Notes
Introduction
1. See W. W. Tarn, Hellenistic Civilization; T. B. L. Webster, Hellenistic Poetry and Art.
2. G. E. R. Lloyd, Greek Science After Aristotle; R. E. Wycherley, How the Greeks Built Cities.
3. Callimachus, Aetia, prologue. See also D. A. Russell, Criticism in Antiquity, B. H. Fowler, The Hellenistic Aesthetic.
4. P. E. Easterling and B. M. W. Knox (eds.), Greek Literature, 33.
5. For example, Nicander, Theriaca (a guide to noxious animals), and Alexipharmaca (on treating snake-bites); Numenius, The Banquet (on cooking), Halieutica (on fishing); Aratus, Phaenomena.
6. P. Walcot, Hesiod and the Ancient Near East. In contrast to epic poetry, which dealt with themes of love or war, did actic (from Gk. didaskein, “to instruct”) literature treated themes taken from science, philosophy, arts, and crafts, with the intent of offering practical advice or instruction.
7. Strabo, Geography 1.2.3.
8. An aetion (“cause”)was a story that explained the origin of a natural phenomenon, or a custom, or a place name. Strictly speaking, each of the stories in The Constellations and Poetic Astronomy is an aetion explaining the origin of a constellation. Some of those stories include further examples of aetiological stories, e.g.: the Athenian custom of suspending swings from trees during a certain festival recalled the fate of Erigone (p. 58); the region of Cynosura was named after the nymph of that name (pp. 201-2). Callimachus himself composed the Aetia, a catalogue of myths related to cult-origins; the Ctiseis by Apollonius of Rhodes was a collection of foundation legends associated with various cities of the ancient world.
9. The fragments of Eratosthenes's writings have been studied by G. Bernhardy, Eratosthenica; H. Berger, Die Geographischen Fragmente des Eratosthenes; P. J. Parsons and H. Lloyd-Jones, Supplementum Hellenisticum, 397-99; J. Powell, Collectanea Alexandrina, 58-68.
10. F. Solmsen, “Eratosthenes' Erigone: a Reconstruction,” Transactions of the American Philological Association, 78 (1947): 252-75. See also pp. 56-58.
11. Longinus, On the Sublime 33.5
12. The most recent study, E. Gürkoff, Die Katasterismen des Eratosthenes summarizes earlier findings, while a discussion of the questions posed by the text of the Catasterismi can be found in J. Martin, Histoire du texte des Phénomènes d'Aratos.
13. See W. Sale, “The Popularity of Aratus,” Classical Journal 61 (1965): 160-64.
14. The Greek verb dokeuo means “to keep an eye upon,” “watch narrowly.”
15. See the explanation provided by Hyginus (p. 199).
16. The Greek astronomer and mathematician Hipparchus of Nicaea was born about 190 B.C.E. and made a series of astronomical observations between 161-126 B.C.E. His only surviving work is a commentary on Aratus and Eudoxus in which he notes errors of Eudoxus that were repeated by Aratus.
Andromeda
1. On Andromeda's rescue by Perseus, see Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.3; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.665; Hyginus, Fables 64; Strabo, Geography 16.759; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 4.35.9. See also pp. 75-76, 83-84, 85, 157-58. Josephus, The Jewish War 3.9, says that traces of Andromeda's fetters were still visible at Joppa in his day (first century C.E.). Perseus's first-born son was said to be the ancestor of the Persian kings. On the other children of Perseus and Andromeda, see Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.5. Perseus and Andromeda came to Argos by way of Seriphos and Tiryns. The Constellations is the only source to recount that Andromeda spurned her parents' plea to return to them.
2. Thompson, Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, R111.1.3: “Rescue of princess from dragon”; A531.4: “Hero conquers sea monster”; F628.1.0.1: “Strong man slays monster”; H335.3.1: “Princess sacrificed to dragon.” The preponderance of folk-tale elements throughout the Perseus legend is untypical of Greek legendary cycles. See S. Morenz, “Die orientalische Herkunft der Perseus-Andromeda Sage,” Forschungen und Fortschritte 36 (1962): 307-9. See also Allen, Star Names, 31-40.
3. On the origin of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 31-40. Allen suggests a Euphratean origin for the entire Perseus-Andromeda group. On the Phoenician name Adamath, see Brown, Primitive Constellations, 1:48-50.
Aquarius
1. See Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 283; Hyginus, Fables 224, Nonnus, Dionysiaca 12.38, 105; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 68, 85.8, G 153.16; Ovid, Fasti 2.145.
As to the association of this constellation with water, see F. Boll and H. Gundel, “Sternbilder,” in W. H. Roscher, Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen undrömischen Mythologie, 976. Aquarius is said to represent the spirit of the Nile (Pindar, cited by Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 283). There are also two late identifications of doubtful validity connecting Aquarius with Hebe (Teucrus in Boll, Sphaera, 281; see also Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2.13.3, who says that at Phlius, Hebe was also called Ganymeda), and with Aristaeus, the son of Apollo and Cyrene, and lover of Eurydice (see Vergil, Georgics 4.453-59-, Scholiast on Germanicus BP 68).
2. See p. 35.
As to the parentage of Ganymede, who was usually said to be the son of Tros and Callirhoe, see Apollodorus, The Library 3.12.2; Hyginus, Fables 271, 224. As to the abduction of Ganymede by Tantalus or Minos, see P. Friedländer, “Ganymedes,” in Paulys Realenzyklopädie der Altertumswissenschaft, 7:737-49.
For the gift of horses to Tros, see Homer, Iliad 5.265; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 5.24.5; Apollodorus, The Library 2.5.95. The golden vine is mentioned by Scholiast on Euripides, Orestes 1392.
3. See Allen, Star Names 45-55; Boll and Gundel, 974-77.
Aquila
1. No eagle is mentioned by Homer, Iliad 20.232. An eagle sent by Zeus is mentioned by Apollodorus, The Library 3.12.2; Vergil, Aeneid 5.253. The abduction of Ganymede by the eagle first appears in art during the fourth century B.C.E. See W. Drexler, “Ganymedes,” in Roscher, Lexicon, 1:2.1598-1603. See pp. 29-31.
The tradition that Zeus abducted Ganymede out of love goes back at least to the poet Theognis (sixth century B.C.E.).
2. See pp. 125-26, where the reason given for the catasterism of the Lion is its prominence as king of beasts. The references to the eagle as the “king of birds” as well as its association with Zeus, are numerous. See D'Arcy Thompson, A Glossary of Greek Birds, 2-16.
3. Hyginus is the earliest extant source of the myths of Merops and Mercury-Anaplades; both myths are referred to by later authors: see Strabo, Geography 17.808, and Aelian, The Nature of Animals 13.33.
4. As is evident from the ancient texts, there were gaps between the constellations. Stars in those gaps were referred to as “unformed,” and sometimes, as in the case of Antinous and Coma Berenices, served as the basis for a “new” constellation. Contemporary sky maps contain no gaps, reflecting the constellation boundaries established by international agreement in 1930. On the historical Antinous, see Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.9.4; Dio Cassius, 69.11.1-4; Historia Augusta, 14.5; Ammianus Marcellinus, 22.16.2. The death of Antinous is usually dated to 130 C.E.
For references to the constellation Antinous in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, see Allen, Star Names, 41.
5. See Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, 138-39 and Plate XXIVh; Aelian, The Nature of Animals 12.21, connects the eagle with the Babylonian hero Gilgamesh.
Ara
1. See Hesiod, Theogony 617-819; Apollodorus, The Library 1.2.1; Horace, Odes 3.4.42; Hyginus, Fables 150; Claudian, Battle of the Gods and the Giants 27. See also pp. 50, 52, 61-63, and 71-72. Aratus, Phaenomena 403-35, explains the constellation of the Altar as an attempt by Night to provide a guide for sailors.
2. See Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 403, 436; Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 403, 436; pp. 79-80; Manilius, Astronomy 1.421; Hipparchus, 1.11.6; Ptolemy, Almagest 8.1.
As to Greek altar-types, see the archaeological study by C. G. Yavis, Greek Altars, 132, 136, 165, 171. Two older studies, based more on literary evidence, are A. de Molin, De ara apud Graecos, and E. Reisch, “Altar,” in Realenzyklopädie 1:1640-91. As to Ancient Near Eastern altar-types with respect to this constellation, see Brown, Primitive Constellations, 1:217.
3. As to the history of the Altar, see Allen, Star Names, 61-64, 273; Boll and Gundel, 1016-18.
Argo
1. See Apollonius Rhodius, The Voyage of Argo; Orpheus, Argonautica; Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica; Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.1-404; Apollodorus, The Library 1.9.16-28; Hyginus, Fables 12-26.
Excavations at Iolcus have dated the site to so the pre-Mycenaean (i.e., Middle Helladic) period. See P. A. Theochares, “Iolcus,” Archaeology 11 (1958), 13-18.
The crew of the Argo was consistently numbered at fifty by ancient authors. Compare the myth of Danaus and his fifty daughters (see Apollodorus, The Library 2.11). Modern scholars speculate that the Argo was probably a pentekontor (=fifty-oared ship) of the type described by Homer. As to evidence for the use of pentekontors in the Mycenaean Age; see R. T. Williams, “Ships in Greek Vase Painting,” Greece and Rome 18 (1949): 126. The pentekontor was used until 550-525 B.C.E., when it was replaced by the triremes; see L. Casson, The Ancient Mariners, 92. On pentekontors in general, see J. S. Morrison, Greek Oared Ships, 7; C. Torr, Ancient Ships, 3.
2. As to the folk-motif of the magic ship, see Thompson, Motif-Index, D1123: “Magic ship”; D1610.11: “Speaking ship”; E841: “Extraordinary ship”; D1610.2.1: “Speaking oak”; D1311.4.2: “Speaking tree gives prophecy”; D1610: “Magic speaking objects”; H1332.1: “Quest for golden fleece.”
3. See Aratus, Phaenomena 342; Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 342, 348; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 97.13, G 172.17.
The Symplegades were situated at the entrance to the Black Sea and, in Greek myth, were a serious obstacle to ships. After the Argo succeeded in passing through them unharmed, except for the slight damage to its stern-ornament, the Symplegades ceased to clash together and remained forever open.
An artistic representation of seventh century B.C.E. Phoenician war-galleys is discussed by R. D. Barnett, “Early Shipping in the Near East,” Antiquity 32 (1958): 226-27. See also Torr, Ancient Ships, plate 2, figure 10. On the shape of early Greek ships, see Williams, “Ships in Greek Vase Painting,” 126; G. S. Kirk, “Ships on Geometric Vases,” Annals of the British School at Athens 44(1949): 93-153; Casson, The Ancient Mariners, passim; Morrison, Greek Oared Ships, 7-84. A perusal of R. O. Faulkner, “Egyptian Seagoing Ships,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 26 (1940), 3-9, will show that the Egyptians, like the Greeks, built ships with curved prows. On ships of the ancient Near East, see Torr, Ancient Ships, passim; Casson, The Ancient Mariners, passim.
As to the constellations Taurus and Pegasus, see pp. 191-94 and 151-55.
4. See Aratus, Phaenomena 340; Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 342, 348; Manilius, Astronomy 1.412; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 97.13, G 172.17; Hyginus, Fables 14; Plutarch, On Isis 22.
As to the origin of the constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 64-75; Boll and Gundel, 1005-8.
5. As to the star Canopus, see pp. 105-7. In modern times, this constellation has been divided into four smaller constellations, labeled Carina (“Keel”), Puppis (“Stern”), Pyxis (“Compass”), and Vela (“Sails”), respectively.
