Urania

Urania
Detail of the painting The Muses Urania and Calliope (ca. 1634) by Simon Vouet

Urania (play /jʊˈrniə/; Greek: Οὐρανία; which stems from the Greek word for 'heavenly' or 'of heaven') was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy. Some accounts list her as the mother of the musician Linus. She is usually depicted with a globe in her left hand. She is able to foretell the future by the arrangement of the stars. She is often associated with Universal Love and the Holy Spirit.

Urania dresses in a cloak embroidered with stars and keeps her eyes and attention focused on the Heavens. Those who are most concerned with philosophy and the heavens are dearest to her.

Urania, o'er her star-bespangled lyre,
With touch of majesty diffused her soul;
A thousand tones, that in the breast inspire,
Exalted feelings, o er the wires'gan roll—
How at the call of Jove the mist unfurled,
And o'er the swelling vault—the glowing sky,
The new-born stars hung out their lamps on high,
And rolled their mighty orbs to music's sweetest sound.
—From An Ode To Music by James G. Percival

During the Renaissance, Urania began to be considered the Muse for Christian poets. In the invocation to Book 7 of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, the poet invokes Urania to aid his narration of the creation of the cosmos, though he cautions that it is "[t]he meaning, not the name I call" (7.5).

Muse magazine features Urania as one of the characters in the "Kokopelli and Co." comic strip by Larry Gonick published in each issue of the magazine. She is the only original muse who remains among the "new muses" featured in the magazine.cn

Symbol usage

Her name has been used to name astronomical observatories such as the Urania in Berlin, Budapest, Vienna, Zurich and Antwerp and Uraniborg on the island of Hven. The official seal of the U.S. Naval Observatory portrays Urania. There is a Urania Street in New Orleans, between Polymnia ("Polyhymnia") and Felicity Streets. Hr.Ms. Urania is a sail training vessel for the Royal Netherlands Naval College. There has been a Hr. Ms. Urania in the Royal Netherlands Navy since 1832. Urania is also the name of a popular female-fronted rock band in Honduras.

Urania Cottage was a refuge for fallen women established by the writer Charles Dickens in Lime Grove, Shepherd’s Bush, London in the late 1840s. The funding was provided by millionaire and philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts, of the well-known banking family. Some of the inmates may have provided inspiration for certain of the female characters in Dickens' novels.

At Columbia University (end of 18th century) there was a Urania Society, for the improvement of oratory skills, felicity of composition and aptitude to debate philosophical topics. DeWitt Clinton joined that society.

On 9 November 1970, the Urania Trust was formed in London. The aims of the Trust are to further the advancement of education by the teaching of the relationship between man’s knowledge of beliefs about the heavens and every aspect of his art, science, philosophy and religion.

In University of São Paulo, the logo of the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences bears Urania.

External links

Media related to Urania at Wikimedia Commons


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  • URANIA — bezeichnet: Urania, die Muse der Sternenkunde in der griechischen Mythologie Urania (Asteroid), ein Himmelskörper des Asteroiden Hauptgürtels Urania (Berlin), ein Zentrum für den Dialog von Wissenschaft und Öffentlichkeit Urania (Wien), ein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Urania — ? Urania Urania leilus …   Википедия

  • Urania — (Stich von Virgil Solis aus P. Ovidii Metamorphosis von 1562) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Urania — Urania, LA U.S. town in Louisiana Population (2000): 700 Housing Units (2000): 311 Land area (2000): 1.242133 sq. miles (3.217109 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.010917 sq. miles (0.028276 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.253050 sq. miles (3.245385 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Urania, LA — U.S. town in Louisiana Population (2000): 700 Housing Units (2000): 311 Land area (2000): 1.242133 sq. miles (3.217109 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.010917 sq. miles (0.028276 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.253050 sq. miles (3.245385 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Uranĭa [1] — Uranĭa (gr., d.i. die Himmlische), 1) Beiname der Aphrodite als Göttin der edlen Liebe, im Gegensatz zur Pandemos, s. Aphrodite; 2) eine der neun Musen, die Vorsteherin der Astronomie, s. Muse i); 3) Asteroid, am 22. Juli 1854 im Sternbilde des… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • URANIA — una Musarum, Iovis et Mnemosynes filia, cui Astrologiae inventio tribuitur: Pingitur cum veste caerulea, stellis coronata, utraque manu ingentem globum tenens. Ovid. l. 5. Fast. v. 55. Excipit Uranie, tenuêre silentia cuncti. Item Dea Punica, ab… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Urania — U*ra ni*a, n. [L., from Gr. ?, i. e., the Heavenly, fr. ? heavenly, fr. ? heaven.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Class. Myth.) One of the nine Muses, daughter of Zeus by Mnemosyne, and patron of astronomy. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) A genus of large,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Urânia — is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 8,865 and the area is 209.96 km². The elevation is 458 m …   Wikipedia

  • Urania — Urania, Lagodi U., so v.w. Jezero …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Uranĭa [2] — Uranĭa, 1) (Pagen), Gattung aus der Familie Tagfalter; Hinterfüße mit Dornen, Fühlhörner am Ende etwas gebogen u. dünner, das zweite Glied der untern Taster zusammengedrückt, das letzte dünn, walzig u. fast kahl; Art: Leilus (U. leilus), Flügel… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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