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In ancient times, people, peering into the night sky, noticed that the stars on it are located not quite randomly, but in large and small groups. And then they tried to find some system in it, some hidden meaning. Mentally connecting the stars in one group or another with lines, ancient astronomers saw on the celestial canvas images of people and animals (most often associated with the heroes of famous myths and legends), which were given names. And so the well-known constellations appeared to all of us. In total, there are currently 88 of them, of which about 50 received their names in honor of the characters of ancient myths even before our era (and the rest were identified and named much later – mainly in the Middle Ages and in the Age of Discovery). Let’s remember 10 constellations named after the most famous (even in our time) ancient heroes, demigods and mythical animals.
10 Ophiuchus
Ophiuchus is the god (more precisely, the demigod) of healing Asclepius (or, in the Roman manner, Aesculapius) placed in the sky by Zeus. Once upon a time, the god Apollo, who loved to spend time among people, met a beautiful girl Koronida in a mountain village.
For her sake, he even stayed on earth for a whole year. But urgent matters called for a journey. And Apollo left Koronis and the newborn son of Asclepius, but every day he sent a raven to them to find out if everything was in order.
And one day, for some reason, the raven deceived Apollo, saying that Coronis had cheated on him. The god’s anger was terrible: he killed Koronis with an arrow, and took his little son to the wise centaur Chiron on Mount Pelion to raise him.
Chiron gave the young Asclepius all his knowledge, and eventually made him a great healer. Asclepius was so skilled in medicine that he brought people back to life even from their deathbed, which angered the ruler of the kingdom of the dead, Hades. He complained about Asclepius to Zeus, and Zeus (who was very easy to piss off) killed the healer with lightning.
Well, the snake in the hands of Ophiuchus is one of the attributes that has always been present in the images of Asclepius. Today, as we all know, the snake wrapped around the bowl is a symbol of medicine.
9. Auriga
There are several versions about the character who gave this constellation its name.
The first of them: Charioteer is the son of the god Helios Phaethon, who begged his father to let him at least once ride across the sky on a wonderful chariot-sun. As a result, Phaeton, of course, lost control of this “vehicle” and almost burned the whole earth, descending too low to it. Therefore, the angry Zeus struck him with lightning and threw him into the Eridanus River (this constellation, by the way, is located not far from the Charioteer).
According to another legend, the Charioteer is Erichthonius, the son of Hephaestus and Gaia (and the pupil of Athena), who, in fact, invented the chariot.
The third version says that this is the son of Theseus Hippolytus, who was slandered by his stepmother Phaedra (he did not respond to her advances). The young man was punished without guilt: he was riding along the seashore in a chariot, when suddenly a huge bull jumped out of the waves, frightening the horses. They overturned the cart, and Hippolytus crashed.
8. Centaurus
The Centaur is (according to the main version) the very wise centaur Chiron, who, in fact, raised not only Asclepius, but also Achilles, Jason, Hercules and other Greek heroes.
Chiron was a great connoisseur of the sciences and arts: according to legend, it was he who created the first celestial map (especially for the Argonauts’ campaign, so that it would be more convenient for them to “navigate the terrain”).
Sometimes the name of another centaur is associated with Centaurus – Krotos (Kront, Croton), who lived on Mount Helikon with the Muses, invented archery and applause as a token of praise for skillful musicians and actors.
But more often it is believed that Krotos was not turned into the constellation Centaurus, but into the zodiac constellation Sagittarius.
7. Bootes
Several myths are also associated with the constellation Bootes. The first of them tells how Zeus (who, as you know, was a great lover of women, including earthly ones) admired the ideal beauty of Callisto, the daughter of the king of Arcadia, Lycaon. Of course, she eventually gave birth to his son Arkad.
Arkad grew up quickly, became a shepherd (so what, that the royal grandson?), Accurately shot from a bow and loved to hunt.
And then one day his wife Hera found out about this next affair of Zeus. Burning with jealousy, she turned Callisto into a bear. Arkad, not knowing about this, almost shot his own mother, but Zeus managed to throw her into the sky (albeit, while stretching her tail strongly).
Since then, Bootes has flaunted in the starry sky, tightly holding the Hounds of Dogs on a leash, which are eager for the Big Dipper, once called Callisto.
Well, Ursa Minor is the most faithful servant of Callisto, whom Zeus allowed to stay with her.
Another legend says that Bootes is the first farmer Triptolemos, whom the goddess of fertility Demeter herself taught to plow the land on oxen and sow wheat.
And according to the third version, this is the shepherd Icarius, the first victim of alcohol. Dionysus taught him (so far the only one among mortals) how to make wine. But after Icarius treated his friends to this drink, they, feeling its strange effect, decided that Icarius had poisoned them, and killed the unfortunate bootes.
6. Gemini
The twins, according to the myth, are the Dioscuri brothers, Castor and Pollux (Polideuces). Yes, they really were twins (that is, they were born one after the other), but at the same time, Castor was the son of the Spartan king Tyndareus, and Pollux was Zeus the Thunderer (their mother Leda also could not resist the divine charm).
By the way, from Zeus, who appeared in the form of a swan, Leda also gave birth to a daughter, Helen the Beautiful, because of which the Trojan War soon broke out.
The Dioscuri brothers were always together, despite the fact that Castor was mortal, and Pollux (as a demigod) was practically invulnerable and almost eternal. Once, in a stupid quarrel with cousins Idas and Linkey (about hunting prey), Pollux was wounded and Castor died.
Not wanting to part with his beloved brother, the immortal Pollux prayed to Zeus to allow him to return Castor from the underworld of Hades, or let him die too.
