INFLUENCES ON ASTRONOMY

Planets of the Milky Way and Their Features

Aphrodite Terra n
[Gk Aphrodite Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, counterpart to the Romans'
Venus] : a highland area along Venus' equator, about the size of South America

Cerberus n
[L Cerberus, fr. Gk Kerberos, the three-headed dog guarding the gate of Hades] : a
large dark spot on the surface of the planet Mars

Jupiter n
[L Juppiter Jupiter, the chief and most powerful Roman god, husband of Juno] : the
largest of the planets and the fifth from the sun

Mars n
[ME, fr. OF, fr. L martius, Fr. martius of Mars, fr. Mart-, Mars Roman god of war] : the
planet forth in order from the sun and conspicuous for its red color

Mercury n
[L Mercurius Mercury, Roman god of merchandise, trade, and theft] : the planet
nearest the sun

Neptune n
[L Neptunus Neptune, the Roman god of the sea] : the planet 8th from the sun
Olympus Mons n
[L Olympus, fr. Gk Olympos, the mythical home to the gods and godesses] : the
largest volcano on Mars

Pluto n
[Pluton-, Pluto, fr. Gk Plouton Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld] : the planet
farthest from the sun

Rhea Mons n
[L, fr. Gk Rhea Rhea, the daughter of Uranus and Gaea, wife of Cronus, and mother
of Zeus, Poseidon, and others] : a large volcanic mountain on Venus

Saturn n
[L Saturnus Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and father of Jupiter] : the 6th
planet from the sun

Theia Mons n
[Gk Theia Theia, mother of Helios and Eos] : a volcano on the planet Venus

Uranus n
[LL, fr. Gk Ouranos Uranus, the Greek personification of the sky and father of the
Titans] : the 7th planet from the sun

Venus n
[L Venus Venus, the Roman goddess of love] : the planet second from the sun
Constellations

Andromeda n
[L, fr. Gk Andromede, the wife of Perseus] : a northern constellation between
Perseus and Pegasus

Argo n
[Gk, the ship in which Jason and the Argonauts sailed in quest of the Golden
Fleece] : a large southern constellation, now divided into four separate constellations

Cassiopeia n
[L, fr. Gk Kassiopeia, the wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda] : a northern
constellation between Cepheus and Perseus

Cygnus n
a N constellation in the Milky Way near Lyra; also called the Northern Cross, the
Swan

Hercules n
a large N constellation between Ophiuchus and Draco

Hydra n
[L, fr. Gk hydra water serpent, a water serpent in classical mythology with nine
heads, each of which, if cut off, would grow back as two] : the Sea Serpent, a large
southern constellation

Lupus n
[L lupus, fr. Gk lykos wolf; assoc. with Lycaeon, who was turned into a wolf] : a S
constellation near the Milky Way, located between Centaurus and Scorpius

Orion n
[L, fr. Gk Orion, a giant hunter slain by Artemis in Greek mythology] : a constellation
on the equator represented on charts by the figure of a hunter with a belt and sword

Pegasus n
[L, fr. Gk Pegasos a winged horse that causes the stream Hippocrene to spring from
Mount Hellison with a blow of his hoof] : a northern constellation near the vernal
equinoctial point

Perseus n
[L, fr. Gk Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae and slayer of Medusa] : a northern
constellation between Taurus and Cassiopeia

Unicorn n
[ME unicorne, fr. LL unicorn(is) one-horned, fr. L uni- one + cornu horn, a mythical
creature resembling a horse, bearing a single horn on its forehead: often symbolic of
chastity and purity] : the constellation Monoceros, south of Gemini and west of Orion
Stars and Satellites

Adrastea n
[L, a daughter of Melisseus entrusted by Rhea with the rearing of the infant Zeus] : a
satellite of Jupiter

Alcyone n
[L, fr. Gk Alkyone] : the brightest star in the Pleiades

Amalthea n
[L, a nymph who brought up the infant Zeus on the milk of a goat; in some versions
she is a goat rather than a nymph] : a satellite of Jupiter

