S9E10 - Selene and Endymion

stories featured in Greaking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features having 50 daughters, falling in love with a mortal, Zeus's jealousy, and eternal sleep.

This is the story of Selene and Endymion.

Now at first, you might think this is the story of a man who falls in love with the moon.

But really, it's the other way around.

The moon falls deeply in love with a mortal man.

And if we've learned nothing on this podcast by now, we've learned that things like that can get complicated.

Selene was a Titan, daughter of Hyperion and Theia and sister to Helios, god of the sun, and Eos, goddess of the dawn.

Now, you may have heard that Artemis was the goddess of the moon, and Apollo was the god of the sun, but that's only because people sometimes lump them together with Helios and Selene.

If you've been a listener for a while, you might also remember that the Titans ruled everything before Zeus and the Olympians took over.

Since they were all immortal, the Titans weren't destroyed or anything.

The really bad ones were in prison, but many of them were just given day jobs for eternity, so they had to do things for the Earth like drive the sun and the moon across the sky like many goddesses in greek mythology seleni had a number of different aspects and personas she was also worshipped as Phoebe the huntress oh yeah that makes sense I can see why people would lump her in with Artemis so as part of Seleni's job driving the moon across the sky Seleni had the ability to give sleep and provide light during the darkest night she also had a great view of everything that that was happening below her in the mortal world, just like her brother did during the day.

And this gave her a great vantage point to see any mortals who might be staring up at her in the dark night sky, admiring her beauty.

But as we said, this story actually goes the other way around.

It's actually the goddess of the moon who is captivated by the beauty of a mortal on earth below.

That mortal's name was Endymion.

He was a young king of a Greek city named Elis.

He was beloved by his subjects for his fair and just style of ruling, but also his natural charm and handsome face.

To put it simply, he was kind of a hottie.

A snack, if you will.

Endymion was considered to be one of the most beautiful mortals in all of Greek mythology.

His handsome good looks rivaled Narcissus and Helen, two of the most notoriously beautiful humans in all of these ancient Greek stories.

Now, in addition to being king, Endymion was a father and a husband.

He had three young sons and a happy family in Elis, and everything was going wonderfully for him until one night when he had a vision in a dream.

It was a message from Zeus himself.

And this vision told him that he would soon sleep the endless sleep and that he should prepare his successors.

A successor is a person who has a job, position, or title after someone else.

Right, so basically Zeus was telling Endymion he was going to die, which is not something that happens every day.

And as you would expect, Endymion was pretty upset about this, but he was thankful for the warning, as unwelcome as the news was.

Endymion prepared his wife, his family, and his subjects for life without him.

He was a good king, and he wanted Elis to continue to thrive, so he made sure that the country could go on functioning even without him on the throne.

And then he came up with a plan to determine the next king.

You see, Endymion had three sons and a daughter.

They all have their own stories that involve chariots, invaders, and the god Poseidon, but none of that is part of this story.

What really matters here is that Endymion wanted all three of his sons to have a shot at ascending the throne when he died.

So he organized a foot race in Olympia and proclaimed that whoever came in first would be named the heir to the throne of Elis.

A foot race doesn't seem like an efficient or logical way to pick a new leader.

That's true, but it's actually not the worst one we've seen on this podcast.

Remember the time when Set and Horus had a hippo-shaped breath holding contest in Egypt?

They are both equally bad.

Well, that is true.

Can't argue with that.

Anyway, after a long run, it was Epias, the oldest son, who crossed the finish line first.

For those of us who have older brothers, this is not necessarily a surprise.

The crowd cheered at Epius beat, much to the chagrin of his brothers.

Endymion was pleased in the knowledge that his kingdom would continue as a happy and thriving community even after he was gone.

There is more to this story, but we will save it for another season.

We are again withholding information, but this time for timing reasons.

Yeah, we got to get through this story first.

Once the race was over and everything was settled, King Endymion wasn't sure what to do with himself.

Was he just supposed to, you know, wait around to die?

After a few days, the king decided that his best course of action would be to leave the kingdom.

He decided to live out his remaining days in exile, sparing his family the pain of having to watch him sit there and die.

So the handsome Endymion bid his family a tearful farewell and set off for parts unknown.

He wandered the countryside for weeks before he eventually wound up serving as the best-looking best-looking shepherd in all of ancient Greece, but he was still a lowly shepherd, tending to a flock that liked to graze high up the side of Mount Latmus.

Yes, this was definitely a step down from king, but it was exactly what Endymion was looking for.

A beautiful, quiet place to live out the few days he had left in his life.

If everything ended today, he figured, only my flock would miss me, and they have enough grass to get by.

The myth of Endymion is confusing because there are so many different versions.

In some he is a king, in some he's a shepherd, and in some he's both.

But Endymion wasn't entirely alone.

He lived in a cave on the side of a mountain and basically just moved the flock in and out of the rain and cold.

And he spent many lonely nights just staring up at the sky with the moon as his only companion.

So, after a while, he started talking to the moon.

Sometimes he would ramble on for an hour or so talking about all the things he missed from his former life and even the things he didn't.

Other nights he would just sit and stare at the beauty of the moon.

What he didn't realize was that the moon was staring back.

Okay, who's up for a commercial break?

Anybody?

Show okay.

Yeah, me too.

All right, we're going to take a short break.

We'll be back on the other side with more Greaking Out.

Hey, parents, why can kids hear better than grown-ups?

Why is blood red?

Why can't humans spit like llamas?

All these questions are answered and more in Why Human Body from Nat GeoKids.

Designed specifically to supercharge and satisfy curiosity while keeping your kids entertained for hours.

Check out Why Human Body wherever you get your books.

