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Uranus (mythology)

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Uranus
Personification of theSkyandThe Heavens
Uranus depicted on the Gigantomachy frieze,Pergamon Altar,Pergamon Museum
AbodeSky
Personal information
ParentsGaia(Hesiod)
SiblingsPontusand theOurea(Hesiod)
ConsortGaia
ChildrenTheTitans,theCyclopes,theHecatoncheires,theErinyes(Furies), theGiants,theMeliae,andAphrodite[1]
Equivalents
Roman equivalentCaelus
Mesopotamian equivalentAnu[2]
Greek deities
series
Primordial deities

InGreek mythology,Uranus(/ˈjʊərənəs/YOOR-ə-nəs,also/jʊˈreɪnəs/yoo-RAY-nəs),[3]sometimes writtenOuranos(Ancient Greek:Οὐρανός,lit. 'sky',[uːranós]), is the personification of the sky and one of theGreek primordial deities.According toHesiod,Uranus was the son and husband ofGaia(Earth), with whom he fathered the first generation ofTitans.However, nocultaddressed directly to Uranus survived intoclassical times,[4]and Uranus does not appear among the usual themes ofGreek painted pottery.Elemental Earth, Sky, andStyxmight be joined, however, in solemn invocation inHomeric epic.[5]Uranus is associated with theRoman godCaelus.[6][7][8][9]

Etymology[edit]

Most linguists trace theetymologyof the nameΟὐρανόςto aProto-Greekform*Worsanós(Ϝορσανός),[10]enlarged from *ṷorsó-(also found in Greekοὐρέω(ouréō)'to urinate',Sanskritvarṣá'rain',Hittiteṷarša-'fog, mist').[11]The basicIndo-Europeanroot is*ṷérs-'to rain, moisten' (also found in Greekeérsē'dew', Sanskritvárṣati'to rain', orAvestanaiβi.varəšta'it rained on'), making Ouranos the "rain-maker",[11]or the "lord of rain".[12]

A less likely etymology is aderivativemeaning 'the one standing on high' fromPIE*ṷérso-(cf. Sanskritvárṣman'height, top',Lithuanianviršùs'upper, highest seat', Russianverh'height, top'). Of some importance in the comparative study ofIndo-European mythologyis the identification byGeorges Dumézil(1934)[13]of Uranus with theVedicdeityVáruṇa(MitanniAruna), god of the sky and waters, but the etymological equation is now considered untenable.[14]

Genealogy[edit]

In Hesiod'sTheogony,which came to be accepted by the Greeks as the "standard" account,[15]from Gaia (Earth), the first entity to come into existence afterChaos(Void), came Uranus, theOurea(Mountains), andPontus(Sea).[16]

Then, according to theTheogony,Uranus mated with Gaia, and she gave birth to the twelveTitans:Oceanus,Coeus,Crius,Hyperion,Iapetus,Theia,Rhea,Themis,Mnemosyne,Phoebe,TethysandCronus;theCyclopes:Brontes, Steropes andArges;and theHecatoncheires( "Hundred-Handed Ones" ): Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges.[17]

Further, according to theTheogony,when CronuscastratedUranus, from Uranus' blood, which splattered onto the earth, came theErinyes(Furies), theGiants,and theMeliae.Also, according to theTheogony,Cronus threw the severed genitals into the sea, around which "a white foam spread" and "grew" into thegoddessAphrodite,[19]although according toHomer,Aphrodite was the daughter ofZeusandDione.[20]

Other accounts[edit]

Other sources give other genealogies. In the lost epic poem theTitanomachy,Uranus was apparently the son ofAether,[22]while according to others Uranus was the son of one "Acmon".[23]According to Orphic texts, Uranus (along with Gaia) was the offspring ofNyx(Night) andPhanes.[24]

The poetSappho(c. 630 – c. 570 BC), was said to have made Uranus the father ofEros,by either Gaia, according one source, orAphrodite,according to another.[25]

The mythographerApollodorus,gives a slightly different genealogy from Hesiod's. Without mentioning any ancestors, he begins his account by saying simply that Uranus "was the first who ruled over the whole world."[26]According to Apollodorus, the Titans (instead of being Uranus' firstborn as in Hesiod) were born after the threeHundred-Handersand the threeCyclopes,[27]and there were thirteen original Titans, adding the TitanideDioneto Hesiod's list.[28]

