Luna/Selene. In Greek mythology, Selene is the goddess of the moon. She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun-god Helios, and Eos, goddess of the dawn. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. In classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate, and all three were regarded as lunar goddesses, but only Selene was regarded as the personification of the moon itself. Her Roman equivalent is Luna. The etymology of Selene is uncertain, but if the name is of Greek origin, it is likely connected to the word selas, meaning light. Just as Helios, from his identification with Apollo, is called Phoebus, Selene, from her identification with Artemis, is also commonly referred to by the epithet Phoebe. The original Phoebe of Greek mythology is Selene's aunt, the Titaness mother of Leto and Asteria, and grandmother of Apollo, Artemis, and Hecate. Also from Artemis, Selene was sometimes called Cynthia. Selene was also called Mene. The word men, meant the moon, and the lunar month. It was also the name of the Phrygian moon-god Men. Philologist Max Muller's interpretation of solar mythology as it related to Selene and Endymion concluded that the myth was a narrativized version of linguistic terminology. Because the Greek endyein meant to dive, the name Endymion at first simply described the process of the setting sun diving into the sea. In this case, the story of Selene embracing Endymion, or Moon embraces Diver, refers to the sun setting and the moon rising. The usual account of Selene's origin is given by Hesiod. In the Theogony, the sun-god Hyperion espoused his sister Theia, who gave birth to great Helios and clear Selene and Eos who shines upon all that are on earth and upon the deathless Gods who live in the wide heaven. The Homeric Hymn to Helios follows this tradition: Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaessa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios. Here Euryphaessa is probably an epithet of Theia. Other accounts make Selene the daughter of Pallas, the son of Megamedes or of Helios. Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion. The late 7th-century-early 6th-century BC poet Sappho apparently mentioned Selene and Endymion. However, the first direct account comes from the third-century BC Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes, which tells of Selene's mad passion and her visiting the fair Endymion in a cave on Mount Latmus: And the Titanian goddess, the moon, rising from a far land, beheld her as she fled distraught, and fiercely exulted over her, and thus spake to her own heart: Not I alone then stray to the Latmian cave, nor do I alone burn with love for fair Endymion; oft times with thoughts of love have I been driven away by thy crafty spells, in order that in the darkness of night thou mightest work thy sorcery at ease, even the deeds dear to thee. And now thou thyself too hast part in a like mad passion; and some god of affliction has given thee Jason to be thy grievous woe. Well, go on, and steel thy heart, wise though thou be, to take up thy burden of pain, fraught with many sighs. Quintus Smyrnaeus' The Fall of Troy tells that, while Endymion slept in his cave beside his cattle, Selene watched him from on high, and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love drew down the immortal stainless Queen of Night. The eternally sleeping Endymion was proverbial, but exactly how this eternal sleep came about and what role, if any, Selene may have had in it is unclear. According to the Catalogue of Women, Endymion was the son of Aethlius, and Zeus granted him the right to choose when he would die. A scholiast on Apollonius says that, according to Epimenides, Endymion, having fallen in love with Hera, asked Zeus to grant him eternal sleep. However, Apollodorus says that because of Endymion's surpassing beauty, the Moon fell in love with him, and Zeus allowed him to choose what he would, and he chose to sleep for ever, remaining deathless and ageless. Cicero seems to make Selene responsible for Endymion's sleep, so that she might kiss him while sleeping.