Aries
1. See Allen, Star Names, 75-83. Aries is identified as the golden lamb of Thyestes and Atreus by Lucian, Of Astrologers 12. The constellation is said to include Athena by Teucer, first century C.E. (See F. Boll, Sphaera, 270). After Medusa the Gorgon was slain by Perseus (see pp. 157-58), Athena wore the Gorgon's head on her breastplate.
2. For the story of Phrixus and Helle, see Apollodorus, The Library 1.9.1. The account in Hyginus of Demodice's unsuccessful attempt to seduce Phrixus, and her subsequent accusation of Phrixus to her husband is a familiar motif (Hippolytus and Phaedra, Joseph and Potiphar's wife). See Thompson, Motif-Index, K2111: “Potiphar's wife.”
3. See Apollodorus, The Library 1.9.1. Hyginus says that Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus. Other sources mention Ares or Hermes as the recipient of the sacrifice. The ram already had a golden fleece when it rescued Phrixus and Helle, according to most accounts. According to Scholiast on the Iliad 7.86, the ram acquired its golden fleece subsequent to the rescue of Phrixus and Helle.
4. On Aeetes, see Hesiod, Theogony 956-58; Apollodorus, The Library 1.9.1; Homer, Odyssey 10.137. Helius was the Greek god of the Sun (see p. 133). Circe is best known for changing Odysseus's men into swine (Homer, Odyssey 10.233-43). Pasiphae was the wife of Minos and mother of the Minotaur (see pp. 87-90). Medea helped Jason to win the golden fleece and, in most accounts, became his wife (see Euripides, Medea).
5. As to the custom of sacrificing a king's son in time of famine, see Frazer, Golden Bough, 3:161-63. On the connection of such sacrifices with the family of Athamas, see Herodotus, The Histories 7.197. On Zeus Laphystius, see Farnell, Cults, 1:93-94; Cook, Zeus, Appendix B. Mount Laphystium is a western continuation of Mount Helicon (see Leake, Travels in Northern Greece, 2:140-42).
Alus in Thessaly was founded by Athamas, according to Strabo, Geography 9.433. As to human sacrifice at Alus, see Herodotus, The Histories 7.197; Frazer, Golden Bough, 1:213-15. On the connection of rams with Zeus, see Cook, Zeus, 1:414-19,405-9; Farnell, Cults, 1:95-96.
6. Apollodorus, The Library 1.9.1.
7. Herodotus, The Histories 2.54-57; Arrian, History of Alexander. 3.34.
8. Pausanias, Guide to Greece 5.1.4.
Auriga
1. For the story of Erichthonius's birth, see Apollodorus, The Library 3.14.5; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 1.2.6, 14.6; Hyginus, Fables 166. Erichthonius succeeded Cecrops as king of Athens, or he expelled Amphictyon and became king. On Erichthonius as the inventor of the chariot, see Vergil, Georgics 3.113. Compare Herodotus, Histories 4.189, who says that the Greeks learned to yoke four horses to a chariot after they obtained Libyan horses. On the use of silver in Attica, see Pliny the Elder, Natural History 7.197 and Hyginus, Fables 274. On Erichthonius as the founder of the Panathenaean Games, see Apollodorus, The Library 3.14.6. According to Plutarch, Life of Theseus 24, the Panathenaean festival was instituted by Theseus. A sacred snake lived in the Erechtheum in the fifth century B.C.E., according to Herodotus, Histories 8.41.
On the apobates, who leapt from one horse to another during the race, and the parabates, see D. Demetrakou, Mega Lexicon tes Hellenikes Glosses.
The statue of Athena referred to in the present story is the ancient olive-wood image which stood in the Erechtheum.
2. For the story of Oenomaus, see Apollodorus, Epitome 2.4-9. The sea into which Myrtilus was thrown by Pelops was named the Myrtoan Sea after him.
3. As to Amalthea, see Apollodorus, The Library 2.7.5. See also pp. 50, 52, and 73. As to Amalthea's horn, the original cornu copiae, see Cook, Zeus, 1:501-3. As to Zeus's use of the goat's skin as armorduring the Titanomachia and the epithet “aegis-bearing,” see Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 156; Scholiast on Homer, Iliad 2.547.
4. As to the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 915-20; Allen, Star Names, 83-92.
Bootes
1. In connection with the present story, see pp. 197-200. On Areas as the son of Callisto and Zeus, see Apollodorus, The Library 3.8.2; Hyginus, Fables 155, 176, 224; Scholiaston Aratus, Phaenomena 27, 91; Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.40; Fasti 2.156.
Ps-Eratosthenes is the sole authority for Areas marrying his mother. According to the Scholiast on Germanicus BP 64.15, Areas attempted to use force against Callisto; Hyginus says that Areas was hunting when he saw Callisto and pursued her into the sacred precinct.
According to Apollodorus, The Library 3.8.2, and Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.3.6, when Callisto was shot by Artemis, Areas was rescued by Zeus and brought by Zeus or Hermes to Maia to be nursed. Scholiast on Theocritus, Idylls 1.123 makes no mention of Areas, but records that Hermes watched over Callisto on Mt. Lycaeum after she was changed into a bear.
2. As to the cult of Zeus Lycaeus, see Cook, Zeus 1:67-99; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.2.1. As to the sacred precinct of Zeus Lycaeus, see p. 200. Evidence for human sacrifice to Zeus Lycaeus may be found in Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.38.7; Plato, Republic VIII (565D); [Plato], Minos (315 C). The validity of the above evidence is questioned by R. P. Eckels, Greek Wolf-Lore, 53-55.
On Lycaon, see W. Drexler, “Lycaon,” in Roscher, 2,2:2168-73; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.2.3; Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.208-11; Servius on Vergil, Aeneid 1.731, Eclogues 6.41; Apollodorus, The Library 3.8.1; Hyginus, Fables 176.
The changing of Lycaon into a wolf is reflected in the later belief that the transformation of a man into a wolf occurred regularly at the sacrifice to Zeus Lycaeus. The belief was that the man who tasted the human entrail among the sacrificial meats was turned into a wolf for a period of nine years. If he tasted of no human flesh during that time, he regained his human form at the end of the nine-year period, otherwise he remained a wolf for the rest of his life. On the significance of Lycaon's transformation into a wolf, see j. Fontenrose, “Philemon, Lot, and Lycaon,” University of California Publications in Classical Philology 13 (1950): 93-120. As to the ritual of the sacrifice to Zeus Lycaeus, see the discussion in Cook, Zeus 1:67. See also Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.2.38; Pliny the Elder, Natural History 8.81; St. Augustine, The City of God 18.17.
The city of Trapezus was situated in southwestern Arcadia near Mount Lycaeum. Concerning the origin of the name there are two traditions, both of them connected with members of Lycaon's family. Ps-Eratosthenes follows the more common tradition in deriving the name of the city from the table (trapeza) which Zeus overturned in Lycaon's house (see Apollodorus, The Library 3.8.1). For the other tradition, according to which the city was named after its founder, Trapezeus, a son of Lycaon, Pausanias is the sole authority.
On the location of the ancient Trapezus, already in ruins by the second century C.E., see Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.29.1; E. Curtius, Peloponnesus, 1:304-6; W. M. Leake, Travels in the Morea, 2 :pl. 2 (map).
3. For a discussion of Ps-Eratosthenes's use of Hesiod, see Franz, “De Callistus Fabula,” Leipziger Studien 12 (1890): 306; W. Sale, “The Story of Callisto in Hesiod,” Rheinisches Museum 105 (1962): 122-41.
4. Homer, Iliad 18.486, Odyssey, 5.272. Homer refers to Ursa Major as “The Wagon,” see Iliad 18.487, Odyssey 5.273. Hesiod, writing about one hundred years after Homer, refers to Arcturus (“Bear-guard”), but is probably referring to the star rather than to the constellation; see Works and Days 610.
Philomelus is an obscure figure, mentioned only by Hyginus among classical authors.
5. As to the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 886-92; Allen, Star Names, 92-106.
6. See pp. 69-70 and 206.
7. H. W. Parke, Festivals of the Athenians, 118-19; Farnell, Cults 5:194-95.
8. Hesiod, Works and Days 582-88.
9. Compare English “dog-days” and French “canicule.” See pp. 67 and 69-70.
Cancer
1. Although both Ps-Eratosthenes and Hyginus cite Panyassis as their source for the origin of the constellation Cancer, it is not clear whether Panyassis included the changing of the crab into a constellation in his account. Hyginus cites a variation of the story about Asini, substituting the sound of Triton's shell for the braying of asses—with similar result. Lerna, the site of Heracles's second labor, was a swampy area on the western coast of the Argolic Gulf. On Heracles, see pp. 101-3, 115-18, and 175-78.
2. The crab sent by Hera is also mentioned by Apollodorus, The Library 2.5.2. For other rivals of Hera and her treatment of them, see the stories of Callisto (pp. 197-99), Leto (Apollodorus, The Library 1.4.1), Io (Apollodorus, The Library 2.1.3), Semele (Apollodorus, The Library 3.4.3).
3. On the connection of Dionysus with donkeys, see W. Otto, Dionysos, chapter 14. None of the epithets of Dionysus reflects his connection with donkeys. One vase paintings hows Dionysus seated in a ship whose bow is shaped like the head of a donkey (see J. Beazley, Attic Black-Figure Vase Painting, 369, no. 1001). On the François-vase, Hephaestus is shown riding a donkey (see A. Minto, Il vaso François). On the connection between Hephaestus and Dionysus, see L. Malten, “Hephaistos,” in Realenzyklopädie, 8:311. On satyrs, see A. Hartmann, “Silenos und Satyros,” in Realenzyklopädie, 2A, 3:35-53.
See also Boll and Gundel, 951-54; Allen, Star Names, 107-14.
Canis Major
1. On Odysseus's dog see Homer, Odyssey 17.291-327. For the story of Hecuba, see Euripides, Hecuba. Monstrous dogs, such as the three-headed Cerberus and the hell-hounds of Hecate, are associated with the Underworld. On Cerberus, see Apollodorus, The Library 2.113. The hounds of Hecate are described by Apollonius Riodius, The Voyage of Argo 3.121 lff.
2. Procris's dog was originally fashioned out of bronze by Hephaestus, who brought it to life and presented it to Zeus. See Apollodorus, The Library 3.15.1. Procris herself was, by most accounts, the daughter of Erechtheus (see p. 51). On Minos's illness and subsequent cure by Procris, see Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 41. The illness was caused by Pasiphae, who resented Minos's intimacies with other women and contrived a charm as a result of which any woman who had intercourse with him died.
On Orion, see pp. 147-50. On the story of lcarius's dog, see pp.5758.
3. Marvelous weapons and animals are common themes in folk-tale: see Thompson, Motif-Index, D1080: “Magic weapons”; B100: “Magic animals.”
4. See Homer, Iliad 22.29. Hipparchus, 2.1.18 and Ptolemy, Almagest 7.6, report that both the constellation and its brightest star were known as Cyon (“Dog”). See also Aratus, Phaenomena 326. Variant readings in the manuscripts render the Greek and Latin texts confusing and sometimes contradictory. Some manuscripts distinguish between a star on the head called Isis and one on the tongue called Sirius or Canis/Cyon; others reverse those references or speak of the two as one star. Ptolemy differentiates between “the head” (μ. CMa) and “the mouth, the one called Cyon” (α CMa).