See, that wasn't so bad.

And just like that, we're back.

And that's when we get back to Seleni.

Seleni was in love with a capital L.

In all of her years crossing the night sky, Selene had never seen a mortal so handsome or heard one speak with such honesty and openness.

Seleni was so obsessed that sometimes she would actually hurry her brother Helios along so she could get the sun to set sooner.

She couldn't wait to get into the night sky again so she could see the loving face of Endymion staring up at her.

Eventually, Seleni realized that she was going to have to meet this man face to face.

Or on her own two feet, maybe that's a better way to say it.

So one night, when the sky was particularly clear and the moon was in full light, she made the journey out of the sky.

Endymion had just decided to extinguish his campfire and get some sleep after a full night of stargazing.

He began to make his way back to his quiet cave to turn in for the night.

But he felt, rather than heard or even saw, a light behind him.

It was a warm glow that emitted a soft hum.

Endymion slowly turned and looked over his shoulder to behold a breathtaking sight.

The beautiful moon goddess Selene was standing before him, smiling.

Even though he had never seen her in her mortal form, Endymion recognized Selene as the moon right away.

There was just something about her face and her eyes that made him see the moon and the heavens and the stars.

It captivated him instantly.

They embraced each other and laughed.

Endymion relit the fire, and the two talked through the night until Seleni sadly had to pull herself away.

I must go, she said.

I have to return to my sister who brings the dawn, but I promise to return tomorrow and the next night.

And the moon goddess was true to her word.

Even on cloudy nights when you couldn't see the stars or the sky, she would visit Endymion in his cave, and the two fell madly and deeply in love.

Endymion began to question his fate.

Was he not supposed to die at any time?

But when those thoughts would creep into his mind, the shepherd just pushed them away.

He told himself to live for today, or more accurately, for tonight, when he would again see his beloved Seleni.

Now, for her part, Seleni began to question things as well.

After many, many, many nights with Endymion, she realized that she simply could not live without him, and she had to accept the fact that someday she was gonna have to.

Endymion was not immortal.

The thought that he would someday grow old and die was too hard for the moon goddess to bear.

She didn't want to see him age and she certainly didn't want to watch him die.

So the moon goddess turned to Zeus, king of the gods, for help.

As a Titan, she had many powers over mortals, but she did not have the power to make Endymion immortal or ageless.

Perhaps with Zeus's help, she could use her powers to extend the life of her beloved Endymion.

Now Zeus, well, he was actually thrilled about Seleni's request.

You see, he already knew who Endymion was, and Selene wasn't the only one who had googly eyes for him.

Hera, queen of the gods and Zeus's wife, was also smitten with the handsome king Endymion.

And as much as she tried to hide it from her jealous husband, he knew all about it.

He could totally tell.

Now, he thought he had taken care of the problem by visiting Endymion in his dreams and getting him to trade his crown for a shepherd's crook, but somehow that just made Endymion more attractive.

But now, Zeus had a perfect avenue for revenge and a perfect person to blame it on, Seleni.

Zeus encouraged Seleni to think carefully about what she was asking, hinting that it might not turn out exactly the way she expected, but the the moon goddess was too excited about a solution to pick up on Zeus's intentions.

The mere thought of losing her love was driving her to distraction.

Very well, the king of the gods said magnanimously.

I will make it so.

Your love will never age or die, as long as he remains asleep.

There are many versions of this myth, but they all wind up in the same place, with Endymion sound asleep in a cave forever.

Well, that wasn't exactly what Selene was hoping for, to say the least.

I mean, she wanted to spend the rest of eternity with her love, but she was assuming he'd be awake.

I mean, what good is it to live forever if you sleep through the whole thing?

But Seleni truly couldn't live without Endymion, so she would have to live with him asleep.

Eventually, she found a loophole in Zeus's enchantment.

A loophole can refer to a small opening in fortifications through which arrows are shot.

But in this context, it means finding a way to do what you want and obey the exact wording of a rule or agreement.

Right, Zeus meant for no one to spend time with Endymion, but because the enchantment only made him fall asleep and not die, Selene could still visit Endymion in his dreams.

Every night, the moon goddess would visit her love in his cave asleep.

She could gaze at his face, but she missed their talks and his laughter, so she would enter his dreams.

And there, they would talk and laugh.

Seleni and Endymion had 50 daughters, and these 50 daughters became known as the Menai, lunar goddesses, each one representing a different lunar month in the calendar.

Over time, the story of Seleni and Endymion became known to people as a tribute to the great former king of Elis and his wife and daughters.

It was decreed that there would be 50 months between each of the great athletic games held in Olympia, where Endymion and his sons had held the race ages before.

We are speaking here about the Olympic Games.

Which is something we still do today.

The modern games are actually coming up in 2024.

Or if you're listening to this in the future, the modern games happened back in 2024.

The Greek calendar was divided into four year cycles.

At the end of each was a ritualized set of games.

Correct demundo, but more on that next time since we've reached the end of this episode and the end of this season.

So if you have a suggestion for the podcast, if you like Greaking Out and want to tell us what you'd like to hear more of, grab a grown-up and have them help you write a review of the podcast.

We read all the reviews and are always using suggestions from people just like you.

So let us know what you think and we will see you next season right here on Greaking Out.

Greaking Out.

Thank you for listening.

Greaking Out will be back in late April with our 10th season.

Until then, keep Greaking Out.

National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Jillian Hughes and Kenny Curtis and hosted by Kenny Curtis with Tori Kerr as the oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Gripp.

Dr.

Adria Haluska is our subject matter expert.

Emily Burkett, Laurie Boda, and Juliana Schiavo are our producers, and Emily Everhart is our senior producer.