|
|
Princess Serenity (Selenity):
In Greek Mythology, the moon was known as Selene (pronounced
Se-leen) who
drove her milk white carriage across the sky every
night. It was said that her brother and sister were
known as Helios and Eos, god and goddesses of the sun
and dawn. Although many people believe that "Selene" is
where Takeuchi-san derived Princess Serenity, that might
not be entirely true. Actually, Serenity came from a
dark spot on the true moon known as the Sea of Serenity.
In Japanese, however, the l and r characters are interchangeable
so it could be actually either one.
One night, as the goddess crossed the dark sky of
night, her gaze fell upon a young shepherd by the name
of Endymion. However, since she was immortal and he was
a mortal, she could not really be with him, especially
since she learned never to ask for immortality for a mortal
from her sister Eos who had asked for the eternal life of
her beloved and ended up with a grasshopper.
Instead of asking for his immortality, Selene instead
asked for Endymion to sleep forever so that they could
be together.
Endymion did sleep and as he did, he dreamed that he
was holding Selene in his hands. However, it wasn't a
dream for soon, Selene bore fifty sons and daughters who
were as beautiful as their mother, yet slept like their father.
Usagi's name, Rabbit of the Moon, comes from an
ancient belief that the shadows of the moon form
a rabbit-like shape. Notice how most everything she
has has a rabbit on it.
Princess Mercury:
Mercury was derived from one of the twelve great gods of Olympus.
In Greek history, Mercury was known as Hermes and he was a very
mischievous god who, even as a baby was already thinking up of
mischief! He had even stolen Apollo's cows and managed to lie
about it for some time until his father demanded that he
returned the cows to his brother.
Mercury is the herald of the gods, which means he goes
around with wings on his shoes and tells mortals any message
from the gods, or he tells one god about what another god
wants. He also is the one who leads dead souls into Hades, the
land of the dead.
Mercury is the god of thieves and others who live by their
wits.
Princess Mars
Mars was named after the Roman god of war and the Grecian god known
as Ares. Ares was one of the "bad" gods who loved war and had a spirit
who was called Eris beside him all the time. Like Ares, Eris also
loved to go to war and see bloodshed. She had a golden apple of
dischord that would end friendships and cause war among enemies when
it was thrown among them.
Ares is also known to be a coward since he would howl and scream
whenever he would be wounded in battle. He also is very proud and
vain about his looks since he is liked by Aphrodite, the goddess of
love.
Ares is hated especially by his half sister, the goddess of wisdom,
Athena.
Princess Jupiter:
Princess Venus:
Venus is, as most people know, the planet named after
the Roman godess of love(not really beauty since that
honor belongs to the three graces). Also known as
Aphrodite in Greece, Venus was the only godess to
have no father or mother. She came from the sea
known as Cythera and was welcomed by the wind,
Zephyr and the three graces. Every year, she returns
to Cythera and bathes there to remain fresh and
young.
Venus, as all people know, has a son named Cupid, or
Eos to the Greeks. Cupid is her baby son who loves
to shoot arrows of love at mortals which makes them
fall in love with the first person that they see.
Since Jupiter was afraid that the other gods would
fight over her hand, he chose Vulcan, god of smith
and fire to be her husband. Vulcan is also the
brother of Mars.
Princess Pluto:
Pluto was derived from the Roman god Pluto, and
the Grecian god, Hades, god of the underworld
who never saw the light. He led souls into
the underworld and once past the three headed
guard dog named Cerberus, no soul could leave.
One day, as a young girl named Persephone, or
Porsepine in Roman mythology, was playing in
the fields, she was so beautiful that Pluto,
who usually didn't really notice anything, noticed
her and decided that he would marry her. Since
he knew her protective mother would never consent
to giving him her daughter, he decided to kidnap her.
The goddess of the harvest, Ceres, Porsepine's
mother was frantic when she couldn't find her daughter.
Soon, she became so grieved that the Earth turned cold
and nothing grew. Mankind began to suffer so much that
Jupiter, king of the gods, demanded that Pluto give
the girl back. However, when Porsepine was about to
leave, she finds that she has eaten the food of the
dead and would have to come back to the grim underworld
where she reigned as queen every six months. During the
time she was away, people called winter and the time
when the girl returned was known as spring since it is
the time when Ceres is most happiest and causes the Earth
to bloom. My only wonder is, that Pluto has no association
with time whatsoever except that Pluto's father is the
Grandfather of time.