5. There are numerous references to Sirius as the heat-bringer in Greek and Latin literature: see, e.g., Hesiod, Works and Days 587; Vergil, Georgics 4.425-28.
6. See Boll and Gundel, 995-1002; Allen, Star Names, 117-31. On the significance of Sirius to the Persians, see Plutarch, On Isis 47.
Canis Minor
1. On the name Procyon, see Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 450. Horace, Odes 3.29.18, apparently confuses Procyon with Sirius. Gundel, “Procyon,” in Realenzyklopädie, 23, 1:622 suggests that Procyon is to be considered a doublet of Canis Major. Hyginus, Poetic Astronomy 2.4 may erroneously equate the Latin name Canicula with Procyon. Canicula appears to have been used by Latin authors with reference to Canis Major. See Boll and Gundel, 1003.
On Orion and Canis Major, see pp. 147-50 and 65-67. On the Hare, see pp. 129-31. The “other wild animals” mentioned as being beside Procyon are, possibly, Cancer (see pp. 61-63), Leo (see pp. 125-26), Ursa Major (see pp. 197-99). Lepus, which is said in the present story to be close to Procyon, is in reality closer to Canis Major. It is entirely possible that Ps-Eratosthenes has confused the two constellations of Canis Major and Procyon, as all his references to Procyon seem to be more suited to Canis Major. Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 450 and Scholiast on Germanicus BP 102.1 refer, more correctly, to the proximity of Ursa Major to Procyon.
2. On the name Cyon, see p.65. On the Euphratean and Egyptian background of Procyon, see Boll and Gundel, 1003-4; Allen, Star Names, 131-35.
Capricorn
1. Aegipan is said to be the son of Zeus and Aega, the wife of Pan (Hyginus, Poetic Astronomy 2.13), or of Zeus and Boetis (Hyginus, Fables 155). See also W. H. Roscher, “Die Sagen von der Geburt des Pan,” Philologus 53 (1894): 362-77. Pan was believed to be the father of lynx by Echo or Peitho.
The Constellations refers to Aegipan as the ancestor of Capricorn. This is not supported by Greek myths, as the genealogies of Pan and Aegipan do not coincide. The literary references to Aegipan are late (Apollodorus, The Library 1.4.11; Hyginus, Fables 155, Poetic Astronomy 2.13, 28). The only myth connected with Aegipan is his stealing, in company with Hermes, of the sinews of Zeus which had been hidden by Typhon during the Gigantomachia: see Apollodorus, The Library 1.4.11; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 1.481.
Descriptions of Pan are given by Homeric Hymns 19; Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 22. Note also the epithets aigokeros (“goat-horn”), aigiknamos (“goat-limbed”), dikeros (“two-horned”), tragopous (“goat-foot”) applied to Pan: see Bruchmann, Epitheta Deorum, 185-89.
For the references to Pan in Classical literature and art, see K. Wernicke, “Pan,” in Roscher, Lexikon 3,1:1406-71.
2. Aegipan is never described in Greek literature, but his appearance may be inferred from the description of Capricorn in The Constellations.
Pan, although he is regularly a patron of fishermen and coast-dwellers, is never represented in Greek literature or art as having a fish's tail: see Palatine Anthology 10.10; Theocritus, Idylls 5.14.
As to the Babylonian constellation-figure represented as half-goat, half-fish, see Boll and Gundel, 972.
Although most artistic representations of this constellation show the Babylonian half-goat, half-fish figure, The Constellations describes a half-inan, half-goat/fish creature. Aratus, Phaenomena 284 and Ptolemy, Almagest 8, mention the fish's tail of this figure.
3. The name Capricorn is, however, an epithet of Pan: see Hyginus, Fables 196. As to the infancy of Zeus on Mt. Ida, see pp. 50 and 52. There was a cult of Pan on Crete: see “Pan,” in Roscher, Lexikon, 1372.
4. See “Titan,” in Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (ed. W. Smith), 3:1156-57. The Titanomachia is regularly set in Thessaly: see, e.g., Hesiod, Theogony 629. The Gigantomachia was usually located at Phlegrai, but also at various other places: see Apollodorus, The Library 1.6.1-3, and vol. 1, p. 43, note 3 in the Loeb Classical Library edition.
5. As to the shell-trumpet, which inspired “panic” fear, see Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 284; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 87.3, G 155.19. As to the trumpet of Triton, see Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.333-42.
6. The myths connected with this constellation are discussed by W. H. Roscher, “Die Elemente des astronomischen Mythus vom Aigokeros,” Fleckeis. Jahrbücher 151 (1895): 333-42, and Boll and Gundel, 973. The story of Pan's metamorphosis into a goat/fish is also related by Hyginus, Fables 196; Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 28; Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.325. The Nereid in place of Capricorn is found in Teucrus and Antiochus (in Boll, Sphaera, 277-78).
As to the history of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 135-42 ; Boll and Gundel, 971-74.
Cassiopeia
1. On Medusa's boast and subsequent punishment, see Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.3. On Agamemnon's boast, see Apollodorus, Epitome 3.21. Cassiopeia's challenging of the Nereids is recounted by Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.3. Cassiopeia appears to be in an upside-down position during half her revolution about the north pole.
2. See also pp. 27-28, 83-84, 85, 157-58. On the history of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 142-48.
3. Apollodorus, The Library 1.2.7, lists forty-five Nereids by name. For other lists, see Homer, Iliad 18.38-49 (lists thirty-one); Hesiod, Theogony 240-64 (lists fifty-one); Hyginus, Fables preface (lists thirty-two). On the wooing of Amphitrite by Poseidon, in connection with the constellation Delphinus, see pp. 97-100.
The name and something of the character of the Nereids have survived in the Modern Greek neraides. The latter are thought of as mermaids or water-nymphs, but the name is also used of the nymph-spirits of forests, valleys, and ridges. For a discussion of the neraides, see J. C. Lawson, Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion, 132-34.
Centaurus
1. As to the wisdom and justice of Chiron, see Homer, Iliad 11.832; Xenophon, On Hunting 1.1; Ovid, Fasti 5.384, 413; Pindar, Pythian Odes 9.64; Horace, Epodes 13.11. Chiron's abode was said to be on Mt. Pelion, in a cave overlooking the Pagasitic Gulf, see Pindar, Pythian Odes 9.30. Chiron appears on coins of Magnesia: see B. V. Head, Historia Numorum, 300-301. Apollodorus, The Library 2.5, 4, says that Chiron dwelt at Malea in the Peloponnesus after being driven from Mt. Pelion by the Lapithae. As to the pupils of Chiron, see the list in Xenophon, On Hunting 1.1. Chiron's skills in healing are referred to by Homer, Iliad 4.219, 11.831. Pliny, Natural History 7.196, says that Chiron was the founder of herb-medicine. The Scholiast on Homer, Iliad 4.219, refers to Chiron's musicianship. Chironwas also a prophet: at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, he foretold the greatness of Achilles (Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 1064). Chiron's friendliness to man is mentioned by sPindar, Pythian Odes 3.5; Scholiast on Apollonius of Rhodes, Voyage of Argo 1.554; Homer, Iliad 16.143; Apollodorus, The Library 3.13.5.
2. See Apollodorus, The Library 1.2.4; Pliny, Natural History 7.197; Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.126. See also pp. 150-53.
3. On Chiron's immortality, see Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 1027; Sophocles, Maidens of Trachis 715; Lucian, Dialogues of the Dead 26. The story of Chiron's death is related by Apollodorus, The Library 2.5.4; Ovid, Fasti 5.398; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 99.17, G 178.14
4. Seep.185.
5. The name Hippocrator is given to Centaurus by Hermes Trismegistus, 252-253G. As to die history of the constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 1012-14; Allen, Star Names, 148-155.
6. As to Lupus, see Boll and Gundel, 1014-16; Allen, Star Names, 278-79. Lupus is comprised of ten stars according to The Constellations and to Hipparchus, nineteen according to Ptolemy. As to the Altar, see pp. 37-38.
7. As to the thyrsus, see F. v. Lorentz, “Thyrsos,” in Realenzyklopädie, 6A:747-52.
Cepheus
1. G. P. Goold, “Perseus and Andromeda: A Myth from the Skies,” Proceedings of the African Classical Association 2 (1959): 10-15, argues for the astronomical origin of the Perseus-Andromeda myth.
2. Cepheus generally appears in classical literature as the king of Ethiopia or Phoenicia, but Media and lope are sometimes mentioned as being under his rule. See Tacitus, Histories 5.2; Pliny, Natural History 6.183. Greek authors are not in complete agreement as to the location of Ethiopia. Aeschylus connects the Ethiopians with India (Suppliants 284), but beginning with Herodotus, the name Ethiopia is applied to the area south of Egypt. On Cassiopeia, see pp. 75-76; on Andromeda, see pp. 27-28; on Perseus, see 157-58; on Cetus, see pp. 85-86. The fullest account of the story of Cassiopeia's arrogance and the resulting exposure of Andromeda to the sea monster is in Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.3.
3. On the origin of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 155-159. Achilles Tatius, Isagoga 75M, (third century C.E.) states that the constellation of Cepheus was not known to the Chaldeans or the Egyptians.
Cetus
1. For a general description of this constellation figure, see Aratus, Phaenomena 353-66. The name Cetus is from the Greek word meaning “sea creature” and is used in Greek of whales and other large sea animals, not necessarily wit the connotation of “monster.”
Ceto appears in Greek mythology as a sea-nymph, the daughter of Pontus (“Ocean”) and Gaea (“Earth”). See Apollodorus, The Library 1.2.6; Hesiod, Theogony 238.
See also pp. 27-28, 75-76, 83-84, 157-58.
2. Brown, Primitive Constellations, 1:88-91, 189, 2:55; Allen, Star Names, 160-64.
Corona Borealis
1. Theseus received the crown as a gift from Thetis, who had received it as aweddinggift fromAphrodite, according to Bacchylides, 17.112.
2. The earliest literary reference to Ariadne's crown is in Pherecydes (see Scholiast on Homer, Odyssey 11.321). According to Pherecydes, the golden crown was presented to Ariadne by Dionysus on Naxos; it is doubtful that Pherecydes associated Ariadne's crown with the constellation. Pherecydes is followed by Apollonius Rhodius, The Voyage of Argo 3.1001, who mentions that the crown was turned into a constellation by the gods. Servius on Vergil, Georgics 1.222, relates that the crown was a gift from Dionysus and was placed in the heavens by that god. Aratus, Phaenomena 71, says that the crown was placed in the sky by Dionysus in his grief over the death of Ariadne. The Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 71, says that the constellation was the ivy wreath worn by Dionysus. As to depictions of the crown of Ariadne on ancient vase-paintings, see H. Steuding, “Theseus,” in Roscher, Lexikon, 5:694, 696.
3. See Farnell, Cults, 2.632-35. Ariadnewas them other of Tauropolis according to the Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, The Voyage of Argo 3.997. On the worship of Ariadne at Athens, see Plutarch, Theseus 22.
4. See Scholiast on Theocritus, Idylls 2.45; Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, The Voyage of Argo 3.997; Diodorus Siculus, 4.61.5, 5.51.3.
5. Ariadne was slain by Artemis according to Homer, Odyssey 11.321. The more common story of her abandonment by Theseus and subsequent marriage to Dionysus is alluded to by Hesiod, Theogony 947; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 1.20.3; Hyginus, Fables 43; Plutarch, Theseus 20. The grave of Ariadne was shown on Naxos, on Cyprus, and at Argos. For the cult of Ariadne on Naxos, see H. Stoll, “Ariadne,” in Roscher, Lexikon, 1,1:540-46. On the grave of Ariadne at Argos see Plutarch, Theseus 20; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2.23.8.
