Ammon, the oracle of Jupiter, who said that Neptune could be appeased only by sacrificing Cassiopeia's beautiful virgin daughter, Andromeda, to the monster. Andromeda was duly chained to a rock on the coast, fully exposed to

the monster. Fortunately for her, the hero Perseus happened to be flying by on his way back from killing the Gorgon Medusa: When Perseus saw the princess, her arms chained to the hard rock, he woman with her arms outstreched and chained at the wrists. would have taken her for a marble statue, had not the light breeze stirred her hair, and warm tears streamed from her eyes.

Without realizing it, he fell in love. Amazed at the sight of such rare beauty, he stood still in wonder, and almost forgot to keep his wings moving in the air. As he came to a halt, he called out: "You should not be wearing such chains as these--the proper bonds for you are those which bind the hearts of fond lovers! Tell me your name, I pray, and the name of your country, and why you are in chains." At first she was silent; for, being a girl, she did not dare to speak to a man. She would have concealed her face modestly behind her hands, had they not been bound fast.

What she could do, she did, filling her eyes with starting tears. When Perseus persisted, questioning her again and again, she became afraid lest her unwillingness to talk might seem due to guilt; so she told him the name of her country, and her own name, and she also told him how her mother, a beautiful woman, had been too confident in her beauty. Before she had finished, the waters roared and from the ocean wastes there came a menacing monster, its breast covering the waves far and wide. The girl screamed. Her sorrowing father was close at hand, and her mother too.

They were both in deep distress, though the mother had more cause to be so (Metamorphoses IV 674-692). Perseus says to Andromeda's parents that he'll kill the monster if they agree to give him their daughter's hand in marriage. They of course give him their consent, and Perseus kills the monster. (His exact method of doing so varies in different versions of the myth. Ovid has Perseus stab the monster to death after a drawn-out, bloody battle, while other versions have the hero simply hold up the head of Medusa, turning the monster to stone.) Andromeda is freed, and the two joyously marry.

Vulpecula is one of seven constellations introduced by Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687), a Polish astronomer mostly known for his charts of the lunar surface. His catalogue of 1564 stars, Prodromus Astronomiae was published by his wife three years after his death.

It is said in the old Greek myths that during the ten-year war between the followers of Zeus and the giant Titans, a magnificent eagle, known to us as Aquila, was ever by the side of Zeus waiting to carry his thunderbolts down to kill the monstrous Titans. It was for his loyalty that the eagle was given a position among the stars as the constellation Aquila. It is also said that at one time that gods were in need of a new waiter, a cup-bearer to carry fresh nectar to the gods. It was only fitting that such a privileged position be

held by the most beautiful youth on Earth. So Zeus summoned his faithful Aquila, saying: "Go down to Earth and sweep yourgreat wings over the land until your jewel-like eyes find the most beautiful youth in the land, and then deliver him to the Great Hall of the Gods." One day he saw a youth tending a flock of sheep on a mountain side, surely the most beautiful youth in the land. The eagle swiftly dropped out of the sky and ever so gently clasped the youth, Ganymede, in its claws.

In spite of being tired from its long journey, the eagle sped upward through the sky and carried Ganymede to Zeus. So delighted was Zeus with Aquila's choice of a cup-bearer for the gods, he reserved a place among the stars for Aquila on his death. At least as early as 1200 B.C. this constellation was known as the Eagle. Stone carvings of that age showing the constellation have been found. The constellation also has been called the Bird of Zeus and the King of Birds.

The Arabs have called Aquila the Flying Eagle, also the Crow or Raven. The Persians called Aquila the Falcon and the Flying Vulture while the Turks called it the Hunting Eagle. The Chinese have a story about a weaving Princess and her cowherd lover. Chih Nu (Vega) was the daughter of the Sun-God. She was a most clever and deft weaving and spinning artist and could make the most exquisite tapestries. One sunny summer day she happened to look out of the palace window and saw her father's herdsman driving the flock of the King along the banks of the Milky Way. As so often happens in love stories, their glances met and both knew that this was love at first sight. The King who had been worried about his daughter's future was delighted when he heard about their romance, especially as the herdsman Ch'ien Niu (Altair) was a very conscientious worker who had always looked after the royal flock with the utmost care.

Antinous

The god Antinous was a diverse deity with many facets. Although some would argue that this is a lack of focus was a detriment, it can also be seen as a strength as it allowed his cult to spread much further than a more focused worship could have. Antinous was the last great god to arise from the Roman Empire. A beautiful provincial youth who became the beloved of an Emperor and then a god, Antinous was a strikingly popular figure and a last manifestation of an Ancient spirit that would soon be lost to the world. His name is still known, his features still recognized, and his story even now kindles interest, reverence, and moral controversy. His name is paraded as both a banner of gay pride through history and as a symbol of the decadence of the Roman Empire. However, no matter what may be thought of his morals and deeds, it is very hard to argue that providing fuel for close to two millennia of debate and speculation is not a remarkable achievement for a small town Grecian boy.

this and set out to steal the kingdom form his older brother. Aeson was a peaceful man and did not wish to bring a war to the city-state and made his brother the ruler of the Boeotia. Just after gaining the thrown, an oracle told Pelias that his death would be caused by one of his cousins and that he should beware of a prince with only one shoe. Aeson had a son named Jason and Pelias ordered his soldiers to seize and kill the boy. His father was smart and had sent to boy to the centaur Chiron where he would be taught by the smartest creature to ever live. When the soldiers arrived, Aeson told them the Jason was dead and the soldiers returned to Pelias with the good news.

When Jason was old enough, told him what had happened between his father and uncle. Jason prepared himself to put the injustice right, and returned home. Aeson was very glad to see his son again. After speaking with his father, Jason set out to find Pelias. En route to Boeotia, he had to swim across a river that was swollen with swirling flood waters. Jason lost one of his shoes crossing the river. Later, as Jason strode through the market place, Pelias noticed the princely boy and became very afraid when he discovered that the boy had only one shoe. Jason asked for a crowd and demanded that Pelias give up his crown to Aeson.

Pelias tried to postpone his decision and told Jason that he would give up his thrown if Jason could prove himself a hero. Pelias told Jason that there was a curse on the country because the Golden Fleece was being held in a distant land. If Jason could return the fleece safely to his own land he would immediately make Aeson King of Boeotia. Jason accepted this challenge and set about preparing for the search. A crew of many heroes, now immortalized in the stars, took part in this journey. Among the heroes were Hercules, Castor and Pollux (the Gemini Twins), Orpheus, the Singer-Hero (the constellation Lyra), Zetes and Calais (sons of the North Wind), Theseus, the hero who slew the Minotaur (the constellation Corona Borealis), and many others, including one woman, Atlanta, an excellent archer.

The helmsman was Glaucus, who is represented in Argo Navis by the star Canopus, the rudder on the boat. The ship was to be named Argo, the Swift One. On the advice of the Goddess Athene, a beam made from Zeus' oak tree that grew in Dodona was placed in the bow of the ship, this magical timber enabled the ship to speak. When the ship was ready to be launched it was so heavy that it could not be moved. Orpheus grabbed his lyre and sang such a wonderful song that the oak beam in the bow began to move, and so the whole ship set itself into motion and gently lowered itself into the water without the help of anybody. The power of Orpheus so great that he could charm the wild beasts of the forest and make the trees come down mountains to gather around him to listen in awe at his wonderful melodies.

Now the journey could start with Jason in command. The Argonauts first passed Mount Pelion where Chiron, Jason's teacher, lived. After a night's rest the Argonauts moved on. To help guide Jason and the Argonauts, Chiron placed his likeness in the stars, as Sagittarius. Throughout the journey, Jason would speak to Chiron through the stars. When the Argo sailed past the coast of Asia Minor, their supply of fresh water began to run low and the Argonauts decided to cast anchor, go ashore, and obtain a new supply.

Hercules and Hylas volunteered to search for water, and they found a fine water well, but as they were pulling the pails up, Hylas was suddenly drawn down into the well by the water nymphs. Hercules decided not to continue with the other Argonauts but to remain behind and try to find his lost friend. The Argo sailed without Hercules and set course to the place where Cybele lived. Cybele was a goddess who possessed a chariot that was not drawn by a horse but, rather, by a lion. The next point the Argonauts had to pass was a dangerous one. It was somewhere along the northern coast of Asia Minor where the brutish giant Amycus lived. Amycus was a born fighter and he would not let anybody pass unless they were prepared to fight with him. Usually this meant the death of the challenger.

