A Myth of Your Own

amazing-space.stsci.edu

Description: The purpose of this activity is for you to practice your creative writing skills by investigating

traditional myths about the constellations and using them as examples to create their own myths.

This activity reinforces the concept that the constellations are products of the imaginations of

ancient civilizations. Just as these ancient people created stories about what they saw in the sky, you

can write your own myths about the constellations and how they came to be in the sky.

Materials:

x Galaxy Trading Cards - http://amazing-

space.stsci.edu/resources/print/activities/galaxytradecards.pdf

x Student Reading A: “Virgo Myths”

x Student Reading B: “Constellation Myths From Many Cultures-Orion and the Pleiades”

x Writing paper and writing utensils

What to do 1. Read Student A and Student B pages for a Myth of Your Own.

2. With your group decide what the four characteristics of a myth include.

3. Now that you understand what a constellation myth is, and you know what the four

characteristics are, you can create your own. Pick a constellation from the trading cards.

4. Write a myth about it. Be sure that your myth includes the common characteristics your

group developed at the beginning of this activity.

Solutions: the four characteristics of a myth are:

x The name of the constellation

x The history of the person or animal

x An explanation of how the hero became famous

x An explanation of why the hero is in the sky

Virgo Myths:

The Goddess of Justice

Virgo has been identified with many different goddesses.

She is often seen as Dike, the goddess of justice, known as

Justa or Justitia to the Romans. From this, the neighbor-

ing constellation of Libra is often seen as the scales of justice.

Once, when the Earth was in the mythical Golden Age, Dike

lived with humans, who led a happy existence, deprived of hate and

pain. When times changed and the Silver Age began, humans began

to quarrel, and Dike sought shelter in the mountains. When the

Bronze Age, and subsequently the Iron Age arrived, humans

succumbed to violence, injustice, and war. Disgusted, Dike abandoned

the Earth and flew to the sky.

The Goddess of Innocence and Purity

Themis, goddess of divine justice, is represented by the

constellation Libra. Her daughter Astraea, goddess of

innocence and purity, is represented by Virgo. This myth is

associated with the creation myth, when Zeus sent Pandora

down to Earth as punishment to humans. The gods on Earth

had warned Pandora not to open a special box. But she was curious and opened it.

Many harmful plagues, including Hate, Envy, and Sickness, streamed out into the

world. The Earth became unbearable but, of course, there was always Hope. One

by one, the gods returned to the heavens to live. Astraea was the last to leave. She

became the constellation Virgo. According to legend, when the Golden Age returns

again, Astraea will return to Earth.

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The Goddess of the Harvest

The presence of the wheat sheaf leads some to identify

Virgo with Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, known

to the Romans as Ceres. Or she may be seen as

Persephone (in Latin, Proserpina), Demeter’s daughter,

who was abducted by the God of the Underworld, Hades (Pluto

to the Romans).

The Sun passes through Virgo in mid-September, the time of

harvest. The Greeks called this constellation Demeter, the goddess of the harvest.

Demeter was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea and the sister of Zeus, King of the

Gods. She was considered one of the highest of the goddesses. The most famous

myth about Demeter explains the seasons. It tells of the time when Hades (God of

the Underworld) kidnapped Demeter’s daughter. Demeter was so upset that she let

the land lay fallow. Consequently, no crops were harvested and the people starved.

Zeus finally convinced Hades to allow Demeter’s daughter to leave. But at the last

moment, Hades played a trick on her. He forced her to remain in the underworld

for six months out of every year. During those six months, called winter, Demeter

made the land barren. In the six months Demeter’s daughter was with her, called

summer, the land was fruitful, filled with plants, flowers, and crops. Other

cultures called Demeter by different names. To the Romans, she was Ceres; to the

Sumerians, Ishtar; and to the Egyptians, Isis. But she was an important goddess

in all of these cultures.

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The Winemaker’s Daughter

She also is identified with Erigone, the daughter of Icarius, who

became famous for receiving the secret of wine-making from the

Wine God, Dionysius. Icarius was killed by peasants who thought

they had been poisoned by his wine. Icarius’ loyal dog, Maera, ran

home howling in grief and led Icarius’s daughter back to his body. Poor Erigone

hanged herself in grief over the death of her father. The gods had mercy on Icarius

and his family and transported Icarius into the sky as the constellation Boötes.

Erigone became Virgo, and the dog Maera, the constellation Canis Minor.