Ancient references point to the use of both crowns and wreaths in the marriage rite. See W. K. Lacey, The Family in Ancient Greece, plates 24, 26.
6. See Apollodorus, The Library 3.5.3. On the descent of Orpheus to the Underworld, and his connection with Dionysus, see W. K. C. Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion, 29-32, 53.
7. See Boll and Gundel, 892-96;Allen, Star Names, 174-79. Another “crown” is located by Ptolemy in the vicinity of Sagittarius. The Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 400, refers to that group of stars as the Southern Crown [Corona Australis], or the wheel of Ixion.
As to Ariadne's Lock, see pp. 125-28.
Cygnus
1. On the raising of Helen by Leda see Apollodorus, The Library 2.10.7; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 1.33.7; Scholiast on Callimachus, Diana 232.
The birth of Helen from an egg laid by Leda is recounted by Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 20.14; Scholiast on Homer, Odyssey 11.298; Hyginus, Fables 77; Apollodorus, The Library 3.10.7. The egg supposed to have been laid by Leda was seen by Pausanias at Sparta (Pausanias, Guide to Greece 3.16.1) in the second century C. E. Plutarch, Symposium 637B recounts that the egg fell from heaven.
According to Homer, Odyssey 4.227, 569, Helen was the daughter of Zeus. Hesiod, Fragment 92Rz says she was the daughter of Zeus and one of the daughters of Oceanus. For other accounts of Helen's birth, as well as the parentage of her brothers and sister, see R. Engelmann, “Helena,” Roscher, Lexikon, 1.2:1932. Helen's brothers, Castor and Pollux, were transformed into the constellation Gemini (see pp. 111-13).
2. The concept of righteous indignation (aisa), whether of men or of gods, is present in Homer but is not personified.
3. On the cult of Nemesis at Rhamnus, see Farnell, Cults, 2.487-94; Cook, Zeus, 1.265-85; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 1.33.2-8. Rhamnus was situated on the eastcoast of Attica, to the north of Tricorythus. See Strabo, Geography 9.1.22.
Farnell believes that the early goddess of Rhamnus was a divinity of life and death similar to Artemis and Aphrodite, but he is uncertain of the meaning of the epithet Nemesis, as it cannot have meant “divine retribution” in connection with the earlier cult. He suggests that the meaning of Nemesis might be sought in Gk. nemo (“to deal out, dispense”), since a goddess of birth could be associated with the dispensing of a particular lot in life.
The cult at Smyrnawas to two goddesses named Nemesis, who were daughters of Night (see Hesiod, Theogony 223; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 7.5. 2). These goddesses, who were probably only one goddess, were nature divinities connected with vegetation.
As to the identification of Nemesis with Diana Nemorensis, see Cook, Zeus, 1:273-75. Cook supports his argument with the contention that the cult of abstractions is late, while that of Nemesis is early, although he admits that the Rhamnusian Nemesis is not an abstraction, but an anthropomorphized figure.
4. On the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 906-8; Allen, Star Names, 192-98. The constellation is called simply the “Bird” by Aratus, Pbaenomena 275 and Ptolemy, Almagest 7.5.
5. The first myth is attested by Scholiaston Aratus, Phaenomena 273, 275. As to the constellation of the Lyre, see pp. 133-39. The story of Cygnus, who was changed into a swan, is told by Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.377; Vergil, Aeneid 10.189. The changing of Cygnus into a constellation is alluded to by all the above except Ovid.
Delphinus
1. The dolphin of classical literature and art is the Delphinus delphis (on which, see Keller, Thiere des classischen Altertums, 211-35; Antike Tierwelt, 1 :408-9; Stebbins, The Dolphin in the Literature and Art of Greece and Rome, 1-8) and not the Coryphaena hippurus, known in English as the Common Dolphin. The appearance of Delphinus delphis is described by Stebbins, The Dolphin, 4: “Delphinus delphis does not grow over ten feet in length. The salient features of its head are the round brain case with the fatty cushion in front of the blowhole and the long beak. At the point where these meet there is a V-shaped groove. The mouth or beak…is long and furnished with forty to sixty pairs of teeth in either jaw.”
Accounts of the dolphin's friendship and service to man include the myths of Coeranus, Melicertes-Palaemon, Eualus, Arion, and numerous folktales (Stebbins, The Dolphin, 62-70, 73-77).
2. Stebbins, The Dolphin, 97-129. The story of Dionysus and the Tyrrhenian pirates was also well known.
3. On the connection of Poseidon with dolphins, see Stebbins, The Dolphin, 84-86 (literary references). Poseidon is represented with the dolphin on coins of Boeae, Gythion, Caphyae, Sybaris, Poseidonia, Corinth, Tenos, Caria, Galatia, Cilicia, Alexandria, etc. See Farnell, Cults;, 4:96-97.
4. Amphitrite is mentioned as the consort of Poseidon as early as Hesiod, Theogony 930. The Constellations provides the earliest account of her wooing by Poseidon. Amphitrite was never worshipped alone, but always together with Poseidon. There is evidence of this double worship at several of the better known centers of the Poseidon cult: Tenos, Syros, Myconos, the Isthmus of Corinth, Lesbos, Amyclae. See Farnell, Cults, 4:1-60.
Little is known about Artemidorus aside from the fact thathe was a pupil of Callimachus.
5. See Scholia to Aratus 318. The leading of the Cretans to Delphi by Apollo in the shape of a dolphin is widely attested: see Stebbins, The Dolphin, 77-80. There is evidence of a cult of Apollo Delphinius at Chalcis, Athens, Aegina, Sparta, Thera, Chios, Crete, Massilia, Miletus, Olbia. See Farnell, Cults, 4:145-48, and notes.
6. As to the dolphin's love of music, see Aelian, The Nature of Animals 2.6, 11.12, 12.45; [Arion], Hymn to Poseidon 8; Pliny the Elder, Natural History 9.24; see also Martianus Capella, The Marriage of Philology and Mercury 9.927; Archias in Palatine Anthology, 7.214; Euripides, Electra 435-36; Plutarch, The Banquet of the Seven Wise Men 19 (162E).
The evidence from art tends to derive the dolphin's affinity for music from its beingone of the creatures sacred to Apollo, e.g., an Attic red-figured vase shows Apollo Delphinius holding a lyre and flanked by dolphins: see Stebbins, The Dolphin, 104.
7. On the history of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 198-201; Boll and Gundel, 926-27.
Draco
1. Hesiod, Theogony 215, 275, 518. The serpent is sometimes called Dracon, but usually is not given a name. (The Greek word drakon means “snake” and is interchangeable with the more common word ophis; see H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., 448). Apollonius Rhodius, The Voyage of Argo 4.1396 calls the serpent Ladon. The existence of a river of this name in the northwest Peloponnesus has caused some scholars to locate the garden of the Hesperides in Arcadia (see K. Seeliger, “Hesperiden,” in Roscher, Lexikon 1,2:2594-2603). The garden is located in the West by most ancient sources, as the mention of the Atlas Mountains would suggest. Hesiod says the garden of the Hesperides was “beyond Ocean.”
2. Although cited as a source by Ps-Eratosthenes and subsequent authors, including Hyginus and the scholiasts on Germanicus (BP 60.15, G 118.18), Pherecydes does not identify the serpent with the constellation. In Fragment 16], Pherecydes recounts how Heracles sent Atlas to fetch the apples and did not himself meet the dragon. See also Apollodorus, The Library 2.5.11. On Heracles, see pp.11.5-18 and 175-78.
3. Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 45, 46 (Python, or dragon of Cadmus, or snake of Zeus); Hyginus; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 60.15, G 118.18 (dragon of Athena); Scholiast on Homer, Odyssey 5.272 (snake of Zeus).
4. Thompson, Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, B 11.6.2: “Dragon guards treasure”; F480.2: “Serpent as house spirit.”
5. On the history of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 202-12; Boll and Gundel, 821-24.
Eridanus
1. See Aratus, Phaenomena 358-60; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 98.6; G 174.20; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 38.429; Hermes Trismegistus, 198G.
2. On the Eridanus River, see Hesiod, Theogony 33; Herodotus, The Histories 3.115; Strabo, Geography 5.1.9; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 1.4.1, 19.5; 5.12.7, 14.3; 8.25.13; Vergil, Georgics 1.482,4.371; Aeneid 6.659; Hyginus, Fables 154; Pliny the Elder, Natural History 3.117; 37.31.
As to the association of the Eridanus with amber, see Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.750-2.366; E. H. Warmington, Greek Geography, XXX; K. Dilthey, De Electro et Eridano. See also Pliny the Elder, Natural History 37.30-53. As to the three main routes used for the transport of amber in ancient times, see J. M. de Navarro, “Prehistoric Routes between Northern Europe and Italy defined by the Amber Trade,” Geographical Journal 66 (1925): 481-504.
3. As to the story of Phaethon, see Scholiast on Homer, Odyssey 17.208; Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.750-2.366; Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 25; Hyginus, Fables 152, 154.
4. As to the star Canopus, see Allen, Star Names, 67-72. On the visibility of Canopus from Greece, see Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 351.
As to Canopus, the helmsman of Menelaus, see Conon, 8; Strabo, Geography 17.801; Plutarch, On the Deceitfulness of Herodotus 12 (857B), On Isis 22 (says that Canopus was the helmsman of Osiris and was placed among the stars together with his ship [Argo], on which see pp. 39-42).
5. As to the history of this constellation, seeAllen, Star Names, 215-20; Boll and Gundel, 989-93. As to the Euphratean “Sea,” see Manilius, Astronomy 1.440; Teucrus, Antiochus, Valens (in Boll, Sphaera, 134-36). Brown, Eridanus: River and Constellation, contends that the River of the Greeks actually represents the Euphrates River (the Nile and the Euphrates were believed by the ancients to be different parts of the same river). As to the artistic representations of the River, see Thiele, Antike Himmelsbilder, 39-40; Boll and Gundel, 990-92.
6. There is no mention of the number of stars in the River in the extant writings of Hipparchus.
Galaxy
1. As to the heavenly circles, see Achilles Tatius in Maass, Commentariorum in Aratum Reliquiae, 51.
2. See Diodorus Siculus, History 4.9.6; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 9.25.2 (these two authors do not relate the story as an aetion for the MilkyWay); Achilles Tatius (in Maass, Commentariorum, 55); Scholiast on Germanicus BP 186.25. A late allusion to the myth (Nonnus, Dionysiaca 35.308-11)makes Dionysus the recipient of the divine milk instead of Heracles.
As to the myth of Phaethon in connection with the Milky Way, see Manilius, Astronomy 1.735-42; Aristotle, Meteorologica 345a.
As to the changing of the Sun's path in consequence of the sacrilege of Thyestes, who slew his son and placed the cooked parts before the gods, see Achilles Tatius (in Maass, Commentariorum, 55).
3. Pindar, Hymns 30; Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.168-76; Martianus Capella, 22.208; Lucian, In Praise of Demosthenes 50; Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy 14.223; Stobaeus, Anthology 1.574, 906; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 187.14.
4. Boll and Gundel, 1022, 1028. A Modem Greek myth explaining the Milky Way as the trail left by a grain-thief as he fled in haste, is said to derive from an Ancient Near Eastern story which may have been known to Eratosthenes. See Boll and Gundel, 1026.
Artistic representations of the Milky Way are not common. See Thiele, Antike Himmelsbilder, 42.