Arcturus n
[L, fr. Gk Arktouros, lit., bear watcher, fr. Arcas, son of Callisto who is turned into a
bear like his mother to prevent him from killing her] : a giant fixed star of the first
magnitude in Bootes

Atlas n
[L Atlant-, Atlas, fr. Gk, after the strongest god, Atlas, who was punished for his part
in the revolt against the Olympians by being forced to hold the world on his shoulders
for eternity] : the innermost moon of Saturn

Callisto n
[a nymph attendant of Artemis, punished for a love affair with Zeus by being changed
into a bear and slain by Artemis] : one of the moons of Jupiter

Calypso n
[L, a nymph who detained Odysseus on Ogygia for seven years] : a satellite of
Saturn

Carme n
[fr. Gk, the mother, by Zeus, of Britomartis] : a satellite of Jupiter

Cassiopeia's Chair n
[L, fr. Gk Kassiopeia, the wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda] : the most
conspicuous group of stars in the constellation of Cassiopeia, resembling the outline
of a chair

Cepheid n
[ISV, fr. L Cepheus, Princess Andromeda's father] : any of a class of pulsating stars
whose very regular light variations are related directly to their intrinsic luminosities
and whose apparent luminosities are used to estimate distances in astronomy

Charon n
[Gk, the ferryman who conveyed the souls of the dead across the river Styx in
classical mythology] : satellite of the planet Pluto

Deimos n
[fr. Gk Deimos, son of Ares and brother of Phobus] : one of two satellites of Mars
Dione n
[Gk, a Titanesse and consort of Zeus, sometimes believed to be mother of Aphrodite;
later replaced as consort by Hera] : one of the satellites of Saturn

Elara n
[L, the mother of Tityus in classical mythology] : a satellite of Jupiter

Enceladus n
[L Enceladus, a giant thought to lie buried under Mount Etna after warring with the
gods and being struck down with a great stone flung at him by Athena] : a satellite of
Saturn

Epimetheus n
[L, a son of Iapetus and brother of Prometheus and Atlas; the husband of Pandora
and father of Pyrrha] : a satellite of Saturn

Europa n
[L, a sister of Cadmus who was abducted by Zeus in the form of a bull and taken to
Crete, where she bore him Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Sarpedon] : one of the moons
of Jupiter

Galatea n
[fr. Gk, a sea nymph courted in vain by Polyphemus, who killed her sweetheart Acis
in jealousy] : a moon of the planet Neptune

Ganymede n
[L Ganymedes, fr. Gk Ganymedes Ganymede, a beautiful youth carried off to
Olympus to be the cupbearer of the gods in classical mythology] : the largest of
Jupiter's moons

Hesperus n
[ME, fr. L, fr. Gk Hesperos, god of evening] : the evening star

Hyperion n
[fr. L, fr. Gk Hyperion, a Titan, the father of Helios, Selene, and Eos] : one of the
moons of Saturn

Iapetus n
[fr. L, fr. Gk, a Titan, son of Uranus and Gaea and father of Atlas, Epimetheus, and
Prometheus] : one of the many satellites of Saturn

Io n
[L Io, a maiden loved by Zeus and changed into a heifer so that she might escape
Hera's wrath] : one of the moons of the planet Jupiter

Janus n
[L Janus, Roman god of beginnings who is represented artistically with two opposite
faces] : a moon of Saturn
Juno n
[L Juno, the sister and wife of Jupiter] : the fourth largest and one of the four brightest
asteroids in the solar system

Leda n
[fr. L, the mother of Castor and Clytemnestra by her husband Tyndareus, and of
Pollux and Helen by Zeus, who was wearing the form of a swan] : a satellite of the
planet Jupiter

Metis n
[L, a Titanesse, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and the mother of Athena by
Zeus] : one of the moons of Jupiter

