How to see Venus phases of Venus. Ancient Greek names of planets

As for the constellations, most of them in Rus' were worn Slavic names. So, the Milky Way was called “Bird Way”, “Goose Road”, “Duck Road”, “Straw Path”, “Stanovishche”.

The constellation Ursa Major in the Russian tradition was called “Big Dipper”, “Elk”, “Ears”, “Cart”, “Cart”, “Cart”, “Plow”, “Prisoned Horse”. There are versions that the “elk” names were borrowed from our closest northeastern neighbors - the Finno-Ugric peoples, whose main occupation was hunting and who at one time used elk as riding animals. And “carts” belong to the ancient Germans, who in the 1st-2nd millennia BC still formed a single ethnic group with the Finno-Ugric peoples.

The Little Dipper was accordingly called the “Little Dipper”, “Loose Calf”, etc. The polar star in the same constellation Ursa Minor was called “Stake”, “Nail”, etc. by our ancestors. The Slavs imagined it in the form of a stake around which stars move (by the way, similar ideas are found among other peoples). Not surprising, since the star is located near the North Pole.

In the constellation Orion, three central stars were identified, representing the so-called “Orion Belt”. In Rus' they were called: “Three Plows”, “Rakes” and “Mowers”, which obviously had to do with agricultural work. The fact is that the constellation rose at the end of summer, when it was time to go out to mow in the morning.

The Slavic ancestors gave the constellation Taurus the name “Young”. But the modern name was already used in Rus'. Researchers believe that it appeared in distant times, when the main occupation of our ancestors was cattle breeding, and the point of the spring equinox was located precisely in this constellation.

The Pleiades star cluster, also located in the constellation Taurus, was very popular with our ancestors. They called it differently: “Seven Sisters”, “Volosynya”, “Volosa”, “Stozhary”, “Volosozhary”. What is characteristic of the Pleiades is that middle lane In Russia you can observe them in the sky only from August to April. According to historians, the movement of the Pleiades across the sky in Rus' could be associated with economic activity(for example, with their appearance it was possible to harvest). A number of the names of the constellation may have been associated with the god of cattle breeding Veles, whose analogue in ancient greek mythology– Hermes, son of Maya, one of the Pleiades. The name “Stozhary” comes from the word “stog”. U Eastern Slavs A stozhar was a stake stuck into the ground to strengthen a haystack.

The Russian name for the constellation Libra is “Yarem” (“yoke”). In astrology, this sign is associated with trade. And the Sun enters the sign of Libra after the autumn equinox, when fairs traditionally began in Rus', tribute and taxes were collected.

The constellation Aquarius in various Russian and Slavic texts was called “Mokresha”, “Aquarius”, “Water-bearer”, which is generally close to the current name.

This constellation can only be observed in the southern part of the horizon; in mid-latitudes it ceases to be visible in the first ten days of November. Just at this time, the Slavs held festivals in honor of the goddess of crafts Makosh (Mokosh). And Aquarius becomes visible again in the spring, when the “wet” season begins - the snow melts and streams flow.

As you can see, unlike the planets, even the modern names of the constellations in Russia are not borrowed from Latin and are not too different from those invented by the Slavs.

October 9th, 2016 , 12:11 pm

I was once interested in the names of the planets in Ancient Greece, and I studied this question.

The names are known to be around the 6th century BC, and are traditionally attributed to the Pythagoreans, but I believe they are at least a century earlier, going back to 7th century, when the first “real” astronomical observations began in Greece.

The Sun and Moon, obviously, were already called Helios and Selene, these are the names of the planets.

- Mercury- Στίλβων, Stilbon (" Brilliant"), also Ἀπόλλων, Apollo;
- Venus- Ἓσπερος, Hesper (Latin Vesper, " Evening", Venus evening), Εωσφόρος/Φωσφορος, Eosphorus/Phosphorus (" Zorenosets", lat. Lucifer, " Lightbringer", Venus of the morning) (also Hesperus and Eosphorus - gods, brothers, presumably, personification of the planet);
- Mars- Πυρόεις, Pirois (“fiery”);
- Jupiter- Φαέθων, Phaeton (“brilliant”)
- Saturn- Φαίνων, Fenon / Phaenon / Faenon Phocifer ("shining").

