"Weekdays named after stellar objects Middle East, Mediterranean, and western Europe The seven stellar objects visible to the naked eye, moving in the heavens like living objects, were attributed to gods by the ancients. The planet gods are similar between Sumerians and the Romans. Mars = Ares Mercury = Hermes Jupiter = Zeus Venus = Aphrodite Saturn = Cronus" "Monday Luna (English: Luna) Tuesday Mars (Mars) Wednesday Mercurius (Mercury) Thursday Iuppiter (Jupiter) Friday Venus (Venus) Saturday Saturnus (Saturn) Sunday Sôl (Sol) " "The Germanic peoples adapted the system introduced by the Romans but glossed their indigenous gods over the Roman deities (with the exception of Saturday) in a process known as Interpretatio germanica: Sunday: Old English Sunnandæg (pronounced [sun.nan.dæg] or [sun.nan.dæj), meaning "Day of the Sun". This is a translation of the Latin phrase Dies Solis. English, like most of the Germanic languages, preserves the original pagan/sun associations of the day. Many other European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed its name to the equivalent of "the Lord's day" (based on Ecclesiastical Latin Dies Dominica). Compare: Spanish and Portuguese Domingo, French Dimanche, Romanian Duminică and Italian Domenica. In both West Germanic and North Germanic mythology the sun is personified as a goddess; Sunna/Sól. Monday: Old English Mōnandæg (pronounced [mon.nan.dæg] or [mon.nan.dæj'), meaning "Day of the Moon". This is likely based on a translation of the Latin name Dies Lunae (cf. Romance language versions of the name, e.g., French Lundi, Spanish, Lunes, Romanian Luni, Italian Lunedì). In North Germanic mythology, the moon is personified as a god; Máni. Tuesday: Old English Tiwesdæg (pronounced [ti.wes.dæg] or [ti.wes.dæj], meaning "Tyr's day." Tyr (in Old English, Tiw, Tew or Tiu) was a one-armed god associated with battle and pledges in Norse mythology and also attested prominently in wider Germanic paganism. The name of the day is based on Latin Dies Martis, "Day of Mars" (the Roman war god); compare: French Mardi, Spanish Martes, Romanian MarÅ£i and Italian Martedì. Wednesday: Old English Wōdnesdæg (pronounced [woːd.nes.dæg] or [woːd.nes.dæj) meaning the day of the Germanic god Wodan (later known as Óðinn in among the North Germanic peoples), and a prominent god of the Anglo-Saxons (and other Germanic peoples) in England until about the seventh century. It is based on Latin Dies Mercurii, "Day of Mercury"; compare: French Mercredi, Spanish Miércoles, Romanian Miercuri and Italian Mercoledì. The connection between Mercury and Odin is more strained than the other syncretic connections. The usual explanation is that both Wodan and Mercury were considered psychopomps, or leaders of souls, in their respective mythologies; both are also associated with poetic and musical inspiration. German Mittwoch and Finnish keskiviikko both mean 'mid-week'. Thursday: Old English ÞÅ«nresdæg (pronounced [θuːn.res.dæg] or [θuːn.res.dæj]), meaning the day of Þunor, commonly known in Modern English as Thor, the god of thunder in Norse Mythology and Germanic Paganism. It is based on the Latin Dies Iovis, "Day of Jupiter"; compare: French Jeudi, Spanish Jueves, Romanian Joi and Italian Giovedì. In the Roman pantheon, Jupiter was the chief god, who seized and maintained his power on the basis of his thunderbolt (Fulmen). Friday: Old English Frigedæg (pronounced [fri.je.dæg] or [fri.je.dæj]), meaning the day of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Frige, and is attested among the North Germanic peoples as Frigg. It is based on the Latin Dies Veneris, "Day of Venus"; compare: French Vendredi, Spanish Viernes, Romanian Vineri and Italian Venerdì. Venus was the Roman goddess of beauty, love and sex. Saturday: the only day of the week to retain its Roman origin in English, named after the Roman god Saturn associated with the Titan Cronus, father of Zeus and many Olympians. Its original Anglo-Saxon rendering was Sæturnesdæg (pronounced [sæ.tur.nes.dæg] or [sæ.tur.nes.dæj]). In Latin it was Dies Saturni, "Day of Saturn"; compare: French Samedi. The Spanish and Portuguese Sábado, the Romanian Sâmbătă, and the Italian Sabato come from Sabbata Dies (Day of the Sabbath)." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Week-day_names