Endymion and Selene: An Ancient Greek Love Story of Eternal Beauty and Its Price

The fascinating ancient Greek emotion communicative of the mortal Endymion and the goddess Selene. Painting by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, 1708 – 1719. Credit: Public Domain

The past Greek story of Endymion and Selene is 1 of the celebrated emotion stories that has inspired respective artists and writers passim the centuries.

Like each large emotion stories, the communicative of the handsome shepherd and the Eros-stricken goddess includes drama, darkness, and death, though the second besides involves immortal sleep.

The communicative of Endymion and Selene has resonated with radical for millennia. Renaissance artists vigorously took up the communicative of Endymion, and the representation of the Moon goddess Selene visiting the eternally sleeping mortal has often been re-imagined.

Endymion was said to person been a precise handsome young man, the astir beauteous mortal. Selene (Σελήνη, the Greek connection for the Moon) was the goddess of the Moon, and yet, the mortal young antheral was truthful handsome that adjacent a goddess was mesmerized by his looks.

One time Endymion was retired hunting and continued until the prima set. He continued to prosecute his prey until the agleam satellite roseate successful the sky. And arsenic it peacefully hung successful the firmament, the Moon goddess turned her regard to the Earth. She looked down and saw him. And helium her. And past thing unusual happened. They were bound successful a mode lone the astir almighty of spells tin achieve.

But Endymion was quality and truthful prone to aging and yet helium would die. Selene could not carnivore the thought of this cruel fate. So she went to Zeus and begged him to fto him slumber everlastingly successful the ageless slumber truthful helium would ne'er suffer his beauty. Zeus took him to eden and granted him the privilege of remaining ageless and immortal portion sleeping.

In this way, Endymion would unrecorded successful his slumber everlastingly young and Selene would sojourn the handsome mortal each nighttime and beryllium with him until dawn.

According to a transition successful Deipnosophistae, Hypnos, the deity of sleep, loved Endymion and kept his eyes wide unfastened portion Endymion slept, truthful that helium and Selene could regard astatine each different without interruption.

The past Greek emotion communicative portrayed by George Frederic Watts (1872) successful gothic colors. Credit: George Frederic Watts Wikimedia Commons Public Domain

Is eternal quality worthy the outgo of ne'er genuinely experiencing life?

The past Greek story of Endymion and Selene has agelong been cherished arsenic a communicative of eternal quality and undying love, yet could determination beryllium much to it than meets the eye?

Is it simply the allure of carnal perfection that binds Selene to Endymion, oregon does this story talk to thing deeper—perhaps a subtle reflection connected however beauty, often revered supra each else, tin overshadow much enduring qualities similar quality and soul?

Could Selene’s tendency to sphere Endymion’s flawless quality for eternity, astatine the outgo of his precise life, hint astatine the terms of specified obsession? And arsenic helium sleeps forever, untouched by time, could it beryllium that Endymion’s eternal quality comes astatine the disbursal of the beingness and experiences that marque america genuinely human?

Perhaps immortality, though often desired, comes with its ain cost—the lack of growth, change, and the quality to afloat admit each moment, knowing it tin ne'er instrumentality oregon mightiness beryllium our last. In this ageless story, mightiness the gods beryllium softly prompting america to question whether perfection and immortality is genuinely a acquisition or, successful the end, a curse?

Endymion and Selene. The goddess and the mortal who lone met successful sleep. Painting by Luca giordano. Credit: Saliko CC BY-SA 4.0

The mortal Endymion and the goddess Selene

There are aggregate versions of the past Greek emotion communicative betwixt Endymion and Selene. In 1 version, aft the 2 lovers came together, Zeus offered Endymion the accidental to take his destiny. Endymion chose immortality and younker successful eternal slumber, knowing that Selene would beryllium with him each nighttime successful this way. He was laid retired successful a cave connected Mount Latmos successful Caria, Western Anatolia, wherever his lunar person would sojourn him each night.

According to a aboriginal saltation of the past Greek emotion story, transmitted by the Roman writer Ovid and different aboriginal poets, Endymion was a shepherd of unparalleled quality who lived successful Caria. Selene saw him 1 nighttime sleeping successful a cave successful Latmos and fell successful emotion with him. She visited him each nighttime portion helium was asleep, but disquieted that arsenic a mortal helium would turn aged and die. She begged Zeus to fto him slumber everlastingly successful the ageless slumber truthful helium would ne'er suffer it. Zeus took him to eden and granted him the privilege of remaining ageless and immortal portion sleeping.

According to different version, Endymion fell dormant portion tending his sheep and Selene saw him, and couldn’t defy his handsome face, truthful she seized him. The Moon goddess bore Endymion 50 daughters, arsenic galore arsenic the lunar months that intervened betwixt each past Olympiad. The 50 daughters were collectively known arsenic the Menai. They were lunar goddesses, each representing 1 lunar month, and determination were 50 months betwixt each Olympic Games.

Other reasons are cited for Endymion’s eternal sleep. One suggests that Zeus offered Endymion thing helium desired, and Endymion chose eternal, ageless slumber for himself. Alternatively, it is projected that Zeus condemned Endymion to eternal slumber arsenic a punishment for making advances toward his wife, the goddess Hera.

Renaissance artists and the emotion of Selene and Endymion

Several artists of the Renaissance era—and from aboriginal periods—were fascinated by the past Greek emotion communicative and portrayed the everlasting story of Selene and Endymion, the goddess and the mortal man.

Gérard de Lairesse, Domingo Álvarez Enciso, Nicolas Poussin, Andrey Ivanov, Carle Van Loo, Gaspare Diziani, Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, Januarius Zick, Sebastiano Ricci, Johann Carl Loth, Luca Giordano, George Frederic Watts, and respective others depicted the celebrated story connected canvas.