Constellation Mythology

Wife of Cepheus, mother of Andromeda. Would often brag that she and her daughter were more beautiful then the sea nymphs. Looks like an M

King of Ethiopia, husband of Cassiopeia, father of Andromeda. Looks like a house

Multiple Myths, possibly Ladon the serpent which guarded the golden apple tree which Hercules had to steal from. Head is a trapezoid N of Hercules, tail between dippers

Hera discovered Zeus having an affair with Callisto(river goddess, companion to Diana) and turned her into Bear. Zeus put her into the sky along with her son Arcas.

Arcas, son of Callisto. The last star in the tail is Polaris.

the herdsman who plows the land during spring. Looks like a kite. Arcturus is where the tail is attached

The crab. In the story of Hercules and his 12 labors, a giant crab tried to help Hydra, but Hercules smashed it with his foot. Hera put it in the sky because of its bravery

Corvus, the crow, was sent by Apollo to get some spring water. He took the cup to fill, and came across a fig that wasn't quite ripe. He waited for it to turn ripe, which made him late on his return. He brought a serpent with him and told Apollo that it attacked him and that was why he was late. Of course, Apollo knew everything, so he was very angry that Corvus lied. He sent the crow, the cup and the serpent all into the sky.

Another story says the cup is actually the sacred goblet used by the Olympian Gods.

At one time, the constellation was seen as the young boy, Ganymede, who used to serve the gods nectar in the goblet.

Hercules slew Hydra, a horrible serpent with many heads that grew back as soon as they were cut off. Killing the Hydra was one of Hercules' twelve labors

Terrorized the city of Nemea, Hercules killed it with his bare hands

The Maiden. The constellation represents almost every famous and powerful female in mythology.

The Eagle, summer triangle. was the servant of Zeus who held the god's thunderbolts and performed errands for him. He may also be the great eagle who devours Prometheus' liver as punishment for giving fire to humans

The Swan, Northern Cross. He could be Zeus in the guise in which he seduced Leda, the mother of Helen of Troy.

n one myth, Cygnus is a friend of Phaethon, the son of Apollo, the sun god. Phaethon fell into the river Eridanus, trying to drive the sun-gods chariot. Cygnus dove repeatedly into the water to search for Phaethon. Out of pity, Zeus turned the boy into a swan.

famous Greek hero. look for it's keystone body

Harp. the lyre was invented by Hermes as a child when he strung a tortoise shell. He traded the lyre to Apollo, who then gave it to his son, Orpheus, a great poet and musician.

The Serpent Bearer. In Greek myth, Ophiuchus represents the god of medicine, Asclepius. Asclepius was the son of Apollo and was taught by Chiron, the Centaur. He learned how to bring people back from the dead, which worried Hades. The god of the underworld asked his brother Zeus to kill the medicine god. Zeus did strike him dead, but then put the figure of Asclepius in the sky to honor him.

Centaur
The Mediterranean people viewed him as Enkidu, the close friend of Gilgamesh, believed to be represented by Orion. Greek mythology associates Sagittarius with Crotus, the son of the goat-god Pan and Eupheme, the nurse of the Muses. He grew to be a skilled hunter, as well as a man with an artistic soul. The Muses, with whom he was raised, begged Zeus to honor him with a constellation equal to his great talents.

Orion fled the scorpion by swimming the sea to the island of Delos to see his lover, Artemis. Apollo, seeking to punish Artemis, joined her and challenged her hunting skills, daring her to shoot the black dot that approached in the water. Artemis won the challenge, unknowingly killing her lover by doing so.

Andromeda was chained to a cliff for the monster, called Cetus. Just as the monster was ready to bite down on the maiden, Perseus rescued her. Looks like a V

Ganymede, the young boy kidnapped by Zeus. Zeus sent his eagle, Aquila, to snatch Ganymede out of the fields where the boy was watching over his sheep. Ganymede would become the cupbearer for the Olympian gods.

Sea-goat. many different myths about this dim constellation. Some believed that Capricornus was the Gate of the Gods, a region in the sky where souls passed when humans died. Most people saw a figure of a goat or even a sea-goat. A sea-goat was part goat, part fish.

In Greek myth, Capricornus was associated with Pan. During a picnic, a monster attacked the gods. The gods turned themselves into animals and fled, but Pan couldn't decide what to be. Finally, he jumped into the Nile River, at which point he transformed. His lower half was in water, so it became a fish. However, his upper-half was still dry, so it stayed a goat

When Perseus severed Medusa's head, drops of blood fell into the sea. They mixed with sea foam, and Pegasus was born. The white sea foam gave the horse his brilliant color. Pegasus became friends with the warrior, Bellerophon. One day, Bellerophon tried to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus. This angered Zeus so much that he sent a gadfly to bite Pegasus. When the horse was stung, Bellerophon fell to the Earth. Pegasus made it to the home of the gods, where he still remains.

the two fish represent Aphrodite and her son, Eros. One day they were fleeing the giant Typhon, when they jumped into a stream, turned to fish and swam away. It is said they tied a string to their tails so they could stay together.

The Great Dog. Orion's hunting dog.

the giant sea monster that almost ate Andromeda.

The Celestial River. It's most often related to the Nile or Euphrates Rivers because they were so important to ancient civilizations.

The twins. Ancient Greeks saw the twins Castor and Pollux, sons of Leda and Zeus. The Romans saw the brothers Romulus and Remus,

the hunter, lover of artemis

The Hero. most famous for his slaying of Medusa

The bull. represented Zeus in disguise as a white bull. He tricked Europa into climbing on his back. He then swam out to sea and carried her to Crete