Castor and Pollux managed to overpower this giant and tied him with his arms outspread to a tree. After dealing with Amycus, the Argonauts sailed on to the island Salmydessus, the home of King Phineus. This poor man who once could see the future, had been punished by the gods with blindness because he had abused his divine seeing powers. Every time the old man tried to eat, great birds, called Harpies, would fly in and steal his food. The Harpies had iron feathers and were quite safe from threats from mortals. When the Argonauts arrived, they found Phineus almost starved to death. The heroes offered their help, and sat as guests at Phineus' table waiting for the birds to come. When the birds arrived the heroes hacked at them with their swords but to no avail. Then Zetes and Calais, the sons of the North Wind, flew up into the air and pursued the Harpies.

The birds flew so far from the island that they became exhausted and fell into the sea where they drowned. Phineus was freed from these monsters. He was so grateful for the Argonauts' help that he gave them advice for their journey.

The Argo headed to the high seas again and set course toward the huge cliffs called the Symplegades. The Symplegades had a habit of moving violently against each other, crushing everything in between, even fish and birds. Whenever the Symplegades saw a ship that had to pass between them, they waited until the vessel was in the middle and then came rushing together, breaking up the ship and killing everybody on board.

Afterwards they would recede and leave a wide and seemingly safe passage for the next victim. Phineus had given good advice to the Argonauts. As the Argo approached the rocks they happened to be far apart, but seeing the ship coming nearer they started to move closer to each other. When they came near to the entrance the Argonauts released a white dove. They had been told that if any living thing passed alive through the Symplegades, the rocks would never move again.

The white dove, aided by Athene, shot between the two rocks with such speed that they crashed against each other without killing the bird -- only depriving it of a few feathers. As the cliffs slid backwards, the Argo ran full sail between the murderous rocks. The rocks instantly started to move inwards again, but Orpheus began to play his lyre and slowed their movement with his soothing music while the Argo sailed safely through the Symplegades.

The rocks discovered too late that they had been under the spell of Orpheus and crashed against each other for the last time. They have stood still ever since and are now known as the Dardanells and the Bosporus, the narrows guarding the ends of the passage between the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. The heroic dove came back to the ship. Athene later put her in the stars as the constellation Columba, visible only in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere.

The last adventure of the Argonauts before reaching Colchis was to slay the wild boar in Calydon. Diana, the Goddess of the Hunt, had sent this boar to the Calydonians because it failed to bring the necessary sacrifices to her. This was where Atlanta, the only woman on board the Argo, came forward as she killed the boar with one of her arrows.

Finally, the Argonauts reached Colchis. King Aeetes was very upset when he heard the reason for their visit. He was certainly not going to willingly give up the Golden Fleece. He hid his fear and told the

Argonauts, "You can have the fleece, but first you must yoke the fire-breathing bulls and plow a field for me to sow some dragons' teeth." Aphrodite made Medea, the daughter of King Aeetes, fall in love with Jason and promise to help him. Medea gave Jason a mighty potion of herbs that would render him fire and freeze proof if he rubbed it on his hands, face and body. Early in the morning, King Aeetes went to the field with his daughter and members of the royal assemble. Everybody tried to get a good view as they made themselves comfortable for a day of good sport. Jason rubbed himself with the potion, entered the stable where the fire-bulls lived, untied the chains, and grabbed the bulls with one hand on each horn.

The animals roared as they came out, and fire sprayed form their mouths and nostrils in all directions. Struggling and pulling, Jason forced the bulls under the yoke of the heavy iron plow. Jason was forcing the bulls' heads down to the ground so that the fire could not shoot upwards and then grasped the handle of the plow and let the heads go. Immediately the bulls lifted their heads and tried to lunge forward. Jason strained at the harness and they came to a dead stop. Thereafter, the oxen were obliged to plow quietly, and by midday Jason had finished plowing the field. With the plowing done, the bulls were unyoked.

Terrified by Jason's strong hand, the bulls fled into the mountains and never returned again. Jason then went to King Aeetes and asked for the dragons' teeth. The king gave him a helmet full of little teeth and Jason started to sow these in the furrows, closing the soil over them as he did so. No sooner had he finished this task than armed skeletons began to grow out of each furrow. Those whose feet were still in the ground pulled out their spears and swords, while those already fully grown rushed madly at Jason. Jason did what Medea had told him to do, he threw a great stone in their midst and all the giants rushed to it, trying to possess it. A battle ensued among the giants that ended in their killing each other. Meanwhile Jason went around the field cutting off the heads of those that had just started to grow.

Jason and Medea were glad that the ordeal was over but Aeetes was furious. The next morning Jason demanded the fleece because he wanted to go home, but Aeetes said, "Do stay for a while. It is not everyday that we have such heroes in our midst." Jason agreed to stay, but in the night Medea woke him up and warned him to leave immediately with his men because her father had rallied his army and intended to kill them all. So Jason and Medea fled from the palace while the crew made the Argo ready for its homeward journey. Medea and Jason went to the tree where the fleece was nailed and guarded by a never-sleeping dragon who would devour anyone who dared to touch it. As it was an immortal dragon, there was no sense in trying to kill it.

The dragon had a great liking for sweets, and Medea had made it some honey cakes dipped in a certain juice that would put the dragon into a deep sleep. These she gave to Jason and he threw them to the dragon who soon ate them all and fell asleep. Jason pulled the fleece form the nails and sped back to the ship. Medea joined the Argonauts as they sailed for home. The Argonauts did not reach home right away. They had to sail past the Sirens, creatures that were half human-female and half fish, who lived on rocks and sang beautiful songs in an attempt to lure sailors toward them.

Sailors who became entranced by the music of the Sirens were doomed because their ships would wreck on the rocks. Orpheus, with his lyre, could overpower the singing of the Sirens. But still, one of the crew fell under their influence he slipped overboard. Had it not been for Orpheus' lyre drowning the Sirens' singing and calming the waves, that sailor would have drowned. His fellow crewmen were able to haul him aboard again.

The Argonauts encountered more danger with Scylla and Charybdis, two monsters who lived in the Strait of Messina. Scylla had six long necks and six heads and it was her sport to attack each passing ship from which she would pluck six sailors. Charybdis had a different kind of attack. Three times a day she would drink the sea water in the strait, devouring all the fish for a meal, and spit out the water again.

This caused heavy currents and she often collected an unfortunate ship or two. With the help of Thetis, the Goddess of the Sea, and the sea nymphs, the Nereids, the Argonauts were led to safety through this dangerous area. Medea and Jason married when they arrived in the land of Phaeacians. From there, the route went past the Peloponnesus. A storm caught the ship and drove it to the coast of Lybia.

Here, a golden steer rose form the sea with three goddesses seated on his back. These goddesses told the Argonauts that all would end well for them if the advice they were about to be given were followed. For twelve days, the goddesses said, the heroes should carry their ship through Lybia to escape the fury of the sea storm. This they did. During this grueling trip, one of the men was bitten and killed by a scorpion.

Finally the Argonauts reached the sea, lowered the boat into the water again, and arrived home safely. The Argonauts discovered that King Pelias had put Jason's entire family to death, in the hope of forestalling the oracle's prediction that he would be killed by one of his cousins. Jason, Pelias thought, was as good as dead; he believed that Jason would never return from his mission to Colchis.

Jason was desperate and Medea decided to seek revenge. She told the daughters of Pelias that she could rejuvenate their old father. To prove this claim, she cut up a goat in front of the sisters and then boiled it in a secret juice that brought the goat back to life as a young kid. This convinced the sisters of her powers and they killed their father. Then at the crucial moment, Medea left them in the lurch and did not perform the critical part of the rejuvenation rite. This was Medea's answer to the killing of Jason's family, and she did this in good faith because she believed in her husband.

Jason was upset by her witches' methods, turned away from Medea and finally married Creusa, the daughter of the King of Corinth. Medea could not understand her husband's decision and tried to killed the bride by sending the her a poisoned robe. When this failed, she returned to Colchis in a chariot drawn by snakes. Athene commemorated the event by placing their ship, Argo Navis, in the sky as a giant constellation below and east of Canis Major. Others think that the constellation represents the ship of the Greek warrior Menelaus, husband of Helen.

Menelaus sailed this ship home from the Trojan Wars. Canopus (a Carinae) is the second brightest star in the night sky. The name of the star come from the pilot of the fleet of ships of King Menelaus. The star forms the rudder of the great ship, steering it across the sky as Canopus did with the actual ship. On the way home from Troy, they stopped on the northern coast of Egypt, where Canopus died. In honor of his ships captain, Menelaus founded a city on the spot of his death and named it Canopus. The city of Canopus was not far from where Alexandria was eventually built.

