Editing Planet (section)

=== Classical planets ===
The names for the planets of the [[Solar System]] (other than [[Earth]]) in the [[English language]] are derived from naming practices developed consecutively by the [[Babylonians]], [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], and [[Roman people|Romans]] of [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]]. The practice of grafting the names of gods onto the planets was almost certainly borrowed from the Babylonians by the ancient Greeks, and thereafter from the Greeks by the Romans. The Babylonians named Venus after the [[Sumer]]ian goddess of love with the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] name [[Ishtar]]; Mars after their god of war, [[Nergal]]; Mercury after their god of wisdom [[Nabu]];  Jupiter after their chief god, [[Marduk]]; and Saturn after their god of farming, [[Ninurta]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Huxley |first=Margaret |date=2000 |title=The Gates and Guardians in Sennacherib's Addition to the Temple of Assur |journal=Iraq |volume=62 |pages=109–137 |doi=10.2307/4200484 |jstor=4200484 |s2cid=191393468 |issn=0021-0889}}</ref> There are too many concordances between Greek and Babylonian naming conventions for them to have arisen separately.<ref name=practice/> Given the differences in mythology, the correspondence was not perfect. For instance, the Babylonian Nergal was a god of war, and thus the Greeks identified him with Ares. Unlike Ares, Nergal was also a god of pestilence and ruler of the underworld.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wiggermann|first=Frans A. M.|chapter=Nergal A. Philological|title=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|chapter-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8358|year=1998|publisher=Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities|access-date=12 July 2022|archive-date=6 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606083853/http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8358|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Koch |first=Ulla Susanne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8QiwAqGlmAQC |title=Mesopotamian Astrology: An Introduction to Babylonian and Assyrian Celestial Divination |date=1995 |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |isbn=978-87-7289-287-0 |pages=128–129 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cecilia |first=Ludovica |date=6 November 2019 |title=A Late Composition Dedicated to Nergal |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/aofo-2019-0014/html |journal=Altorientalische Forschungen |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=204–213 |doi=10.1515/aofo-2019-0014 |hdl=1871.1/f23ff882-1539-4906-bc08-049906f8d505 |s2cid=208269607 |issn=2196-6761 |hdl-access=free |access-date=12 July 2022 |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322014922/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/aofo-2019-0014/html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In ancient Greece, the two great luminaries, the Sun and the Moon, were called ''[[Helios]]'' and ''[[Selene]]'', two ancient [[Titan (mythology)|Titanic]] deities; the slowest planet, Saturn, was called ''[[Phaenon|Phainon]]'', the shiner; followed by ''[[Phaethon]]'', Jupiter, "bright"; the red planet, Mars was known as ''[[Pyroeis]]'', the "fiery"; the brightest, Venus, was known as ''[[Phosphorus (morning star)|Phosphoros]]'', the light bringer; and the fleeting final planet, Mercury, was called ''[[Stilbon (mythology)|Stilbon]]'', the gleamer. The Greeks assigned each planet to one among their pantheon of gods, the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympians]] and the earlier Titans:<ref name=practice/>
* Helios and Selene were the names of both planets and gods, both of them Titans (later supplanted by Olympians [[Apollo]] and [[Artemis]]);
* Phainon was sacred to [[Cronus]], the Titan who fathered the Olympians, associated with the harvest;
* Phaethon was sacred to [[Zeus]], Cronus's son who deposed him as king;
* Pyroeis was given to [[Ares]], son of Zeus and god of war;
* Phosphoros was ruled by [[Aphrodite]], the goddess of love; and
* Stilbon with its speedy motion, was ruled over by [[Hermes]], messenger of the gods and god of learning and wit.<ref name="practice">
{{cite book
 |first=James |last=Evans
 |year=1998
 |title=The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy
 |pages=296–297
 |publisher=Oxford University Press
 |isbn=978-0-19-509539-5
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nS51_7qbEWsC&pg=PA17
 |access-date=4 February 2008
}}
</ref>

[[File:Olympians.jpg|thumb|upright|The Greek gods of [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]], after whom the [[Solar System]]'s Roman names of the planets are derived]]

