Sailor Moon took the world by storm for several reasons, but one factor was how the setting incorporated myths from various cultures. Characters, settings, and storylines in both the manga and anime borrow from Roman, Japanese, and Greek legends. Some of these are more obvious, featured in the main storylines, while others are more obscure, hidden in the names and plotlines of characters that make up the detailed background and lore.
Sailor Moon's main storyline and protagonist are based largely on Greek myths. There are other callbacks to ancient Greek culture in the form of architecture and language, some of which are intertwined with Roman legends. It's easy to get some of the Greek and Roman references in Sailor Moon confused, as some are repetitive or call back to niche trivia that only the real Moonies can remember.
Updated by Vera W. on May 30, 2023: Naoko Takeuchi has a degree in science and extensive knowledge of ancient Greek and Japanese mythology. She often connects astrological themes with mythology, perfect for her shojo romance about a girl who comes from the stars. Sailor Moon is riddled with so many thoughtful folkloric references that fans are constantly making connections, even in their second and third viewing. As the new Sailor Moon Cosmos movie is set to release next month, we've updated this list to include even more ancient mythological references in the classic magical girl series.
15 Sailor Pluto
Sailor Pluto is also called the "Guardian of the Underworld," a moniker connected to the Roman god Pluto's Greek counterpart, Hades. Like Hades, Sailor Pluto is mature, contemplative, and somewhat removed from the rest of the Scouts. The weight of her duty guarding the Door to Space and Time is a heavy burden, and like Hades, it keeps her away.
The red orb on Sailor Pluto's Garnet Rod also references the pomegranates of Greek myth; the Japanese word for garnet is "zakuroishi," which means "pomegranate stone." A pomegranate is the fruit Hades used to keep his wife, Persephone, with him in the Underworld for half the year.
14 Pegasus
Before Helios reveals his true form, he visits Chibi-usa many times in her dreams as Pegasus. The Pegasus of Greek mythology is a winged horse fathered by Poseidon who appears the same as the character in Sailor Moon Crystal, except the Sailor Moon Pegasus also sports a horn like a unicorn's.
Just like in the Greek pantheon, there is only one Pegasus in Sailor Moon. Though the Greek Pegasus is a powerful god of horses, the Crystal Pegasus is more sentient and goes on to become human and have a romance with Chibi-usa as the two grow older.
13 Sailor Venus
Sailor Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and bears strong ties to the Greek counterpart, Aphrodite, both in looks and symbolism. Sailor Venus looks a lot like Sailor Moon but for a few key differences in their costume. Part of what sets her apart is the beaded Venus Chain she wears around her waist, primarily shown in the manga and in Sailor Moon Crystal.
Venus' Chain, which she uses for her most powerful attacks, is inspired by the golden girdle the Greek goddess Aphrodite wore around her waist. Whoever wore the girdle would fall desperately in love with Aphrodite, so Venus' attack is aptly named the "Venus Love-Me Chain."
12 Sailor Jupiter
Sailor Jupiter's attacks may seem incongruous at first. Her first main attack is thunder-based, but most of her other attacks involve roses and oak trees. The imagery in these attacks makes sense compared to the Roman god Jupiter and his Greek counterpart, Zeus.
Zeus is the head of the Greek pantheon and the god of thunder. The oak tree is also sacred to Zeus, symbolizing his strength and virility. Appropriately, Sailor Jupiter's strongest attack is Jupiter Oak Evolution. The attack combines Leaves of Oak into a swirling, thunderous storm.
11 Sailor Mars
Sailor Mars comes from the red planet named after the Roman god of war and courage, whose Greek counterpart is Ares. Sailor Mars' strongest attacks, like Mars Flame Sniper, bear war imagery in homage to Ares and Mars. Rei also has a similar personality to the war god; she's stubborn and one of the bravest Sailor Scouts.
Sailor Mars is accompanied by two crow companions who she named Phobos and Deimos. Not only are Phobos and Deimos named after the planet Mars' moons, but they're also named after Greek deities. Phobos is the god of panic and flight, and his brother, Deimos, is the god of fear.
10 The Goddess Of The Moon
Sailor Moon's main character is inspired by a mix of different legends. However, the most prominent are drawn from stories of the Greek moon goddess, Selene. The crescent moon markings on people from the Moon Kingdom are reminiscent of the Greek goddess Selene, who is often depicted with a crescent moon on her brow.
In the ancient Greek myth, Selene is the goddess who drives the silver chariot that crosses the night sky. In the North American version of Sailor Moon, Usagi is named Serena, an English derivative of the name Selene.
9 Prince Endymion Of Earth
The running joke with Tuxedo Mask is that he's the male equivalent of the typical female love interest because he shows up and does virtually nothing else. Eventually, the fans discover that he's Endymion, the Prince of Earth.