Venus originally had two different names and counted as two different planets, morning and evening. This planet does not move far from the Sun and is always visible at dawn or at the edge of night. The affirmation of the identity of the evening and morning planets is attributed to Pythagoras (Pliny) or Parmenides.

There should be exactly the same situation with Mercury, it is also visible only in the dawn rays in the morning or evening low above the horizon, but for some reason there are not two forms for it in ancient astronomy. Therefore, the version about Venus should also be treated with caution.

All names are translated as relating to light.

At Hyginus, Jupiter and Saturn exchanged names.

Actually, I didn’t check the names against authentic primary sources; there are very few Pythagorean (or rather, close to them) sources; there seem to be none translated into Russian, except for “Fragments of Early Greek Philosophers” of 1998, all this information is from ancient descriptions and medieval scholia.

After the Macedonian campaigns in the 4th century BC. there was a wave of interest in the oriental scientific knowledge, and by analogy with Babylonian astronomy, the Greeks began to apply “divine” names to the planets:

- Mercury- star of Hermes,
- Venus- star of Aphrodite, etc.

This tradition strengthened, passed on to the Romans and remained in European astronomy.

But educated Latins should know the Greek tradition, and so Ausonius, in the 4th century AD, wrote a mnemonic exercise for memorizing the Greek names of the planets.

...Knows what Stilpon's turnover is, what Piroenta's is,
How much is given to Fenon, how long does Jupiter go around
The sky is with good fire, as Venus hurries or hesitates,
How many eclipses will eclipse the Moon and how many Titans?
Before the end of the Great Year comes
And the stars will return to their original place in the heights,
Where they began their run at the beginning of the construction of the world.

Was first taken out sea ​​waves to the shore of the island of Cythera, and then to the island of Cyprus, which became the favorite residence of this goddess. According to legend, wherever she appeared, beautiful flowers grew under her feet and all the gods, people and even animals succumbed to the charm of her beauty. The cult of Aphrodite, according to many academic researchers, was brought to Greece from Syria, where a similar goddess was revered under the name Astarte.

Myths ancient Greece. Aphrodite (Venus). Queen of Love Desires

There are several conflicting tales about the birth of Venus. But artists, depicting this birth, represent it always emerging from sea ​​foam. In ancient paintings the goddess usually lies in a simple shell. On coins she is depicted on a chariot drawn by tritons; finally, on numerous bas-reliefs the goddess appears accompanied by sea horses or sea centaurs. In the 18th century French artists, and mainly Boucher, loved to depict this poetic myth on lampshades and decorative paintings. Rubens painted the painting “Feast of Venus”, remarkable for its freshness and brilliance of colors; it is in Vienna Museum. Among the works of modern artists, Bouguereau’s painting “The Birth of Venus” is very famous.

The toilet of Venus is a favorite subject for artists and poets. Ory are engaged in raising a lovely goddess, and grace(charites) are present at her toilet and help her. “She is the most beautiful of all goddesses, forever young, forever captivating, her beautiful eyes promise one bliss, she has a magic belt that contains all the spells of love, and even proud Juno, wanting to return the love of Jupiter, asks Venus to lend her this belt . Her golden jewelry burns brighter than fire, and her beautiful hair, crowned with a golden wreath, is fragrant” (Gottfried Müller). Many paintings depict the toilet of Venus and the graces serving her. All best artists Later times wrote on this topic, including Boucher, Proudhon, Rubens, Albano, Titian and many others.

When Greek art moved from rough and formless primitive images of Venus to more perfect ones, it began to strive to create an ideal type in which all the charming qualities and beauty that the imagination of the Greeks, those passionate admirers of beauty, so generously endowed this goddess would be combined and embodied. The goddess began to be depicted sitting on a throne; she is usually covered with long clothes, the folds of which, gently falling, are distinguished by their special grace. In general, the distinguishing feature of all statues of Venus is precisely the grace and elegance of draperies and movements. In all the works of the school of Phidias and his followers, the type of Venus expresses mainly the femininity of her nature, and the feeling of love that she should arouse is a pure and lasting feeling, which has nothing to do with sensual outbursts. And only later Attic art began to interpret and see in Venus only the personification of female beauty and sensual love, and not a powerful goddess, conquering the entire universe with the power of her charm and femininity.

