Saturn
The sixth planet from the Sun, named after Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and time identified with the Greek Titan Kronos, father of Zeus
The Meaning of Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun, distinguished by its spectacular ring system. It was named after Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture, wealth, and time, identified with the Greek Titan Kronos. Kronos was the youngest of the twelve Titans, who overthrew his father Ouranos and ruled during the mythological Golden Age. He later devoured his own children to prevent a prophecy that one of them would overthrow him — a fate he could not escape, as his son Zeus eventually defeated him and the other Titans. The planet Saturn is the most distant planet visible to the naked eye, and its slow movement across the sky — taking nearly thirty years to complete one orbit — associated it with old age and the passage of time. Saturday (Saturn's day) takes its name from this deity. The planet's rings, first observed by Galileo in 1610 and correctly identified by Christiaan Huygens in 1655, have no mythological precedent but have made Saturn the most visually iconic planet. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is named after the mythological race to which Kronos belonged. The adjective "saturnine," meaning gloomy or slow, derives from astrological associations with the planet.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
Saturday is the only day of the English week still named directly after a Roman god — Saturn's day has survived while all others were replaced by Norse equivalents
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Uranus
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The seventh planet from the Sun, named after Ouranos, the primordial Greek god of the sky and the earliest supreme deity in the mythological genealogy
Jupiter
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The largest planet in the solar system, named after Jupiter, the Roman king of the gods identified with the Greek Zeus, because of its commanding size and brightness
Mars
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The fourth planet from the Sun, named after Mars, the Roman god of war identified with the Greek Ares, because its reddish colour suggested blood and conflict
Neptune
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The eighth and outermost planet of the solar system, named after Neptune, the Roman god of the sea identified with the Greek Poseidon, because of its blue colour
Aphrodite
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The planet Venus is named after the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, because it is the brightest and most beautiful object in the night sky after the Moon
Mercury
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The smallest and fastest planet in the solar system, named after Mercury, the Roman messenger god identified with the Greek Hermes, because of its rapid orbital speed
Venus
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The second planet from the Sun and the brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon, named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love identified with the Greek Aphrodite
Pluto
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
A dwarf planet named after Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld identified with the Greek Hades, chosen because of its extreme distance and darkness at the edge of the solar system
Ganymede
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The largest moon in the solar system, named after Ganymede, the beautiful Trojan prince abducted by Zeus to serve as cupbearer of the gods on Olympus
Triton
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The largest moon of Neptune, named after Triton, the merman son of Poseidon, notable for being the only large moon in the solar system that orbits in the opposite direction to its planet
Io
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
A moon of Jupiter named after Io, the priestess of Hera whom Zeus transformed into a white cow, now known as the most volcanically active body in the solar system
Callisto
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
A moon of Jupiter named after Callisto, the nymph companion of Artemis who was transformed into a bear and placed among the stars as the constellation Ursa Major