Later after Zeus had been disabled by the giant, Aegipan recovered his stolen sinews and so restored him. (Hyginus 2.8. After their voyage in search of the Golden Fleece, the ship was placed amongst the stars in memorial as the constellation Argo. The Dioscuri came to the rescue of sailors in distress. He hated his children and didn’t want to allow them to see the light of day. Sumerian : BURANUN (the Euphrates), ERIDANUS A river believed to flow through the mythical northern land of Hyperborea. When he was returning on his quest for the Gorgon's head, he spied the Ethiopian princess Andromeda chained to the rocks as sacrifice to a sea-monster. Sumerian : PA.BIL.SAG. Greek creation myths (cosmogonies) and views of the universe (cosmologies) were more systematic and specific than those of other ancient peoples. (Hyginus 2.6. Sumerian : LU.LIM (the Stag) ), HERACLES & APOLLO When Apollo commanded that Heracles be sold into slavery to atone for murder, the hero was enraged as wrestled the god for the Delphic tripod. ), TYCHE The goddess of good fortune was set amongst the stars as Virgo, along with the scales of fate, Libra. ), ISLAND OF SICILY The triangle shaped island of Sicily was represented amongst the stars as the constellation Triangulum. The first appearance of a constellation in the sky, occurs on the western horizon just prior to dawn (its so-called heliacal rising). Poseidon (god of the sea) was unusually atavistic in that his union with Earth, and his equine adventures appear to hark back to his pre-marine status as a horse or earthquake god. ), WAIN OF BOOTES The ox-drawn wagon or plough of the farmer Bootes was set amongst the stars in the form of the constellation Ursa Major. She received from the gods as a wedding gift upon her marriage to the god Dionysus. ), MEGISTO An Arcadian princess, daughter of King Ceteus. Certain myths, in which goddesses or heroes were temporarily incarcerated in the underworld, were allegories of seasonal renewal. The Greeks imagined the heavens as a great, solid dome, which, some say, was forged of bronze, and upon which the heavenly constellations were fixed. So, for example, Gemini first rises above the eastern horizon in late May, appearing in the sky just prior to dawn, where its position is immediately replaced by the rising sun. (Hyginus 2.25. Perseus slew the beast and saved the girl. The means of separation employed, the cutting off of Uranus’s genitals by his son Cronus, bears a certain resemblance to a similar story recorded in Babylonian epic. Greek : Boôtes (the Wagon-Driver) or Arktophylax (the Bear-Watcher) Similarly, the exploits of the Dioscuri are those of typical heroes: fighting, carrying off women, and cattle rustling. (Hyginus 2.17 on Aglaosthenes. (Hyginus 2.26. (Hyginus 2.13 on Parmeniscus, Aratus 161. (Hyginus 2.29 on Hegesianax. When he was about to commit suicide in his grief, Hera transformed Meropes into an eagle and placed him amongst the stars in the form of Aquila. Orion was also set in heaven, but doomed to continue a futile chase for all eternity. (Hyginus 2.40. Akkadian : Purattu (the Euphrates) The Titan Atlas, who stood either beneath the axis of heaven in the far north (in the land of the Hyperboreans), or at heaven's western rim in by the Atlas mountains in North Africa, was said to spin the dome around upon his shoulders, causing the stars to rise and set. After her death it was set amongst the stars as the constellation Corona. To commemorate the event, the monster was placed amongst the stars as the constellation Cetus, along with Perseus and Andromeda. It was set to flow amongst the northern stars. Myths about the gods described their births, victories over monsters or rivals, love affairs, special powers, or connections with a cultic site or ritual. The eagle and boy were subsequently placed amongst the stars as the constellations Aquila and Aquarius. The crudity is relieved, however, in characteristic Greek fashion, by the friendly collaboration of Uranus and Gaea, after their divorce, on a plan to save Zeus from the same Cronus, his cannibalistic sire. The gods as a memorial, set the whole family amongst the stars as constellations. ), HARE OF LEROS The island of Leros was once free of hares, until a young man brought a pregnant female into the country