Even a fleeting glance at the beauty of the clear night sky will tell you that the crystal lights in the sky - the stars - are not located in boring geometric rows, but in a picturesque and very free disorder. Many bright and noticeable stars that are visually close to each other form bizarre contours and figures called constellations. A person with imagination (and only such a person can tear his eyes away from the earth’s firmament and turn them into dreamy space) will try to create his own amazing world from the star ensembles in the sky, populating it with earthly and celestial creatures, real and unprecedented phenomena. Since ancient times, sky observers have identified star groups-constellations and come up with flowery and thoughtful names for them.
The ancient Greeks, more than 2000 years ago, gave names to the constellations they knew. mythical gods, titans, heroes or magical animals. This is how the legend of the constellation Pegasus, Taurus, Cepheus, Centaurus, Hercules, Andromeda, Cassiopeia appeared... One and a half thousand years later, during the era of great geographical discoveries, travelers to overseas countries gave exotic names to the constellations of their heavens - Toucan, Peacock, Bird of Paradise, Southern Cross , Indian. Nowadays, the entire sky, visible from both hemispheres of our Earth, contains 88 constellations. Peering at the stars of a particular constellation, it is sometimes difficult to understand why astronomers named the constellations and their names with such an unexpected name. For example, the constellation Ursa Major consists of 7 bright stars that are grouped into a bucket outline, not at all similar to a bear. It is no easier to identify a Giraffe or a Lynx in the sky. However, it is all the more fascinating to look into ancient star atlases, where the constellations are depicted as their names sound.
Ancient Ursa of the ancient Greeks
In addition to the well-known constellation Ursa Major, there is also Ursa Minor. Here is the ancient Greek legend about their appearance in the sky. The Arcadian king Lycaon had a beautiful daughter, Callisto, whose beauty was so stunning and unusual that the wayward girl was not afraid to compete with the goddess Hera, the wife of the chief greek god Zeus, ruler of Olympus. Hera, not only a goddess, but also a jealous woman, in a fit of anger took revenge on Callisto, turning the unfortunate woman into an ugly bear. The son of Callisto, the young man Arkad, returning from a hunt, saw a wild animal near his house and almost killed his mother in the form of a bear. Zeus intervened, holding Arkad's hand, and the Olympian god took Callisto to his heaven forever, turning him into a wonderful constellation Ursa Major. Ursa Minor was Callisto's favorite dog. Young Arkad did not stay on Earth either: Zeus turned his son Callisto into the constellation Bootes, doomed to forever guard his mother among the stars. The brightest star of Bootes is called Arcturus, which means "guardian of the bear." Both Ursa are non-setting constellations and are most visible in the sky of the northern hemisphere. There is another legend about these constellations. Fleeing from the evil god Chronos, who devours babies, the goddess Rhea (mother of Zeus) hid her baby in a cave, where he was fed with milk, in addition to the goat Amalthea, and two bears: Helika and Melissa, who were later transferred to heaven for this act. Sometimes the bear Melissa is called Kinosura, which means "dog's tail." In the legends of other nationalities, the Big Dipper is called a chariot, a cart or seven bulls. Next to the star Mizar (Arabic for "horse") - the middle star in the handle of the Big Dipper's bucket - the star Alcor (Arabic for "horseman" or "rider" in Arabic) is barely visible. By the visibility of these stars you can check your visual acuity: each star should be visible to the naked eye, without glasses.
Rescue Andromeda
The names of the constellations reflect the beautiful myth about the hero Perseus. In ancient times, Ethiopia was ruled by King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. They had an only daughter (a beauty, of course) named Andromeda. The queen mother was very proud of her daughter and one day inadvertently boasted about the beauty of Andromeda and her own beauty to the mythical sea inhabitants - the Nereids. They became seriously angry because they believed that they were the most beautiful people in the world. The Nereids immediately complained to their father Poseidon, who held the responsible position of god of the seas. The powerful Poseidon decided to roughly punish Cassiopeia and Andromeda. He sent a giant sea monster, the Whale, to Ethiopia. This whale was not easy: fire was blazing from its mouth, acrid smoke was pouring out of its ears, and its tail was covered with long and sharp spines. The monster devastated and burned the Ethiopian country, which threatened the death of all people. To appease Poseidon, the royal couple Cepheus and Cassiopeia have already decided to give their beloved daughter to be devoured by the monster. The beautiful Andromeda was chained to a rock by the sea, where she doomedly awaited her fate. However, a little earlier, on a completely different side of the world, the most famous legendary hero named Perseus accomplished a truly extraordinary feat. He entered a secluded island where gorgons lived - monsters in the form of women whose heads were swarming with live snakes instead of hair. The gaze of the gorgons was so indescribably terrible that any person who dared to look into their eyes instantly froze in stone. But this terrible fate could not stop the courageous and inventive Perseus. Choosing a good moment, when the gorgons fell asleep, Perseus cut off the head of the most important of them, the gorgon Medusa, with his sword. Immediately, the magical winged horse Pegasus flew out of Medusa’s huge body. Perseus mounted Pegasus and flew home. Flying over unfortunate Ethiopia, he saw the charming Andromeda chained to a rock, who was about to be eaten by the Man-Eating Whale. The hero Perseus bravely entered into battle with the sea monster. This titanic struggle continued for a long time and its outcome was unknown to the gods. But thanks to the flying magic sandals, Perseus rose into the air above the whale and plunged his curved sword into the leviathan's back. The whale dodged and rushed to attack Perseus. However, he directed the numbing gaze of the severed head of the gorgon Medusa, attached to his shield, at the monster. The whale froze, turned to stone and turned into an island. And the victorious Perseus freed Andromeda and took her to the palace of King Cepheus. The happy father happily offered Andromeda as a wife to Perseus; A multi-day merry feast began in Ethiopia. And since then, the memorable constellations of the heroes of this legend - Cepheus and Cassiopeia, Andromeda and Perseus - have been shining in the starry sky since ancient times. On the star celestial map you can also find the constellations Cetus and Pegasus. This is how ancient myths were reflected in our sky.
The winged horse Pegasus flew to the stars
Next to the constellation Andromeda in the sky is the constellation Pegasus, especially clearly visible around midnight in mid-October. The three stars of this constellation and the Alpha star of the constellation Andromeda are together arranged into a figure that has long been called the “Big Square” by astronomers. These constellations in the autumn sky are quite easy to spot. The winged horse Pegasus emerged from the body of the Gorgon Medusa, beheaded by the hero Perseus, but did not become a monster (as might have been expected); it was one of the magical transformations that are so rich in ancient greek mythology. Pegasus was the favorite of 9 muses - the daughters of the supreme god Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. On the mountain slope of Helikon, Pegasus knocked out the water source of Hippocrene with his hoof, the moisture of which brought poetic inspiration. Here is another legend that mentions the horse Pegasus. Bellerophon, the grandson of King Sisyphus, was supposed to kill the Chimera (although in Greek "chimera" means "goat", but the mythical Chimera turned out to be a deadly fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, a goat's body and a dragon's tail). Bellerophon defeated the Chimera with the help of the winged Pegasus. One day the hero saw a winged horse and wanted to take possession of it. In a dream, the beloved daughter of Zeus, the wise warrior goddess Athena, who inspired many Greek heroes, appeared to the young man. Athena gave Bellerophon a magical bridle that could tame any horse. With her help, the young man caught the winged Pegasus and went with him to fight the Chimera. Flying high into the air, the hero threw arrows at the monster until it finally gave up the ghost. But Bellerophon was not satisfied with his victorious success, but wished for much more: to rise very high into the sky on a winged horse, right up to the dwelling of the immortals. The god Zeus, who learned about this, became angry and turned Pegasus into a rage, causing him to throw his rider out of the saddle. Pegasus himself then ascended to the divine Olympus, where he served with the battle lightning of Zeus. The main attraction of the Pegasus constellation is a uniquely bright globular cluster of stars. Through binoculars you can see a very beautiful spherical luminous speck with sparkling edges, similar to the lights of a night metropolis observed from a flying airplane. Over six million sun-stars are concentrated in this stellar object!
Hunters and victims of the southern sky
Orion: there is no other constellation in the entire starry sky that would include more interesting and fairly easily observable objects. The mythical hero Orion was the son of the sea god Poseidon (this is the Greek version; according to the Roman version, the god of the seas is called Neptune). Orion deservedly bore the fame of a wonderful hunter, successfully fought with bulls and boasted: “There is no beast in the world that I could not defeat!” For this, Hera, the powerful wife of the supreme Zeus, sent Scorpio to the hunter. Orion, meanwhile, cleared the island of Chios from wild animals and, after the success of this mission, began to demand the king of that island marry his daughter, however, he was refused. Persistent Orion tried to kidnap the princess and the king took cruel revenge on him by blinding Orion. God Helios returned Orion's lost sight, but Orion still dies from the bite of the attacking Scorpio. Zeus tried to place Orion in the sky so that he could always escape from his pursuer Scorpio, and therefore these two constellations are never visible in the sky at the same time.
Where does Veronica's hair come from in the sky?
The constellation Leo is one of the oldest, known to ancient astronomers. This constellation in the sky has long had a fairly extensive “territory”, and the royal Leo himself had an elegant “tassel” on his tail. However, in 243 BC, Leo lost this accessory. A very funny story happened, which is told by the following legend: the Egyptian king Ptolemy had a beautiful wife - Queen Veronica. Her beautiful long hair. When Ptolemy set out on a military campaign, his saddened wife swore to the gods: if they protected her beloved husband from military vicissitudes and troubles, she would sacrifice her hair to the gods. Soon the victorious Ptolemy returned home and, seeing his short-haired wife, was extremely upset. The astronomer Konon tried to calm the royal couple, announcing that the gods had taken Veronica's hair straight to the sky, where they would decorate the spring nights.
Constellation Taurus
For many ancient peoples, the most important constellation was Taurus, since New Year began not in the winter as now, but in the spring. In the zodiac ring, Taurus is the most ancient constellation, since in the life of young humanity, cattle breeding played a primary role, and the bull (Taurus) was associated with precisely the constellation in which the Sun conquered winter and heralded the onset of warmth and spring. Ancient peoples often revered this animal as sacred. In ancient Egypt, the sacred bull Apis was worshiped, whose mummy was solemnly buried in a magnificent tomb. At the same time, every quarter of a century Apis was replaced with a new one. In Ancient Greece, the Taurus bull also enjoyed great respect and honor. On the island of Crete, the sacred bull was called the Minotaur. The heroes of Hellas Hercules, Theseus, and Jason demonstrated their fighting capabilities by pacifying the bulls. The constellation Aries was also highly revered by the ancients. Main Egyptian god Amon-Ra was traditionally depicted with the head of a ram, and the road to his temple was marked by an alley of sphinxes with ram heads. It was believed that the constellation Aries was named after the golden-fleeced Aries described in the adventures of the Argonauts. There is a constellation that reflects the legend of the Argo ship. The brightest star in this constellation (Alpha) is called Gamal, which means "adult ram" in Arabic, and Alpha Tauri is called Aldebaran.
Heavenly Twins
In the constellation Gemini, the two brightest stars are located very close to each other. The constellation received its name in honor of the Argonauts brothers Dioscuri - Castor and Pollux. These are twins whose father god Zeus, and the mother is the frivolous earthly beauty Leda; their sister Helen the Beautiful became the culprit of the epic Trojan War. Castor became famous as an unsurpassed charioteer, and Pollux earned fame as an invincible fist fighter. The brothers took part in the Calydonian hunt and the campaign of the Argonauts. But it so happened that the Dioscuri quarreled, not dividing the spoils, with their giant cousins Lynceus and Idas. In the battle with them, the twin brothers received many wounds and when Castor died from his wounds, the immortal Pollux did not want to part with his beloved brother and asked the god Zeus not to separate them. By the will of Zeus, since then the brothers spend six months in the gloomy underground kingdom of Hades, and six months on the divine Olympus. There are periods when the star Castor is visible at dawn, and Pollux in the darkening evening. Probably, this circumstance gave rise to the legend about twins living in dead kingdom, then in the immortal sky. Since ancient times, the Dioscuri twins have been considered the patrons of sailors caught in a storm. And the appearance of the “St. Elmo’s Fire” on the rigging of ships before a thunderstorm was considered a meeting of the Twins and their sister Elena. In reality, "St. Elmo's Fire" is a sparkling discharge of atmospheric electricity that occurs on pointed objects, for example, on the tops of masts, yards, etc. The Dioscuri were also revered as guardians of the stability of the state and patrons of hospitality ceremonies. IN Ancient Rome A silver coin "Dioscuri" with the image of the twin stars was minted.
