Meh₁not is the name of the Lunar deity in Proto-Indo-European mythology, he is the twin brother of Seh₂ul the Solar deity, his descendants in later Indo-Europeans Religions are Máni, Selene, and possibly Soma and Chandra.
Mythology[]
Role[]
Meh₁not has the same role of his twin brother Seh₂ul, he brings the night with his chariot, and when he brings the moon at night until the moon sets, this role is similar to the Norse Mani, Greek Selene, Roman Luna and the Dharmic Chandra (aka Soma).
Name[]
Meh₁not is the reconstructed name of this god which is based on the names of the lunar deities: Germanic Mani, the Slavic Myesyats, the Persian Mah and the Lithuanian god Meno with remnants of the possible lunar deity in the Latvian moon god Mēness, Mene (earlier name for Selene), the Minoan Minos and the Anatolian-Roman Men, nevertheless it is very possible that Meh₁not may not be the name of the Indo-European lunar deity, because there exists other lunar deities whose names do not fit with this pattern like the Roman Luna, the Dharmic Chandra (aka Soma) and The Hittite Kašku.
Alternative Myths[]
Both Meh₁not and some of his descendants are male, but some descendants oh Meh₁not are female, maybe Meh₁not is a genderfluid deity equal to that of his twin Seh₂ul.
Legacy[]
Names[]
The names Selene, Luna and Mani are use in modern times as names for people, but the name Luna is also used in scientific writing, specifically in science fiction stories where with the purpose is to differentiate the Earth´s moon with other moons.
Saint Gabriel[]
In the time of ancient Greece there came a point where Christianity become the official religion of Greece, when the cults of pagan gods fell some angels and saints were identified with many deities, Gabriel being one of them, even if Gabriel is mostly identified with Hermes, rarely in angelology is Gabriel also identified with Selene the Lunar Goddess (who is a descendant of Meh₁not via her earlier name Mene).
Morden Indo-Europeans languages[]
In many languages derived from Latin like Spanish and Italian, uses the word Luna both as a name and a word to refer to the moon, in French there exists the word Lune that is derived from Luna, equally it is also used for the moon too. The word Moon has its origins in the old English, mōna that evolved from the Proto-Germanic word *mēnōn, and it's found its origins on Meh₁not. Curiously the Germanic word mond is cognate with the English moon and the Swedish måne.
Besides both English and Spanish they use the word Lunar in a meaning that represents emotions, bonds and feelings in an astrological sense.