For thousands of years, mankind has looked into the clear night sky and created stories from the pictures, made of stars, they saw in the heavens.
The most well known group of constellations is the zodiac. The zodiac is a group of twelve constellations that circle the Earth. Each month one of the twelve constellations appears above the horizon in the east and each night it slowly moves across the sky, to eventually disappear below the horizon in the west, leaving a new constellation rising in the east to take its place.
The twelve constellations are:
Aries (the Ram) – from Greek mythology, Aries was a golden winged ram. Aries hide later became the golden fleece.
Taurus (the Bull) – from Roman mythology, the god Jupiter turned himself into a bull to swim from Phenicia to Crete.
Gemini (the Twins) – from Greek mythology, thought to the twin sons of Zeus, Castor and Pollux.
Cancer (the Crab) – Cancer is the crab that Juno, queen of the gods, sent to rescue Hydra, but Hercules stepped on the crab, killing it. To reward the crab’s bravery, Juno rewarded it a place in the stars as a constellation.
Leo (the Lion) – this constellation honours the strength and bravery of lions.
Virgo (the Virgin) – a maiden linked to harvest time (which is when this constellation appears).
Libra (the Scales) – the symbol of balance, it appears around the autumn equinox.
Scorpio (the Scorpion) – said to have attacked and killed the hunter Orion.
Sagittarius (the Archer) – said to be Chiron, the centaur archer, he is said to be aiming at Scorpio to avenge Orion’s death.
Capricorn (the Sea Goat) – the goat is considered to be an excellent climber, apt for the time of year it appears when the Sun once again is climbing higher into the sky.
Aquarius (the Water Bearer) – different cultures see different things in this constellation, the Babylonians saw an old man pouring water from a jar, the Greeks saw Ganymeade, the cup bearer who poured the waters of life.
Pisces (the Fishes) – this constellation represents Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty and her son Cupid. They were chased by a monster and they turned into fish to escape.
Source:
The Zodiac – www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769237.html