A temple to the Egyptian goddess Serapis was constructed there. On the steps of this temple is where Ptolomy, a second century astronomer, made his observations. By fitting coincidence, because of its perpendicular direction from the plane of our solar system, Canopus is one of the principle sighting stars used by modern spacecraft for celestial navigation. The star Canopus was known in Egypt as the Star of Osiris, and worshipped in many ancient cultures. This was the star used by Posidonius in Alexandria who, in 260 BC, was the first to plot out the degrees on the Earth's surface.

It marked the beginning of spring and was known as the First Point of Aries. The brightest star in Aries is Hamal, from the Arabic Al Ras al Hamal, meaning "the Head of the Sheep." The ancient Greeks from about 1580 B.C. to 360 B.C. oriented the construction of many of their sacred temples in relationship to Hamal. In May of A.D. 1012, a nova reportedly was seen in Aries. Athamas, King of Orchomenus, has taken a new wife, Ino. Ino was a jealous woman and was extremely envious of Phrixus and his sister Helle, Athamas' two children by his first wife. After much persuasion by Ino, Athamas agreed to sacrifice his son, Phrixus, who would have inherited his father's kingdom. Now the god Hermes was aware of the death plot against the boy and at the last minute sent down form heaven a beautiful and powerful ram with golden fleece. Phrixus and Helle both climbed onto the ram's back and were carried off through the air. Poor Helle was unable to hang on and fell to her death over the strait named after her, the Hellespont, which links the

Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara in what is now Turkey. Phrixus managed to hang on and was carried by Aries to a land near the Black Sea called Colchis, the capital of which was Aea. Now that the golden ram's work was done, the ram commanded Phrixus to sacrifice him to the gods and remove his golden fleece. Phrixus did and presented the golden fleece to King Aeetes, who was delighted with the gift. The King hung the fleece in the sacred Grove of Ares, where there lived a dragon who never slept and guarded the golden fleece. We are told that so brilliantly did the golden fleece shine that by night it bathed the surrounding countryside in a warm golden light. The brave and generous ram was given an eternal place in the sky as the constellation Aries. It is said that this constellation is a dim one because at the time the ram was immortalized it no longer had its brightly shining fleece. The Chinese knew Aries as a dog, Kiang Leu. Later they knew it as Pih Yang, or "the White Sheep."

The name "Bootes" is at least 3000 years old, but in those ancient times the name most likely applies to the star Arcturus rather than to the entire group of stars we see today. The Egyptians believed that those north circumpolar stars that never set over the horizon, were evil. And one of the most evil of these northern constellations was the Great Bear. Bo?tes, they believed, was

placed in the sky to guard the Great Bear and see that she did no harm. The Egyptians pictured Bo?tes as a constellation they called the Hippopotamus. The Greeks at one time also knew Bo?tes as the Bear Watcher, or Bear Guard because he seems to chase Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Great and Small Bears, across the sky. Bo?tes is also called the Herdsman because is seems to hold the leashes of the Hunting Dogs, the constellation Canes Venatici. Greek mythology has many stories about the origin of Bo?tes. According to one legend, Bo?tes is Arcas, the hunter-son of Callisto, the Great Bear. In another myth, Bo?tes was the son of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. Bo?tes is credited with inventing the plow and was placed in the heavens his invention. Both the Hindus and ancient Chinese regarded Arcturus as a pearl-star. In Chinese myth, a huge dragon was eternally chasing and trying to capture this star.

Cancer is a zodiacal constellation. Like many other constellations, its mythological importance is uncertain; however, the most widely accepted story is that Cancer was the crab sent to harass Hercules while he was on his second labor. As he battled the Lernaean Hydra, the ever-jealous Juno sent Cancer to nip at the hero's heels. The crab was eventually crushed beneath Hercules's feet, but Juno placed it in the heavens as a reward for its faithful service. Cancer may be found between the constellations of Leo and Gemini.

The Small Dog, was invented by the Roman. The Arabic title for the constellation was Al Kalb al Asghar, or "the Lesser Dog." Most of the mythology associated with Canis Minor is also connected with Canis Major.

placed the new shape of Bacchus in the heavens out of thanks for the rescue. Capricornus has therefore from antiquity been represented by a figure with the head and body of a goat and the tail of a fish. It may be seen between Aquarius and Sagittarius low on the southern horizon.

Cassiopeia

Was the beautiful wife of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and the mother of Andromeda. She made the mistake of bragging she was more lovely than the Nereids, or even than Juno herself. The goddesses were, needless to say, rather insulted, and went to Neptune, to complain. Neptune promptly sent a sea monster (possibly Cetus?) to ravage the coast. They were ordered to sacrifice their daughter to appease Neptune's wrath, and would have done so had Perseus not arrived to kill the monster in

the nick of time. As a reward, the hero was wedded to the lovely Andromeda. By most accounts, was quite happy with the match. In some versions of the myth, however, the queen objects to the marriage and is turned to stone when Perseus shows her the head of the Gorgon Medusa. Although she was placed in the heavens by Neptune, the sea-god saw fit to humiliate her one final time (and for all eternity). He placed her so that she is seated on her throne, with her head pointing towards the North Star Polaris. In this position, she spends half of every night upside-down.

a crown of stars, standing with his left foot planted over the pole and his scepter extended towards his queen.

Andromeda myth.Cetus is appropriately a large one, and is relegated to the southern sky-far from Andromeda, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Perseus.

Berenice was the wife of the egyptian king Ptolomeo III Evergetes.When Ptolomeo took the throne, his first mision was about going to Siria to fight against king Seleuco II and revenge the murderer of his sister and nephew (who was heir to the throne of this Asian region). He fought and he gained many victories, but during his absence, his wife Berenice was desperate and

fearful for the life of her husband. Thus, one day she went to the temple of Venus and she sweared to the goddess that she will sacrifice her beautiful hair (admired for all those who looked at it), if her husband return alive and victorious. He did return, and faithful to her word she cut off her hair and placed it in the temple as an offering to the gods who watched over her husband. Berenice's husband longed to see his wife's beautiful hair again and visited the temple.

He was met by the temple guardians who told him that only moments ago the hair had disappeared, an act of the gods. So pleased were the gods with Berenice's sacrifice that they place her hair in the sky for all to admire. Thereafter, all the King had to do to see his wife's hair was look up to the sky.

This tiny constellation has been recognized over the centuries by many cultures and has been known by an equal number of different names. It has been called the Southern Wreath by the Greeks. It represents the crown worn by the centaur Sagittarius and sometimes known as Corona Sagittarii. The Romans knew it as the Golden Crown of Sagittarius, as the Little Crown, the Southern Coil, and the Crown of Eternal Life.

was one of those chosen as a sacrifice. Ariadne fell in love with him, and offered to help if he would take her away with him when he escaped. He agreed, and she gave him a thread to unwind behind him to mark his passage. He killed the Minotaur, followed the thread out of the labyrinth, and sailed from Crete with Ariadne: Inmediately he set sail for Dia, carrying with him the daughter of Minos; but on the shore of that island he cruelly abandoned his companion. Ariadne, left all alone, was sadly lamenting her fate, when Bacchus put his arms around her, and brought her his aid. He took the crown from her forehead, and set it as a constellation in the sky, to bring her eternal glory. Up through the thin air it soared and, as it flew, its jewels were changed into shining fires. They settled in position, still keeping the appearance of a crown, midway between the kneeling Hercules and Ophiucus, who grasps the snake. (Metamorphoses VIII 174-182).

Corvus is the Latin name for both the raven and the crow and these two birds are usually paired together in mythology. From the same family, their obvious intelligence and ingenuity, as well as their distinctive caw, has given them a widespread association with trickery, storytelling, the relaying of messages, and the serving of self-interest. But the colour of their plumage has also drawn a universal connection with malevolence, sinister forces, and ominous warnings. The stars

of Corvus share this reputation and the classical myths that relate to the constellation speak of mistrust, shameful motives, insincerity, glorification in the misfortune of others, and the bearing of bad news.

In view of its prophetic reputation, the Raven was said to be the sacred bird and messenger of Apollo, (the Roman god of prophecy), who cast favour upon it after the Sungod triumphantly assumed its shape during a contest of the gods.

Most universal crow-myths speak of the bird being originally white or silver, and cursed black on account of its dark deeds. Such is the case in the myth of Apollo and the Raven, for as the 1st century poet Ovid narrates: "The bird was once of a silvery hue, with such snowy feathers it could rival any dove." According to his tale, Corvus was tasked with keeping a watchful eye over Apollo's pregnant wife Coronis, and spied her with a lover. In Ovid's account, the Raven had been advised against revealing his sorry piece of news by a crow who had suffered a similar fate after spying on the daughters of his master. "The punishment I suffered may serve as a warning … not to court danger by telling tales". But the warning was ignored and - lest we should miss its significance - repeated upon the raven.

