(2019 Archived) - The Interpretation of Mars and Venus in the Ancient World
Having written this in 2019, and originally published in 2021.. when I was 15 and 17, there would be inaccuracies that I would correct here. Having removed it, I'm publishing again, for sake of completion so that the efforts wouldn't have gone to vain: In this post, doesn't make any bold claims, and after 5 years, is still accurate.
Stargazing is a practice deeply embedded into humanity for millennia; it provides us with a spectacular hemispherical view of the greater cosmos from any point of the Earth’s surface [2], with higher resolution than any television or visual media ever invented. The stars of our celestial sphere guided our ancestors in navigating the Earth and provided a cosmic stage, where the constellations performed to a global audience, every single night. Some stars were more peculiar then the others, dancing at relatively shorter time-frames amongst the fixed constellations [2]; the planets.
The Morning and Evening Star, better known now as the planet Venus, is an ideal example for it. “You can see it shining brilliantly in the twilight, chasing the sun down below the western horizon…or you can spy it before dawn, fleeing the rising sun. In these two incarnations, brighter than anything else in the sky except only the sun and the moon” [3]. Venus had been cherished for millennia, owing for her distinctive brightness and twice-daily appearance. Venus had been in grace in the larger halls of human history; in fact, for most of known history.
The Romans, who named Venus, knew it as their goddess of love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility and prosperity. Similarly, the Greeks acknowledged her as Phosphoros (light-bringer) and Heosphoros (dawn-bringer), while the Mayans knew her as Chacek and Noh Ek’, which respectfully translates into ‘the great star’. The old Babylonians knew her as Ninsi’anna, which gives the affectionate meaning of ‘divine lady, illumination of heaven’. Similarly, the Pythagoreans revered her as the only planet, which was bright enough, to cast a shadow.
Overall, Venus had been in grace in the larger halls of history; for a very long time. But, on the contrary, Mars’ reputation in the ancient world was to a less appealing and darker side: The Iron Oxide richly found in Martian soil is responsible for Mars’ distinctive red colour; the reddish hue given by the red planet over interplanetary distances was allusive of blood from the perspective of the early stargazers. Thus, Mars got entangled with a dark identity. The ancient Sumerians knew him as Nergal; their god of war and plague, while the ancient Mesopotamian texts describe him as ‘the star of judgement of the fate of the dead’. Last, but not least, the Romans, who named Mars, revered in as their god of war.
But, if Venus had been in the red carpet for most of known history, why had she become largely ignored since the 1980s? Similarly, how did Mars get to become demi-symbolic of our future in space, despite his ill-fame since the ancient times? How did the red planet get the spotlight, over a bright fallen star?
[2] Sparrows, G. (2013). Constellations: A Field Guide to the Night Sky. [Quercus Editions ltd].
[3] Sagan, C. (1994). Pale Blue Dot: A vision of the human future in space. [Ballantine Books; the Random House Publishing Group]. Pages 138-148.
Achinthya Nanayakkara (30.03.2025)
Originally published - 2021 (now removed)
Originallly written - 2019
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