Selene in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Selene

21 passages from 4 ancient authors that tell of Selene, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Selene was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. She had two siblings, Helios and Eos. She was the goddess of... For the story in one place, read our article on Selene.

Hesiod (1)

Hesiod, Theogony 370–404Children of Hyperion and Crius; Styx and her sons (370-404)Theia bears Helios, Selene and Eos to Hyperion, and Eos bears the winds and the morning star; Crius and Eurybia's sons include Astraeus, Pallas and Perses. Styx, daughter of Oceanus, bears to Pallas Zelus, Nike, Cratos and Bia, and Zeus honours her as the great oath of the gods because she was first to support him against the Titans. The section ends as Phoebe comes to the embrace of Coeus.

Homer (2)

Homer, The Homeric Hymns 30.1–33.19Hymns 30 to 33: Earth, Helios, Selene and the DioscuriFour hymns to cosmic and heroic figures. Earth, mother of all, feeds every creature and gives or takes away the means of life, and Helios drives his chariot, the son of Hyperion and Euryphaessa. Selene, the Moon, rides with a radiance that fills the sky, and the Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces, are saviours of ships in storms.
Homer, The Homeric Hymns 4.91–209Hymn 4 to Hermes (2): the theft of Apollo's cattleHermes drives the cattle backwards through the night, sacrifices two of them by the river Alpheus, and returns to his cradle in Cyllene, where Maia scolds him for the theft. Meanwhile Apollo arrives at Onchestus and is told by the old man that he has seen a child driving cattle backwards.

Theocritus (2)

Theocritus, Idylls 2.1–166Idyll 2: Simaetha's love-charmSimaetha and her maid Thestylis perform love-magic by moonlight, calling on Selene and Hecate to bring back Delphis, who has not come to her for twelve days. Alone, she tells the moon how she first saw Delphis on the way to a procession in the grove of Artemis, fell ill with love, and sent Thestylis to bring him to her house. She ends by vowing that if the charms fail he shall knock at the gate of Hell.
Theocritus, Idylls 19.1–20.45Idylls 19-20: Love and the bee; Eunica and the herdsmanIn a short poem Love is stung by a bee as he steals honey, and Aphrodite laughs at his complaint, saying that he too is small and deals great wounds. In the next a herdsman tells how the town girl Eunica mocked his kiss and his country ways. He answers that Selene, Cybele and Aphrodite loved herdsmen, and that Eunica should not be proud.

Nonnus of Panopolis (16)

Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 4.206–248Book 4: Electra gives Harmonia; the voyage beginsElectra hands Harmonia over to Cadmos with an old servant to guide them to the sea. Selene, seeing the girl on the shore, rebukes Aphrodite for sending her own child into such wandering. Cadmos puts to sea with his companions, and a passenger who sees the pair remarks that the sailor looks like Love himself.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 7.150–254Book 7: Semele washes in the AsoposSemele goes out to sacrifice at the altar of Zeus and is drenched with the blood of the victims. She bathes her robes in the river Asopos while Erinys looks on and laughs. Zeus sees her and takes the shape of an eagle to come nearer, and a naiad of the river wonders aloud whether she is Selene or a goddess.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 10.139–217Book 10: Dionysos meets AmpelosDionysos and his Satyrs bathe in the river Pactolos. While hunting he meets the beautiful boy Ampelos and hides his godhead. He asks who the boy's parents are and says he must be the child of a god, perhaps of Selene.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 11.83–213Book 11: Omens of Ampelos' death; he mounts the bullA horned dragon drops a fawn on the altar, an omen of the boy's death. Ate, in the shape of a playmate, tells Ampelos that Dionysos has given him nothing and urges him to ride a wild bull. Selene sends a gadfly against the bull, and it runs off with him while he prays.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 1.219–343Book 1: Typhon assails the stars and the sea; Hera taunts ZeusThe stars and constellations arm themselves against Typhoeus, who then turns on the sea, hurling cliffs and islands and frightening its creatures. He cannot manage Zeus's thunderbolts, which slip from his clumsy hands. Meanwhile the bull sets Europa down on Dicte, and Hera mocks Zeus for his passion.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 1.409–534Book 1: Cadmos pipes to Typhon and wins back the sinewsDisguised as a herdsman, Cadmos plays on his reeds, and Typhoeus comes laughing and boasts of what he will do to heaven. Cadmos says he could do better on the harp if only he had the sinews, and Typhoeus fetches them and gives them to him. Cadmos hides them and goes on playing to the entranced Giant.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 2.241–390Book 2: Typhon's boast and the first assault on ZeusTyphoeus wakes shouting threats: he will overturn the heavens, bring up Cronos and the Titans, and take Hera for his bride. Zeus laughs, and the battle opens with the Giant hurling trees and rocks against the thunderbolt.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 15.207–311Book 15: Hymnos falls in love with NicaiaThe oxherd Hymnos falls in love with Nicaia and follows her about the hills, envying her bow and her nets. He steals her gear and begs her for her love, and she mocks him.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 23.225–320Book 23: Dionysos threatens the river and sets it on fireDionysos warns the river that Zeus may strike it as he struck Eridanos, but Hydaspes only rages the more. The god sets the water on fire with a burning fennel stalk, driving the Naiads out of their homes. Oceanos then threatens to flood the sky, drown the stars and constellations, and calls on Tethys and the sea to join him against Dionysos.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 33.0–104Book 33: Pasithea tells Aphrodite of Dionysos' madness; Eros at playDionysos, still mad, rushes about while the Grace Pasithea sees him and the dead Bassarids and tells Aphrodite what she has witnessed. Aphrodite sends Aglaia to fetch Eros, who is playing a game of shooting nectar drops with Hymenaios on Olympos and wins the prizes.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 34.249–358Book 34: Morrheus drives the captives into the city; he spares ChalcomedeMorrheus herds the captive women into the city, then pursues Chalcomede, who throws a stone at his shield; he chases her only in pretence and speaks to her tenderly. Deriades drives the rest of the Bassarids back to the walls and into the city, where the women lose their warlike spirit.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 38.103–211Book 38: Hermes' tale: the birth and youth of PhaethonHermes begins the story of Phaethon: Helios marries Clymene, daughter of Oceanos, and their son grows up playing at driving his father's chariot with a toy car. As a youth he begs to drive the chariot of the sun, and Helios warns him that even the gods do not wield one another's powers, citing the fate of Zagreus.

4 more passages of Nonnus of Panopolis that name Selene