STARGAZER #508 for June 27, 2009

Sorting Out the Greek Gods

The planets along with several constellations and other night sky objects
are named for gods of ancient Greece, although most are now known by their
counterpart in later Roman religion.

Sorting out the relationship among the gods is complicated as most
religious stories from antiquity have multiple versions, yet we'll introduce
some
of the better-known members of this family of Greek gods (with their Roman
names in parentheses).

It all began in a void of nothingness called Chaos, out of which arose the
first goddess Gaia (Earth). Without need of a male, she gave birth to
Uranus, the god of the sky and the first ruler of the universe. He became
Gaia's mate and together they produced many children, some of whom were the
Titans

One of the Titans was Cronus (Saturn) who married his sister Rhea; they
had six children: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera.

Uranus, fearing his children would rebel against him, had them imprisoned,
but with help from Gaia, Cronus and the Titans escaped and defeated
Uranus. But he too fell victim to his own children who defeated him and the
Titans.

His three sons divided the universe among themselves. Zeus (Jupiter)
became god of the heavens and earth, and king of the gods. Poseidon (Neptune)
became god of the seas and earthquakes. Hades (Pluto) became god of the
underworld (later incorporated into other religions as "hell").

Zeus (photo below), the most important of the gods, married his sister
Hera, and fathered several children with her, one of whom was Ares (Mars). He
fathered many more children by other women, some of whom were immortal
goddesses and some mortal humans.



Some of the well-known were Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love and beauty;
Apollo, god of youth; Artemis (Diana), the huntress goddess; Hermes
(Mercury), messenger of the gods; Perseus, a Greek hero; Heracles (Hercules),
god
of strength and courage and Greek hero; Helen of Troy, and the Muses, gods
of creativity.

Among his grandchildren were Eros (Cupid), son of Ares and Aphrodite; Pan,
son of Hermes; and Asclepius (Ophiuchus), son of Apollo and god of healing.

Now with this introduction to some of the Greek gods and goddesses, maybe
you'll feel more at home under the night sky.

Next Two Weeks. Avg. sunrise: 6:28 a.m.; avg. sunset: 8:37 p.m. (exact for
Waco, TX)
Tonight Saturn is to the upper right of the Moon. The Moon is at 1st
quarter Mon. The midpoint of the year comes Thur. at noon. Fri. Earth is at
aphelion when it is farthest from the Sun in its elliptical orbit. The evening
of July 4 the star Antares is just to the left of the bright gibbous Moon.
The morning of July 5, Venus (bottom), Mars (upper right) and the Pleiades
(upper left) form a nearly equilateral triangle low in the east before dawn.
The July 7 full Moon, called Hay Moon and Thunder Moon, produces a barely
noticeable penumbral eclipse. For binocular and telescope viewers, the
morning of July 9 faint Neptune is just above vastly brighter Jupiter, and the
next morning the bright Moon is to their right.

Naked-eye Planets. Evening: Saturn, low in the west, sets just after
midnight, and Jupiter rises in the east just before midnight. Morning: Jupiter
is the brightest object in the south while "morning star" Venus is low in
the east with much fainter Mars just above it.

=======================================================

Stargazer appears every other week in the Waco Tribune-Herald and other
newspapers. Paul Derrick is an amateur astronomer who lives in Waco. Write
him at 918 N. 30th St., Waco, TX 76707, call or fax at (254) 753-6920, or
e-mail at paulderrickwaco@....

Copyright 2009 by Paul Derrick. Permission is granted for free electronic
distribution as long as these paragraphs are included. Please obtain
permission from the author for publication in any other form. To be added to
(or removed from) the free e-mail distribution list, send your e-mail
address (and name) to _paulderrickwaco@..._ (mailto:paulderrickwaco@...)
.


* * See the Stargazer Web site at http://www.stargazerpaul.com. * *
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