01. How did Venus get its name? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

Because it is so easy to see, humans have known about Venus since ancient times, although it was first thought to be a star. Ancient Mayans called it Chak'ek—the Great Star—and the Babylonians called the planet Ishtar. The Greeks thought it was two planets and called it Hesperus when it appeared in the western evening sky and Phosphorus when it appeared in the eastern morning sky. Finally, the planet was named Venus after the Roman goddess of love.

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Answer provided by Laura Peckyno & Robert Peckyno

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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