Other myths, such as that embedded into the constellation of Crater the Cup, perpetuate the theme of selfishness and mistrust. Indeed, such is the popular view of crows and ravens as malicious messengers in folklore, that whilst we may refer to 'a pride of lions' or a 'drove of cattle', the collective terms applied to these birds are 'a murder of crows' and 'an unkindness of ravens'!

The most notable star of Corvus is Algorab, which simply means 'The Crow' in Arabic. This is a double star, located on the wing of the figure, variable in brilliance (from 2.94 + 8.4) and notable for its contrasting colours of purple and yellow. It is widely reported as having an unfortunate influence and - like all the stars of Corvus - it is listed as of the nature of Mars and Saturn by Ptolemy. Robson's description of this star, that it gives "destructiveness, malevolence, fiendishness, repulsiveness and lying, and is connected with scavenging" touches upon some of the principles that apply, at least in some measure, to all the stars of this group.

Although Algorab is accorded the greatest astrological note, it is often superceded in brilliance by the 3rd magnitude stars Al-Janah (the wing), and Kraz (the claw). The location of the latter augments its symbolic connection to wilful destructiveness.

Alchiba (the beak), was once the brightest star of the constellation and is thus noted as the alpha star, but it is now much less brilliant than it was. Its position on the beak heightens the symbolic connection to the principle of mistrusting information, being mistrusted, or the dangers attached to being loose with words or taking shameful pleasure in gossip.

made it an official constellation.

As with so many of the constellations, there are a number of possible explanations for the presence of the swan in the heavens. Some myths, for instance, state the swan was once the pet of the Queen Cassiopeia. Other versions state that the swan was Cionus, son of Neptune, who was wrestled to the ground and smothered by Achilles. To save his son, Neptune immortalized Cionus as a swan. Another story says the swan is Orpheus,

who was murdered by the Thracian women while under the influence of Bacchus. Upon his death, the celebrated musician was placed in the heavens to spend eternity by his harp, Lyra. Yet another variant says that the swan represents the form taken by Jupiter when he deceived Leda and fathered Pollux. According to Ovid, the swan was once Cygnus, son of Sthenele and a close friend of Phaethon.

Phaethon died in the river Eridanus after attempting to drive the chariot of the sun, and Cygnus was overcome with grief that Jupiter could have struck down his friend: As he mourned, his voice became thin and shrill, and white feathers hid his hair. His neck grew long, stretching out from his breast, his fingers reddened and a membrane joined them together. Wings clothed his sides, and a blunt beak fastened on his mouth. Cygnus became a new kind of bird: but he put no trust in the skies, or in Jupiter, for he remembered how that god had unjustly hurled his flaming bolt.

Instead, Cygnus made for marshes and broad lakes, and in his hatred of flames chose to inhabit the rivers, which are the very antithesis of fire (Metamorphoses II 374-382). Cygnus is easily found in the summer sky. Also called the Northern Cross because of its characteristic shape, its brightest star is Deneb, which is part of the Summer Triangle with Vega and Altair. Cygnus is next to Cepheus and Lyra.

murderous crew made their move, Arion made one last request--that he be permitted to sing a farewell song. The crew could see no danger in that and agreed. So he dressed in his finest court garments and stood on the bow of the ship and began to sing. So sweet was his song that sea creatures of many kinds surrounded the ship to listen. Among them was a school of dolphins.

Arion saw that the dolphins seemed very pleased with his song and just before he reached the end of it he plunged overboard amid the dolphins. One of the animals caught him before he struck the water and raced off with him towards Corinth. It was with great difficulty that Arion hung on, so swift was the dolphin's course through the sea. The startled crew looked on helplessly and believed that surly Arion would fall off the dolphin and drown. But the dolphin safely carried Arion to Corinth. Arion told the king of the crew's plot and when the vessel docked, Periander was waiting for them.

The crew said that Arion had decided to remain in Sicily, so great was the wealth he had acquired there. When Arion stepped into view and the crew saw him, they were so terrified they confessed their plot. King Periander crucified them to the last man. So pleased was Apollo with the good dolphin's role in rescuing Arion that the god gave the dolphin a place among the stars.

It is unclear precisely which mythological dragon Draco represents. There are, however, three main contenders.

One version--the least likely--of the Draco story is that the dragon fought Minerva during the wars between the giants and the gods. Minerva threw Draco's twisted body into the heavens before it had time to unwind itself. Another variant is that

Draco represents the dragon who guarded the golden apples in the garden of the Hesperides. One of the labors of Hercules was to steal these apples (some sources state it was his eleventh labor, others it was his twelfth).

This was, according to Bulfinch, the most difficult labor of all..., for Hercules did not know where to find them. These were the apples which Juno had received at her wedding from the goddess of the Earth, and which she had entrusted to the keeping of the daughters of Hesperus, assisted by a watchful dragon. After various adventures, Hercules arrived at Mount Atlas in Africa. Atlas was one of the Titans who had warred against the gods, and after they were subdued,

Atlas was condemned to bear on his shoulders the weight of the heavens. He was the father of the Hesperides, and Hercules thought might, if any one could, find the apples and bring them to him (Bulfinch's Mythology, 136). Hercules suggested this plan to Atlas, who pointed out two problems: first, he could not simply drop his burden; second, there was the awful guardian dragon.

Hercules responded by throwing his spear into the garden of the Hesperides and killing the hundred-headed beast, and then taking the burden on his own shoulders. Atlas retrieved the apples and, reluctantly taking the burden onto his shoulders once again, gave them to Hercules. Juno placed the dragon in the heavens as a reward for his faithful service. By far the most commonly accepted version of Draco's arrival in the heavens, however, is that Draco was the dragon killed by Cadmus.

Cadmus was the brother of Europa, who was carried off to Crete by Jupiter in the form of a bull (Taurus). Cadmus was ordered by his father to go in search of his sister, and told he could not return unless he brought Europa back with him. "Cadmus wandered over the whole world: for who can lay hands on what Jove has stolen away? Driven to avoid his native country and his father's wrath, he made a pilgrimage to

Apollo's oracle, and begged him to say what land he should dwell in" (Metamorphoses III 9-11). Cadmus followed Apollo's advice and found a suitable site for his new city. He sent his attendants to find fresh water to offer as a libation to Jupiter, and they wandered into a cave with springs. As they were getting water, however, they were all killed by "the serpent of Mars, a creature with a wonderful golden crest; fire flashed from its eyes, its body was all puffed up from poison, and from its mouth, set with a triple row of teeth, flickered a three-forked tongue" (Metamorphoses III 31-34). After his companions did not return, Cadmus himself went into the cave and discovered the dragon.

He killed it with his spear, and then (upon the order of Minerva) sowed the dragon's teeth in the ground. From the teeth sprung warriors, who battled each other until only five were left. These five, along with Cadmus himself, were the first people of the city of Thebes. It is interesting, however, to note that Ovid himself does not equate the dragon of Mars with Draco. In fact, in book III of Metamorphoses, he describes the dragon killed by Cadmus in terms of the constellation: "It was as huge as the Serpent that twines between the two Bears in the sky, if its full length were seen uncoiled" (45-47). The Serpent described by Ovid is certainly the same one as we see today, twisting past Cepheus and between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor in the north, with its head beneath the foot of Hercules. Its location therefore seems to fit best with the myth that Draco was the dragon in the garden of the Hesperides.

The outstanding Greek astronomer Hipparchus (146-127 BC) composed the first star catalogue, of about 850 stars. He also discovered the precession of the equinoxes and invented trigonometry. It is not known if he actually created any constellations. The "little horse" that the name refers to is lost in antiquity. Some

sources believe it to be a half-brother of Pegasus, Celeris. The only brother of Pegasus, Chrysaor, was born simultaneously with Pegasus. Instead of a horse, Chrysaor was a warrior. Its original name seems to have been Al Faras al Awwal and the Latin equivalent Equus Primus, "the First Horse," since it rises just before Pegasus

Eridanus is a river in northern Italy, now known as the River Po. Called by Virgil the "king of rivers," Eridanus was made famous in connection with the death of Phaethon. Phaethon was the son of Phoebus Apollo and the nymph Clymene. For his birthday one year, Phaethon asked his father for some proof that he was indeed the son of the sun-god. Apollo said he would give the boy any gift he desired as a token of his fatherly love, and Phaethon promptly asked for the chance to drive the

chariot of the sun. His father balked, knowing that no mortal youth could possibly have the strength necessary to control the horses. However, Phaethon insisted, and Apollo had granted his word.

