Chapter 3

History of the zodiacs

In ancient Greece, the signs of the greek zodiac were
identified with twelve groups of stars (constellations) which we can see in the
night sky at different times during the year. They were also associated with
one of the four elements - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - and behind each one of
them lies a fascinating story. As a matter of fact, the word itself,
"zodiac", comes from a greek word meaning "the circle of animals"
- "animals" referring to all living creatures. And indeed,with the
exception of Libra, each one of the myths is associated with living beings,
either animals or humans.

Starting with Aries (the ram) in spring and following
the year around through summer, fall and winter to Pisces (the fishes), the
stories of the greek zodiac's twelve signs explain how each group of stars
found its way into the heavens.

Aries

Aries is the first sign of the greek zodiac, marking
the beginning of spring and the start of a new cycle of life.

The story of Aries is linked with the myth of the
Golden Ram, which saved two kids, a brother and a sister, from being sacrificed
in order to appease the gods. Once Jason had completed his mission, Zeus put
the ram's golden fleece up in the skies, where it appears till today as the
constellation of Aries.

Taurus

The next sign of the greek zodiac is the constellation
of Taurus (bull), associated with the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur.

According to myth, Theseus volunteered to be one of
the youths from Athens who would be offered as food to the horrible monster
Minotaur (half man, half bull) who stayed in Crete, in the labyrinth. But, when
he was there and with the help of Ariadne, the legendary hero managed to kill
the beast and thus relieve his city Athens from the terrible punishment imposed
by the Cretan king Minos.

Gemini

The constellation of Gemini is the next sign of the
greek zodiac. It is linked with the story of the twin brothers Castor and
Polydeuces (Pollux in latin). Actually, they were not twins in the ordinary
sense, since they had different fathers.

Their story starts when Zeus, king of the gods, wanted
to have an affair with Leda, the lovely queen of Sparta. In order to fool her,
he transformed himself into a beautiful swan.

In the course of time, Leda bore two eggs: One of them
contained a baby girl named Helen (the same one who later was the cause of the
Trojan War) and a boy boy called Pollux. These two were the divine children of
Zeus.

The other egg opened up to reveal another girl and
boy, Clytemnestra (who later became the wife of Agamemenon, the military leader
of the Greeks in the Trojan War) and Castor. These were the mortal children of
king Tyndareus, the legitimate husband of Leda.

Despite the fact that one brother was divine and the
other mortal, the twins Castor and Pollux grew to be inseparable. They did
everything together and they loved each other dearly.

Because they were so close, they were called by one
name; the Dioscuri. As they were growing, they both loved all kinds of sport.
Pollux was particularly good at boxing, while Castor was renowned for his skill
and daring on horseback.

When Jason was recruiting the Argonauts to join him in
his quest of the Golden Fleece, the Dioscuri eagerly accepted the invitation.

During the expedition, they became famous for their
ability to calm the rough seas, which once or twice had threatened to capsize
the Argo.Poseidon, the god of the seas, had made the twin brothers joint
saviors of shipwrecked sailors and granted them the power to send favorable
winds whenever they wished.

Even to this day, the sight of the stars of the
Dioscuri in the sky is regarded by sailors as an omen of good luck.

Unfortunately, following a bitter fight that the twins
had with other warriors, Castor was killed and was summoned to the Underworld.

Pollux was heartbroken and prayed to almighty Zeus to
take his life as well, for he would not bear to live without his brother.

When Zeus invited to join him and the rest of the
Olympians on Olympus, Pollux declined saying that he would not like to live
forever, while his beloved brother was dead.

Zeus was so touched by the twin's love and affection
for his brother, that he arranged for them to be together again. They could
divide their time between the heavens and the Underworld, spending one day high
up in Olympus and the next day beneath the earth, in the realm of Hades.

In further recognition of their brotherly love, he set
their images among the stars as the constellation of Gemini, so that they would
never be again separated. They stand out as two equally bright stars in a
constellation of weaker stars.

Cancer

The constellation of the greek zodiac known as Cancer
(Crab), is linked with the second labor of the mighty hero Hercules, when he
was assigned by Eurystheus to kill Lerna Hydra, a horrible water snake with a
hundred heads.