Although modern Greeks still use their ancient names for the planets, other European languages, because of the influence of the [[Roman Empire]] and, later, the [[Catholic Church]], use the Roman (Latin) names rather than the Greek ones. The Romans inherited [[Proto-Indo-European mythology]] as the Greeks did and shared with them a [[Roman mythology|common pantheon]] under different names, but the Romans lacked the rich narrative traditions that Greek poetic culture had given [[Greek mythology|their gods]]. During the later period of the [[Roman Republic]], Roman writers borrowed much of the Greek narratives and applied them to their own pantheon, to the point where they became virtually indistinguishable.<ref>Rengel,&nbsp;Marian;&nbsp;Daly,&nbsp;Kathleen&nbsp;N.&nbsp;(2009).&nbsp;''[https://books.google.com/books?id=c7cNB-JaZA8C&q=%22Hellenization%20refers%22 Greek and Roman Mythology, A to Z] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229103416/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Greek_and_Roman_Mythology_A_to_Z/c7cNB-JaZA8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Hellenization%20refers%22 |date=29 December 2022 }}''.&nbsp;United States:&nbsp;Facts On File, Incorporated. p. 66.</ref> When the Romans studied Greek astronomy, they gave the planets their own gods' names: ''[[Mercury (mythology)|Mercurius]]'' (for Hermes), ''[[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]'' (Aphrodite), ''[[Mars (mythology)|Mars]]'' (Ares), ''[[Jupiter (mythology)|Iuppiter]]'' (Zeus), and ''[[Saturn (mythology)|Saturnus]]'' (Cronus). However, there was not much agreement on which god a particular planet was associated with; according to [[Pliny the Elder]], while Phainon and Phaethon's associations with Saturn and Jupiter respectively were widely agreed upon, Pyroeis was also associated with the demi-god [[Hercules]], Stilbon was also associated with [[Apollo]], god of music, healing, and prophecy; Phosphoros was also associated with prominent goddesses [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] and [[Isis]].<ref name="DRGA Planetae">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0063%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DP%3Aentry+group%3D4%3Aentry%3Dplanetae-cn "Planetae"], in ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', pp. 922, 923.</ref> Some Romans, following a belief possibly originating in [[Mesopotamia]] but developed in [[Hellenistic Egypt]], believed that the seven gods after whom the planets were named took hourly shifts in looking after affairs on Earth. The order of shifts went Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon (from the farthest to the closest planet).<ref name="zerubavel">
{{cite book
 | first=Eviatar |last=Zerubavel
 |year=1989
 |title=The Seven Day Circle: The history and meaning of the week
 |page=14
 |publisher=University of Chicago Press
 |isbn=978-0-226-98165-9
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aGahKeojIUoC&pg=PA14
 |access-date=7 February 2008 }}
</ref> Therefore, the first day was started by Saturn (1st hour), second day by Sun (25th hour), followed by Moon (49th hour), Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. Because each day was named by the god that started it, this became the order of the [[Week-day names|days of the week]] in the [[Roman calendar]].<ref name="weekdays">
{{cite journal
 |last1=Falk    |first1=Michael
 |last2=Koresko |first2=Christopher
 |year=2004
 |title=Astronomical names for the days of the week
 |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada]]
 |volume=93 |pages=122–133
 |bibcode=1999JRASC..93..122F |doi=10.1016/j.newast.2003.07.002
 |arxiv=astro-ph/0307398 |s2cid=118954190
}}
</ref> In English, ''Saturday'', ''Sunday'', and ''Monday'' are straightforward translations of these Roman names. The other days were renamed after ''[[Týr|Tīw]]'' (Tuesday), ''[[Woden|Wōden]]'' (Wednesday), ''[[Thor|Þunor]]'' (Thursday), and ''[[Frige|Frīġ]]'' (Friday), the [[Anglo-Saxon gods]] considered similar or equivalent to Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Margaret Clunies |title=Explainer: the gods behind the days of the week |url=http://theconversation.com/explainer-the-gods-behind-the-days-of-the-week-87170 |access-date=13 May 2022 |website=The Conversation |date=January 2018 |language=en |archive-date=13 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513181134/https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-gods-behind-the-days-of-the-week-87170 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Earth's name in English is not derived from Greco-Roman mythology. Because it was only generally accepted as a planet in the 17th&nbsp;century,<ref name="galileo_project">{{cite web
 |last=Van Helden
 |first=Al
 |date=1995
 |title=Copernican System
 |department=The Galileo Project
 |publisher=[[Rice University]]
 |url=http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/theories/copernican_system.html
 |access-date=28 January 2008
|archive-date=19 July 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719043059/http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/theories/copernican_system.html
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> there is no tradition of naming it after a god. (The same is true, in English at least, of the Sun and the Moon, though they are no longer generally considered planets.) The name originates from the [[Old English]] word ''eorþe'', which was the word for "ground" and "dirt" as well as the world itself.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
 |title=earth
 |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary
 |url=https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/59023
 |access-date=7 May 2021
|archive-date=10 May 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510142438/https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/59023
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> As with its equivalents in the other [[Germanic languages]], it derives ultimately from the [[Proto-Germanic]] word ''erþō'', as can be seen in the English ''earth'', the German ''Erde'', the Dutch ''aarde'', and the Scandinavian ''jord''. Many of the [[Romance languages]] retain the old Roman word ''[[Terra (mythology)|terra]]'' (or some variation of it) that was used with the meaning of "dry land" as opposed to "sea".<ref>{{cite web
 |last=Harper
 |first=Douglas
 |date=September 2001
 |title=Etymology of "terrain"
 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary
 |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=terrain
 |access-date=30 January 2008
|archive-date=23 August 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823192155/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=terrain
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> The non-Romance languages use their own native words. The Greeks retain their original name, ''[[Gaia (mythology)|Γή]]'' ''(Ge)''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kambas |first=Michael |date=2004 |title=Greek-English, English-Greek Dictionary |location= |publisher=Hippocrene Books |page=259 |isbn=978-0781810029}}</ref>