Phaethon drove off on the route of the sun, but sure enough, he could not control the powerful horses. He drove too close to the heavens, and then plunged

too close to the earth, scorching both realms. Gaia endured the sun's heat until she could bear it no more, and then she called upon Jupiter for help: The omnipotent father called upon the gods and even upon the sun himself, who had bestowed his car upon Phaethon, to be his witnesses that, if he did not bring help, the whole world would come to a grievous end. Then he mounted up to the highest point of heaven, that height from which he is wont to spread clouds over the broad lands of earth, whence he sends forth his thunderings and hurls his flashing bolts: he had no clouds then to draw over the world, no rain to shower down from the skies. He sent forth a thunderclap and, poising his bolt close by his right ear, launched it against the charioteer... Phaethon, with flames searing his glowing locks, was flung headlong, and went hurtling down through the air, leaving a long trail behind: just as a star, though it does not really fall, could yet be thought to fall from a clear sky. Far from his native land, in a distant part of the world, the river Eridanus received him, and bathed his charred features" (Metamorphoses II 304-327). As a constellation, Eridanus is the longest in the sky, meandering from Orion to Cetus.

Grus lies just below Piscis Austrinus, and at one time was part of that constellation. Grus was so named by Johann Bayer, as listed in his 1603 star atlas.

Hercules was perhaps the greatest hero in all mythology. He was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and was hounded all his life by Juno. (This is deliciously ironic, because in the original Greek myths, Juno is named Hera and Hercules is Heracles, which means "glory of Hera.") Juno was unhappy with Jupiter's infidelity, and saw Hercules as a living, breathing symbol of her shame. She delayed his birth, and when Hercules was a mere baby (but a big one!) sent two

snakes into the crib he shared with his mortal half-twin Iphicles. Hercules killed them both with his bare hands, marking the beginning of his career as a monster-killer. After a preciocious childhood and adolesence, Hercules married Megara (daughter of Creon, king of Thebes). Juno succeeded in driving him mad, though, and he killed his wife and his children. As atonement, he serves the king Eurystheus, performing the twelve labors for which he is most famed:

He wrestled and killed the Nemean Lion (Leo) in its den, then used one of the beast's teeth to remove the otherwise impenetrable hide. He wore the hide as protection from then on. He killed the Lernaean Hydra, a poisonous monster which could regenerate its heads, growing two each time one was lopped off. Hercules managed this by burning the stump of each before anything could grow back and burying the one immortal head beneath a rock. While battling the Hydra, his feet were nipped by a crab sent by Juno. He captured the Cerynean Hind, a stag with golden horns which was famous for its speed, after a year-long pursuit.

He captured the Erymanthian Boar and killed the centaurs Pholus and Chiron who opposed him. He successfully cleaned the Augean Stables, which had held 3000 oxen for thirty years without ever having been cleaned, in one night by

redirecting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through them. He killed the Stymphalian Birds, which fed on human flesh in Arcadia. He captured the Cretan Bull. He captured the mares of Diomedes, which fed on human flesh, by feeding them their owner. He stole the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. He stole the man-eating cattle of Geryon. He stole the three-headed guard dog Cerberus from the underworld. He obtained the golden apples of the Hesperides, killing a dragon to do so. Hercules also accompanied Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece and assisted in the war between the gods and the giants. He remarried, and eventually died after accidentally poisoned by his wife Deineira.

He was subsequently immortalized, even though he was by birth only half immortal. The constellation Hercules, found between Lyra and Bootes, shows the hero wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion while holding his characteristic club and Cerberus the three-headed dog. He also rests his foot atop the head of Draco the dragon. The constellation is huge--the fifth-largest in the sky--but rather dim, which is an interesting parallel with Hercules himself. The hero was famed for his brawn, but his wits were rather lacking.

The Hydra which lived in the swamps near to the ancient city of Lerna in Argolis, was a terrifying monster which like the Nemean lion was the offspring of Echidna (half maiden - half serpent), and Typhon (had 100 heads), other versions think that the Hydra was the offspring of Styx and the

Titan Pallas. The Hydra had the body of a serpent and many heads (the number of heads deviates from five up to one hundred there are many versions but generally nine is accepted as standard), of which one could never be harmed by any weapon, and if any of the other heads were severed another would grow in its place (in some versions two would grow). Also the stench from the Hydra's breath was enough to kill man or beast (in other versions it was a deadly venom). When it emerged from the swamp it would attack herds of cattle and local villagers, devouring them with its numerous heads. It totally terrorized the vicinity for many years.

Heracles journeyed to Lake Lerna in a speedy chariot, and with him he took his nephew and charioteer Iolaus, in search of the dreaded Hydra. When they finally reached the Hydras' hiding place, Heracles told Iolaus to stay with the horses while he drew the monster from its hole with flaming arrows. This brought out the hideous beast. Heracles courageously attacked the beast, flaying at each head with his sword, (in some versions a scythe) but he soon realized that as one head was severed another grew in its place. Heracles called for help from Iolaus, telling him to bring a flaming torch, and as Heracles cut off the heads one by one from the Hydra, Iolaus cauterized the open wounds with the torch preventing them from growing again. As Heracles fought the writhing monster he was almost stifled by its obnoxious breath, but eventually, with the help of Iolaus, Heracles removed all but one of the Hydras' heads.

The one remaining could not be harmed by any weapon, so, picking up his hefty club Heracles crushed it with one mighty blow, he then tore off the head with his bare hands and quickly buried it deep in the ground, placing a huge boulder on the top. After he had killed the Hydra, Heracles dipped the tips of his arrows into the Hydras' blood, which was extremely poisonous, making them deadly.
Other versions say that while Heracles fought the Hydra the goddess Hera sent down a giant crab which attacked his feet). This legend comes from a marble relief dating from the 2nd century BCE found at ancient Lerna, showing Heracles attacking the Hydra, and near his feet is a huge crab. Also other legends say that a stray arrow set alight the forest, and it was the burning trunks which Heracles ripped up and used to cauterize the open wounds.

Medusa:
One of the Gorgons, and the only one who was mortal. Her gaze could turn whoever she looked upon to stone. There is a particular myth in which Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden. She desecrated Athena's temple by lying there with Poseidon. Outraged, Athena turned Medusa's hair into living snakes. Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus with the help of Athena and Hermes. He killed her by cutting of her head and gave it to Athena, who placed it in the center of her Aegis, which she wore over her breastplate. From Medusa's dead body the giant Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus, her son by Poseidon, sprang forth.

Hydrus was one of Johann Bayer's constellations, found in his 1603 publication Uranometria. It was meant to be the southern hemisphere's answer to Hydra. Hydrus is a rather stiff snake, perhaps mostly resembling a cobra, with its head upright and body curled. Bayer created this constellation out of some left over stars near the south celestial pole.

Leo is generally accepted to represent the Nemean Lion, killed by Hercules during his first labor. According to myth, the Nemean lion had an impenetrable skin. Hercules got around this potentially serious obstacle by wrestling the lion and strangling it to death. He then removed one of its claws, and used it to skin the animal. From then on, Hercules wore the skin of the Nemean Lion as protection. Leo is easy to locate; following the pointer stars of the Big Dipper south

Leo Minor is one of seven constellations introduced by Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687), a Polish astronomer mostly known for his charts of the lunar surface. His catalogue of 1564 stars, Prodromus Astronomiae was published by his wife three years after his death. It was in this

This constellation seems to have been an unidentified animal for both the Greeks and Romans, simply known as Therion. Both cultures thought Centaurus was offering this animal as a sacrifice. By the time Johann Bayer published his catalogue of constellations in the early seventeenth century, the animal was considered a wolf.

The constellation is named for a musical instrument used by the ancient Greeks. It is very similar to a harp, but only has 3 to 10 strings. Hermes, Messenger of the Gods, one day came upon an empty tortoise shell on the beach and out of it fashioned a small harp like instrument, the lyre. When in the right hands the instrument produced the most beautiful music ever heard by either gods or mortals. Hermes traded his invention with the Sun-god Apollo.

Later, Apollo presented the lyre to his son Orpheus. So gifted was Orpheus at playing the lyre that neither mortals, beasts, nor the gods themselves could turn away when he played.

It is said that on hearing Orpheus play, Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, wept tears of iron. In time Orpheus took a wife, the young and beautiful Eurydice. But soon after the marriage she was bitten by a serpent and died, where upon she was transported to the Underworld, where all mortals souls went. Orpheus himself entered Hades, playing the lyre as he went.

