What To Know About Orion
written by AJ Cochran
Everything there is to know about the constellation Orion, from star names and positions to myths across the globe.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
8
Reads
2,972
Greek And Roman Myths
Chapter 3
Even with the Greeks and Romans, there are several myths to be told. I shall be focusing on two.
Orion with Gaia
According to this myth, Orion was the supernaturally strong son of a water-nymph named Euryale and the god of the sea (Poseidon for the Greeks, Neptune for the Romans). He was an excellent hunter who made the mistake of saying that he would kill every animal on the planet. The goddess of the earth (Gaia for the Greeks, Terra for the Romans) overheard and became infuriated, and so she sent a giant scorpion after him. Orion was nearly killed by the scorpion, but was revived by Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer.
This is supposedly the reason as to why Scorpius and the Hunter are never in the sky at the same time, and why the Serpent Bearer is between them.
Orion with Artemis and Apollo
In this version of Orion's tale, Orion was the handsomest man in the world. He was an excellent hunter, a tireless dancer, and a hearty eater. Many men and women fell in love with him, though he treated the women as he would a sister. While hunting one day, he met the Virgin Huntress Artemis, and they became great friends. By day, they hunted and played and told stories, but by night they were more intimate, telling deep secrets to one another. One night, Orion confessed to Artemis that she was his best friend and that she had made him a better man. When she returned his affections, they shared an embrace and laughed and danced until the early hours of morning. Artemis's bother, Apollo, wandered the forest and saw Orion and Artemis lying together and assumed that Artemis had broken her vow. He became extremely furious, but he masked it under friendliness. When Artemis and Orion woke up, they saw Apollo and invited him to breakfast. Artemis had to leave shortly after, to see to her priestesses. Apollo and Orion were left alone, and so they got intimate. Orion made the mistake of mentioning his eagerness for Artemis to return, and immediately Apollo grew angry, for he did not know that Artemis had not broken her vow. When Orion questioned him, Apollo angrily accused him of causing Artemis to break the vow. Orion began to laugh, and told the god "I am a lover of men, like yourself." Apollo loved both men and women, but would never speak of the men he had loved. So Apollo became enraged at Orion, saying that he only loved women, that is what nature intended, and that Orion was only a boy for sport. Even though Orion was begging for Apollo's forgiveness, Apollo walked away without a word or a backward glance. When Artemis returned, she found Orion weeping on the ground. He told her what happened, and so she comforted him and took him to his home to leave him to his own thoughts. Orion had a terrible nightmare that night, of a giant scorpion (sent by Apollo, though Orion did not know it) that was attempting to kill him. Orion tried his best, but he could not pierce its armor. At dawn, Orion woke up in a cold sweat because in the dream, the scorpion had been about to pierce his heart. And so, he left his house to go talk to Artemis about the dream, but at the back door sat the scorpion, more terrible than it had been in his dream. He tried his hardest, but he could not kill it. Orion jumped into the sea, in the hopes of swimming away from it.
In the meantime, Apollo went to visit his sister. Artemis berated her brother for the treatment of their friend, but he begged her to be silent. According to Apollo, a man had seriously hurt one of her priestesses and was now swimming to a deserted island in the hopes of escaping her wrath. No one escapes Artemis's wrath, so she grabbed her quiver and went to slay the man. When she sees his head, she takes her aim. Apollo assures her that it was the man who had hurt her priestess, and so Artemis lets her arrow fly. Artemis has superb aim, and Orion is killed. Apollo immediately flees once his plan works. Artemis returns home, and sees her priestess who is not harmed in any way. The truth is quickly deduced, Orion's body retrieved. Artemis tries to revive him, but nothing can save him. Orion's spirit has flown to Asphodel Fields already. The Huntress mourns her friend and hangs his body in the stars forever, as a tribute to their friendship and a reminder that men and women have friendships of every variety and degree. She killed the scorpion and hung it behind Orion as a warning to everyone under the heavens of the the treachery of those who are false to those they love and false to themselves.
