Greek mythology, of course, was never static. As Greeks came into contact with foreign cultures like the Carians, they often incorporated specific stories or gods into their existing mythology. The most popular story for which Selene is known is that of her "relationship", if it can be called such, with the human Endymion. This is, in large part, because no complete narrative of the myth exists. "But now you yourself it would seem, are a victim of a madness like mine. While Selene became less important as a moon goddess, the story of her lover could not be given over to a goddess who rejected the company of men. Zeus agreed because he loved Selene very … But in the most common stories, the ones in which he chooses or is placed under an eternal slumber, it can still be argued that he did not truly continue to live. Fascinated by his beauty, Selene asked Zeus, the leader of the Greek gods, to give Endymion eternal life and to make him sleep forever. Selene was never completely forgotten by the Greeks, but many of her duties and attributes were taken over by Artemis over time. The tale of Selene and Endymion has unknown origins, though it is believed to stem from Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica , or The Voyage of the Argo . Because there is no text that tells the complete story of Endymion, his story has been pieced together from multiple sources. Epeis was the victor and became king of Elis. Endymion was visited by Selene every night and softly kissed by her rays of light. Some scholars suggest that this indicates two separate myths that were eventually conflated with one another. Despite the many contradictory stories, Endymion is best remembered for being asleep. The story goes that she visits him every night—the moon coming down from the sky—and she loves him so much she can't bear the thought of his death. The poem elaborates on the original story and renames Selene "Cynthia" (an alternative name for Artemis). Selene though was immortal, whilst Endymion would age and die. He was either the king of Elis in the northwestern part of the Greek peninsula, or he lived in Caria, on the western coast of what is now Turkey. Hymn To The Goddess Selene by Homer - Duration: 1:37. Endymion and Selene. Still another myth said he was the child of Zeus and Protogeneia, the daughter of Deucalion. Instead, he was linked to the Roman moon goddess Luna. The most popular stories of Endymion, however, involve his love of the goddess of the moon, Selene. In this way, most of the kingdoms and city-states of the ancient world were said to be founded by the children of the gods. [2], There is confusion over Endymion's correct identity, as some sources suppose that he was, or was related to, the prince of Elis, and others suggest he was a shepherd from Caria. In some versions, Zeus wanted to punish Endymion for daring to show romantic … What the various stories agree on, however, was that Endymion spent a considerable amount of time beneath the moon. Endymion, an otherwise minor character of legend, was chosen to create a connection between his descendants and kingdom and a goddess. In some versions, Zeus wanted to punish Endymion for daring to show romantic interest in Hera (much like Ixion). The Greeks seem to have been aware of this contradiction. Zeus, however, allowed the king to know that his time of death was drawing near. Whether as Selene, the Roman Luna, or the huntress Diana, the goddess who loved him was shown as eternally devoted to her sleeping paramour. King Endymion of Elis was a Greek character, while his link to Caria points to the incorporation of an Anatolian tale into the Greek mythology. His vanity led to his punishment, as he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool and was rooted to the spot as the flower that carried his name. Narcissus – Arguably the most famous of Endymion’s supposed children, Narcissus was the beautiful young man who rejected the nymph Echo. Endymion took shelter in a cave there, which was later a shrine to the goddess who loved him. François Chauveau, 17th century via wikipedia. Those sources, however, often contradict each other. The story of Selene and Endymion has captured the imagination of artists and poets from antiquity on. The love story between the goddess of the moon and a handsome human is pieced together from many sources. Pausanias noted in his travelogue that the Greeks gave three different names for Endymion’s mortal wife, although they all agreed on who his children were. Pausanias was not entirely correct in this, though. Scholars debate the nature of Endymion’s ageless eternal sleep. This claim added legitimacy to their rule and made many gods into patrons of their descendants’ home regions. Alternatively, Selene so loved how Endymion looked when he was asleep in the cave on Mount Latmus, near Miletusin Caria, that she entreated Zeus that he might remain that way. Although he was a shepherd in the stories that credited him with this discovery, he spent his nights studying the moon instead of sleeping. The most well-known story of Selene is her love of the mortal man Endymion. Its one about a little girl dying to catch the attention of a boy who was just as much dying to get “All it took was one glance, three unsteady breaths, five measly seconds, and I was putty.” [18] In the Renaissance, the revived moon goddess Diana had the Endymion myth attached to her. His descendants were also the subjects of much confusion. Whether to spare the lovers that pain or to keep Selene from distraction, Zeus