Why are some planet named after gods and goddesses?

All of the planets, except for Earth, were named after Greek and Roman gods and godesses. Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury were given their names thousands of years ago. The other planets were not discovered until much later, after telescopes were invented. read more

The Sumerians all named the weird looking, moving stars, after gods and goddesses, because they assumed that must be causing them. Then that idea was taken by the Greeks and later Romans. They named all the special things in the sky after things. read more

All of the planets, except for Earth, were named after Roman gods and goddesses. Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury were given their names thousands of years ago. Those were the planets that the ancient Romans could see in the sky without a telescope. read more