The Greek astronomer Ptolemy wrote a book called The Almagest in 150AD.
He summarised Greek astronomical knowledge at the time and it contained a catalogue of 1022 stars and estimates of their brightness which were arranged in 48 Constellations.
During the month of March we see some of these constellations and as we observe them in the clear nights high up in the Teide National Park it’s also interesting to know a brief outline of the mythology that the ancient Greeks wove around them. As the month progresses, and we see new constellations rising in the Eastern sky and we
start to lose the familiar winter constellations it gives us a chance early in the month of
March to describe the stories behind them.
I like to describe the night sky from the West to the East so we start at Pegasus the Winged Horse which is part of a story involving several other constellations in its vicinity.
The tale begins with our hero Perseus. Perseus was a half god. His father had made Perseus’ mother pregnant. She was then cast away to sea by her father In a wooden tub with her new born child Perseus. They were rescued by a fisherman and he raised them as his family.
Perseus grew strong, and when he was old enough, he set off on his adventures. On one of his escapades, he killed the Gorgon Medusa by using a polished shield to cut off her head. From her headless neck, the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor emerged. Perseus put the head of the Gorgon in a bag because looking into a Gorgon’s eyes would turn you to stone. He carried on his way and came across the beautiful princess Andromeda. She had been chained to a rock by her parents to save their kingdom from Cetus. Her mother, Cassiopeia, was the vain queen of Ethiopia who boasted that her daughter was more beautiful than the sea nymphs, angering the sea god, who sent the monster Cetus to destroy their kingdom. Cassiopeia and her husband, Cepheus, were advised to sacrifice their daughter Andromeda to save the kingdom.
Fortunately, Perseus came along and killed the Kraken monster by showing it the head and eyes of the Gorgon Medusa, turning it to stone. He then married Princess Andromeda.
The constellation of Leo represents the Nemean lion killed as the first task of Hercules 12 tasks then there is Gemini the twins Castor and Pollux two inseparable twin brothers born to Leda the queen of Sparta. They had different fathers, Castor’s father was King Tyndareus and was mortal, his brother’s father was Zeus so he was immortal. When Castor was killed in battle his brother Pollux was heartbroken and begged his father to bring him back to life. Zeus immortalised them by hanging them in the stars.
Cancer the crab represents the giant crab killed by Hercules in his fight with the Hydra, Hercules killed the crab with his club. High in the sky is Auriga the charioteer called Phaethon who represents the son of the sun god Helios; he tricked his father into lending him his chariot but crashed it and scorched the Earth.
Taurus the Cretan bull which represents another one of Hercules tasks; he had to capture it and return it to King Eurystheus. Another explanation is it represents Zeus when he turned himself into a magnificent white bull to capture the beautiful Phoenician princess Europa. The constellations of Canis Major and Canis Minor are the hunting dogs to the magnificent constellation of Orion the Hunter. Orion sees himself as the ultimate hunter and boasted he could kill every animal on Earth. This angered the earth Goddess Gaia who sent the Scorpion to bite and kill him. In their fight Orion killed the Scorpion and Zeus decided to hang them both in the heavens as a tribute to their bravery but he kept them very far apart to stop them from fighting for eternity. This is why you will never see the scorpion Scorpius and Orion in the same night sky .
We look forward to the month of March and as the winter constellations like Pegasus drop away we will welcome the spring constellations like Hercules the half god son of Zeus who´s stepmother Hera that hated him tricked him into killing his wife and children for which crime he had to perform the 12 labours as penance, this is where we get the expression Herculean task. Nearby is the constellation of Virgo which represents the goddess Astraea; she was the virgin goddess of justice in Greek mythology. We often talk to our guests about Greek mythology and the figures they are supposed to represent. It is sometimes difficult to see the shapes as representing what they are I can only conclude that as the ancient Greeks had a pristine sky before the industrial pollution and the electric light pollution that blights our skies above cities they had time on their hands to marvel at the beauty of the night sky something we at Stargazing Tenerife are able to do most nights.
Feel welcome to come along and marvel at the night sky above Teide national park with us and learn about the universe.
Written by Stephen Phelps
