GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

GK

SOLAR SYSTEM

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
What planet is not named after a Greco-Roman god?
A
Mercury
B
Mars
C
Venus
D
Earth
E
Saturn
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Earth is the only planet in our solar system not named after a Greco-Roman deity. The name used in Western academia during the Renaissance was Tellus Mater or Terra Mater, the Latin for “earth mother”, i.e. “Mother Earth”, goddess of the earth in ancient Roman religion and mythology.

Detailed explanation-2: -Most likely Earth was not named after a Greco-Roman god because it was not recognized as a planet in antiquity. The word planet means wanderer and the name Earth comes from the German word Erda and the Old English derivative of Erda, Ertha. In both languages it means ground. The ground doesn’t wander.

Detailed explanation-3: -In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Tellus Mater or Terra Mater ("Mother Earth") is the personification of the Earth. Although Tellus and Terra are hardly distinguishable during the Imperial era, Tellus was the name of the original earth goddess in the religious practices of the Republic or earlier.

Detailed explanation-4: -The English names for planets mostly come from the Romans, who borrowed their designations from gods and goddesses: Mercury was named for the messenger god because it appears to move so swiftly across the sky, Jupiter shares a title with the king of the gods because it’s the solar system’s giant, and so on.

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