The Mythology Behind Sailor Moon...
Sure, Sailor Moon is a great show. But what most people don't know is Naoko's genius behind the whole thing. The entire series is practically based on greek and roman mythology. Also, many, if not all, of the characters' names have special meanings in Japanese. Hopefully I can point out a few of the important things; unfortunately, I cannot point out every detail, considering I do not speak fluent Japanese!
Mythology
Selene and Endymion
In Greek Mythology, Selene was the principal goddess of the moon.
The Roman goddess Luna resembled her. Helios, the sun, was Selene's brother.
Every day, he drove his fiery chariot across the sky. After his return, Selene
drove her own chariot across the sky. The rays from her golden crown lit up
the night.
Selene played an important part in ancient magic rituals, but she appears in few myths. The best known story about Selene, tells her love for Endymion, a handsome shepherd from earth. According to one story, Selene put Endymion to slepp forever because she could not bear to have him die. In another version, Selene begged Zeus, the ruler of the gods, to grant Endymion a wish. He chose everlasting sleep combined with eternal youth and immortality. Also, I have read the the god Hypnos (Somnus in Roman) gave Endymion the abiltity to sleep with his eyes open so that he could see his beloved Selene when she visited him at night.
Most ancient sources say Selene was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia. Hyperion and Theia were Titans, early gods who reperesented natural phenomena. Other sources say Selene's parents were Zeus and his mistress Leto. Many ancient greek writers confused Selene with the goddess Artemis. As a result, some myths incorrectly identify Artemis as the moon goddess.
Sea of Serenity
The Mare Serenitas, meaning sea of serenity, is an
actual location on the moon. In the series, this is where the moon castle is
located. Thus, there is a double meaning, having the castle in a location
of serenity or peace, and Serenity being the name of the queen who ruled the
kingdom there.
Artemis/Luna
Artemis was the Greek goddess
of hunting and unmarried girls and the twin sister of Apollo (Phoebus in Roman).
Artemis was also considered the goddess of the moon, being confused with Selene
often. In Roman her name was Luna or Diana. Her symbol was the she-bear (the
most dangerous animal in Greece) and the stag; Artemis would often bathe in
lakes in the forest, and any man she caught watching she would turn into a stag
and hunt down.
Mercury
Mercury was the Roman god of merchants, bankers, theives, fortune-tellers,
and heralds. Mercury was a very clever son of zeus and he invented the alphabet,
fire drill, arithmetic, astronomy, musical scales, weights and measures, boxing,
and gymnastics. He also served as the messenger of the gods and carried a peeled
hazlestick entwined with ribbons (foolish people thought they were snakes.)
This staff and the crane were his symbols. In greek mythology, his name was
Hermes.
Perhaps Ami is so clever in reference to Hermes. Also, the fact
that Hermes invented musical scales might be related to the Mercury Aqua Rhapsody.
Aside from that and the planetary symbol, there's no other
reference to mythology.
Venus
In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love and beauty (in
Greece she was known as Aphrodite). She supposedly came out of the sea and had
no real parents. Her symbol was the myrtle flower and her animal symbol was
the dove. Venus had a magical girdle that could make anyone fall madly in love
with her. Venus was married to Vulcan (Hephaestus in Greek), the artisan god.
However, she and his brother Mars (Ares in Greek) were secretly in love. Venus
also had a son, Eros, a.k.a. Cupid.
The fact that venus was the goddess of love and beauty explains most of Minako's attacks (ex: love-me chain, love and beauty shock, and rolling heart vibration from the manga). Also, this could explain why Minako is so beautiful (and guy-crazy!) Another thing I picked up that might be mythology related is the fact that Minako and Rei are best friends in the manga; perhaps this is in reference to the love between Venus and Mars.
Mars
Mars was the Roman name for Greek god Ares, the god
of war. Mars chose the dog and the vulture as his animal symbols, both being
war animals. His other symbol was the blood-stained spear. Mars was Vulcan's
(Hephestus's) brother and a son of Zeus and Hera. Mars was also in love with
his brother's wife, Venus. He was considered cruel, boastful, and handsome.
