why is venus named after the goddess venus?

Question

i need to find out for a school project

Answer 1

As one of the brightest objects in the sky, Venus has been known since prehistoric times and from the earliest days has had a significant impact on human culture. It is described in Babylonian cuneiformic texts such as the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa, which relates observations that possibly date from 1600 BC. The Babylonians named the planet Ishtar, the personification of womanhood, and goddess of love. The Ancient Egyptians believed Venus to be two separate bodies and knew the morning star as Tioumoutiri and the evening star as Ouaiti. Likewise believing Venus to be two bodies, the Ancient Greeks called the morning star Phosphorus (the "Bringer of Light") or Eosphorus (the "Bringer of Dawn"); the evening star they called Hesperos (the star of the dusk) — by Hellenistic times, it was realized they were the same planet. Hesperos would be translated into Latin as Vesper and Phosphorus as Lucifer, a poetic term later used to refer to the fallen angel cast out of heaven. The Romans would later name the planet in honor of their goddess of love, Venus, whereas the Greeks used the name of its Greek counterpart, Aphrodite.

To the Hebrews it was known as Noga ("shining"), Ayeleth-ha-Shakhar ("deer of the dawn") and Kochav-ha-'Erev ("star of the evening"). Venus was important to the Mayan civilization, who developed a religious calendar based in part upon its motions, and held the motions of Venus to determine the propitious time for events such as war. The Maasai people named the planet Kileken, and have an oral tradition about it called The Orphan Boy. In western astrology, derived from its historical connotation with goddesses of femininity and love, Venus is held to influence those aspects of human life. In Vedic astrology, where such an association was not made, Venus or Shukra affected wealth, comfort, and attraction. Early Chinese astronomers called the body Tai-pe, or the "beautiful white one".

The astronomical symbol for Venus is the same as that used in biology for the female sex, a stylized representation of the goddess Venus' hand mirror: a circle with a small cross underneath. The Venus symbol also represents femininity, and in ancient alchemy stood for the metal copper. Alchemists constructed the symbol from a circle (representing spirit) above a cross (representing matter).

Answer 2

I would imagine, because at certain times of the year, the planet Venus is very bright in the sky, therefore suggesting beauty, as Venus was the Roman goddess of beauty.

Answer 3

Venus is the goddess of love and beauty. The planet is so named probably because it is the brightest of the planets known to the ancients.

Answer 4

Venus is - in my opinion - the most beautifull planet in solar system (excluding earth - ofcourse). For that reason, it has a fitting name, being named after the goddess of love and beauty.

Answer 5

Venus was a godess of beauty in Greek mythology, and since most of planets were named after mythological characters, the founding scholars thought they would give it to one of the most beautiful "stars" or planet an appropriate name. It's ironic that that same planet would turn out so poisonous to humans. Guess there is only so much you can say for beauty, especially if it prooves deadly to you. ;-)

Answer 6

I'm not certain but I seem to remember from somewhere that the planet is considered to be the goddess. It's very large on certain nights and even looks like a little moon.