Origin and development
Despite the fact that the first calendars appeared in ancient Egypt, the Sumerians were the first to associate months with deities. In addition to the symbolic significance, there was also a practical value in this, since without a calendar, an accurate forecast of the rainy season and floods would have been impossible, which was very important for the territory of the southern Two Rivers. Each city in the Two Rivers had its own calendar, but the main one, which in the future will become the basis for the months of Babylon and Ancient Greece and, consequently, for the twelve zodiac signs known to us today, was the calendar of the small city of Nippur. As to why the calendar of this particular settlement was chosen as the main one, the sumerologist Vladimir Yemelyanov speaks in his book “The Nippur calendar and the early History of the zodiac”, explaining this by the fact that the Sumerians revered tiny Nippur as a sacred center, since it was located just in the center of Mesopotamia. Therefore, its inhabitants, who, like all the ancients, thought literally and believed that Nippur was the first city of mankind, which was created by the supreme Sumerian wind god Enlil, who separated heaven from earth and tied the space between them into a knot — the “navel of the Earth”. At this place, Nippur arose, and in it — a calendar created by the gods themselves. It was a typical month, dividing the year into 360 days, 12 months, and the seasons into two periods called Heat and Cold.
In each month, various forces of nature entered into their rights, which were simultaneously identified with the deities. The prediction for a certain period of time depended on them. The future zodiac signs of the Sumerians were the so-called signs of fate, which were timed to a particular month of the year. The latter began with Schumer in March-April, as in many traditional calendars. Presumably this was due to the flooding of rivers in Mesopotamia, which occurred just at the end of March. In this regard, the beginning of the year at this time was a logical decision, since the life of ancient civilizations in a hot climate completely depended on the fullness of their rivers. Like many other peoples, the symbolism of the beginning of the year in Sumer was associated with the victory over the forces of chaos, the flood and the creation of a new firmament, and also with the election of a new ruler. All these processes were closely monitored by the stars.
But the most accurate classification and popularization of all the twelve signs was presented by the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century in his treatise “Tetrabiblos” or “The Four Books”, which became a key book in the history of Western astrology, and where it is said that each constellation has its own history, transmitted through ancient myths. This folklore has become an important part of modern knowledge about each astrological sign.
Myths
Aries
For the first time, the golden-crowned Aries was presented by Hermes as a wedding gift for the wedding of the Boeotian king Athamanthus and the goddess of clouds and clouds Nephele. But their marriage was impossible, because a man needs to have an earthly woman as his wife, and the daughter of the neighboring king Ino became her. When Nephele was expelled from the kingdom, Ino came to the house as a second wife, who disliked Nephele’s children – Phrixus and Hella. In order to drive them out of the province, she persuaded peasant women to roast corn before planting, which actually destroyed the entire crop, causing famine to engulf the land. The king sent a messenger to the Oracle of Delphi to find out what caused the crop failure. However, Ino forged the letter, and Athamanthus was told to make a sacrifice to Zeus with his children. When Nephele found out about this news, she asked the golden Ram to save her children. He warned them of the danger, and then told them to climb on his back to fly with them across the sea. Unfortunately, when they crossed the strait separating Europe and Asia, Hella fell into the waters of the strait, which now corresponds to the Dardanelles Strait, which, together with the Bosphorus, connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. Frix flew to Colchis, where the cunning king Eet ruled. He knew that the appearance of the golden-crowned ram would bring wealth and happiness to his country. Therefore, Phrixus was given a friendly welcome, and aries was sacrificed to Zeus, who in turn placed an image of a Ram among the stars in the sky to honor him for his heroism. His hide, the famous golden fleece, was placed in a grotto in the sacred grove of the god of war Ares. The golden-haired aries will receive further development in the myth of the Argonauts, which has come down to us together with the poem “Argonautica” by Apollonius of Rhodes, where Jason will go in search of a skin to save the Greek people.
Taurus
The myth of Taurus begins with Zeus, who, as is known, had many love affairs, wives and mistresses, legends about which make up a good half of Greek mythology. One of these legends tells about the princess Europa, the daughter of the Phoenician king. Europa led a very secluded existence in her father’s palace and knew nothing about the outside world. One night she had a prophetic dream in which an unknown woman stretched out her hands to Europa and said: “I will bring you to Zeus, because Fate has appointed you his beloved.”When Europa and a group of friends went to collect roses and hyacinths in a meadow by the sea, Zeus saw her and was struck by her beauty; at the same moment he decided that she should become his. In order not to cause doubt and fear with his divine form, Zeus turned into a magnificent white Bull with a silver crescent in the middle of his forehead. Europe was amazed by the beauty of the beast and began to caress it. At the moment when she climbed onto the Bull’s back, Zeus jumped into the air and took her to the island of Crete, where he returned to his true form and declared his love for her. Europa later gave birth to three children from Zeus, and he placed the image of a Bull in heaven as a thank you.