put Endymion into an eternal, ageless sleep. The moon goddess, Selene, falls in love with the mortal Endymion. [1] He was also venerated and said to reside on Mount Latmus in Caria, on the west coast of Asia Minor. Consequently, there have been two attributed sites of Endymion's burial: the citizens of Heracleia ad Latmo claimed that Endymion's tomb was on Mount Latmus, while the Eleans declared that it was at Olympia. Zeus put Endymion into an eternal sleep so the goddess could see him forever as a beautiful young man. Endymion and Selene, by Sebastiano Ricci (1713), Chiswick House, England.. Apollonius of Rhodes is one of the many poets who tell how Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon, loved the mortal. Object Description. The figure of sleeping Endymion being visited by a beautiful goddess was a popular one in Renaissance art and the story enjoyed a revival. One of the most popular myths of Selene was the story of her relationship with Endymion. Thus, even after Selene’s importance declined, the story of Endymion was never attached to Artemis. Please like and share this article if you found it useful. Endymion is written in rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter (also known as heroic couplets). Zeus, king of the gods, granted Endymion a wish. Selene and Endymion gave birth to fifty daughters, who were collectively called the Menai. Zeus had enough sympathy for Selene to not kill Endymion outright, but he put the human man in an eternal sleep on Mount Latmus so Selene would have no further reason to descend to earth at night. Poseidon was one of the most venerated gods in all of the Greek world, but who... Like many Greek gods, Poseidon was worshiped under many names that give insight into his importance... Lamia: The Child-Eating Monster of Greek Legend, Greeks incorporated a foreign legend into their own mythology. That some Greek stories have Endymion dying and being buried gives further credence to the idea that his story and that of the young man loved by the moon goddess were originally two separate tales. In later years the story became more fully realized as that of a magical sleep. Shepherds would often spend entire seasons in the hills with their flocks, sleeping beneath the stars or in whatever crude shelter they could manage. Some of the myths of Endymion’s end do not include his ageless place on Mount Latmus at all. She was a minor goddess in the Roman pantheon, but the story of Endymion remained as one of her most famous. Taken by the beauty of the shepherd, Selene fell in love, and would long to spend eternity with Endymion. Endymion was a shepherd who lived in Greece on Mount Latmos. She remembered her sister Eos' bad luck with mortal's and eternal life, and had no wish to be left with a grasshopper. Zeus had no desire to make Endymion immortal in the traditional sense, but instead came up with a solution where the shepherd would not age or die, and enlisting the help of Hypnos , Endymion was placed into an eternal sleep. The moon goddess fell deeply in love with the handsome young man who she saw beneath her. The story goes that she visits him every night—the moon coming down from the sky—and she loves him so much she can't bear the thought of his death. She believed him to be so beautiful that she asked Endymion's father, Zeus, to grant him eternal youth so that he would never leave her. One of the issues historians face in putting together the story of Endymion is that no complete telling of the myth survives today. Over the course of centuries, the characters and legends evolved and changed. The myth of Endymion was never easily transferred to ever-chaste Artemis, the Olympian associated with the Moon. This was in part to avoid any negative connotations to the goddess’s continued love for him and the fact that, according to some legends, she bore fifty daughters by the sleeping man. In “The Library,” a selection of myths collected by Apollodorus, the myth grows more detailed. Endymion is said to be a shepherd, a hunter, or a king. The differing versions of the story put Endymion in very different places. "[14] Lemprière's Classical Dictionary reinforces Pliny's account of Endymion's attachment to astronomy and cites it as the source of why Endymion was said to have a relationship with the moon as she passed by. Keats based the poem on the Greek myth of Endymion, the shepherd beloved of the moon goddess Selene. Her pastime is driving the glowing orb across the sky every night with her chariot. While most narratives speak of the love between Endymion and Selene, there’s a lesser known story involving Hypnos. The deep, uninterrupted sleep of Endymion could be interpreted as a poetic form of death. A few stories said that Endymion was a hunter, which would again put him outside at a night. Whatever the case, Zeus granted Selene's wish and put Endymion into an eternal sleep. The myth surrounding Endymion has been expanded and reworked during the modern period by figures like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Keats in his 1818 narrative poem Endymion. "Endymion at the Crossroads: The Fortune of the Myth of Endymion at the Dawn of the Modern Era", in, "Diana and Endymion circa 1700- 1730, by Francesco Solimena (1657-1747)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Endymion_(mythology)&oldid=969431231, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2014, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from December 2012, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 July 