Zeus took pity on him, and now the brothers spend one day on earth together, and the other in the realm of the dead.
By the way, Castor and Pollux took an active part in the campaign of the Argonauts (for which they were considered patrons of sailors in Ancient Greece), as well as in the Calydonian hunt for a huge killer boar.
5. Aries
Only one (but long) myth is associated with the constellation Aries.
Atamant, the king of the city of Orchomenus in Boeotia, had a beautiful son and daughter (Phrix and Gella) from the cloud goddess Nephele.
But one day he still married an earthly woman, Ino. She gave birth to Atamant two sons and, of course, decided that they should become the royal heirs. Therefore, Frix and Gella must be destroyed.
And then Ino staged a famine in Orchomenus, spoiling all the sowing grain (of course, so that she herself would not be suspected) and declared that now, so that the famine does not happen again, Frixus and Gella must be sacrificed (they say, this is what the gods want).
But Nephele saved her children by sending them a golden ram, who carried them across the sea to Colchis. For this, the “grateful” Frix and the king of Colchis, Eet, sacrificed a poor lamb to the gods, and hung its golden fleece in the sacred grove of Ares, placing a terrible dragon as a guard. Later, the Argonauts, led by Jason, set off for this rune.
Therefore, the constellation Draco is directly connected with the constellation Aries, as well as several other constellations, which are separate parts of the large ship of the Argonauts – Kiel, Korma, Sail and Compass.
4. Orion
Orion in all myths is the same person: the best hunter among mortals, besides, he is very handsome in appearance. So beautiful that he was reciprocated by the goddess of the dawn, Eos.
But the story of how Orion ended up in the starry sky has several options.
According to one version, he had the imprudence to boast that he was the most successful hunter not only among people, but would even outdo the gods in this matter. For this, the offended Apollo (also, by the way, an excellent hunter) asked Hera to send a huge scorpion to Orion – the beautiful bouncer died from his bite. (By the way, Asclepius tried to bring Orion back to life, which was the last straw in the patience of Zeus, who punished the healer).
According to another version, Orion, hunting in the forest, accidentally spied on the bathing goddess Artemis, for which she, in anger, turned him into a deer, which her own dogs drove. So now they shine from above all together: the hunter Orion, his two dogs (Small Dog and Big Dog), and Scorpio lurking near.
3. Andromeda
In fact, a number of constellations are associated with the same myth, which will be discussed now – in fact, Andromeda, as well as Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Kit.
Andromeda was the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, the king and queen of Ethiopia. And this rich country did not know grief, until Cassiopeia, with her boast that her daughter was more beautiful than sea nymphs (and Andromeda really was the most beautiful girl in this part of the world), did not bring trouble to everyone.
The offended nymphs, of course, complained to their father, the god of the sea, Poseidon. And he sent a terrible monster to Ethiopia – a whale that ravaged its shores, either washing away everything with a huge wave, or releasing clouds of smoke and fire. (Hmm… A fire-breathing whale! However, horror…)
King Cepheus went to the oracle to ask the gods how to get rid of such a scourge. And they wished that the beautiful Andromeda would be sacrificed to the whale.
No matter how Cepheus and Cassiopeia cried, the will of the gods must be carried out. And now, when the whale was already preparing to devour Andromeda, chained on the shore, Perseus very successfully returned from the “task” to get the head of Medusa Gorgon, who saved the girl. As we remember, it all ended with the wedding of Perseus and Andromeda.
2. Perseus
The hero Perseus himself now also shines on us from the night sky.
According to legend, he was the son of the mortal beauty Danae and Zeus. His grandfather, the king of Argos, Acrisius, was told by an oracle that he would die at the hands of his own grandson. And so Acrisius, in order to be safe, put Danae with little Perseus in a wooden box and threw it into the sea. (Aha! So that’s where the “legs grow” from Pushkin’s Prince Gvidon!)
They were caught by Diktis, the brother of the king of the island of Serif Polydect. Polydect somehow immediately disliked Perseus (but he too obsessively sympathized with his mother Danae), and as soon as the guy grew up, he decided to send him out of sight, so much so that he would not return. It was Polydect who sent Perseus after the head of Medusa Gorgon (they say: “Oh, so you are the son of Zeus? Prove it!”).
From the myth, we know that Perseus succeeded – he not only defeated the Gorgon and saved Andromeda, but also took revenge on Polydectes, turning him and all his friends feasting with him into stone, showing them the “order”.
By the way, the constellation Pegasus is connected with the constellation Perseus – a winged horse flew out of the body of the defeated Gorgon Medusa. (And Acrisius did die at the hands of his grandson – a heavy disk launched by Perseus in competitions accidentally flew into his head).
1. Hercules
It seems that no one needs to specifically explain who Hercules is (in the Roman manner – Hercules). The son of the earthly woman Alcmene and Zeus the Thunderer was famous throughout the ancient world for his twelve labors.
Now he shines for us from heaven, surrounded by outlandish animals and monsters, which he defeated, so to speak, “in the process.” Here is the Hydra from Lake Lerna near Argolis, in which, instead of each severed head, two new ones immediately grew; and the Nemean Lion with an impenetrable skin, which Hercules had to, in the end, simply strangle; and the Dragon (in this version of the interpretation of the names of the constellations, this is not the dragon that Jason defeated, extracting the golden fleece, but the one that guarded the apples of the Hesperides, this is the 12th feat of Hercules); and the Eagle, every day pecking at the liver of Prometheus chained to the rock, our hero also killed the “wonder bird”.