Mythology of the Sun Sign Constellations
Part 1: Aries through Virgo

Aries

The Ram in question may have been the one whose golden fleece was the object of Jason's quest.

There is some reason to believe that the Greeks re-assigned the ram over a much older horned animal at this time of the year; the horn being a symbol for fecundity, renewal, and so on. As the Sun came into this constellation, at the vernal equinox, the year itself was being renewed.

The Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Persians all agreed on this constellaton's name of the Ram. In Greek mythology, the story of the Ram begins in Thessaly. The King of Thessaly had two children named Phrixus and Helle who were beaten by their stepmother. The god Hermes beame angered by this and sent a ram to carry the two children to safety. Tragically, Helle lost her grip and tumbled from the ram into the narrow strip of water between Europe and Asia, now called Hellespont in her honor. Phrixus, on the other hand, arrived safely to the shores of the Black Sea where he sacrificed the ram and gave its fleece to a sleepless dragon for safe-keeping. Later, Jason and his intrepid Argonauts recovered the prized fleece and returned it to Thessaly.

Taurus

Taurus is one of the many animals hunted by Orion, the Hunter.

The Greeks saw Taurus as Zeus in disguise. The story went that Zeus fell in love with Europa, the daughter of Agenor who was King of Phoenica. On one day while she was playing by the waters edge, she caught sight of a majestic white bull grazing amongst her fathers heard. When she approached the bull, it knelt down and let get on it's back. Once she was on, it sprang to it's feet and took off to the sea in Crete where Zeus made her his mistress. It also represents the white bull that sired the famous Minotaur with the wife of King Minos of Crete.

This bull was sent to Minos as a sign that he was the rightful heir to the throne. However, Minos did not sacrifice the bull to Poseidon like he was supposed to, so the ever-vengeful sea god caused his queen, Pasiphaë, to fall in love with it. Later, in another myth, Theseus of Athens goes to Crete and slays the dreadful Minotaur, which was reported to be a man with a bull's head that could breathe fire.

The Egyptians saw the constellation instead as their god Osiris while the Chinese called it alternatively the "White Tiger" or the "Great Bridge."

Is Taurus attacking Orion, the Hunter, or are the Horns of the Bull the real story? The horn was a symbol of fertility and bountiful riches in many cultures for thousands of years, and it is probably the case here, for the constellation would have announced the Vernal Equinox at around 4000 BC.

The constellation Taurus may also allude to the Greek story of Europa and the Bull. Europa was daughter of King Agenor. One fine spring day, accompanied by her hand maidens, Princess Europa went to the seashore to gather flowers. Zeus, who had fallen in love with Europa, seized the opportunity. Zeus transformed himself into a magnificent white bull, and as such he joined King Agenor's grazing herd. Europa noticed the wonderful white beast, who gazed at them all with such a mild manner that they were not frightened.

Europa wove wreathes of flowers for the beast, and wrapped them around his horns. She led him around the meadow, and he was as docile as a lamb. Then, as he trotted down to the seashore, she jumped onto his shoulders. Suddenly, to her surprise and fright, he plunged into the sea and carried the princess to Crete. As they reached the Cretan shore, Zeus then turned into an eagle and ravaged Europa. She bore three sons, the first of which was Minos.

Minos is said to have introduced the bull cult to the Cretans. He had Daedalus build a labyrinth in the depths of his palace at Knossus, which became the home of the Minotaur (offspring of Mino's wife Pasiphae, and a bull). Seven young men and seven maidens were ritually sacrificed to the Minotaur until Theseus killed it. Minos, in fact, was the title of the ancient rulers of Crete, and the story probably tells of their mythic origin.

The constellation shows mainly the horns, and exceedingly long horns they are. The left (southern) horn starts from the group of stars known as The Hyades, of which Aldebaran seems (erroneously) to be a member. It extends from Aldebaran to zeta Tauri, near the eastern edge of the constellation. The right horn lifts up just west of the Hyades, from delta Tauri through tau Tauri and finally to its tip at beta Tauri. The rest of the bull is rather disappointing; a slight body and two spindly legs. It may be that the bull is half-emerged in water, as it carries Europa across to Crete.

Gemini

Castor and Pollux, the "twins" of Gemini, were Greek heroes. They were among the men Jason led on his voyages on the Argo. The Twins are really only half-brothers.

They share the same mother (Leda) but have different fathers. Castor's father was a king of Sparta, Tyndareus - who would be chased from his throne but later rescued by Heracles (who nevertheless wound up killing him).

The father of Pollux was none other than Zeus, or Jupiter. Zeus visited Leda on her wedding night in the guise of a swan. Thus the twins would be born. (In fact two twins came from this double union, but let's not complicate the matter even more...) It should be said, however, that Pollux had a sister as well by Leda and Zeus: the beautiful Helen, who would become Queen of Sparta, and whose abduction by Paris would lead to the Trojan War.

