Star lore or starlore is the creating and cherishing of

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

stories about the

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

s and star patterns (

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

s and asterisms); that is,

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

based upon the stars and star patterns. Using the stars to explain religious

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

s or actual events in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

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 Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

cultures of the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

and

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

periods as well.

Orion and Scorpius

One example of star lore is the inventing of the story of Orion the Hunter and the

Scorpius Scorpius is a zodiac constellation located in the Southern celestial hemisphere, where it sits near the center of the Milky Way, between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Scorpius is an ancient constellation that pre-dates the Gre ...

the

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

by the ancient

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

. This ancient culture saw a very startling pattern of bright stars in the winter

sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

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 and the scorpion were positioned at opposite ends of the sky and were never seen in the sky simultaneously. As one constellation rose above the eastern

horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

, the other was setting below the western horizon, and when either one was high in the sky, the other was completely absent. The ancient Greeks felt compelled to explain this

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 W ...

by composing a story or myth based on the two constellations. The story was that Orion was a mighty and proud hunter who was stung by a scorpion. Orion died of the scorpion's sting and was placed among the stars by the gods. Although the scorpion was destroyed by the gods in vengeance for killing Orion, it was also placed among the stars. In order to prevent Orion and the scorpion from quarreling and fighting with each other in the sky, the gods placed Orion and the scorpion at opposite ends of the sky, and in opposite

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

s, so that both of them can never be seen in the sky at the same time.

Andromeda

Another example of star lore is the story behind the constellation Andromeda, also known as "the chained woman". Andromeda was the daughter of the king and queen of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, King Cepheus and Cassiopeia. The story goes that because Cassiopeia bragged so much of Andromeda's beauty to the

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 ...

, daughters of

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 ch ...

, that they complained to their father, who sent a sea monster to destroy the coast of Ethiopia. Cepheus consulted an oracle for assistance and learned that the only way to save his lands was to sacrifice his daughter to Poseidon's monster. Andromeda was chained to a rock and left for the sea monster.

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 ...

, the hero of the story who had just killed the

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. W ...

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 ...

found Andromeda in her distress and immediately, the two fell in love. Perseus asked for her name and refused to leave until he knew it, talking to her until she gave in. Andromeda told him her name, her country, and the reason for her imprisonment on the rock. He then consulted with Cepheus and Cassiopeia, and they decided that if Perseus rescued Andromeda from the sea monster, he could marry her. The story of how he then defeats the monster varies.

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 th ...

describes his killing of the monster as a drawn out bloody battle. Other sources say that Perseus killed the sea monster with the aid of Medusa's head, turning the monster to stone. Andromeda and Perseus were married soon after, despite already being promised to her uncle, Phineus. At the wedding, Phineus and Perseus got into an altercation, and Perseus turned Phineus to stone using Medusa's head. The constellation is said to have astrological influences as well. It is said that any man born at the same time Andromeda is said to rise from the sea will be one without mercy; he will be emotionally unmoved even in the presence of grieving parents. The constellation also influences the birth of the executioner, a man who will kill swiftly for money and kill willingly. Sources describe men born with the rise of Andromeda as one who would feel nothing if faced with Andromeda chained to her rock, just as Perseus did and fell in love with the girl.

Draco

The

Draco Draco is the Latin word for serpent or dragon. Draco or Drako may also refer to: People * Draco (lawgiver) (from Greek: Δράκων; 7th century BC), the first lawgiver of ancient Athens, Greece, from whom the term ''draconian'' is derived * D ...

is another example of star lore. In Roman mythology, the constellation is representative of Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples inside the garden,

Hesperides In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, the Titan Atlas ...

. The tree was a wedding gift to

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

when she and

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

were married, and she planted it on Mount Atlas. Hera tasked the Hesperides to guard the tree and put Ladon around the tree as well to ensure that the Hesperides would not steal the apples. In some sources, Ladon is called the child of

Typhon Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...

and

Echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

, who was half woman and half viper, and had hundreds of heads. In other versions of Ladon's story, the number of heads he had is not at all mentioned and he is described as the offspring of

Ceto Ceto (; grc, Κητώ, Kētṓ, sea monster) is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Pontus and his mother, Gaia. As a mythological figure, she is considered to be one of the most ancient deities, and bore a host of ...

and

Phorcys In Greek mythology, Phorcys or Phorcus (; grc, Φόρκυς) is a primordial sea god, generally cited (first in Hesiod) as the son of Pontus and Gaia (Earth). Classical scholar Karl Kerenyi conflated Phorcys with the similar sea gods Nereus a ...

, two sea

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

. Contrastingly, in Roman mythology, Draco was one of the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Ga ...

who waged war on the Olympic gods for ten years. He was killed by

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

in the battle and thrown into the sky.
Draco Constellation
/ref>

References

Star Lore: Prehistoric Skywriting

Draco Constellation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Star Lore Astronomical myths Ancient astronomy Stars Folklore

Orion and Scorpius

Andromeda

Draco

See also

References