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A cool guide: Greek Mythology Family Tree (i.redd.it)
submitted 2 years ago by [B] to c/coolguides@lemmy.ca
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[–] 22 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

Ouranos is the Greek spelling. As far as the Greek god is concerned, that is the better name.

Uranus is the Latin spelling. Just like the other planets planets are named Mercury not Hermes, Mars not Ares, Jupiter not Zeus, astronomers looked to Latin not Greek for naming.

However the person that named Uranus fucked up because while Uranus is the Latin spelling of Ouranos, the Romans called the God Caelus. Rather than use the Roman name (again, like Neptune instead of Poseidon), the person who named it just used the transliteration not the actual nomenclature.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Caelus, now the word celeste ("from the sky" or "heavenly" in some languages) makes more sense

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    Yes of the pre-Olympian deities, a lot of them are quite literal and almost animist, in the sense that it is clear that the god is simultaneously a being but also a physical reality of the world. The sky, the earth, the ocean, night, day, darkness, light. And their children are concepts associated with their parents - to early civilised humans, the night creates strife, doom, death.

    Only in later "generations" does a truly distinct personhood emerge - eg Zeus is not lightning himself, but he can control it. It's hard not to wonder if the generations of gods seen differently represent actual waves of religious reform or absorption where family trees were made to fit the story rather than vice versa.

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