Aztec, Norse and Greek mythologies
I said in my last posting that I would produce something on Moon Gods and Goddesses, well this is the first installment. I had, rather unrealistically, thought to produce one article covering 6 mythologies, but I now believe that would be too much in one go. Celtic mythology alone will at some future date form be a post of its own. So to start what will be a ‘mini-series’ I have looked at Aztec, Norse and Greek.
AZTEC
In Aztec mythology, Coyolxauhqui ("golden bells") was a moon goddess and Chief God of the Toltecs. She was a daughter of Coatlicue ( also known as Teteoinan ), "The Mother of Gods", and the ruler of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the star gods.
Exactly how she came to be a moon goddess is not really pleasant reading. She was a powerful magician who led her siblings in an attack on their mother, because she became pregnant in a shameful way (by a ball of feathers no less). Coatlicue's fetus was Huitzilopochtli, an incarnation of the sun, who sprang from her womb in full war armour and killed Coyolxauhqui, along with many of the brothers and sisters. He cut off her limbs, then tossed her head into the sky where it became the moon, so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night.
Coyolxauhqui's celestial associations are not limited to the moon, as some believe she is also the Goddess of the Milky Way.
NORSE
In Norse mythology I believe Mani was the god of the moon, although I did find one reference to a god called Nepur. I'll start with a story about Mani:
In Norse myth, there was once a giant named Mundilfari who was married to Glaur. Their children were so beautiful that he named his son Mani (Moon) and his daughter Sol (Sun). The gods were angered at such daring. They took both children and placed them in the sky to guide the chariots of the sun and the moon - the celestial bodies created by the gods from the sparks from Muspell.
So Mani pulled the moon through the sky every night until Ragnarok, pursued by the wolf Hati, who at Ragnarok finally caught him and consumed him.
The name Mani is borne by a moon of Saturn, and in Old Norse Mani is the eveyday word for "moon".
Of Nepur as mentioned I found only one reference which read:
" Nepur - Moon-God. He abducted king Ivaldi's sons, Bil & Hjuki. as they tried to take mead from their fathers well. He had to release them when Ivaldi caught him as he rode through the underworld."
Of him I know no more.
Greek
Was there one Goddess with many names, 3 distinct Goddesses or 4, or did she evolve and become re-invented over time. I don't know the answer, but have my own opinion, so will leave you to make your own minds up having read the following.
In brief Selene (Luna in Latin) was the Greek Goddess of the Moon, and according to Hesiod, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and the sister of Helios the sun god and Eos. Later, she was identified with Artemis who in time increasingly was recognized as a moon goddess in her own right and called Phoebe. As Selene she was worshiped on the days of full and new moons. As Phoebe ("the bright one") she was a huntress and archer. That as you will see is three, the forth is a darker personification, Hecate on who there is more at the end of this post.
Phoebe
was a Titan, an elder goddess. She was the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, and also the Goddess of Wise Counsel, Thoughtful Replies and Snappy Answers. Selene
, as the personification of the Moon, was an influential goddess. One of her best known myths involves the handsome Rndymion. The moon-goddess fell in love with this mortal, and she therefore engaged in an affair with Endymion that resulted in the birth of fifty daughters. But Endymion was, alas, human, and so susceptible to aging and eventually death. Selene could not bear the thought of this cruel fate. According to one version of the myth, she made certain that Endymion would remain eternally youthful by casting a spell that would cause him to sleep forever. In this way, Endymion would always live, sleeping through the ages. Artemis
as mentioned was also associated with the moon, and although called Phoebe and Selene, neither name originally belonged to her. Artemis was the daughter of Leto and Zeus, who as I'm sure you know was the ruler of the Greek gods. Together with her twin brother Apollo she enjoyed the status and privileges of an Olympian. And as an Olympian goddess, Artemis was free to pursue her interests, and was often found frolicking in the forests, accompanied by a band of nymphs.
She did however play an intriguing role in Greek mythology and religion. She was known as the "Mistress of Animals" and the protectress of children, but she was also a huntress and the goddess who could bring death with her arrows. Myths such as the one about Niobe show Artemis as a strong willed and powerful goddess, a female who could punish injustices against the gods with ferocious and deadly accuracy.
In the later poems Artemis became associated with another goddess, Hecate.
Hecate
, the dark and awful goddess of the lower world. Hecate the Goddess of the Dark of the Moon, the black nights when the moon is hidden. She was associated with deeds of darkness, the Goddess of the Crossways, which were held to be ghostly places of evil magic; and awful divinity. Thus if we take the Titan Phoebe as another name for Selene, she possibly became "the goddess with three forms, "Selene" in the sky, Artemis on earth and Hecate in the lower world as well as in the world above, when it is wrapped in darkness.
In Artemis is shown most vividly the uncertainty between good and evil which exists in every god.
Was there one Goddess with many names, 3 distinct Goddesses or 4, or did she evolve and become re-invented over time. 
