Myths of the Heavens

Intro to Myth

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 Greek’s and Roman’s mythology

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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 father’s 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

Libra the Scales

• Libra was a late addition to the Zodiac

• In the Greek zodiac, Libra was Scorpio’s claws

• The Romans changed the claws to the scales of balance

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

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

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

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

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