Passages in a section of theIliadcalled theDeception of Zeussuggest the possibility thatHomerknew a tradition in which Oceanus and Tethys (rather than Uranus and Gaia, as in Hesiod) were the parents of the Titans.[29]Plato,in hisTimaeus,provides a genealogy (probably Orphic) which perhaps reflected an attempt to reconcile this apparent divergence between Homer and Hesiod, with Uranus and Gaia as the parents of Oceanus and Tethys, and Oceanus and Tethys as the parents of Cronus and Rhea and the other Titans.[30]

In Roman mythology, Uranus' counterpart wasCaelus(Sky).Cicerosays Caelus was the offspring ofAetherandDies(Day),[31]and that Caelus and Dies were the parents ofMercury(Hermes).[32]Hyginus says that, in addition to Caelus, Aether and Dies were also the parents ofTerra(Earth), and Mare (Sea).[33]

Mythology[edit]

Castration and overthrow[edit]

The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn:fresco byGiorgio VasariandCristofano Gherardi,c.1560 (Sala di Cosimo I,Palazzo Vecchio)

As Hesiod tells the story, Gaia "first bore starry Heaven [Uranus], equal to herself, to cover her on every side, and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the blessed gods."[34]Then, with Gaia, Uranus produced eighteen children: the twelve Titans, the threeCyclopes,and the threeHecatoncheires(Hundred-Handers),[35]but hating them,[36]he hid them away somewhere inside Gaia.[37]Angry and in distress, Gaia fashioned asicklemade ofadamantand urged her children to punish their father. Only her son Cronus, the youngest Titan, was willing to do so.[38]So Gaia hid Cronus in "ambush", giving him the adamantine sickle, and when Uranus came to lie with Gaia, Cronus reached out and castrated his father, casting the severed testicles into the sea.[39]Uranus' castration allowed the Titans to rule and Cronus to assume supreme command of the cosmos.[40]

For this "fearful deed", Uranus called his sons "Titans (Strainers) in reproach" and said that "vengeance for it would come afterwards."[41]According to Hesiod, from the blood that spilled from Uranus onto the Earth came forth theGiants,theErinyes(the avenging Furies), and theMeliae(the ash-treenymphs). From the genitals in the sea came forthAphrodite.[42]According to some accounts, the mythicalPhaeacians,visited byOdysseusin theOdyssey,were also said to have sprung from the blood of Uranus' castration.[43]

Various sites have been associated with Cronus' sickle, and Uranus' castration.[44]Two of these were on the island ofSicily.According to the Alexandrian poetCallimachus(c. 270 BC), Cronus' sickle was buried atZanclein Sicily, saying that it was "hidden in a hollow under the ground" there.[45]The other Sicilian site isDrepanum(modernTrapani), whose name is derived from the Greek word for "sickle". Another Alexandrian poet,Lycophron(c. 270 BC), mentions "rounding the Cronos' Sickle's leap", an apparent reference to the "leap" of the sickle being thrown into the sea at Drepanum.[46]

However other sites were also associated with the sickle. The geographerPausanias,reports that the sickle was said to have been thrown into the sea from the cape nearBolina,not far fromArgyraon the coast ofAchaea,and says that "For this reason they call the capeDrepanum".[47]The historianTimaeuslocated the sickle atCorcyra,which the islanders claimed to bePhaeaciathe island home of the Phaeacians, who (as noted above) were said to have been born from the blood of Uranus' castration.[48]

After his castration, Uranus recedes into the background. Apart from he and Gaia (now reconciled?)[49]warning their son Cronus that he is destined to be overthrown by one of his children, advising their daughterRhea,Cronus' wife, to go toLyctusonCreteto give birth to Zeus, so that Zeus would be saved from Cronus, and advising Zeus to swallow his first wifeMetis,so that Zeus would not in turn be overthrown by his son, Uranus plays no further role in Greek mythology.[50]He is however identified on the Gigantomachy frieze on thePergamon Altar,bearded and winged, fighting against theGiantswith a sword, not too far from his daughter Themis, who is seen attacking another Giant.[51]

The sky (ouranos)[edit]

After his castration, the Sky came no more to cover the Earth at night, but held to its place, and, according toCarl Kerényi,"the original begetting came to an end".[52]Uranus was scarcely regarded as anthropomorphic, aside from the genitalia in the castration myth. He was simply the sky, which was conceived by the ancients as an overarching dome or roof of bronze, held in place (or turned on an axis) by the TitanAtlas.In formulaic expressions in the Homeric poemsouranosis sometimes an alternative toOlympusas the collective home of the gods; an obvious occurrence would be the moment inIliad1.495, whenThetisrises from the sea to plead with Zeus: "and early in the morning she rose up to greet Ouranos-and-Olympus and she found the son of Kronos..."