Princess Neptune:
Neptune's character and planet is based on the Roman god Neptune and
the grecian god Poseidon. Poseidon was a brother
of Zeus and was one of the twelve great gods of
Olympus. He was the king of the sea and had a
wife named Amphytrite who had forty nine Nereid
sisters. Poseidon was a moody god, he is known
as the earth shaker since when he gets mad, he
raises waves as tall as buildings and destroys
whole cities. When he is calm, he rides about
on his frothy white horses and raises new land
from the sea.
Princess Uranus:
Uranus was derived from the sky. When mother earth
was very young, she was very lonely. When she looked
up into the sky, however, she fell in love with Uranus
since he was covered in sparkling stars, and soon they
got married. They had many children, but the first
were the 6 titans and 6 titanesses. They were very
handsome, so when mother earth gave birth to a series
of monsters, Uranus was disgusted and even threw a
few of them into a never ending pit called Tartarus.
Mother earth was hearbroken and told the youngest titan
to kill his father with a sickle. The titan Cronus
obeyed his mother and overthrew Uranus.
Princess Saturn:
Saturn was derived from the Roman god Saturn and the
Grecian god Cronus. Cronus was the titan that
overthrew his father. He knew that if he should ever
have a child, that child would overthrow him like he had
his father. To avoid that, he ate the children his Titaness
wife would bear. His wife, sad that she was the only
one of her sisters who had no children, decided that the
next time she would have a son, she would ask Mother Earth
for advice. When she was expecting her sixth child, she
came to Mother Earth who told her to give her husband a stone
instead of the child. Rhea did as mother earth told her and
the child, who was called Zeus was sent off into a cave
so that his cries would not be heard. When he grew older,
sure enough, he destroyed his father, set the monsters from
Tartarus free and in their place, put the titans. Also,
with the help of his first wife, Metis, the goddess of prudence and mother to Athena, goddess of wisdom, he freed his five
brothers and sisters from their father's stomach. They were
Hades, Hera, Poseidon, Ceres, and Hestia.
Luna:
Luna, as most Spanish-speaking people know, means
moon.
Artemis:
Artemis, in contrast with Luna, has a more descriptive
origin. He was named after the Greecian goddes of
the hunt and of the Moon, Artemis. Artemis was the
twin sister of Apollo, god of light and of the Sun.
Their mother was Leto, one of Zeus's many wives.
When Leto was about to give birth, Hera, knowing
about her, cast a spell that she would not be
able to bear a child on land. Leto wandered about
until she found a small island that floated about,
so it was free from Hera's curse. However, since
Hera had forbidden Ilithiya, goddess of childbirth,
the other gods had to give her a necklace to change
her mind. Hera gave in and the twins were born.
When Artemis was just newly born, she told her
father never to let her marry. Zeus agreed and
she became a wild maiden who hunted with her
many nymphs. When a hunter saw her bathing by
accident, she splashed water on him and turned
him into a stag. Artemis was a very cold godess.
Diana:
Diana, the little gray daughter of Luna and Artemis,
was named after the Roman goddess of the hunt and
the Moon. Diana is the equivalent of Artemis in
Greek Mythology.
Elysion:
Elysion, the land where Elios (Helios?) the horse comes from,
is, in Greek Mythology, the land where all heroes would
go to when they died.
Helios:
Helios, the winged horse was named after the Grecian god of the
sun who is also the brother of the moon. This is probably because
it is mentioned in the manga that the powers of the sun are controlled
by Endymion's Golden Crystal.
Three Talismans:
The Garnet Orb, the Space Sword and the Deep Aqua Mirror are all
related to the myth of Amaterasu, the sun goddess who was chased
into a cave by her brother and had to be coaxed out using a
mirror, sword and jewel. The other gods angry with Amaterasu's
brother sent him to the Earth and his descendants populated the
islands of Japan. Amaterasu sent down her own descendant to rule
over the people and gave him the three treasures to prove his
identity and authority.