Myths of the Heavens

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Myths of the Heavens

• Intro to Myth

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Background

• The Greeks and Romans were accomplished
  astronomers
• They knew of five planets and catalogued
  thousands of stars
• Almost all constellations and planets were named
  after the Greeks and Romans mythology

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Planets

• Mercury fastest moving planet named after the
  messenger of the gods (Hermes)
• Venus brightest object besides sun and moon
  named after the goddess of beauty (Aphrodite)
• Mars red planet, the color of war named after
  the god of war (Ares)
• Jupiter largest planet named after the king of
  the gods (Zeus)
• Saturn most distant planet named after the
  overthrown father of the gods (Cronus)

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Aries the Ram

• Poseidon rescued the princess Theophane from her
  suitors by turning her into an ewe
• However, he turned into a ram and seduced her,
  and their child was a ram with a golden fleece
  and the ability to fly
• The golden ram went on to rescue two children who
  were in danger of being murdered
• It left its fleece with one of the children and
  then went to live in the stars

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Taurus the Bull

• Zeus had an affair with a priestess named Io
• One time, Hera walked in on Zeus and Io, so
  Zeus turned Io into a cow in order to hide her
• Hera knew that the cow was Io, and so she asked
  Zeus to give it to her as a present
• Zeus had to comply, and Hera set the monster
  Argus, who had 100 eyes, to watch over the cow
• Zeus sent Hermes to kill Argus, but Hera
  continued to punish Io by sending flies to sting
  her and drive her away
• Once she reached the Nile in Egypt, Zeus turned
  her back into a woman

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Gemini the Twins

• Castor and Pollux (Polydeuces) were the twin sons
  of Leda and either her husband, King Tyndareus,
  or Zeus
• Castor and Pollux did everything together
• When Castor was killed, Pollux prayed to Zeus
  that he would die as well
• Instead Zeus decreed that the Twins would live in
  Hades half the time and in Olympus half the time,
  always together

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Cancer the Crab

• One of Heracles labors was to kill the Hydra in
  the swamp of Lerna
• While he was fighting the Hydra, Hera sent a crab
  to attack Heracles
• The crab pinched Heracles foot, but Heracles
  stepped on the crab, killing it
• Hera put the crab in the stars to honor it for
  its devotion to her

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Leo the Lion

• Another of Heracles labors was to kill the lion
  of Nemea
• The lion could not be harmed by any weapon, so
  Heracles had to strangle it to death
• Zeus put the image of the lion in the stars to
  commemorate the great battle

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Virgo the Virgin

• Virgo probably represents Erigone, the daughter
  of the poor farmer Icarius
• Icarius once hosted Dionysus, who came in
  disguise
• As a reward, Dionysus taught Icarius how to make
  wine and commanded him to teach the skill to
  others
• One group of men that he gave wine to believed
  that Icarius was trying to poison them, so they
  beat him to death with their tools
• Erigone searched for her fathers body, with the
  help of her dog, and when she found it, she
  buried it and hung herself
• Her dog stayed and watched over the bodies until
  it starved to death he was also put in the stars

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Libra the Scales

• Libra was a late addition to the Zodiac
• In the Greek zodiac, Libra was Scorpios claws
• The Romans changed the claws to the scales of
  balance

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Scorpio the Scorpion

• Artemis used a giant scorpion to kill Orion
• Orion had offended Artemis either by killing her
  sacred animals or trying to pursue her
• Zeus placed both Orion and the Scorpion in the
  stars

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Sagittarius the Archer

• Sagittarius probably represents Chiron, the
  centaur, who taught many of the heroes
• Chiron was immortal but he was accidentally
  wounded by Heracles
• Chiron begged Zeus to take away his immortality
  so he could die
• Zeus agreed, and Chiron was placed among the
  stars

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Capricorn the Goat

• Capricorn may represent the goat-footed god Pan
• Sometimes Capricorn is shown as half-goat and
  half-fish because Pan turned into this form to
  escape the monster Typhon
• Capricorn may also represent the goat that nursed
  Zeus as a baby

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Aquarius the Water Bearer

• The prince Ganymede was the most beautiful boy
  alive
• The gods decided that they wanted Ganymede to be
  their cupbearer
• They gave many gifts to King Tros in exchange for
  his son
• Ganymede then became immortal and lived on
  Olympus with the gods, and his image was put in
  the stars

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Pisces the Fish

• Aphrodite and Eros (believed to be her son at
  this point) were walking by the Euphrates River
• The monster Typhon appeared suddenly, and the two
  gods changed into fish and leaped into the river
  to escape