Tuesday 22 December 2020

THE MYTHS & LEGENDS BEHIND THE TWELVE CONSTELLATION OF THE ZODIAC


Humans have always been fascinated by the stars. Since the beginning of our history, we have watched them, trying to uncover their mysteries. Stars form constellations, beautiful figures that light up the night sky.

Among the various constellations, there are twelve that have a special place in our culture. Together, these twelve constellations form the Zodiac.  We all know what they represent, but what many people don’t know is their history, where they come from. Today, we’ll try to shed light on the origin of the Twelve Constellations of the Zodiac.

Aries 

The first constellation of the Zodiac is, canonically, Aries. It comes directly from a very famous Greek myth, the story of the Argonauts.  Aries represents Chrysomallos, a ram Jason and his comrades were trying to find because its wool was the source of the Golden Fleece.

                                                                                  


Taurus  

Taurus can be connected to two different characters coming from two very different mythologies. One character is Zeus, who frequently turns into a bull in Greek myths. A very famous instance is Zeus transforming into a bull in order to kidnap the princess Europa.

The other character is Gugalanna, also known in Babylonian mythology as The Bull of Heaven, a creature summoned by the goddess Ishtar to fight the heroes Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

Gemini  

Gemini is also connected with a famous Greek myth, that of Castor and Pollux, brothers of Helen of Troy. They were twins, but they had two different fathers: Castor was the son of the mortal Tyndareus, while Pollux was immortal since he was  the son of Zeus. However, despite their differences,  their fraternal bond was incredibly strong. So strong that, when Castor was on the verge of death, Pollux ceded him half of his immortality, allowing him to survive. This greatly impressed Zeus, who decided to reward them by placing them in the sky as a constellation when they died.

                                                                                   


 

Cancer  

Cancer is an interesting one because, while it has a Latin name, it’s not of Latin nor of Greek origin. It comes from Egyptian mythology. It seems to be connected to Khperi, a divine scarab who every  dawn helps the god Ra to make the Sun rise. When they came in contact with the Egyptians, the Greek adapted Khperi to their mythology, creating “Karkinos” (aka Cancer).

 

Leo 

The origin of Leo is pretty simple, as it is connected to the first of Heracles’ Trials. It represents the Nemean Lion, an invulnerable beast which was killed by Heracles via suffocation. Heracles then used its hide to create a durable armor, which protected him in his other trials.

                                                                                  


Virgo 

Just like Taurus, Virgo can be connected to two different characters, specifically two goddesses. The first one is Demeter, Greek goddess of harvest and mother of Persephone. The second one is Ishtar, a Babylonian goddess we have already mentioned. She was the goddess of war and love, and was deeply in love with her nephew Gilgamesh. When he rejected her, she was so angry that she sent the Bull of Heaven (Taurus in Rome) to punish him.

Libra  

Libra is not a god nor a hero. It is a tool, and it comes from Latin mythology. It’s a golden scale used by the goddess Iustitia, representing the values of balance and equality. It’s interesting to note that, while the Greek  had a justice goddess (Dike), they didn’t consider Libra an independent constellation. It was in fact considered part of Scorpio, specifically its claws.

                                                                                  


 

Scorpio 

The above mentioned Scorpio is, like Leo, connected to a famous Greek hero: Orion. Scorpius was a giant scorpion summoned  by Apollo to kill Orion, a giant hunter son of Poseidon. Orion fought and killed Scorpius, but was injected with a deadly poison. Only thanks to the help of the goddess of hunting Artemis, Orion managed to survive.


Sagittarius  

Sagittarius is another simple one. It represents Chiron, a centaur son of Cronus, father of Zeus and leader of the Titans. He was a wise man who educated and trained many, many heroes: Heracles, Achilles, Aeneas, Ajax, Theseus are just a few.

Unfortunately, during a battle, Heracles accidentally shot him with an arrow poisoned with the deadly  blood of the Hydra. Unable to die because of his own immortality, Chiron experienced a terrible pain. But in the end, he managed to cede his immortality to the titan Prometheus, and was finally able to die. As a reward for his value, Zeus decided to turn him into the constellation of the Sagittarius.


Capricorn 

Capricorn was known in Babylon as Shurmash, a creature half goat half fish which represented Ea, god of water,  rivers and knowledge. It was a pretty important creature, often being portrayed on walls and tokens. Later on the Greek adapted it to their culture, giving it its current name.

 

Aquarius 

If Capricorn represented a symbol of the god Ea, then Aquarius represented nothing more than Ea himself. In Babylonian iconography Ea is often portrayed with an overflowing cup in his hands, showing his nature as both creator of rivers and floods-bringer.

Aquarius was also adapted by the Greek, who associated it with Ganymede, a young Trojan prince who was kidnapped by Zeus to serve as his cupbearer.

                                                                                 


Pisces 

Finally we have Pisces, which is a bit…complicated. Even now, we are not totally sure who or what Pisces are supposed to be. We are not even sure if they are Greek in origin.

Some scholars believe they represent Aphrodite and Eros, who turned into fish to escape from Typhoon, a terrible monster who was trying to slay all the gods. Others think fish is yet another symbol of Ea. We can only be sure that it is supposed to represent two fishes tied together with a rope. As weird as it sounds,  this is the only thing we know for certain.


As you can see, the story behind the constellations of the Zodiac is very complex, yet extremely interesting, beautiful stories behind beautiful stars. And I personally think this proves how deeply we humans are fascinated by the night sky.

YURY, 4sc

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