This and further information can be found at the following websites:

• http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/constellns/vir.html

• http://www.soulgrowth.co.uk/Zodiac%20article/virgo.htm

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Constellation Myths From Many Cultures:

Orion

Greek Mythology

Orion (the Hunter) appears in the winter sky, with his bow and his hunting dog,

Sirius, trailing along behind him. In ancient Greece, Orion was known as a

talented hunter. But his boast that he could rid the Earth of all the wild animals

angered the Earth goddess. She sent a scorpion to defeat Orion. Orion tried to

battle the scorpion. But he quickly realized that he could not shoot his arrow

through the creature’s armor. To avoid the scorpion, he jumped into the sea.

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1) This image shows the stars that make up the mythical figure of Orion.

2) This is a partial sky map showing the pattern of stars known as the constellation Orion. (Note that some of the fainter stars in the club are missing.)

1) 2)

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Then Apollo decided to play a trick on Orion. He told his sister, Artemis,

that a small black object in the sea was a horrible villain, and he dared

her to shoot it with her bow and arrow. Artemis easily succeeded in

shooting it. When she swam out to retrieve her victim, however, she

discovered that the villain was Orion. Artemis begged the gods to

bring Orion back to life, but they refused. So, instead, she put Orion’s

picture in the sky so that she could always see him.

Native American Mythology

Native Americans of the Chinook tribe in the state of

Washington did not see a famous hunter when they

looked up at the sky. Instead, they saw two canoes. The

big canoe (the same stars as Orion’s belt) and the little

canoe (the stars in Orion’s dagger) are in a race to catch

salmon on the Big River (the Milky Way). There are fish jump-

ing alongside the canoes, and the little canoe is winning the race.

http://www.jpc-artworks.com/earthspirit/articles/wintercon.html

Pleiades

Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, the Pleiades are the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

One day, while the girls were with their mother, Pleione, they met the great hunter

Orion. Orion immediately fell in love with them and began to chase after Pleione

and her daughters. After several years, Zeus took pity on the seven girls, who

were tired of being chased. He turned the sisters into doves, so that they could

escape into the sky. The sisters flew into the heavens and became the cluster of

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stars known as the Pleiades. (In Greek, the word “Pleiades” means “doves.”) In the

night sky, however, only six of the sisters are visible or bright. According to the

Greeks, the seventh sister always hides because she is ashamed of the mortal

husband she left on Earth.

Aztec Mythology

The Pleiades had a very interesting role in Aztec society. The Aztecs called these

stars Tianquiztli, which means marketplace. The Aztec people believed that by say-

ing the right prayers and performing the right rituals, they could keep the sky in

motion and stop the demons of darkness from ruling the Earth.

The appearance of the Pleiades at the highest point in the

sky meant that their prayers had succeeded, and the

Earth would continue for another 52 years.

Navajo Mythology

The Navajo Indians called the Pleiades the Flint Boys. In Navajo

myth, after the Earth was separated from the sky, Black God had a

cluster of seven stars on his ankle. To show that he was in charge of

the sky, Black God decided to move these seven stars. When Black

God stomped his foot, the Flint Boys jumped up to his knee, then

hip, and finally his forehead. They stayed high on his forehead, so that now we see

the stars of the Pleiades high in the sky.

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Hindu Mythology

According to the Hindu myths, the stars of the Pleiades were seven sisters named

Krttika. These sisters were married to the seven sages called Rishis, and they all

lived together in the sky. The God of Fire, Agni was in love with the seven sisters,

but the goddess Svaha was in love with Agni. Svaha decided to play a trick to

spread rumors that the Rishis’ wives were in love with Agni. Six of the Rishis got

mad and divorced their wives. These six sisters became the stars of the Pleiades.

But one Rishi loved his wife so much that he did not divorce her, and she stayed

with her husband as the star Alcor.

The Hair of Berenice (Coma Berenices)Egyptian Mythology

Scientist and mathematician Eratosthenes named the

constellation for Egypt’s Queen Berenice, who promised

her long, golden hair to Aphrodite in exchange for the safe

return of her husband, King Ptolemy III, from the war.

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Greek Mythology:

The Greeks associated the constellation with Ariadne, the

daughter of King Minos of Crete. The king’s wife had given

birth to a hideous monster, a Minotaur–half man and half

bull– which was kept in a labyrinth. Periodically, Athenians

would be sacrificed to feed the monster. Theseus was chosen

as a sacrifice, but with the help of Ariadne, he was able to

slay the Minotaur and escape, taking Ariadne with him. He abandoned her on the

island of Dia, where Bacchus found her and set her crown as a constellation in the

sky to bring her eternal glory.

Native American (Blackfoot) Mythology

Native Americans associate the constellation with the spider god (Corona Borealis),

who sits in his web and watches over the land. Sometimes he climbs down the

summer Milky Way to visit the Earth.

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