Selene was the Titaness of the Moon, radiance, and insanity. She was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and the sister of Helios and Eos. Her Roman counterpart was Luna.
History[]
Early life[]
Typhon, whom Selene battled with her moon chariot
According to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Selene was born as one of the twin children of Hyperion and Theia. As the Titaness of the Moon, Selene drove her silver moon chariot across the sky at night, while her twin brother, Helios, drove his sun chariot at day.
During the Titanomachy, Selene remained neutral to retain her position no matter the outcome. For this reason, she was among the few Titans who were not banished to Tartarus.[1]
First Giant War[]
When the storm giant Typhon rose to destroy Olympus and the gods, Selene rode her moon chariot into battle against the storm giant, but her attempts were ultimately unsuccessful. In fact, the Greeks believed the scars and craters seen on the moon to this day were her leftover wounds in her battle against Typhon.[2]
Tale of Endymion[]
Selene had a tragic romantic life. Though she didn't want to marry Zeus like the rest of the Titanesses after he swallowed his first wife, her cousin Metis, Selene had a brief affair with him.
One day, Selene saw Endymion, a handsome human shepherd. The two eventually fell in love. In order to marry with Selene, Endymion gained immortality through endless sleep. The two had fifty daughters known as the Menae.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]
The Titan's Curse[]
Apollo explained that due to the neglect of the Romans, Helios and Selene were forced to give up their roles and pass them on to him and his twin sister Artemis. They subsequently faded, leaving Artemis and Apollo to officially and completely take their roles as the deities of the Moon and Sun, respectively.
The Trials of Apollo[]
The Tyrant's Tomb[]
Apollo is surprised to learn that Ida is Luna's legacy, believing that she had faded long ago, but recalls that he had also believed Helios to have faded before encountering him in the Labyrinth.
Personality[]
In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Selene was described to be not as "flashy" as her brother was: she mostly kept to herself as she drove her chariot across the sky at night,[3] which implies that she had a demure personality.
Given how she choose to remain neutral during the Titanomachy, Selene was probably either intelligent enough to keep herself out of trouble or very dedicated to her duties.
Selene was very brave and courageous. Even after Typhon defeated Zeus and forced the other gods to go into hiding, she tried to fight against the giant, though she was ultimately no match for him.
Attributes[]
The dog, hen, bull, and rooster were her sacred animals.
Abilities[]
Selene possessed the standard powers of a Titan. She was equal to Helios and possibly equal or superior to Artemis.
- Lunakinesis: As the Personification and Titan Goddess of the Moon, Selene had complete and divine authority over the Moon.
- Photokinesis: Selene had absolute control and divine authority over the moonlight.
- Madness Inducement: Selene was able to induce and control "lunacy madness" in others through the moon.
- Umbrakinesis: As the Goddess of Night, Selene had absolute control and divine authority over shadows, though to a lesser degree than Nyx, but more than Hades.
- Chronokinesis: Under the epithet of Mene, Selene was regarded as Titaness of the Months which gave her some dominion over (the flow of) time.
- Titanic Divine Form: Like all Titans, Selene had the ability to incinerate any being lesser than a god/Titan only by being present.
- Titanic Energy: Like all Titans, Selene had the ability to blast things hundreds of yards away from herself with a yell or a wave of the hand.
- Battle Prowess: Selene was a capable combatant as she managed to fight against Typhon, though she was ultimately defeated.
Children[]
| Partner | Children |
| Pandia, Ersa | |
| Endymion | The Menae, Narcissus (possibly) |
Etymology[]
The meaning of her name is uncertain but some believe that it means "brightness".
Trivia[]
- Selene is possibly one of the few immortals who has control over both light and darkness.
- Her daughters, the Menae, symbolize the fifty lunar months in an Olympiad.
- Selene has a lot in common with Artemis in terms of personality, powers and respective twins. The only major differences are:
- Artemis is a goddess and Selene was a Titaness
- Artemis is a virgin while Selene was married.
- In modern times, Selene is the root of "selenography", the study of the geology of the moon.
- The chemical element selenium is named after her.
- The famous Cleopatra VII named her only daughter after Selene: Cleopatra Selene.
- Selene, a species of fish, is named after her.
- The name of her Roman form, Luna, literally means “moon” in Latin.
- The term lunacy was named after her Roman incarnation Luna, since it was thought that a full moon rendered people insane.
- Dionysus often accompanied Selene as she made her away across the night sky, inducing lunacy/madness on nights of the full moon.
- The Egyptian equivalents of Selene are Khonsu and Thoth
References[]
- ↑ Percy Jackson's Greek Gods: The Olympians Bash Some Heads
- ↑ Percy Jackson's Greek Gods: Zeus Kills Everyone
- ↑ Percy Jackson's Greek Gods: The Golden Age of Cannibalism