Gemini
1. As to the parentage of the Dioscuri, see Homer, Odyssey 11.298-304; Homeric Hymns 17.2; Pindar, Olympian Odes 3.61; Apollodorus, The Library 3.11.2; Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 26. According to Homer, Castor and Polydeuces were both mortal; according to the Homeric Hymn, they were both immortal. In the remaining sources one brother was immortal, usually Polydeuces, and the other was mortal. See also pp. 93-94.
On the Dioscuri as Laconian heroes, see Farnell, Greek Hero Cults, 175-228. There is evidence for cults of the Dioscuri in the Peloponnesus, Attica, Northern and Northwestern Greece, Delphi, Corcyra, Cephallenia, Thessaly, and Magna Graecia.
2. On twins in general, see J. R. Harris, The Cult of the Heavenly Twins, 4-62. The name Dioscuri means “children of Zeus.” On the Dioscuri, see Cook, Zeus, 1:760-75, 2:422-40. Twins are generally connected in cult with their mother. The Dioscuri are often connected with their mother, Leda, but also with their sister, Helen. See F. Chapouthier, Les Dioscures au service d'une déesse. On other sets of twins in Greek mythology, see Cook, Zeus 2 C. Kerenyi, The Heroes of the Greeks, 34-39, 105-11. The Great Twins in Babylonian art are represented head to head or feet to feet as well as side by side (see Brown, Primitive Constellations, 2.42).
3. Twins are often thought of as horsemen, coming especially to the aid of those in danger at sea, and the Dioscuri are no exception. See Pliny the Elder, Natural History 2.101. Euripides, Orestes 1637, says that Helen is a savior of mariners. See also K. Jaisle, Die Dioskuren als Retter zur See bei Griechen und Romern, for a study of the relevant passages in classical literature. According to Livy, History of Rome 2.19, the Dioscuri came to the aid of the Roman legions at the battle of Lake Regillus c. 496 B.C.E.
4. On Gemini as Amphion and Zethus, see Scholiast on Germanicus BP 68.7; as Heracles and Apollo, see Manilius, Astronomy 4.755; as Heracles and Theseus, see Scholiast on Germanicus BP 69; Hyginus, Fables 55; as the Great Gods of Samothrace, see Scholiaston Euripides, Orestes 1637, as Phaon and Satyrus, see Hermes Trismegistus in W. Gundel, Neue Astrologische Texte des Hermes Trismegistos, 263-64. As to the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 946-51; Allen, Star Names, 222-37.
Hercules
1. The winning of the golden apples was either the eleventh or the twelfth labor of Heracles. See pp. 101-3, 177. On the labors in general see Apollodorus, The Library 2.5.1-12.
2. See Aratus, Phaenomena 63-66. On Theseus, see pp. 87-89. Thamyris was a Thracian bard who challenged the Muses in song; he was blinded by them in punishment (Homer, Iliad 2.594 and Scholiast). On Orpheus, see pp. 133-35. Ixion attempted to force himself on Hera. His punishment in the Underworld was to be bound to a wheel that turned eternally (Pindar, Pythian Odes 2.21 and Scholiast). When the figure is identified with Ixion, the constellation Corona Borealis (see pp. 87-91) is considered to be Ixion's wheel. On Prometheus, see pp. 175-78. Greek myth assigns to Atlas the task of holding up the sky (Hesiod, Theogony 517-20). Tantalus purportedly served the flesh of his son to the gods and was punished in the Underworld by being eternally “tantalized,” that is, hungry and thirsty, and never satisfied (Homer, Odyssey 11.582-92). The identification with Ceteus, a son of Lycaon, connects this constellation with Bootes and the two Bears.
Hydra, Crater, Corvus
1. See Ovid, Fasti 2.243; Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 449; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 100.12, G 180.15; Aelian, On the Characteristics of Animals 1:47, 12.4; Catullus, 66.57. See also Thompson, Glossary of Greek Birds, 159-64. The hawk is also closely connected with Apollo, as are several other birds, and is often referred to as that god's messenger.
As to the myth of Coronis, see Apollodorus, The Library 3.10.3; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2.26.6; Hyginus, Fables 202; Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.534; Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 20.7.
2. As to the Perseus-Andromeda group, see pp. 27-28, 75-76, 8384, 85, 157-58.
The story of the crow and the figs is a conglomeration of folk-tale motifs: see Thompson, Motif-Index, B291.1.2: “Crow as messenger”; F420.4.9: “Water-supply controlled by water-spirit”; K401.2.1:“Crow tricks snake”; A2435.4.3: “Why raven suffers thirst.” For other fables concerning the crow, see Thompson, Glossary of Greek Birds, 95.
See Aelian, Characteristics of Animals 1.47; Aristotle, Fragment 343R3. The treatise of Archelaus is not extant.
3. For Corvus as the bird touching the head of Talas, see Boll, Sphaera, 279. The Hydra is identified with the hydra slain by Heracles at Lerna (Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 443), the serpent guarding the apples of the Hesperides (Manilius, Astronomy 5.16), with the Nile River (Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 443). As to Icarius, see pp.5658. Otus and Ephialtes were twin sons of Poseidon, who imprisoned the god Ares in a bronze vessel because he had slain Adonis (see Scholiast on Homer, Iliad 5.385).
4. On the history of these three constellation-figures, see Allen, Star Names, 179-84, 246-50; Boll and Gundel, 1008-12.
The city of Eleusa was located at the entrance to the Hellespont, on the European side. A port called Crateres Achaion (“craters of the Achaeans”) was located by [Scylax], Periplus 96 on the Chersonese.
Leo
1. On the slaying of the Nemean lion by Heracles, see Hesiod, Theogony 326; Hyginus, Fables 30; Apollodorus, The Library 2.5.1. The lion was said to have fallen from the sky or moon by Plutarch, On the Face in the Moon 24. The rearing of the lion by Hera may be an extension of her usual connection with the moon. See Cook, Zeus 1:453-57. On Heracles, see also pp. 61-62, 101-3, 115-18. Pisander of Rhodes (sixth century B.C.E.) wrote a Heraclea in two books, of which only fragments survive.
2. See pp. 33-34, where the explanation given for Aquila is that the eagle is the “king of birds.”
According to the usual account, Heracles was forced to kill the Nemean lion with his hands when he found its hide invulnerable to his arrows. The Constellations is the only classical source to mention that Heracles strangled the lion with his bare hands because he sought after glory.
3. As to the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 954-59; Allen, Star Names, 252-63. On the connection of the lion with the sun, see Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.21.
4. As to Coma Berenices, see Pliny the Elder, Natural History 2.71. Callimachus's poem on the changing of Berenice's Lock into a constellation is preserved in the translation of Catullus (66).
5. Coma Berenices is comprised of three “unformed” stars according to Ptolemy. According to Ps-Eratosthenes and Hyginus, the constellation consists of seven stars. These stars are said to comprise the mane of the Lion by Dorotheus (in Catalogi Codicorum Astronomicorum 6.94) and by Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2.655. Ptolemy says they represent an ivy-leaf. They are identified as a grape cluster by Cosmas Indicopleustes in Maass, Analecta Eratosthenica, 5, and as a spindle by Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 144. Aratus himself does not name these stars.
Lepus
1. On Orion, seepp. 147-50; on Procyon, seepp. 69-70. The plague of hares on Astypalaea is mentioned byAthenaeus, The Banquet 9.400.
2. Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 338; Scholiast on Germanicus G 170.17. On the epithets of Hermes, see C. Bruchmann, Epitheta Deorum, 111.
3. Aristotle, The History of Animals 542b, 579b-580a, 585a; The Generation of Animals 774a.
4. See Boll and Gundel, 993. The constellation Lepus rises when Corvus sets. Allen, Star Names, 265, sees a reflection of astronomical fact in Aelian, On the Characteristics of Animals 13.11, where the enmity of hares and crows is noted. On Corvus, see pp. 119-21.
Lyra
1. As to the shape and origin of the lyre, see Homeric Hymns 4.24-61; Apollodorus, The Library 3.10.2; Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.167; Hyginus, Fables273. See also R. P. Winnington-Ingram, “Ancient Greek Music 1932-1957,” Lustrum 3 (1958): 14, 5-57; I. Düring, “Greek Music,” Journal Of World History 3 (1956): 307; C. Sachs, The Rise of Music in the Ancient World, 218-20, 229; “Lyra,” in Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. A list of vase paintings showing lyres has been compiled by O. Gombosi, Tonarten und Stimmungen derantiken Musik. The later cithara differed from the lyre in lacking the tortoise-shell base which served as a sounding chamber, and thus produced higher and less resonant tones than the lyre. The lyre was generally considered a more manly instrument than the cithara.
2. A collection of the testimonia relating to Orpheus will be found in O. Kern, Orphicorum Fragmenta, 1-79. Fora discussion of Orpheus's connection with music, see I. M. Linforth, The Arts of Orpheus, 165-66. Two musicians of great repute and also of Thracian origin, Thamyris and Linus, were said to be pupils of Orpheus. Other pupils of Orpheus included Musaeus, Eumolpus, and Midas.
Although Orpheus was generally believed to have lived before Homer (eighth century B.C.E.), the image of Orpheus as a musician who could move all nature is not attested earlier than the fifth century B.C.E. Orpheus does not appear at all on black-figured vases, while on red-figured vases he is never shown surrounded by wild animals. See J. E. Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, 458. As to the magical powers of Orpheus's music, see Euripides, Bacchae 550, Iphigenia at Aulis 1213; Apollodorus, The Library 1.3.1; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 6.20.18; Horace, Odes 1.12.7; Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.86-105.
As to “Orphic” literature, the most complete collection of its remains can be found in Kern, Orphicorum Fragmenta, 80-344. The authenticity of these writings was questioned even in antiquity: see Linforth, The Arts of Orpheus, 168, 295, who argues that a good deal of Orphic literature may be a result of “the surprisingly common practice in Greece whereby poets sought to obtain prestige for their work by publishing it under the names of poets greater than themselves.”
As to the prophetic powers of Orpheus, see Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, The Voyage of Argo 2.684; Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.8; Pliny the Elder, Natural History 7.203.
3. Orpheus is named by ancient sources as the institutor of rites of the Bacchic mysteries; see Apollodorus, The Library 1.3.2; Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 3.58
For a discussion of the problems connected with Orpheus, see Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, chapters 9-12; Farnell, Cults, 5.105; W. K. C. Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion; Linforth, The Arts of Orpheus. Linforth is mainly concerned with the study of the religious tradition surrounding Orpheus. His main conclusion is that there was no such thing as an “Orphic religion” in antiquity. He suggests that the religious tradition associated with Orpheus arose from two independent sources: 1) the mystery religions of antiquity, and 2) the legend of Orpheus the magical singer.
Herodotus, The Histories 2.81, identifies the teachings of Orpheus with those of the Dionysiac religion.
4. J. E. Fontenrose, “Apollo and the Sun-God in Ovid,” American Journal of Philology 61 (1940): 429-44. “Helius” is found as an epithet of Apollo in several late inscriptions of Asia Minor; for Patara, see Journal of Hellenic Studies 10 (1889): 81; for Thyateira, see Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum, 10,3500. See also Plutarch, On the Eat Delpbi 86B, who scoffs at the identification of Apollo with the Sun-God. Harrison, Prolegomena, 462, mentions a Thracian cult of the Sun-God later fused with Apollo, and suggests that Orpheus may have been trying to revive the older Helius-cultwhen he came into conflict with Dionysus. Guthrie, Orpheusand Greek Religion, 46, notes that Dionysus was worshipped, and even identified, with Apollo at Delphi.
