The goal of all mythological systems among different peoples of the world is to know the world around us and transfer knowledge about it to subsequent generations. Through the stories of the gods, the peoples of antiquity tried to know and find explanations for natural phenomena, to determine the place of man in the created world and to understand their origin.
Greek Selena - Times of the Titans
The very word "myth" appeared in ancient Greece and is literally translated as "tradition", "legend". According to Greek tradition, the first divine beings were the Titans. Their flesh and blood served as the basis for the creation of the world and all things, and their children populated a new world and became the embodiment of fabulous monsters and inexplicable phenomena.
The goddess Selena was the daughter of the titans, brother and sister - Thei (the first moon goddess) and Hyperion (the "shining god"). They gave birth to Selena - the Moon, Helios - the Sun and Eos - the morning dawn. Perhaps the name of the goddess is derived from the Greek selas - "light".
Selena was addressed as the patroness of lovers. In the images that have reached us, she appears with a crescent-shaped diadem and a spear in her hand. In the photo in the article, you can see the Roman sculpture of the Greek goddess.
Goddess of the Moon at Romans
Despite the fact that the Greeks took over almost the entire Greek pantheon, Roman myths look much paler and more "politically engaged." An example of this statement is the poem of Virgil "Aeneid" - a kind of panegyric to the omnipotence of the Roman Empire.
The photo depicts a sculpture of the goddess Diana, who became the Roman goddess of the moon. Apparently, from Selena Diana inherited a headdress in the form of an inverted crescent and weapons. Instead of a thin spear, the hunting weapon and arrows became the goddess's favorite weapon.
The goddess of the moon among the Romans ruled in heaven, earth and underground, for which she was often called the goddess of the three roads. Diana's brother - Apollo, like Helios, personified the Sun. In a later period of antiquity, Diana was identified with the goddess Artemis.
The patroness of hunting and the goddess of the moon among the Romans was the favorite of plebeians and slaves, as well as among the Latins conquered by Rome. The day of the foundation of the temple of Diana in Aventina was considered a holiday of the lower class population of the empire.
Temple of Diana on Aventine Hill
One funny story happened in the temple of Diana in Aventina. Once the priests predicted that whoever sacrificed an unusual cow to the goddess would gain power over all of Italy, and the donor’s hometown would become the new capital.
But Servius Thulius - the local king, went on a trick and selected a beautiful animal, who, by the will of fate, fell to a slave. After the sacrifice of the cow, its horns began to adorn the main altar in the temple.
The image shows a reconstruction of the temple of Diana on the Aventine hill.
Myths about the moon goddess of the Romans
According to the Roman version of the myth, Diana fell in love with the beautiful human youth Endymion. The love of the moon goddess was so strong that she asked the thunderer Zeus to lull her lover in the Latvian caves in order to give him eternal life and youth. At night, Diana descended in a chariot drawn by three horses to Endymion and gave birth to 50 daughters from him.
This myth at one time inspired the artist Nicholas Poussin to create the painting "Diana and Endymion."
Diana was the embodiment of wisdom and justice, however, she had a quick-tempered and formidable character. According to one of the later myths, she brutally punished the youth of Acteon. He hunted in the forest and inadvertently saw a naked goddess by the river. In a fit of anger, Diana turned the young man into a deer. Actaeon could not escape from his own pack of dogs and was torn to pieces by them.
The cruelty of the Roman gods is evidenced by the myth of Niobe. Latona - the mother of Diana and Apollo - was so proud of her children that she spread the news of their beauty and strength around the world. Her eternal rival Niobe laughed in her face and said that any of her 14 children is much better than Apollo and Diana. She ordered the peoples subject to her to smash all the statues of the gods of the moon and the sun.
Children did not forgive the insults and ridicule of the mother. Apollo dealt with the seven sons of Niobe, and Diana killed all her daughters. Struck by grief, Niobe asked for justice from the other gods of Olympus, but was turned to stone for her pride.