The Planets: Representatives of the Gods
This is pretty common information and basic to mythology, but for anyone who doesn't know, this is the relation the planets of our solar system have to Greek Mythology. The planets are named after the Roman counterparts of the Greek gods, so I've made reference to who they are in Greek mythology.
Mercury - Mercury represents the messenger god, Hermes. I think the reason why Mercury represents Hermes is because Mercury revolves around the sun the fastest and Hermes was known to be swift of foot.
Venus - Venus represents the goddess of love & beauty, Aphrodite. Venus is known as the most beautiful planet in the solar system, thus it's named after the goddess of beauty.
Earth - Earth represents Terra. From what I understand, she was a goddess of land. I don't know much else about it. Earth is one mysterious place....
Mars - Mars represents the god of war, Ares. Mars of course is red which is also the color of war (symbolic of blood). The two moons of Mars are named after the two sons of Ares, Phobos and Deimos (those two names should sound familiar to all you Doom fans out there).
Jupiter - Jupiter represents the ruler of the gods, Zeus. The planet is the largest and most magnificent which is representative of the great Zeus. Jupiter has 16 moons. The 4 largest are named after some of Zeus' affairs, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The other 12 moons represent more of Zeus' lovers, a few of his children, and others linked the great god. They are: Adrasta, Amalthea, Ananke, Carme, Elara, Himalia, Leda, Lysithia, Metis, Pasiphae, Thebe, and Sinope.
Saturn - Saturn represents the father of Zeus, Cronus. Why Cronus? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that the 18 moons surrounding Saturn are named after various Titans, Gods, Goddesses, and other important figures in Greek mythology. They are: Atlas, Calypso, Dione, Enceladus, Epimetheus, Helene, Hyperion, Iapetus, Janus, Mimas, Pan, Pandora, Phoebe, Prometheus, Rhea, Telesto, Tethys, and Titan.
Uranus - Uranus represents, yeah you guessed it, Uranus! This one's really wierd. Non of the moons of Uranus are named after anyone in Greek Mythology. Stupid Uranus....never liked him anyway.....
Neptune - Neptune of course represents the god of the sea, Poseidon. I think the reason for this is because it's a blue planet and the sea looks blue under the sky, see the connection? Good, you're getting smarter by the moment :) Neptune's largest moon is named after Poseidon's son, Triton. The rest are named after sea nymphs and others associated with the water. They are: Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Naiad, Neried, Proteus, and Thalassa.
Pluto - Pluto represents the god of the dead and underworld, Hades. It's the coldest and most desolate of the planets. Very appropriate for representing the cold, desolate state of being we call death. It's one moon is named after the ferryman of the dead, Charon. I guess in a way, Charon is still ferrying around Pluto (Hades) to this very day.
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