Cytherean is an
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...
literally meaning ''of
Cythera'' (Latin ''Cytherēa'', from the Greek adjective Κυθέρεια ''Kythereia'', from Κύθηρα ''Kythēra'' 'Cythera'). Cythera is a small Greek island, southeast of the
Peloponnesus
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge wh ...
, and a legendary birthplace of the goddess
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols incl ...
(Venus). The word ''Cytherean'' was first applied to the goddess and later, due to
word taboo
Word taboo, also called taboo language, language taboo or linguistic taboo is a kind of taboo that involves restricting the use of words or other parts of language due to social constraints. This may be due to a taboo on specific parts of the langu ...
, to the planet
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
that had been named after the goddess.
When
planetary scientists
Planetary means relating to a planet or planets. It can also refer to:
;Science
* Planetary habitability, the measure of an astronomical body's potential to develop and sustain life
* Planetary nebula, an astronomical object
;People
* Planetar ...
began to have a need to discuss Venus in detail, an adjective was needed. Based on the
principles of Latin names in English, the regular adjectival form of the name is Venerean (or ''Venerian'', either pronounced ). However, these forms have an unfortunate similarity to the related word ''venereal'', as in
venereal disease
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and ora ...
(related to "Venerean" as ''martial'' is to "Martian"), and is not generally used by astronomers. The term
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
ian is etymologically messy (similar to saying "Earthian" or "Jupiterian"), and a "cleaner" version was desired.
Since Venus has a Greek name, as well as a Roman one, this could be used; however, the adjectival form of
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols incl ...
, "Aphrodisian" , was felt to be unfortunately similar to "
aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocai ...
", again evoking sex rather than astronomy.
A compromise was reached. In
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...
, the goddess Aphrodite was said to have been born from the sea, from which she emerged on a sea shell at the island of Cythera, and as such she was sometimes referred to as ''Cytherēa''. The adjective Cytherean was taken from this name and remained popular in scientific literature for some time. Its perhaps forgotten usage in
18th century erotica did not interfere with this choice.
The term has since fallen out of common use. Venusian is the form most frequently used, with others, including Venerean appearing from time to time; the term Cytherean is now mostly found in older scientific papers, but some scientists still stick to the "tasteful" naming.
[David W. Hughes]
A comparison between terrestrial, Cytherean and lunar impact cratering records
. ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting orig ...
'' Volume 334. August 2002. Page 713 In addition, the word "Cytherean" as an adjective referring to Venus is often found in
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
of the early and mid 20th century.
See also
*
List of adjectivals and demonyms of astronomical bodies
*
Venusians
The planet Venus has been used as a setting in fiction since before the 19th century. Its impenetrable cloud cover gave science fiction writers free rein to speculate on conditions at its surface; the planet was often depicted as warmer than Ea ...
References
{{Venus
Venus
Planetary science
Greek mythology