Castor was a great horseman and fighter. One of his pupils was Heracles. Like Heracles, both Castor and Pollux would become Argonauts, that is, join Jason in his quest for the golden fleece. The twins spent their time raiding cattle and abducting young women, as Greek gods were wont to do. During one such cattle raid a cousin (Idas) became enraged at Castor and killed him. Zeus threw a thunderbolt at Idas, killing him instantly.

Since Pollux was the son of Zeus, he was immortal. But Pollux mourned over his brother's loss to such a point that he wanted to follow Castor into Hades. Zeus was so stricken by Pollux's love for his brother, he allowed them both to share Hades and Olympus, (on alternate days). Later Greek writers had Zeus place the two in the heavens side by side.

The stars of Gemini include two of the most recognisable in the heavens: the twins Castor and Pollux. Castor (alpha Geminorum) is the slightly dimmer star. It has a visual magnitude of 1.93 and is 52 light years distant. It isn't a particularly large star, at about twice the Sun's diameter. Pollux is the brighter of the two stars with a visual magnitude of 1.16 and a distance of 33.7 light years. It is also considerably larger, with an estimated diameter of about ten Suns. Castor and Pollux are 4.5 degrees apart, which helps observers estimate separation distances between other stars.

Cancer

Cancer, the Crab, plays a minor role in the Twelve Labors of Hercules. While Hercules was busy fighting the multi-headed monster, Hydra, the goddess Hera, who did not like Hercules, sent the Crab to distract him. Cancer grabbed onto the hero's toe with its claws, but barely breaking the rhythm of his great battle with Hydra, Hercules crushed the crab with his foot. Hera, grateful for the little crustacean's heroic but pitiful effort, gave it a place in the sky.

Cancer is famous despite itself due to its zodiacal origins. In fact, it is very faint with no stars brighter than 4th magnitude.

The name comes from the Latin; cancer means crab. The crab in question is the one sent by Hydra to attack Heracles. It was only a bit part, but one which secured its immortality.

Heracles' first labour had been to kill the Lion of Nemea. Nemea is a fertile valley in the Peloponnesus (renowned for its red wine, actually). It was a sacred place in antiquity, with a famous temple to Zeus. But one of its residents was causing problems: a gigantic lion roamed the streets and the hills, devouring everyone it came across.

Heracles tracked the animal down, but the lion had fur which was impervious to iron or bronze. Thus Heracles' arrows bounced off the animal, and his sword bent, and his club broke into pieces.

The only thing left was to wrestle the thing, so in a mighty contest Heracles fought the beast. The lion managed to nip off a finger from our hero, but eventually Heracles choked the life out of the Nemean Lion. Thus ended the First Labour.

Since nothing else would cut the lion's pelt, Heracles cleverly used its own claws to skin the animal, and fashioned the impervious pelt into his own protective clothing. Thus attired, he set off to accomplish his Second Labour: to kill the Lernaean Hydra.

Nearby lay the swamps of Lerna, home of the Hydra, an enormous dog-like monster with nine heads (one of which was immortal), and with breath that would kill on contact.

With the help of Athene Heracles located the monster's lair and the ensuing struggle was a standoff: as one head was sliced off, another appeared in its place. Then at Hydra's bidding, a giant crab emerged from the swamp and bit into Heracles' foot. Heracles promptly killed the animal then cut off the Hydra's immortal head, killing it as well. He then dipped his arrows in the Hydra's gall; the slightest scratch from one of these arrows would bring instant death to his enemies.

Scholars have expressed the opinion that astrologers later added the crab to the ancient myth in order to have the Twelve Labours of Heracles reflect the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac. While it is difficult to associate all of Heracles' labours with the zodiac, it is true that the crab figured in Heracles' Second Labour.

In any case, apparently for following its mistress' command and sacrificing its life, the crab was awarded with a heavenly home.

Leo

Leo is the Nemean Lion which was killed by Hercules on one of his great quests. Legend says that the lion had a hide that could not punctured by iron, bronze or stone. Since he couldn't reason with the ferocious beast, Hercules strangled it to death and the local people were very grateful.

The Chaldeans associated Leo with the sun since it is in the sky during the summer solstice (although this is no longer true, due to the precession of the Earth's axis). Since Nile floods around this time, the ancient Egyptians worshipped the celestial lion.

You can find Leo in the sky by looking for the "sickle" starting at Regulus (Alpha Leonis) and following the backwards question mark. To find Regulus, use the Big Dipper as described on the Ursa Major Page.

The first on the list of Heracles' labours was the task of killing the Nemean Lion, a giant beast that roamed the hills and the streets of the Peloponnesian villages, devouring whomever it met.

The animal's skin was impervious to iron, bronze, and stone. Heracles' arrows harmlessly bounced off the lion; his sword bent in two; his wooden club smashed to pieces. So Heracles wrestled with the beast, finally choking it to death. He then wrapped the lion's pelt about him; it would protect him from the next labour: killing the poisonous Hydra.

