Mene (goddess)
Epithet of Selene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mene (Ancient Greek: Μήνη, romanized: Mḗnē, lit. 'moon, month', pronounced [mɛ̌ːnɛː]), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is an epithet of Selene, the Greek lunar goddess as a goddess presiding over the months.[1]
Etymology
The Greek word μήνη (mēnē) means both the Moon and the lunar month.[2] It represents the feminine form of the older masculine noun μήν (mēn), which in turn derives from the oblique stem of the Indo-European word *meh₁nōt ("moon; month").[3] The name of the Phrygian moon-god Men derives from the same word.[4] Further cognates include "Moon" and "Máni."
William Smith writes of Mene as "a goddess presiding over the months".[5] Apostolos Athanassakis and Benjamin Wolkow speculate that Selene's name, which is derived from the word σέλας (selas, "light") and thus means "luminous one", might have originally developed as a euphemism, before becoming the Moon and its goddess's proper name.[2]
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