Moons of Neptune due to its dimness. Triton did not have an official name until the twentieth century. The name "Triton" was suggested by Camille Flammarion in his 1880 book "Astronomie Populaire", but it did not come into common use until at least the 1930s. Until this time it was usually simply known as "the satellite of Neptune". Other moons of Neptune are also named for Greek and Roman water gods, in keeping with Neptune's position as god of the sea: either from Greek mythology, usually children of Poseidon, the Greek Neptune (Triton, Proteus, Despina, Thalassa); lovers of Poseidon (Larissa); classes of minor
Neptune (mythology) described the god. The French Department of Subaquatic Archaeological Research divers (headed by Michel L'Hour) discovered a lifesize marble statue of Neptune, in the Rhône River at Arles; it is dated to the early fourth century. The statue is one of a hundred artifacts that the team excavated between September and October 2007. Etruscan representations of the god are rare but significative. The oldest is perhaps the carved carnelian scarab from Vulci of the 4th century BC: Nethuns kicks a rock and creates a spring. (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, Cabinet des Medailles). Another Etruscan gem (from the collection of Luynes, inscribed