Gemini
The myth of Gemini also touches on the irrepressibility of Zeus’ love affairs: this time the object of his love was the wife of the king of Sparta Tyndareus – the daughter of the Aetolian king Leda. Zeus decided to apply originality and instead of a Bull turned into a swan and, surprisingly, was able to seduce Leda. Thanks to a miracle of nature, Leda laid two eggs: in one of which was the son of Zeus – the immortal hero Polydeucus, and in the second was the mortal son of Tyndareus – Castor, who were twins. Both twins became great heroes of Greece, since no one could surpass Castor in the art of driving a chariot, and Polydeuces in the art of hand–to-hand combat. Later, the two brothers joined the Argonauts to search for the Golden Fleece, during which the team was overtaken by a storm. At that moment, two twinkling stars appeared above the heads of the two brothers and the storm disappeared without a trace. After that, the Dioscuri brothers (as their union was called) became the patrons of travelers and navigators – often during a storm two stars appeared in the sky and the storm stopped. Unfortunately, during the battle with Idas (their cousin), Castor was mortally wounded. Polydeucus prayed to Zeus to let him die with his brother, and Zeus, touched by brotherly feelings, placed them in the sky in the form of the constellation Gemini.
Cancer
According to classical ancient mythology, it is known that Hercules performed twelve feats, the second of which was a battle with the Lernaean hydra, which had the body of a snake with nine dragon heads that spewed fire and poisonous gases. In place of the severed head, a new one grew. The goddess Hera, who hated Hercules, sent a giant sea Crab on him to prevent the hero, and the Cancer clung to his leg. The hero crushed him and defeated Hydra, and the goddess Hera placed Cancer in heaven in gratitude for the battle.
There is also a version that three thousand years ago there was a summer solstice point in this constellation. The sun on this day reached the highest height in the sky, after which its culmination occurred lower and lower. It seemed to be backing away – in ancient people, this caused associations with the backward movement of cancer.
Leo
The myth of the Lion is also connected with Hercules, but already with his first feat, in which he strangled the Nemean lion. In honor of this feat, Nemean Games began to be held in Nemea. During the Games in Greece, universal peace was declared. And the gods placed the lion himself in the sky and named a constellation after him. Also, millennia ago, the summer solstice point was located in this constellation – at this time, a strong heat wave was coming, and the Nile flood began in Egypt. It is believed that this is why streams of water flow from the mouth of a Lion in ancient drawings of this constellation. As you know, decorative bowls and fountains are still made in the form of a lion’s head, from the mouth of which water flows.
Virgo
The myth of Virgo is very diverse and several legends are associated with it.
The Virgin was often compared to Demeter, while the Romans saw her as Ceres (the goddess of harvest and fertility). The ancient Greek legend of the Virgin begins long before the existence of humans and animals, in the era of the Titans. Two titan brothers, Prometheus and Epimetheus, had to create people and give them their gift from themselves. Epimetheus gave birds the ability to fly, fish the ability to swim, and animals the ability to hunt. Prometheus, in turn, gave people a gift straight from Olympus – fire. Zeus, having learned about this, punished Prometheus and sent a curse to Earth – the first woman Pandora. He gave her the well–known Pandora’s box – the black box and told her never to open it, but her curiosity could not stand it, and she opened it. From the box came the worst sins of mankind: anger, envy, revenge. In the terrible times that followed, the gods one by one left the Earth and went to live on Olympus. Astrea, the goddess of innocence and purity, was the last to leave. After leaving Earth, Astrea found herself among the stars and thus entered the constellation Virgo.
In another legend, the Virgin is called Persephone, and her return to nature pours all life with new juices and brings spring with her in all its splendor and joy, generously rewarding people with gifts and, above all, sending a rich harvest to hardworking farmers.
Libra
Libra can also be associated with Astraea, who, on behalf of Zeus and Themis, regularly “checked” the Earth (armed with scales and blindfolded to judge everything objectively, provide Olympus with sound information and mercilessly punish deceivers, liars and anyone who dared to commit any kind of unfair deeds). Libra symbolizes the ability to find a balanced, reasonable and fair solution in any conflict situation. So with the help of scales, Astraea weighed the fate of people.
