The 9 Planets Named After Gods

Most people can easily name the eight/nine planets off-head. It’s something that’s taught once in school, and unless somebody specializes in space exploration, the concept of planets gets thrown into oblivion. However, one interesting fact that’s often underestimated is that almost all planets in our solar system are named after Roman gods, with the Earth being the only exception. Back then, when planets were being discovered, people associated them with the most important gods. Here is a list of all the planets that are named after gods.

1. Mercury

Mercury, the winged messenger, as seen on a 1949 Saint Lucia stamp.

Mercury was named after the Roman god of messengers. This deity was associated with communication, commerce, and escorting souls into the afterlife. This planet was called Mercury because of how fast it travels across the sky, a phenomenon that syncs with the purpose of the god of messengers. Mercury was the son of Jupiter and Maia. The symbology of this god is depicted with wings, a helmet, and shoes.

2. Venus

Venus is the only planet in our solar system named after a goddess. Out of all planets, Venus shines the brightest, and it’s associated with beauty. This is probably why it was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus. According to Roman mythology, Venus was Vulcan’s wife, and she was born when Saturn was castrated. In the Greek mythology, Venus is equated to the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

3. Earth

Earth is the only planet not named after a Roman or Greek god. However, it is sometimes referred to as Gaia, the Greek goddess of Earth. The name earth was coined from the Anglo-Saxon word “ertha “, meaning the ground.

Historians also believe that Earth may have been coined from the German phrase “erde”. Even though our planet has been around for thousands of years, the name Earth is believed only to be 1,000 years old. It is alleged that Earth was not named after a god because it was not perceived as a planet back then.

4. Mars

Mars was named after the god of war, mostly because of its red color, which is associated with blood that comes from physical battles. In Roman mythology, Mars is the second most important god after Jupiter and is the equivalent of Ares in Greek mythology.

Roman mythology is further enforced on Mars because this god rode on a chariot pulled by two horses, Deimos and Phobos, which are the names of the two moons found on the planet.

5. Jupiter

Being the biggest planet in the solar system, it makes sense why Jupiter was named after the Roman god of sky and thunder. In Roman mythology, Jupiter is the most powerful god. He is the equivalent of Zeus in Greek mythology.

6. Saturn

As is the case with Jupiter, Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system. Therefore, it had to be named after one of the most powerful gods of that time. Saturn was the Roman god of time and agriculture.

In Roman mythology, Saturn was the father of Jupiter. In the Greek version, Saturn was a god called Cronus who was overthrown by his son Zeus, referred to as Jupiter in Roman mythology. Saturn, on the other hand, had overthrown his father, Uranus.

7. Uranus

The most interesting fact about Uranus is that it’s the only planet called after a Greek god instead of a Roman. It was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel, and its initial name would have been Georgium Sidus or George’s Star.

William wanted to name it after King George III of England. However, this name was only used in England. A year later, Minerva was suggested as a better pick for the planet Uranus, but that also didn’t work.

It was Johann Elert Bode who proposed Uranus. According to Bode, Uranus would make more sense because he was the father of Cronos or, as it is popularly known, Saturn. It is believed that this confusion led to choosing a name from Greek mythology instead of the Roman. Otherwise, Uranus would have been known as Caelus. Be as it may, Uranus is named after the God of the Cosmos.

8. Neptune

Like Uranus, Neptune had many name suggestions when it was first discovered in 1846. One of the discoverers wanted to name it after himself, “Le Verrier”. But that name was turned down because the other planets had already created the concept of being named after Roman gods. Other suggestions put forward were Janus, the two-headed Roman god, and Oceanus. Finally, Neptune, the God of the sea, was settled on because the planet has a blue color that resembles the waters. Neptune is the Greek counterpart of Poseidon.

9. Pluto

Even though Pluto is no longer a planet, it’s worth adding to this list because it was named after a Roman god. When scientists discovered Pluto in 1930, this name was suggested by an 11-year-old girl. Pluto refers to Hades in Greek mythology, and he is the god of the underworld.