Constellations of the Zodiac: Part II
Hello steemians, this time I bring the second part of the constellations of the zodiac. As I mentioned in the previous post the word zodiac comes from the Greek "zoodiakos", which means animal wheel. The zodiac is the name given to the area of the sky of the ecliptic, where you can see the movements of the sun and the planets. As we know there are 12 zodiacal signs but in reality the ecliptic passes through 13 constellations, Ophiuchus being the sign that has been outside the zodiac that we know traditionally.
Now, many of you may wonder ¿Why Ophiuchus is not a zodiac sign? And they will even ask: ¿Who is Ophiuchus? Well, the tropical zodiac is not the same as the constellation zodiac, because the tropical zodiac is fixed and consists of twelve signs that make up the horoscope, which is used by astrologers. The constellation zodiac does not include signs but constellations and that's where Ophiuchus comes in. Some constellations are larger than others and also do not coincide with the signs of the tropical zodiac because they represent a symbolic abstraction. You have to know that signs and constellations are not the same despite having the same name, as well as knowing that astrology and astronomy are two very different things.
Continuando con las historias de las constelaciones del zodiaco encontramos:
- Libra: This constellation belonged to the scorpion's claws and is the youngest of the zodiac. This is the only constellation that does not represent an animal and is referenced in Greek mythology to the balance that is held by Astrea, daughter of Zeus and Themis.
- Scorpius: The history of this constellation comes from the legend of Orion. Orion in a fit of jealousy took out his eyes and wandered through the forest he stepped on a scorpion and this caused his death, the gods raised them both to heaven and converted them into constellations, but placed them at different ends. When scorpius comes out on the horizon Orion is hidden from the animal that caused his death. Another version tells that Orion found Artemis hunting and tried to conquer her but when he could not do it he tried to rape her. Artemis asked for help to get rid of the giant and it was when the scorpion arrived and bit Orion hurting him to death. Artemis asked Zeus to take the scorpion to heaven for having saved her.
- Sagittarius: This is Chiron, an immortal centaur son of Cronus and the sea nymph Philyra. He was a teacher of great heroes, including Hercules. As I said before Chiron was immortal but this did not prevent him from suffering the pain caused by the arrows, because of this he decided to cede his immortality to Prometheus and end his torture. In spite of this Zeus considered that his figure should not be forgotten and that is why he moved it to heaven and turned it into a constellation.
- Capricornus: This constellation represents Amalthea, half goat and half fish who took care of and breastfeed Zeus, this because his mother Rhea was hiding from his father Cronus, who wanted to devour him. It is also said that Amalthea was a nymph in the form of a goat. It had big horns from which nectar came out. When one of them broke, they filled it with fruit and offered it to Zeus. This caused Zeus to turn it into a constellation.
- Aquarius: This constellation represents Ganymede a young man of extreme beauty, who manages to fall madly in love with Zeus so that he becomes an eagle and takes him to Olympus by giving his father immortal divine steeds to compensate him for this. It is there when Ganymede becomes the cup-carrier of the gods, charged with serving them.
- Pisces: Represents Aphrodite and her son Eros, who one day were attacked by the monster Typhoon. Aphrodite knew that the best way to escape this vile monster was by water, so she tied herself with her son and they threw themselves into the sea where they became fish. Another version tells that the sea nymphs sent two giant fish where they could escape the monster.
- Ophiuchus: It represents Asclepius and he was a disciple of Chiron. Asclepius devoted himself to medicine and he could resurrect the dead. This offended the God of the Underworld Hades, and this worried because the underworld would be empty and alter the natural order of things warned Zeus of this. Therefore the God of Olympus decided to end the life of Asclepius by throwing a lightning bolt at him. Zeus, aware of the great gift that Asclepius had in the art of healing, decided to take him to heaven so that he would be eternally remembered and placed him next to his mentor Chiron. This is how he created the constellation of Ophiuchus which he surrounded with a serpent, since it was considered the symbol of renewed life.
