Neptune of the sea, identified with the Greek Poseidon. The demand for a mythological name seemed to be in keeping with the nomenclature of the other planets, all of which, except for Earth, were named for deities in Greek and Roman mythology. Most languages today, even in countries that have no direct link to Greco-Roman culture, use some variant of the name "Neptune" for the planet. However, in Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean, the planet's name was translated as "sea king star" (), because Neptune was the god of the sea. In Mongolian, Neptune is called "Dalain Van" (Далайн ван), reflecting
Greek mythology Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, Satyrs, and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the underworld, such as the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives. In order to honor the Ancient Greek pantheon, poets composed the Homeric Hymns (a group of thirty-three songs). Gregory Nagy regards "the larger Homeric Hymns as simple preludes (compared with "Theogony"), each of which invokes one god". The gods of Greek mythology are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert, the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism is that "the Greek