What is the only planet that didn't derived its name from the Greek/Roman Mythology?

Question

What does "terra mater" mean?
Who is the Goddess of Earth?

These 3 questions are from my Science homework. Please help!

Answer 1

Terra Mater or Tellus Mater was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. The names Terra Mater and Tellus Mater both mean "Mother Earth" in Latin; Mater is an honorific title also bestowed on other goddesses. Romans appealed to her over earthquakes, and along with the grain goddess Ceres, she was responsible for the productivity of farmland. She was also associated with marriage, motherhood, pregnant women, and pregnant animals. Terra's Greek counterpart is Gaia, and as such, she was said to be the mother of Fama, the goddess of fame and rumor.

Some linguists studying the Indo-European languages believe that the two words Terra and Tellus derive from the formulaic phrase tersa tellus, meaning "dry land". If this is true, Tellus might be the more ancient version of the name. According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary, Terra refers to the element earth (one of the four basic elements of earth, air, water, and fire) and Tellus refers to the guardian deity of Earth and by extension the sphere upon which we live, the globe itself. [1]. Actual classical Latin usage does not necessarily appear to respect this distinction [2]

A festival for Tellus called the Fordicia or Hordicidia was held every year on April 15; it involved the sacrifice of pregnant cows and was managed by the pontifex maximus and the Vestal Virgins. The Virgins kept the ashes of the fetal calves until they were used for purification at Parilia. Two festivals were held in January to mark the end of the winter sewing season, the Sementivae, celebrated in the city, and the Paganalia, celebrated mostly in rural areas. The first part of the Sementivae was held from January 24 to 26 in honor of Tellus, the second part honored Ceres and was held a week later.


[edit] Tellus and Terra in Science Fiction
Most science fiction authors have used the term Terra to refer to Earth. E.E. Smith, however, used the term Tellus in his space opera the Lensman series.


[edit] References
^ Hornblower, Simon and Spawforth, Antony, editors The Oxford Classical Dictionary Third Edition Oxford/New York:1996 Oxford University Press--Article on Tellus Page 1480: "while Terra describes the element earth Tellus is the name of its protecting deity."
^ Ovid, Fastis, line 1 ff., 67 ff., 105 ff., 469 ff. etc.
Encyclopedia Mythica
Myth: Tellus Mater
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_%28mythology%29"
Categories: Nature goddesses | Roman goddesses

Answer 2

1) Earth
2) Terra Mater or Tellus Mater was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. The names Terra Mater and Tellus Mater both mean "Mother Earth" in Latin
3) As stated in previous answer.

Answer 3

Terra mater means Earth/ground mother it's the personification of nature, and terra mater is a religious figure that is one of the most ancient, probably Neolithic......it's often represented as a very formouse/fat female figure statue.Greek/roman mythology had not a Goddess called Earth, but they had some figures related to the earth, or ground (In Latin, Italian....there is no difference between the words for ground and for earth, only the capitol letter)
From my studies in High school about Latin, Mythology, ecc, I don't remember a name of a god/goddess related to ground/earth as Neptune is related to the sea...but more than one, as about war there were not a single god but 2 (Minerva and Mars),
Saturn was the god of agriculture, his Daughter Ceres the goddess of growing plants(particularly cereals) and motherly love, Ceres' daughter Proserpina was goddess of springtime and for extension of ground fertility...

Answer 4

Planet Roman deity Greek deity Mercury Mercury ʽἙρμῆς (Hermes) Venus Venus Ἀφροδίτη (Aphrodite) Earth Terra Γαία (Gaia) Mars Mars Ἀρης (Ares) Jupiter Jupiter Ζεύς (Zeus) Saturn Saturn Κρόνος (Kronos) Uranus Uranus Ουρανός (Ouranos) Neptune Neptune Ποσειδῶν (Poseidon) Pluto Pluto Ἅιδης (Hades)

Answer 5

Mother Earth.

Answer 6

I am thinking that maybe "Earth" isn't among the pantheon of gods whose names were given to the planets.

Answer 7

The third question gives away the first question. You could have done this on your own.