Non-European cultures use other planetary-naming systems. [[India]] uses a system based on the [[Navagraha]], which incorporates the seven traditional planets and the ascending and descending [[lunar node]]s ''[[Rahu]]'' and [[Ketu (mythology)|''Ketu'']]. The planets are ''[[Surya]]'' 'Sun', ''[[Chandra]]'' 'Moon', ''[[Budha]]'' for Mercury, ''[[Shukra]]'' ('bright') for Venus, ''[[Mangala]]'' (the god of war) for Mars, ''[[Bṛhaspati|{{IAST|Bṛhaspati}}]]'' (councilor of the gods) for Jupiter, and ''[[Shani]]'' (symbolic of time) for Saturn.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Markel |first=Stephen Allen |date=1989 |title=The Origin and Early Development of the Nine Planetary Deities (Navagraha) |type=PhD |publisher=University of Michigan |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/b2b11d92cbfe7471459b34ddaa2fa18f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |access-date=11 August 2022 |archive-date=13 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513182636/https://www.proquest.com/openview/b2b11d92cbfe7471459b34ddaa2fa18f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |url-status=live }}</ref>

The native [[Persian language|Persian]] names of most of the planets are based on identifications of the Mesopotamian gods with Iranian gods, analogous to the Greek and Latin names. Mercury is ''Tir'' (Persian: {{lang|fa|تیر}}) for the western Iranian god Tīriya (patron of scribes), analogous to Nabu; Venus is ''Nāhid'' ({{lang|fa|ناهید}}) for [[Anahita]]; Mars is ''Bahrām'' ({{lang|fa|بهرام}}) for [[Verethragna]]; and Jupiter is ''Hormoz'' ({{lang|fa|هرمز}}) for [[Ahura Mazda]]. The Persian name for Saturn, ''Keyvān'' ({{lang|fa|کیوان}}), is a borrowing from [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''kajamānu'', meaning "the permanent, steady".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/planets |date=20 September 2016 |first=Antonio |last=Panaino |title=Planets |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=24 February 2023 |archive-date=24 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224004240/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/planets |url-status=live }}</ref>

China and the countries of eastern Asia historically subject to [[Sinosphere|Chinese cultural influence]] (such as [[Japan]], [[Korea]], and [[Vietnam]]) use a naming system based on the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five Chinese elements]]: [[Water (wuxing)|water]] (Mercury [[wikt:水|水]]星 "water star"), [[Metal (wuxing)|metal]] or gold (Venus [[wikt:金|金]]星 "gold star"), [[Fire (wuxing)|fire]] (Mars [[wikt:火|火]]星 "fire star"), [[Wood (wuxing)|wood]] (Jupiter [[wikt:木|木]]星 "wood star"), and [[Earth (wuxing)|earth]] or soil (Saturn [[wikt:土|土]]星 "soil star").<ref name="weekdays"/>

