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You are here: Home / Space / How Did the Planet Venus Get Its Name and What Does Venus Mean In Latin?

How Did the Planet Venus Get Its Name and What Does Venus Mean In Latin?

July 30, 2020 by Karen Hill

The Romans who derived their religious pantheon from the Greek tradition, named the planet Venus after their goddess of love.

On Venus, all topographical features except one are named for women, Venus being a goddess of womanhood.

For instance, the main craters include Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), the prima ballerina of her lifetime; Sacajewea (c. 1789-1812), the Shoshone tribeswoman who explored the West with Lewis and Clark; and Sappho (fl. 610-580 B.C.), the greatest female poet in ancient Greece.

Some regions carry other names for Venus: the Greek Aphrodite, the Syrian and Palestinian Ishtar, and Venus in her role as creator, Thetis.

The only feature not named for a woman is the Maxwell mountain range, after the Scottish mathematician James Clerk Maxwell.

Why? The mountains were named before it was decided to use only women’s names.

Related Facts

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  • What Is the Best Way To Observe the Planet Venus and Why Is Venus the Brightest Planet In the Sky?
  • How Hot Is the Planet Venus and Why Is Venus Known As the Hottest Planet In the Solar System?
  • What Probes Did the USSR Send To Venus and When Did Venera 7 Transmit Surface Images of the Planet Venus?
  • Why Does the Planet Venus Shine So Brightly In the Sky and How Much Sunlight Does Venus Reflect?
  • Why Does the Planet Venus Have Phases Like Mercury and Why Does Venus Sometimes Appear As a Crescent?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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