Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass. The muse ''Urania'' is sometimes confounded with '' Aphrodite Urania'' ("heavenly Aphrodite") because of their similar name.

Family

Urania was the daughter of Zeus by Mnemosyne and also a great granddaughter of Uranus. Some accounts list her as the mother of the musician

Linus Linus, a male given name, is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Linos''. It's a common given name in Sweden. The origin of the name is unknown although the name appears in antiquity both as a musician who taught Apollo and as a son of Apollo who di ...

by Apollo or Hermes or

Amphimarus In Greek mythology, Amphimarus (Ancient Greek: Ἀμφίμαρος) was the son of Poseidon and father of the musician Linus by the Muse Urania. Linus was killed by Apollo (in this account he was not identified as the son of the god) for being his r ...

, son of Poseidon. Hymenaeus is also said to have been a son of Urania.

Function and representation

Urania is often associated with Universal Love. Sometimes identified as the eldest of the divine sisters, Urania inherited Zeus' majesty and power and the beauty and grace of her mother Mnemosyne. Urania dresses in a cloak embroidered with stars and keeps her eyes and attention focused on the Heavens. She is usually represented with a

celestial globe Celestial globes show the apparent positions of the stars in the sky. They omit the Sun, Moon, and planets because the positions of these bodies vary relative to those of the stars, but the ecliptic, along which the Sun moves, is indicated. The ...

to which she points with a little staff, and depicted in

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

with stars above her head. She is able to foretell the future by the arrangement of the stars.

Urania as Muse

Those who are most concerned with philosophy and the heavens are dearest to her. Those who have been instructed by her she raises aloft to heaven, for it is a fact that imagination and the power of thought lift men's souls to heavenly heights.

''Urania, o'er her star-bespangled lyre,''
''With touch of majesty diffused her soul;''
''A thousand tones, that in the breast inspire,''
''Exalted feelings, o er the wires'gan roll—''
''How at the call of Jove the mist unfurled,''
''And o'er the swelling vault—the glowing sky,''
''The new-born stars hung out their lamps on high,''
''And rolled their mighty orbs to music's sweetest sound.''

—From ''An Ode To Music'' by James G. Percival

During the Renaissance, Urania began to be considered the Muse for Christian poets. In the invocation to Book 7 of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

's epic poem ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

'', the poet invokes Urania to aid his narration of the creation of the cosmos, though he cautions that it is " e meaning, not the name I call" (7.5)

In popular culture

Farcot and Carrier-Belleuse Conical Mystery Clock

Urania in Astronomy and Navigation

* The planet Uranus, though mostly named after the Greek god personifying the sky, is also indirectly named after Urania. * Urania is the namesake for astronomical observatories in Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest, Vienna, Zürich,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, and

Uraniborg Uraniborg ( da, Uranienborg, sv, Uraniborg) was a Danish astronomical observatory and alchemy laboratory established and operated by Tycho Brahe. It was built on Hven, an island in the Øresund between Zealand and Scania, Sweden, which was ...

on the island of Hven. The main belt

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

(30) Urania was also named after her. * The official seal of the U.S. Naval Observatory portrays Urania. Hr.Ms. ''Urania'' is a sail training vessel for the Royal Netherlands Naval College. There has been a ''Hr. Ms. Urania'' in the Royal Netherlands Navy since 1832. * Urania is featured on the seal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, as well of its motto: ''Quo ducit Urania'' ("Where Urania leads").

Other uses of "Urania"

* ''Urania'' is the name traditionally given to the eighth book of Herodotus' ''

Histories Histories or, in Latin, Historiae may refer to: * the plural of history * ''Histories'' (Herodotus), by Herodotus * ''The Histories'', by Timaeus * ''The Histories'' (Polybius), by Polybius * ''Histories'' by Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust), ...

''. * Aphrodite Urania (heavenly Aphrodite) is often an epithet given to Aphrodite in contrast with her more earthy aspect

Aphrodite Pandemos Aphrodite Pandemos ( grc, Πάνδημος, Pándēmos; "common to all the people") occurs as an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. This epithet can be interpreted in different ways. In Plato's ''Symposium'', Pausanias of Athens describes ...

(Aphrodite for all people). * Urania is the muse for books 7 and 9 of ''

''.

References

Sources

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, '' Library of History, Volume III: Books 4.59-8'', translated by C. H. Oldfather,

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

No. 340, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1939.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

, '' Theogony'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital LibraryInternet Archive
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, '' Fabulae'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960
Online version at ToposText
* Ovid, ''

Ovid's Fasti The ''Fasti'' ( la, Fāstī , "the Calendar"), sometimes translated as ''The Book of Days'' or ''On the Roman Calendar'', is a six-book Latin poem written by the Roman poet Ovid and published in AD 8. Ovid is believed to have left the ''Fasti'' ...

: With an English translation by Sir James George Frazer'', London, William Heinemann Ltd.; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1959
Internet Archive
* Smith, William, '' Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', London (1873)
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library

External links

Theoi Project
''Britannica'' Online Encyclopedia

Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca 50 images of Urania)
{{Authority control Greek Muses Children of Zeus Ancient Greek astronomy Greek goddesses Wisdom goddesses Music and singing goddesses Women in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology Metamorphoses characters Women of Apollo Women of Hermes