William Saleremarks that "... 'Olympus' is almost always used [as the home of theOlympian gods], butouranosoften refers to the natural sky above us without any suggestion that the gods, collectively live there ".[53]Sale concluded that the earlier seat of the gods was the actualMount Olympus,from which the epic tradition by the time of Homer had transported them to the sky,ouranos.By the sixth century, when a "heavenly Aphrodite" (Aphrodite Urania) was to be distinguished from the "common Aphrodite of the people",ouranossignifies purely the celestial sphere itself.

Comparative mythology[edit]

Hurrian mythology[edit]

The Greek creation myth is similar to theHurriancreation myth. In Hurrian religionAnuis the sky god. His sonKumarbisbit off his genitals and spat out three deities, one of whom,Teshub,later deposed Kumarbis.[54]

Váruṇa[edit]

It is possible that Uranus was originally anIndo-Europeangod, to be identified with theVedicVáruṇa,the supreme keeper of order who later became the god of oceans and rivers, as suggested byGeorges Dumézil,[13]following hints inÉmile Durkheim,The Elementary Forms of Religious Life(1912).[55]Another of Dumézil's theories is that the Iranian supreme GodAhura Mazdais a development of theIndo-Iranian*vouruna-*mitra.[56]Therefore, this divinity has also the qualities ofMitra,which is the god of the falling rain.[57]

Uranus is connected with the night sky, andVáruṇais the god of the sky and the celestial ocean, which is connected with the Milky Way.

Georges Dumézilmade a cautious case for the identity of Uranus andVedicVáruṇaat the earliestIndo-Europeancultural level.[13]Dumézil's identification of mythic elements shared by the two figures, relying to a great extent on linguistic interpretation, but not positing a common origin, was taken up byRobert Gravesand others. The identification of the nameOuranoswith theHinduVáruṇa, based in part on a positedProto-Indo-European languageroot*-ŭerwith a sense of "binding" —ancient king god Váruṇa binds the wicked, ancient king god Uranus binds the Cyclops, who had tormented him. The most probable etymology is fromProto-Greek*(W)orsanόj(worsanos) from a Proto-Indo-European language root*ers"to moisten, to drip" (referring to the rain).

Cultural context of flint[edit]

The detail of the sickle's being flint rather than bronze or even iron was retained by Greek mythographers (though neglected by Roman ones).Knapped flintsas cutting edges were set in wooden or bone sickles in the late Neolithic, before the onset of theBronze Age.Such sickles may have survived latest in ritual contexts where metal was taboo, but the detail, which was retained by classical Greeks, suggests the antiquity of themytheme.

Planet Uranus[edit]

