what planets are named after roman gods
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. The other planets in our solar system were not discovered until much later, when telescopes were invented. Even then, the tradition of naming the planets after Roman gods and goddesses continued. Most of the moons and some asteroids are also named after the critters and creatures and gods and goddesses found in Roman mythology.