As the story goes, in the midst of Hercules' struggle,
Hera, who was the hero's worst enemy, ordered a giant crab to go and help the
Hydra by digging its claws into Hercules' foot.

Howling with pain, the hero stamped on the crab furiously,
crushing it to death.

Hera, being grateful for its support and in
recognition of its attempt to help her, honored the crab by placing its image
among the stars, as the constellation of Cancer.

Leo

Leo, the fifth constellation of the greek zodiac, is
linked with Hercules' very first labor, the capture of the Nemean Lion.

According to the myth, Hercules finally managed to
kill the beast by strangling it to death. Then, he skinned the lion and took
its pelt to wear it. He was then quite protected from his enemies, as the skin
could not be penetrated from any known weapon of the time whether made of iron,
bronze or stone.

After its death, the famous lion was put on the sky by
Zeus, to become the constellation of Leo.

Virgo

The constellation of Virgo is associated with the
story of Demeter and her daughter Persephone. For the ancient Greeks, the story
of Demeter and Persephone helped to explain why the seasons change.

Libra

The stars that form the golden scales of Libra lie
halfway around the band of the greek zodiac, between Virgo and Scorpio.

Day and night are equal when the sun passes through
the constellation of Libra. The scales are a symbol of balance and equity.

More specifically, the scales were considered to be
the symbol of Dike, meaning Justice, who was a minor goddess of the Underworld.

The fact that the ancient greeks gave Libra a
prominent place in the sky, signifies that they considered justice, equity and
balance in general, to be the moral cornerstones of an ideal way of living.

Scorpio

The eighth constellation of the greek zodiac is the
one with the name Scorpio. The story of the scorpion is connected with different
versions of stories that involve the mighty hunter Orion - a hero who is
represented by another familiar group of stars.

Orion was said to be the tallest and the most handsome
man of the then known world. He was often seen hunting in the woods and hills of
ancient Greece with his pack of dogs. His constellation shows him striding
across the heavens flourishing a gleaming sword on his bejeweled belt.

Many of the stories concerning the constellations of
Orion and Scorpio reflect the annual rising and setting of their
constellations, which appear to pursue each other across the sky.

One story tells how Gaia had sent the scorpion to
sting Orion, in order to punish him for being too boastful, claiming that he
was so mighty that he could easily rid the whole earth of all beasts and
creatures.

As soon as the scorpion was released from the breast
of Gaia, it immediately stung Orion and its deadly venom sent him straight to
his death.

The scorpion was set up on the sky by Gaia to mark her
victory, while goddess Artemis, who had loved Orion, placed his image on the
sky as well, forming his own constellation. Because Orion had cared so much for
his hunting dog, Artemis also put up a star for his dog: This is Sirius, the
rightest star in the heavens.

There is another story about Orion and the scorpion.

One day, when Orion was out in the woods, he caught
sight of seven beautiful sisters, the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Orion
loved them all at first sight and began to chase after them.

The sisters, however, were terrified and cried out to
Zeus to save them.

Zeus heard their pleas and helped them by turning them
first into doves, so they could fly away from Orion, and then into the seven
stars which are now called Pleiades.

According to myth, Orion was stung by the scorpion as
a punishment for chasing the seven sisters. Zeus decided that the
constellations of Orion and the Pleiades were arranged in the heavens, so that
it seemed that Orion was in constant pursuit of the seven sisters, without ever
becoming successful, just as the Scorpio seems always to be chasing Orion,
without ever touching him.

Sagittarius

The constellation of Sagittarius (the archer),depicts
a creature called centaur, which has the body and head of a man and the
hindquarters of a horse.

He is named after Cheiron, the most famous and king of
the centaurs. He was semi-divine, as he was the son of god Poseidon. He was
taught by god Apollo and goddess Artemis, and from them he learned both wisdom
and spirituality.

He dwelt in a cave high up in the rocky, snowy sides
of Mount Pelion. He was the oldest and wisest of all the centaurs and very
strong. In fact, he was so famous, that many kings had trusted their sons to
teach them. Among the most famous of his students were Hercules, and Jason, who
later became the leader of the argonauts.