Main article:Uranus
See also:Planets in astrology § Uranus

The ancient Greeks and Romans knew of only five "wandering stars" (Ancient Greek:πλανῆται[planɛːtai̯]):Mercury,Venus,Mars,Jupiter,andSaturn.Following the discovery of a sixth planet in 1781 using a telescope, there was long-term disagreement regarding its name. Its discovererWilliam Herschelnamed it Georgium Sidus (The Georgian Star) after his monarch George III. This was the name preferred by English astronomers, but others such as the French preferred "Herschel". Finally, the nameUranusbecame accepted in the mid-19th century, as suggested by astronomerJohann Bodeas the logical addition to the existing planets' names, since Mars (Aresin Greek), Venus (Aphroditein Greek), and Mercury (Hermesin Greek) were the children of Jupiter, Jupiter (Zeusin Greek) the son of Saturn, and Saturn (Cronusin Greek) the son of Uranus. What is anomalous is that, while the others take Roman names,Uranusis a name derived from Greek in contrast to the RomanCaelus.[58]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^According toHesiod,Theogony183–200,Aphrodite was born from Uranus' severed genitals, but according toHomer,Aphrodite was the daughter ofZeus(Iliad3.374,20.105;Odyssey8.308,320) andDione(Iliad5.370–71), see Gantz, pp. 99–100.
  2. ^Hard,p. 34.
  3. ^"Uranus".Dictionary.com Unabridged(Online). n.d.
  4. ^"We did not regard them as being in any way worthy of worship,"Karl Kerenyi,speaking for the ancient Greeks, said of theTitans(Kerenyi, p. 20); "with the single exception, perhaps, of Cronos; and with the exception, also, ofHelios."
  5. ^As atHomer,Iliad15.36 ff.,Odyssey5.184 ff.
  6. ^Grimal, s.v. "Caelus" p. 38.
  7. ^Varro,De lingua Latina5.58.
  8. ^Marion Lawrence, "The Velletri Sarcophagus",American Journal of Archaeology69.3 (1965), p. 220.
  9. ^Floro,Epitome1.40 (3.5.30): "TheJewstried to defendJerusalem;but he[Pompeius Magnus]entered this city also and saw that grand Holy of Holies of an impious people exposed, Caelum under a golden vine "(Hierosolymam defendere temptavere Iudaei; verum haec quoque et intravit et vidit illud grande inpiae gentis arcanum patens, sub aurea vite Caelum).Finbarr Barry Flood,The Great Mosque of Damascus: Studies on the Makings of an Umayyad Visual Culture(Brill, 2001), pp. 81 and 83 (note 118). ElOxford Latin Dictionary(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, 1985 reprinting), p. 252, entry oncaelum,cita a Juvenal, Petronio, and Floro como ejemplos deCaelusoCaelum"with reference toJehovah;also, to some symbolization of Jehovah. "
  10. ^West 2007,p. 137.Originally reconstructed in: Johann Baptist Hofmann,Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen(Munich: R. Oldenbourg, 1950).
  11. ^abRobert S. P. Beekes,Etymological Dictionary of Greek,vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 1128–1129.
  12. ^West 2007,p. 137.
  13. ^abcGeorges Dumézil,Ouranos-Varuna – Essai de mythologie comparée indo-européenne(Paris: G.-P. Maisonneuve, 1934).
  14. ^Manfred Mayrhofer,Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen,vol. 2, s.v. "Váruṇa" (Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1996), 515–6. Edgar C. Polomé,"Binder-god", inEncyclopedia of Indo-European Culture(London–Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997), 65.
  15. ^Hard,p. 21;Fowler 2013,p. 5.
  16. ^Fowler 2013,p. 5;Hard, p.24;Gantz, p. 10;Hesiod,Theogony126–132.
  17. ^Hesiod,Theogony132–153.Compare withApollodorus,1.1.1–3,which first mentions the Hecatoncheires, whom he names as Briareus, "Gyes" and Cottus, then the Cyclopes and the Titans.
  18. ^Hesiod,Theogony132–153;Caldwell, p. 5, table 3.
  19. ^Hesiod,Theogony173–206.
  20. ^Homer,Iliad3.374,5.370–71,20.105,Odyssey8.308,320;see Gantz, pp. 99–100.
  21. ^Hesiod,Theogony183–200;Caldwell, p. 6 table 4.
  22. ^Gantz, p. 12; Grimal, s.v. Uranus; Eumelus fr. 1 (West 2003,pp. 222–225).
  23. ^Brill's New Pauly,s.v. Acmon;Eumelus fr. 1 (West 2003,pp. 222–225);Callimachusfr. 498;Alcmanfr. 61 Campbell[= Eustathius onIliad18.476].
  24. ^West 1983, pp. 70, 85; Gantz, p. 742; Meisner, pp. 37, 70, 197; Grimal, s.v. Uranus.
  25. ^Gantz, p. 3;Sapphofr. 198 Campbell[= 198 LP] [= 132 Bergk].
