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SELENE
*** Shopping-Tip: SELENE
:''This page is on the Greek goddess. For other uses, see
Selene (disambiguation).''
Image:Luna statue.jpg lunar deity right|thumb|250px|Roman statue of the [[lunar deity|moon goddess Luna, who was equated with the Greek Selene..html" title="Meaning of moon goddess.html" title="Meaning of right|thumb|250px|Roman statue of the [[lunar deity|moon goddess">right|thumb|250px|Roman statue of the [[lunar deity|moon goddess Luna, who was equated with the Greek Selene.">moon goddess.html" title="Meaning of right|thumb|250px|Roman statue of the [[lunar deity|moon goddess">right|thumb|250px|Roman statue of the [[lunar deity|moon goddess Luna, who was equated with the Greek Selene.
In
Greek mythology, '''Selene''' (Σελήνη, "moon") was an ancient
lunar deity and the daughter of the
titan (mythology) titans Hyperion (mytholoy) Hyperion and
Theia. She was identified with the
Roman mythology Roman moon goddess, '''Luna'''.
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 (mythology) Diana. In the collection known as the
Homeric hymns, there is a ''Hymn to Selene'' (xxxii), paired with the hymn to Helios. Selene is described in
Apollodorus 1.2.2;
Hesiod's ''
Theogony'' 371;
Nonnius 48.581;
Pausanias (geographer) Pausanias 5.1.4; and
Strabo 14.1.6, among others.
The etymology of ''Selene'' is uncertain, but if the word is of Greek origin, it is likely connected to the word ''selas'', meaning "light".
[Karl Kerenyi Kerenyi, Karl (1951). ''The Gods of the Greeks'' (pp. 19, 197). 1951.] The name is the root of ''selenology'', the study of the
geology of the Moon. The chemical element
selenium was also named after Selene.
Depictions
In art, Selene was depicted as a beautiful woman with a pale face, riding a silver chariot pulled by a yoke of oxen or a pair of horses. Often, she was shown riding a horse or bull, wearing robes and a half-moon on her head and carrying a torch.
Myths
Genealogy
As a result of Selene being conflated with Diana, later writers sometimes Selene as a daughter of
Zeus, like Artemis, or of
Pallas. In the
Homeric hymns Homeric ''Hymn to Hermes'', with its characteristically insistent
patrilineality, she is "bright Selene, daughter of the lord Pallas, Megamedes' son."
In the traditional divine genealogy,
Helios (Roman deity:
Sol), the sun, is Selene's brother: after her brother, Helios, finishes his journey across the sky, Selene begins her own journey as night fell upon the earth. Her sister,
Eos (Roman deity:
Aurora), is goddess of the dawn. Eos also carried off a human lover,
Cephalus,
[Burkert, Walter (1985). ''Greek Religion'' (p. 176).] which mirrors a myth of Selene and Endymion.
Lovers
Apollonius of Rhodes (4.57) tells how Selene loved a mortal, the handsome male prostitute —or, in the version Pausanias knew, a king— of
Elis, or otherwise called a hunter or shepherd, named
Endymion (mythology) 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. Alternatively, Endymion made the decision to live forever in sleep. Every night, Selene slipped down behind
Mount Latmus near
Miletus. (
Pausanias (geographer) Pausanias v.1.5). Selene had fifty daughters from Endymion, including
Naxos (mythology) Naxos. The sanctuary of Endymion at
Heracleia on the southern slope of Latmus is a horseshoe-shaped chamber with an entrance hall and pillared forecourt.
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. According to some sources, the
Nemean Lion was her offspring as well. She also had an affair with
Pan (mythology) Pan, who seduced her by wrapping himself in a sheepskin
and gave her the yoke of white oxen that drew the chariot in which she is represented in sculptured reliefs, with her windblown veil above her head like the arching canopy of sky.Pan ravished (raped) Selene. In the Homeric hymn, her chariot is drawn by long-maned horses.
Luna
The Roman goddess of the moon, Luna, had a temple on the
Aventine Hill. It was built in the
6th century BC, but was destroyed in the
Great Fire of Rome during
Nero's reign. There was also a temple dedicated to Luna Noctiluca ("Luna that shines by night") on the
Palatine Hill. There were festivals in honor of Luna on
March 31,
August 24 and
August 28.
[Grimal, Pierre (1986). ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'' (p. 262). Oxford: Basil Blackwell. ISBN 0631201025.][Hammond, N.G.L. & Scullard, H.H. (Eds.) (1970). ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (p. 625). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198691173.]
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. Heinlein.
Selene served as a major inspiration for the character of
Lanfear in
the Wheel of Time book series.
The Finnish power metal band
Sonata Arctica makes a reference to her in their song "My Selene", from their album
Reckoning Night. Some of the lyrics that suggest this would be: "Solitude's upon my nutter skin. A life that's bound by the chains of reality. Would you let me be your
Endymion (mythology) Endymion?"
Also, the Guatemalan band "La Tona" named one of its greatest hits "Selene". Various analogies and references to the lunar behavior are presented there.
In the
anime Sailor Moon the main character Usagi Tsukino was called Selenity (sometimes transcribed as Serenity) during her former life as the moon princess; her lover was named Endymion.
The Selene is also a secret unlockable ship in the Playstation game
Einhänder.
References
{{Commonscat|Selene}}
Category:Greek goddesses
Category:Lunar goddesses
Category:Titans
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:''This page is about the proposed lunar spacecraft. For the Greek Moon goddess, see
Selene.''
Image:SELENE.jpg thumb|200px|SELENE
'''SELENE''' is a
Japanese lunar orbiter
spacecraft currently in integration. The name stands for '''''Sel'''enological and '''En'''gineering '''E'''xplorer'', and it is produced by Institute of Space and Astronautical Science for NASDA (now both organizations are part of the the
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency). The proposed launch period is sometime in
2007.
There are three separate units comprising the spacecraft. The main
orbiter is a rectangular box measuring about 2.1 m by 4.2 m, with a mass of about 1600 kg. A small relay satellite and a
VLBI satellite are both octagonal prisms. The relay satellite transmits communications from the orbiter to Earth, and the VLBI satellite will be used to measure the position and precession of the
moon precisely.
SELENE carries 13 science instruments, including imagers, a radar sounder, a
laser altimeter, an
X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and a
gamma-ray spectrometer. The goal is to study the origin, evolution and tectonics of the Moon from orbit.
The total launch mass will be 2000 kg, and it will be launched from the
Tanegashima Space Center by an
H-2A rocket. Five days later, it will reach the moon and enter an initial 120 by 13,000 km polar orbit. The relay satellite will move to a 100 by 2400 km orbit, and the VLBI satellite will move to a 100 by 800 km orbit. Finally, the orbiter will move to a 100 km circular orbit. The expected life of the mission is one year.
External links
-
SELENE website at NASA (engl.)
-
SELENE website at JAXA (engl.)
Category:Lunar spacecraft
Category:Japanese space program
de:SELENE (Raumsonde)
hu:SELENE
*** Shopping-Tip: SELENE
