Do you know the Greek names of the Planets? The names of the planets are given by more or less famous astronomers who discovered them throughout the years.

The planets in our solar system got their names mostly from the Greek Mythology and the Roman nomenclature.

Here we will present the Greek names of the planets, as they were given by the ancient Greeks and modern astronomers.

There are also several astronomical terms with a Greek origin. For instance, the word Galaxy comes from the Greek Galaxias, the Greek name for Chaos is Haos, while the word planet comes from the Greek word Planitis.

The names of planets in the Roman and Greek Language

We chose to present the planets according to their distance from the sun.

Sun – Helios

Helios is the Greek name of the Sun, the center of our solar system.

Earth – Ge (from the ancient Greek name Gaia or Gaea)

Gaia was the great mother of all, creator and giver of birth to the Earth and all the Universe, the heavenly gods, the Titans, and the Giants. The gods were born from her union with Uranus (the sky), while the sea-gods were born from her union with Pontus (the sea).

Mercury – Ermis



Ermis is the Greek name of the planet Mercury, which is the closest planet to the sun. It is named after the Greek God of commerce, Ermis or Hermes, who was also the messenger of the Ancient Greek gods.

Venus – Aphrodite



Aphrodite is the Greek name of the planet Venus, which is named after Aphrodite, the goddess of Love.

Mars – Aris



Aris is the Greek name of the planet Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, also known as the Red planet. Aris or Ares was the Greek god of War.

Jupiter – Dias



Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun, is the largest planet in our solar system. In Greek the name of the planet Jupiter is Dias, the Greek name of god Zeus.

Jupiter has many moons orbiting around the planet. The largest one is Ganymede and it is named after Ganymedes, the hero of the Greek mythology.

Saturn – Kronos



Saturn is the second largest planet of our system and the sixth planet from the sun. The Greek name of the planet Saturn is Kronos. The Titan Cronus was the father of Zeus, while Saturn was the Roman God of agriculture.

Uranus – Ouranos



Ouranos is the Greek name of the planet Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun. This planet is named after the creator of the sky, God Uranus or Ouranos, which means sky in the Greek language. He was the father of Cronus and the Titans, as well as of the Cyclopes.

Neptune – Poseidon



Neptune or Poseidon as is its Greek name, was the God of the Seas. It is the eight planet from the sun, and its predominant color is blue, which makes its name a rather excellent choice.

Pluto – Pluton



The god of the Underworld, Pluto or Pluton in Greek is the farthest planet from the sun and one of the least observed planets in our solar system.

Other Greek names in our galaxy

Greek names were given also to several stars and planetary features in our Galaxy. The names of stars are chosen by their discoverers as well. Some of them are:

Cerberus. The three headed dog – guardian of the gates of the Underworld, known with the name Kerveros in Greek, is given to the large black spot on the surface of planet Mars.

On Mars, there is also the Olympus Mons, the largest volcano of the planet, referring to Mount Olympus or Olympos in Greek, the mountain of the gods in the Greek mythology.

Planet Venus also has its volcano, named Rhea Mons, after Rhea or Rea, the mother of Zeus, daughter of Uranus and Gaia.

Read more: