Selene, the Greek Titan goddess of the moon, is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, making her the sister of Helios (the Sun) and Eos (the Dawn). Her family tree extends through her marriage to the mortal Endymion and her affair with Zeus, producing notable offspring including the fifty Menai and the goddess Pandia.
Parents and Siblings
According to Hesiod’s Theogony (circa 8th–7th century BCE), Selene is one of three children born to Hyperion and Theia. Hyperion, whose name means “the one above,” was a Titan associated with light and observation, while Theia was a Titaness of sight and the shining sky. Their union produced three celestial deities:
- Helios – the sun god who drives his golden chariot across the sky each day.
- Eos – the goddess of dawn who rises from the ocean at the start of each morning.
- Selene – the moon goddess who rides her silver chariot across the night sky.
This triad of sun, dawn, and moon formed a natural celestial family, with each sibling controlling a different phase of the day. Later Roman authors equated Selene with Luna, Helios with Sol, and Eos with Aurora.
Consorts and Offspring
Selene’s most famous consort is the mortal shepherd (or in some versions, king) Endymion. The myth states that Selene fell in love with Endymion’s beauty and asked Zeus to grant him eternal youth. Zeus instead put Endymion into an endless sleep, preserving his beauty forever. Selene visited him every night in his cave on Mount Latmus in Caria (modern-day Turkey). From this union, Selene bore fifty daughters, collectively called the Menai (or Mene), representing the fifty lunar months between the ancient Greek Olympic Games. Some sources also name a son, Naxos, as the eponymous founder of the island Naxos, though this is less commonly attested.
With Zeus, Selene is said to have mothered Pandia (the goddess of the full moon) and possibly Herse (the dew goddess), though Herse is more often attributed to Zeus and Selene in later scholia. The Homeric Hymn to Selene (32) explicitly names Pandia as the daughter of Zeus and Selene, born after Selene’s union with the king of the gods.
Selene in the Titanomachy
Unlike many Titans who fought against Zeus in the Titanomachy, Selene and her siblings remained neutral or sided with the Olympians. This allowed them to keep their cosmic roles after the Olympians’ victory. Selene is often depicted as a younger, benevolent goddess, distinct from the older Titan generation that was imprisoned in Tartarus. Her neutrality is why she is rarely listed among the defeated Titans in later sources.
Symbols and Depictions
In art and literature, Selene is depicted as a beautiful woman with a crescent moon diadem or a pair of wings, riding a silver chariot drawn by two white horses (or sometimes oxen or mules). She is often shown holding a torch or a veil, representing the soft light of the moon. Her Roman counterpart Luna was similarly depicted, and both were associated with the night, magic, and the passage of time. Selene’s chariot is described in the Homeric Hymn to Selene as “yoked with shining horses,” emphasizing her role as a celestial driver.
Common Misconceptions
A frequent error is confusing Selene with Artemis, the Olympian goddess of the hunt and the moon. While both are lunar deities, they are distinct figures: Artemis is a virgin goddess, the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo, while Selene is a Titan who predates the Olympians and is married (or at least sexually active) with Endymion. Another misconception is that Selene is the same as Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and crossroads. Hecate is a separate Titaness with her own domain over magic and the underworld, though later syncretic cults sometimes merged Selene, Artemis, and Hecate into a triple goddess. In classical texts, however, they remain separate.
Selene in Later Traditions
In the Orphic hymns, Selene is sometimes identified with the goddess Mene (the personification of the moon itself) and is called “the eye of the night.” The Neoplatonists and later philosophers allegorized her as the soul of the moon, while astrological texts placed her as ruler of the zodiac sign Cancer. In Roman imperial coinage, Luna (Selene) appears with a crescent moon, often paired with Sol (Helios) to represent the unity of the empire. In modern popular culture, Selene appears in the Percy Jackson series as a minor character, and her name is used in astronomy (the Selenian coordinate system for the moon) and chemistry (the element selenium, named after her).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Selene’s parents?
Selene’s parents are Hyperion and Theia, both Titans. Hyperion is the god of light, and Theia is the goddess of sight and the shining sky. They are among the twelve original Titans born to Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth).
Is Selene related to Apollo?
Not directly. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, making him an Olympian, not a Titan. However, both are associated with the sun and moon in later Greek thought, and Apollo was sometimes conflated with Helios, Selene’s brother. In genealogical terms, Selene is a generation older than Apollo, being his aunt (since Hyperion and Theia are siblings of Leto’s parents, Coeus and Phoebe).
How many children did Selene have with Endymion?
Selene bore Endymion fifty daughters, the Menai, who represent the fifty lunar months of the Olympiad cycle. Some later sources add a son named Naxos, but the fifty daughters are the most consistent and well-attested offspring.
Did Selene have any children with Zeus?
Yes, Selene and Zeus had at least one daughter, Pandia, the goddess of the full moon. Some scholia also mention a daughter named Herse, but Pandia is the only one explicitly named in the Homeric Hymn to Selene.
Why is Selene sometimes called a Titaness?
Selene is a Titaness because she belongs to the generation of Titans, the children of Uranus and Gaia. Unlike many Titans who fought the Olympians, she and her siblings remained neutral, so they were allowed to keep their positions. The term “Titaness” simply denotes her divine ancestry, not her allegiance.
What is the difference between Selene and Artemis?
Selene is a Titan goddess of the moon who rides a chariot and is a lover of Endymion. Artemis is an Olympian goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and childbirth, who is a virgin and carries a bow. They were sometimes conflated in later cults, but in classical mythology they are separate deities with different lineages and roles.
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