5. The descent of Orpheus to the underworld is recounted by Vergil, Georgics 4.469-503; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 10.30.6; Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.11;Apollodorus, The Library 1.3.2; Hyginus, Fables 164. See also Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion, 29-32.
As to Eurydice, see Kern, Orpbicorum Fragmenta, testimonia 62-67.
As to the violation of the tabu against looking back, see H. J. Rose, Handbook of Greek Mythology, 255; S. Thompson, Motif-Index, C331.2: “Travelers to other world must not look back”; F81.1: “Orpheus”; C331: “Person must remain in otherworld because of broken tabu.”
6. As to the death of Orpheus, see Vergil, Georgics 4.521; Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.1; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 9.30.5-6. Various reasons are given for Orpheus's death: 1) he was slain by Zeus because he revealed certain mysteries to man; 2) he dared to go down to the underworld alive; 3) he offended Dionysus by forgetting to sacrifice to him; 4) he incurred the wrath of the Thracian women either by excluding them from his mysteries or by avoiding their company; 5) Orpheus's mother offended Venus, who caused the Thracian women to become enamored of Orpheus and to dismember him. Orpheus was mentioned by some ancient sources as the founder of homosexual love (see Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.83). Leibethroe is usually named as the site of Orpheus's death. Pausanias, Guide to Greece 9.30.9 says his tomb was located there. Farnell, Cults, 5:105 discusses the cult of Orpheus at the site. The pieces of Orpheus's body were scattered, according to the traditional account, and his head, which retained the power of speech and prophecy, floated across the sea to Lesbos, where itbecame part of an oracle. The head continued to prophesy until Apollo ordered the oracle to be closed; see Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion, 35.
7. As to the origin of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 280-88; Boll and Gundel, 904-6.
Ophiuchus
1. Hyginus is the earliest extant source for the stories of Carnabon, Triopas, and Phorbas. The name Triopas was applied to several Greek heroes, among them an old Thessalian hero, and a son of Helius. Hyginus's comment that Phorbas—clearly a Rhodian hero—was the son of Triopas and Myrmidon's daughter, Hiscilla, appears to conflate Thessalian and Rhodian tradition. The Myrmidons were inhabitants of Thessaly; Helius—along with Apollo, who is responsible for the changing of Phorbas into a constellation—was closely identified with the island of Rhodes.
For Triptolemus as the messenger of Ceres, see Apollodorus, The Library 1.5.2. On the cult of Triptolemus, see Farnell, Cults, 3:360.
2. Ancient sources generally refer to Asclepius as the son of Apollo and either Coronis or Arsinoe. Coronis seems the better choice, as she was recognized as Asclepius's mother by the priests of Asclepius at Epidaurus and by the oracle of Delphi. On the parentage and rearing of Asclepius by Chiron, see Apollodorus, The Library 3.10.3; Hyginus, Fables 202.
Athena gave Asclepius “the blood that flowed from the veins of the Gorgon.” The blood that flowed from the veins on the left side had a baneful effect, while that from the right side was beneficial. Thus it was the latter which Asclepius used to raise the dead.
The story of a man learning to raise the dead from a snake is a common motif, occurring in Modern Greek, German, Italian and Lithuanian stories. See Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris, 1:186; Thompson, Motif-Index, B512: “Medicine shown by an animal”; BS11.1: “Snake as healer”; D965: “Magic plant”; E105: “Resuscitation by herbs”; E181: “Means of resuscitation learned.”
For the references to Asclepius's appearance in the form of a snake, see G. Murray, The Five Stages of Greek Religion, chapter 1.
Lists of those men who were raised from the dead by Asclepius were compiled, among others, by Apollodorus, The Library 3.10.3.
3. Asclepius's death by lightning is mentioned as early as Hesiod (Fragment 125Rz). See also Apollodorus, The Library 2.10.3. Pindar, Pythian Odes 3.96, says that Asclepius was induced to raise Hippolytus from the dead by a large sum of money.
There were cults of Asclepius at Epidaurus, Athens, and in Thessaly. See Farnell, Cults, 4:239-41; W. Jayne, The Healing Gods of Ancient Civilizations, 250-52.
4. As suggested by Ps-Eratosthenes, who locates this constellation by referring to its brighter neighbor, Scorpio, Ophiuchus is not, itself, a bright constellation; none of its stars are of greater than the third magnitude, according to Ptolemy. See also Aratus, Phaenomena 79-80.
Orion
1. As to Orion's parentage, see Apollodorus, The Library 1.4.3.
2. The Greek word by bris connotes “insolence” or “wanton violence” arising from the pride of strength or from passion. Nemesis is sometimes personified.
Niobe boasted about her seven sons and seven daughters, provoking their death at the hands of Apollo and Artemis; Arachne boasted of her skill as a weaver and was changed into a spider byAthena; Tantalus and Sisyphus were punished in the Underworld, the former for attempting to trick Zeus, the latter for attempting to cheat Death.
3. Greek heroes, having one mortal and one divine parent, were more than mortals, but less than gods. Many were founders of cities, and all were associated with a local cult. The best known Greek heroes include Heracles, Theseus, Perseus, Minos. See Farnell, Greek Hero Cults.
4. The cure of Orion's blindness by the Sun represents a folk-motif. See Thompson, Motif-Index, F952.2: “Blindness healed by rays of sun”; F950: “Marvelous Cures.”
5. Seep.23.
6. See Boll and Gundel, 983-89; Allen, Star Names, 303-20.
Pegasus
1. Hippocrene on Mt. Helicon was created by Pegasus according to Strabo, Geography 8.6.21; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 9.31.3; Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.253.
As to the representation of this constellation in art, see Boll and Gundel, 928-29. The Constellations states that the constellation figure does not have wings. Aratus and Hipparchus do not mention anything at all concerning wings. It is interesting that in some of the earlier monuments, Pegasus was depicted without wings. See A. Baumeister, Denkmaler des klassischen Altertums, 1:301.
2. As to Mt. Helicon, see Strabo, Geography 9.2.25; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 10.28.1. Helicon and Cithaeron were once human brothers, who were changed by the gods into mountains. Helicon, being the more pious of the two, became the abode of the Muses, while Cithaeron became the home of the Erinyes. See [Plutarch], On Rivers 2; Scholiast on Homer, Odyssey 3.267. On Hippocrene, see Pausanias, Guide to Greece 9.31.3; Strabo, Geography 8.6.21. On the fountains at Troezen and Corinth, see Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2.31.9. On Aganippe, another famous fountain, see Pausanias, Guide to Greece 9.29.5. See also Leake, Travels in Northern Greece, 2:141, 205, 489-500, 526.
3. Hesiod, Theogony 278, 285; Apollodorus, The Library 2.3.2, 4.2; Scholiast on Aristophanes, Peace 722. On the slaying of Medusa by Perseus, see pp. 157-60.
See R. Engelmann, “Chimaira,” in Roscher, Lexikon, 1,1:893-95.
4. See Apollodorus, The Library 1.9.3; Homer, Iliad 6.155;Hyginus, Fables 57; Pindar, Olipian Odes 13.63. See also S. D. Markman, The Horse in Greek Art, 8 and passim.
5. For additional references to Hippe see Scholiast on Germanicus BP 78.21, G 140.24. See also R. Wünsch, “Zu den Melanippen des Euripides,” Rheinisches Museum 49 (1894): 94-96.
The Aeolus of this story is not the Greek god of the winds, but the son of Hellen and eponymous ancestor of the Aeolians.
6. As to the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 928-31; Allen, Star Names, 321-28.
Perseus
1. For the story of Danae and Perseus see Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.1; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2.16.2, 25.6, 3.13.6; Hyginus, Fables 63; Herodotus, Histories 7.61. For the folk-motif of the floating chest see Thompson, Motif-Index, S141, 331: “Exposure in floating chest.”
2. On Medusa, see Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.2. Aeschylus's Phorcides has not survived. Medusa was eithera lovely maiden who was overly proud of her beautiful hair, which Athena, in punishment, changed into serpents, or she was changed into a monster by Athena for giving birth to Chrysaor and Pegasus in one of Athena's temples. In the usual account, however, Chrysaor and Pegasus (see pp. 151-55) were created by Poseidon from the blood of Medusa after she was slain by Perseus. See Hesiod, Theogony 287; Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.3; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.792.
3. For the objects provided to Perseus by the various gods, see Hesiod, Shield 220; Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.3. Hades was the Greek god of the Underworld; Orcus, his Roman counterpart. Hyginus's insistence that Perseus used the helmet of Hades and not Orcus appears to be based on etymology: Hades probably means “the invisible one,” while the name Orcus may derive from the Greek word horkos meaning “oath.” Hesiod mentions Orcus as a spirit that punishes perjury (Theogony 231; Works and Days 802).
On the Gorgon myth in connection with Athena, see Farnell, Cults, 1:286-88.
Lake Tritonis, into which Perseus threw the eye (and tooth) of the Graeae, thereby disabling them as guardians of the Gorgons, is located in Libya. See Ptolemy, Geography 4.3.19.
The rescue of Andromeda, which is not mentioned in connection with the constellation of Perseus in this story, was effected during Perseus's return journeyto Seriphos. See pp. 27-28,75-76,83-84,85. Before marrying Andromeda, Perseus defeated Phineus, Andromeda's uncle, to whom she had been betrothed. See Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.3. On Perseus after his return to Argos, see Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.236; Hyginus, Fables 244. Perseus was said to have founded Mycenae and Mideia by Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2.15.4. On the children of Perseus and Andromeda, see p.28. Perseus was worshiped as a hero in the region between Argos and Mycenae. See Farnell, Greek Hero Cults, 337 and note.
4. On the history of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 329-35.
Pisces
1. As to the Great Fish, see pp. 163-65. The story of the two fish and the egg is told by Scholiast on Germanicus BP 81.20, G 145.9; Hyginus, Fables 197. Fish and doves were both sacred to the Dea Syria (Astarte). The story of Aphrodite and Eros related by Hyginus is also recounted by Manilius, Astronomy 4.579-81, 800-801; Ovid, Fasti 2.459-74 (Ovid says the two gods were only borne to safety on the backs of fish; they were not changed into fish). See also Boll and Gundel, 980-81, and J. G. Frazer, translator, The Fasti of Ovid, 2:390-93.
2. On the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 978-81; Allen, Star Names, 336-44.
Piscis Austrinus
1. As to the city of Bambyce/Hieropolis, see Strabo, Geography 16.1.27, 2.7; Pliny the Elder, Natural History 5.81, 32.17; Ptolemy, Geography 5.15.13, 8.20.8; Plutarch, Life of Crassus 17; Lucian, On the Syrian Goddess 1. The site is known today as Manbij. On the ruins of the ancient city, see D. G. Hogarth, “Hierapolis Syriae,” Annual of the British School at Athens 14(1907-08): 183-96; Cumont, Etudes syriennes, 22-24, 35. On the coinage of Hieropolis, see Head, Historia Numorum, 7.
2. As to the Eastern Mother Earth Goddess, see Ed. Meyer, “Astarte,” in Roscher, Lexikon, 1,1:645-55; Cumont, “Astarte,” in Realenzyklopädie, 2:1777-78; E. O. James, The Cult of the Mother Goddess. See also H. A. Strong and J. Garstang, The Syrian Goddess, 41. On the connection of Aphrodite with the Eastern Mother Earth Goddess, see Herodotus, Histories 1.105, 131, 199; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 1.14.7. See also Farnell, Cults, 2:626. As to the worship of the Syrian Goddess in Greece (Delos), see O. Rayet, “Dédicace à la déesse Atergatis,” Bulletin de Correspondence Hellenique 3 (1879): 407. On the worship of the Syrian Goddess in the Roman world, see Apuleius, The Golden Ass 8.24-27.
