What’s Out Tonight?

Originally, Leo, the Lion, extended eastward to Cancer and westward to Coma Berenices. Its whiskers were the Beehive (M44) and its tail ended up in the faint cluster of stars at the top of Coma Berenices. Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, has been identified with the birth of Christ. Its name implies King, Mighty, Great, Center or Hero, depending on the culture. 

There is no classical mythology for Leo Minor, because this constellation was created in the 1600s. Cancer, the Crab was sent to prevent Hercules from killing the Hydra. However, Hercules trampled the Crab and succeeded in killing the Hydra anyway. The Hydra had nine heads and if one was chopped off, two grew back in its place. Hercules had to burn each stub to prevent the heads from growing back. Corvus was a bird placed in the heavens on Hydra’s back by Apollo for being slow in bringing him water and lying about his tardiness. Crater represents the container of water that is always out of reach of Corvus. 

Canes Venatici are the Hunting Dogs of Bootes, the Bear Driver who is sometimes seen as a Herdsman or Ploughman. One story has it that Ceres, the goddess of Agriculture, asked Jupiter to place Bootes amongst the stars in gratitude for his invention, the plough. Another story is that Bootes was a grape grower taught to make wine by Bacchus, the god of Wine. Upon doing so, he celebrated and got his friends so drunk that they fell asleep. The next morning, his friends killed him because they thought he was trying to poison them. His hunting dogs were so shaken by his death that they died with him. 

An interesting story about Virgo, the Maiden is that she was Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres. Pluto, the god of the Underworld noticed her beauty one day when she was playing in her mother’s fields. He swiftly abducted her to the Underworld. Ceres was enraged at his action and decided to abandon all the crops. Jupiter intervened when he noticed the Earth becoming barren, so he struck a compromise.

Pluto would have Proserpina for half a year and Ceres for the other half. When Virgo is in the night sky, crops grow, but when she has sunk below the horizon to the Underworld, the growing season ends. 

Centaurs were offspring of the gods, half-man and half-horse creatures that walked on four legs. Some say that Centaurus represents Chiron, the wisest and gentlest of his kind, whom Jupiter placed in the heavens to reward him for educating Hercules, Jason, Achilles and others. Lupus, the Wolf was a generic wild animal to the Greeks but was also seen as the centaur’s offering to the gods or a wine skin for libation. Take your pick!

There is probably more lore about Hercules, the Strongman than any other mythological figure. It is ironic however, that his stars are not as prominent as his stature. Hercules should have the stars of Orion. Hercules’ mother was Alcmene and his father Jupiter, but, Alcmene was married to the Thebesian military leader Amphytrion. Once, when he was off to battle, Jupiter came to Alcmene in the form of her husband, feigning a short leave. Hercules, like many offspring of Jupiter, had to endure the wrath of Jupiter’s wife Juno for most of his life. One day, Hercules met two women, Pleasure and Virtue, who foretold that he could have either of their lives, but that the life of Virtue which Hercules picked would be difficult yet have a glorious end. This leads to the famous twelve labors of Hercules which were tasks directed by King Eurystheus. The labors often involved fighting ferocious beasts with themes loosely based on the twelve zodiacal constellations. Hercules was placed into the heavens by Jupiter after his wife Deianeira gave him a caustic poison because she wrongly believed that he was interested in another women. 

Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, was the golden crown that always sat atop the head of Bacchus, the god of Wine. He threw it to the heavens to prove to the beautiful mortal Ariadne that he was a god. She then married him and later was made immortal. Ophiuchus, the Snake Bearer, a healer, holds Serpens, the Snake. 