The whole Mars war theme is very obvious in Rei; she has a quick temper and her color is red, the color of war. She is also very strong in battle and uses fire. Rei is additionally like Mars in that she can act very conceited now and then and is very pretty. Also, as mentioned above, the fact that she is Minako's best friend in the manga may have to do with the mythological relationship between Mars and Venus.
Jupiter
Jupiter in Roman (Zeus in Greek) was the king of all
the gods. He was the most powerful of all gods, and was Neptune and Pluto's
brother. Jupiter was also Juno's (a.k.a. Hera) brother
and husband (yeah, some mythology is kinda sick...). Jupiter chose the eagle
and the woodpecker as his symbols and had a throne composed of black marble
and gold. Jupiter's other symbols included the thunderbolt (which he found amusing
to throw at certain people) and the oak tree.
The mythology is very apparent behind Makoto. Almost all of her attacks all have to do with lightning or oak (ex: supreme thunder, jupiter oak evolution, etc.) Also, Makoto is very tall and sometimes considered to be the strongest of the inner senshi, much like Jupiter. (She's taken care of quite a few with her bare hands ^.^) Also, much like Jupiter was a father to many daughters and sons, Makoto acts as the mother figure of the inner senshi and is very protective of her friends.
Saturn
Saturn was not one of the chief olympians
in Roman Mythology; Cronus was the ruler of the Titans and Titanesses, each
pair having charge of one day of the week. Cronus and his wife, Rhea, were in
charge of Saturday (think of Saturn). He was an idle, cannibalistic
god until his sons, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades (Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto)
captured all the Titans and banished Cronus to a distant island. Cronus escaped
later, changed his name to Saturn, and settled quietly among the Italians. Later,
Zeus found out and again banished him. The planetary symbol for saturn is the
sickle, for the god of the harvest.
In the series, Saturn and Pluto have reversed mythology; Saturn should actually be the time senshi, while Pluto should be the soldier of death and rebirth.
Uranus
Uranus was father to Saturn and Grandfather
to Zeus. He was the sky, and his
wife, Rhea, was the earth. Together, they were the parents to all creation.
His symbol was the pendulum, but in the series the symbol's a
bit different.
Haruka is linked obviously by her speeches about being the senshi
of the sky, but I don't quite understand the whole "world shaking"
scene. Also, perhaps Haruka is so strong
due to the fact that Uranus was the father to all of creation.
Neptune
The Roman god Neptune, a.k.a. Poseidon in Greek mythology,
had the nickname "earth shaker" for he was the god of earthquakes,
rivers, and seas. Neptune's symbol was his three-pointed trident that he could
stir up the sea with, and his animal symbols were the horse (because he pretended
to have created it) and the dolphin. Neptune was Jupiter's older brother and
husband of Amphitrite.
Michiru is not very much like Neptune except in her senshi form. "Deep Submerge" and "Submarine Reflection" are obviously related to Neptune's kingdom of the ocean.
Pluto
Pluto was referred to as Hades in Greek Mythology.
He was one of Jupiter's brothers and the god of the underworld/dead. He ruled
over the underworld of Tartarus, including elysium (similar to heaven), the
asphodel fields (similar to purgatory), and the punishment grounds (do I even
have to explain this one?) His three-headed dog, cerberus, guarded the
gates to Tartarus, making sure no mortals entered and no souls escaped.
As stated earlier, Pluto and Saturn are switched in the series. However, there still are some things that could be considered correct. Kind od like Pluto, Setsuna is mysterious and seems to be sad most of the time. Also, she uses her "Dead Scream" which obviously makes sense.
Chaos
Chaos was the origin of all things;
in the beginning, there was only a disorderly state. From this came Uranus and
Rhea, and thus all creation.
Coming soon!!!
Lethe and
Mnemosyne
Phi and Chi
Asteroid Senshi
Japanese Name Meanings