Pluto and all the other ruling spirits were so enchanted by Orpheus' music that they agreed to restore life to Eurydice--but only in one condition--that as Orpheus left Hades he would not look back to see if his wife were following him. As he left Hades, he could not understand why he had not heard footsteps behind him if his wife really were there. Breaking his vow, he looked back. He saw Eurydice, but she was rapidly faded away into the mists of Hades. Now she was lost to him forever, for once reborn, a departed soul cannot be reborn a second time.

Utterly sad and lonely, Orpheus spent the rest of his days roaming over the land playing sweet but sad music to himself in memory of his dear wife. So sweet was the music that maidens from far and wide came to him and pleaded that he forget his sorrows and marry one of them. But he would not. Their pride crushed, the young maidens vowed to kill Orpheus since they could not have him for their own. They tore him apart limb by limb and threw his remains and lyre into the river. Zeus knew of these events. Also enchanted by the sweet music of Orpheus, Zeus rewarded the young man by making his music immortal. He raised the lyre into the skies and placed it beside the graceful swan, Cygnus.

A small but brilliant constellation, Lyra is crowned with the bright star Vega, also known as the Harp Star. The Sumerians and Babylonians saw Lyra not as a harp but a vulture. This is suggested by early records of the constellation as a harp being carried by a vulture. So instead of being the Harp star it may once have been the Vulture Star. The ancient peoples of Britain called Lyra "the Harp of King Arthur."

The Chinese have a story about a weaving Princess and her cowherd lover. Chih Nu (Vega) was the daughter of the Sun-God. She was a most clever and deft weaving and spinning artist and could make the most exquisite tapestries. One sunny summer day she happened to look out of the palace window and saw her father's herdsman driving the flock of the King along the banks of the Milky Way. As so often happens in love stories, their glances met and both knew that this was love at first sight.

The King who had been worried about his daughter's future was delighted when he heard about their romance, especially as the herdsman Ch'ien Niu (Altair) was a very conscientious worker who had always looked after the royal flock with the utmost care. Chih Nu wove her own wedding dress out of sparkling rays of starlight. They were very happy together. In fact, they were a little too happy and too devoted to each other.

Consequently they forgot all about their work. The loom stood still and gathered dusty cobwebs while the royal cattle roamed far and wide across the heavenly meadows. The Sun-King gave them repeated warnings and every time they promised to amend their ways, but soon they lapsed into idleness again. This annoyed the King so much that after several warnings he decided to banish the husband to the other side of the Milky Way again so that he could tend the cattle there. When he had dispatched Ch'ien Niu across the one and only ford, T'ien-tsin, the King had both sides closed by barriers and a guard posted with instructions that neither of them were allowed to pass along this route.

Chih Nu pleaded with her father but to no avail. Finally she appealed to the magpies who had pity on the couple. The magpies decided that once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month they would help the parted lovers. On that day all the magpies in China would fly to the Milky Way and make a bridge across it with outspread wings across which the lovers would rush into each other's arms and spend the rest of the day together. On that day a soft rain began to fall in the morning, which were their tears of happiness. But at nightfall the soft rain became a downpour, caused by the tears of having to part again for a year. Having done their duty the magpies would fly away again.

When on the following day people saw the magpies in the fields once more they would rejoice and say: "Yes, look, the lovers have been together. See how the feathers on the birds are all worn down where their feet have trampled." If the feathers weren't trampled down the people would be sad and used to say that bad weather had apparently prevented the birds from building the bridge across the Milky Way. It is also said the children are told to throw stones at any magpies if the saw them in the fields on the seventh day of the seventh month, because those selfish birds were negligent of their duty.

According to the lore that grew up around the beast, people who drank from the horn of a unicorn were protected from stomach trouble, poisoning, and epilepsy. Even today, some people believe that the rhinoceros's horn possesses magical powers. While the constellation may have been in existence prior to the seventeenth century, its first historical reference appears in Jakob Bartsch's star chart of 1624, under the name Unicornu. It is believed that Bartsch, who was Johannes Kepler's son-in-law, relied on earlier works, but such works have never been identified.

He was the first doctor of medicine, and his expertise led to his downfall in a very strange way. His career seems to have begun when one day while visiting a friend and saw a snake in the room and killed it. Then, to the great surprise of both, a second snake carrying an herb in its mouth crawled into the room. It gave the herb to the first snake, which immediately recovered. It was this herb, which Aesculapius took from the revived snake, that taught him the great powers certain herbs have over life and death.

He traveled far and wide over the land, always learning more about the medicinal use of herbs, and before long his reputation as a saver of lives had become widely known. So expert had he become that Hades, God of the Underworld, complained to his brother Zeus that fewer and fewer souls were being sent down to the Underworld.

Hades, of course, was worried about losing his important position. Aesculapius once is said to have brought Hippolytus back to life by "gluing" him back together. Hippolytus had been dragged to death and dismembered when his horses were

frightened by a bull. Just as Aesculapius was about to bring the famous hunter, Orion, back to life after he had been accidentally shot with an arrow by his lover, Hades' patience ran out. He demanded that Zeus stop this wholesale restoring of life. After all, only the gods were immortal.

If Aesculapius were permitted to increase his skill in bringing the dead back to life, mankind, too, would have attained immortality. Thus went Hades' argument to Zeus. Zeus agreed with his brother and hurled a thunderbolt at Aesculapius, killing him on the spot.

But Zeus could not help but admire the skills of Aesculapius and so raised him among the stars as Ophiuchus, along with the serpent from which he had learned his skills.

Aesculapius, as the God of Medicine, is always shown with a staff with a serpent wound around it. You have seen the symbol in hospitals and doctors' offices. Our words hygiene (meaning "the science of health") and panacea (meaning "a cure-all medicine") come from the names of two of Aesculapius' daughters, Hygeia and Panacea. The Romans called Ophiuchus the Serpent-Charmer and the Arabs called him the Serpent-Collector.

There are two different versions of the Orion myth, depending on the identity of his parents. The first of these identifies the sea-god Neptune as Orion's father and the the great huntress Queen Euryale of the Amazons as his mother. Orion inherited her talent, and became the greatest hunter in the world. Unfortunately for him, with his immense strength came an immense ego, and he boasted that he could best any animal on earth. In response to his vanity, a single small scorpion stung him and killed him.

Another version of the Orion myth states that he had no mother but was a gift to a pious peasant from Jupiter, Neptune, and Mercury. "Orion supposedly was able to walk on water and had greater strength and stature than any other mortal. A skilled blacksmith, he fabricated a subterranean palace for Vulcan.

He also walled in the coasts of Sicily against the encroaching sea and built a temple to the gods there" (Magee, 48).

Orion fell in love with Merope, daughter of Oenopion and princess of Chios. Her father the king, however, would not consent to give Orion his daughter's hand in marriage--even after the hunter rid their island of wild beasts. In anger, Orion attempted to gain possession of

the maiden by violence. Her father, incensed at this conduct, having made Orion drunk, deprived him of his sight and cast him out on the seashore. The blinded hero followed the sound of a Cyclops' hammer till he reached Lemnos, and came to the forge of Vulcan, who, taking pity on him, gave him Kedalion, one of his men, to be his guide to the abode of the sun. Placing Kedalion on his shoulders, Orion proceeded to the east, and there meeting the sun-god, was restored to sight by his beam.

After this he dwelt as a hunter with Diana, with whom he was a favourite, and it is even said she was about to marry him. Her brother [Apollo] was highly displeased and chid her [she was, after all, a virgin huntress], but to no purpose. One day, observing Orion wading through the ocean with his head just above the water, Apollo pointed it out to his sister and maintained that she could not hit that black thing on the sea.

The archer-goddess discharged a shaft with fatal aim. The waves rolled the body of Orion to the land, and bewailing her fatal error with many tears, Diana placed him among the stars (Bulfinch's Mythology, 191-192). It is also stated in some versions that Apollo, worried for Diana's chastity, sent a scorpion to kill Orion. Orion is visible in the northern hemisphere in the south during the winter. He is generally shown as a hunter attacking a bull with an upraised club, and is easily recognizable by his bright belt of three stars. In addition, his shoulder is marked by the red supergiant Betelgeuse (literally "armpit of the central one" in Arabic), and his left leg is marked by the blue-white supergiant Rigel. According to the versions of the myth which have him killed by Scorpius, the two were placed on the opposite sides of the sky from each other so that they are never visible at the same time.

