Astra Planeta – When the Greek Gods Were Planets

 

 

The ancient Greek astronomers knew of five planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, the star-like planets visible to the naked eye.

They called these planets “wanderers”, as when seen with the naked eye, they seemed to wander across the night sky, changing course every now and then, depending on the time of the year.

The stars in the night sky are fixed, the planets move around the sun at different rates, so they are not fixed; they appear to wander over time.

The English word for planet derives from the Greek word, πλανήτης (planítis), which means wanderer.

 

Astra Planeta:

Wandering Stars

 

 

The Astra Planeta was a group of five gods, the “Wandering Stars”, from Greek mythology, who were sometimes also referred to as the Astra.

They were considered to be the five sons of the Titan Astraeus, god of dusk or twilight and the goddess of the Dawn, Eos.

This parentage made the Astra Planeta brothers to the Anemoi, Greek wind gods.

Their names were:

 

Stilbon

The personification of the planet Mercury (Greek Hermes)

Eosphoros

The personification of the planet Venus (Greek Aphrodite) the morning star

Hesperus

Also the personification of the planet Venus as the evening star, as at the time, Venus was thought to be both the morning and the evening star

Pyroeis 

The personification of the planet Mars (Greek Ares)

Phaethon

The personification of the planet Jupiter (Greek Zeus)

(Not to be confused with Phaethon, also spelled Phaëthon, who was the son of the sea nymph Clymene and the sun god Apollo in Greek mythology)

 Phainon

The personification of the planet Saturn (Greek Cronus)

 

They were the personification of the Classical planets (but did not include the Sun, Moon or Earth).

Neither were the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto included, as they are invisible to the naked eye and so, they were unknown to the ancient Greeks.

The Astra Planeta lived amongst the stars; however, they were also thought to have a second home, the mystical, great River Oceanus (Okeanos), which encircled the whole world, a place they went to when they disappeared below the horizon.

 

The Astra Planeta in order of distance from the Sun

 

The closer a planet is to the Sun, the faster it needs to move to maintain orbit.

The fastest moving planet is Mercury, then, Venus, then Earth then Mars then Jupiter and then Saturn.

 

Mercury – 36 million miles (58 million kilometres)

Venus – 67 million miles (108 million kilometers)

Mars – 142 million miles (228 million kilometers)

Jupiter – 484 million miles (778 million kilometers)

Saturn – 886 million miles (1.4 billion kilometers)

 

Now, I know you’re all wondering, if the Astra Planta, the five planets known to the ancient Greeks are named after Greek gods, why then, do they all have Ancient Roman names?

Well, it’s easy, the Greeks did everything first,the Romans just “Borrowed”!

 

Mercury – Hermes

 

 

The planet Mercury (roman), the smallest planet in our Solar System and the closest to the Sun, is named after the Greek god Hermes, messenger of the gods and the protector of, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orators.

He moves swiftly between the worlds of the living and the dead, aided by his winged sandals, so you can see, it’s no coincidence he was chosen to depict the fastest moving planet.

 He is also known as Hermes the psychopomp or “soul guide”, the deliverer of souls into the afterlife.

Mercury’s orbit around the Sun takes 88 days, the shortest of all the Sun’s planets and because it is so close to the sun, after sunset, it can only be seen for an extremely short time with the naked eye, before it disappears beyond the horizon.

Mercury is a hot planet, with an average surface temperature of 332 degrees Fahrenheit, funnily enough though, dry ice forms in its craters.

In astrology, Mercury represents communication, mentality, thinking patterns, rationality and reasoning, adaptability and variability, day to day expression and relationships.

 Mercury rules over schooling and education transport over short distances, messages and communication such as post, email and telephone, newspapers, journalism and writing, information gathering skills and physical dexterity.

In medicine, Mercury is related to the nervous system, the brain, the respiratory system, the thyroid and the sense organs.

Mercury is a planet of opportunity, planet, unemotional and curious.

Mercury rules over the day of Wednesday.

 

Venus – Aphrodite

 

 

Venus (Roman) is the second planet from the Sun and is named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion and procreation.

Again, it’s not by chance Aphrodite was chosen to represent the planet which rules over romantic relations, marriage and business partnerships.

Venus is the brightest natural object in Earth’s night sky after the Moon and can cast shadows and is visible to the naked eye in broad daylight.

Venus orbits the Sun in 225 days.

Venus is not only veiled in a thick atmosphere of deadly gases; sulphuric acid pours down on its surface, which is a burning hot 863 degrees Fahrenheit.

In astrology, Venus is associated with harmony, beauty, refinement, affections, love, and the urge to sympathize and unite with others.

 Venus is involved with the desire for pleasure, comfort and ease.

