[meteorite-list] The goddess COLUMBIA

From: MexicoDoug <MexicoDoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Aug 18 05:49:54 2006
Message-ID: <008e01c6c2ab$a23953e0$1ccc5ec8_at_0019110394>

Hola friends and listees,

Dave's got a great point here, so I wanted to get my 2? in on a selection
for a name of a new planet. I love that simplicity of "Bob", the first
potentially palindromic planet. But my mind is in a different world: I
think we aren't yet ready for a planet that reminds me somewhat of public
TV's "Mr. Bill". Nothing personal, as Doug would equally remind me of a
certain cartoon on cable TV. Let me be mum on the Warrior Princess
idea...as Xena sounds a bit like Athena in my mind-and Athena I like -
though they are Greek-rooted, not Latin-rooted names like the rest of the
planets. Sterling's favorite goddess of discord doesn't seem very
appropriate to immortalize fir posterity - though in today's climate it
might gain sympathy; To have a woman's name as I insinuated two day's ago,
solely for the third "woman planet" doesn't seem very bright anymore if it
is just for an arbitrary reason, though Jupiter and the rest of the giant
guys in the outer solar system are probably are just getting a bit loony by
now. Proposing a planet's name cries for a powerful and sensible name in
the Ptolemaic tradition that has been the foundation of Astronomy and
astrology.

Let me propose the goddess "Columbia" for the next planet.

There are multiple reasons for this suggestion. If we really wish to build
on the ancients' wisdom, it should be a fluid transition...and Columbia is a
goddess in her own right, uniquely suited to this occasion. She is a
combination of the ancients, in the Greek and Roman tradition and the
similar contemporary thirst for discovery. Planet Columbia would be a
welcomed complement to the beauty embodied in Venus (Aphrodite), as her
style is taken historically from Minerva(Athena) herself, the Wisdom,
Strength of the Woman, and Jupiter's favorite headache which follows in the
tradition of Saturn and Uranus. Yet she represents the voyage of discovery
for a new, contemporary Parthenon of gods and a fusion of truth, liberty,
vastness of new space, and the best of humanity for a few millennia.

It might be helpful to follow a historical line to satisfy the
traditionalist inside us. At the same time, it is stylish among those who
have historically named planets to quite discretely put a double entendre
into the naming of the "planet". Neptune, the latest gas giant to be
discovered (nearly 50 years after a sometimes much brighter Ceres, by the
way), was chosen to represent the depths of space, in a kingdom far removed;
Pluto, a lord of the underworld of darkness, and having P. Lowell's
initials, and then there is Charon, Pluto's mythological companion, and
phonetically pronounced, Sharon - the name of the discover of Pluto's lesser
twin.

Columbia is a transitional goddess, of Greco-roman style combined with
Indian/Asiatic features and personality representing the inhabitants and
traditions of the New World - yet manages to be a hybrid with the greatest
accomplishments of the Old. Pure liberty in thought, unshackling from
despotism, and enlightenment and the pursuit of truth, she was often
depicted shrouded in stars as well as an Eagle (Jupiter's symbol) and snake,
and a cornucopia representing the smorgasbord of resources just waiting to
be discovered for those with the driving initiative.

While Columbia was born of divine roots in exploration in 17th century
Europe, she unites the old with the new, and is truly a panplanetic symbol,
even stylized by the artfully gifted French engineers for the opening of the
Old World, in their gift to Egypt as an opening for passage through the
Suez...which upon floundering, eventually journeyed across the oceans to New
York Harbor as the Statue of Liberty.

While a symbolic representation of the good virtues of America, she is
properly a goddess for all of the Americas, and for Europe's finest levels
of attainment - and almost gave her name to the entire South American
Continent as well if memory doesn't fail me.

Columbia - a goddess in the traditional sense inspired by the ancients and
alive today in the hearts of so many. Lest we forget, She embodied the
spirit of her namesake in the first regular issue Space Shuttle whose an
epic odyssey paid the price of exploration that left the whole world
weeping.

My vote is in...
Best wishes,
Doug

Dave wrote:


"Oh... Why name the planets after a god/godess? What's wrong with
Bernhard,
Mary, Ann, Richard, Mike, etc. etc. I know you're looking for a female
name, but if we're going to have
> additional planets to contend with, I think we need a planet named "Bob"."

Sterling wrote:
> > Hi, All,
> >
> > If the new system passes the vote, we've got some
> > naming to do!
> >
> > Larry Lebofsky wrote (off-list):
> > "We need another female planet (not sure Xena counts)."
> >
> > There is one glaringly obvious classical divinity name for
> > 2003UB313 -- ERIS, the Greek goddess of DISCORD! She
> > started the Trojan War and apparently precipitated a debate
> > about the definition of "planet," too.
Received on Fri 18 Aug 2006 05:47:03 AM PDT