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This sculpture- one of the most famous works art, and one of the most beautiful. The writer Chateaubriand, seeing her for the first time, exclaimed: “Greece has not yet given us better evidence of its greatness!”

The first researcher, the secretary of the French Academy of Arts, Cartmer de Quincey, named the statue Venus de Milo, although it would be more correct to give her Greek name- Aphrodite. After all, the statue was created (and found) in Greece, not Rome. The sculpture of the goddess of love is known to everyone. But if you ask who and when created the Venus de Milo, what she looked like initially, the answer will only be guesses.

Aphrodite - goddess of love and beauty, personification eternal youth, patroness of navigation. She was originally considered the goddess of the sea, sky and fertility. Her name translated from Greek means “born of foam.” The cult of the goddess of love was widespread throughout Greece. The temples of Aphrodite, in which bloodless sacrifices were made, attracted entire hordes of young people striving for mutual and happy love.

Sculptural images of Aphrodite are not uncommon in ancient art. She was depicted both naked and shyly wrapped in clothes. Many cities ordered her statues for their temples. To this day, however, most of the sculptures have not survived: wars and earthquakes, of which there were many in Greece, destroyed entire cities.

Greek statues of Aphrodite. From left to right: Aphrodite Menophantos Greek sculpture 1st century BC e., Italy, National Museum Rome. Sculpture of Aphrodite, Eros and Pan. 100 BC, Delphi, Greece. Aphrodite of Sinuessa 4th century BC. e. Greek sculpture. Italy, Naples, National Archaeological Museum.

Therefore the originals Greek art there are very few museums in the world, and an idea of ​​this period European culture is formed based on the study of marble copies made by the Romans, imitating famous masters. However, sometimes the earth gives up treasures hidden in its depths. Thanks to a happy accident, statues of Athena, Artemis, Nike were found... Olympian gods after centuries of imprisonment they return to earth.

Milos (Melos) is a small rocky island in the Aegean Sea. Aphrodite, whom the Romans called Venus, has long been considered his patron. The goddess's attribute was an apple (the symbol of the island), and her month was April.

Therefore, the fact that it was on Milos that a wonderful statue of this goddess was discovered and that this happened just at the beginning of April is deeply symbolic. In 1820, the peasant Irgos worked his field with his son. There were ruins nearby ancient theater. But Irgos rarely paid attention to them: household concerns occupied all his time.

While plowing the plot, the peasant came across the remains of a wall and slabs hewn from stone. The processed stone was valued on the island (it was used as building material), so Irgos decided to dig up his find and began to expand the hole. After some time, he managed to dig out a wide stone niche, in which a statue of Aphrodite appeared to the eyes of the shocked peasant, and next to it lay two herm figurines and several fragments of marble.

Irgos knew that foreigners were interested in ancient finds and that a large reward could be obtained for the statue. Therefore, he went to the French consul of Brest and invited him to examine the sculpture. He was not strong in art history, but knew very well that the French government was interested in replenishing the Louvre collection. Therefore, Brest turned to the commanders of the French ships stationed in the harbor with a request to send an officer versed in art.

The opinions of the gentlemen officers were divided. Some believed that there was nothing special about the statue, others argued that it was unique. Brest requested permission to purchase from a higher authority, and in the meantime the French hydrographic vessel La Chevrette arrived in the harbor. Midshipman Dumont-Durville (future admiral, Antarctic explorer) immediately realized how valuable the find was.

Thanks to his report, the French government ordered money to be allocated to purchase the statue. But by that time, Oikonomos Vergi, a close associate of Murzuki, who at that time actually ruled all the Greek islands, had learned about Venus.

Vergi demanded that the residents of Milos sell the statue to Turkey. When the ship L'Estafette arrived in Milos, the statue was already being loaded onto a Turkish felucca. The French gave chase. They managed to recapture the upper half of the statue from the Turks, and later ransom the lower part.