How did Cancer climb to heaven?
Among the zodiac constellations, one of the most compact and inconspicuous is Cancer. There are several bizarre versions of the origin of the name of this constellation. For example, it was quite seriously argued that the ancient Egyptians placed Cancer in the sky as a death symbol, since crayfish feed on carrion. In addition, crayfish are known to move tail first. About 2000 years ago, it was in the constellation Cancer that the point of the summer solstice (that is, the longest daylight) was located. The sun, which at this moment had reached its extreme deviation to the north, then began to “move back” to the south - back and the length of the day decreased. And one more thing: according to classical mythology, a giant sea Cancer attacked the hero Hercules when he was fighting the Lernaean Hydra. The hero crushed the attacking Cancer, but the goddess Hera, who did not like Hercules too much, placed Cancer in heaven in compensation. The Louvre Museum houses the famous Egyptian zodiac circle, in which the constellation Cancer is located above all other constellations.
Is Leo dangerous in the sky?
Even earlier, about 4.5 thousand years ago, the summer solstice point was located in the constellation Leo and the Sun reached this constellation during the hottest time of summer. Therefore, among many ancient peoples, the Lion became a symbol of heat, a fiery symbol. The Assyrians called this constellation “the great, all-encompassing fire,” and the Chaldeans associated the fierce Leo with the no less severe heat that came to their lands annually at this time. They believed that the Sun was filled with additional heat as it moved among the stars of Leo. In Ancient Egypt, this constellation was also associated with sultry summers: flocks of lions, fleeing the deadly heat, migrated from the deserts to the valley of the Nile River, which at this time of year overflowed, giving life to people and animals. The Egyptians even depicted lion heads on the sluice gates of the canals that delivered precious water to the fields.
Heavenly Maiden
The constellation Virgo is adjacent to Leo and sometimes this constellation is represented mythical sphinx- a creature with a lion's body and a woman's head. Often in ancient myths, the heavenly Virgin was identified with the Mother of God of Zeus, Rhea. And sometimes she was seen as the goddess of justice Themis, who in her classic appearance holds Libra in her hands (this is the zodiac constellation on the other side of Virgo). There is also information that in this constellation the ancients saw Astraea, the daughter of Zeus and Themis, who became the last of the goddesses who left the Earth at the end of the Bronze Age. Astraea is the goddess of justice, at the same time a symbol of purity and innocence, and she left the sinful Earth because of human treachery. The Virgin is usually depicted with an ear of corn and the staff of Mercury. Maybe that’s why the brightest star of Virgo is called Spica (Latin for “ear of ear”). The name of this star and the fact that the heavenly Virgin was depicted with an ear of corn in her hand indicate the connection of the constellation with the agricultural labors of ancient mankind. Probably, the appearance of the maiden constellation coincided with the beginning of important agricultural work.
Libra is the only "non-living" constellation of the zodiac
Over 2000 years ago, the autumnal equinox was located in this constellation. It was the equality of night and day that could be the reason why this zodiac constellation received the name “Libra”. The appearance of Libra in the sky in the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere showed that it was time to sow, and the ancient Egyptians, in their very favorable climate, could consider this as a signal to start harvesting the first harvest. Among the ancient Greeks, the goddess of justice Astraea, with the help of Libra, weighed people's destinies. One of the famous myths explains the emergence zodiac constellation Libra as an indication to people about strictness in observing established laws. Let us remember that Astraea was the daughter of Zeus and Themis, the goddess of justice. On behalf of her parents, Astraea, armed with scales and blindfolded in order to judge everything objectively, regularly visited humanity, checking the purity of human thoughts and deeds. Apparently, this activity turned out to be very effective and father Zeus decided that his Libra daughter was worthy of placement in heaven.
What does the constellation Scorpio look like?
The external resemblance of this constellation to a not very pleasant poisonous creature, of course, exists. The sun enters this area of the sky in late autumn, almost winter, when all nature falls asleep, almost dies. The sun was considered to be “stinged” by a poisonous reptile (by the way, the constellation Snake also lives nearby in the sky!) and “sick” all winter, remaining faded and cold. According to classical Greek mythology the same Scorpio settled in the sky, which stung the hunter Orion and was placed by the goddess Hera away from Orion - on the opposite part of the celestial sphere. It was the heavenly Scorpio that frightened the unfortunate Phaeton, the son of Helios, who decided to willfully ride across the sky in his father’s fiery chariot. Other ancient peoples gave this constellation their names. For example, for the Polynesians (Pacific Islands) it was seen as a fishing hook with which the god Maun pulled the islands of New Zealand from the ocean depths. Among the Mayans (America), this constellation was called Yalagau - “Lord of Darkness.” In general, according to many historical astronomers and astrologers, Scorpio is the most ominous sign, it is a symbol of death and it turns out to be especially terrible when Saturn, the planet of disasters and misfortunes, is combined with it. You can take comfort in the fact that Scorpio is a constellation where novae and supernovae often flare up, and it is this constellation that is especially rich in bright and beautiful star clusters.
Who is the celestial archer aiming at?
According to the mythology of the ancient Greeks, the wisest centaur Chiron, the son of Chronos and Themis, created the first model of the celestial sphere, where one place in zodiac circle he intended for himself for his beloved. But Chiron was ahead of Krotos, an insidious centaur who took this place by deception and, as a result, became the constellation Sagittarius. After his death, Zeus turned Chiron himself into the constellation Centaur; so there were two whole centaurs in the sky. Even Scorpio is afraid of the vengeful Sagittarius, at whom he aims with his bow. In some atlases there is an image of Sagittarius in the form of a two-faced centaur: one face is turned back, the other - forward, which is somewhat reminiscent of the Roman god Janus, whose name is associated with January - the first month of our year. The Sun is in Sagittarius in winter. Consequently, this constellation symbolizes the end of the old year and the start of a new one, which is why one face of Sagittarius looks into the past, and the other peers into the future. The center of our Galaxy star system is positioned in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. Like Scorpio, Sagittarius fascinates with its mysterious nebulae; perhaps this constellation, more than any other, deserves the name “celestial treasury,” since many of its star clusters are strikingly beautiful.
Where is the Capricorn galloping?
A well-known ancient Greek legend says how the son of Hermes, the goat-footed god Pan, the patron of shepherds, who was frightened by Typhon, the hundred-headed giant, fled in horror in the water and since then has become a water god, having grown a fish tail as required by his status. This is how Capricorn arose - a creature with the body of a goat and the tail of a fish. Zeus identified Capricorn in the constellations and appointed him the ruler of the waters and the harbinger of bad weather. Capricorn sends torrential rains to the Earth. According to another legend, the role of Capricorn is played by the goat Amalthea, who fed the god Zeus with her milk. The American Indians called this constellation the Miracle Dragon Makara, which, however, is also half goat and half fish. When the Sun entered the constellation Capricorn, the Indians danced on New Year's Eve wearing ceremonial goat masks. But the indigenous Australians see here the constellation Kangaroo, which is being chased by brave celestial hunters. Many ancient peoples perceived the goat as a sacred animal, and even worship services were performed in its honor. At the same time, people dressed themselves in sacred clothes made of goat skins and brought a sacrificial goat as a gift to the gods. It is with these customs and with the constellation Capricorn that the long-standing idea of the “scapegoat” (Azazel) is associated. Azazel (scapegoat) is the name of a goat-like desert demon. On the day of scapegoating, two goats are chosen: the first for sacrifice, and the second for release into the desert. From the two presented goats, the priests selected which animal was for God and which was for the demon Azazel. First, a divine sacrifice was made, and then the high priest laid his hands on the second goat and thereby transferred to him all the sins of his people. After that, the goat was released into the desert, which was a symbol of the underworld and a naturally sinful place. The constellation Capricorn is positioned at the lower part of the ecliptic. Perhaps this caused associations about the underground hell. The winter solstice point was located in the constellation Capricorn 2000 years ago. Ancient philosopher Macrobius believed that the Sun, having passed the lowest point of its path, then begins to climb upward, like a mountain goat striving for a radiant peak.
Where does Aquarius pour water?
For almost all known ancient peoples, the name of this constellation meant one thing - a man pouring water, Aquarius, although it sounded differently: Hydrochos (Greeks), Acuarius (Romans), Sakib-al-ma (Arabs). The Greek myth about people who escaped the global flood is based on the constellation Aquarius. The name of this constellation really brings to the "homeland" global flood" - to the valley of the Asia Minor rivers Tigris and Euphrates: in some Sumerian documents these two rivers were depicted flowing from the vessel of Aquarius. The eleventh month among the Sumerians was called the “month of the water curse.” According to Sumerian legends, the constellation Aquarius is located in the center of the abundant “heavenly sea”, and therefore, it foreshadows the rainy period of the year. In Egypt, the constellation Aquarius was observed in the sky precisely on the days of the greatest rise in water. great river Nile. It was then believed that Knemu, the god of water, poured a huge ladle of life-giving moisture into the Nile. It was also believed that tributaries of the Nile flow from the vessels of that god: the White and Blue Nile rivers. Probably, the myth of Hercules’s cleansing of the Augean stables is also associated with the constellation Aquarius, for which the hero needed to dam three rivers at once.
Celestial Pisces completes the ring of the zodiac
A rather rare case when the arrangement of stars in a constellation more or less coincides with its name: a figure in the sky is quite capable of inspiring the image of two fish connected by a rope or ribbon. The name of the constellation Pisces is obviously very ancient and grows out of Phoenician mythology. The Sun entered this constellation during a period of successful fishing. Then the goddess of fertility was depicted in the form of a woman with a fish tail, which appeared when she, frightened by a monster, rushed into the water element with her son. A similar legend existed in the mythology of the ancient Greeks. Only those believed that Aphrodite and her son Eros incarnated into fish: on the bank of the river they were frightened by the evil Typhon and, rushing into the water, they were saved by turning into fish. Aphrodite became the southern Pisces, and Eros - the northern one.
In ancient times, people thought that the sky was a giant hollow dome rising above the flat Earth, like an upside-down cup on a saucer. Later, this idea of the Earth and sky was replaced by another: the globe found itself in the center of a huge sphere, like a soap bubble. The sun moved across the surface of the bubble sky, making a full circle in a year.
The apparent path of the Sun around the Earth is called the ecliptic. The sun moves within a narrow band - the zodiac. It encircles the Earth and is 16 degrees wide (extending 8 degrees above the ecliptic and the same number of degrees below it). Within this belt are the orbits of all the planets of our solar system, except for Pluto, which moves within an exceptionally wide band. Also in the zodiac there are stars that form groups, called constellations in ancient times. To the first explorers of the sky, these constellations seemed similar to the outlines of animals, so the belt of constellations is known as the zodiac - from Greek word"zodiakos", meaning "circle of animals".
The zodiac consists of twelve constellations, each of them has its own name and resembles an animal or human figure in shape. Ancient astrologers began to use these names to refer to the twelve astrological signs.
The zodiac belt is a conventional concept (it is generated by the consciousness of the person who highlighted it in the sky), but the stars located inside it are quite real. If you could simultaneously be at different points on the surface of the globe, you would see all twelve constellations at once. They were known long before Ptolemy described them in his writings. Each constellation has its own history, which has come down to us in the form of ancient myths. This folklore has become an integral part of our knowledge of astrological signs.
ARIES
Aries, or Ram, is the first sign of the Zodiac. In myths, the Ram always appears as a courageous, enterprising, agile, energetic animal, capable of overcoming obstacles and mountain steeps.
The story of the Ram begins in Ancient Greece, where King Athamas ruled Boeotia19. He married a woman named Nephele, and she bore him two beautiful children - a son, Phrixus, and a daughter, Gella.
After some time, Nephele got tired of Athamas. He left her and married Ino, who gave him two sons. Ino was a jealous schemer who hated her adopted children Phrixus and Gella. She planned to destroy them.