2020, at 11:18. The myth of Selene and Endymion is about a rare female pursuit. We see an elaboration of the original story and the moon Goddess Selene is named as “Cynthia” John Keats: The year 1819 “ Lamia ” is another narrative poem and is a deliberate attempt to reform some of the technical weaknesses of Endymion . Alternatively, Selene so loved how Endymion looked when he was asleep in the cave on Mount Latmus, near Miletus in Caria,[7] that she entreated Zeus that he might remain that way. He was the son of Zeus, and had legendary beauty. Some claimed Endymion was the first man to chart the moon’s movements and cycles, making him one of the fathers of a field of astronomy. In some versions, he was the son of Aethlius, the founder king of of the city-state of Elis. But it also heals - with its tender optimism, with its ethereal sweetness. ENDYMION (Endumiôn), a youth distinguished for his beauty, and renowned in ancient story by the perpetual sleep in which he spent his life. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. Latin writers explained the name from somnum ei inductum, the "sleep put upon him".[17]. A third version of the story had Endymion himself choose an ageless sleep as opposed to living a mortal life. Endymion would stand as a symbol of eternal beauty – a joy forever. On this fragment of a Roman sarcophagus, the mythological story of the love of Selene, the moon goddess, for the beautiful young mortal Endymion provides an allegorical message of hope for the deceased. The story of Endymion and Selene is not one that was filled with joy and crinkled cheeks. Endymion took shelter in a cave there, which was later a shrine to the goddess who loved him. They included: Like many marginal figures in mythology, Endymion was used to link the stories of the gods to contemporary places and events. Epeius – One of three sons named by Pausanias, he inherited his father’s throne as king of Elis. In these stories Elis was named by one of Endymion’s own heirs and the sleeping king of legend was the first of his line there. Selene, the moon goddess, saw one night a beautiful young shepherd named Endymion. Such a mixture of religious traditions was common in the ancient world. Selene knew that it was the wonderful air of her mountain which had made the shepherd heedless, as well as beautiful, therefore she stayed by his flock all night and watched it herself. Endymion was a handsome shepherd, hunter or king in ancient Greek mythology, who lived in the region of Elis. The goddess of the hunt became associated with the moon and lunar cycles. Because of his love for the moon goddess he was put into an eternal sleep by Zeus so he would remain ageless and beautiful forever. It is this beauty, according to Apollodorus, that causes Selene to fall in love. [citation needed], Apollonius of Rhodes[5] is one of the many poets[6] who tell how Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon,[b] loved the mortal Endymion. According to Pausanias, Endymion deposed Clymenus, son of Cardys, at Olympia. She believed him to be so beautiful that she asked Endymion's father, Zeus, to grant him eternal youth so that he would never leave her. In most versions he is a shepherd, and a young man of unusual handsomeness – so much so that the Moon goddess Selene falls in love with him. Here is the story of Endymion as told by Thomas Bullfinch in The Age of Fable: Endymion was a beautiful youth who fed his flock on Mount Latmos. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. There is a later suggestion that he was an astronomer: Pliny the Elder[3] mentions Endymion as the first human to observe the movements of the moon, which (according to Pliny) accounts for Endymion's love. Aetolus – A brother of Epeius, he was the founder of Aetolia, a mountainous Greek state on the northern coast of the Gulf of Corinth. B efore he left he had a smoke on the roof because he always liked to watch the skyline early i n the morning. [4], However, the role of lover of Selene, the moon, is attributed primarily to Endymion who was either a shepherd or an astronomer, either profession providing justification for him to spend time beneath the moon. There was no consensus over who Endymion’s children were or even how many he had. (Paus. Zeus did not make Endymion immortal in the normal sense though, and instead, enlisting the help of Hypnos, Endymion was put into an eternal sleep where he would not age. If the Greeks incorporated a foreign legend into their own mythology in this way, they may have simply substituted a woman who was loved by a completely foreign god with an existing legendary king. The Mystical Story of Selene and Endymion - Duration: 2:35. In the process, however, the story became more complicated than the Carian myth. A common form of the myth represents Endymion as having been put to sleep by Selene herself so that she might enjoy his beauty undisturbed. The story as we know it today is reconstructed from fragmentary texts and brief mentions. Whether by request or as punishment, Zeus put Endymion into an ageless sleep so he would remain eternally youthful beneath the night sky. The changed in the Renaissance. He had an occupation that required him to spend his nights outdoors. Often when one god supplanted another in a particular domain, the stories that involved that god were changed to reflect this. According to a passage in Deipnosophistae, the sophist and dithyrambic poet Licymnius of Chios[9] tells a different tale, in which Hypnos, the god of sleep, in awe of his beauty, causes