Solar System Myths and Lore

Stories About Mercury, Venus and Earth

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Name

Myth and Lore

Mercury

The first planet from the sun is Mercury (MUR kyur ee). The name derives from the Roman word for merchant and so Mercury was the god of commerce. Known in Greece as Hermes (HUR mees) he was also related to quick thinking, magic, illusion, and trickery. Quicksilver, literally "living silver", is the metal, Mercury, that is liquid at room temperatures and reminds us of this fleet messenger of the gods. He was the personal envoy of the Roman's Jupiter (JOO pih tur) or Zeus (ZOOS) for the Greeks and pictured with his helmet and sandals adorned with wings.
In northern Europe he was identified with Woden (WOO den) from whom we get Woden's Day, our modern Wednesday. Mercury Facts

Venus

The brightest of all planets is also known as the Morning Star and the Evening Star. The Roman goddess, Venus, is associated with love, laughter, beauty and marriage. According to the story, Venus had a notorious affair with Mars and other gods. Our Friday honors the northern European love goddess, Freya. Venus Facts

Earth (Gaia)

Most civilizations have a common myth about Mother Earth and Father Sky. Chaos, a vast, dark void made of matter without form ruled the universe before anything else according to the Greeks. From this came Gaia (GAY uh) or Terra in Roman, and from her the sky god, Uranus (YOOR uh nuhs), the Titans, the Furies, Giants and other children and grandchildren. All of her offspring had specialties and duties like making volcanoes, earthquakes, lightning and storms, ruling the sky, seas and underworld, and making crops grow and changing the seasons. They also meddled in the affairs of humans. See also Moon Myths or more about the planet Earth.

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