Naming planets

 

I have a couple more for you!

 

The Greek god of war was Ares, and his Roman counterpart was Mars. When the fourth planet was named, they chose the name Mars because of the red tinge (as in blood) to the planet. Ares/Mars had two sons, Phobos (which means fear) and Deimos (terror), and when the two small satellites of Mars were found, they were given the names Phobos and Deimos. So in the skies, war is always accompanied by fear and terror. Gee, it's kind of that way here, too, isn't it?

 

Phobos survives today as the psychology term phobia, which means fear or terror of. We all have our own phobias! And Mars was such an important god that an entire month was devoted to him, which gives us the month of March.

 

Athena is the Greek goddess of knowledge, as well as the arts of war and peace. The main city she was in charge of was Athenai, what we call Athens. This was the most learned and powerful city in ancient Greece, and is still the capital of Greece. Any city that considers itself to be a center of knowledge will sometimes be referred to as an Athens. And of course, there's Athens, Georgia, birthplace of the B-52's and REM!

 

Another beautiful day, and I'm soon off to read outside. I should be able to finish this book today and get a few other bits of trivia for you. I guess what I find fun about this is how many things you find that hearken back to these various names. Even something as common as the month of March!

 

I talked to my Mom this morning, and we'll be going down there tomorrow afternoon for a visit. Always a nice time, and of course, Mom always feeds us! I'm glad it worked out that we got to see them, because in less than a week, we're off for (hopefully) sunny California! I really haven't even thought about what to take yet--mostly casual stuff, but I wonder if I should take a summery dress? Hm.

 

Hope you're all enjoying your day!

 

 

Tags: Ares, Mars, Phobos, Deimos, Athena, Athens