Scorpio
In Greek mythology, Scorpio is associated with the legend of the famous giant hunter Orion, who was a rather controversial figure, and the story of his death is blurred. According to the Delos version, the goddess of dawn Eos fell in love with Orion and took him with her to the Cause of S. The enraged Artemis, either because of jealousy, or because of the presence of a man on Delos, where there should have been only women, sent Scorpio to kill Orion. According to the second version, Orion tried to rape Artemis, for which he was punished by Scorpio. Both Orion and Scorpio were placed in the sky as constellations, but when the constellation of Scorpio rises in summer, Orion’s brilliance fades.
Sagittarius
Greek mythology connects the constellation Sagittarius with the centaur Chiron (half-man, half-horse). Chiron represented the intersection between the Chthonic gods of the past and the coming era of the heavenly gods of wisdom and enlightenment. He became the king of the centaurs and taught various heroes from his cave on Mount Pelion. However, Chiron was accidentally wounded by an arrow soaked in deadly Hydra poison, but since he was immortal, he could not die and just suffered in agony. Hercules promised Chiron to find Death to free him from suffering, but on the way he met Prometheus chained to a rock. Before that, Zeus sent a curse on Prometheus, which will expire only when someone does not agree to take the place of Titan. Taking advantage of this, the dying Chiron took the place of Prometheus and died, and Prometheus himself was released. After Chiron’s death, Zeus placed him in the sky as the constellation Sagittarius.
Capricorn
In ancient times, Capricorn was depicted as half goat and half fish: in Egypt, Capricorn could be represented by the god Khnum with a ram’s head, and in Greece, the goat Amalthea and Pan could be the prototype of Capricorn. Khnum was the progenitor of mankind and Egyptian pharaohs also wore a ceremonial false goat beard as a symbol of divine status. The goat Amalthea, for example, nursed Zeus while he was hiding in a cave from his father Kronos. When Zeus overthrew Kronos and became the King of all the Gods, he took Amalthea to heaven as gratitude, where she was depicted in the image of the Capella star in the constellation of the Charioteer. Amalthea’s skin served Zeus as a shield in the fight against the Titans.
Another comparison with Capricorn is one of the ancient Greek legends about a fire–breathing monster – Typhon, who hunted Zeus. Having met him, the gods were frightened and fled in different directions, and so, running over Egypt, they took the form of animals that lived there, hoping to deceive the monster in this way. So, Apollo became a kite, Hermes — an ibis, Ares — a fish, Hephaestus — a bull, and Dionysus jumped into the water and the part of his torso that was under water turned into a fish, and the upper part of his torso turned into a goat. Seeing that Typhon was about to tear Zeus apart, Capricorn whistled shrilly, startling the monster. In gratitude for saving his life, Zeus placed Dionysus in his new guise in heaven.
Aquarius
In Greek mythology, Aquarius is depicted with a jug in his hands, from which moisture flows in a stream. Ancient authors claimed that this was Ganymede, taking him to heaven to Zeus, so that he would serve him as a cupbearer and delight his eyes with his beauty.
There is also such a legend: at the turn of the Copper and Iron Ages, when the goddess Astraea was angry at people for their promiscuity and the decline of morals, she left the earth and returned to Olympus to the gods. Then Zeus decided to change the generation and sent a Great Flood to the earth. All people began to perish, but by the will of the gods, the pious son of Prometheus, Deucalion, and his faithful wife Pyrrhus survived, since Zeus warned them in advance, and they managed to build an ark ship. From them the Hellenic civilization arose. New people began to build a new life, and the noble Deucalion was awarded immortality and ascended to heaven in the form of the constellation Aquarius.
Pisces
In Greek mythology, Pisces symbolized two Fishes who saved the goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros. They jumped into the ocean to escape from the same Typhon. According to various versions, they either decided to disguise themselves as Fish, or they themselves were saved by Fish. But in any case, they prudently tied their tails together so as not to be separated. In the end, Zeus killed Typhon, and Aphrodite and Eros returned to their original forms. Aphrodite took the Fish to heaven in gratitude for their help. Later, the myth developed again, and the Fish began to be represented as Afros and Bitos, fish-tailed ichthyocentaurs, that is, sea centaurs who brought Aphrodite to shore after she was born from sea foam.
Thus, the stars in the sky not only store interesting stories, but also reflect the rapid development of mythology with the passage of time.
Author of the article: Varvara Kartushina