3. As to the sacred fish of Derceto, see Lucian, On the Syrian Goddess 46; Pliny, Natural History 5.81. Lucian, On the Syrian Goddess 14, says that he saw an image of the goddess Derceto in Phoenicia which showed her as half-woman, half-fish, while at Bambyce, she was represented entirely as a woman. The Syrian tabu on fish is mentioned by Xenophon, Anabasis 1.4.9; Ovid, Fasti 2.473; Hyginus, Fables 197; Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 386; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 98.16.
4. As to the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 1019-21; Allen, Star Names, 344-47. On possible reduplication in constellation figures, see Brown, Primitive Constellations, 2:220-22.
Planets
1. Cumont, “Les noms des planètes et l'astrolatrie chez les Grecs,” L'Antiquité Classique 4 (1935): 5-43.
2. Homer, Iliad 23.226, 22.318. See also Hesiod, Theogony 381,987; Pindar, Isthmian Odes 3.42.
3. As to the knowledge of the planets derived from the Babylonians, see Diodorus Siculus, History 2.30.3. Introduction of the names Phaenon, Phaethon, etc. is dated to the first half of the third century B.C.E. by W. Gundel and H. Gundel “Planeten,” Realenzyklopädie, 20,2:2030. See also Cumont, “Les noms des planètes,” 7-9; A. Florisoone, “Astres et constellations des Babyloniens,” Ciel et Terre 67 (1951): 163-65. See also Pliny the Elder, Natural Hirtory 2.37; Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos 2.3.23. The planet Saturn was also called the star of Nemesis (see Achilles Tatius, in Maass, Commentariorum in Aratum Reliquiae, 43). The planet Mercury was also called the star of Apollo (see Pliny the Elder, Natural History 2.39).
The comparison in The Constellations of the reddish color of Mars to that “in the Eagle” is puzzling. Although the Greek is somewhat ambiguous, the reference is probably to the star a Aquilae (called “Eagle” in antiquity, see Ptolemy, Almagest 7.5), rather than to the constellation Aquila as whole. The comparison does not hold true today, however, as a Aquilae (Altair) is not a reddish star at present—its spectral type is A5 (white). It is interesting to note, also, that although Ptolemy designated this star as a second-magnitude star, its present magnitude is 0.89 and it is the twelfth brightest of all the stars (see Th. Page and L. W. Page, eds., Starlight, 93-94).
4. The Constellations, as well as the Scholiast on Germanicus BP, assign the descriptive names Phaenon and Phaethon to Jupiter and Saturn, respectively; Hyginus assigns the name Phaethon to both planets.
5. Seep.195. See also Scholiaston Germanicus BP 103.8. Compare Aratus, Phaenomena 10-11. The arrangement of the stars byMarduk is mentioned in the fifth tablet of the Babylonian creation epic; see J. B. Pritchard, ed., Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 67.
Pleiades
1. Hesiod, Works and Days 383-84, 619-23; Aratus, Phaenomena 265-67, 1085; Ovid, Fasti 3.105, 4.169-78; Vergil, Georgics 1.138.
2. The pursuit of the Pleiades by Orion is alluded to by Hesiod, Works and Days 619; Pindar, Nemean Odes 2.17; Scholiast on the Iliad 18.486 (the maidens are changed first into doves, then into stars). On the Pleiades' grief over their father, see Aeschylus, Fragment 312. On the Hyades, see pp. 191-92. On Orion, see pp. 147-50.
3. On the derivation of the name Pleiades, see Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 254-55. Although the derivation of the name Pleiades from Pleione is possible, it was more usual for Greek off spring to be identified by their father's name; indeed, there are references to the Pleiades as Atlantides. All in all, given the numerous literary references to the Pleiades in their connection with sailing, that derivation of the name seems the most plausible.
4. Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 254.
5. Allen, Star Names, 391-413.
Sagitta
1. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound.
2. See Homer, Iliad 1.43-53, where Apollo rains his plague-infested arrows on the Greek camp. The arrows of Heracles, having been dipped in centaur's blood, were particularly venomous. The Scholiast on Germanicus G, 160.15 identifies the constellation with the spear used by Heracles to slay all the swans, a curious story if the text is not corrupt. However, it should be noted that Sagitta lies not far from the constellation Cygnus.
3. Homer, Odyssey 6.5, 9.106-15,275,383, 10.200;Hesiod, Theogony 139-41, 501-6; Apollodorus, The Library 1.1.2, 2.2.1.
4. On the slaying of Asclepius by Zeus, see pp. 141, 143. As to the Cyclopaean walls of Mycenae, see A. J. B. Wace, Mycenae 49-58; G. Mylonas, Mycenae and the MycenaeanAge, 19-21. On the slaying of the Cyclopes by Apollo, see Apollodorus, The Library 3.10.4.
5. On Apollo's exile and bondage, see Apollodorus, The Library 3.10.4. As to the laws pertaining to the punishment in cases of unpremeditated or justifiable homicide, see J. W. Jones, Law and Legal Theory of the Greeks, 251-76.
6. It is uncertain whether the Hyperboreans were a real or an imaginary race—the northern counterpart of Homer's “blameless Ethiopians” of the south. Some scholars argue that the Hyperboreans were Greek worshippers of Apollo in Thessalyor other northern parts of Greece (See Farnell, Cults, 4:100-106). As to the name of the Hyperboreans, see J. D. P. Bolton, Aristeas of Proconnesus, 195-96. Most scholars consider the Hyperboreans to be an imaginary people. Bolton contends that the information gathered by Aristeas concerning a people which he believed to be the Hyperboreans pertained in reality to the Chinese (Bolton, Aristeas, 100-101, 195). The earliest reference to the Hyperboreans is in the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus 29 (usually dated to the seventh or sixth century B.C.E.), where the name is synonymous with the end of the world. The lifestyle of the Hyperboreans was described by Pindar, Olympian Odes 3.28, 8.47; Pythian Odes 10.31-46; and also by Aristeas of Proconnesus in his lost epic, Arimaspea. Bolton surmises that the sole purpose of Aristeas's northward journey was to reach the land of the Hyperboreans. Aristeas did not reach his goal, but reported what he learned of the Hyperboreans from neighboring tribes. As to the suicide before senility of the Hyperboreans, see Pliny, Natural History 4.26, 89.
7. At Delphi, the return of Apollo from the Hyperboreans was celebrated in mid-summer. Apollo was believed to be among the Hyperboreans from the vernal equinox to the first setting of the Pleiades. The celebration of Apollo's return was called by other Greeks the “golden summer” of the Delphians. As to the Delian connection with the Hyperboreans, see Herodotus, The Histories 4.33. The bringing of the sacred gifts wrapped in wheat-straw at midsummer bears an obvious resemblance to the “golden summer” of the Delphians. There was also a Delian tradition of Apollo's absence among the Hyperboreans, although the scene was later changed to Lycia. Dodona was also believed to be a Hyperborean settlement. For a discussion of the role of Dodona in the transmission of the Hyperborean gifts to Delos, see H. N. Parke, The Oracles of Zeus, Appendix 3.
8. Pausanias, Guide to Greece 10.5.9.
9. Heraclides Ponticus wrote two dialogues in which Abaris was an interlocutor: On Justice and Concerning Abaris. The tradition that Abaris rode about on the arrow of Apollo may have begun with Heraclides. See Bolton, Aristeas, 158. As to Abaris himself, see Herodotus, The Histories 4.36. Abaris was said to have lived without food and to have saved Sparta from a plague (Pausanias, Guide to Greece 3.13.2).
10. Allen, Star Names, 349-51. Note that Ps-Eratosthenes and Hyginus appear to describe the figure of the arrow as facing in opposite directions. Each author speaks of four stars, but Ps-Eratosthenes mentions two stars on the notch, while Hyginus mentions two—presumably the same two—stars on the head of the arrow.
Sagittarius
1. As to the representation of centaurs in art, see E. Bethe, “Kentauren,” in Roscher, Lexikon, 2,1:1074-80; Harrison, Prolegomena, 380; the “Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapithae” depicted on the metopes of the Parthenon (Elgin Marbles). In hunting scenes, the centaurs were portrayed with spears, not bows (see Xenophon, On Hunting 1.1). In battle scenes, the centaurs are armed, if at all, with rocks and branches (see Baumeister, Denkmaler, 1175, figure 1364; H. Oelschig, De centauromachiae in arte graeca figuris).
For the story of lxion and Nephele, see Apollodorus, Epitome 1.20; Pindar, Pythian Odes 2.21-48; Hyginus, Fables 62. As to the centaurs in general, see G. Dumézil, Le problème des Centaures, 153-55; Rose, Handbook of Greek Mythology, 256.
As to the identification of the centaurs with the Modern Greek kallikantzaroi, see Lawson, Modern Greek Folklore, 190-255.
2. As to Chiron, See Apollodorus, The Library 1.2.4, 3.10.3; Homer, Iliad 11.832. Chiron was immortal but exchanged his immortality with Prometheus in order to end the pain he suffered from the poisoned arrow of Heracles (see Apollodorus, The Library 2.5.4). There was a cult of Chiron on the island of thera (see Cook, Zeus, 1:142.)
3. As to the satyrs, see E. Kuhnert, “Satyros und Silenos,” in Roscher, Lexikon, 4:444-531; Cook, Zeus, 1:696-99; Harrison, Prolegomena, 379-85. The satyrs were originally goat-like creatures. By the fifth century B.C.E., they were represented with horse-tails as a result of being confused with the horse-like sileni (older centaurs): see Cook, 1:696. According to Aristotle (in Lactantius Placidus on Statius, Thebaid 9.376), the satyrs were long-lived but not immortal.
4. As to Crotus, see Hyginus, Fables 224 (where he is called Croton), Scholiast on Germanicus BP 89.18, G 158.22. See also H. Gundel, “Krotus,” in Realenzyklopädie, 11:2028-29. The Greek word krotos signified a rattling noise; it was used of the noise made by the feet in dancing and by the hands in applauding.
5. The evidence for the identification of Sagittarius with Centaurus is late: Lucan, Pharsalia 9.536; Ampelius, 2.9; Hermes Trismegistus, 67G. As to the identification of Sagittarius with Crotus, see Scholiast on Germanicus, BP 89.18, G 158.22. The figure of Sagittarius is not always represented as two-legged: Eudoxus, Aratus, and Ptolemy spoke of a four-legged creature.
As to the constellation of the Centaur, see pp. 79-82. As to the constellation of the Ship [Argo], see pp. 39-42. The constellation Argo rises when Sagittarius sets.
6. As to the history of Sagittarius, see Allen, StarNames, 351-60; Boll and Gundel, 967-71.
Scorpio and Libra
1. The earliest reference to Orion's death is in Homer, Odyssey 5.118. Other authorities who report that Orion died at the hands of Artemis include Callimachus, Hymns 3.264; Hyginus, Fables 195. Orion was stung by the scorpion because he tried to rape Artemis (Scholiast on Homer, Iliad 18.486, Odyssey 5.121) or because of his boast that he could slay any animal on earth (Scholiast on Germanicus BP 63.7, G 122.6). Apollodorus, The Library 1.4.3, refers to other traditions concerning Orion's death: Orion was slain by Artemis either because he challenged the goddess to a match at quoits, or because he tried to rape one of the maidens in her train. The scene of Orion's death is located on Chios by the Scholiaston Aratus, Phaenomena 634; on Delos by Homer, Odyssey 5.123; on Crete by Hyginus.
