Constellation Mythology
The earliest information about Greek constellation mythology was the writings of Homer. These records were dated back to around the 7th century B. C.. In his Iliad, Homer describes the creation of the Achilleus’ shield was by the craftsman Hephaistos, who was a god. The shield included the earth, the sky, the sea, the sun, and the full moon, and all of the constellations in the sky. These included the Pleiades and Hyades, which was the mighty Orion and the Bear. Some also refer this by the name of Wain and say she goes around in the same place and watches for Orion, and is also the only one that does not bathe in the Ocean. This information comes from the Iliad of Homer in 486 to 490 B. C..
During the time of Homer most of the constellations had nothing to do with any particular myth hero, or god. They were just known as objects of the animals or objects which they represented. Some of the other constellations were the Lyre and the Ram at this time. By the 5th century B. C. Most of the constellations were associated with myths and the Catasterismi of Eratosthenes was the last mythological constellation known at the time. After this era, the stars were no longer considered to be myths and were not so much identified with gods, goddesses, or heroes any more.
The stars were mentioned many times in the early Greek and Roman texts but most of the stars were recorded in the star catalogue which belonged to the Roman Ptolemy of Alexandria. He grouped 1022 stars into 48 constellations and this was during the 2nd century A. D.. This record did not include the constellations which could only be seen from the southern hemisphere. While the myths behind the constellations began in the early ancient Greek writings, today the Latin names for the constellations are used.
Greek mythology had a lot of influence on naming many objects in the sky and this is not just the constellations. The planets, and other stars and moons are also named from Greek names. Some of these are Mercury, which was named for the speedy messenger god. Mercury revolves around the sun faster than any other planet. The planet Venus was named after the goddess of love and beauty, and it is the brightest planet. Mars was named after the god of war and is blood red in color. Jupiter was named after the most important god of all because it is the largest planet of them all. Some of the moons which revolve around these planets also have mythical god or goddess names. The names of the major constellations are, Andromedia, Aquarius, Aries, Cancer, Capricornus Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cetus, Corona Borealis, Cygnus, Draco, Eridanus, Gemini, Hercules, Hydra, Leo, Libra, Lyra, Orion, Perseus, Pisces, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Tauris, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Virgo.
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