--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Greek religion explained that diffuse…" description: "\"“The Greek religion explained that diffuse band of light in the night sky as the milk of Hera, squirted from her breast across the heavens, a legend th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/carl-sagan-160_milky-way_the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffus_868125.jpg" --- # The Greek religion explained that diffuse band of light in… ![“The Greek religion explained that diffuse band of light in the night sky as the milk of Hera, squirted from her breast across the heavens, a legend that is the origin of the phrase Westerners still use—the Milky Way.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/carl-sagan-160_milky-way_the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffus_868125.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/carl-sagan-160_milky-way_the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffus_868125.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/carl-sagan-160_milky-way_the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffus_868125.jpg) > ““The Greek religion explained that diffuse band of light in the night sky as the milk of Hera, squirted from her breast across the heavens, a legend that is the origin of the phrase Westerners still use—the Milky Way.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Milky Way name originates from a myth where Hera’s milk spilled across the sky, illustrating how cultures explain natural phenomena through stories. **In simple terms:** The Milky Way name comes from a myth about Hera’s milk. Key Takeaway Appreciate the power of storytelling in explaining nature. Themes mythology language science communication Mood curious reflective Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - education - public outreach - creative writing Key Concepts astronomy culture storytelling Questions to Reflect On - What other natural features have mythic origins? - How do myths shape our view of the universe? A Different Perspective Myths can oversimplify complex scientific facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Milky way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milky-way/) [Night sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-sky/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“They stood up and the world was totally different. The wheat was an onyx sea, ever moving in shadow. Above it the heavens were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-morsi/they-stood-up-and-the-world-was-totally-different-the-wheat-was-an/) [Pamela Morsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-morsi/) > [It shows you exactly how a star is formed; nothing else can be so pretty! A cluster of vapor, the cream of the milky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/it-shows-you-exactly-how-a-star-is-formed-nothing-else-can-be-so/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Me? Beautiful? I'm plain as cardboard. That may be how you see yourself, but the rest of the world would be hard to agree.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/me-beautiful-i-m-plain-as-cardboard-that-may-be-how-you-see-yourself/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [“And the Milky Way belted heaven with ice and silver, and the Magellanic Clouds were not vague shimmers but roiling and glowing; and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poul-anderson/and-the-milky-way-belted-heaven-with-ice-and-silver-and-the/) [Poul Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poul-anderson/) > [We all travel the Milky Way together, trees and men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/we-all-travel-the-milky-way-together-trees-and-men/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Yo Mama's so fat she ate the milky way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yo-mama-s-so-fat-she-ate-the-milky-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you look up at the Milky Way through the eyes of Carl Sagan, you get a feeling in your chest of something greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-you-look-up-at-the-milky-way-through-the-eyes-of-carl-sagan-you/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I'm helping launch the new Milky Way Chocolate Ice Cream Bar. I play an astrophysicist on television, and the name of the bar is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-nayyar/i-m-helping-launch-the-new-milky-way-chocolate-ice-cream-bar-i-play/) [Kunal Nayyar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-nayyar/) > [I felt as if the Milky Way, hovering above our heads like a celestial pitcher, had suddenly overturned, pouring suns and planets down my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/i-felt-as-if-the-milky-way-hovering-above-our-heads-like-a-celestial/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [“On any woman, the shine was brilliant. But, in contrast to their dark skin, it truly was the Milky Way of watches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holliday-vann/on-any-woman-the-shine-was-brilliant-but-in-contrast-to-their-dark/) [Holliday Vann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holliday-vann/) > [“The Milky Way has gone a little sour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-roberts/the-milky-way-has-gone-a-little-sour/) [Sam Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-roberts/) > [Any individual is greater than the Milky Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-rodrigues/any-individual-is-greater-than-the-milky-way/) [Nelson Rodrigues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-rodrigues/) > [“It isn't for us that cows' milk comes forth, but we drink it. Flowers weren't made for us to look at or for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/it-isn-t-for-us-that-cows-milk-comes-forth-but-we-drink-it-flowers/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“And the Milky Way, like a great aurora, flowed through his body to stand at the edges of the earth. There was a quiet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasunari-kawabata/and-the-milky-way-like-a-great-aurora-flowed-through-his-body-to/) [Yasunari Kawabata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasunari-kawabata/) > [The Milky Way is nothing else but a mass of innumerable stars planted together in clusters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/the-milky-way-is-nothing-else-but-a-mass-of-innumerable-stars-planted/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Milky way quotes > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/is-it-that-by-its-indefiniteness-it-shadows-forth-the-heartless-voids/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [It shows you exactly how a star is formed; nothing else can be so pretty! A cluster of vapor, the cream of the milky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/it-shows-you-exactly-how-a-star-is-formed-nothing-else-can-be-so/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“When a person dies, they cross over from the realm of freedom to the realm of slavery. Life is freedom, and dying is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/when-a-person-dies-they-cross-over-from-the-realm-of-freedom-to-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Your brain… weighs three pounds and has one hundred thousand miles of blood vessels. contains more connections than there are stars in the Milky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/your-brain-weighs-three-pounds-and-has-one-hundred-thousand-miles-of/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Now, almost one hundred years later, it is difficult to fully appreciate how much our picture of the universe has changed in the span…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/now-almost-one-hundred-years-later-it-is-difficult-to-fully/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [“And the Milky Way, like a great aurora, flowed through his body to stand at the edges of the earth. There was a quiet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasunari-kawabata/and-the-milky-way-like-a-great-aurora-flowed-through-his-body-to/) [Yasunari Kawabata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasunari-kawabata/) > [All of Japan once a year will get up on their rooftops, because that's the night that the shepherd boy from one side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/all-of-japan-once-a-year-will-get-up-on-their-rooftops-because-that-s/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Filled with rapture, his soul yearned for freedom, space, vastness. Over him the heavenly dome, full of quiet, shining stars, hung boundlessly. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/filled-with-rapture-his-soul-yearned-for-freedom-space-vastness-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It isn't for us that cows' milk comes forth, but we drink it. Flowers weren't made for us to look at or for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/it-isn-t-for-us-that-cows-milk-comes-forth-but-we-drink-it-flowers/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“If you were a hapless cosmic hitchhiker stranded between the stars of the Milky Way, your body would represent a concentration of matter a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/if-you-were-a-hapless-cosmic-hitchhiker-stranded-between-the-stars-of/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“This Voyager spacecraft was constructed by the United States of America. We are a community of 240 million human beings among the more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/this-voyager-spacecraft-was-constructed-by-the-united-states-of/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Why should I feel lonely? is not our planet in the Milky Way?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/why-should-i-feel-lonely-is-not-our-planet-in-the-milky-way/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 261 Milky way quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milky-way/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Greek religion explained that diffuse band of light in the night sky as the milk of Hera, squirted from her breast across the heavens, a legend that is the origin of the phrase Westerners still use—the Milky Way.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffuse-band-of-light-in-the-night/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Milky way" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffuse-band-of-light-in-the-night/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/carl-sagan-160_milky-way_the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffus_868125.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/carl-sagan-160_milky-way_the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffus_868125.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/carl-sagan-160_milky-way_the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffus_868125.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Greek religion explained that diffuse band of light in the night sky as the milk of Hera, squirted from…” — Carl Sagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carl Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The Greek religion explained that diffuse...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffuse-band-of-light-in-the-night/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-greek-religion-explained-that-diffuse-band-of-light-in-the-night/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```