Uranus (mythology) facts for kids

In Greek mythology, Uranus ( yoor-Ə-nəs-,_-yoo-RAY-nəs), sometimes written Ouranos (Ancient Greek: Οὐρανός, lit. 'sky'), is the personification of the sky and one of the Greek primordial deities. According to Hesiod, Uranus was the son and husband of Gaia (Earth), with whom he fathered the first generation of Titans. However, no cult addressed directly to Uranus survived into Classical times, and Uranus does not appear among the usual themes of Greek painted pottery. Elemental Earth, Sky, and Styx might be joined, however, in solemn invocation in Homeric epic. Uranus is associated with the Roman god Caelus and the Jewish god Yahweh.

Etymology

Most linguists trace the etymology of the name Οὐρανός to a Proto-Greek form *Worsanós (Ϝορσανός). The basic Indo-European root is *ṷérs- 'to rain, moisten' (also found in Greek eérsē 'dew', Sanskrit várṣati 'to rain', or Avestan aiβi.varəšta 'it rained on'), making Ouranos the "rain-maker", or the "lord of rain".

A less likely etymology is a derivative meaning 'the one standing on high' from PIE *ṷérso- (cf. Sanskrit várṣman 'height, top', Lithuanian viršùs 'upper, highest seat', Russian verh 'height, top'). Of some importance in the comparative study of Indo-European mythology is the identification by Georges Dumézil (1934) of Uranus with the Vedic deity Váruṇa (Mitanni Aruna), god of the sky and waters, but the etymological equation is now considered untenable.

Genealogy

In Hesiod's Theogony, which came to be accepted by the Greeks as the "standard" account, from Gaia (Earth), the first entity to come into existence after Chaos (Void), came Uranus, the Ourea (Mountains), and Pontus (Sea).

Then, according to the Theogony, Uranus mated with Gaia, and she gave birth to the twelve Titans: Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys and Cronus; the Cyclopes: Brontes, Steropes and Arges; and the Hecatoncheires ("Hundred-Handed Ones"): Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges.

Further, according to the Theogony, when Cronus attacked Uranus, from Uranus' blood, which splattered onto the earth, came the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants, and the Meliae. Also, according to the Theogony, Cronus threw some Uranus's body parts into the sea, around which "a white foam spread" and "grew" into the goddess Aphrodite, although according to Homer, Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione.

Other accounts

Other sources give other genealogies. In the lost epic poem the Titanomachy, Uranus was apparently the son of Aether, while according to others Uranus was the son of one "Acmon". According to Orphic texts, Uranus (along with Gaia) was the offspring of Nyx (Night) and Phanes.

The poet Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 BC), was said to have made Uranus the father of Eros, by either Gaia, according one source, or Aphrodite, according to another.

The mythographer Apollodorus, gives a slightly different genealogy from Hesiod's. Without mentioning any ancestors, he begins his account by saying simply that Uranus "was the first who ruled over the whole world." According to Apollodorus, the Titans (instead of being Uranus' firstborn as in Hesiod) were born after the three Hundred-Handers and the three Cyclopes, and there were thirteen original Titans, adding the Titanide Dione to Hesiod's list.

Passages in a section of the Iliad called the Deception of Zeus suggest the possibility that Homer knew a tradition in which Oceanus and Tethys (rather than Uranus and Gaia, as in Hesiod) were the parents of the Titans. Plato, in his Timaeus, provides a genealogy (probably Orphic) which perhaps reflected an attempt to reconcile this apparent divergence between Homer and Hesiod, with Uranus and Gaia as the parents of Oceanus and Tethys, and Oceanus and Tethys as the parents of Cronus and Rhea and the other Titans.

In Roman mythology, Uranus' counterpart was Caelus (Sky). Cicero says Caelus was the offspring of Aether and Dies (Day), and that Caelus and Dies were the parents of Mercury (Hermes). While, Hyginus says that, in addition to Caelus, Aether and Dies were also the parents of Terra (Earth), and Mare (Sea).

Planet Uranus

The ancient Greeks and Romans knew of only five "wandering stars" (Ancient Greek: πλανῆται): Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Following the discovery of a sixth planet in 1781 using a telescope, there was long-term disagreement regarding its name. Its discoverer William Herschel named it Georgium Sidus (The Georgian Star) after his monarch George III. This was the name preferred by English astronomers, but others such as the French preferred "Herschel". Finally, the name Uranus became accepted in the mid-19th century, as suggested by astronomer Johann Bode as the logical addition to the existing planets' names, since Mars (Ares in Greek), Venus, and Mercury were the children of Jupiter, Jupiter (Zeus in Greek) the son of Saturn, and Saturn (Cronus in Greek) the son of Uranus. What is anomalous is that, while the others take Roman names, Uranus is a name derived from Greek in contrast to the Roman Caelus.

See also

In Spanish: Urano (mitología) para niños