Ophiuchus is identified with Aesculapius, the son of Apollo. One day, Aesculapius strangled a snake. Immediately afterwards, a live snake slithered in and gave the dead snake an herb that brought it back to life. Aesculapius then took some of the herb and used it to raise the dead. This angered Pluto because he was losing clientele, so he complained to Jupiter who sent Aquila the Eagle to kill Aesculapius with a thunderbolt. Jupiter placed Aesculapius in the heavens so as not to raise suspicion about his death and disappearance. Serpens accompanied him. Today, Serpens is the only constellation that has discontinuous boundaries, two separate areas, one representing the head and the other the tail of the snake whos middle lies acoss Ophiuchus. 

Libra, the Scales, represents the weighing of the length of day and night and signifies the location of the Autumnal Equinox, which was located in this constellation during ancient times. When the Sun is in this position, day and night are equal. This also happens at the Vernal Equinox. 

Norma, the Carpenter’s Square, was a tool needed to build ships and was a constellation added in the 1600s. 

Cygnus, the Swan is widely recognized as the beautiful Northern Cross amidst the Milky Way. Cycnus was friends with Phaethon, son of Helios, who unsuccessfully rode the Sun Chariot across the sky. After Phaethon was thrown into the river Eridanus, Cycnus diligently dove in to retrieve all his bones so he could ensure his friend a proper afterlife in the Underworld. For this consideration, Jupiter transformed Cycnus into Cygnus, a swan and placed him in the Milky Way river. 

Aquarius, the Water Carrier is depicted as holding a container of water that is pouring into the mouth of the Southern Fish, Piscis Austrinus, which is sometimes seen as the parent of Pisces. Aquarius and Ganymede were considered cup-bearers and waiters for the gods. Ganymede was eventually made a god and after that, Aquarius and Ganymede were referred to as the same person. Ancient mythology sees Aquarius as the one who poured the water for the great flood, killing all but two people, Deucalion, a man and Pyrrha, a woman who repopulated the world. 

Capricornus, the Seagoat represents the half-transformed body of Pan. One day, the titanic, ill-willed demon Typhon took the gods by surprise. Many of them quickly changed form to get out of its way. Pan, who often took the form of a goat playing pipes, hurriedly jumped into the water to become a fish, but because of the ensuing panic (the word panic is derived from Pan), only his back half changed into a tail. When Pan came out of the water, he saw that Typhon had incapacitated Jupiter by ripping him to shreds. Upon seeing Jupiter’s helplessness, Pan blew on his pipes with such an awful shrill sound that it scared Typhon away, but also caught Mercury’s attention. Both helped put Jupiter back together again. Typhon was then struck hard by one of Jupiter’s largest thunderbolts. Jupiter put Pan in the stars in gratitude for his service. 

Microscopium, the Microscope, Grus, the Crane and Sculptor were constellations added in the 1600s and 1700s. 

Pegasus, the Winged Horse was born from the drippings of Medusa’s severed head. He was tamed by Bellerophon with a golden bridle given to him by Athena. While riding Pegasus, he was able to kill the Chimaera, a creature with a lion’s head, goat’s body and the tail of a serpent, by shooting it with arrows from above. Bellerophon became a conceited king and had Pegasus fly him to Olympus, to live with the gods. This angered Jupiter who sent a gadfly to bite Pegasus, making him rear, throwing Bellerophon to Earth where he wandered destitute and aimlessly. Pegasus became the deliverer of Jupiter’s thunderbolts. 

Triangulum, the Triangle is believed to have represented the mathematical accomplishments of ancient Greece. 

Aries is the Ram with the golden fleece. King Athamas had two children by Nephele, the goddess of the Nebulous Cloud. After Nephele returned to Olympus (gods usually didn’t stay with mortals for long), Athamas took another wife, Ino, who disliked his children. She blamed a crop failure on them and convinced Athamas that the gods were angry at his children and that they had to be sacrificed for appeasement.

Eridanus is a meandering connection of stars that were recognized by various cultures as a river. In Egypt, it represented the Nile. In Greek mythology, its water was used by Hercules to help clean the stables of King Augeas, as one of his twelve labors. Phaethon fell into this river after being thrown from the Sun Chariot. Although Eridanus is not near the Milky Way, it is sometimes associated with it. 

