Editing Crescent (section)

===Classical antiquity===
[[Selene]], the [[List of lunar deities|moon goddess]], was depicted with a crescent upon her head, often referred to as her [[horned deity|horns]], and a major identifying feature of hers in ancient works of art.<ref>Bell, s.v. [https://archive.org/details/womenofclassical00bell/page/396/mode/2up?q=&view=theater Selene]; ''Roman Sarcophagi in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]'', 1978, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PBstaVWigg0C&pg=PA35 35]</ref><ref>[[British Museum]] [https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?museum_number=1923,0401.199 1923,0401.199]; [[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|''LIMC'']] [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-745ed7cd0964a-a 13213 (Selene, Luna 21)]; [[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|''LIMC'']] [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-745e62aefddaa-9 13181 (Selene, Luna 4)]</ref>

In the iconography of the [[Hellenistic period]], the crescent became the symbol of [[Artemis]]-[[Diana (mythology)|Diana]], the virgin hunter goddess associated with the Moon. Numerous depictions show Artemis-Diana wearing the crescent Moon as part of her headdress.
The related symbol of the [[star and crescent]] was the emblem of the [[Mithridates I of Pontus|Mithradates]] dynasty in the [[Kingdom of Pontus]] and was also used as the emblem of [[Byzantium]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
File:Astarte with horns.jpg|[[Astarte]] with horns, statuette from [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]]-era Mesopotamia
File:Clipeus Selene Terme.jpg|Bust of [[Selene]] on a [[Roman sarcophagus]] (3rd century)
File:Tagh1.jpg|[[Taq-e Bostan]], from the [[Sasanian Empire]] of the [[pre-Islamic Persia|pre-Islamic era]]. Note the crescent above the arch.
</gallery>