Planets and Greek mythology

Home » Planets and Greek mythology

Greek Mythology Planets

Currently we have 8 planets in our universe (Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet), all named after gods. They are:

1. Mercury – Roman name for Hermes
2. Venus – Roman name for Aphrodite
3. Earth – Closely associated with Roman Terra Mater (Gaia to Greeks which is why Gi is Earth in Greek)
4. Mars – Roman name for Ares
   • Moons of Mars:
     • Deimos – Greek god terror
     • Phobos – Greek god of fear
5. Jupiter – Roman name for Zeus
   • 79 moons mostly named after lovers or daughters of Zeus
6. Saturn – Roman name for Cronus
   • 82 moons mostly named from Greek myths
7. Uranus – The only planet that actually kept its original Greek name
8. Neptune – Roman name for Poseidon
   • 14 moons named from Greek myths

If you want to learn more about space, astronomy, constellations and more, these books are recommended (or scroll on down to learn about dwarf-planets):

The dwarf planets (introduced in 2006) are mostly named after gods. They are:

1. Ceres – Roman name for Demeter
2. Eris – Greek goddess of discord
   • Moon Dysomnia was daughter of Eris in Greek myth
3. Haumea – Hawaian mythology
4. Makemake – Easter island mythology
5. Pluto – Roman name for Hades
   • The moons of Pluto:
     1. Charon – Centaur from Greek mythology
     2. Nix – Greek goddess of the night
     3. Hydra – Greek mythological monster
     4. Styx – River to the Greek underworld
     5. Kerberos – 3-headed guard dog of Hades

More on rules for naming planets by International Astronomical Union.

We have a blog that deals with many topics related to mythology and we regularly discuss space travel. You can directly go to our Space Travel and Exploration blog category.