Mimas n
[Gk, one of the Gigantes, killed by Hercules] : one of the satellites of Saturn

Naiad n
[ME, fr. L naiad-, naias, fr. Gk, nymphs of classical mythology living in and giving life
to bodies of water] : a moon of Neptune

Pandora n
[fr. L, fr. Gk: lit. all-gifted, the first woman, created by Hephaestus, given
treacherously to Epimetheus along with a box in which Prometheus had confined all
the evils of the world; as expected, Pandora curiously opened the forbidden box and
thus released into the world all troubles of mankind] : a satellite of the planet Saturn

Pasiphae n
[fr. Gk, the wife of Minos, mother of Ariadne, and mother of the Minotaur by the
Cretan bull] : one of the many moons of Jupiter

Perseid n
[L Perseus; fr. their appearing to radiate from a point in Perseus] : any of a group of
meteors that appear annually about August 11

Phobos n
[fr. L Phobus, a son and attendant of Ares in Roman mythology] : one of two
satellites of Mars

Phoebe n
[L, fr. Gk Phoibe, Artemis] 1 : one of the nine satellites of Saturn 2 : the moon
personified, in literature

Phoebus n
[L, fr. Gk Phoibus, Apollo] Literary : the sun

Pleiades n
[fr. F Pleiade, fr. L, fr. Gk Pleiad-, Pleias, fr. sing. of Pleiades, the seven daughters of
Atlas turned into a group of stars in Greek mythology] : a conspicuous cluster of stars
in the constellation Taurus that includes six stars in the form of a very small dipper
Prometheus n
[NL, fem. of L Prometheus Prometheus, a Titan who is chained and tortured by Zeus
for stealing fire from Heaven and giving it to mankind] : a satellite of the planet Saturn

Proteus n
[NL, fr. L Proteus, fr. Gk Proteus Proteus, a sea god in Greek mythology noted for his
ability to assume different forms and to prophesy] : a satellite of Neptune

Rhea n
[L Rhea, mother of Zeus, fr. Gk] : one of the nine satellites of Saturn

Tethys n
[L, a Titanesse, daughter of Uranus and Gaea, the wife of Oceanus and mother of
the Oceanids and river gods] : a moon of Saturn

Thalassa n
[fr. Gk thalass(a) sea, the personification of the sea in classical mythology] : a
satellite of Neptune

Thebe n
[L, a daughter of Asopus and Metope who was abducted by Zeus] : a satellite of the
planet Jupiter

Titan n
[fr. L, fr. Gk Titan, any of a family of giants born of Uranus and Gaea and ruling the
earth until overthrown by the Olympian gods] : a moon of Saturn once thought to be
the largest in the solar system

Triton n
[L, fr. Gk Triton, a son of the sea god Neptune and Amphitrite, represented as having
the head and trunk of a man and the tail of a fish, and as using a conch shell as a
trumpet] : the largest satellite of Neptune

Vesta n
[Vesta Vesta, Roman goddess of the hearth, worshipped in a temple containing an
altar on which a sacred fire was kept burning by vestal virgins, akin to the Greek
Hestia] : the third largest and one of the four brightest asteroids in the solar system

INFLUENCES ON THE CALENDARS

Months of the Year

April n
[ME April, Averil, Aperil, fr. L Aprilis, perh. fr. Gk Aphro, short for Aphrodite] : the
fourth month of the Gregorian calendar

January n
[ME Januarie, fr. L Januarius, 1st month of Roman year, fr. Janus the two-faced god
of beginnings] : the first month of our calendar year

March n
[ME, fr. OF, fr. L martius of Mars, fr. Mars the Roman war god] : the third month of
our calendar year

May n
[ME, fr. OE & L; OF mai, fr. L Maius, fr. Maia Maia, mother of Hermes] : the fifth
month of our calendar year
Days of the Week
Friday n
[ME, fr. OE frigedaeg, fr. (assumed) Frig Frigga + daeg day, prehistoric trans. of L
dies Veneris Venus' day] : the sixth day of the week, following Thursday