In traditional [[Hebrew astronomy]], the seven traditional planets have (for the most part) descriptive names—the Sun is חמה ''Ḥammah'' or "the hot one", the Moon is לבנה ''Levanah'' or "the white one", Venus is כוכב נוגה ''Kokhav Nogah'' or "the bright planet", Mercury is כוכב ''Kokhav'' or "the planet" (given its lack of distinguishing features), Mars is מאדים ''Ma'adim'' or "the red one", and Saturn is שבתאי ''Shabbatai'' or "the resting one" (in reference to its slow movement compared to the other visible planets).<ref name=Hebrew>
{{cite journal
 |last1=Stieglitz |first1=Robert
 |date=Apr 1981
 |title=The Hebrew names of the seven planets
 |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies
 |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=135–137
 |doi=10.1086/372867 |jstor=545038 |s2cid=162579411
}}
</ref> The odd one out is Jupiter, called צדק ''Tzedeq'' or "justice".<ref name=Hebrew/> These names, first attested in the [[Babylonian Talmud]], are not the original Hebrew names of the planets. In 377 [[Epiphanius of Salamis]] recorded another set of names that seem to have pagan or [[Canaanite religion|Canaanite]] associations: those names, since replaced for religious reasons, were probably the historical Semitic names, and may have much earlier roots going back to Babylonian astronomy.<ref name="Hebrew"/>  The etymologies for the Arabic names of the planets are less well understood. Mostly agreed among scholars are Venus (Arabic: {{lang|ar|الزهرة}}, ''az-Zuhara'', "the bright one"<ref>{{cite journal
 |first1=F.J.
 |last1=Ragep
 |first2=W.
 |last2=Hartner
 |date=24 April 2012
|title=Zuhara
 |journal=Encyclopaedia of Islam
 |edition=2nd
 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/zuhara-SIM_8195
 |via=referenceworks.brillonline.com
 |access-date=16 January 2019
|archive-date=9 July 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709220502/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/zuhara-SIM_8195
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref>), Earth ({{lang|ar|الأرض}}, ''al-ʾArḍ'', from the same root as [[wikt:ארץ|eretz]]), and Saturn ({{lang|ar|زُحَل}}, ''Zuḥal'', "withdrawer"<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1=Meyers    |first1=Carol L.
 |last2=O'Connor  |first2=M.
 |last3=O'Connor  |first3=Michael Patrick
 |date= 1983
|title=The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth: Essays in honor of David Noel Freedman in celebration of his sixtieth birthday
 |publisher=Eisenbrauns
 |isbn=978-0931464195
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=leQtcmpcQ-EC&q=zuhal+saturn&pg=PA53
 |via=Google Books
}}
</ref>). Multiple suggested etymologies exist for Mercury ({{lang|ar|عُطَارِد}}, ''ʿUṭārid''), Mars ({{lang|ar|اَلْمِرِّيخ}}, ''al-Mirrīkh''), and Jupiter ({{lang|ar|المشتري}}, ''al-Muštarī''), but there is no agreement among scholars.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eilers |first=Wilhelm |date=1976 |title=Sinn und Herkunft der Planetennamen |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Sitz-Ber-Akad-Muenchen-phil-hist-Kl_1975_0001-0138.pdf |location=Munich |publisher=[[Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities]] |access-date=28 August 2022 |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010105840/https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Sitz-Ber-Akad-Muenchen-phil-hist-Kl_1975_0001-0138.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>
{{cite conference
 |first=Hannes D. |last=Galter
 |publication-date=31 July 1993
|title=Die Rolle der Astronomie in den Kulturen Mesopotamiens
 |trans-title=The role of astronomy in the cultures of the Mesopotamians
 |book-title=Beiträge Zum 3. Grazer Morgenländischen Symposion ( 23–27 September 1991)
 |conference=3.&nbsp;Grazer Morgenländischen Symposion [Third Graz Oriental Symposium]
 |date= 23–27 September 1991
 |place=Graz, Austria
 |publisher=GrazKult
 |isbn=978-3853750094
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMgfAQAAIAAJ&q=mustari+jupiter
 |via=Google Books
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |author=al-Masūdī
 |date=1841
|title=El-Masūdī's Historical Encyclopaedia, entitled "Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems."
 |publisher=Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XaVmAAAAMAAJ&q=utarid+mercury+penman&pg=PA204
 |via=Google Books
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |first=Mas'ûdi |last=Ali-Abu'l-Hassan
 |date=1841
|title=Historical Encyclopaedia: Entitled "Meadows of gold and mines of gems"
 |publisher=Printed for the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SqJEAQAAIAAJ&q=Mirrikh+mars&pg=PA204
 |via=Google Books
}}</ref>