First of all, Ino persuaded the women of her country to dry the seeds prepared for sowing. That year nothing sprouted in the usually fertile fields. The Greeks were facing famine. The king sent an embassy to sacred Delphi to ask the oracle about the reason for the barrenness of the earth. It did not occur to him to ask the opinion of the women who sowed the seeds, but modern political leaders sometimes make a similar mistake.
Ino managed to bribe the king's envoys, and they, returning from Delphi, brought a false answer. They told Athamas that the gods would restore fertility to the soil if he sacrificed his children Phrixus and Gella to the god Jupiter. The gullible king decided to kill his son and daughter to save his people.
Frixus and Hella were meanwhile tending sheep. In the herd was the Golden-fleeced Aries, a gift from the god Mercury to their mother Nephele. Having heard about the impending crime, Nephele asked Aries to save her children. Aries, in a human voice, warned Frixus and Gella about the danger that threatened them, ordered them to climb onto his back and flew with them over the sea. Over the Dardanelles Strait, which separates Europe from Asia, Gella became dizzy, lost consciousness and slipped off Aries’s back. Hella fell into the sea and drowned. Since then, the sea where Gella died began to be called the Hellespont - the sea of Gella.
Her brother Phrixus reached Colchis safely20. The vile Ino's plan failed, but this did not save the Greeks from hunger and did not bring Athamas to reason.
The ungrateful Phrixus sacrificed the Golden-fleeced Aries to Jupiter, who sent Aries to the stars for his brave deed.
CALF
The second sign of the Zodiac is Taurus, or the Bull, an animal that is both fierce and kind, always symbolizing strength and sexuality.
The myth of the Bull is associated with Jupiter, the supreme god of ancient Greece, the ruler of the heavens, other gods and people. Loving Jupiter had many affairs, wives and mistresses. One of his lovers was the beautiful Europa, daughter of the king of Phenicia.
Europa lived as a recluse in her father's palace and knew nothing of the outside world. One day she had a prophetic dream - an unknown woman stretched out her hands to Europe and said: “I will take you to Jupiter, since fate wants to make him your lover.”
And indeed, when that day Europa and her friends went to the meadow by the sea to pick roses and hyacinths, Jupiter saw the beauty and was struck by lightning. He decided to take over Europe.
Jupiter understood that the inexperienced young girl would run away from him in fear if he appeared to her in the guise of a thunderer, so he turned into a bull. He became not an ordinary bull, but a magnificent white animal with horns sparkling like diamonds and a silver moon on his forehead.
Europe succumbed to the charms of the beautiful, kind Bull and began to caress him. Finally she climbed onto his back. Jupiter was just waiting for this moment. He took off into the air and carried Europa to the island of Crete. There he resumed his former appearance and confessed his love to the girl. Under the shade of a huge tree they became lovers.
Soon the goddess of love Venus, appearing to Europe, explained to her that she was the woman from the dream. From now on, Venus said, the continent to which Jupiter delivered his chosen one will be called Europe.
This story of adultery (Jupiter was married to the goddess Juno) has a happy ending. Europa bore Jupiter three children, and he himself remained in heaven in the guise of a Bull.
TWINS
Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac and the first whose symbol is people, not animals.
The myth of Gemini, like the previous one, is associated with Jupiter and the weakness that he had for pretty women. In this story, the object of his passion is the beautiful Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta. Lustful Jupiter, apparently not wanting to repeat the trick with the bull, this time turned into a magnificent swan. The details of their meeting have been preserved only approximately, but it is known that Jupiter, in the guise of a swan, managed to seduce Leda.
In this amazing union, Leda gave birth to two eggs. According to the myth, one of the eggs contained the offspring of Jupiter, and the other - the offspring of Leda's mortal husband. From a pair of eggs four children were born: two brothers, Castor and Pollux, and two sisters, Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. It remains unclear whose father Jupiter was. According to one version, Castor and Pollux were the immortal descendants of God. According to another, the children of Jupiter were Castor and Helen.
In any case, the twins Castor and Pollux grew up strong, agile and inseparable. Castor became famous for his ability to tame wild horses, Pollux won universal recognition as an invincible fist fighter. In their youth, the brothers went with Jason and his Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. When a storm broke out in the sea, two stars sparkled above the heads of the twins, and the elements magically calmed down. Because of this incident, Castor and Pollux are considered the patrons of all those sailing the seas. (During a storm, these lights still flicker near the tips of masts and high spiers. They are generated by atmospheric electricity. According to legend, the appearance of two lights heralds the end of the storm. If only one light glows, the storm will intensify.)
Geminis were considered courageous young men. Unfortunately, Castor died in battle. Nothing could console Pollux. Finally he went to his father Jupiter and asked him to bring Castor back to life. In return, Pollux agreed to sacrifice himself.
Jupiter rewarded the brothers for their love and affection by sending them both to heaven as stars. Since then, they have been shining forever in the constellation Gemini next to each other.
CANCER
The fourth sign of the zodiac is depicted as Cancer, an inhabitant of water bodies, also capable of moving on land. It is known that Cancer as a symbol appeared in the zodiac about five hundred years before the beginning of our era. The Chaldeans gave one of the constellations this name because Cancer moves backward or moves in a zigzag, and the Sun, having reached the region of this sign around June 21, seems to freeze for several days in one position. After the Sun enters the constellation Cancer, the summer solstice begins.
The Egyptians called this constellation "Water Stars" and symbolized it with a pair of turtles. (This may be because the constellation was observed at dawn, when the water level in the Nile is at its lowest; at this time of year the Nile is teeming with turtles.) According to many astrologers, Cancer is a cross between the Egyptian river turtle and the Babylonian waterfowl allulus, apparently closely related to the turtle. There are important similarities between these three species - the turtle, the allulus and the crayfish. They are similar in structure, have a hard shell and move slowly (like the Sun in the sign of Cancer).
According to ancient Greek myth, a giant crayfish dug its claws into the leg of Hercules when he fought the nine-headed monster Hydra. Hercules, the son of Jupiter and a woman named Alcmene, was tasked with performing twelve heroic deeds known as the Labors of Hercules. One of these feats was to be the destruction of the formidable snake Hydra. At the time of the cancer's attack, Hercules knocked down the Hydra's heads with a club, but in the place of each knocked-down head, two new ones grew.
The cancer attack was inspired by Juno, the jealous wife of Jupiter, who wanted the death of Hercules. However, cancer doomed itself to death. Having crushed him, Hercules continued the fight with Hydra.
Nevertheless, Juno was grateful to the cancer for trying to carry out her orders. As a reward for obedience and sacrifice, she placed an image of a cancer in the sky next to the symbols of other heroes.
A LION
The fifth sign of the zodiac is represented by Leo, the king of beasts. The mythology of Leo is traditionally based on the story of the battle of Hercules with the Nemean lion.
Hercules was the son of the great god Jupiter and an ordinary woman Alcmene. Jupiter's wife Juno, who was not without reason jealous of her husband for his many lovers, began to pursue Hercules from the first day of his life. Young Hercules was forced to perform twelve dangerous heroic deeds, which went down in history as the Labors of Hercules.
The first labor of Hercules was to destroy the fierce and fearless lion that lived in the Nemean Valley. No human weapon could pierce his skin. Stone, iron and bronze bounced off her. Hercules tried to kill the lion with arrows, but they flew off the sides of the beast. The hero decided to defeat the lion with his bare hands. Possessing incredible strength, he managed to squeeze his neck with his fingers and strangle him. During the fight, the lion bit off Hercules' finger - undoubtedly, we can assume that the hero got off lightly.
Having killed the beast, Hercules tore off its magical skin. He made chest armor from it, and a protective helmet from the jaw of a lion. This new armor proved to be very valuable in the following feats.
The constellation Leo perpetuates the courage of Hercules, shown during single combat with the mighty Nemean lion.
VIRGO
Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac and the second whose symbol is a person, not an animal. Virgo is often depicted as a young woman holding a sheaf of wheat in her hand, as this constellation is always associated with the harvest. In Babylon it was called Furrow and was represented as the goddess of wheat. The main star in Virgo is Spica, which means “ear of wheat.”
The legend of the Virgin is found in ancient Greek myth about creation. According to it, before people and animals, there lived titans on earth - giants who ruled the world. Two titan brothers, Prometheus and Epimetheus, were given the task of creating people and animals. When this was done, Epimetheus began to give various gifts to the animals - wings to some, claws to others. He showed such generosity that when it came to the human race, he had nothing left in reserve, so he turned to Prometheus for help. Prometheus went to heaven and returned from there with fire. This gift elevated humans above all other species because fire allowed humans to keep warm, make tools, and eventually engage in trade and science.
Jupiter, the ruler of the gods, was furious when he learned that man had received the secret of the gods - fire. He ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock, where the eagle constantly tore the titan's liver with its beak, never devouring it entirely. Jupiter also sent a curse to the earth, delivered by the first woman. Her name was Pandora, which means “endowed with all gifts.”
Pandora brought a box to earth that she was forbidden to open. One day, succumbing to curiosity, she lifted the lid. From the box scattered all those misfortunes that haunt humanity to this day: physical illness and death, as well as mental vices - anger, envy and the thirst for revenge. At the bottom of the box there was only one hope left.
After this incident, terrible times came, and one by one the gods left the Earth to live in heaven. The last to fly away was Astraea, the goddess of innocence and purity. She found refuge among the stars in the form of the constellation Virgo. Legend claims that one day the Golden Age will begin again and Astraea (Virgo) will return to earth.
SCALES
Libra is the seventh astrological sign and the only one whose symbol is not a person or animal. Libra represents balance, justice and harmony.
Like the previous sign, Libra is associated with the harvest, since in ancient times grain was weighed on scales after the harvest. They also contain deeper symbolism. In the underworld, the deeds of the dead are weighed against them.
In the religion of the Egyptians, the scales of justice were solely owned by the god Anubis, the guide of souls. Anubis, who had the head of a jackal, led the dead through the underworld and made sure that they received what they deserved. He was the keeper of the scales. There is a painting called the Ani papyrus, painted one and a half thousand years before the birth of Christ. It depicts a court scene. Anubis stands at the large scales used to weigh the heart of the deceased. On one bowl rests the heart, on the other sits Truth, symbolized by a feather. In this painting the bowls balance each other. According to Egyptian beliefs, a dead heart (or soul) must be in balance with the Truth in order to gain a second life.
Libra has also long been associated with justice and legality. We have all seen statues that symbolize justice. This is a blindfolded woman holding scales in her hands, a symbol of impartiality, that everyone will be rewarded according to their deserts.
In Greek mythology, the goddess of justice was Themis, mother of Astraea. Themis and her daughter Astraea are represented by the constellations Libra and Virgo, twinkling in the sky next to each other. According to legend, when the human race finally enters the Golden Age, Themis, symbolizing justice, and her daughter (symbolizing innocence), will return to earth.
SCORPION
The eighth sign of the zodiac is represented by Scorpio, who paralyzes his victim with poison, which he throws out through a sting located behind him.
This sign suffers from an association with Scorpio, a hated and dangerous insect. However, the scorpion was not always disgusting. In ancient Egypt, he was deified in the form of the goddess Selket. She was considered the patroness of the dead; she can often be seen with outstretched protective wings on the walls of crypts.
The classic Scorpio myth begins with the death of Orion, a handsome young giant and skilled hunter, son of the god of the seas Poseidon (Neptune). Orion's agility, strength and courage are glorified in legends. The story of his death is told in several versions. According to one of them, the goddess of the dawn Eos fell in love with Orion and took him with her. The Moon Goddess Diana (Artemis among the Greeks) out of jealousy ordered the scorpion to kill her mortal lover Eos.
According to another version, Orion tried to rape Diana, and she pulled out a giant scorpion from the ground, which killed Orion with its poison.
After the death of Orion, Jupiter placed him and Scorpio among the stars. Each of them became a constellation. Orion, with his golden armor and sword in hand, is one of the brightest and most spectacular constellations in the winter sky. But in the summer, when Scorpio appears in the sky, the shine of Orion fades.
SAGITTARIUS
Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the zodiac, is not an ordinary person stretching the bowstring. Sagittarius is a centaur mythological creature, half man, half horse. Sagittarius is the only astrological sign depicted as both a human and an animal.