Saturday n
[fr. L Saturnus Saturn, ancient Roman god of agriculture and father of Jupiter] : the
seventh day of the week, following Friday

Thursday n
[ME; OE Thursdaeg, fr. ODan Thursdagr, lit. Thor's day, fr. D donderdag, fr. G
Donnerstag; trans. of LL dies Jovis Jove's day] : the fifth day of the week, following
Wednesday

Tuesday n
[ME tewesday, OE tiwesdaeg, orig., phrase Tiwes daeg Tiw's day, translating L dies
Martis day of Mars] : the third day of the week, following Monday

Wednesday n
[ME Wednesdai, OE Wednesdaeg, mutated var. of Wodnesdaeg Woden's day;
cognate of D Woensdag, Dan onsdag; trans. of L Mercurii dies day of Mercury] : the
fourth day of the week, following Tuesday

Times of the Day

Halcyon Days n
[fr. Gk Alkyone, corres. to the fourteen windless days in the legend] : the seven days
before and after the winter solstice

night n
[ME, fr. OE niht, L noct-, nox, Gk nykt-, nyx night; assoc. with the Greek god of night,
Nyx] : the time from dusk til dawn when no sun is visible
vesper n
[late ME, fr. L evening (star), esp. Hesper, fr. Hesperos, Greek god of evening] :
eveningtide

INFLUENCES ON THE PROPER NAMES

April : the fourth month, named from an abbreviation for Aphrodite

Cassandra : a daughter of Priam endowed with the gift of prophecy but fated never to
be believed

Clio : the Greek Muse of history

Cynthia : an epithet of Artemis, so called for her birth on Mount Cynthus

Daphne : a nymph in Greek mythology who was transformed into a laurel tree to
escape the pursuing Apollo

Diana : the Roman goddess of the moon and hunting, the protectress of women

Elissa : the Phoenician name of Dido, a mythological queen of Carthage who killed
herself when abandoned by Aeneas

Hector : a bullish Trojan champion slain by Achilles

Helen : the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda and wife of Menelaus whose
kidnapping by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War

Irene : the personification of peace in classical mythology

Iris : a messenger of the gods, regarded as the goddess of the rainbow

Leda : the mother of Castor and Clytemnestra by her husband Tyndareus, and of
Pollux and Helen by Zeus, who was wearing the form of a swan

May : the Roman goddess of growth and increase and the mother of Hermes

Melissa : the sister of Amalthea who nourished the infant Zeus with honey in Greek
mythology

Niobe : she provoked Apollo and Artemis to vengeance for taunting their mother,
Leto, with the number and beauty of her own children; her children were slain and
she was turned into stone by Zeus, in which form she continued to weep over her
loss

Penelope : in classical mythology, the wife of Odysseus who remained faithful to him
throughout his absence at Troy, despite having many suitors

Phoebe : a Titanesse, daughter of Uranus and Gaea and mother of Leto, later
identified with the goddess Artemis

Rhea : the mother of Zeus

Selena : the goddess of the moon who loved Endymion

Sibyl : the prophetess at Apollo's oracle on Delphi

INFLUENCES ON THE POPULAR CULTURE

Achilles' heel : a vulnerable point

[fr. L, fr. Gk Achilleus Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior at Troy, slayer of Hector]

Argus-eyed : vigilantly observant

[L, fr. Gk Argos, a hundred-eyed monster of Greek mythology]

Augean stable : a condition or place marked by great accumulation of filth or

corruption
[L Augeas, king of Elis, fr. Gk Augeias; fr. the legend that his stable, left neglected for
30 years, was finally cleaned by Hercules]

By Jove! : an interjection often used to express surprise or agreement

[fr. L Jov-, Juppiter Jupiter, the Roman equivalent to Zeus, ruler of the Olympian
gods]

Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis : trapped between two equally unpleasant
choices, i.e. caught between a rock and a hard place
[fr. the names of the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, who were situated in the Strait
of Messina to trap sailors between them]

Delphic utterance : a comment or response to a question that is ambiguous and

therefore difficult to understand
[fr. Delphi, the site of the oracle of Apollo]
Herculean effort : an task of great intensity or difficulty
[fr. Gk Herakles Hercules, a hero renowned for his strength and for performing the 12
tasks set before him by Hera]

Janus-faced : duplicitous, two-faced

[fr. Janus Roman god of beginnings who is represented artistically with two opposite
faces]

Midas touch : an uncanny ability for making money in every venture

[L, fr. Gk legend of the Phrygian king Midas who is given the power to turn everything
he touched into gold]

Olympian feat : a lofty task, as one befitting the immortals

[fr. Gk Olympos, the mountain in Greek mythology that is the home of the gods]

Pandora's box : a prolific source of troubles

[fr. the myth surrounding the box sent by the gods to Pandora]

procrustean bed : a scheme or pattern into which someone or something is arbitrarily

forced
[L, fr. Gk Prokroustes Procrustes, a villainous son of Poseidon in Greek mythology
who forces travelers to fit into his bed by stretching their bodies or cutting off their
legs]

siren song : an alluring utterance or appeal, especially one that is seductive or

deceptive
[ME sereyn, fr. OF sereine, fr. L Siren, fr. Gk Serein Siren, one of several
mythological Greek sea nymphs, part woman and part bird, supposed to lure sailors
to their destruction by their seductive singing]

Struck by Cupid's arrow : smitten, in love

[L Cupido, the Roman god of erotic love]

Thyestean banquet : a dinner at which human flesh is eaten

[fr. Thyestes Thyestes, who was, in classical mythology, the brother and rival of
Atreus; he unknowingly ate the flesh of his own sons which Atreus fed to him as
punishment for committing adultery with the wife of Atreus]

To climb Parnassus : to create fine art, especially to compose poetry

[fr. Gk Parnasos Parnassus, a mountain in Greece sacred to Apollo and the Muses]

Television and Movies

Clash of the Titans: A movie describing the adventures of Perseus as he crosses

paths with Medusa, Pegasus, the Kracken, and an array of Greek gods and
goddesses
Xanadu: The Nine Muses of Greek mythology are alluded to in this movie about a
struggling young artist.

Hercules and Xena: These two popular television shows bring a different myth to life
every week, sometimes relying on classics, and other times creating new tales.

Wonder Woman: A favorite in the 70s, this television show spotlighted the heroism of
the Amazon goddess Diana in the mortal world while illustrating her amazing super-
powers.

Star Trek: This incredibly successful science fiction TV drama took a ship full of
adventurers through harrowing adventures weekly, all the while cleverly inserting into
the story lines ancient mythological allusions.

Literature

The Incarnations of Immortality Series, Piers Anthony.

A brilliant anthology of Fantasy books personifying the Immortal Powers of Death,
Time, War, Fate, Mother Nature, God, and Satan.

The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle.

Tells a tale of the last living unicorn and her quest to keep hope alive in the world.

Mother Love, Rita Dove.

A collection of poems telling in various ways the myth of Persephone and Demeter.

The Heralds of Valdemar Series, Mercedes Lackey.

A wide array of books portraying various mythological creatures, such as gryphons
and salamanders.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams.

This play contains several allusions to mythology, such as the poor neighborhood in
which the story unfolds ironically being called Elysian Fields.

Pygmalion, G.B. Shaw.

This play tells the story of a misogynistic sculptor who creates his perfect woman and
prays to Aphrodite for the statue to be brought to life. The musical My Fair Lady is
loosely based on this play.

