this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2024
271 points (96.9% liked)

Cool Guides

4652 readers
3 users here now

Rules for Posting Guides on Our Community

1. Defining a Guide Guides are comprehensive reference materials, how-tos, or comparison tables. A guide must be well-organized both in content and layout. Information should be easily accessible without unnecessary navigation. Guides can include flowcharts, step-by-step instructions, or visual references that compare different elements side by side.

2. Infographic Guidelines Infographics are permitted if they are educational and informative. They should aim to convey complex information visually and clearly. However, infographics that primarily serve as visual essays without structured guidance will be subject to removal.

3. Grey Area Moderators may use discretion when deciding to remove posts. If in doubt, message us or use downvotes for content you find inappropriate.

4. Source Attribution If you know the original source of a guide, share it in the comments to credit the creators.

5. Diverse Content To keep our community engaging, avoid saturating the feed with similar topics. Excessive posts on a single topic may be moderated to maintain diversity.

6. Verify in Comments Always check the comments for additional insights or corrections. Moderators rely on community expertise for accuracy.

Community Guidelines

By following these rules, we can maintain a diverse and informative community. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to the moderators. Thank you for contributing responsibly!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Ouranos is the Greek spelling. As far as the Greek god is concerned, that is the better name.

Uranus is the Latin spelling. Just like the other planets planets are named Mercury not Hermes, Mars not Ares, Jupiter not Zeus, astronomers looked to Latin not Greek for naming.

However the person that named Uranus fucked up because while Uranus is the Latin spelling of Ouranos, the Romans called the God Caelus. Rather than use the Roman name (again, like Neptune instead of Poseidon), the person who named it just used the transliteration not the actual nomenclature.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Caelus, now the word celeste ("from the sky" or "heavenly" in some languages) makes more sense

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Yes of the pre-Olympian deities, a lot of them are quite literal and almost animist, in the sense that it is clear that the god is simultaneously a being but also a physical reality of the world. The sky, the earth, the ocean, night, day, darkness, light. And their children are concepts associated with their parents - to early civilised humans, the night creates strife, doom, death.

Only in later "generations" does a truly distinct personhood emerge - eg Zeus is not lightning himself, but he can control it. It's hard not to wonder if the generations of gods seen differently represent actual waves of religious reform or absorption where family trees were made to fit the story rather than vice versa.