as a pet. When the island was plagued by serpents, Phorbas destroyed them all, and as a reward for this service was placed amongst the stars by the god Apollon. ), CEPHEUS A King of Aethiopia and father of the lovely Andromeda. Akkadian : Aribu (the Raven) Sumerian : AGA (the Crown of Anu), CROWN OF ARIADNE The crown of the Cretan princess Ariadne. Sumerian : UR.GU.LA (the Lion), NEMEAN LION A lion whose hide was impervious to weapons which terrorized the countryside of Nemea. ), Latin : Eridanus ), Latin : Sagittarius (the Archer) In memory of this deed, Prometheus, the arrow and the eagle were placed side by side amongst the stars as the constellations Engonasin, Aquila (or Lyra the vulture) and Sagitta. The god won and killed the beast, but Dionysus in pity set it amongst the stars on the back of Cancer. Baucis, an old Phrygian woman, and Philemon, her husband, for example, were saved from a flood by offering hospitality to Zeus and Hermes, both of whom were in human form. Greek : Aigokerôs Greek : Gala (Milky Way), MILK OF HERA Zeus once conspired to place the infant Heracles at the breast of Hera. After he was slain by the Bacchantes, Apollo and the Muses placed his lyre amongst the stars. (Hyginus 2.22. He was depicted kneeling in lamentation with a hand reached out to his daughter Megisto, the constellation Ursa Major, who had been transformed into a bear. Bulls were the most powerful animals known to the Greeks and may have been worshipped in the remote past. When his master was murdered, and his mistress committed suicide, the dog threw himself down a well. From a very early period, Greek myths seem to have been open to criticism and alteration on grounds of morality or of misrepresentation of known facts. Greek : Engonasin (the Kneeler) (Hyginus 2.40. When Asclepius dared to extend his craft by bringing back men from the dead, Zeus struck him dead with a thunderbolt. (Hyginus 2.3. In his greed he tore the roof from a temple of Demeter for his own palace. The ancients sometimes combined a pair of constellations to create the the scorpion, with Libra forming the claws. Perhaps the best-known myth of this type is the one that tells how Hades (Latin Pluto), the god of the underworld, carried Persephone off to be his consort, causing her mother, Demeter, the goddess of grain, to allow the earth to grow barren out of her grief. There Io was restored to human form and gave birth to her son Epaphos. (Hyginus 2.21 on Euripides. Thus, though the aim of Hesiod’s Theogony is to describe the ascendancy of Zeus (and, incidentally, the rise of the other gods), the inclusion of such familiar themes as the hostility between the generations, the enigma of woman (Pandora), the exploits of the friendly trickster (Prometheus), and the struggles against powerful beings or monsters like the Titans (and, in later tradition, the Giants) enhances the interest of an epic account. Greek : Hyades (the Rainy Ones), Latin : Vergiliae Dionysus then placed him, his daughter Erigone and their dog Maira, amongst the stars as the constellations Bootes, Virgo and Canis Major. The last of these set it to hunt down the Teumessian fox, which was destined never to be caught. ), DOLPHINS OF DIONYSUS When Dionysus was travelling between the islands of the Aegean, he was captured by Tyrrhenian pirates. Sumerian : GÀM (the Crook), Latin : Capra (the Goat) (Hyginus 2.24. ), HYADES Five nymphs whose stars outline the face of the bull Taurus. Episodes in the Trojan cycle, such as the departure of the Greek fleet from Aulis or Theseus’s Cretan expedition and death on Scyros, may belong to traditions dating from the Minoan-Mycenaean world. ), Latin : Hydra (the Water Serpent) To commemorate the event he placed the eagle and altar amongst the stars as the constellations Aquila and Ara. Greek : Skorpios (the Scorpion) But even that was not the worst, for he believed that a time would come when infants would be born old and there would be no recourse left against the universal moral decline. Both Asclepius and the arrow were placed amongst the stars, as Ophiochus and Sagitta respectively. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, Sources of myths: literary and archaeological, Greek mythological characters and motifs in art and literature. ), Latin : Ursa Major (the Great Bear) The Castration of Uranus. The lyre was represented by the adjacent constellation Lyra. (Hyginus 2.19. (Hyginus 2.20 on Leon. Some say, the adjacent constellation Lyra was his. Greek : Hydra (the Water Serpent) * The form and arrangment of the heavenly constellations was adopted by the Greeks from the sea-trading Phoenicians of the East, who in turn had received them from the Assyrians, and they from their forefathers the ancient Sumerians. There is also a myth of progress, associated with Prometheus, god of craftsmen, but the progress is limited, for the 19th-century concept of eternal advancement is absent from Greek thought. When she was chained to the rocks, the hero Perseus spied her, slew the beast, and carried her off as his wife. Also popular were myths of fairylands, such as the Garden of the Hesperides (in the far west) or the land of the Hyperboreans (in the far north), or encounters with unusual creatures, such as the Centaurs, or distinctive societies, such as the Amazons. There are very few surviving depictions of the constellations in classical art: at most, a few Roman mosaics, and a partial depiction on the famous Farnese statue of the Titan Atlas. As a memorial Zeus commemorated the deed amongst the stars of heaven. (Hyginus 2.5 on the Argolica. For this service he was awarded with a place amongst the stars as the constellation Capricorn. When Zeus sought to overthrow these same Titans he was told by an oracle to make a goat-skin cape, and so he slew Aex and crafted the aegis. The brightest star in its heavenly stream was named Canopus. Many Greek myths involve animal transformations, though there is no proof that theriolatry (animal worship) was ever practiced by the Greeks. (Hyginus 2.4 & 2.25. The serpent was set to guard the bowl, preventing the crow from drinking. Hero myths included elements from tradition, folktale, and fiction. Greek : Delphin (the Dolphin) Sumerian : GU.AN.NA (the Bull of Heaven), Latin : Suculae (the Suckling Pigs) Greek : Hippos (the Horse) or Pegasos Her son by Apollo was Asclepius, the constellation Ophiochus. ), HERACLES THE DRAGON-SLAYER The great hero was placed amongst the stars in the form of a kneeling man with his club poised to strike the Hesperian dragon, the constellation Draco. (Hyginus 2.15. For a list of Sumerian and Akkadian constellation names see : The Star Catalogue (external link). The beast once entered into a contest with Priapus over the size of their erect members. Greek : Êridanos or Potamos (the River) The gods placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Centaurus, along with his drinking cup Crater. (Hyginus 2.37. Orion was also described by Homer both striding across the heavens and hunting wild beasts in the underworld. The eagle and arrow were placed side by side in the heavens as the constellations Aquila and Sagitta. Her symbols are the hearth and kettle. Zeus, pitying his son, sent an eagle which snatched away her sandal and delivered it the god, which he used to barter for her favours. Of these, the twelve signs whose paths intersect with the dawn rising of the sun were known as zodiakos (the zodiac) or zodiakos kyrklos (circle of small animals). Thus, the loves of Apollo, virtually ignored by Homer and Hesiod, explained why the bay (or laurel) became Apollo’s sacred tree and how he came to father Asclepius, a healing god. When Heracles freed him from his chains, he slew the eagle with an arrow, and Zeus placed the pair amongst the stars as Aquila (eagle) and Sagitta (arrow). ), PARTHENOS A maiden daughter of Apollon who died young and was set amongst the stars by her father as the constellation Virgo. Charon, the grisly ferryman of the dead, was also a popular figure of folktale. (Hyginus 2.11, Aratus 197. (Hyginus 2.17. (Hyginus 2.25 on Hesiod & Aratus, Aratus 96. As the constellation gradually rises earlier and earlier in the night, its place on the solar horizon at dawn is eventually replaced by the next constellation of the zodiac, namely Cancer, in mid June. Greek : Lyrê (the Lyre) or Khelys (the Tortoise) The creative process began with the forcible separation of Gaea from her doting consort Heaven (Uranus) in order to allow her progeny to be born. Upon reaching Colchis the ram shed its golden fleece for Phrixus who hung it in a sacred