The statue (more precisely, its fragments, which were later restored) was taken to France and presented as a gift to King Louis XIII. Voitier and Dumont-Durville, who took part in the acquisition of the ancient masterpiece, were not only awarded, but also became real heroes in the eyes of French artistic bohemia.

The king tried for some time to hide the existence of the statue (after all, Turkey considered its capture to be outright piracy), but rumors about the beautiful ancient creation spread throughout the world, and Venus was placed in the Louvre. The first acquaintance with the masterpiece took place on May 7, 1821. Ambassadors from England, Holland, and Turkey came to see the Venus de Milo.

The Greek ambassador was also present at the ceremony. But at that time there was no law on the protection of valuables in Greece (it appeared in 1834), so Greek treasures were exported without any permission, and the country in which the masterpieces of world art were created could not even protest.

The Venus de Milo was attributed to the chisel of Praxiteles, the most famous sculptor of antiquity (Louis XIII really wanted this), although over time it was established that the sculpture was created later - around 120 BC. The question of who is the author of Venus has been raised more than once.

It was suggested that the statue was sculpted by another famous master - Skopas. And a little later, thanks to the diligence of the student Gro, who sketched the sculpture and the fragments of marble brought with it, an inscription made on the pedestal was discovered, which had not yet been noticed by anyone.

The half-erased Greek letters formed the words: “Alexander (or Agessander), son of Menidas of Antioch, performed this.” After studying the inscription, debate broke out. Some rejoiced that they had “found” real author sculptures (by the way, today his name is included in almost all reference books on art history).

Others, more cautious, believed that Alexander created only a pedestal for the statue. And still others were inclined to think that the master who left the signature was... the first restorer of the Venus de Milo.

When asked what this master restored, supporters of the version answered briefly: hands. More precisely, the position of the hands. It is extremely difficult to prove or disprove this assumption, because Venus does not have hands.

Where did the statue's hands go? Describing the sculpture, Durville mentioned that the goddess “... held an apple in her raised left hand, and with her right hand she held a beautifully draped belt, carelessly falling from her hips to her feet.” The son of the consul of Brest, however, mentions only one hand - the left. In any case, Jean Ecard, in a book published in 1873, cites many eyewitness accounts of the “adventures” of the sculpture.

Ekar's arguments seemed verified and plausible... until the serious research. It turned out that Ecard cited only that excerpt from D'Urville's report that fit into his version. And he “forgot” about the postscript, the text of which leaves no doubt that the statue lost its arms much earlier than the memorable skirmish between the Turks and the French broke out: “Unfortunately, both of her arms were broken.” The final verdict was made by experts: judging by the patina (layer of oxides) on the fragments of the hands, as well as the quality of the marble, the hands were broken off long before the discovery of the statue.

Disputes still continue about what the goddess of love was holding in her hands. According to some sculptors - an apple. They are trying to identify the statue with the myth of how Hera, Athena and Aphrodite (in the Roman version - Juno, Minerva and Venus) came to the shepherd Paris with a request to decide which of them was more beautiful. Each of them promised the young man gifts in case of victory. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite, giving her preference over the others, and she promised him Helen of Troy.

Others believe that Venus looked in the mirror, admiring her beauty. Professor Hass expressed the opinion that the sculptor depicted Venus after bathing, at the moment when she was about to anoint her body with juice. She held a fruit in one hand and a juice container in the other. There were other interpretations. Venus clutched a spindle in her hands... She held the shield of Mars... She defended herself from an obsessive admirer or, on the contrary, seduced him...

Perhaps the Venus de Milo looked like this

One of the most well-reasoned versions is considered to be one that is followed by a whole galaxy of scientists: the statue of the goddess of love is part of a sculptural group. This is indicated by the unfinished drapery on the left side and the marble processing on Venus's back.

Art historians disagree only on who exactly was part of the group. There are several reconstructions representing all kinds of sculptural compositions: Venus and Hercules, Venus and Mars, Venus and Paris... The pose of the statue is interpreted completely differently, but today it is considered the best for depicting the female body.

