Venus in culture
Venus, as one of the brightest objects in the sky, has been known since prehistoric times and has been a major fixture in human culture for as long as records have existed. As such, it has a prominent position in human culture, religion, and myth. It has been made sacred to gods of many cultures, and has been a prime inspiration for writers and poets as the morning star and evening star.[1]
Background and name
What is now known as the planet Venus has long been an object of fascination for cultures worldwide. It is the second brightest object in the night sky, and follows a
In old English, the planet was known as morgensteorra (morning star) and æfensteorra (evening star). It was not until the 13th century C.E. that the name "Venus" was adopted for the planet[2] (in classical Latin, though the morning star was considered sacred to the goddess Venus, it was called Lucifer).[3]
In
Ancient Near East
Mesopotamia
Because the movements of Venus appear to be discontinuous (it disappears due to its proximity to the
The discontinuous movements of Venus relate to both Inanna's mythology as well as her dual nature.
In the Old Babylonian period, the planet Venus was known as Ninsi'anna, and later as Dilbat.
Canaanite mythology
In
Similarities have been noted with the story of
- "The brilliancy of the morning star, which eclipses all other stars, but is not seen during the night, may easily have given rise to a myth such as was told of Ethana and Zu: he was led by his pride to strive for the highest seat among the star-gods on the northern mountain of the gods ... but was hurled down by the supreme ruler of the Babylonian Olympus."[31]
- "The brilliancy of the morning star, which eclipses all other stars, but is not seen during the night, may easily have given rise to a myth such as was told of Ethana and
In the
Egypt
The Ancient Egyptians possibly knew that the morning star (Tioumoutiri) and evening star (Ouaiti)[40] were one and the same by the second millennium BC or at the latest by the Later Period under Mesopotamian influence.[41][42] At first described as either a phoenix or heron (or Bennu),[41] calling it "the crosser" or "star with crosses",[41] and associated with Osiris, later during the Late Period under probably Mesopotamian influence Venus was depicted as a two-headed morning god (with human and falcon heads), as in the Dendera zodiac, and associated with Horus,[42] son of Isis (which during the even later Hellenistic period was together with Hathor identified with Aphrodite).
Ancient Greece and Rome
The
though the traditional use of two names for its appearance in the morning and the evening continued even into the Roman period.The Greek myth of Phaethon, whose name means "Shining One", has also been seen as similar to those of other gods who cyclically descend from the heavens, like Inanna and Attar.[29]
In classical mythology,
The Romans considered the planet Lucifer particularly sacred to the goddess
- "The fourth star is that of Venus, Luciferus by name. Some say it is Juno's. In many tales it is recorded that it is called Hesperus, too. It seems to be the largest of all stars. Some have said it represents the son of Aurora and Cephalus, who surpassed many in beauty, so that he even vied with Venus, and, as Eratosthenes says, for this reason it is called the star of Venus. It is visible both at dawn and sunset, and so properly has been called both Luciferus and Hesperus."
Ovid, in his first century epic Metamorphoses, describes Lucifer as ordering the heavens:[49]
- "Aurora, watchful in the reddening dawn, threw wide her crimson doors and rose-filled halls; the Stellae took flight, in marshaled order set by Lucifer who left his station last."
In the classical Roman period, Lucifer was not typically regarded as a deity and had few, if any, myths,[47] though the planet was associated with various deities and often poetically personified. Cicero pointed out that "You say that Sol the Sun and Luna the Moon are deities, and the Greeks identify the former with Apollo and the latter with Diana. But if Luna (the Moon) is a goddess, then Lucifer (the Morning-Star) also and the rest of the Wandering Stars (Stellae Errantes) will have to be counted gods; and if so, then the Fixed Stars (Stellae Inerrantes) as well."[50]
Christianity
The Hebrew word transliterated as Hêlêl
- "How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: 'Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?'"[64]
- "How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of
This passage was the origin of the later belief that
In
Vietnam
In
When it was in the opposite direction of the
- "Mình đi có nhớ ta chăng?
- Ta như sao Vượt chờ trăng giữa trời."
- (When you go, do you miss me?
- I am the climbing star waiting for the moon in the sky.)
Hinduism
In India Shukra Graha ("the planet Shukra") which is named after a powerful saint Shukra.
Persia
In Iranian mythology, especially in
Turkic mythology
The deity Erkliğ Han (the Powerful) was identified with Venus as a great warrior. He was responsible for killing the stars when the sun rises.[73] For this reason, he was a symbol for warriors in general.[74] In the 11th century Turkic Kutadgu Bilig, under cross-cultural influences of Greek and Sumerian mythology, Venus became associated with love, beauty, and fertility.[75]
Islam
In Islamic traditions the morning star is called زُهْرَة, الزُّهَرَة Zohra or Zohrah and commonly related to a "beautiful woman".[76] According to myth, of which an echo is found in a play by the 17th-century English poet William Percy, two angels, Harut and Marut, descended to earth and were seduced by Zohra's beauty to commit shirk, murder, adultery and drinking wine. In their drunken state, Zohra elicited from these angels the secret words to ascend to heaven. When she spoke the secret words, she elevated herself to the first heaven, but was imprisoned there (i.e. transformed into the planet Venus).[77]
According to tafsir, some say that the woman literally became the morning star, as a reflection of her ability to blend the angels. Others say that during her ascend she was imprisoned on the planet and is tortured there.[78]
Maya
Venus was considered the most important celestial body observed by the
The Maya civilization developed a religious calendar, based in part upon the motions of the planet, and held the motions of Venus to determine the propitious time for events such as war. They also named it Xux Ek', the Wasp Star. The Maya were aware of the planet's synodic period, and could compute it to within a hundredth part of a day.[81]
Other cultures
In traditional
The Maasai people named the planet Kileken, and have an oral tradition about it called The Orphan Boy.[82]
Venus is important in many
Venus plays a prominent role in
Among the Mapuche of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina; the planet or Wünelve ("the First") is believed to have existed when spirits were attempting to ascend back from the World Below or Minchemapu after falling from the Middle World or Rangimapu; the planet is believed to be an amalgamation of some of those spirits who were stuck on their way.[85] The planet is an important symbol for this people; it was eventually incorporated into the flag of Chile simplified as a five-pointed star[86] symbolizing a beacon of progress and honor.
In western astrology, derived from its historical connotation with goddesses of femininity and love, Venus is held to influence desire and sexual fertility.[87]
In the metaphysical system of
In fiction
The discovery in the modern era that Venus was a distant world covered in impenetrable cloud cover gave science fiction writers free rein to speculate on conditions at its surface; all the more so when early observations showed that not only was it similar in size to Earth, it possessed a substantial atmosphere. Closer to the Sun than Earth, the planet was frequently depicted as warmer, but still habitable by humans.[90] The genre reached its peak between the 1930s and 1950s, at a time when science had revealed some aspects of Venus, but not yet the harsh reality of its surface conditions. Findings from the first missions to Venus showed the reality to be quite different, and brought this particular genre to an end.[91] As scientific knowledge of Venus advanced, science fiction authors tried to keep pace, particularly by conjecturing human attempts to terraform Venus.[92]
In humour
Scientists who had reported 2020 possible signs of life in the clouds of Venus stated that the found biosignature phosphine is found on Earth and among others produced by penguins. Subsequently some public news reports and public responses wrongly cited the scientists' interest in the processes that create phosphine, suggesting that penguins lived in the clouds of Venus.[93] The Planetary Society picked up on the misunderstanding for entertainment purposes.[94]
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External links
- Media related to Venus in culture at Wikimedia Commons