However, the constellation Sagittarius is not a simple centaur. This is the great and wise Chiron, the son of the Titan god Saturn. Chiron was a friend and confidant of both gods and men. The gods taught Chiron to heal, hunt, play musical instruments and predict the future. Over time, Chiron himself became a recognized teacher. Among his famous students were Achilles, Jason, Castor, Pollux and Hercules.
One day, when the great Hercules was hunting a formidable boar, he accidentally wounded Chiron in the knee with a poisoned arrow. A terrible agony gripped Chiron, but the immortal centaur could not die. Hercules promised to find Death, who could alleviate the fate of Chiron. During his wanderings, Hercules discovered the unfortunate Prometheus, forever chained to a rock, where an eagle was devouring his liver. Supreme God Jupiter cursed Prometheus: the hero's torment was to continue until someone agreed to voluntarily take his place. The dying Chiron replaced Prometheus. Thus the curse ended. Chiron was allowed to die, and Hercules freed Prometheus.
After Chiron's death, Jupiter rewarded his nobility by placing the courageous centaur among the stars, and he became the constellation Sagittarius.
CAPRICORN
The tenth sign of the zodiac is Capricorn, an animal with strong hooves that climbs up mountain slopes, clinging to every ledge.
In ancient times, Capricorn was depicted as a half-goat, half-fish, or rather, a goat with a fish tail. In many paintings and engravings you can see Capricorn with a fish tail, and in some astrological books Capricorn is called the Sea Goat.
In the religion of ancient Babylon, the Sea Goat is the great and revered god Ea, who brought knowledge and culture to the peoples of Mesopotamia. In the Mesopotamian Valley, irrigation of lands and crops began with the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Because of this, people believed in the existence of an underground ocean. God Ea lived in this ocean. He came out of the underground reservoir every day to bring his wisdom to people, and returned back at night.
During the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans, Capricorn became associated with the god Pan, a cheerful and lustful creature, ruler of forests and fields, herds and shepherds. Above the waist, Pan was a man, and below - a goat. He had goat ears and horns.
Pan loved music and became famous for his playing of the pipe. His shepherd's pipe was actually a nymph who rejected his sexual advances. Pan turned her into a musical instrument, declaring that if he could not possess her in her original form, she would still belong to him in a new form.
Pan gained fame as the god of nature. Some of Pan's traits - sexuality, shamelessness, love of nature - were preserved in the character of Capricorn.
AQUARIUS
The symbol of the eleventh sign of the zodiac is Aquarius, a man with a jug from which water is pouring.
The image of Aquarius first appeared in the religions of Egypt and Babylon. In Egypt, Aquarius was the god Hap, who personified the Nile River. Hap carried a pair of water vessels, symbolizing the Southern and Northern Nile. This god was considered the guardian of life. All living things would die without Hap's water.
In ancient Greek literature, Aquarius was sometimes associated with Jupiter, by whose will water flowed from heaven to earth. This sign also perpetuates the memory of Deucalion, the only person who was not harmed during the great flood.
At the beginning of the creation of the world, gods and people lived in harmony. This era is called the Golden Age. The earth itself gave man rich fruits, and he did not have to cultivate fields and gardens; The river beds were filled with wine and honey. Then Pandora opened the box of disasters, and disease and other misfortunes befell humanity.
Great Jupiter looked down and decided to rid the world of people, create a new race, more worthy life. With the help of his brother Poseidon, Jupiter flooded the earth with water. Only two people survived, Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha - righteous people who zealously worshiped the gods. They found refuge on Mount Parnassus, and when Jupiter saw them, he remembered the exemplary behavior of the spouses. Jupiter caused the waters to recede and the earth to dry up. He ordered Deucalion and Pyrrha to collect stones and throw them, without turning around, over their heads. Deucalion fulfilled the command of the mighty thunderer, and the stones that he threw turned into men, and the stones thrown by his wife Pyrrha turned into women. So the Earth received a new population after the flood. Deucalion became the father of these people.
FISH
The twelfth and last sign of the zodiac is depicted as two fish, tied to one another, but swimming in opposite directions. Two fish in the water symbolize opposing emotions and secret depths.
The constellation Pisces was known by this name two thousand years BC. In Babylon it bore the name Kun, which translated means Tails (of fish). Kun is also interpreted as a ribbon or leash (with which two fish are connected). Two fish-goddesses on a leash, Anunitum and Symmachus, symbolized the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
In Greek mythology, Pisces is associated with the myth of Aphrodite and Eros. The terrible monster Typhon with a hundred dragon heads, spewing fire from his eyes, shook the air with a menacing howl, in which the hissing of snakes, the roar of a bull and the roar of a lion could be heard.
One day Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was walking along the banks of the Euphrates with her son Eros. Suddenly Typhon appeared in front of them. Ominous tongues flickered in his mouth, his eyes blazed with fire. The monster set out to destroy the goddess and her son. Frightened Aphrodite, unable to escape, called on her father Jupiter for help. The great god immediately turned Aphrodite and Eros into two fish. They jumped into the water and disappeared. According to another version, two brave fish jumped out of the river and carried Aphrodite and Eros on their backs to safety. Pallas Athena (the virgin goddess) took these fish to the sky as a sign of gratitude, where they became a constellation.
Already in ancient times, our ancestors divided the starry sky into clearly distinguishable combinations of stars, which were called constellations. Astronomy arose earlier than all other sciences - noticing patterns in the movement of stars, our ancestors learned to measure time, created the first prototypes of a calendar, and learned to navigate the terrain. The names of the constellations were associated with myths, names of gods, names of instruments and mechanisms.
It sounds so mysterious and beautiful: “Constellation Unicorn”... But where did such names come from?
Of course, astrologers came up with the names of individual groups of stars! Usually stars are named in Latin, this is tradition. But in each country the names are translated into their own language. The imagination of ancient astrologers was limitless; with the help of their imagination, they saw the outlines of fairy-tale animals or brave heroes in the starry sky. Almost every constellation has some kind of ancient legend or myth.
Constellations Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Bootes and Canes Venatici are associated with one myth, which still worries us today because of the tragedy described in it. Once upon a time, King Lycaon ruled in Arcadia. And he had a daughter, Callisto, known throughout the world for her charm and beauty. Even the ruler of Heaven and Earth, the thunderer Zeus, admired her divine beauty as soon as he saw her. Secretly from his jealous wife - the great goddess Hera - Zeus constantly visited Callisto in her father's palace. From him she gave birth to a son, Arkad, who grew up quickly. Slender and handsome, he deftly shot a bow and often went hunting in the forest. Hera learned about the love of Zeus and Callisto. Flowing into a rage, she turned Callisto into an ugly bear. When Arkad returned from hunting in the evening, he saw a bear in the house. Not knowing that this was his own mother, he pulled the bowstring... But Zeus did not allow Arkad, albeit unwittingly, to commit such a serious crime. Even before Arkad fired the arrow, Zeus grabbed the bear by the tail and quickly soared with her into the sky, where he left her in the form of the constellation Ursa Major. But while Zeus was carrying the bear, her tail began to lengthen, which is why the Big Dipper has such a long and curved tail in the sky. Knowing how much Callisto was attached to her maid, Zeus took her to heaven and left her there in the form of a small, but beautiful constellation Ursa Minor. Zeus and Arcade moved to the sky and turned them into the constellation Bootes. Bootes is forever doomed to take care of his mother, the Big Dipper.19 Therefore, he firmly holds the leashes of the Hound Dogs, which bristle with rage and are ready to pounce on the Big Dipper and tear it apart.
There is another version of this myth. The eternally young goddess Artemis, dressed in hunting clothes, with a bow, quiver and a sharp spear, wandered through the mountains and forests for a long time in search of good game. Her companions and maids followed her, resounding with laughter and songs across the mountain peaks. The girls were one more beautiful than the other, but the most charming was Callisto. When Zeus saw her, he admired her youth and beauty. But the maids of Artemis were forbidden to marry. To take possession of her, Zeus resorted to cunning. One night, in the form of Artemis, he appeared before Callisto... From Zeus, Callisto gave birth to a son, Arkad, who quickly grew up and became an unsurpassed hunter. The jealous wife of Zeus, Hera, who learned about her husband's love affair, brought down her anger on Callisto, turning her into an ugly, clumsy bear. One day, Callisto's son Arkad was wandering through the forest, and suddenly a bear came out of the bushes to meet him. Not knowing that it was his mother, he pulled the bowstring, and the arrow flew at the bear... But Zeus, who vigilantly protected his beloved Callisto, at the last moment retracted the arrow, and it flew past. At the same time, Zeus turned Arkad into a small bear cub. After that, he grabbed the bear and the cub by the tails and carried them to the sky. There he left Callisto to shine in the form of the beautiful constellation Ursa Major, and Arcade - in the form of the constellation Ursa Minor. In the sky, in the form of the constellations Callisto and Arcades, they became even more beautiful than on Earth. Not only people admired them, but also Zeus himself. From the top of Olympus, he often looked at the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor and enjoyed their beauty and continuous movement across the sky. Hera was unpleasant when she saw her husband admiring his pets. She made a fervent plea to the sea god Poseidon to never allow the Big Dipper to touch the sea. Let her die of thirst! But Poseidon did not heed Hera's pleas. Could he really let the beloved of his brother, the thunderer Zeus, die of thirst?! The Big Dipper continues to circle around the pole, while once a day it descends low over the northern side of the horizon, touches the surface of the sea, quenches its thirst and then rises again, attracting the views of people and gods with its beauty.
According to one legend, Bootes constellation represents the first farmer Triptolemus. The goddess of fertility and patroness of agriculture, Demeter, gave him an ear of wheat, a wooden plow and a sickle. She taught him how to plow the land, how to sow wheat grains and use a sickle to reap the ripe crop. The very first field sown by Triptolemus yielded a rich harvest. Fulfilling the will of the goddess Demeter, Triptolemus initiated people into the secrets of agriculture. He taught them to cultivate the land and worship the goddess Demeter so that she would reward their labor with rich fruits. Then he got into a chariot harnessed to snakes and flew high, high... all the way to the sky. There the gods turned the first plowman into the constellation Bootes and gave him tireless oxen - bright stars in the constellation Ursa Major. With their help he continually plows and sows the sky. And when, after a period of invisibility in early spring, after midnight, a plowman appeared in the east - the constellation Bootes, people began to prepare for spring field work.
The beautiful constellation Ursa Major also attracted the attention of the Bulgarian people, who gave it the name Cart. This name is associated with such a legend. One day a young man went into the forest to chop wood. He came to the forest, unharnessed the oxen and let them graze. Suddenly, a bear ran out of the forest and ate one of the ox. The young man was a great brave man, he grabbed the bear and harnessed her to the cart instead of the ox that she had eaten. But the bear could not pull the cart, she twitched from side to side, and therefore in the constellation the cart appears to be twisted. In the constellation Ursa Major, old people liken individual stars like this: the star η - the Charioteer, the star Mizar (ζ) - the Ursa, the star ε - the Ox, the star Alcor - a dog that barks at the bear. The remaining stars form the Cart itself. Because of similar geometric figures in the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Bulgarian people also call the constellation Ursa Minor. Small Cart.
Is there a legend about constellations Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Pegasus and Perseus. It is believed that once upon a time, the mythical Ethiopian king Cepheus had a beautiful queen, Cassiopeia, as his wife. One day, surrounded by Nereids - mythical inhabitants of the sea, she recklessly boasted of the unearthly beauty of her daughter Andromeda. The Nereids were jealous and complained to the ruler of the seas, Poseidon. He released a terrible monster onto the shores of Ethiopia that ate people. Cepheus rushed to the oracle for help, but he said that the only way out was to give Andromeda. Cepheus had to sacrifice his beloved daughter: tie her to a coastal rock and leave her to await her death. But Andromeda was saved by the hero Perseus, who flew to her on a winged horse - Pegasus. The fantasy of the ancient Greeks also placed the main participants in this myth in the sky in the form of constellations.