The shepherd Endymion is also Selene's human lover from the Greek myth, and she asked Zeus to make him immortal so they could be together. He doesn't do much, either. Like his animated counterpart, he's just along for the ride. Similarly, the Greek shepherd's love affair with the goddess of the moon is a forbidden romance. Selene is an immortal vestal virgin who isn't supposed to fall in love with a human, just like Princess Serenity, who was forbidden to form a relationship with someone from Earth.
8 Artemis
The Sailor Team has some notable non-human members, one of them being Artemis. In the Sailor Moon manga and anime, Artemis is Minako's cat and Luna's counterpart. He has a Greek name, but Luna is Roman, and Latin languages preserve this in the modern word for "moon."
In Greek mythology, Artemis is the twin of Apollo, the god of the sun. Artemis of the Sailor Moon universe is male, but the goddess he takes his name from is female. Their child is Diana, the Roman name for the goddess Artemis.
7 Sailor Mercury
Mercury herself is named after the Roman god, but one of her most important accessories is borrowed from a legend of a god that the Greeks and Romans recognized. Apollo was one of the few gods known by the same name in both ancient cultures, and the Greeks would have referred to Mercury as Hermes.
The harp Mercury plays as part of her Mercury Aqua Rhapsody attack references the world's first harp. Hermes made the harp for Apollo to apologize for stealing his sacred herd of cows.
6 Pallas, Nehelenia's Minion
Queen Nehelenia is the main antagonist of the Dark Mirror storyline, and she has four soldiers that act as her guardians and minions. One is named Pallas in the Sailor Moon manga and PalaPala in the anime. Like her companions, she's named after an asteroid. The name Pallas also has Greek roots.
"Pallas" refers to the Greek word "pallo," which means "to wield a spear," and is one of the titles for the Greek goddess Athena. Pallas is Sailor Mercury's counterpart. Since Sailor Mercury is the smartest Guardian, it makes sense that her Amazoness counterpart is named after the Greek goddess of wisdom and strategy.
5 Chaos, The Ultimate Evil
In both the manga and anime versions of Sailor Moon, Chaos is the ultimate villain, but each medium handles the character differently. In the anime, Sailor Galaxia absorbs the spirit of Chaos and becomes its unwitting host. In the manga, Chaos is the main antagonist in the final story arc, and Galaxia is her not-so-loyal minion instead of her puppet.
In Greek mythology, Chaos is also malevolent, often setting tragic or destructive events in motion. For example, Chaos started the Trojan War with her "gift" of a golden apple.
4 Sailor Cosmos
Sailor Cosmos is a character that only exists in the Sailor Moon manga, which tends to have more references to Greek mythology than its animated counterpart. During the final showdown with Chaos in the manga, Sailor Cosmos is the entity that stands in opposition to the malevolent force and is charged with saving the universe.
Sailor Cosmos also represents the Greek deity of the same name, who represents order as opposed to the mayhem of Chaos. The mysterious Guardian resides in the Galaxy Cauldron, the crucible of the universe's creation, which is apropos as she's named after the Greek concept of creation.
3 Helios
Helios is the Greek word for the sun, and when this name appears in the Sailor Moon universe, it's for a prince. Helios is not to be confused with the god of the sun, Apollo, but the actual sun.
Helios appears in generally the same way in both the anime and manga, as a prince seeking a safe refuge from the clutches of Queen Nehelenia, and the lore that predates both states that he was a priest who was charged with guarding the Golden Crystal during the time of the Silver Millennium.
2 Lethe & Mnemosyne
The references to Lethe and Mnemosyne are somewhat obscure, taking inspiration from some of the lesser-known details of Greek myth. These characters only appear in the manga version of Sailor Moon's story, so not all fans will be familiar with them.
Lethe is one of the five rivers in Hades, and when a person drinks from the river Lethe, they forget everything they once knew. Mnemosyne is a Greek titan who rules the memory. In the asteroid belt, these are two conjoined, leading to some speculation among fans that the characters in the Sailor Moon manga are twin sisters.
1 Elysion
The similarity to the ancient term "Elysium" is unmistakable. This word is often associated with Roman spiritual beliefs, but the Greeks also referred to a place like Heaven, where good souls would live eternally after death.
In Sailor Moon lore, Elysion is the capital of the Golden Kingdom of Earth, ruled by the benevolent and wise Prince Endymion. The connection between the two is obvious. Just as Elysium represents a heavenly realm, Elysion is the zenith of a future Earthen utopia. The newest Sailor Moon manga translation, the Eternal editions, retain the original Roman name and spelling.