They associated the Sun with Helios and the Moon with Selene, with the names of these gods also being used for these astronomical bodies. For other astronomical bodies, a name and an associated god were present: Phainon (Saturn) was associated with Cronus, Phaethon (Jupiter) with Zeus, Pyroeis (Mars) with Ares, Phosporos (Venus) with Aphrodite, and Stilbon (Mercury) with Hermes. (And today these planets are named after the Roman equivalents of these gods). Why they did associate planets with gods?
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2$\begingroup$ The Greeks were influenced by the Babylonians en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_astrology#Planets_and_gods It seems to be common for ancient civilisations to associate planets with gods. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solar_deities $\endgroup$– PM 2RingCommented Jan 13 at 1:57
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1$\begingroup$ In same vein, Romans named the planets $\endgroup$– Nilay GhoshCommented Jan 13 at 1:57
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1$\begingroup$ There is a good explanation here as well: mythology.stackexchange.com/questions/6151/… $\endgroup$– Nilay GhoshCommented Jan 13 at 6:37
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Naming planets with the name associated with their god is true not only for ancient Greeks but also for other cultures, such as Vedic. Religion and scriptures were the major means through which people were united at that time. Motion and the presence of the Sun and moon were affecting human lifestyle directly. Ancient philosophers associated them with their gods. There is always a trend to associate things that we do not understand clearly with some superpowers.
Moreover, They explained celestials in accordance to their luminosity, color, shape, position, etc. in skies. There are numerous constellations named after their shapes. Personification of objects could make general people understand what the objects are. Ancient people must have tried to associate celestials with their gods having similar characteristics. Or ancient people wrote scriptures mentioning these celestials as some super powerful creatures and named them in accordance to their culture.
People may have thought those bright objects in the night sky must have a direct effect on our lives. They were personified as gods. I am not sure about Greek culture but in Vedic culture, philosophers have associated different planets with different aspects of natural phenomena such as rain, eclipse, etc. The attraction of humans toward astrology till this time shows how people still think.
