History Do ancient names persist in modern culture?

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The discussion centers on the origins of names for solar system objects, with members contributing insights from Latin, Greek, and Frisian cultures. A table was presented listing these names alongside their modern derivatives, but its clarity was questioned, particularly regarding the inclusion of weekdays and their mythological associations. Participants debated the accuracy of Frisian references and the historical context of names like "Saturday," which was clarified as deriving from Saturn rather than the Sabbath. The conversation also touched on the evolution of personal names and their cultural significance, noting the persistence of classical names in modern Greek culture. Overall, the thread highlights the complexity of linguistic and cultural connections in naming celestial bodies and days of the week.
  • #51
fresh_42 said:
We still have all ancient words in use:
Earth related is 'irdisch' or 'irden', but also 'terrestrisch' if in contrast to space. O.k. 'Gaia' isn't in use anymore.
Sun related is still 'solar', or 'helios' in terms like 'heliopause' or 'heliozentrisch'.
Variations of 'Gaia' and 'Gaea' have made a comeback in literature and science. For example SF author John Varley published his 'Gaean Trilogy' -- "Titan", "Wizard", "Demon" -- named after a space artifact called Gaea who nurtures living creatures within a large torus habitat orbiting Saturn.

Variations of the name also appear in papers discussing, for instance, the role of life in atmosphere constituents and the Gaian Hypothesis.

Thanks for the German derivatives. I left English derivatives and modifiers off the revised tables as more languages were added but they really add value IMO showing how previous cultures influence proper names and modern culture.
 
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  • #52
More examples of ancient names in modern culture appear for example in a Hungarian television serial derived from a Finnish tele-novel originally broadcast in Suomi. Suomi and Magyar share cultural roots within Ugric languages; i.e., Finno-Ugric peoples. The Huns mixed with the Urgians producing modern English word Hungarian.

The television serial loosely translated as "Golden Life" or "Our Good Life" features a middle aged hustler and sometimes conman named "Attila" as in Attila the Hun, called Atti, whose name becomes a source of merriment and irony throughout the teleplay. Their Soviet general father named Attila's younger brother "Tamerlane", a name used only in official documents as everyone calls him Tibbi. To balance the names of famous Huns we have wealthy Family friend Uncle Erde. Note that "der Erde" is German for the Earth.
 

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