him to sleep with his eyes open, so he can fully admire his face. He learned to drive the team of night and to wheel in narrower circuit, while the axle groaned beneath the car’s heavier weight; nor did the nights keep their accustomed length, and with belated dawning came the day. The radiant goddess [Luna-Selene the Moon] of the darksome sky burned with love [for Endymion] and, forsaking the night, gave her gleaming chariot to her brother [Helios the sun] to guide in fashion other than his own. The Menai became lunar goddesses and represented each lunar month of the Greek calendar. What all the stories of Selene and Endymion agreed upon, though, was that he drew the attention of the goddess of the moon as he lay beneath her course. § 2.) In translating one of his myths to a Greek context, a male lover had to be substituted for the supposed maiden of the original Carian myth. Detail from Endymion by Hans Thoma -1886. v. 1. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. Zeus accepted her prayer and he made Endymion fall into an eternal sleep. Klaudia Hanus 600 views. Endymion is a human character in Greek mythology.. His story is told by various ancient authors. In another story she was loved by Pan. Some sources claimed that he was raised by Aethlius but was actually a son of Zeus by the king’s wife. They mention white wool attracting her, or the effects of nighttime dew on the grass. When Zeus offered Endymion a choice of destinies, he chose immortality and so Zeus put the shepherd in eternal slumber. Zeus would grant her wish by putting Endymion in an eternal sleep in a cave on Mount Latmus where Selene would visit him each night. According to some versions, Endymion is given a gift of eternal sleep as his form of death and Cupid shoots his … Selene was so enamored of the young man that she left the sky to see him. The love of the goddess caused him to be put into a magical sleep by Zeus, although the reasons differed. The image of the handsome young man sleeping in a mountain cave became a popular one in art and literature. In at least one tale of Endymion as a Greek king, he died as all mortals do. Even if he were sleeping, he would not be parted from the goddess he loved by death. She walked as quietly as possible to avoid frightening Endymion as he slept. No explicit narrative has survived. The Louvre example, discovered at Saint-Médard-d'Eyrans, France (illustration above), is one of this class. A short story romance. The region of Paeonia in Macedonia was named for him. The story of Selene and Endymion’s affair was most commonly said to have taken place on Mount Latmus in Caria. Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon, fell in love with him, and asked Zeus to give him eternal youth. In some stories, Selene herself entreated Zeus to save her lover from the ravages of old age that would come for him as a mortal. Her most famous lover was Endymion, the dreamy shepherd, who Selene fell for—and hard. In Greek mythology, Selene (/ s ɪ ˈ l iː n iː /; Ancient Greek: Σελήνη [selɛ̌ːnɛː] "Moon") is the goddess of the Moon.She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and sister of the sun god Helios and Eos, goddess of the dawn.She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. One of the most common reasons given for his sleeping outdoors was that he was working as a shepherd. Endymion was placed in a cave on Mount Latmus in Karia (Caria) w… He is most known, however, for the story of his eternal sleep. But she remembered the fate of Tithonus ( Tithonus is a prince of Troy loved by Eos, the goddess of the dawn, who asked for Tithonus to be immortal, but forgot to ask for eternal youth. Selene and Endymion Selene falls in love with the mortal shepherd Endymion and unites with him, bearing him fifty daughters. She fell deeply in love with him, so much so that she neglected her duties as the moon goddess. Whether in Greece or Asia Minor, asleep or dead, the stories of Endymion show just how complicated it can be to get to the heart of Greek mythology. Artemis was one of the virgin goddesses, and her chastity played a central role in her mythology and worship. Selene was enamored with Endymion and asked Zeus if he would grant Endymion with eternal youthfulness. In some tales Endymion was a Greek king who lived a mortal life. His sons became leaders who gave their names to places Greek and Roman readers would have been familiar with. The Romans continued this tradition. Ancient sources do not agree on Endymion’s lineage, his status in the social hierarchy, or even what continent he lived on. He chose eternal sleep to remain both ageless a… 15), Cicero's Tusculanae Quaestiones (Book 1), and Theocritus discuss the Endymion myth to some length, but reiterate the above to varying degrees. Selene and Luna were less well-known goddesses in the Renaissance. The story of Selene and Endymion’s affair was most commonly said to have taken place on Mount Latmus in Caria. His body did not decompose, but he was also eternally young and ceased to experience anything in life. In the center of the scene, Selene, identified by the crescent moon in her hair, alights from her chariot. Most, however, claimed that Selene was simply drawn by the man’s beauty and the time he spent in her moonlight. The contradictions in Endymion’s story were not limited to where he lived or what his profession was. In Argonautica (iv.57ff) the "daughter of Titan," the Moon, was witness to Medea's fearful night-time flight to Jason, and "rejoiced with malicious pleasure as she reflected to herself: 'I'm not the only one then to skulk off to the Latmian cave, nor is it only I that burn with desire for fair Endymion'" she muses. The Greeks followed a lunar calendar, making Selene one of the most important deities in the passage of time. Endymion was an especially handsome man and, paying such close attention to the moon that he learned to chart its cycles, Selene took notice. 