  26. ^Apollodorus,1.1.1
  27. ^Apollodorus,1.1.1–1.1.2
  28. ^Apollodorus,1.1.3
  29. ^Fowler 2013, pp.8,11;Hard,pp. 36–37,p. 40;West 1997, p. 147; Gantz, p. 11; Burkert 1995,pp. 91–92;West 1983, pp. 119–120;Homer,Iliad14.201,302[= 201],245.
  30. ^Gantz, pp. 11–12, 743; West 1983, pp. 117–118; Fowler 2013,p. 11;Plato,Timaeus40d–e.
  31. ^Cicero,De Natura Deorum3.44.
  32. ^Cicero,De Natura Deorum3.56.
  33. ^Hyginus,FabulaeTheogony 1–2 (Smith and Trzaskoma, p. 95).
  34. ^Hard, p.24;Gantz, p. 10;HesiodTheogony126–128.
  35. ^Hesiod,Theogony132–153.
  36. ^Hesiod,Theogony154–155.Exactly which of these eighteen children Hesiod meant that Uranus hated is not entirely clear, all eighteen, or perhaps just the Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handers. Hard, p. 67;West 1988, p. 7, and Caldwell, p. 37 on lines 154–160, make it all eighteen; while Gantz, p. 10, says "likely all eighteen"; and Most,p. 15 n. 8,says "apparently only the... Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers are meant" and not the twelve Titans. See also West 1966, p. 206 on lines 139–53, p. 213 line 154γὰρ.Why Uranus hated his children is also not clear. Gantz, p. 10 says: "The reason for [Uranus'] hatred may be [his children's] horrible appearance, though Hesiod does not quite say this"; while Hard,p. 67says: "Although Hesiod is vague about the cause of his hatred, it would seem that he took a dislike to them because they were terrible to behold". However, West 1966, p. 213 on line 155, says that Uranus hated his children because of their "fearsome nature".
  37. ^Hesiod,Theogony156–158.The hiding place inside Gaia is presumably her womb, see West 1966, p. 214 on line 158; Caldwell, p. 37 on lines 154–160; Gantz, p. 10. This place seems also to be the same place asTartarus,see West 1966, p. 338 on line 618, and Caldwell, p. 37 on lines 154–160.
  38. ^Hesiod,Theogony159–172.
  39. ^Hesiod,Theogony173–182;according to Gantz, p. 10, Cronus waited in ambush, and reached out to castrate Uranus, from "inside [Gaia's] body, we will understand, if he too is a prisoner".
  40. ^Hard,p. 67;West 1966, p. 19.
  41. ^Hesiod,Theogony207–210.
  42. ^Hesiod,Theogony183–199.
  43. ^Lane Fox, p. 274 with n. 37;Acusilasfr. 4 Fowler[=FGrHist2 F4];Alcaeusfr. 441 Campbell;Apollonius of Rhodes,Argonautica4.981–992.
  44. ^Grimal, s.v. Uranus.
  45. ^Lane Fox, p. 270;Callimachus,Aetia(On Origins) 2,fr. 43.68–72.For a discussion of this sickle of Zancle see Lane Fox, pp. 270–273.
  46. ^Lane Fox, pp. 270–271;Lycophron,Alexandra869.
  47. ^Lane Fox, p. 273;Pausanias,7.23.4.
  48. ^Lane Fox, p. 274 with n. 36, citing thescholiastonApollonius of Rhodes'Argonautica,4.984 ff. Compare withApollonius of Rhodes,Argonautica4.981–992.
  49. ^Gantz, p. 41.
  50. ^Grimal, s.v. Uranus;Hesiod,Theogony463–464,886–900.For a discussion of Uranus' prophesying see West 1966, p. 295, on line 463.
  51. ^LIMCOuranos;Honan, p.21
  52. ^Kerényi, p. 22.
  53. ^Sale, p. 3.
  54. ^Guterbock, Hans Gustav. "Hittite Religion" inForgotten Religions including some Primitive Religions "ed. Vergilius Firm. NY Philadelphia Library 1950: 88f,103f;See Hard,p. 34;Gantz, p. 743.
  55. ^The Durkheim connection was noted byArnoldo Momigliano,"Georges Dumezil and the Trifunctional Approach to Roman Civilization",History and Theory,1984; a link between Uranus and Varuna was suggested as early as 1824 byAlbrecht Weber,Modern investigations on ancient India: A lecture delivered in Berlin March 4, 1824,1857.
  56. ^Georges Dumézil,Mitra Varuna: Essai sur deux représentations indo-européenes de la souveraineté(Paris: Gallimard, 1948). English translation:Mitra-Varuna: an Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty,trans. Derek Coltman (New York: Zone Books, 1988).
  57. ^According to Dumézil, Varuna is the god of "masses of water", while falling rain is rather related to Mitra.
  58. ^Gingerich, Owen (October 1958)."The Naming of Uranus and Neptune".Astronomical Society of the Pacific.8 Leaflet no. 352 (352): 9–15.Bibcode:1958ASPL....8....9G– via NASA Astrophysics Data System.

References[edit]

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