Star lore

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Johann Bayer's Uranometria showing the constellation Orion. Orion the Hunter is star lore created by the ancient Greeks. Uranometria orion.jpg
Johann Bayer's Uranometria showing the constellation Orion. Orion the Hunter is star lore created by the ancient Greeks.

Star lore or starlore is the creating and cherishing of mythical stories about the stars and star patterns (constellations and asterisms); that is, folklore based upon the stars and star patterns. Using the stars to explain religious doctrines or actual events in history is also defined as star lore. Star lore has a very long history; it has been practiced by nearly every culture recorded in history, dating as far back as 5,500 years ago. It was practiced by prehistoric cultures of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods as well.

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Orion and Scorpius

One example of star lore is the story of Orion the Hunter and the Scorpius the Scorpion by the ancient Greeks. This ancient culture saw a very startling pattern of bright stars in the winter sky that, from their point of view, resembled a mighty hunter, which they named Orion. During the summer, they saw another startling pattern of bright stars that resembled a scorpion. They noticed that the constellations of Orion and the scorpion were positioned at opposite ends of the sky and were never seen in the sky simultaneously. As one constellation rose above the eastern horizon, the other was setting below the western horizon, and when either one was high in the sky, the other was completely absent. The ancient Greeks felt compelled to explain this phenomenon by composing a story or myth based on the two constellations[ citation needed ].

The story was that Orion was a mighty and proud hunter who was stung by a scorpion. Orion died of the scorpion's sting and was placed among the stars by the gods. Although the scorpion was destroyed by the gods in vengeance for killing Orion, it was also placed among the stars. In order to prevent Orion and the scorpion from quarreling and fighting with each other in the sky, the gods placed Orion and the scorpion at opposite ends of the sky, and in opposite seasons, so that both of them can never be seen in the sky at the same time.

Andromeda

Another example of star lore is the story behind the constellation Andromeda, also known as "the chained woman". Andromeda was the daughter of the king and queen of Ethiopia, King Cepheus and Cassiopeia. The story goes that because Cassiopeia bragged so much of Andromeda's beauty to the Nereids, daughters of Poseidon, that they complained to their father, who sent a sea monster to destroy the coast of Ethiopia. Cepheus consulted an oracle for assistance and learned that the only way to save his lands was to sacrifice his daughter to Poseidon's monster. [1]

Andromeda was chained to a rock and left for the sea monster. Perseus, the hero of the story who had just killed the Gorgon Medusa found Andromeda in her distress and immediately, the two fell in love. Perseus asked for her name and refused to leave until he knew it, talking to her until she gave in. Andromeda told him her name, her country, and the reason for her imprisonment on the rock. He then consulted with Cepheus and Cassiopeia, and they decided that if Perseus rescued Andromeda from the sea monster, he could marry her. The story of how he then defeats the monster varies. Ovid describes his killing of the monster as a drawn out bloody battle. Other sources say that Perseus killed the sea monster with the aid of Medusa's head, turning the monster to stone. Andromeda and Perseus were married soon after, [2] despite already being promised to her uncle, Phineus. At the wedding, Phineus and Perseus got into an altercation, and Perseus turned Phineus to stone using Medusa's head.

The constellation is said to have astrological influences as well. It is said that any man born at the same time Andromeda is said to rise from the sea will be one without mercy; he will be emotionally unmoved even in the presence of grieving parents. The constellation also influences the birth of the executioner, a man who will kill swiftly for money and kill willingly. Sources describe men born with the rise of Andromeda as one who would feel nothing if faced with Andromeda chained to her rock, just as Perseus did and fell in love with the girl. [3]

Draco

The Draco is another example of star lore. In Roman mythology, the constellation is representative of Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples inside the garden, Hesperides. The tree was a wedding gift to Hera when she and Zeus were married, and she planted it on Mount Atlas. Hera tasked the Hesperides to guard the tree and put Ladon around the tree as well to ensure that the Hesperides would not steal the apples. In some sources, Ladon is called the child of Typhon and Echidna, who was half woman and half viper, and had hundreds of heads. In other versions of Ladon's story, the number of heads he had is not at all mentioned and he is described as the offspring of Ceto and Phorcys, two sea deities. [4]

Contrastingly, in Roman mythology, Draco was one of the Titans who waged war on the Olympic gods for ten years. He was killed by Minerva in the battle and thrown into the sky. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Andromeda (mythology) Ethiopian princess in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Andromeda is the daughter of the king of Aethiopia, Cepheus, and his wife, Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia boasts that she is more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sends the sea monster Cetus to ravage the coast of Aethiopia as divine punishment. Andromeda is chained to a rock as a sacrifice to sate the monster, but is saved from death by Perseus, who marries her and takes her to Greece to reign as his queen.

Flamsteed designation

A Flamsteed designation is a combination of a number and constellation name that uniquely identifies most naked eye stars in the modern constellations visible from southern England. They are named for John Flamsteed who first used them while compiling his Historia Coelestis Britannica.

Cetus (mythology)

In Ancient Greek kētŏs, Latinized as cetus, is any huge sea creature or sea monster. According to the mythology, Perseus slew Cetus to save Andromeda from being sacrificed to it. In a different story, Heracles slew Cetus to save Hesione. The term cetacean derives from cetus. In Greek art, ceti were depicted as serpentine fish. The name of the mythological figure Ceto is derived from kētos. The name of the constellation Cetus also derives from this word.