In medicine, the planet Venus is linked with the reproductive system, lumbar region, the veins, parathyroid, throat and kidneys.

Venus rules over the day of Friday.

 

Mars – Ares

 

 

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, larger than only Mercury.

Mars (Roman) is named after the Greek god of war, Ares.

Mars is known as the red planet, which is why it was named after the god of war, owing to the bloodshed in battles, however, Mars was  not red from blood but because of the iron oxide (rust) in the soil.

Mars orbits the Sun in 687 days and is the first planet to orbit outside of Earth’s orbit, making it the first planet that does not set along with the Sun.

Mars has two permanent polar ice caps, which, in winter, when the planet is in complete darkness, cause blocks of dry ice to form.

In astrology, Mars is associated with aggression, confrontation, energy, strength, ambition and impulsiveness, just like it’s namesake, Ares.

Mars rules over sports, competitions and physical activities in general.

In medicine, Mars is connected to the genitals, the muscular system, the gonads and adrenal glands, fever, accidents, trauma, pain and surgery.

 Mars rules over the day of Tuesday.

 

Jupiter – Zeus

 

 

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System, with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined.

Jupiter (Roman) is named after Zeus, King of all ancient Greek gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; he is the sky and thunder god of ancient Greece.

A good choice for a planet, which is the king of all other planets and a giant to boot, with spectacular, brightly colored clouds and intense storms.

Jupiter is surrounded by a planetary ring system and a powerful magnetosphere and has 80 known moons (there may be many more as yet undetected), including the four large moons discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610, all named after characters from Greek mythology; Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Io and Europa are about the size of Earth’s Moon; Callisto is almost the size of the planet Mercury, and Ganymede is larger.

Jupiter takes 11.9 years to orbit the Sun.

Some astronomers believe that Jupiter, by using its massive gravity, captures or expels from the solar system, many comets and asteroids, that would otherwise threaten Earth and the inner planets.

In astrology, Jupiter is associated with the principles of growth, expansion, healing, prosperity, good fortune, and miracles.

 Jupiter rules over long distance and foreign travel, big business and wealth, higher education, religion, and the law.

In medicine, Jupiter is related to matters of the liver, pituitary gland and the disposition of fats.

Jupiter rules over the day of Thursday.

 

Saturn – Cronus

 

 

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter.

 It has an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth but only one-eighth the average density of Earth.

The planet’s most well-known feature is its ring system.

At least 83 moons orbit Saturn, 53 of which are officially named.

Saturn takes 29.5 years to orbit the Sun.

Saturn (Roman) is named after the leader and ruler of the Titans, Cronus and father of Zeus (Jupiter).

Cronus (not to be confused with Chronos, the personification of time), being the god of the harvest, or agriculture, is depicted with a scythe or a sickle, which was the instrument he also used to castrate his father, Uranus.

In astrology, Saturn is associated with focus, precision, nobility, ethics, civility, lofty goals, career, great achievements, dedication, authority figures, stability, virtues, productiveness, valuable hard lessons learned, destiny, structures, protective roles, balance, meritocracy, conservatism and karma.

In medicine, Saturn rules over the right ear, the spleen, the bladder, the phlegm and the bones.

Saturn rules over the day of Saturday.

 

The tradition lives on:

Today we have eight known planets in our universe (Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet).

All are named after Greek gods

 

 

Since the invention of the telescope, Western astrology has added Uranus, Neptune and Pluto to the list of recognized planets; three planets unknown to the Greeks as they were not visible to the naked eye.

 

Uranus

 

 

Uranus, in Greek mythology the personification of the sky, discovered in 1781, is the seventh planet from the sun.

 

Neptune – Poseidon

 

 

Neptune, named after, Poseidon, Greek god of the sea discovered in 1846, is the eighth planet from the sun and is predominantly blue, making its name an excellent choice.

 

Pluto – Hades

 

 

Pluto, Hades, Greek, god of the Underworld discovered in 1930, is the ninth, and farthest planet from the sun, and is named after the god of the underworld because it is so cold and dark there.

Even though these planets were discovered thousands of years after the Astra Planeta , the five planets known to the ancient Greeks, they were none the less, honoured with names of ancient Greek gods.

Today we have eight known planets in our universe (Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet).

All are named after Greek gods, they are:

Mercury – Roman name for Hermes

Venus – Roman name for Aphrodite

Earth – Closely associated with Roman Terra Mater (Gaia to Greeks which is why Gi is Earth in Greek)

Mars – Roman name for Ares

Jupiter – Roman name for Zeus

Saturn – Roman name for Cronus

Uranus – The only planet that actually kept its original Greek name

Neptune – Roman name for Poseidon

 

A special thank you to the talented artist, Mike Airlino, for his wonderful artwork I used in this post.