As the myth goes, Cheiron was destined to suffer a
gruesome death: When Hercules was returning home to Tiryns after killing the
Erymanthian Boar, he had a violent encounter with some drunken centaurs, which
he managed to drive away near the place where Cheiron lived.

By accident, however, one of the poisonous arrows that
Hercules used to defend himself from his attackers, went astray and hit his old
teacher. Cheiron, being semi-divine, would not die, having to suffer an
excrutiating pain, because of the poison.

He was in such an agony, that Zeus himself felt sorry
for the poor centaur and permitted him to give up his divine status and give it
to Prometheus, the creator of the human race. So, Cheiron finally was left to
die, relieved from the intolerable pain that was inflicted on him from the
wound.

Capricorn

The constellation of the greek zodiac by the name of
Capricorn, is as strange as that of Sagittarius. It is a sea god, with the head
and half the body of a goat, and the tail of a fish.

The story of Capricorn is associated with the birth of
Zeus, the father of all gods.

As the story goes, when Rhea gave birth to baby Zeus,
she feared that her cruel husband Cronus would devour her child, just as he did
with the previous ones that she gave birth to.

So, she secretly took her child to Crete, where he was
safely kept in a cave on Mount Dicte. There, he was nursed and cared for by
Amaltheia, whose name means "tender". She was a goat nymph, and she
looked after baby Zeus with the greatest love and devotion, feeding him on her
own rich milk and sweet lavender-scented honey.

Zeus's golden cradle was hung high upon a tree so that
Cronus would never find him in Heaven or Earth, or even in the ocean.

When Zeus later became the lord of the universe, he
did not forget his goat-mother, Amaltheia, who had nursed him so lovingly. He
took one of her horns and turned it into the horn of plenty, which is always
filled with whatever delicious food or drink its owner may wish for, and is
never empty.

Finally, in recognition of all she had done for him,
she set her image among the rest of stars on the greek zodiac, as the
constellation of Capricorn.

Aquarius

The constellation of Aquarius shows a person pouring
water out of a jug. It is thought that the story behind this group of stars is
that of Ganymede.

Ganymede was the son of king Tros, after whom Troy was
named. The young prince was the most exquisite and handsome youth that ever
lived, and was adored and admired by both gods and mortals.

Zeus, who was especially fond of beautiful people, was
totally infatuated with Ganymedes's external appearance. Thinking it would be
appropriate for so handsome a mortal as Ganymede to live with the gods, the
mighty god disguised himself as an enormous eagle. He then flew down to Earth,
captured the handsome youth and brought him up to Olympus.

Up there on the heavenly palace, Zeus had to find a
job for his young protegee. So, he decided that Ganymede should be given the
special honor of being his personal cupbearer.

The position was considered to be highly
distinguished, since the person who was assigned the duty of the cupbearer, was
responsible for pouring into the glasses of the olympians the divine drink
called nectar. This was the special drink that bestowed on the gods their
eternal youth and vigor.

Zeus was forever fond of his cupbearer. So, he honored
him by giving him a prominent position on the greek zodiac, as the
constellation of Aquarius.

Pisces

The image of the two fish swimming in different
directions make the constellation of Pisces.Aphrodite, the goddess of love and
beauty, was thought to be the source of inspiration for this particular
constellation being set in the stars.

After Zeus had fought his father, Cronus, he defeated
the race of the giants, who were the children of Gaia, the mother earth.

In revenge for the destruction of her children, Gaia
gave birth to a horrible monster, called Typhon. He was the largest and most
frighening creature ever born. From the thighs down he was a mass of coiled
snakes, while his arms were so long that when he spread them out he reached a
hundred leagues each way.

Let loose by his mother Gaia, Typhon thundered towards
the Olympian home of the gods, declaring war on all of them. The gods hurried
to disguise themselves, in the hope that the horrible creature would not find
them:

Zeus took the image of a ram; Hera, became a white
cow;Artemis became a cat;Hermes turned into an ibis, while Ares became a wild
boar.

Lastly, the goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros, dived
deep into the ocean and took the shape of twin fish.

When the fierce monster was finally captured by Zeus
and all of the olympians were transformed back to their original form,
Aphrodite, being grateful to the fish who had lended their form to her and her
son when they were in distress, put up their image on the night sky. Thus,
Pisces became the last constellation of the greek zodiac.