StarKid

Hello All!

Well first and foremost, I must say that I have a confession. I…am a Classics major. I know, I know, what on Earth is a Classics major doing blogging about space and the universe? Well, kind souls, let me tell you.

So many ideas can be derived concerning the connection between the Ancient Greeks/Romans and the stars and universe we study and observe today. This post, just to start off, will explain one of the many instances where Greek culture has had a direct influence on the study of stars.

Take the following names, for example;

Mercury

Venus

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Vulcan

Apollo

Pluto ( I know, I just couldn’t bear to leave it out)

Each one of these name directly corresponds to a Greek God or Goddess, taken right from Greek culture. In fact, all of these are the names that were adopted by the Romans to name their own Gods and Goddesses, each with nearly the exact same attributes as the Greek Gods. Don’t believe me? Well how about this- The following are symbols commonly associated with planets within our solar system. Watch:

- Mercury. This Roman God was modeled after the Greek God Hermes, God of travellers and thieves; the messenger of the Gods. In this symbol we can see the wings from Hermes’ winged helm, which (along with his feathered sandals) enable him to fly.

    - Venus. Modeled after the Greek Goddess of love and vanity, Aphrodite. This symbol shows her hand mirror she used to admire her own reflection.

   - Mars. The God of war and destruction. Ares, his Greek equivalent, is represented here with his shield and spear with which he would fight in battle.

    - Jupiter. The King of the Gods, Zeus, is depicted here with his lightning bolt; a great symbol of his power in the classical period.

    - Neptune. Modeled after the great god of the sea, Poseidon, symbolically represented here by his trident- his symbol of power.

So you see? Even as a lowly Classics major, my subject still has a monumental influence on our modern depiction of the universe. In subsequent blogs, it will inevitably become more and more ‘science-y’, yet I refuse to forget my roots as a student of the ancient world. When surrounded by so many new and impossibly fantastic discoveries about our expanding universe, it helps to remember the humble roots of our quest for knowledge.

-StarKid