Celestial Classics: Artemis

Another in our Celestial Classics series in which we look at aspects of astronomy, usually celestial bodies but also a NASA mission in this case, and the myths that inspired their names. Today is the turn of the Goddess Artemis, the Greek mythological goddess of the hunt, of chastity, of pregnancy and childbirth, of the wilderness, hunting and those aspects of brutality to which humans must accept their place or else be doomed to destroy the very world on which they live. She is my favourite and I won’t hear a word against her!

Celestial Classics: Proserpina

CONTENT WARNING: Contains Greek Mythology, therefore inevitable discussions about rape and abduction. The Roman Proserpina and the Greek Persephone are, effectively, the same god. Although Proserpina’s visage was placed upon the old Italic goddess, Libera, it seems, for the most part they served the same function and share the same mythos. As a result, andContinue reading “Celestial Classics: Proserpina”

Celestial Classics: Ceres

Ceres is, like Vesta, a hunk-of-stuff in the asteroid belt that generally falls into the dwarf-planet/minor-planet category. I think, more than Vesta, Ceres is planetised due to its closer orbit to the sun and is the largest object in the main asteroid belt. Indeed it is often considered a proto-planet, essentially a planetary embryo, givingContinue reading “Celestial Classics: Ceres”