Cetus was an ugly, evil Sea Monster that lived deep in the ocean and personified everything bad. It almost devoured Andromeda, but Perseus chopped its head off before it reached her. It is sometimes referred to as a Whale. 

In illustrations, Auriga the Charioteer or Wagoneer, is often shown holding a goat, represented by the star Capella, and two kids. One of the charioteer’s responsibilities was supervising the royal livestock. One story has it that the milk from the goat Amaltheia was fed to Jupiter when he was a child. Another has Jupiter placing the chariot in the sky as an appeasement for causing the physical disability of his offspring Hephaestus, whose son inherited the disability, but invented the chariot to move about more easily. 

The Pleiades or Seven Sisters are the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. They were changed into doves and sent into the heavens as stars to avoid the amorous clutches of Orion. Thus, the Seven Sisters always rise before Orion, forever escaping him. A Native American legend also has Seven Sisters who longed to wander among the stars, lost their way home and huddled together so as not to get separated. The seventh star is difficult to see and in both stories it is said that crying blurs its brightness. 

The Hyades are Piglets and the half-sisters of the Pleiades, all having Atlas as their father. Together, they make up the 14 Atlantides which reside in Taurus. 

There are two stories related to Taurus, the Bull. Jupiter’s wife, Juno, turned the beautiful Io, the daughter of the river god Inachos, into a white heifer to stop Jupiter’s affair with her. In another story, Jupiter fell in love with the beautiful Europa, daughter of Agenor, King of Sideon. To lure her away, he changed himself into a mighty white bull and stood among her father’s cattle. She went to see the white bull and was captivated by its friendliness. After getting on its back for a ride, Jupiter rode off with her to Crete. Afterward she bore a son, Minos, who became King of Crete. 

Fornax, the Furnace and Caelum, the Engraver’s Tool have no lore because they were added in the 1600’s. 

The Phoenix is a Great Bird that lives for 500 years and can regenerate itself from its own ashes. At the end of its life, it builds a nest and lays until the noon sunlight strikes it, setting it aflame. From the ashes comes forth a worm that transforms into a new Phoenix. 

Columba, the Dove was set aflight by Jason to see how it would fare between the dangerous rocks of a channel. It returned safely, providing Jason with a good omen to sail his ship Argo through the same waters. The god of wisdom, Minerva, placed the bird in the sky as a reward for its helpful role. 

Gemini, the Twins, represented by the stars Castor and Pollux, were warlike heroes who protected seafarers from pirates. Pollux was immortal but Castor was not and was eventually killed in a quarrel. Pollux then asked Jupiter for death so he could be with his twin, but immortals cannot be killed. However, Jupiter allowed him to live alternately one day with the gods and the other in Hades with his brother. Thus, the stars Castor and Pollux take turns in rising and setting. 

There is no classical Greek and Roman mythology for the stars around the South Celestial Pole because the Greek and Roman empires resided mostly in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, hence they never got to see those stars. Of course, the people residing in the southern hemisphere created lore and constellations associated with the stars but the patterns drawn by early European explorers prevailed.

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are companion galaxies to our Milky Way Galaxy, were named in honor of Magellan for his voyage around the world that began in 1519. In 1596, Dutch explorer Pieter Dirckszoon Keyser constructed a dozen constellations, mostly named after animals and using brighter stars. Keyser’s only inanimate constellation was Triangulum Australe. During the 1600s, Frenchman Augustin Royer created Crux, the “Southern Cross,” by breaking off part of the constellation Centaurus. Then in the 1750s, Frenchman Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, while on a respite at the Cape of Good Hope, constructed fourteen new constellations based mostly on scientific instruments and mainly using fainter stars. Lacaille’s patterns were the last to be recognized and many consider his to be clutter. His constellations were kept in recognition of contributions he made to astronomical cataloguing.