Jupiter caught sight of her and immediately desired her. He took on the shape of the goddess Diana and spoke to Callisto, who was delighted to see who she thought was her mistress. She began to tell him of her hunting exploits, and he responded by raping her. "She resisted him as far as a woman could--had Juno seen her she would have been less cruel--but how could a girl overcome a man, and who could defeat Jupiter? He had his way, and returned to the upper air" (Metamorphoses II 434-437). Callisto bore a son, Arcas, which infuriated Juno. Out of jealousy, the wife of Jupiter transformed the girl into a bear. She lived for a time in the wild, until Arcas came across her one day while hunting. He was about to kill the bear his mother, but Jupiter stayed his hand and transformed him into a bear as well. The king of gods then placed both mother and son into the heavens as neighboring constellations. The constellation Ursa Major is quite commonly known. It includes the Big Dipper, perhaps the most-recognized feature of a constellation in the heavens.

Arcas was the son of Callisto, who was transformed by Juno into a bear. When Arcas was fifteen, he was out hunting in the forest when he came across a bear. The bear behaved quite strangely, looking him in the eyes. He of course could not recognize his mother in her strange shape, and was preparing to shoot her when Jupiter prevented him. He too was transformed into a bear, and both were taken up into the sky. Juno was annoyed that the pair should be given such honor, and took her revenge by convincing Poseidon to forbid them from bathing in the sea. So, Ursa Major

Zeus sent Hermes with the task of rescuing Io. To avoid detection by one of Argus' one hundred eyes, Hermes charmed the monster with a flute when it was fast asleep, then threw a huge boulder on top of it, and for good measure cut off its head. An angry Hera set a gadfly to pester Io, who then roamed around most of the Mediterranean nations before finally settling down in Egypt, where Zeus changed her back into human form.

She later established the worship of Isis in Egypt. As for the unfortunate Argus, Hera put all of its many eyes on the tail of her sacred bird, the peacock. Johann Bayer introduced the constellation in Uranometria in 1603, along with a number of other birds; Apus, Grus, Phoenix, and Tucana. Hera, wife of Zeus and the Queen of the heavens, was an excessively jealous wife. Scholars have traced at least fifty lovers and mistresses to Zeus and Io was one of these lovers. The trouble was, Io was one of Hera's priestesses, and Hera soon discovered the affair. To protect Io from Hera, Zeus transformed her into a cow. Hera was not fooled, and she claimed ownership over the cow, then chose Argus Panoptes to guard the animal. As indicated by its name, Argus Panoptes was "all eyes." The beast had one hundred eyes, which surely should have been sufficient to guard one small cow.

The horse flew up to join the gods, and was caught by the goddess Athena, daughter to Zeus. Athena tamed Pegasus with a golden bridle. At Mount Helicon, Pegasus started the famous spring of Hippocrene flowing with a single kick. Hippocrene was said to have been the source of all poetic inspiration. Athena later made her beloved Pegasus, the Winged Horse, into a constellation.

Perseus was one of the great heroes of classical mythology. He was the son of Jupiter and Danae, and is best known for his killing of the Gorgon Medusa. This was a rather complex task, as anyone who saw her hideous face would be turned immediately to stone--the Gorgons, according to Bulfinch, were "monstrous females with huge teeth like those of swine, brazen claws, and snaky hair" (Bulfinch's Mythology, 109).

Perseus accomplishes it, however, by the aid of Pluto, Mercury and Minerva. Pluto lent his helmet of invisibility to Perseus, Mercury lent the hero his winged sandals, and Minerva allowed the earth. him the use of her shield.

With the aid of the helmet and the sandals, Perseus was able to get within striking range without being detected by Medusa or the two immortal Gorgons. He then used the reflection on the shield to guide his killing blow, and flew off unharmed bearing the head of Medusa: He was bringing back the Gorgon's head, the memorable trophy he had won in his contest with that snaky-haired monster. As the victorious hero hovered over Libya's desert sands, drops of blood fell from the head. The earth caught them as they fell, and changed them into snakes of different kinds. So it came about that that land is full of deadly serpents. Thereafter, Perseus was driven by warring winds all over the vast expanse of sky: like a raincloud, he was blown this way and that.

He flew over the whole earth, looking down from the heights of heaven to the land which lay far below (Metamorphoses IV 615-624). He was rather tired and wanted to rest when he arrived at the lands of Atlas, at the ends of the earth. Atlas, however, tried to turn him away with his considerably greater strength. Perseus was infuriated and showed him the head of Medusa, turning the Titan into "a mountain as huge as the giant he had been. His beard and hair were turned into trees, his hands and shoulders were

mountain ridges, and what had been his head was now the mountain top. His bones became rock. Then, expanding in all directions, he increased to a tremendous size--such was the will of the gods--and the whole sky with its many stars rested upon him" (Metamorphoses IV 656-662). Perseus flew on until he spotted the beautiful maiden Andromeda, who was chained to the rocky shore as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Perseus promptly fell in love with her, killed the monster, and married the princess.

There are some variants on the myth of Perseus. According to some versions, he had to win the winged sandals and the helmet from the three Graeae, sisters of the Gorgons who shared one eye and one tooth among them. He stole the eye and the tooth, returning them only in exchange for the sandals and the helmet he needed to defeat Medusa. When he died many years later, Perseus was immortalized as a constellation. He may be found near Andromeda and her parents, Cepheus and Cassiopeia, in the northern sky. The hero is depicted with a sword in one hand and the head of Medusa in the other; it is interesting to note the the eye of Medusa is the star Algol. Algol, which means "Demon Star" in Arabic, is an eclipsing binary star.

The zodiacal constellation Sagittarius represents the centaur Chiron. Most of the centaurs were regarded in myth as bestial--they were, after all, half horse. However, the ancient Greeks had a great deal of respect for the horse, and so were reluctant to make the centaurs entirely bad. In fact, Chiron was renowned for his gentleness. He was an excellent archer, musician, and physician, and tutored the likes of Achilles, Jason, and Hercules. Chiron, however, was accidentally shot and

The name of the constellation seems to have been identified with the god Aesculapius, expert in the arts of medicine, plants, and the healing powers of different herbs. Aesculapius was the son of Apollo and Coronis and

was educated by the centaur Chiron (now the constellation Sagittarius). It is said that Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician and father of modern medicine, was his 15th grandson. Aesculapius, we are told, was the first doctor of medicine, and his expertise led to his downfall in a very strange way. His career seems to have begun when one day while visiting a friend and saw a snake in the room and killed it.

Then, to the great surprise of both, a second snake carrying an herb in its mouth crawled into the room. It gave the herb to the first snake, which immediately recovered.

It was this herb, which Aesculapius took from the revived snake, that taught him the great powers certain herbs have over life and death. He traveled far and wide over the land, always learning more about the medicinal use of herbs, and before long his reputation as a saver of lives had become widely known. So expert had he become that Hades, God of the Underworld, complained to his brother Zeus that fewer and fewer souls were being sent down to the Underworld. Hades, of course, was worried about losing his important position. Aesculapius once is said to have brought

Hippolytus back to life by "gluing" him back together. Hippolytus had been dragged to death and dismembered when his horses were frightened by a bull. Just as Aesculapius was about to bring the famous hunter, Orion, back to life after he had been accidentally shot with an arrow by his lover, Hades' patience ran out. He demanded that Zeus stop this wholesale restoring of life. After all, only the gods were immortal. If Aesculapius were permitted to increase his skill in bringing the dead back to life, mankind, too, would have attained immortality.

Thus went Hades' argument to Zeus. Zeus agreed with his brother and hurled a thunderbolt at Aesculapius, killing him on the spot. But Zeus could not help but admire the skills of Aesculapius and so raised him among the stars as Ophiuchus, along with the serpent from which he had learned his skills. Aesculapius, as the God of Medicine, is always shown with a staff with a serpent wound around it. You have seen the symbol in hospitals and doctors' offices. Our words hygiene (meaning "the science of health") and panacea (meaning "a cure-all medicine") come from the names of two of Aesculapius' daughters, Hygeia and Panacea. The Romans called Ophiuchus the Serpent-Charmer and the Arabs called him the Serpent-Collector.

military leader and by 1665 had become the field commander of the Polish army. The main threat to Poland at this time (indeed to all of central Europe) came from the Turks. While Sobieski attempted to repulse the Turks, the Polish king's envoys ceded all the Ukraine to Turkey. Meanwhile Sobieski won victory after victory. In November of 1673 the king died. Sobieski left the front lines and presented himself as a candidate for the throne back in Warsaw (the kingship was an elected position). In May of 1674, he became King John III. Sobieski returned to his former job as army commander, and after nearly a ten year struggle, he was able to sign the Treaty of Warsaw with Leopold I. Following this treaty, Sobieski further safeguarded Europe from the Turks. Personally leading the Polish cavalry, on September 12, 1683, he broke the Turkish siege on Vienna, and liberated Hungary in the bargain. Seven years later, Hevelius commemorated these events with the inclusion of Scutum Sobieskii in the heavens.

