Moon Gods and Moon Goddesses

To those of us in the West, the most familiar deities of the moon are female -- moon goddesses. Our word lunar, as in the lunar cycle of full, crescent, and new moons, comes from the feminine Latin Luna. This seems natural because of the association of the lunar month and the female menstrual cycle, but not all societies envision the moon as a woman. Here are some of the moon gods and moon goddesses of major ancient religions.

1. Artemis

Clipart.com

Nationality: Greek
Moon Goddess
In Greek mythology, the sun god was originally Helios (whence words like heliocentric for our sun-centered solar system) and the moon goddess Selene, but over time, this changed. Artemis came to be associated with Selene, just like Apollo with Helios. Apollo became a sun god and Artemis became the goddess of the moon.

5. Ix Chel

Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia

Nationality: Maya
Moon Goddess
Lady Rainbow was a Maya old woman moon goddess.
See Maya Gods and Goddesses

8. Selene or Luna

Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikimedia Commons.

Nationality: Greek
Luna in Latin.
Moon Goddess
Actually, Selene/Luna is a moon Titan (since she's female, that could be Titaness), and the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Thea. Selene/Luna is the sister of the sun god Helios/Sol.

9. Sin/Nanna

PD Myths of Babylonia and Assyria, by Donald A. Mackenzie

Nationality: Sumerian
Moon god.