The Bright Morning Star

The Bright Morning Star

Is the Bright Morning Star Sirius of the Ancient Egyptians or Venus of the Babylonians?

Sirius, known scientifically as Alpha Canis Majoris is from Orion. If one were to look south and to the east, you would find brilliant Sirius (as if one really needs directions to find the brightest star in the sky). Its name comes from the Greek word for "searing" or "scorching," certainly appropriate for a star that shines at the bright end.
Famed from times long past, the first glimpse of Sirius in dawn announced the rising of the Nile in ancient Egypt. (It no longer does because of precession, the 26,000-year wobble of the Earth's axis.)

Venus was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty and fertility, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She was the consort of Vulcan. She was considered the ancestor of the Roman people by way of its legendary founder, Aeneas, and played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths.
Venus was commonly associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Etruscan deity Turan, borrowing aspects from each.

Additionally, Venus has been compared to other goddesses of love, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli in Aztec mythology, Kukulcan in Maya mythology, Frigg and Freyja in the Norse mythos, and Ushas in Vedic religion.

Ushas is also linked to Venus by a Sanskrit epithet ascribed to her, vanas- ("loveliness; longing, desire"), which is cognate to Venus, suggesting a Proto-Indo-European link via the reconstructed stem *wen- "to desire"[1].

Another interesting association with Venus is the Latvian god Auseklis, who's name derives from the root aus-, meaning "dawn". Auseklis and Mēness, who's name means "moon", are both Dieva dēli ("sons of God").

M.Kalipurayath
Winter 2007
Manali