Andromeda (constellation) Constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere

Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy, and one of the 88 modern constellations. Located north of the celestial equator, it is named for Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia, in the Greek myth, who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus. Andromeda is most prominent during autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, along with several other constellations named for characters in the Perseus myth. Because of its northern declination, Andromeda is visible only north of 40° south latitude; for observers farther south, it lies below the horizon. It is one of the largest constellations, with an area of 722 square degrees. This is over 1,400 times the size of the full moon, 55% of the size of the largest constellation, Hydra, and over 10 times the size of the smallest constellation, Crux.

Cassiopeia (constellation) Constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere

Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivaled beauty. Cassiopeia was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is easily recognizable due to its distinctive 'W' shape, formed by five bright stars.

Perseus (constellation) Constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere

Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus. It is one of the 48 ancient constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is located near several other constellations named after ancient Greek legends surrounding Perseus, including Andromeda to the west and Cassiopeia to the north. Perseus is also bordered by Aries and Taurus to the south, Auriga to the east, Camelopardalis to the north, and Triangulum to the west. Some star atlases during the early 19th century also depicted Perseus holding the disembodied head of Medusa, whose asterism was named together as Perseus et Caput Medusae; however, this never came into popular usage.

Perseus Ancient Greek hero and founder of Mycenae

In Greek mythology, Perseus is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles.

<i>Clash of the Titans</i> (1981 film) 1981 film by Desmond Davis

Clash of the Titans is a 1981 fantasy adventure film directed by Desmond Davis and written by Beverley Cross which is loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. It stars Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier. The film features the final work of stop-motion visual effects artist Ray Harryhausen. It was released on June 12, 1981 and grossed $41 million at the North American box office, which made it the 11th-highest-grossing film of the year. A novelization of the film by Alan Dean Foster was published in 1981.

Chinese star names are named according to ancient Chinese astronomy and astrology. The sky is divided into star mansions and asterisms. The system of 283 asterisms under Three Enclosures and Twenty-eight Mansions was established by Chen Zhuo of the Three Kingdoms period, who synthesized ancient constellations and the asterisms created by early astronomers Shi Shen, Gan De and Wuxian. Since the Han and Jin Dynasties, stars have been given reference numbers within their asterisms in a system similar to the Bayer or Flamsteed designations, so that individual stars can be identified. For example, Deneb is referred to as 天津四.

Cepheus (father of Andromeda)

In Greek mythology, Cepheus is the name of two rulers of Aethiopia, grandfather and grandson.

Double Cluster

The Double Cluster consists of the open clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884, which are close together in the constellation Perseus. Both visible with the naked eye, NGC 869 and NGC 884 lie at a distance of 7,500 light years.

<i>Andromeda</i> (play)

Andromeda is a lost tragedy written by Euripides, based on the myth of Andromeda and first produced in 412 BC, in a trilogy that also included Euripides' Helen. Andromeda may have been the first depiction on stage of a young man falling in love with a woman. The play has been lost; however, a number of fragments are extant. In addition, a number of ancient sources refer to the play, including several references in plays by Aristophanes.

Ceto Ancient Greek sea goddess

Ceto is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Pontus and his mother, Gaia. As a mythological figure, she is considered to be one of the most ancient deities, and bore a host of monstrous children fathered by Phorcys, another child of the Titans. The small solar system body 65489 Ceto was named after her, and its satellite after Phorcys.

<i>Andromeda Chained to the Rocks</i>

Andromeda Chained to the Rocks (1630) is a 34 x 25 oil on panel painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt. It is now in the Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands. Andromeda represents Rembrandt's first full length mythological female nude history painting and is taken from a story in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

<i>Clash of the Titans</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by Louis Leterrier

Clash of the Titans is a 2010 action fantasy film and remake of the 1981 film of the same name produced by MGM. The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. An Australian-American production directed by Louis Leterrier from a screenplay by Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi, starring Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos, Ralph Fiennes, and Liam Neeson, the film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010. However, it was later announced that the film would be converted to 3D and was released on April 2, 2010.

Constellation family Designated common star constellations

Constellation families are collections of constellations sharing some defining characteristic, such as proximity on the celestial sphere, common historical origin, or common mythological theme. In the Western tradition, most of the northern constellations stem from Ptolemy's list in the Almagest, and most of the far southern constellations were introduced by sailors and astronomers who traveled to the south in the 16th to 18th centuries. Separate traditions arose in India and China.

Phineus (son of Belus)

In Greek mythology, Phineus was a son of Belus by Anchinoe and thus brother to Aegyptus, Danaus and Cepheus.

<i>Uranias Mirror</i> Set of 32 astronomical star chart cards

Urania's Mirror; or, a view of the Heavens is a set of 32 astronomical star chart cards, first published in November 1824. They are illustrations based on Alexander Jamieson's A Celestial Atlas, but the addition of holes punched in them allow them to be held up to a light to see a depiction of the constellation's stars. They were engraved by Sidney Hall, and were said to be designed by "a lady", but have since been identified as the work of the Reverend Richard Rouse Bloxam, an assistant master at Rugby School.

<i>Perseus and Andromeda</i> (Leighton) Painting by Frederic Leighton

Perseus and Andromeda is an oil painting by Lord Frederic Leighton. Completed in 1891, the year it was displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts, it depicts the Greek mythological story of Andromeda. In contrast to the basis of a classical tale, Leighton used a Gothic style for the artwork. The painting is in the collection of National Museums Liverpool at the Walker Art Gallery.

Cassiopeia (mother of Andromeda)

Cassiopeia or Cassiepeia (Κασσιέπεια), a figure in Greek mythology, was Queen of Aethiopia and wife of King Cepheus. She was arrogant and vain, characteristics that led to her downfall. Her name in Greek is Κασσιόπη, Kassiope; other variants are Κασσιόπεια, Kassiopeia and Κασσιέπεια, Kassiepeia.

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