Selene (Diana, Artemis) Visits the Sleeping Youth Endymion

by stonesoferasmus - uploaded on April 21, 2023, 7:38 pm

Selene, or some say Diana, or even Artemis, charmed with the surpassing beauty of Endymion, sent him to sleep, that she might be able to kiss him without being observed by him. The stories of the fair sleeper, Endymion, the darling of Selene, are unquestionably poetical fictions, in which sleep is personified. His name and all his attributes confirm this opinion: Endymion signifies a being that gently comes over one; he is called a king, because he has power over all living creatures; a shepherd, because he slumbered in the cool caves of mount Latmos, that is, "the mount of oblivion." Image Credit: Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "The Taglioni testimonial" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1846. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/e5044380-01ea-0135-87ce-0e3c8bc710a1