The statue of Aphrodite remains silent. All we know about her is that she is beautiful. The rest is a chain of speculation. After all, if you wish, you can make as many assumptions as you like. For example, by what signs did the researchers decide that it was a statue of a goddess in front of them? Why not assume that this is one of the great mortals or heroes of antiquity? For example, Helen of Troy? However, just by looking at the statue, all questions and doubts seem small and unimportant.

Far from native land, two thousand years after the sculptor picked up the chisel, she remains a living symbol of beauty. Unlike the ancient Greeks, we do not worship a goddess. But we worship the Beauty embodied in her sculpture. It is no coincidence that the Venus de Milo is the only work of art to which huge amount poems in almost all languages ​​of the world.

Venus, as well as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury, was known to humanity back in the Stone Age. The planet was admired by the ancient Chinese and Greeks, the inhabitants of Egypt, Babylon and Mesopotamia, Indian tribes South and North America. The ancient astrologers were wrong about only one thing - they divided Venus into two stars, observing one early in the morning, worshiping the other at dusk. Hence the two names. Residents ancient Hellas Venus, rising in the morning, was called Phosphorus, rising in the evening - Vesper. The inhabitants of the Nile Delta called the morning one Tayoumutiri and the evening one Owaiti. The Mayans came up with two names for Venus: the Great Star or Noh Ek and the Star of the Wasp or Xux Ek; the ancient Mayans also knew how to calculate the synodic period of Venus.

The Pythagoreans were the first to say that the morning and evening shining miracle was one star, not two. And Heraclitus of Pontus proved in his scientific works that Venus does not revolve around the Earth, as was mistakenly assumed then, but around the Sun. Somewhere during this same historical period, the Greeks began to name Venus after the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty on the Greek Olympus.

The name of the planet Venus, which seems traditional and unchanged to us, was proposed by the ancient Romans, naming the enchanting celestial body by analogy with the Greek version. Aphrodite and Venus are the eternally young goddesses of femininity, beauty, and love. Exploring the planets in ancient period The history of mankind has mostly been reduced to compiling maps of the starry sky. Although, ancient astronomers tried to calculate the distance from the Earth to all the then known planets of the solar system.

The understanding of Venus among the ancient Indians of South America is unusual. They associated Venus with the life of a male deity - Quetzalcoatl. According to Indian beliefs, each cycle of Venus, and they had knowledge about the Venusian cycles, personifies the life of the god Quetzalcoatl on Earth. The morning rise of Venus illuminates the appearance of God on Earth. The second phase of the morning cycle of Venus causes Quetzalcoatl to experience extreme excitement and commit rash actions. When Venus is completely hidden from the eyes of the Mayans behind the solar disk, then Quetzalcoatl wages a fierce battle with the merciless Sun. The evening phase of Venus endows Quetzalcoatl with wisdom and peace; he descends to Earth in the form of a man and shares the secrets of wisdom with the Mayans who listen to him. The lower phase of evening Venus symbolizes the death of the deity. A new cycle of Venus - and the story of Quetzalcoatl will repeat itself again, and so invariably until the end of time, Venus symbolizes the exploits of the god of the Mayan Indians on Earth. In the sacred Mayan city, a special astronomical tower was erected, intended only for observing Venus. Spending nights watching celestial bodies on the El Caracol tower, Mayan flame stargazers compiled an approximate calendar of Venus eclipses and tried to calculate the time of the planet’s revolution around its axis.

The understanding of Venus by the ancient Chinese is amazing. For them Venus was masculine. Its color is white, which then symbolized death in China. In autumn, Venus is most clearly visible in its evening phase, which is why the Chinese gave it patronage over this time of year. Of the then known chemical elements, Metal was given to Venus. Agree, it has nothing in common with the perception of the planet in ancient Europe. In Babylon, Venus was considered the mother of the gods Ishtar and was called the “bright torch of heaven.”

The ancient Slavs called Venus in the Greek manner Aphrodite, or Dennitsa and Chigir-star. But Slavic mythology is practically not connected with the symbolism and deification of stars, which is why historians have scanty information. It is only known that our ancestors knew Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Traditional for Slavic culture sources - chronicles and folklore say nothing about an attempt to study the movement of Venus.

The first of the great minds of Europe to speak about the possibility of Venus passing across the Sun was Johannes Kepler in 1631.