2. Several ancient authors comment on the relative motion of the constellations Scorpio and Orion: Scholiast on Homer, Iliad 18.486; Aratus, Phaenomena 634. For other astral myths connected with Orion, see p.150.
3. There was also an Egyptian constellation depicting a scorpion, but it may not have been identical with the Babylonian and Greek constellations. See Boll and Gundel, 966-67. It is likely that the Babylonian scorpion constellation was originally very large and included Ophiuchus and Sagittarius. The Claws of the scorpion are called Zygos (“balance”) by Hipparchus. It was the Romans, however, who finally distinguished the Claws as a separate constellation to which they gave the name Libra (“balance”). The concept of a balance in connection with this constellation may be of Egyptian origin; see Allen, Star Names, 269-78, 360-72.
4. Allen, Star Names, 276-77.
Taurus
1. The “rape” of Europa is recounted, among others, by Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.847-75; Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 167; Apollodorus, The Library 3.1.1; Hyginus, Fables 178; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 38.394. Europa was brought to Crete by the bull in most versions. Some late sources speak of her beinghidden byZeus on Mt. Teumessus near Thebes. The connection of Europa with Thebes is attested by the cult of Demeter Europa at Lebadeia, near Thebes, see Pausanias, Guide to Greece 9.39.5. As to the cult of Europa on Crete (where she was identified with the Eteocretan goddess of vegetation Hellotis), see Willetts, Cretan Cults and Festivals, 152-68. Coins of the fifth century B.C.E. showing Europa riding a bull have been found at Gortyna and Phaestus on Crete. See Cook, Zeus, 1, figures 391-400. The motif is found on later coins from the Greek mainland, as well; see Willetts, Cretan Cults, 152-53.
2. Sir Arthur J. Evans, The Palace of Minos.
3. The constellation Taurus is identified with Io by Scholiast on Germanicus BP 74.20, G 135.18; Ovid, Fasti 5.619-20. The story of lo and Zeus is recounted byAeschylus, Suppliants 291; Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.588, Fasti 4.717-20; Apollodorus, The Library 2.1.3; Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 3. See also Herodotus, The Histories 1.1-2. On the connection of Hera with cows, see Cook, Zeus, 1:444-47,453-57. See also Willetts, Cretan Cults, 111-12. Numerous votive cow-figurines have been excavated both at Argos (Heraeum) and at Olympia; see S. Eitrem, “Hera,” in Realenzyklopädie, 8:369-403.
4. On the constellation as Pasiphae's bull, sometimes considered to be a separate animal from the bull of Marathon, see Scholiast on Germanicus G 136.1; Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 167. See also Cook, Zeus, 1:464-67, 543-49. Alate source (Scholiaston Germanicus G 96.11) says that the celestial bull is depicted as backing away from Orion (for whom see pp. 147-50), a story likely of astral origin.
5. On the genealogy and names of the Hyades, see R. Engelmann, “Hyades,” in Roscher, Lexikon, 1,2:2752-58. On the Hyades as sisters of Hyas, see Homer, Iliad 18.486; Servius on Vergil, Aeneid 1.744. On the Pleiades, see pp. 171-73. On the Hyades as nurses of Dionysus, see Apollodorus, The Library 2.4.3; Hyginus, Fables 182, 192.
The name Hyades isderived from the shape of the constellation or from its connection with rain by Homer, Iliad 18.486; Scholiast on Euripides, Ion 1156; Electra 467; Vergil, Aeneid 1.744. The Roman name of this constellation, Suculae, is probably based on a misinterpretation of the Greek name Hyades, as deriving from the Greek word for “pig” (hys, rys), see Hyginus, Fables 192. The number of the Hyades varies between two and seven in ancient authors.
6. Ovid is uncertain whether the figure is a bull or a cow; see Fasti 4.717. On the history of this constellation see Boll and Gundel, 938-45; Allen, Star Names, 378-91.
7. Neither Ps-Eratosthenes nor Hyginus takes special note of the bright star Aldebaran (α Tauri).
Triangulum
1. The genitive form of the name Zeus in Greek (∆LÓC) begins with the letter delta. Aratus describes this constellation as having the shape of an isosceles triangle (Phaenomena 235-36). The constellation is called trigonon (“triangle”) by Eudoxus (in Hipparchus 1.2.13); Hipparchus 1.6.5; Ptolemy 7.5 It is called deltoton (“delta-shape”) by Aratus, Phaenomena 235; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 81.7, G 144.
2. Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 235; Scholiast on Germanicus BP 81.7, G 144.22 Hermes is mentioned again in The Constellations 43 as the arranger of the stars. Cf. Aratus, Phaenomena 10-11, who implies that the stars were arranged by Zeus.
3. Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 2 33, “some say that the shape of the triangle among the stars is modeled on the situation of Egypt.”
4. As to the history of this constellation, see Boll and Gundel, 933-34; Allen, Star Names, 414-16.
Ursa Major
1. For a detailed study of the story of Callisto, see R. Franz, “De Callistus Fabula.”
The Arcadian origin of the story is attested by Callisto's connection with Pan, who is said by some to be her son; see Ar(i)aethus, Fragment 5; Scholiast on Theocritus, Idylls 1.123; A. Lang, Myth, Ritual and Religion, 2:181. Callisto is sometimes called Themisto or Megisto (Istrus, Fragment 57), but when she is referred to by either of these two names, Lycaon is not said to be her father. She is also called Helice and Phoenice (Servius on Georgics 1.246; Scholiast on Aratus, Phaenomena 27; Hyginus, Fables 177). Callisto is said to be the daughter of Ceteus or Nycteus by Apollodorus, The Library 3.8.2. In all other references she is said to be the daughter of Lycaon.
The “Aetolians” said by Hyginus to have captured Callisto constitute a curious intrusion into the story. The words “Aetolians” and “goatherds” are similar in Greek—aetolon, and aepolon, respectively—and the reading in Hyginus is probably, as Robertsuggests (Eratosthenis Catasterimzorum Reliquiae, 3), a scribal error. The same error occurs with reference to the constellation Bootes (see pp. 55-60).
As to the identification of Callisto with Artemis, see K. O. Müller, Die Dorier, 1,2:376; Lang, Myth, Ritual and Religion, 2:176-77, 208-20; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.3. See also V. Bérard, De l'origine des cultes arcadiens, 49-51; Farnell, Cults, 2:435-38.
Arcas is mentioned by several ancient authors as the son of Zeus and eponymous ancestor of the Arcadians: Pausanias, Guide to Greece 10.9.5; Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, The Voyage of the Argo 4.264.
2. As to Zeus Lycaeus and the sacred precinct on Mount Lycaeum, see Cook, Zeus, 2:63-70, 81-88; Farnell, Cults, 2:41-42; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.38.6; and Frazer, Pausanias's Description of Greece, 4:384.
The precinct of Zeus Lycaeus excavated on Mt. Lycaeum measures approximately 180 feet by 400 feet, and contains the bases of two columns described by Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.38.6. The altar was covered by a layer of ashes five feet deep—apparently the remains of sacrifices. The bones among the ashes are mostly those of small animals. As to human sacrifice in the cult of Zeus Lycaeus, see Cook, Zeus, 1:70-81; and p.200.
3. The story is first told by Hesiod (Fragment 181Rz). Amphis, who is the first to mention Zeus's appearance in the guise of Artemis, and Palaephatus (15) appear to draw on the Hesiodic version: see Franz, “DeCallistus Fabula,” 258. The version which comes after Hesiod but before Callimachus is attested by archaeological evidence and by Pausanias, Guide to Greece 8.3.6. Callimachus is followed by the Scholiast on Homer, Iliad 18.487 and Apollodorus, The Library 3.8.2. Callimachus was the first to mention that Callisto became a constellation, according to Franz, “De Callistus Fabula,” 297. The constellation Ursa Major, however, was mentioned in Greek literature before Callimachus (see Homer, Iliad 18.487, Odyssey 5.273), but was referred to as the “Wagon.”
4. For a discussion of the various names of this constellation, see Allen, Star Names, 419-41. See also A. Scherer, Gestirnnamen bei den indogermanischen Volkern, 131-33, and pp. 201-4.
5. See Owen Gingerich, The Great Copernicus Chase, 10.
6. That the ancients thought of this constellation as consisting of seven stars is attested by Hipparchus, 1.5.6.
Ursa Minor
1. For the first tradition, see Aratus, Phaenomena 35; Servius, on Georgics 1.246, Aeneid 3.516; Scholiast on Odyssey 5.272. For the second tradition, see Servius on Georgics 1.246, 138. Ursa Major is always mentioned in connection with UrsaMinor inthe first tradition, but not in the second. The names Cynosura (“dog's tail”) and Helice are common to both traditions.
There are numerous literary references to Helice and Cynosura together as nurses of Zeus on Mount Ida: see Aratus Phaenomena 31-37; Scholiast on Homer, Odyssey 5.272; Servius on Vergil, Georgics 1.246, 138 (Servius refers to Helice and Cynosura as nymphs, but also calls Helice the daughter of Lycaon and relates about her the story of Callisto. He also identifies Cynosura with Phoenice, a nymph of Diana, who suffers the same fate as Callisto).
The city of Histoe was located on the south coast of Crete, between Hippocronium and Priansus (see E. B. James, “Crete,” in Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography).
Nicostratus was the son of Menelaus. His mother was either Helen or a slave woman: see Hesiod, Fragment 99Rz; Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2.18.6, 3.18.3, 3.19.9.
2. Thales is said to have discovered the constellation of Ursa Minor. See Scholiast on Homer, Iliad 18.487; Scholiast onAratus, Phaenomena 27. Thales is reported to have urged the Greeks to follow the example of the Phoenicians in navigating by Ursa Minor rather than Ursa Major. In all probability, the name Phoenice, which Ps-Eratosthenes assigns to a maiden whose fate is identical to that of Callisto, originally referred to the “Phoenician” constellation, and was later absorbed into Greek accounts of Ursa Minor.
3. See Franz, “De Callistus Fabula,” 306-13, who believes that Ps-Eratosthenes drew his accounts of the two Bears and of Bootes from what was originally one story. Even so, the nature of Phoenice's “salvation” in the present story is not clear.
4. For the literary references to the two Bears as nymphs, wagons, oroxen, see H. Gundel, “Ursa, Sternbild,” Realenzyclopädie, 9A, 1:105-154. See also Allen, Star Names, 447-49. The connection between the two constellations may have arisen from their similar configuration and their proximity in the sky.
Virgo
1. The myth of the Ages of Man is recounted by Hesiod, Works and Days 110-201, who tells of the disappearance of Aidos (“Shame”) and Nemesis (“Divine Retribution”) from the earth in the Iron Age. Aratus, along with Ps-Eratosthenes and Hyginus, imitates the passage in Hesiod, but substitutes Dike for Aidos and Nemesis. See also Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.89-149.
As to the parentage of the Horae, see Hesiod, Theogony 901-2.
2. In addition to the identifications provided by Ps-Eratosthenes and Hyginus, Virgo is identified with Thespia, eponym of the Boeotian city; Kore, the daughter of Demeter; Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth; the Asiatic goddess Cybele; and the Greek goddesses Athena and Hecate. The name parthenos mentioned by Hyginus, was an epithet of Athena. As to the Babylonian constellation figure, see Allen, Star Names, 465.
For Erigone, see pp. 56-58.