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Cancer Constellation Myth
In the succeeding Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Sigmund Freud introduced a transhistorical and biological conception of man and a view of myth as an expression of repressed ideas.
Aires
Aires or the Ram is the first sign of the zodiac (March 21- April 19).The Greek Myth for Aires is about the king of Thessaly. He was married to a wicked woman who beat her step-children, his son and daughter-Phrixus and Helle. Hermes a god was furious at this and sent a ram to carry the children to safety.
Tragically, Helle slipped fell from the ram into the sea. Phrixus, her brother made it to shore of the Black Sea. He had to sacrifice the ram to give it's fleece to a dragon. It was Jason and his Argonauts who later re-claimed the fleece and took it back to Thessaly.
Amphilochus
Amphilochus was the younger son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle and the brother of Alcmaeon.
Eriphyle persuaded Amphiaraus to take part in the Seven Against Thebes raid, though he knew he would die. His wife had been persuaded by Polynices, who offered her the necklace of Harmonia, daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. Amphiaraus reluctantly agreed to join the battle and asked his sons, Alcmaeon and Amphilochus, to avenge his death. In the battle, Amphiaraus sought to flee from Poriclymenus, the son of Poseidon, who wanted to kill him, but Zeus threw his thunder and the earth opened to swallow Amphiaraus together with his chariot.
Alcmaeon killed his mother and exiled himself. Amphilochus became a prominent seer, and founded several oracles most importantly Mallos in Cilicia, and (with Mopsus), the oracle of Apollo at Colophon.
Ares
Ares, the Greek god of war, was never trusted by Greeks because of his outright bloodlust and violent ways. He was typically vicious and merciless.
His half sister Athena was also a war goddess, but she based her attack on strategy, not pure violence.
Ares was born among the warring Thacians and returned there after his affair with Aphrodite was exposed. It is said he fathered Eros (Cupid) in this relationship.
Eros
Eros in Greek mythology, was the primordial god of lust, love, and intercourse; whereas his mother Aphrodite ruled the love between men and women. He was referred to in Roman culture as Cupid..and associated with love and desire.
His statue could be found in the palaestrae or wrestling schools, one of the principal venues for men to associate with their beloveds. It was to Eros that the Spartans sacrificed before battle.
His mating with Psyche (whose name means Soul) forever linked love and soul.
Gemini
In classical Greek mythology, the stars in the constellation of Gemini were named Castor and Pollux, known collectively as the "Dioscuri" or "Sons of Zeus."
Although Leda was mother to both, the twins had different fathers. Pollux was the son of the chief Olympian God, Zeus, who had changed himself into a swan in order pursue the lovely Leda. Thus, Pollux was immortal. Castor was the son of Leda's husband, Tyndareus, King of Sparta, and thus destined to die.
According to legend, they were hatched from an egg and were were brothers to the beautiful Helen of Troy (over whom the Trojan War was fought) and also brothers to Clytemnestra, Queen of Mycenae.
Castor and Pollux were known to be well-educated, strong and daring, while remaining gentle individuals. They were celebrated as healers, physicians and protectors of humankind.
Castor and Pollux were also Argonauts, being among the crew who sailed with Jason in the Quest for the Golden Fleece. During that voyage, a fierce storm threatened the mission but abated as a pair of stars appeared over the heads of the twins. Since that time, seamen have called upon the brothers for protection from peril and the eerie
lightning phenomenon sometimes called Saint Elmo's Fire has long been regarded as the spirits of the twins playing in the sails. It is considered by sailors to be a most favorable omen.
Castor and Pollux were also counted among the number who fought at the Siege of Troy.
Castor (a horseman) and Pollux (a boxer) fell in love with beautiful sisters, daughters of Leudippus, who were already betrothed to suitors. According to the myth, these suitors, named Idas and Lynceus, were reputed cousins of Castor and Pollux by virtue of Poseidon, God of the Sea, who was rumored to be their father. The twins challenged Idas and
Lynceus in battle and slew their rivals, but Castor was mortally wounded by Idas in the process. Overcome with grief, Pollux wanted to commit suicide.
Leo
In Greek mythology,Leo was identified as the Nemean Lion which was killed by Hercules during one of his twelve labours, and subsequently put into the sky. Leo contains many bright stars, such as Regulus, the lion's heart; Denebola and Leonis.
Libra
Mythology of Libra-The Greek myth of Tiresias, the blind prophet, also has some relation to Libra. It's a curious myth, and we'll deal here with only part of it, the part that really pertains to our curious subject.