Brand Names

Ajax trademark
[Gk, a hero in the Trojan War who rescued the body of Achilles] : a brand of cleaner

Argonaut trademark
[L Argonautes, fr. Gk Argonautes, fr. Argo, ship in which the Argonauts sailed +
nautes sailor] : a computer software company
Aurora trademark
[L, dawn or the Roman goddess of dawn] : a make of automobile

Hyperion trademark
[fr. L, fr. Gk Hyperion, a Titan, the father of Helios, Selene, and Eos] : a book
publishing company

Janus trademark
[fr. Janus Roman god of beginnings who is represented artistically with two opposite
faces] : a brand name of watch

Mars trademark
[fr. Mart-, Mars Roman god of war] : a brand of candy bar

Mercury trademark
[L Mercurius Mercury, Roman god of merchandise, trade, and theft] 1 : a record
production label 2 : a make of automobile

Nike trademark
[Gk Nike Goddess of victory] : a brand of athletic shoe

Olympus trademark
[L, fr. Gk Olympos, a mountain in Thessaly that in Greek mythology is the abode of
the gods] : a photographic technology company

Orion trademark
[L, fr. Gk Orion, a giant hunter slain by Artemis in Greek mythology] : a motion picture
production company

Phoenix trademark
[L, fr. Gk phoinix a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to rise from its own ashes in
the freshness of youth] : a photographic technology company

Saturn trademark
[L Saturnus Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and father of Jupiter] : a make of
automobile

Song Lyrics

"You consider me the young apprentice Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis..."
--The Police, "Wrapped Around Your Finger"
(Refers to the monsters in Greek mythology by which sailors had to pass; the phrase
has come to mean being between two equally perilous alternatives, neither of which
can be passed without encountering the other, i.e. between a rock and a hard place)

"And I know now how it feels To be weakened like Achilles

With you always at my heels."
(Mentions the hero Achilles, who was killed by being cut on the only vulnerable spot
on his body: his heel)
"Now I see your face before me. I would launch a thousand ships
To bring your heart back to my island."
--Indigo Girls, "Ghost"
(Alluding to Helen of Troy, who is said to have been so beautiful that her abduction
was the cause of the Trojan War, i.e. the launch of a thousand ships)

"You can roll that stone To the top of the hill

Drag your ball and chain
Behind you."
--Rush, "Carve Away the Stone"
(Referring to the fate of Sisyphus, a legendary king of Corinth condemned eternally
to repeat the cycle of rolling a heavy rock up a hill in Hades each day only to have it
roll down again as it nears the top)

"If we burn our wings Flying too close to the sun..."

--Rush, "Bravado"
(Alluding to the fate of Daedalus, the legendary builder of Cretan labyrinth who
makes wings to enable himself and his son Icarus to escape from imprisonment, only
to have the wax of the wings melt as the child flies too close to the sun)

"Oh, I will dine on honey dew And drink the milk of Paradise."
--Rush, "Xanadu"
(Refers to nectar and ambrosia, the food and drink of the immortal souls in Elysia)

"...I watched him struggle with the sea I knew that he was drowning
And I brought him into me..."
--Suzanne Vega, "Calypso"
(This song tells the tale of the sea nymph Calypso in The Odyssey who keeps
Odysseus on the island of Ogygia)

"You can hear the siren screaming Take me to the promised land."
--Yes, "State of Play"

"The x-ray is her siren song My ship cannot resist her long."
--Rush, "Cygnus X-1"

"Like a siren she calls (to me)." --U2, "In God's Country"
(Each of these songs describe the song of the sirens, mythological Greek sea
nymphs, part woman and part bird, supposed to lure sailors to their destruction by
their seductive singing)

"He's the king of the ninth world In each and every lobster cage
A tortured human soul..."
--Sting, "The Soul Cages"
(Alludes to the Ninth Ring of the Underworld, which is eternally reserved for the most
evil and hopeless souls)

"Rise from the ashes-- A blaze of everyday glory..."

--Rush, "Everyday Glory"
(Refers to the rebirth of the phoenix, who burns himself on a pyre to rise once more,
in the freshness of youth)