by: Deborah
Pace Rowley
I love staring
up at the stars on summer nights. Something about the stars makes you feel so
small and yet so close to heaven at the same time. My kids love to find the Big
Dipper and the North Star. I thought it might be fun to try to find some other
constellations and learn about the myths behind them.
I found this
great website that gives you a free print out of the night sky as it looks
where you live and the constellations that you can look for.
Here are some
pictures of a few of the constellations and the Greek myths behind
them. The pictures and text come from this web site: http://www.theoi.com/Cat_Astraioi.html
LEO,
CONSTELLATION
Latin : Leo
(the Lion)
A lion whose hide was impervious to weapons which terrorized the
countryside of Nemea. When Hercules was commanded to destroy it as one of his
twelve labors, he throttled the beast to death with his bare hands. The lion
was then placed by Hera amongst the stars as the constellation Leo.
ORION,
CONSTELLATION
Latin : Orion
ORION
A giant hunter who was set amongst the stars as the constellation Orion. Some
say he chased Lepus, the hare, across the heavens with his dog, the
constellation Canis, others that he was in pursuit of Taurus the bull. In the
story of his death, Orion was either killed by Artemis or by a scorpion sent by
Gaea to punish him for boasting that he would slay all the creatures of the
earth. The scorpion was also placed amongst the stars and continued to plague
him, for as it rose in the east, Orion fled beneath the horizon in the west.
You may be able to find the three main stars of Orion’s belt.
SCORPIO, ZODIAC
CONSTELLATION
Latin : Scorpio
(the Scorpion)
SCORPION OF ORION A scorpion sent forth by the
earth-goddess Gaea to kill Orion when the giant boasted that he would slay all
the animals of the earth. The pair were placed amongst the stars as the
constellations Scorpio and Orion. The ancients sometimes combined a pair of
constellations to create the scorpion, with Libra forming the claws.
URSA MAJOR,
CONSTELLATION
Latin : Ursa
Major (the Great Bear)
Callisto was an
Arcadian princess who was loved by the god Zeus and transformed into a bear by
the wrathful goddess Hera. She was later placed amongst the stars as the
constellation Ursa Major, along with her son Arcas, who became Bootes. Hera was
still furious and forbade Callisto's stars ever to set in the river Oceanus.
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