One of the southernmost constellations known to ancient stargazers is Centaur or Centaurus. At first, it included those stars that later formed the constellation Southern Cross. But even in their absence, Centaurus is a large constellation containing many colorful stars and curious objects. One of the Greek myths says that the centaur in the sky is none other than the immortal and wise Chiron, the son of Kronos and the nymph Philyra, an expert in science and art, teacher of the Greek heroes - Achilles, Asclepius, Jason. Therefore, it can be considered the Constellation of the Teacher.
It is impossible not to mention the constellation, which, not without reason, is considered the most beautiful - this Orion. In the arrangement of the stars one can easily discern the image of the great hunter Orion, the son of Poseidon. There are many bright luminaries in this relatively small constellation, and among the brightest there are non-permanent ones. The constellation can be easily found by three beautiful blue-white stars in the hunter's belt - on the right is Mintaka, which in Arabic means "belt", in the center Alnilam - "pearl belt", and on the left Alnitak - "sash". They are spaced from each other at equal distances and are located in a line directed at one end towards the blue Sirius in Big Dog, and the other - to the red Aldebaran in Taurus.
The beautiful and mysterious names of the constellations enhance the incomprehensibility of the starry sky and allow you to see bright pictures in an ordinary cluster of stars. Watching them, we seem to go beyond the boundaries of space and time - we imagine ourselves there, among these stars, at the same time imagining how ancient astronomers looked through telescopes and studied the mysteries of the Sky step by step.
Hercules
HERCULES is one of the largest constellations in the entire celestial sphere. It is visible high above the horizon, almost at the zenith, at night in July. Near Hercules are the constellations Arrow, Eagle, Ophiuchus, Serpent, Northern Crown, Bootes, Draco, Lyra and Chanterelle.
On a clear and moonless night, about 140 stars can be distinguished with the naked eye in the constellation Hercules, but in general these are very faint stars, the brightest being stars of the third magnitude. If you mentally connect them with lines, you will get a characteristic geometric figure of the Hercules constellation - two large trapezoids with a small common base, located one on top of the other. What an amazing imagination the ancient Greeks had, if in this geometric figure with nearby groups of faint stars scattered chaotically near the brightest stars, they saw the gigantic figure of the mythical hero Hercules, in right hand holding a club raised high, and in his left - two snakes, which he strangled as a child when they attacked him in the cradle! On his mighty shoulders, like a cloak, is thrown the skin of the Lion of Cithaeron, which Hercules killed while still a youth. On vintage star maps and in the atlases the head of Hercules is directed to the south, and his legs to the north.
The ancient Greeks called this hero of myths Hercules. The soothsayer Pythia called him Hercules, and the Romans called him Hercules, and in this form this name was preserved in astronomy.
In the constellation Hercules (near the star v Hercules) there is an apex - an imaginary point on the celestial sphere towards which the movement of our Sun and the entire solar system is directed; the speed of this movement is 20 kilometers per second relative to the nearest stars.
Image of the constellation Hercules.
The Hercules constellation has many interesting objects, some of which can be observed without any instruments.
The double star α Hercules may be one of the most interesting stars visible to the naked eye. The main star has a size of 3m.1. At an angular distance of 4"",5 from it there is a satellite measuring 5m,4. In the field of view of the α Telescope, Hercules presents a magnificent spectacle: the main star sparkles with orange light, and its companion glows green. The companion is a spectral binary star with a period of 51.6 days, and the main star is a semi-regular variable star, its brightness varies from 3m to 4m.
At first glance, no periodicity is noticeable in the complex curve of changes in the brightness of the main star. But after long and careful observations of this star, two periods of changes in its brightness were discovered, which overlap one another. One period lasts six years. During this period, the star a Hercules changes its brightness with an amplitude equal to half the magnitude. Superimposed on this long period is a second one, the duration of which ranges from 30 to 130 days. Within the boundaries of this variable period, the luminosity a of Hercules changes with a variable amplitude from 3m to 1m.
The semi-regular variable star α Hercules can be easily observed with the naked eye. Continued observations of this object will help to study in more depth the complex changes in its brightness.
The star δ Hercules is also of interest. In the visual field of a telescope, it is visible as two stars located next to each other. One shines with white light, the other with purple. But δ Hercules is not a physical double star, it is an optical double star.
The star 68U Hercules, which is an eclipsing variable star of the β Lyrae type, also attracts attention. Its brightness changes strictly periodically over 2.051 days. When the star 68U Hercules is at its brightest, it has a magnitude of 4m.8. After this, its brightness begins to weaken, and it reaches a magnitude of 5m.3 (the first minimum). Following this, its brightness begins to slowly increase, and it reaches a value of 4m.9 (the second minimum). After this, the star reaches its initial maximum brightness, and then the phenomenon repeats with strict periodicity.
Between the stars η and ζ Hercules there is a globular star cluster M 13 (NGC 6205) with an integral magnitude of 5m.9 - almost at the limit of visibility with the naked eye. You can admire this wonderful spectacle even with binoculars.
The star cluster M 13 Hercules is located at a distance of 24,000 light years from us. It has a diameter of 75 light years and contains about 30,000 stars. According to experts, the probability that some stars in this cluster have planetary systems with developed civilizations is 0.5. Based mainly on this consideration, radio signals are sent in the direction of the globular star cluster M 13 Hercules, which in encoded form contain the most necessary information about earthly civilization. The choice of the M 13 cluster for this purpose is also explained by the fact that due to the expansion of the beam of radio signals with increasing distance traveled at a distance of 24,000 light years (namely, this is the distance to M 13), this beam will have a width of 75 light years and will be able to cover the entire star cluster M 13 and all 30,000 stars in it. Thus, energy consumption is reduced to the minimum possible. Radiograms to the M 13 cluster are sent at wavelengths of 12.6 centimeters using a radio telescope in Arecibo (Puerto Rico) with an antenna diameter of 300 meters, which is located in the crater of an extinct volcano.
Each radiogram contains 1679 short radio pulses with intervals between them. Received and recorded by a hypothetical civilization, these radiograms are sure to attract the attention of thinking beings by the number 1679 itself. This number is the product of two prime numbers 73 and 23. If they record the radio pulses in 73 lines, 23 in each line, they will get a picture from which they can extract rich information about earthly civilization. And first of all about the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0, which we use, then about the atomic weights of the chemical elements hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and phosphorus. From the following lines they will learn about deoxyribonucleic acid molecules - the main hereditary substance of a living cell. Next they will see a human figure and the number four billion - the number of the Earth's population... From the last lines they will learn about our solar system and about the third planet in order - the Earth. The picture will be completed with a diagram of a radio telescope, with the help of which radiograms are sent. All quantities in it are expressed in a unit of 12.6 centimeters - the length of the radio wave at which the radio pulse is sent.
The first radiogram to the globular cluster M 13 Hercules was sent on November 16, 1974. Since then, every time the radio telescope is free from observations, a radiogram is sent automatically in the same direction. It will reach the cluster in 24,000 years. If we assume that the civilization that received the signals will give an answer immediately after deciphering the radiogram, then this answer will come to Earth 48,000 years after the signals were sent...
12 labors of Hercules
In mythology, many stories are associated with the name of Hercules; his exploits still excite us with their universal ideals. Here are some of them.
Electryon once ruled Mycenae. He had many sons and only one daughter named Alcmene, so sweet and beautiful that even Zeus, when he saw her, was enchanted and from then on looked for an opportunity to visit her.
Electrion's serene life did not last long. The sons of King Pterelai attacked his country with a large army, killed his sons and stole his herds. Electrion fell into deep sorrow and announced that he would give his daughter Alcmene as a wife to the one who would avenge his murdered sons and return to him the stolen herds. The hero Amphitryon managed to fulfill this condition, and Electryon gave him Alcmene as his wife. A magnificent wedding was arranged, but during the general fun Electryon and Amphitryon quarreled. The intoxicating wine clouded Amphitryon’s mind, and without hesitation he drew his sword and killed Electryon. The whole city was outraged by this treacherous murder. Amphitryon had to immediately leave Mycenae and seek refuge in foreign lands. Alcmene followed her husband, but made him swear that he would avenge her murdered brothers. They fled to Thebes, where they were received by King Creon as dear guests. Creon gave them everything they needed for a happy life. Here Alcmene reminded Amphitryon of the oath he had taken. He gathered a large army and set out to take revenge on King Pterelai and his sons. Alcmene was left alone - this was the opportunity that Zeus had been waiting for a long time. One night, taking the form of Amphitryon, he appeared at Alcmene. Alcmene was to give birth to twin sons from Zeus and Amphitryon.
Hera became angry and jealous when she learned that Zeus was intimate with Alcmene. She hated the son of Alcmene and Zeus before he was born. But Hera pretended to be calm and even delighted by Zeus’s words. At the same time, with the intelligence characteristic only of a goddess, she came up with an insidious plan to destroy Zeus’s plans for the future of his expected son. She calmly approached Zeus and with a sweet smile hiding her deceit, told him: “O great ruler of Heaven and Earth! Take an oath that the one who is born first in the Perseid family today will rule over all his relatives!”
The goddess of lies and deceit, Ata, came to the aid of Hera. She clouded the mind of Zeus so much that he could not unravel Hera’s insidious plan and swore by the waters of the Styx that he would do what she asked. Hera immediately raced in her golden chariot to Argos. She appeared in the house of Perseid Sthenel and accelerated the birth of his wife, which resulted in a weak premature child, named Eurystheus. After the birth of Eurystheus and Alcmene, she gave birth to two twin sons - Hercules According to our accepted data, the child at birth received the name Alcides. Later, the Delphic oracle gave him the nickname Hercules, which means “performing feats due to the persecution of Hera.” (Note per.)
, son of Zeus, and Iphicles, son of Amphitryon.
Having achieved her goal, Hera returned to Olympus, appeared before Zeus and told him: “Great lord! A son was born to Perseid Sthenel in Argos. He was the first born today, and he should be lord over all the descendants of your son Perseus!” Only now did Zeus understand Hera’s insidious plan. She, of course, would not have been able to deceive him if the goddess of deception Ata had not clouded his mind. He was angry with the goddess of deception and threw her off Olympus, strictly forbidding her to appear there. Since then, the goddess of deception Ata has lived among people on Earth.
Zeus could not break his sacred oath, which he gave to Hera. But he took measures to ease the fate of his beloved son, who appeared from the most beautiful of mortal women - Alcmene. He made an agreement with Hera that his son Hercules would not be under the rule of Eurystheus for the rest of his life, but only until he fulfilled his twelve orders. After this, he will be freed from his power and will receive immortality.
Zeus knew that Hercules would have to expose his life to terrible dangers, overcome inhuman difficulties while carrying out the orders of the weak and cowardly Eurystheus, but he could not save his son from all this, since he had sworn an oath to Hera. Nevertheless, he asked his daughter Pallas Athena to help Hercules and protect him when his life was in mortal danger.
By order of Zeus, the god Hermes took the newborn Hercules and took him to Olympus, where he placed the child on the chest of the sleeping Hera. From her divine milk, Hercules acquired such strength that no mortal could possess. But Hera, waking up, pushed little Hercules away from her breast. Her hatred for him became even greater, and she decided to destroy him at any cost.
One evening, when Alcmene swaddled Hercules and Iphicles and left them in the cradle to sleep, Hera sent two snakes. They quietly crawled to the cradle and with a hiss began to wrap themselves around the body of little Hercules. They squeezed him tighter and tighter and were about to strangle him. But the future hero woke up, pulled his little hands out from under the diapers, grabbed the snakes by the heads and squeezed them so hard that they immediately died. In their agony, they hissed so loudly that Alcmene and her maids woke up from the noise. They saw a child with snakes in his hands and screamed in fear. Amphitryon ran into the room at the scream of the women with a drawn sword.
Alcmene and Amphitryon, shocked by the unexpected strength of little Hercules, asked the soothsayer Tiresias to tell them about the fate of their son. Looking into the future, the wise old man told them in detail about what feats Hercules would have to perform. With them he will become famous as the greatest hero, and the gods will reward him with immortality. And Hercules will live with them on Olympus...
