
Hyperion and Theia
Children
Pandia, Ersa, fifty daughters of Endymion
Symbols
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
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
⚡ 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.
God of the Sun
💭 conceptSun, light, truth, cattle of the sun
Helios drives the sun chariot across the sky each day, and Apollo later inherited many solar associations.
Luna
⚡ godMoon, night, cycles
Roman goddess of the moon, equivalent to the Greek Selene
Europa
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
A moon of Jupiter named after Europa, the Phoenician princess abducted by Zeus in the form of a white bull, now one of the most promising candidates for extraterrestrial life
Callisto
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
A moon of Jupiter named after Callisto, the nymph companion of Artemis who was transformed into a bear and placed among the stars as the constellation Ursa Major
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.
Io
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
A moon of Jupiter named after Io, the priestess of Hera whom Zeus transformed into a white cow, now known as the most volcanically active body in the solar system
Ganymede
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The largest moon in the solar system, named after Ganymede, the beautiful Trojan prince abducted by Zeus to serve as cupbearer of the gods on Olympus
Goddess of Night
💭 conceptNight, darkness, shadows, mystery
Nyx is the primordial goddess of night, so powerful that even Zeus avoids provoking her wrath.
Triton
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The largest moon of Neptune, named after Triton, the merman son of Poseidon, notable for being the only large moon in the solar system that orbits in the opposite direction to its planet
Goddess of the Hunt
💭 conceptHunting, wilderness, childbirth, the moon
Artemis roams the forests with her band of nymphs, protecting wild animals and punishing those who violate her sacred groves.