Tiresias, because he has the favour of the goddess Hera, is given the chance to observe a miracle: two serpents coupling in the goddess' sacred grove. He asks the goddess which of them experiences the greater pleasure; and because she cannot answer, she grants him the boon of spending part of his life as a woman, so that he can experience both. At the end of this ritual of transsexual initiation, he returns to his male form and is called before Zeus and Hera and asked which experiences the greatest pleasure - male or female. At first he tries diplomacy, because whichever answer he gives he knows he is bound to offend somebody. But eventually he tells the truth - that the female experiences the greater pleasure - whereupon Zeus, furious at this insult to masculine vanity, strikes him blind.
Pisces
Mythology of Pisces-The horrible earthborn giant Typhoeus suddenly appeared one day, startling all the gods into taking on different forms to flee.
Jupiter, for instance, transformed himself into a ram; Mercury became an ibis; Apollo took on the shape of a crow; Diana hid herself as a cat; and Bacchus disguised himself as a goat.
Venus and her son Cupid were bathing on the banks of the Euphrates River that day, and took on the shapes of a pair of fish to escape danger. Minerva later immortalized the event by placing the figures of two fish amongst the stars.
Sagittarius
Sagittarius The Archer Myth: Sagittarius is the Centaur Archer-Chiron. He was famous for his wisdom and healing abilities. Kings would send their young to him for education as he had great knowledge, being a cross between animal and man.
He was kind and caring and an excellent archer, musician, and physician, and tutored the likes of Achilles, Jason, and Hercules. Chiron was once accidentally shot with an arrow by Hercules. The arrow had been dipped in the poison of the Lernaean Hydra, and inflicted great suffering on Chiron--so great, in fact, that even the talented physician could not cure himself. But because of his wisdom, he had been granted the gift of immortality from the gods..and couldn't die either.
In order to find relief, he offered himself up as a substitute for Prometheus whom Zeus had punished for giving man fire. He was chained to a rock and each day an eagle would eat his liver out. It would regnerate every night and the whole horrible sequence would start over the next day.
Jupiter had agreed, at the request of Hercules to release Prometheus if a suitable substitute could be found. So Chiron replaced Prometheus and for his goodness, Jupiter placed him in the sky...the summer sky.
Taurus
Greek Mythology for Taurus - In another Greek myth, Taurus was one of a mighty pair of brazen-hooved bulls which could breathe fire and appeared to be untamable. These bulls were forged by Hephaistos, the lame Greek God of MetalWorkers, whose smithy lay beneath the crater of Mount Aetna in Sicily. In order to win the Golden Fleece, Jason of the Argonauts had to yoke the two bulls without aid from any other party.
Perhaps the most well-known Greek myth, however, is the one which tells of a white bull who was none other than the great God Zeus himself in disguise. This particular legend relates how Zeus became enamored with Europa, daughter of King Agenor of Tyre (a city in Phoenica) and his queen, Telephassa. Knowing that his appearance would both dazzle and terrify the lovely young maiden, Zeus cloaked himself as a white bull with horns of mother-of-pearl and a silver moon emblazoned upon his forelock. While Europa was playing one day by the waters edge, she saw a majestic bull grazing amid her father's herd. Upon approaching the animal, it knelt down before her and allowed the girl to climb upon its back. Once she had mounted, it sprang to its feet and rode the waves across the sea to Crete. There, Zeus made the beautiful Europa his mistress, informing her that all the land she could see from the island now belonged to her. This land became known as the Continent of Europe.
Europa eventually bore Zeus three sons...Minos (the future King of Crete), Rhadamanthys (who later became one of the Three Judges of the Dead) and Sarpendon (who founded the Greek city of Miletus in Asia Minor). The image of the bull was later placed into the heavens by Zeus, where the animal now roams the lush, heavenly pastures of late Spring and is extremely protective of the cows and calves in his herd.
Underworld
The Underworld in Greek Mythology was the place that mortals passed onto after they had passed away, but it was very much a place for the living as well. The Greek poets were not specific in describing it. Homer considered the Underworld a place of shadows. Nothing there was completely real. The existence that a spirit endured there was one of a bad dream.
Virgo
Myth Of Virgo The Virgin: The Goddess Astraea is the Goddess of Justice; she represents the natural order including birth, change, abundance and death. Virgo doesn't actually mean virgin..but 'self-contained'..which Astreaea was. She once lived on earth in the golden age and taught of the nature of the seasons. Astraea was the daughter of Zeus and Themis. Astraea inherited from her mother the duty of asserting justice. She was the last of the immortals to leave the earth when the Golden Age finished through a period of lawlessness and crime. She then took up her place in the Zodiac, in the constellation of Virgo.
Cancer Constellation Myth
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