Having learned about the future of Hercules, Amphitryon began to educate him: he taught him to shoot accurately with a bow and wield a club. Not only did Amphitryon want to develop strength and dexterity, he wanted to give his son knowledge and a good upbringing, but Hercules did not show such zeal in this: it was impossible to compare his successes in reading, writing and playing the cithara with the successes he showed in jumping and wrestling , archery and the ability to use other weapons. The music teacher Linus, Orpheus' brother, often complained to Amphitryon that Hercules did not want to play the cithara and had to be scolded and punished. One day Lin got angry with Hercules and hit him, then little Hercules grabbed the cithara and hit his teacher with it so hard that he fell to the ground dead. Amphitryon was very concerned about this incident. Seeing how the strength and power of Hercules grew every day, he began to fear him and therefore sent him to the distant island of Kiferon. There, among the cool forests, Hercules grew up in freedom. He soon surpassed everyone in height, strength, agility and skill with weapons. The spear and arrows of Hercules always hit the target.
The philosopher Prodicus (who lived in the 5th century BC) artistically described the following “case”. One morning, when Hercules was practicing in a green meadow, two fabulously beautiful girls appeared in front of him. One was called Tenderness - she invited Hercules to lead him along the path of an easy and pleasant life, full of pleasures and carefreeness. The second was called Virtue - she offered Hercules another life path, replete with difficulties, dangers and suffering, but great glory awaited him along the way. Without hesitation, Hercules chose the path proposed by Virtue, and did not deviate from this path throughout his life. He defeated cruel kings, destroyed ferocious monsters, and conquered the terrible forces of nature.
Hercules endured many difficulties and suffering, but he constantly fought for the well-being of people. While still very young, he saved the inhabitants of Kiferon from the terrible Lion of Kiferon, who lived high in the mountains and descended into the valleys at night, destroying everything that came his way. Hercules discovered his lair, attacked the lion and pierced him with a spear. After that, he took off his skin, threw it like a cloak over his powerful shoulders, tying his front paws in a knot on his chest, and the lion’s head served as his helmet. From an ash tree as hard as iron, uprooted by Hercules, he made a huge club that no one could even lift. From Hermes, Hercules received a sharp sword as a gift, and Apollo gave him a bow and arrows. Hephaestus forged a golden shell for him, and Pallas Athena herself wove clothing for Hercules. Thus armed, Hercules went to the city of Thebes. At that time, the Thebans paid tribute to the Orkhomen king Ergin every year. In the battle, Hercules killed him and imposed on the Orchomenians twice the tribute that Thebes paid them annually. The Theban king Creon, admiring the courage of Hercules, who saved the city from such evil, gave him his daughter Megara as his wife, and the gods sent him three sons.
Hercules lived happily in Thebes with his family. But like a hot fire, Hera’s hatred for Hercules flared up. She sent a serious illness to him. In a fit of madness, Hercules mistook his children and the children of his brother Iphicles for sacrificial animals and threw them into the fire. When his reason returned, he realized what atrocity he had unwittingly committed, and fell into deep sorrow. Seeking peace, Hercules left Thebes and went to the sacred city of Delphi to ask the god Apollo what needs to be done to cleanse himself of this terrible crime. Through his prophetess Pythia, Apollo ordered him to immediately go to Argos. There he had to serve Eurystheus for twelve years and perform twelve labors on his orders. Only after this was Hercules supposed to receive immortality from the gods.
Hercules went to Argos and became the obedient servant of the cowardly Eurystheus, who was so afraid of Hercules that he did not even allow him to appear in Mycenae, and transmitted his orders through the messenger Copreus.
Hercules had to carry out difficult assignments in the service of Eurystheus. First, he was ordered to kill the Nemean Lion, which was devastating the surroundings of the city of Nemea (see about the constellation Leo). Then Eurystheus ordered Hercules to deal with the Lernaean Hydra - a terrible monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon, one of which was immortal (see about the constellation Hydra). Freed from the suffering caused by the Hydra, the people held lavish celebrations to commemorate the feat of Hercules.
As soon as Hercules returned home with victory, a new assignment from Eurystheus immediately awaited him, even more difficult and dangerous: it was necessary to kill the Stymphalian birds. These birds turned the surroundings of the city of Stymphala into a desert; they pounced on people and animals and tore them apart with their copper claws and beaks. The feathers of these birds were made of solid bronze, and when the birds took off, they could throw them like clouds of arrows at those who dared to attack them. With the help of Pallas Athena, Hercules managed to drive away these birds, and they never returned to Stymphalus.
The goddess Artemis, offended by the inhabitants of Arcadia, sent the Kerynean doe to them, which devastated the fields and gardens. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to catch the doe and bring it alive to Mycenae. But this was not easy to do. Like a whirlwind, the doe rushed through the mountains and valleys of Arcadia and did not know fatigue. She never stood in one place for long. For a whole year, Hercules pursued the doe from the northernmost to the southernmost edge of the Earth, but could not overtake her. Only in Arcadia did he manage to get close to the doe, shoot an arrow and wound it in the leg. The doe could no longer run as before, and Hercules managed to grab her. But then the goddess Artemis appeared in front of him and said with anger: “Why did you, Hercules, wound my beloved doe?” Hercules calmly answered her: “Great goddess! It was not of my own free will that I pursued your doe, but at the command of Eurystheus. The gods themselves commanded me to carry out his orders, and I cannot disobey them, because by doing so I will offend them.”
Artemis forgave Hercules for his guilt and allowed him to take the doe and take her to Mycenae to Eurystheus.
On Mount Erymanthus there lived a boar that gave no mercy to anyone and with its terrible fangs tore apart both people and animals, devastating the surroundings of the city of Psofis. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to kill this boar, but it was not so easy to find him. The boar lived high, at the very top of Mount Erymanthus, in a dense, impenetrable forest. Hercules climbed to the top of the mountain and with loud cries drove the boar out of his lair. Hercules pursued him for a long time and finally drove him into deep snow, in which the boar got stuck and could not run. Hercules grabbed him, tied him with strong bonds and brought him alive to Mycenae.
The king of Elis, Augeas, the son of Helios, had countless herds of cattle. Among his herds were three hundred bulls, each more violent than the other. But Augeas’s farmyard was not cleaned for 30 years, and no one was able to clean it. Eurystheus entrusted Hercules with the task of doing this within one day. Hercules came to Augeas and offered him to clean out the barnyard in one day, on the condition that Augeas would give him one tenth of his herds. Augeas agreed without hesitation, because he was sure that Hercules could not complete this work in one day. But Hercules broke through the wall surrounding the barnyard on both sides, blocked the Alpheus River with a dam and directed its flow into the yard. A powerful stream of water washed out the stalls and carried away all the manure. When Hercules demanded that Augeas fulfill his promise - to give up a tenth of the herds, he kicked him out. Hercules returned empty-handed to Eurystheus, but then, having completed all his exploits and freed himself from service with Eurystheus, he gathered a large army, attacked Augeas and pierced him with a deadly arrow. Hercules took his property, made rich sacrifices to the gods and started the Olympic Games.
A great disaster struck the distant island of Crete. The god Poseidon, angry with King Minos for not sacrificing a bull to him (see about the constellation Taurus), instilled rabies in this animal. The enraged bull rushed around the island with terrible fury and destroyed everything in its path. Eurystheus heard about this disaster and ordered Hercules to immediately go to the island of Crete to catch and bring the mad bull alive to Mycenae. Hercules brilliantly fulfilled this order of Eurystheus.
The Thracian king Diomedes had beautiful horses, but they were so wild and violent that they could only be kept on iron chains. They ate not grass, but human flesh. In order not to sacrifice his subjects, Diomedes threw all the aliens who landed on the shores of Thrace during a shipwreck to be devoured by horses. Wild horses tore them apart and devoured them along with the bones. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring Diomedes' horses alive, hoping that they would tear Hercules apart as soon as he began to untie the iron chains in the stall.
Hercules gathered loyal friends, among whom was his best friend Abder is the son of the god Hermes, and sailed on a ship to Thrace. Having landed on the shore, they went to the horses. Hercules managed to untie them and take them to his ship. At this time Diomedes attacked him with a large army. Hercules instructed Abdera to guard the horses, and he himself, with his few remaining companions, entered into battle with Diomedes and killed him. Returning to the ship, Hercules saw a terrible picture - the horses of Diomedes tore to pieces his favorite Abdera. He buried his friend on Thracian soil and founded the city of Abdera there. Hercules brought wild horses to Mycenae, but when Eurystheus saw them, he was so frightened that he ordered them to be released into the inaccessible mountains of the Peloponnese.
Far away on the shores of Meotida (Sea of Azov) was the kingdom of the Amazons. These were warlike women who did not allow men into their country. And the most warlike was their queen Hippolyta. She rushed like a whirlwind on her wild horse, and her arrows struck even great heroes. The symbol of her power over the Amazons was a magic belt, which she never took off. This belt was given to her by the god of war Ares.
One day, Eurystheus’ daughter Admet, who was a priestess of the goddess Hera, said to her father: “Father, I would like to have Hippolyta’s belt!” Eurystheus answered her: “You will have it, dear daughter!” He immediately ordered Hercules to get Hippolyta's belt.
Hercules gathered a small detachment of warriors, but in this small detachment there were famous heroes, and he sailed on a ship across the blue sea to the land of the Amazons. They swam for a long time. Along the way, Hercules and his companions accomplished many feats, and finally they arrived in the city of Themiscyra, the capital of the Amazon country. The glory of Hercules has already reached these places. Queen Hippolyta went out to meet the son of Zeus and find out why he had arrived. Hercules answered her truthfully: “Glorious queen! I have traveled a long and difficult journey across a stormy sea and arrived here with my army not of my own free will. By the will of the gods, I must fulfill the twelve orders of Eurystheus. On his instructions, I came here to take your belt and take it to the daughter of Eurystheus, who wished to own it.”
Queen Hippolyta listened to these truthful words and was ready to give her belt to Hercules, but the goddess Hera, who never ceased plotting against Hercules, disguised herself as an Amazon and quietly joined their ranks. She whispered to several Amazons: “Don't trust Hercules! He then came here with soldiers to capture our queen and take her away into slavery!” These words of Hera were passed on from mouth to mouth, and after a while all the Amazons learned about them. Believing Hera's lies, they grabbed their bows and spears and unexpectedly attacked Hercules' companions. A fierce battle began. Many of Hercules' comrades died from the arrows of the warlike Amazons, but many Amazons also met their death on the battlefield. The seven bravest of them simultaneously attacked Hercules, but he repelled their spears with his shield and captured two of them - Antiope and Melanippe. The Amazons were defeated. Hippolyta, in order to redeem her bravest assistant Melanippa from captivity, gave the belt to Hercules, and he delivered it to Eurystheus’s daughter.
Before Hercules had time to rest from the battles with the Amazons, Eurystheus entrusted him with a new, even more difficult task. Far, far away, on the westernmost edge of the Earth, where the radiant Helios descended from the heavens every evening, the island of Erythia was located among the stormy ocean. There lived the terrible giant Geryon, who had three heads, three bodies, six arms and six legs. On this island, under the vigilant guard of the two-headed dog Ortho and the giant Eurytion, the famous cows of Geryon grazed. Hercules needed to lead them to Mycenae.
Hercules set off to carry out his assignment. First he passed through Africa, crossed the hot desert of Libya, passed through many more countries and finally reached the western edge of the Earth, where there was a narrow sea strait. In memory of the long and the hard way Hercules erected two huge rocks, which are now called the Pillars of Hercules. From here Hercules saw the island of Erythia far away in the vast expanses of the stormy ocean. But how can he get there?
Hercules sat thoughtfully on the shore and looked into the distance. It was getting dark. Now the chariot of Helios has descended to the waters of the ocean. A blinding light and unbearable heat spread around. Hercules jumped to his feet, grabbed his sword and rushed at the radiant god. Helios only smiled, seeing the fearlessness of the son of Zeus, and, appreciating his heroism, gave him his golden boat, on which he crossed the ocean every night with horses and a chariot from the western to the eastern edge of the Earth. Hercules got into the boat, and it carried him along the waves of the ocean. So he reached the island of Erithia.
As soon as Hercules set foot on the island, the bloodthirsty two-headed dog Ortho flew at him, whose terrible barking was like thunder in a thunderstorm. Hercules was calmly waiting for him, and when the dog approached him, he brought down his heavy club on him. Orfo fell to the ground dead. At that moment, like a hurricane, the giant Eurytion attacked Hercules, but the son of Zeus was not afraid. With terrible force he threw his spear, which pierced the giant, and Eurytion, like a huge rock, fell to the ground.