As the story goes, the lion found its way to the heavens to commemorate the great battle with Heracles. Yet this isn't all there is to the story. For even in antiquity, long before the Greeks began telling stories, the lion was an ancient symbol of power.

Approximately three thousand years before the Christian era carvings and sculptures showed kings flanked with rampant lions. Indeed, the archaeological evidence suggests that at about this time the lion had already replaced an even earlier "sacred" symbol, the bull.

It has been suggested that this transfer of power from a horned animal to the lion was a change-over from a lunar-based to a solar-based religion. That is, instead of drawing their inspiration from a night-time symbol with a monthly cycle--a symbol which dealt with the fecundity of the earth and of its animals--the new rulers identified with an animal of strength and power, and with a heavenly body that ruled the day. Thus, as the bull had been identified with the moon, the lion was now associated with the sun. To assert this new religion, or new political structure, the lion was made to kill the bull. Its place in the heavens was therefore critical.

An intriguing theory, put forth thirty years ago by Professor Willy Hartner, eloquently describes the result. Briefly put, at about 4000 BC, the Lion is seen chasing the Bull over the horizon, announcing the end of winter and the beginning of spring. I shall quote Professor Hartner's descriptive words:

"The constellation Leo would have been directly overhead, standing at zenith and displaying thereby its maximum power [as it] kills and destroys the Bull trying to escape below the horizon, which during the subsequent days disappears in the Sun's rays to remain invisible for a period of forty days, after which it is reborn, rising again for the first time (March 21) to announce Spring equinox."

Thus Leo, slayer of Taurus, dominated the summer skies, the time that the sun passed through this constellation. Due to precession, the sun currently passes through Leo at the end of summer, from mid-August through mid-September.

Leo is a fairly compact constellation and, unlike so many other constellations, it is readily recognisable. Alpha Leonis is named "Regulus" because it was seen as the Heaven's Guardian, one who regulated all things in the heavens. While the name Regulus was given us by Copernicus, the star was better known in antiquity as Cor Leonis, the Lion's Heart. Regulus is a multiple binary. Also, because Regulus lies so close to the ecliptic, the moon often passes close by, and even occults the star on very rare occasions.

Like other ancient constellations, many of the stars in Leo are named. Beta Leonis is called "Denebola": the Lion's Tail. Gamma Leonis is "Algeiba", Arabic for forehead, but more correctly named Juba, meaning mane. Zeta Leonis is "Aldhafera", the meaning is uncertain; Epsilon Leonis and mu Leonis go under the name of "Al Ashfar", the eyebrows. Delta Leonis is "Zosma", a Greek word meaning girdle. Lambda Leonis is Alterf, apparently meaning "extremity". It's located right at the tip of the lion's mouth.

Virgo

Virgo is the second largest constellation (after Hydra). As a member of the Zodiac, Virgo has a number of ancient myths and tales. The Sun passes through Virgo in mid-September, and is therefore the constellation that announces the harvest.

Virgo is often represented as a "maiden" (as its name indicates). In antiquity, she may have been Isis, the Egyptian protectress of the living and the dead and the principal mother goddess. She was also Ishtar of the Sumerian-Chaldean civilisations, or "Inanna", meaning Queen of Heaven. Inanna is described by Kramer (The Sumerians) as an ambitious, aggressive, and demanding goddess of love.

In Roman times the goddess Ceres was depicted: the goddess of the growth of food plants and harvests, and particularly corn. Her festival was in the second week of April, the same time that the constellation appears in the Spring skies. The Romans had simply adopted an earlier Greek goddess, Demeter. This goddess of agriculture was of the highest birth: born to Cronus and Rhea, she was the sister of Zeus. As evidence of her antiquity in Greek lore, her name has been found on a tablet from Pylos dating to the thirteenth century B.C. Demeter was said by Homer to have "lain with Iasion in a thrice-plowed field", the result of which was the birth of Plutus, whose name translates as "riches from the soil" (perhaps "cornucopia" would be an appropriate description).

The goddess was depicted then, as now, as carrying a sheaf of wheat. But her influence carried not only to cereal crops, but to all kinds of food crops. Not surprisingly, perhaps, she was also the goddess of health, and of births and marriages. A ceremony held in her honour in ancient Greece was called Proarktouria, which possibly indicates that the festivities were held just before the rising of Arcturus. However the name may instead make reference to the constellation Virgo, which in fact rises just before the star Arcturus.

Alpha Virginis is known as Spica: the "ear of wheat" that the goddess is carrying. Spica is a blue-white eclipsing binary with a period of just over four days. The star is about twice the size of the Sun, but with a luminosity of about 2000 times the Sun. Gamma Virginis carries the name of the Roman goddess of prophecy: Porrima. Porrima is a notable binary of twin stars; it is 32.9 light years distant and has the diameter of 1.5 Suns.