Editing Selene (section)

=== Names ===
[[File:Sarcophagus Selene Endymion Met 47.100.4ab n03.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Detail of a [[sarcophagus]] depicting Endymion and Selene, shown with her characteristic attributes of lunate crown, billowing veil (''[[velificatio]]'') and heavenly chariot, from 3rd century AD, Roman Empire period.<ref>Sorrenti, p. 370.</ref>]]

The name "Selene" is derived from the Greek noun ''selas'' (''{{lang|grc|σέλας}}''), meaning "light, brightness, gleam".<ref>Athanassakis and Wolkow, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTo3r8IHy0wC&pg=PA90 p. 90, on lines 1&ndash;2]; Kerényi, [https://archive.org/details/godsofgreeks00kerrich/page/196/mode/2up?view=theater pp. 196–197]; Keightley, [https://books.google.com/books?id=YhsYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA56 p. 56].</ref>  In the [[Doric Greek|Doric]] and [[Aeolic Greek|Aeolic]] dialects, her name was also spelled {{lang|grc|Σελάνα}} (''Selána'') and {{lang|grc|Σελάννα}} (''Selánna'') respectively.<ref name=":lsj"/>

Selene was also called [[Mene (goddess)|Mene]].<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA46 p. 46]; ''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', s.v. Selene; Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=selene-bio-1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104 s.v. Selene].</ref> The Greek word ''mene'', meant the moon, and the lunar month.<ref>Athanassakis and Wolkow, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTo3r8IHy0wC&pg=PA90 90, on lines 1&ndash;2], [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTo3r8IHy0wC&pg=PA91 91, on  line 5]; Kerényi, [https://archive.org/details/godsofgreeks00kerrich/page/197/mode/2up?view=theater p. 197]. Athanassakis and Wolkow speculate that Selene's name 'might have developed as a euphemism for the moon proper (Greek "mēnē")'.</ref> The masculine form of ''mene'' (''men'') was also the name of the [[Phrygia]]n moon-god [[Men (god)|Men]].<ref>''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', s.v. Selene; Kerényi, [https://archive.org/details/godsofgreeks00kerrich/page/197/mode/2up?view=theater p. 197].</ref> Mene and Men both derive from [[Proto-Greek|Proto-Hellenic]] ''*méns'' ("month"), itself from [[Proto-Indo-European]] ''*mḗh₁n̥s'' (meaning moon, the lunar month), which probably comes from the root ''*meh₁-'' ("to measure"), and is cognate with the English words "Moon" and "month".<ref>Beekes, p. 945.</ref> The Greek [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher [[Chrysippus]] interpreted Selene and Men as, respectively, the female and male aspects of the same god.<ref>Obbink 2002, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3xf0DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA200 p. 200].</ref>

Although no clear attestation for Selene herself has been discovered, in [[Mycenaean Greek]] the word for month 'men' has been found in [[Linear B]] spelled as {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀕𐀜}}}} (me-no, from genitive form {{lang|grc|μηνός}}, ''mēnós'').<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.palaeolexicon.com/Word/Show/16804/ | website = www.palaeolexicon.com | title = The Linear B word me-no | access-date = April 8, 2023}}</ref>

Just as Helios, from his identification with Apollo, is called Phoebus ("bright"), Selene, from her identification with Artemis, is also called Phoebe (feminine form).<ref>Morford, [https://archive.org/details/classicalmytholo0000morf_8ed/page/64/mode/2up?view=theater p. 64]; Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=selene-bio-1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104 s.v. Selene].  [[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]] was also the name of Selene's aunt, the Titan mother of [[Leto]] and [[Asteria]], and grandmother of Apollo, Artemis, and Hecate.</ref>  Also from Artemis, Selene was sometimes called "Cynthia", meaning "she of Mount [[Cynthus]]" (the birthplace of Artemis).<ref>Pannen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=37CPbHwqPjwC&pg=PA96 p. 96]. For example see [[Ovid]], ''[[Heroides]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/ovid-heroides/1914/pb_LCL041.249.xml 18.59&ndash;74]. The English [[Romanticism|Romantic]] poet [[John Keats]] calls Selene Cynthia in his poem ''[[Endymion (poem)|Endymion]]''.</ref>