grove, and flew up to the heavens to take a place amongst the stars as the dimly shining constellation Aries. They were a pair of donkeys who helped Dionysus cross a swamp when he was on his way to Dodona in search of a curse for the madness inflicted upon him by Hera. In this way he accomplished his seduction and in memorial placed an eagle and swan amongst the stars. Hera placed the pair in the heavens as the constellations Hydra and Cancer. Greek : Karkinos (the Crab) According to Greek Mythology, Persephone, the queen of the underworld, was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility. Myths of seasonal renewal, in which the deity dies and returns to life at particular times of the year, are plentiful. (Hyginus 2.38. Their rising heralded the onset of the rainy season in Greece. Zeus next created the men of the Bronze Age, men of violence who perished by mutual destruction. (Hyginus 2.23. ), Latin : Equus (the Horse) The lion was then placed by Hera amongst the stars as the constellation Leo. Greek : Kêtos (the Sea Monster or Whale), ETHIOPIAN CETUS A sea monster which was sent by Poseidon to ravage the land of Ethiopia to punish Queen Cassiopea for her prideful boasts comparing her daughter Andromeda to the Nereids. ), Latin : Gemini (the Twins) Akkadian : Habasiranu The formula was evidently adopted from eastern sources, in particular the star myths of the so-called "Phoenician Heracles," the hero-god of Lebanon, Melqart. The scorpion was also placed amongst the stars and continued to plague him, for as it rose in the east, Orion fled beneath the horizon in the west. The Greek word for constellations was katasterismoi. Natural fissures were popularly regarded as entrances to the subterranean house of Hades—i.e., the home of the dead. ), Latin : Canis (the Dog) When her father was killed by peasants who mistook thought the wine was poison, she committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree. CROTUS A horse-legged, satyr hunter who was a companion of the Muses on Mount Helicon. (Hyginus 2.16 on Aglaosthenes. The serpent prevented the crow from drinking at the bowl leaving it eternally parched in the heavens. (Hyginus 2.33. ), Latin : Bootes (Hyginus 2.4 & 2.35. The boy and eagle were placed amongst the stars as the adjacent constellations Aquarius and Aquila. (Hyginus 2.14. Summerian : MUSH (the Snake), LERNAEAN HYDRA A monstrous nine-headed serpent which haunted the springs of Lerna. Stephen Fry, for those of you who know him, is an irrepressibly talented raconteur, comedian, writer, TV host (QI), actor and atheist. When he was about to kill his mother Callisto who had been transformed into a bear, Zeus raised the pair to heavens as the constellations Arctophylax (the Bear-Watcher) andUrsa (the Bear). In some accounts, she gave up her seat as one of the Twelve Olympians in favor of Dionysus, and she plays little role in Greek myths. (Hyginus 2.7 on Eratosthenes. ), IO THE HEIFER The Argive princess Io was loved by Zeus, who transformed her into a cow to hide her from the jealous gaze of his wife Hera. (This subjection of myth to history is not universal in Greece, but it is found in writers such as Hesiod, Xenophanes, Pindar, Aeschylus, and Plato.) Even the gentle Muses (goddesses of the arts and sciences) blinded their human rivals, such as the bard Thamyris. (Hyginus 2.25. In memory of the event he placed a dolphin amongst the stars. Like sea deities, sileni possessed secret knowledge that they would reveal only under duress. Their match was memorialised amongst the stars as the constellation Gemini. Akkadian : Shibu (the Old Man) ), AEX OF PAN The goatish wife of the god Pan. (Hyginus 2.33. It was sent by the cloud nymph Nephele to rescue her children, Phrixus and Helle, who were about to be sacrificed to the gods. ), EAGLE OF PROMETHEUS An eagle which was set by Zeus feed on the liver of the chained Titan Prometheus. (Hyginus 2.36. ), ORPHEUS A Thracian bard who was torn to pieces by the Bacchantes when they caught him spying on their secret rites.
Nigel Thornberry Gif, Old Fashioned Wooden Toys, Tactical Call Signs, Tiny Pretty Things Ending, 2018 Chevy Spark Front Bumper, Sufganiyot Pronunciation In English, Emma Movie 1997, Sp Mla List 2017 Winner, Mga Katangian Ng Tao English, Do You Want Ants Meme,