Phobos (mythology) of Cypselus on the shield of Agamemnon. American astronomer Asaph Hall named a satellite of the planet Mars, "Phobos", which he discovered along with the second Mars satellite, "Deimos", in 1877. Phobos is the larger of the two satellites. The word "phobia" derives from "phobos", (Φόβος), meaning fear. The two brothers Deimos and Phobos were particularly worshipped in the city state of "Sparta" as they were the sons of Ares, the god of war. Phobos in Greek literally means "fear" (). Spartan soldiers would idolize Phobos, because he symbolized discipline, and consistency of the armed forces. Because Phobos and Deimos
Moons of Mars satellites, Earth had one and Jupiter had four (known at the time), that Mars by analogy must have two. Furthermore, as they had not yet been discovered, it was reasoned that they must be small and close to Mars. This would lead Swift to making a roughly accurate estimate of their orbital distances and revolution periods. In addition Swift could have been helped in his calculations by his friend, the mathematician John Arbuthnot. Voltaire's 1752 short story "Micromégas", about an alien visitor to Earth, also refers to two moons of Mars. Voltaire was presumably influenced by Swift. In recognition of