Taurus is a zodiacal constellation. According to myth, Taurus represents the bull-form taken on by Jupiter when he became enamored of Europa, princess of Phoenicia: Majesty and love go ill together, nor can they long share one abode. Abandoning the dignity of his sceptre, the father and ruler of the gods, whose hand wields the flaming three-forked bolt, whose nod shakes the universe, adopted the guise of a bull; and mingling with the other bullocks, joined in their lowing

and ambled in the tender grass, a fair sight to see. His hide was white as untrodden snow, snow not yet melted by the rainy South wind. The muscles stood out on his neck, and deep folds of skin hung along his flanks.

His horns were small, it is true, but so beautifully made that you would swear they were the work ofan artist, more polished and shining than any jewel. There was no menace in the set of his head or in his eyes; he looked completely placid.(Metamorphoses II 847-858).

The princess Europa was impressed by the beauty and gentleness of the bull, and the two played together on the beach. Eventually, Europa climbed onto the bull's back, and he swam out to sea with her. He took her to Crete and revealed his true self. The constellation Taurus consists of only the head and shoulders of the snowy white bull. The representation in the stars seems to show a raging bull, however, always about to plunge into Orion, which is somewhat at odds with the story.

Star Cluster: the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters.

In Greek myths, they are the daughters of Atlas (the giant who supported the world on his shoulders) and Pleione. Zeus first transformed the sisters into doves, and then into stars to enable them to escape the attention of Orion, who for seven long years pursued the maidens, and Pleione, to claim them for himself. The sisters are Alcyone, Merope, Celaeno, Taygeta, Maia, Electra, and Asterope.

According to one legend, only six of the stars can be seen because Merope hid herself in shame over marrying a mortal. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Hindus recorded seven stars. It is thought that the seven chambers of the Great Pyramid represented the seven stars of the Pleiades. The Blackfoot Indians of North America, tell of six brothers whose family was very poor and could not provide the boys with the kinds of buffalo robes worn by other boys in the tribe. Saddened, and out of shame, the six boys went up to the sky where they became the "Bunched Stars," or Pleiades.

The Polynesians call the Pleiades cluster Mata-riki, "Little Eyes," and believe that long before men inhabited the Earth, they formed a single star. This was the most brilliant star in the sky. Its light rivaled that of the quarter moon, and when it rose, its reflection sparkled and danced along the sea and the whole world was white from its brilliant light. The star was not only beautiful, it was also extremely conceited and was always bragging of its splendor among the other stars, saying, "I am more beautiful than any of you, even more beautiful than the gods or the jeweled heavens themselves."

The god Tane, guardian of the four pillars of heaven, heard this and was angry. He determined to drive this ill-mannered star out of the sky, away into the dark regions. To do so, he sought the help of two other stars, Sirius and Aldebaran. Sirius was the second brightest star in the sky and had no sympathy with a rival who was brighter than himself. Aldebaran was located so close to the brilliant star that his light was always being dimmed by that of his neighbor.

Both stars agreed to the plot against Mata-riki. One dark night the three allies crept up behind their victim and got ready to chase him from the skies. Mata-riki was badly frightened when he saw them coming and at first he ran and took refuge under the waters of a stream, the Milky Way. Sirius climbed to its source and diverted the course of the water. As it drained away, the poor fugitive was left unprotected and again it fled from them, under the arches of heaven and far beyond the silver palaces of the gods. Mata-riki was swift of foot, and before long it had completely outdistanced the pursuers. It looked as though the star might escape altogether, but Tane was a god and not one to be outwitted.

Suddenly he picked up Aldebaran and hurled him with all his force against the great star. Tane hurled him with such a force that the star was struck unaware as it ran and smashed into six little pieces. Then the god and his star companions were satisfied and went away. The six little fragments limped back to their place in the sky. Since that time, Sirius shines as the brightest star in the sky and Aldebaran is undimmed by any near rival. The "Little Eyes," small as they are, remain exceedingly brilliant and sometimes whisper proudly to each other that they are more lovely as six than as one. They

no longer dare brag aloud how beautiful they are, but when the nights are dark and quiet they still lean down close to Earth to see themselves in the mirror of the oceans, and then they know that they have no equal. When people talk about the seasons and the Pleiades, they often talk about food, hunger, and magical departure from the earth. Parts of this pattern are very clear in the following story told by the Onondaga Indians of upstate New York. After reaching one of their favored hunting territories, a party of Onondaga decided to build their lodges by the lake and stock up on fish and game for the winter.

By autumn, most of the work had been accomplished, and a group of the children decided to dance each day by the side of the lake. After their play turned into habit, a strange old white-haired man, adorned with white feathers, appeared among them and warned them to stop. Not believing any harm could come from their dancing, they refused to take the old man seriously. After he had gone, they decided to enhance their enjoyment by having a picnic at their next dancing session. When they went home and asked their parents for food for the outing, however, they were refused. Irritated but unwilling to give up the pleasure of dancing, they returned to the lake and continued their cotillion on empty stomachs. One day, as they danced hungry, they grew giddy and light-headed.

Their bodies must have been light, too, for they started to rise into the air. Realizing that something uncanny was occurring, one of them warned the others not to look back to the ground lest danger befall them. A woman who saw them depart called them back, but they continued their ascent. She ran back to the winter camp and told the other adults what was happening. All of the parents then came out of the lodges loaded with food and called to their runaways.

Even though they cried, the children would not come back. One did look back at the parents on the ground and as he did so he was transformed into a meteor, or "falling star." The rest rose still higher until they found a place in the sky as the seven Pleiades. One of them sang all the way to the sky, and his singing made him fainter and fainter. By the time the seven reached their new home, the seventh child could scarcely be seen. A Mayan epic describes the origin of the Pleiades. It happened during the long feud between the heavenly twins Hun-Apu and Xbalanque against a primeval giant by the name of Zipacna, a character not unlike the Greek Titans in his strength and unruly disposition.

With the aid of several other youths, Hun-Apu and Xbalanque pretended to be building a house. They began by digging an enormous hole in the ground. As they expected, Zipacna came along while they were at work on this and asked what the were doing. They told him that they intended to build themselves a house which must be very solidly constructed, and that they were having difficulty in making the hole for the foundation deep enough, whereupon the unsuspecting giant was of course persuaded to go down into the hole and help them. No sooner was he safely at the bottom of the pit than the youths began to throw stones and earth and heavy tree trunks down upon him, until the hole was completely filled up and they were sure he must be dead.

Then they continued merrily building the house over his supposed grave. Zipacna, however, had escaped without harm. At first he was stunned by the weight of the great pile of rubbish that had fallen on him, and even when his strength had returned he still lay quiet for a very long time, pretending to be dead. Meanwhile, he planned his revenge. He waited until the house was completed and all its architects had gathered there to celebrate their success in disposing of the giant; then, with of an explosion, Zipacna rose suddenly under the foundations and the earth itself quaked and rose with him. He was so strong that as he threw up his shoulders the house and all who had built it were flung literally sky-high, up to the region of the stars, and there they huddled together and became the Pleiades. Zipacna himself -- like the Titans and all other primeval earth giants of early mythology - was eventually destroyed, but the little handful of conspirators that he tossed up to the heavens have never been able to get down again and that is why we still see them there.

Triangulum Australe was introduced by Johann Bayer in 1603. The original creator of this constellation may have been Pieter Theodor about a century earlier.

Triangulum is an old constellation and is said to represent the island Sicily, having been honored by Zeus with an eternal position among the stars.

It is in Triangulum that the Italian astronomer, Giuseppe Piazzi, discovered the first asteroid, Ceres, on New Year's Day, 1801.

But since the earth hid this race below, they are daimones by the plans of great Zeus [Jupiter], benevolent earthly guardians of mortal men, who watch over judgments and cruel deeds, clothed in air and roaming over all the earth (Works and Days 109-125). The "daimones" of which Hesiod speaks are invisible spirits which watch over men. Presumably, although it is unclear, Astraea is the daimone whose province is justice.

The emblem of her office was therefore the scales (Libra), which are seen next to Virgo in the sky. Virgo is the second largest constellation and is highest in the northern hemisphere during May and June. The brightest star in Virgo is Spica.

This was an old name for the actual Dorado Constellation. Johann Bayer first gave Dorado its name. It is named after a fish (Coryphaena hippuras), sometimes called the dolphin, sometimes the mahi-mahi (from the Hawaian). It changes color rapidly as it dies. An alternate, and archaic name for the constellation was Xiphias, or swordfish. This name first appeared in the Johannes Kepler's Rudolphine Tables of 1627. These tables were significant for two reasons: They contained accurate positions for naked eye stars visible from northern Europe derived from