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Star Lore
Star lore or starlore is the creating and cherishing of mythical stories about the stars and star patterns (constellations and asterisms); that is, folklore based upon the stars and star patterns. Using the stars to explain religious doctrines or actual events in history is also defined as star lore. Star lore has a very long history; it has been practiced by nearly every culture recorded in history, dating as far back as 5,500 years ago. It was practiced by prehistoric cultures of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods as well. Orion and Scorpius One example of star lore is the inventing of the story of Orion the Hunter and the Scorpius the Scorpion by the ancient Greeks. This ancient culture saw a very startling pattern of bright stars in the winter sky that, from their point of view, resembled a mighty hunter, which they named Orion. During the summer, they saw another startling pattern of bright stars that resembled a scorpion. They noticed that the constellations of Orion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uranometria Orion
''Uranometria'' is a star atlas produced by Johann Bayer. It was published in Augsburg in 1603 by Christoph Mangle (''Christophorus Mangus'') under the full title ''Uranometria: omnium asterismorum continens schemata, nova methodo delineata, aereis laminis expressa''. This translates to "Uranometria, containing charts of all the constellations, drawn by a new method and engraved on copper plates". The word "Uranometria" derives from Urania, muse of the heavens and "uranos" (''oυρανός'') the Greek word for sky / heavens. A literal translation of "Uranometria" is "Measuring the Heavens" (to be compared with "Geometry"—''"Geometria"'' in Greek, literally translated to "Measuring the Earth"). It was the first atlas to cover the entire celestial sphere. Charts ''Uranometria'' contained 51 star charts, engraved on copper plates by Alexander Mair ( 1562–1617). The first 48 charts illustrate each of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations. The 49th chart introduces 12 new con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phenomenon
A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in this part of his philosophy, in which phenomenon and noumenon serve as interrelated technical terms. Far predating this, the ancient Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher Sextus Empiricus also used ''phenomenon'' and ''noumenon'' as interrelated technical terms. Common usage In popular usage, a ''phenomenon'' often refers to an extraordinary event. The term is most commonly used to refer to occurrences that at first defy explanation or baffle the observer. According to the ''Dictionary of Visual Discourse'':In ordinary language 'phenomenon/phenomena' refer to any occurrence worthy of note and investigation, typically an untoward or unusual event, person or fact that is of special significance or otherwise notable. Philosophy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ladon (mythology)
Ladon (; Ancient Greek: Λάδων; gen.: Λάδωνος ''Ladonos'') was a monster in Greek mythology, the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides. Family According to Hesiod's ''Theogony'', Ladon was the last of the progeny of Phorcys and Ceto. A scholion on Apollonius of Rhodes' ''Argonautica'', however, cites Hesiod as calling him the son of Typhon, and the same scholion on Apollonius of Rhodes claims that one "Peisandros" called Ladon born of the earth. The mythographer Apollodorus calls Ladon the offspring of the monstrous Typhon and Echidna, a parentage repeated by Hyginus and Pherecydes; similarly, Ladon is called the son of Typhon in Tzetzes' '' Chiliades''. According to Ptolemy Hephaestion's ''New History'', as recorded by Photius in his '' Bibliotheca'', Ladon was the brother of the Nemean lion. Mythology Ladon was the serpent-like dragon that twined and twisted around the tree in the Garden of the Hesperides and guarded the golden a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Draco (constellation)
Draco is a constellation in the far northern sky. Its name is Latin for dragon. It was one of the 48 Lists of constellations, constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. The north pole of the ecliptic is in Draco. Draco is circumpolar star, circumpolar from northern latitudes. There it is never setting and therefore can be seen all year. Features Stars Thuban (α Draconis) was the northern pole star from 3942 BC, when it moved farther north than Theta Boötis, until 1793 BC. The Egyptian Pyramids were designed to have one side facing north, with an entrance passage geometrically aligned so that Thuban would be visible at night. Due to the effects of Axial precession (astronomy), precession, it would again be the pole star around the year AD 21000. It is a blue-white giant star of magnitude 3.7, 309 light-years from Earth. The traditional name of Alpha Draconis, Thuban, means "head of the serpent". T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists.Quint. ''Inst.'' 10.1.93 Although Ovid enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime, the emperor Augustus banished him to Tomis, a Dacian province on the Black Sea, where he remained a decade until his death. Overview A contemporary of the older poets Virgil and Horace, Ovid was the first major Roman poet to begin his career during Augustus's reign. Collectively, they are considered the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian described Ovid as the last of the Latin love elegists.Quint. ''Inst.'' 10.1.93 He enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime, but the emperor Augus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone. Most sources describe her as the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, although the author Hyginus makes her the daughter of Gorgon and Ceto. Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who then used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. In classical antiquity, the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the ''Gorgoneion''. According to Hesiod and Aeschylus, she lived and died on Sarpedon, somewhere near Cisthene. The 2nd-century BC novelist Dionysios Skytobrachion puts her somewhere in Libya, where Herodotus had said the Berbers originated her myth as part of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorgon
A Gorgon (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. While descriptions of Gorgons vary, the term most commonly refers to three sisters who are described as having hair made of living, venomous Snake, snakes and horrifying visages that Petrifaction in mythology and fiction, turned those who beheld them to stone. Traditionally, two of the Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale (Gorgon), Euryale, were immortal, but their sister Medusa was not and was slain by the demigod and hero Perseus. Etymology The name derives from the Ancient Greek word (), which means 'grim or dreadful', and appears to come from the same root as the Sanskrit word (), which means a guttural sound, similar to the growling of a beast, thus possibly originating as an onomatopoeia. Depictions Gorgons were a popular image in Greek myt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perseus
In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda (mythology), Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus (mythology), Cetus. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles (as they were both children of Zeus, and Heracles' mother was descended from Perseus). Etymology Because of the obscurity of the name "Perseus" and the legendary character of its bearer, most etymologists presume that it might be pre-Greek; however, the name of Perseus's native city was Greek and so were the names of his wife and relatives. There is some idea that it descended into Greek from the Proto-Indo-Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes. He also had the cult title "earth shaker". In the myths of isolated Arcadia he is related with Demeter and Persephone and he was venerated as a horse, however, it seems that he was originally a god of the waters.Seneca quaest. Nat. VI 6 :Nilsson Vol I p.450 He is often regarded as the tamer or father of horses, and with a strike of his trident, he created springs which are related to the word horse.Nilsson Vol I p.450 His Roman equivalent is Neptune. Poseidon was the protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea when, following the overthrow of his father Cronus, the world was divided by lot among Cronus' three sons; Zeus w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nereids
In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters to their brother Nerites. They often accompany Poseidon, the god of the sea, and can be friendly and helpful to sailors (such as the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece). Etymology The synonyms Νηρηΐδες and Νημερτές are etymologically unrelated. Νηρηΐδες is a patronymic, describing them as the daughters of Nereus. Νημερτές means literally 'not-mistaking', and there is an adjective of the same form meaning 'clear', 'unmistakable', or 'true'. Mythology The Nereids symbolized everything that is beautiful and kind about the sea. Their melodious voices sang as they danced around their father. They are represented as beautiful women, crowned with branches of red coral and dressed in white silk robes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassiopeia (Queen Of Aethiopia)
Cassiopeia (; Ancient Greek: Κασσιόπεια ''Kassiópeia'' or ''Kassiópē'') or Cassiepeia (Κασσιέπεια ''Kassiépeia''), a figure in Greek mythology, was Queen of Aethiopia and wife of King Cepheus. She was arrogant and vain, characteristics that led to her downfall. Family Her origins are obscure. Nonnus calls her a nymph, while according to Stephanus, she was called Iope, the daughter of Aeolus, from whom the town of Joppa (now the Jaffa neighborhood in Tel Aviv) derived its name. Mythology Cassiopeia boasted that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than all the Nereids, the nymph-daughters of the sea god Nereus. This brought the wrath of Poseidon, ruling god of the sea, upon the kingdom of Ethiopia. Accounts differ as to whether Poseidon decided to flood the whole country or direct the sea monster Cetus to destroy it. In either case, trying to save their kingdom, Cepheus and Cassiopeia consulted a wise oracle, who told them that the on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cepheus, King Of Aethiopia
In Greek mythology, Cepheus (; Ancient Greek: Κηφεύς ''Kepheús'') was the name of two rulers of Aethiopia, grandfather and grandson. Family Cepheus was the son of either Belus, Agenor or Phoenix. If Belus was his father, he had Achiroe, daughter of Nilus as mother, and Danaus, Aegyptus and Phineus as brothers. He was called Iasid Cepheus, pertaining to his Argive ancestry through King Iasus of Argus, father of Io. Mythology Cepheus is prominently featured in the Perseus legend as the husband of Cassiopeia and father of Princess Andromeda, and whose brother Phineus expected to marry Andromeda. Various sources described his kingdom to be "Aethiopia" or later as the city of Joppa (Jaffa) in Phoenicia, which was named after the elder Cepheus' wife, Iope, daughter of Aeolus. When Cepheus' proud wife Cassiopeia foolishly boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, not only the sea-nymphs themselves but also Poseidon was angered. Thus, the sea god sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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