Phosphorus Venus Morning Star Lucifer

In Greek mythology, the god Phosphorus represented the planet Venus as the Morning Star, the "Bringer of Light." Greek poets used his name for the bright star that appears just before dawn, marking the coming of the sun. When the Greeks' Phosphorus passed into Latin, his name was translated directly as "Lucifer," which also means "light-bringer." Only much later did Christian tradition reuse the Latin word Lucifer for a fallen angel, but in its original mythic context it simply named the shining planet Venus at daybreak.

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