Mythological
stories:
1. Andromeda
2. Aquarius
3. Aries
4. Cancer
5. Capricornus
6. Cepheus
7. Cassiopeia
8. Cetus
Andromeda was the princess of Ethiopia, daughter
of Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia was a boastful woman, and foolishly
bragged that she was more beautiful than Juno, the queen of the gods, and the
Nereids. In order to avenge the insult to his nymphs, Neptune sent a sea
monster to ravage the Ethiopian coast. (Some accounts state that the
constellation Cetus represents the sea monster, but a more common view of Cetus
is that he is a peaceful whale.)
The horrified king consulted 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 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 said to her parents that he would kill the
monster if they agree to give him their daughter's hand in marriage. They of
course gave their consent, and Perseus killed 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 was freed, and the two joyously marry.
Andromeda is represented in the sky as
the figure of a woman with her arms outstreched and chained at the wrists.
The water carrier represented by the
zodiacal constellation Aquarius is Ganymede, a beautiful Phrygian youth.
Ganymede was the son of Tros, king of Troy (according to Lucian, he was also
son of Dardanus). While tending his father's flocks on Mount Ida, Ganymede was
spotted by Jupiter. The king of gods became enamored of the boy and flew down
to the mountain in the form of a large bird, whisking Ganymede away to the
heavens.
Ever since, the boy has served as
cupbearer to the gods, Ovid has Orpheus sing the tale: "The king of the
gods was once fired with love for Phrygian Ganymede, and when that happened
Jupiter found another shape preferable to his own. Wishing to turn himself into
a bird, he nonetheless scorned to change into any save that which can carry his
thunderbolts. Then without delay, beating the air on borrowed pinions, he
snatched away the shepherd of Ilium, who even now mixes the wine cups, and
supplies Jove with nectar, to the annoyance of Juno" (Metamorphoses X
154-160).
Aquarius is a summer constellation in the
northern hemisphere, found near Pisces and Cetus. It is especially notable as
the radiant for four meteor showers, the largest of which is the Delta Aquarid
meteor shower in late July and early August.
Aries is a zodiacal constellation representing the ram of
the Golden Fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts. The ram had originally been
presented to Nephele by Mercury when her husband took a new wife, Ino, who
persecuted Nephele's children. To keep them safe, Nephele sent Phrixus and
Helle away on the back of the magical ram, which flew away to the east. Helle
fell off into the Hellespont (now the Dardanelles) between the Aegean Sea and
the Sea of Marmara, but Phrixus safely made it to Colchis on the eastern shore
of the Black Sea. Phrixus sacrificed the ram and presented the Golden Fleece to
the king, Aeetes.
Roughly 2000 years ago, the vernal
equinox was in the constellation Aries. This is no longer the case, due to
precession of the earth's axis, but Aries is still regarded as the first
constellation in the zodiac.
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.
This zodiacal constellation, like Pisces, depicts the
result of the sudden appearance of the earthborn giant Typhoeus. Bacchus was
feasting on the banks of the Nile at the time, and jumped into the river. The
part of him that was below water was transformed into a fish, while his upper
body became that of a goat. From this point of view, he saw that Typhoeus was
attempting to tear Jupiter into pieces; he blew a shrill note on his pipes, and
Typhoeus fled. Jupiter then 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.
Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, was married to
the beautiful Cassiopeia, and together they had a daughter, Andromeda. Although
his name is most well-known in connection with his daughter, Cepheus was placed
in the sky of his own right: He voyaged as an Argonaut with Jason on the quest
for the Golden Fleece.
All three members of the family may be
found in the northern sky; Cepheus and Cassiopeia are
quite close to the northern celestial
pole. Cepheus is generally represented as a robed king with a crown of stars,
standing with his left foot planted over the pole and his scepter extended towards
his queen.
Cassiopeia was the beautiful wife of
Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and the mother of Andromeda. She is most famous in
connection with the myth of her daughter, Andromeda. The queen 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 , god
of the sea, to complain. Neptune promptly sent a sea monster (possibly Cetus?)
to ravage the coast. The king and queen 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, Cassiopeia 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.
Cetus deserves mention because some say
the constellation represents the sea monster sent to Ethiopia as punishment for
the boasting of Queen Cassiopeia. The monster nearly kills Andromeda, daughter
of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, but is itself killed by the hero Perseus. More
frequently, though, Cetus is represented as a whale, which implies no
connection to the Andromeda myth.
Either way,the constellation is
appropriately a large one, and is relegated to the southern sky--far from
Andromeda, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and
Perseus.