Hercules drove Geryon's wonderful cows to the place where he had left the boat, and was just getting ready to load them into it in order to cross the ocean with them, when Geryon himself attacked the hero. It was as if three giants attacked Hercules at the same time. If even one arrow or spear of Hercules had missed its target, Geryon would have defeated Hercules. But in this difficult fight, Pallas Athena came to the aid of Hercules, on the orders of her father. One after another, like lightning, the arrows of Hercules flew and pierced all three heads of the monstrous giant. Hercules smashed them with his club, and Geryon collapsed with such a roar that it seemed as if three huge rocks had fallen to the ground.
Having transported the cows across the ocean, Hercules left the boat on the shore so that Helios could continue his long journey into the night to the eastern edge of the Earth.
Hercules drove Geryon's cows further. I walked with them all over Southern Europe and encountered many difficulties along the way. But the biggest obstacles were erected by the goddess Hera. She sent rabies through the entire herd. With a terrifying moo, the cows ran in different directions. Hercules ran after them for a long time and with great difficulty, already in Thrace, he collected most of the herd and delivered the cows to Mycenae. There he gave them to Eurystheus, who sacrificed them to the goddess Hera in gratitude for the fact that she created such incredible difficulties in the path of Hercules.
A little time passed, and Eurystheus entrusted the hero with a new task - to bring the dog Kerberus, who was guarding the shadows of the dead in the underground kingdom of Hades.
The mere sight of Kerber's dog already struck terror into people. He had three heads, from the mouth of each head fangs sharp as swords appeared, and huge snakes coiled around his neck, hissing. Kerberus's long tail ended with the head of a dragon, which constantly spewed tongues of flame. No one dared to approach this monster and leave the dark kingdom of Hades.
Hercules had to overcome enormous difficulties to fulfill this assignment. He went south and reached Laconia. Here, near Tenar, in the southernmost part of the Peloponnese, Hercules descended into a bottomless gloomy abyss. In the darkness, he did not notice how he reached the gate leading to the kingdom of Hades. He stopped in front of the gate and wondered how to penetrate the kingdom of shadows. At this time, Hermes approached him, who accompanied the souls of the dead to Hades. He led Hercules into the underworld, and Pallas Athena accompanied him and did not leave until he completed his assignment.
Hercules had barely taken a few steps when the shadow of his friend Meleager appeared in front of him. Meleager asked Hercules to marry his sister Deianira, who remained defenseless after his death, and begged Hercules to be her protector. Hercules promised that after his return he would fulfill Meleager's request.
Having gone through all the horrors of the underworld, Hercules appeared before the throne of Hades himself and told him that, by the will of the gods, he needed to take Cerberus away and hand him over to Eurystheus. Hades could not offend the gods by refusing and answered the hero: “Son of Zeus, if you can tame my Kerberus without a weapon, take him, he is yours!”
Hercules went in search of Kerberus. He wandered for a long time through the underworld and finally found it on the banks of the Acheron River. Hercules pounced on the dog and grabbed his neck with his powerful arms. The faithful guard of Hades became enraged, his howl shook the underworld. But Hercules squeezed the dog’s neck harder and harder. Cerberus' long tail wrapped itself around Hercules' body, and the dragon's head at the end of the tail tore the hero's body with its teeth. But Hercules’s hands squeezed like a vice around Kerberus’s neck, and finally, exhausted and half strangled, the dog fell at the feet of the son of Zeus. Hercules brought Kerberus out of the underworld and took him to Mycenae. The dog had never seen the light and was so frightened that sweat and poisonous foam began to drip from his sides, and where they fell on the ground, poisonous herbs immediately grew.
At Mycenae, Hercules showed Cerberus to Eurystheus. He was so frightened that he ordered to immediately return him to the underworld. Hercules took him back to Hades, and there Kerberus began, as before, to guard the shadows of the dead.
Hercules' hard service with Eurystheus was drawing to a close. He had to complete the last task - Hercules had to go to the titan Atlas, who held the firmament on his shoulders, take three golden apples from his gardens, guarded by the daughters of Atlas, the Hesperides, and bring them to Eurystheus.
The difficulty of this feat was that no one knew the way to the Atlas Gardens and could not show it to Hercules. Hercules wandered for a long time, he traveled through many countries and reached the farthest North, where the Eridanus River flowed. Here the nymphs told him how to find out the way to Atlas. Having overcome many difficulties on his way, Hercules reached the edge of the Earth, where the great titan Atlas stood. Hercules looked in amazement at the mighty titan holding the vault of heaven on his shoulders.
Atlas noticed Hercules and asked what brought him here. Hercules answered him: “Great Atlas! By the will of the gods, I carry out the instructions of Eurystheus. It was he who ordered me to take three golden apples from your garden and bring them to him. Answer me, will you give them to me of your own free will?” Atlas replied: “Son of Zeus! I will give you golden apples, but in order for me to go and pick them, stand in my place and support the sky so that it does not collapse!”
Hercules took the place of Atlas. A terrible weight fell on his shoulders. He bent over, and his muscles bulged like mountains. Sweat flowed like a river from his body, but the goddess Pallas Athena reinforced his strength, and he held the firmament until Atlas appeared. Atlas brought three golden apples, but did not give them to Hercules, but offered to take them to Eurystheus himself to Mycenae. Then Hercules realized that Atlas, by cunning, wanted to be freed forever from the obligation to maintain the firmament, and decided to cheat himself. And he said to Atlas: “I agree, Atlas, but I ask you to relieve me for a while while I find a pillow that I want to put on my shoulders so that the vault of heaven does not put so much pressure on them.”
Simple-minded Atlas agreed. Then Hercules took the apples from him and went to Mycenae. He gave the golden apples to Eurystheus, but he gave them to Hercules. Then Hercules gave these apples to his patron Athena Pallas, and she returned them to the Hesperides so that the apples would remain in their gardens forever.
Hercules defeats the god of death Thanatos
When Hercules and his friends went to Thrace to fetch the horses of King Diomedes, they had to swim for a long time on a stormy sea. To reinforce his strength, Hercules decided to land near the city of Thera and visit his friend King Admet. But the unlucky day was when Hercules' ship landed in the bay. Admet's family and the whole city were in deep mourning. A few hours remained until the death of Admetus's wife Alcestis.
Several years ago, on an autumn day, when the cold wind blew from the mountains with terrible force and every person tried to quickly get to a warm home, a beggar appeared in Admet’s palace, dressed in rags, through which his blue body was visible. He came to King Admetus and asked him to take him as a servant for a year. Admet asked the beggar what his name was and where he came from, but he said nothing more. The king ordered to give him clothes, to feed him, and since the poor man did not know how to do anything, they sent him to graze the sheep.
Time passed day after day. A year has passed. One day Admet went to the mountains and heard magical music there. He looked around and saw on the top of the mountain a slender young man with a shining face, who was playing a golden lyre. The melody was so tender and beautiful that the sheep surrounded the musician and listened so intently that they did not even look at the lush green grass.
Admet approached the young man. Could this be the same beggar whom he received a year ago and sent to graze the sheep? Now he introduced himself to him: “I am the god Apollo. A year ago, my father, the thunderer Zeus, drove me from bright Olympus and ordered me to serve for a whole year with some person. You, Admetus, received me, dressed me, shod me, fed me, and I am pleased with you. Tell me now, what do you want me to do to repay you for your kindness?”
Admet was confused, but still answered: “Great lord! I'm happy that you're happy with me. I don’t need anything from you!”
Before going to Olympus, Apollo told Admetus that he could always ask him for help if necessary.
Admetus was left alone and thought for a long time about what had happened. Night fell and he returned home to the palace. He mentally transported himself to the neighboring city of Iolcus, whose king was the cruel Pelias. He had a daughter, Alcestis. Everyone who saw her experienced a feeling of exciting joy - she was so sweet and beautiful. The sons of kings came from near and far countries to woo her, but she refused everyone, because she only liked her neighbor - Admet, the young king of the city of Thera. Admetus also came to Pelias to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Pelias looked at the groom for a long time, thought about it and finally said to him: “If you want me to give you my daughter as a wife, prove that you are worthy of her hand and to be my son-in-law. You must come for her in a chariot drawn by a lion and a boar! If you arrive on any other chariot, even one made of pure gold and with flying horses, you will not see Alcestis!”
Admetus became sad, he realized that by setting this condition, Pelias was letting him know that he did not want to give him his daughter. Has this ever been heard of: harnessing a lion and a boar to one team?!
Every day Admet became sadder and sadder. But one morning the god Apollo appeared before him with a silver bow and a quiver full of arrows, and said to him: “I know why you are sad, Admetus, but Pelias’ condition is not so difficult. Come with me".
The two of them went to the mountains, surrounded by dense forests. A little time passed, and a lion appeared in front of them with a deafening roar. Apollo chased after him, caught him and tamed him so much that the lion, meek as a lamb, followed them. And then the boar was not long in coming. Fiercely flashing his eyes and revealing his sharp long fangs, he rushed towards them. Apollo released the lion, and he caught the boar and brought it to them. They returned to the palace and harnessed the two animals to one team. Admetus got into the chariot, waved his whip and rushed to the city of Iolcus. Seeing a lion and a boar harnessed to a chariot, and Admetus in the chariot, firmly holding the reins and whip, Pelias could not contain his amazement. He never believed that anyone could perform such a miracle. He gave his daughter Alcestis to Admet, and he took her to his palace. A magnificent wedding celebration was held there, at which Apollo himself was present, playing magical melodies on his lyre.
Admetus and Alcestis lived happily. The gods sent them two beautiful children - a son and a daughter. At the request of Apollo, the goddesses of fate - the Moiras - determined that Admetus could get rid of death if someone else voluntarily agreed to die in his place.
Years passed, and Admet's last hour came. He asked his elderly parents for one of them to die in his place, but neither his father nor his mother agreed. Not one of Admet’s closest relatives and friends expressed consent either. And death was already approaching... Then Alcestis came to Admetus and told him that she was ready to die in his place.
Alcestis prepared to leave for the kingdom of shadows, kissed her children for the last time and asked the goddess of the hearth and hearth, Hestia, to protect them when they were left without a mother. Then she retired to her chambers and went to bed. Those around her bitterly mourned her. Admet himself begged her not to leave him alone. And the hated god of death, Thanatos, was already bending over Alcestis. Apollo begged him to postpone the death of Alcestis, but the god of death was inexorable. So he bent over Alcestis, and from his chilling breath she began to cool down and closed her eyes...
When Alcestis was already being prepared to be carried to the tomb, Hercules and his companions arrived in the city. Admet met them, but grief did not allow him to express joy at the meeting.
Admetus ordered Hercules to be taken to the guest room and a rich feast to be arranged for him, while he himself went to the cemetery. Unaware of the misfortune that befell his friend, Hercules feasted with his companions. But it did not escape his attention that the faces of the servants were sad and they were secretly crying bitter tears. Hercules asked them about the cause of grief, but Admetus forbade the servants to reveal the terrible truth. Then Hercules guessed that some great misfortune must have befallen his friend. He called one of the servants aside and insisted that he tell him what had happened. The servant could no longer shut himself up at the sight of such participation on the part of Hercules and answered him: “Dear foreigner, today our mistress, the beautiful queen Alcestis, descended into the kingdom of the dead.”
Hercules's heart was filled with sorrow. It hurt him that on this unhappy day for his friend he was feasting and having fun in his house. Hercules decided to thank Admetus for the fact that, despite the grief that befell him, he still greeted him hospitably. He learned from the servant where the tomb of Alcestis was located, took his club, spear and bow and rushed to the tomb. Having run there, Hercules hid behind the tomb and began to wait for the moment when the god of death Thanatos would appear there. A little time passed and he heard the flapping of terrible black wings. Freezing everything around with his breath, Thanatos flew in to drink the blood of Alcestis at the grave. At that moment, Hercules pounced on him, grabbed him with his powerful hands and began to choke him. The chilling cold of death emanated from Thanatos, but the son of Zeus squeezed his throat more and more tightly, and finally Thanatos lost his last strength and, helpless, lowered his black wings. Then Hercules tied him tightly to a thick tree and said that he would untie him and let him go only when he gave him Alcestis. Thanatos had to part with his victim and leave her alive. Hercules and Alcestis returned to the palace, entered Admetus’s chambers and saw him bitterly mourning his beloved wife. He didn't even notice their appearance. Hercules quietly approached his bed and said to him: “My dear Admetus, mourn no more! Here is your beloved Alcestis. I got it in a hard fight with Thanatos. Be happy again and enjoy life as before!”
