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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