Craters of Iapetus Desk Sculpture

Iapetus is the third largest natural satellite of Saturn and the eleventh largest in the Solar system. Iapetus is best known for its striking two-tone colouration and the massive equatorial ridge that runs three quarters of the way around the moon. Iapetus was discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini in 1671.

Iapetus is named after a Titan, one of the sons of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky) in Greek mythology. He was also the brother of Cronos, and the father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius. Contemporary scholars described him as the god of mortality. Iapetus was important in Greek mythology because his sons were regarded as the ancestors of mankind, and each of whom possessed a particular moral fault that was then imparted upon mankind.

This desk sculpture pays tribute to this moon and the mythical figure after which it is named.