# Romans And Planets **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047 "2003-07-22T00:27:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/1 "2003-07-22T00:27:53Z")
We name the solar system’s major planets after Roman gods, Mars, Jupiter, etc, but what did the Romans call the planets? Did they call them the same? If so, did they actually believe that the planet Mars actually IS the god Mars, or did they just name them after the gods? ---
**Author:** ![Brad\_Amundsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dbc845/32.png) [@Brad\_Amundsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brad_Amundsen)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/2 "2003-07-22T00:42:15Z")
I think this site will answer your question… [http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=372](http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=372) ---
**Author:** ![Pelleas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e8c25b/32.png) [@Pelleas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pelleas)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/3 "2003-07-22T00:50:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brad Amundsen \* > \*\*I think this site will answer your question… > [http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=372](http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=372) \*\* The site didn’t work for me. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/4 "2003-07-22T01:21:52Z")
It worked for me. > [@](#): > > The five planets easily visible with the unaided eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) have been observed for all human history as far as we can tell, and they were called different things by different cultures. The Romans named these planets according to their movements and appearence. For example, Venus, the planet that appears the brightest, was named after the Roman goddess of beauty, while the reddish Mars was named after the god of war. These Roman names were adopted by European languages and culture and became standard in science. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/5 "2003-07-22T01:35:04Z")
That answers half my question. But did they actually think that the planet Venus is the goddess Venus? Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Phnord\_Prephect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Phnord\_Prephect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phnord_Prephect)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/6 "2003-07-22T02:46:07Z")
Yes, they did. At least this is my understanding. Mercury, the planet, moves relatively quickly around the sky. For this reason, they decided that point of light must be the messenger god. I mean, look at him, rushing about back and forth up there between the other gods, it’s obvious he’s got wings on his sandals. Remember, people were incredibly ignorant back then compared to us. Today we know the difference between stars (balls of ‘burning’ hydrogen) planets (balls of rock or non-burning gasses) and gods (Bullshit). They didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/7 "2003-07-22T08:09:54Z")
Guessing here, but I reckon they didn’t actually think the planets were the gods themselves. The Gods lived up on Mount Olympus (some of the time) and they sure as shit knew where that was. I think the planets were just called after them, because of the Brighness, Redness et cetera… ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/8 "2003-07-22T08:11:21Z")
Sorry, just to elaborate, I’m talking about the Greeks here, but the Romans just borrowed and translated all these names from the Greeks so essentially it’s the same thing… ---
**Author:** ![parlo\_americano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b19c9b/32.png) [@parlo\_americano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parlo_americano)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romans-and-planets/190047/9 "2003-07-22T08:21:18Z")
From what I read they believed it was the planet ruled by the god. Look at the ocean they called it an ocean but it was ruled by Poseidon/Neptune. Also think about all the statues and pictures of the gods, they pictured them in human form for these purposes. Unless you think Venus de milo has no arms because someone was trying to make her more round like a planet. In mythology the gods could take on different forms or bestow different forms. Zeus did both those things often. So, I think the people back then could have thought that the gods were also the planet at times but I believe that human form was their assumed primary form.