Mene (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Μήνη|Mḗnē|"moon, month", in Greek, Modern (1453-); pronounced as /mɛ̌ːnɛː/), in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, is an epithet of Selene, the Greek lunar goddess as a goddess presiding over the months.[1]
The Greek word Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: μήνη (mēnē) means both the Moon and the lunar month.[2] It represents the feminine form of the older masculine noun Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: μήν (mēn), which in turn derives from the oblique stem of the Indo-European word *meh₁nōt ("moon; month"). The name of the Phrygian moon-god Men derives from the same word.[3] Further cognates include "Moon" and "Máni."
William Smith writes of Mene as "a goddess presiding over the months".[4] Apostolos Athanassakis and Benjamin Wolkow speculate that Selene's name, which is derived from the word Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: 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.