Selene is known as the Greek goddess of the moon, and more specifically the full moon, the second member of the triad composed of Artemis (crescent new moon) and Hecate (waning moon). She is commonly described as a beautiful woman with a pale or white face, dressed in flowing white or silver robes and wearing an upturned crescent moon on her head. Some sources claim she also carries a torch and others suggest that she bears two large white wings from her back.

After bathing in the ocean, she rides in a silver chariot across the night sky, pulled by white horses in some stories, by white oxen in others. She is also often depicted riding a horse or a bull. She glows with a soft silvery light as she travels across the heavens, sending her soft light to the sleeping earth below.

She and her brother Helius, the god of the sun, often frame mythical scenes, giving an indication of the passage of time. Because both the Sun and Moon affect the temperature of the air, pestilential diseases and death are attributed to them. For this reason as well they are closely associated with Apollo and Artemis, both known as healers.

Selene's Roman counterpart is the goddess Luna, but she has also been mistakenly identified as Atremis (Diana), Cynthia, and Phoebe.