Sailor Mercury is the Sailor Scout who’s elemental association is most likely to seem pretty random to western fans. The Planet Mercury is quite probably the driest rock in the solar system, and Hermes wasn’t particularly associated with water either. However when you dig into Sailor Moon more you learn that for most of the Senshi their Civilian surnames reference the Japanese names of their Planets.
Sailor Mercury is Ami Mizuno. Mizuno means “of water” the Kanji Mizu also pronounced Sui depending on context, means Water, and Suisei is the Japanese name of Mercury which means Water Star. This is perhaps based on ancient Japanese beliefs about the planet from long before they were exposed to Western Astronomy.
However what I feel like drawing attention to is that there is at least one ancient Gaijin precedent for associating the planet Mercury with Water. The Sumerian deity associated with the planet we call Mercury was Enki, and Enki was also associated with Water and the Seas, his Temple in Eridu being called the Abzu, he was in a lot of ways arguably the Poseidon/Neptune figure of the Mesopotamian pantheon, and was also conflated with the Canaanite Yam.
However he was also associated with some of the same things Hermes and Thoth were associated with, Knowledge and Learning and Intelligence. And those traits are also why Ami Mizuno is still considered justifiably a Hermes type personality.
While Sailor Mercury might be the first one we think of as odd, Sailor Mars who's civilian name is Rei Hino is not what I’d expect a western writer to do with that planet either. Her color is Red so that fits, but she’s not really the most Soldier or Warlike of the group, the 90s Anime does give her those Tsundere traits but I don’t see that as actually making someone good at War. And I don’t know of many other contexts where Ares is associated with Fire.
Oracles/Prophetesses in Greek Mythology tend to be associated with Apollo like Cassandra and the Pythia of Delphi, but the implied vow of Chastity in her status as a Miko could make one think of his twin Artemis, as well as one of her attacks taking the shape of a Bow and Arrow.
But as you might have guessed by now, Hino means “of fire” and the Japanese name for Mars is Kasei which means Fire Star.
Interestingly associating a Prophetess with Fire actually makes sense to me Biblically. In The Bible Prophets are vessels of The Holy Spirit, and the Baptism of The Holy Spirit is with Fire (Luke 3:16-17 and Matthew 2:10-11). A Fire that purges one of Sin (Malachi 3:3) because God’s punishments are for correction (Habakkuk 1:12 and Proverbs 3:11). Hence “in the name of Mars I will chastise you”.
Sailor Jupiter/Makoto Kino is where things start to make more sense, since she can call down Thunder to smite her foes. But most of her attacks are actually more Grass type making it difficult to find a good Pokémon to represent her, there are no Electric/Grass hybrids yet that I’m aware of. As far as analyzing her personality traits go, she’s almost more like Hera than Zeus.
Kino means “of Wood” and the Japanese name for Jupiter is Mokusei which means Wood Star.
Now I know many might jump to saying she’s the actual Mars of the group since she’s the one with a reputation for kicking @$$ even when a normal human. However that is something that is far more stressed in the 90s Anime than it is in the original Manga, the Manga does indeed introduce her with a Sukeban vibe, but it’s more interested in how that outward appearance is misleading.
Sailor Venus is the only one of the four Inner Senshi where her Greco-Roman namesake is explicitly evoked with her quite often calling herself the Goddess of Love. And her surname isn’t a reference to Kinsei the Japanese name for Venus but instead is Aino meaning “of Love”. However Kinsei means “Gold Star” and Sailor Venus is definitely associated with Gold in terms of her color palate and her weapons.
And yet, Minako is in fact the most Soldier minded of the group, as a result of being the first who’s Moon Kingdom memories returned. However this is most stressed in the Manga and almost completely ignored by the 90s Anime where her Sword is removed from the story. Minako is Aphrodite, but she is Aphrodite Areia.
Overly Sarcastic Productions has a video on Aphrodite going over how she descends from Astarte, Ishtar and Inanna. One of the topics discussed is how Ishtar was a Goddess of both Love and War but how Aphrodite in Greece only kept that aspect in Sparta. There are some important things left out. The role Cyprus plays is Astarte’s journey to the west (which also hindered their Pygmalion video). And I feel an argument can be made that this separating the War Goddess from the Love Goddess was already starting in the Middle East and was not solely a result of Greek gender norms. In Canaanite/West Semitic texts like those found at Ugarite, Astarte does not still have any Warlike characteristics if Anath exists as a separate distinct Goddess. And while no Anath equivalent exists in Mesopotamia, I would argue in Greece she exists as Enyo, a War Goddess consort of Ares. I was going to also mention Adrestia, an alleged daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, but I’ve found no primary source evidence that she existed in Ancient Greece, it seems she’s a modern invention of the Internet like the Time Traveling Goatfish.
Sparta allowing Aphrodite to be a War Goddess didn’t stop them from viewing Human Warfare as strictly for men. But they did think their women should be Fit, Athletic and capable of defending the home while their husbands are away. The only Women to ever compete in the Ancient Olympics were from Sparta. So Minako being the one who does sports kind of fits that.
Ya know those Ancient Greece themed Sexy Halloween Costumes designed to keep the woman's Legs fully visible? Well in actual Ancient Greece that was only acceptable in Sparta.
Ultimately though my ideal Aesthetic for Aphrodite Areia isn’t quite anyone from Sailor Moon but the Magical Girl Warrior costumes from Ai Tenshi Wedding Peach, who’s Anime had the same character designer as the first 2 seasons of the 90s Sailor Moon Anime and the Promise of The Rose movie and now the Eternal films.