2:35. Not only was Endymion a handsome man, but a few ancient sources claimed some sort of natural magic drew Selene to him. Selene—or Luna as the Romans called her—is the bewitching goddess of the Moon. By the first century C.E., however, Greek mythographers had begun to spin more elaborate tales about Selene and Endymion. Love between an immortal deity and a short-lived human always led to heartbreak, however. Zeus granted Selene's wish, and Endymion slept on for eternity, smiling … Endymion is identified as the founder of the Greek city of Elis, his parents are named and he is described as being beautiful. Selene was so enamored with the mortal that she pleaded to Zeus to make him immortal, so that he could remain with her for all eternity. Stories of King Endymion sometimes include a rationale for travelling to Caria in an attempt to reconcile the contradictory stories. According to the first set of legends, he was a son of Aëthlius and Calyce, or of Zeus and Calyce, and succeeded Aëthlius in the kingdom of Elis. A story for dreamers. The Carian deity of the moon was a god, not a goddess. She is often linked with Endymion, whom she loved and whom Zeus cast into eternal sleep in a cave on Mount Latmus; there, Selene visited him and became the mother of 50 daughters. Apollonius of Rhodes is one of the many poets who tell how Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon, loved the mortal Endymion. Some[who?] That night Selene went to Zeus and asked if Endymion could be granted eternal youth and eternal life. The legend of Endymion in Greek mythology is a complicated and sometimes confusing one. believe that he was the personification of sleep, or the sunset (most likely the last one as his name, if it were Greek rather than Carian can be construed from "to dive in" [Greek en (ἐν) in, and duein (δύειν) dive], which would imply a representation of that sort. What most stories center around, however, is the love shared between Endymion and the Titan goddess of the moon, Selene. Apollodorus said that he married either a naiad or a human woman named Iphianassa. Some traditions about Endymion refer us to Elis, and others to Caria, and others again are a combination of the two. Their son Eleius gave his name to his mother’s homeland, Elis. [11] Describing the "early history" of the Eleans, Pausanias reports that: Pausanias also reports seeing a statue of Endymion in the treasury of Metapontines at Olympia.[13]. Classical sources linking Endymion with Elis include, Classical sources linking Endymion with Mount Latmus include, Licymnius is known only through a few quoted lines and second-hand through references (, CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (, Natalia Agapiou. Naxos – More often said to be a son of Apollo, he founded the island of the same name. One calm, clear night Diana, the moon (Selene… Whether as a king, a shepherd, or a hunter, Endymion was outside at night often enough to attract the goddess’s attention. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. Selene and Endymion would have fifty children together. The story of Endymion is full of complications and contradictions! The story of Endymion, however, was not so easy to reassign to Artemis. Endymion held games between his sons, or in some accounts sent them to compete in the Olympic Games, to determine which of them would inherit his throne. These often complicate and contradict one another. Selene and Endymion. The moon goddess is also known for making young men go totally crazy for her. This story again conflicts with those that presented Endymion as a king, but explained why he spent so much time under the moon. Paeon – The third brother who competed for the throne of Elis, he was so upset at his loss that he traveled as far away as he could. After the races, Endymion died and was entombed by the starting line of the Olympic racecourse. Selene was of course ageless, whilst Endymion was mortal, and so Selene went to Zeus and asked the god to give Endymion eternal youth, so that Selene and Endymion could be together forever. He is most known, however, for the story of his eternal sleep. It … In Greek mythology, Endymion[a] (/ɛnˈdɪmiən/; Ancient Greek: Ἐνδυμίων, gen.: Ἐνδυμίωνος) was variously a handsome Aeolian shepherd, hunter, or king who was said to rule and live at Olympia in Elis. In any case, Endymion was loved by Selene, the goddess of the moon, who visited him every night while he lay asleep in a cave on Mount Latmus in Caria; she bore him 50 daughters. Endymion and Selene’s story will steal your heart- and like their mythological muses they falter, their love hurts and changes them- and so ,too, their love hurts and changes us. back to menu ↑ Endymion and Hypnos. Euycyda – Sometimes called Eurypyle, she became a mistress of Poseidon. Accounts. She uses her divine power to keep him asleep forever, preserving his youth and beauty. As a king, he was sometimes said to have had a wife other than Selene. Only fragmentary remnants of this myth exist and so each version reveals something different about the story of Selene the moon and Endymion the sleeping shepherd.