In
Greek mythology,
Endymion was a handsome shepherd (or, more rarely, a king or a hunter) from
Asia Minor. He was so beautiful that
Selene, the moon goddess, asked
Zeus (or
Hypnos) to grant him eternal life so he would never leave her. Alternatively, Selene trusted and loved Endymion so much he made the decision to live forever in sleep. Either way, Zeus blessed him by putting him into an eternal sleep. Every night, Selene visited him where he was buried on
Mt. Latmus[?] near
Milete[?], in Asia Minor. Selene and Endymion had fifty daughters including
Naxos.
Endymion also had a son named
Aetolus, the King of
Ellis[?]. Later, he ruled
Aetolia, which was named after him. Endymion had another son,
Epeius, who won his father's kingdom by beating his brothers in a race.
Endymion is also the title of poems by John Keats and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Endymion is also the name of a New Orleans Carnival Krewe.
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