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So how can you tell Artemis and Selene apart? If you have ever visited (or plan to visit) the Vatican museum, you will find a full-figure statue of Artemis-Diana with her bow and a crescent moon set in her hair. The crescent moon may also have been thought to resemble a bow, the characteristic hunting weapon of Artemis. A connection between the moon and the women’s menstrual cycle was most likely made and according to one myth, Artemis was able to assist her mother with the birth of her twin brother. In contrast, Artemis was an important goddess of hunting and, perhaps more importantly, of childbirth. Although important, Selene was seen as a symbolic figure rather than someone with real power over human life. What was the reason behind having a second goddess related to the moon when they already had Selene to represent the moon itself? Firstly, it was part of the Greek understanding of religion.
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Their area of influence was much broader and their place in the pantheon was not so symbolic but was more “entwined” with the human world. Interestingly, these personifications of the sun and moon have a parallel in another “couple” of gods - the siblings Apollo and Artemis. Both were depicted together on the east pediment of the Parthenon driving their chariots Helios is rising and Selene is descending into the sea. This is the reason why Selene is usually depicted in motion - either driving a chariot or riding on horseback, similar to the sun god Helios. A small crescent moon or a lunar disc is shown in her hair and she wears a loose veil symbolizing the moon on its journey. One was the moon’s personification named Selene. As was the case with other natural phenomena, the moon was personified as a divinity and at some point, there were simultaneously two prominent goddesses related to the moon. In Europe, the first confirmed visual depictions of the moon in art emerged in ancient Greece.
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Two Goddesses, One Moon Selene, Roman copy of Greek Original, photo by Anthony Majanlahti, from the Capitoline Museum, via Flickr Please check your inbox to activate your subscription Thank you! Since they are all made from the same metal, it is impossible to tell for sure and we must use our imaginations. The crescent is most likely the moon, while the circular shapes might be the Sun or the Moon, as well. It may once have been used for astronomical observations. This 3600-year-old bronze disc was excavated in Germany, and is known as the Nebra Sky Disc, a flat bronze circle decorated with circular and crescent-shaped gold inlays. Speculations aside, the first “figural” depiction of the moon in art was found in Europe. After all, if we imagine ancient hunter-gatherers relying on their observational talent and understanding of nature’s cycles to adapt and survive, it is not difficult to imagine that the Moon played a vital role.ĭisc and Crescent: Early Depictions of the Moon in Art The Nebra Sky Disc, c. Can we really call it art or a depiction of the moon? I believe that to a certain extent, we can. Without additional information, it is difficult to conclude whether these cuts truly represent the days of the moon cycle.
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One of the oldest examples of the moon in art was found in South Africa - the Lebombo bone, a small portable object with 29 notches that could be 35,000 years old. The moon may have been one of the first objects that was observed and documented in art - however, not in the forms you may imagine. The Moon in Art: The Observer and the Observed A Paleolithic wolf bone tally stick, similar to the Lebombo Bone, via