 Ancient Indian , Greek , Egyptian , Babylonian and Chinese observers knew of Venus and recorded the planet 's motions . The early Greek astronomers called Venus by two names — <unk> the evening star and <unk> the morning star . <unk> is credited with realizing they were the same planet . There is no evidence that any of these cultures knew of the transits . Venus was important to ancient American civilizations , in particular for the Maya , who called it <unk> <unk> , " the Great Star " or <unk> <unk> , " the Wasp Star " ; they embodied Venus in the form of the god <unk> ( also known as or related to <unk> and <unk> in other parts of Mexico ) . In the Dresden <unk> , the Maya charted Venus ' full cycle , but despite their precise knowledge of its course , there is no mention of a transit . However , it has been proposed that frescoes found at <unk> may contain a pictorial representation of the 12th or 13th century transits . 