Joy flared up in Admet's soul. He embraced Hercules and said: “Illustrious son of Zeus! You brought back my happiness. How and how can I thank you? Stay as my guest and we will solemnly celebrate your victory over the god of death!”
However, Hercules could not stay longer with Admetus, since he needed to swim after the horses of Diomedes.
Hercules gains immortality
When Hercules was in the kingdom of Hades, he promised his friend Meleager to take his sister Deianira as his wife. Returning from the kingdom of shadows, Hercules went to the city of Calydon to King Oineus and told him about the meeting with the shadow of Meleager, the king’s son, and the promise he made to him. But it turned out that many other men and young men also sought Deianira’s hand, and among them the river god Aheloy. It was difficult for Oineus to decide who to give his beloved daughter to. Finally, he announced that Deianira would become the wife of the one who wins the fight. Hearing this, all the other contenders for Deianira's hand refused the fight, because they saw no chance of winning over Achelous. Only Hercules remained. The rivals went to a wide clearing and stood opposite each other. Wasting no time, Hercules rushed at the huge Achelous and grabbed him with his powerful arms. But no matter how hard Hercules strained his muscles, he could not topple his opponent, who stood unshakable like a huge rock. The fight became more and more brutal. Hercules had already pressed Achelous to the ground three times, but only the fourth time he managed to grab him in such a way that victory seemed to be close. At this moment, Ahelous resorted to cunning. He turned into a snake and slipped out of the hero's hands. Undeterred, Hercules grabbed the snake and squeezed its head so tightly that the snake’s tail could no longer curl into tight coils. But the snake slipped out of the hands of Hercules and instantly turned into a ferocious bull, which furiously attacked the son of Zeus. The hero grabbed the bull by the horns and twisted his head so hard that he broke one horn and knocked him half-dead to the ground. Left without strength, the god Aheloy fled and disappeared into the stormy waters of the river.
Oeneus gave Deianira as his wife to the winner, and the wedding was magnificent and fun. After the wedding, Hercules and Dejanira went to Tiryns - the homeland of Hercules. The road led them to the stormy and high-water Even River, the water was dragging huge stones, and it seemed impossible to get to the other side - there was no ford or bridge. The centaur Nessus carried travelers across this river. Hercules called him and asked him to take Deianira to the other side. The centaur agreed, and Dejanira sat down on his broad back. Hercules threw his club, bow, spear and quiver of arrows to the other bank, and he himself rushed into the stormy waters of the river and swam across it. As soon as he came ashore, he heard the frightened cry of Deianira. Nessus, admiring the beauty of Deianira, wanted to kidnap her. Hercules grabbed his trusty bow, and a whistling arrow overtook the fleeing Nessus and pierced his heart. The mortally wounded centaur gave Deianira treacherous advice - to collect his poisoned blood, telling her: “Oh, daughter of Oeneus! You were the last one I carried across the stormy waters of Even. I'm dying. I give you my blood as a souvenir. It has a wonderful property: if Hercules ever stops loving you and another woman becomes dearer to him than you, at least rub this blood on his clothes. So you will return his love, and no mortal woman or goddess will be dearer to him than you.”
Dejanira believed the words of the dying Nessus. She collected his blood and hid it. Together with Hercules, they continued their journey to Tiryns. There they lived happily, and their children grew up carefree and delighted their parents.
One day Ifit came to visit them. Hercules received his friend cordially. Having celebrated the joyful meeting and talked, the friends went for a walk to the Tiryns fortress, standing on a high rock. From the walls of the fortress below, a terrible deep abyss was visible. Standing on the wall, Hercules and Ifit looked into the darkness of the gorge. And at that moment the goddess Hera, whose hatred for Hercules flared up more and more, instilled anger and madness in him. Unable to control himself, Hercules grabbed Iphitus and threw him into the abyss. With this involuntary murder, Hercules greatly angered his father, almighty Zeus, since he unwittingly violated sacred customs hospitality. As punishment, Zeus sent a serious illness to his son, from which Hercules suffered for a long time. No drugs could ease his pain and suffering. Finally, he went to Delphi. There, the soothsayer of the god Apollo, Pythia, told him that he would recover only on the condition that he was sold into slavery for three years, and the money received for him would be given to Iphitus's father Eurytus.
Hercules was sold into slavery to the Lydian queen Omphale, who subjected him to painful humiliations. She dressed the famous hero in women's clothing and forced him to spin and weave along with her maids. And at this time Omphale herself threw on herself a lion’s skin, which served as Hercules’s cloak, took his club, which she could hardly tear off the ground, and girded herself with his sword. She proudly walked past Hercules and mocked him. The hero's heart was filled with anger, but he could not do anything - after all, he was a slave of Omphale: she bought him and could do whatever she wanted with him. Three years of slavery to Omphale were difficult for Hercules. During this time he never sent any news to Deianira, and she fell into despair because she did not know whether her husband was alive. But one day a messenger brought her good news: Hercules is alive and well, his messenger Lichas should soon arrive, who will tell her in detail how Hercules took possession of the city of Oikhalia and destroyed it.
Finally, Lichas arrived. He brought captives with him, among whom was the royal daughter Iola. Lichas told about the victory of Hercules and pleased Deianira, saying that Hercules should soon return. In the crowd of captives, Dejanira noticed a beautiful girl, whose mournful appearance attracted attention, and asked Lichas about her. But he didn't answer her.
Dejanira ordered the prisoners to be taken to the room reserved for them. As soon as Likhas left, a servant approached her and quietly whispered: “Glorious lady! Lichas did not want to tell you the truth about this grieving slave. Listen to me, lady! This is Iola, daughter of King Eurytus. Hercules did not send her here as a slave. As soon as he returns, he will marry her...” Dejanira heard this, and the pangs of jealousy began to torment her soul. The thought that after the return of Hercules she would be abandoned and expelled depressed her more and more. In despair, she remembered the advice of the centaur Nessus. She rubbed the blood of Nessus on the cloak that she had sewn for Hercules, wrapped it and gave it to Lichas, saying to him: “Lichas, quickly take this cloak to Hercules and tell him to immediately put it on and make sacrifices to the gods. But no mortal should wear this cloak before him. Even the rays of Helios must not touch the cloak before Hercules puts it on. Hurry up, Likhas!”
The messenger immediately set off. Dejanira returned to the room and saw with horror that the wool with which she had rubbed the cloak with the blood of the centaur had turned to ashes as soon as the rays of Helios fell on it. And in the place where the wool lay, poisonous foam appeared. Only now did Dejanira understand the insidious deception of the dying Nessus, but it was too late: Lichas handed the cloak to Hercules. Hercules threw on his cloak and sacrificed twelve bulls to his father Zeus and the other gods. From the heat of the burning altar, the cloak stuck to Hercules' body, and he began to writhe in terrible convulsions from unbearable pain. His son Gill, who was with him at the time, carried his father to the ship, and he hurried to his mother to tell him what she had done. When Gill told his mother about the inhuman suffering of his father, Dejanira, without saying a word, went to her chambers, locked herself there and pierced herself with a double-edged sword. They brought the dying Hercules. He experienced even greater torment when he learned that Deianira had killed herself and he could not take revenge on her. The poison burned his body, and he no longer had the strength to endure this pain. He ordered his son to burn him on the funeral pyre and thereby save him from further torment. Gill and his relatives fulfilled his father's wishes. Hercules was carried and placed on the fire, but no one wanted to light it, no matter how Hercules begged to do so. At this time Philoctetes arrived, and Hercules persuaded him to light a fire and promised to leave him his bow and arrows as a reward. Philoctetes fulfilled his wish. Huge tongues of flame engulfed the body of Hercules, but the lightning thrown by the great Zeus flashed brighter than the fire, and the thunder seemed to tear the sky apart... Pallas Athena and Hermes rushed in on a golden chariot. They raised the famous hero and beloved son of Zeus to Olympus. There the gods granted Hercules immortality, and he, as an equal among equals, began to live among them. Hera herself, forgetting her hatred, joyfully met Hercules and gave him her daughter, the beautiful and eternally young goddess Hebe, as his wife. The gods rewarded Hercules for all the heroic deeds, suffering and torment he endured on Earth, for the fact that he saved people from the monsters that caused them terrible disasters... The Lord of Heaven and Earth Zeus turned his beloved son into the constellation Hercules. It appears high above the horizon during the summer months. In the sky, this constellation is surrounded by the constellations Leo, Hydra, Taurus, Dragon and others, reminding people of the great deeds of the hero.
- Look! A star has fallen! * * *The sky above us is like an ancient book, preserving the wisdom of centuries. Every night, as soon as the sun goes down below the horizon, this Heavenly Book opens, and its luminous star writings can tell a lot about the times when people performed feats, legends were made about heroes, and gods walked the earth... Many legends are recorded in the great Book of the Starry Sky, and the brightest of them are associated with the most ancient constellations. Ursa Major is one of these constellations. This is no coincidence. To this day, the seven stars of Ursa lead the “hit parade” of the most popular constellations in the sky. Everyone knows them. Meeting our gaze with these seven stars, we feel that greatness, purity, tranquility and mysterious power the beauty of the starry sky. Let's lift the veil of Urania, and the Star Book will tell us ancient Greek legend about how the beautiful Callisto ascended into the sky, turning into the constellation Ursa Major. |
The picturesque forested mountains in the center of the Peloponnesian Peninsula were the favorite place of the hunter goddess Artemis. The goddess and her nymph companions strictly monitored the prosperity of life in Arcadia, protecting young plants and animal cubs in the forests, protecting the purity, beauty and youth of Nature. Nymphs took a vow of purity and chastity. In their ritual dances, they sometimes wore bear skins, for which they were nicknamed bears, and Artemis - the Bear Goddess.
The daughter of King Lycaon, who ruled Arcadia, was one of the most beautiful nymphs in the retinue of the huntress goddess. Her name was Callisto, which in Greek means “most beautiful.”
Zeus himself fell in love with her and appeared to her in the guise of Apollo. From this meeting, Callisto had a son, Arkad (option: Arkas, which means “bear”). Artemis, having learned that her nymph had broken her oath, turned her into a Bear (according to another version of the myth, Zeus turned Callisto into a bear to save her from Hera’s revenge).
One day, Arkas, returning from a hunt, saw a bear and a dog barking at her near his house. Intending to kill the big beast, he raised his spear and almost committed a terrible crime. But then Zeus intervened. Wanting to save his beloved, he grabbed the bear by the tail and threw it into the sky. Since the animal was heavy, the tail stretched out and became significantly longer than the tail of an ordinary bear. Zeus did not separate the beloved dog of the nymph-hunter from his mistress and also threw him into the sky, giving her the appearance of a bear, but smaller. This is how the beautiful Callisto ended up with her favorite among the stars, where to this day she attracts the eyes of people with her beauty.
As legends say, Zeus also placed his son Arcas in the sky - in the constellation Bootes or turned him into the star Arcturus (which translated from ancient Greek means “watchman, guardian”) so that the son would always protect his mother.
Hera, the wife of Zeus, having learned about what had happened, became furious and begged Poseidon not to let the beauty she hated into his kingdom. Since then, the Bears have been circling in a rhythmic dance around the pole, and they are never destined to swim in the Ocean.
* * *
- Yes, Ursa Bears never hide behind the horizon. By their location you can determine what time of year it is and what time it is. In ancient times, all travelers and sailors used these polar clocks. This clock never stops. The Big Dipper solemnly walks around the celestial Pole of the World during the day, inspecting and protecting it, as if someone tied it with a starry bridle to the North Star.
- Show me the North Star!
- Find the two outermost stars of the Bucket, mentally draw a line upward from the bottom of the Bucket. Do you see a bright star? This is the North Star - the center of Time, all constellations revolve around this Queen of the night.
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