- Navajo: Ursa Major
- Lakota: Constellation of the Hand
- Hindu: Rishis
- Greek: Scorpius
- Greek: Draco
- Greek: Heracles
- The Nemean Lion
- The Lernaean Hydra
- Greek: Cancer
- Greek: Orion
- Greek: Taurus
- Greek: Aquila
- Greek: Andromeda
- Greek: Cassiopeia
- Greek: Cepheus
- Greek: Pegasus
- Greek: Perseus
- The Big Dipper and Bootes
- Greek: Cygnus
Myths about Constellations
Constellations are formed of bright stars which appear close to each other on the sky, but are really far apart in space. The shapes you see all depend on your point of view. Many societies saw patterns among the stars with gods and goddesses or stories from their culture. Most of the constellations with which we are familiar come from ancient Greece. But other civilizations created their own patterns in the sky based on stories and people that were important to them. The stories below provide an overview of myths associated with the constellations identified by early civilizations around the world.
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Explore Myths about Constellations
Navajo: Ursa Major
In Navajo myth, Ursa Major, the Great Bear, originated from the story of the Changing Bear ...Read more
Lakota: Constellation of the Hand
According to the Lakota, the Constellation of the Hand, namely the bottom half of Orion, represents ...Read more
Hindu: Rishis
According to the epic Mahabharata, composed after the Rig Veda in about 500 B.C., the stars ...Read more
Scorpius the Scorpion
To the ancient Greeks, the constellation Scorpius was the image of a scorpion. The constellation ...Read more
Draco the Dragon
Draco the dragon is famous throughout mythology. This great beast was especially present in ...Read more
Greek: Heracles
According to the Greek mythology, a particular group of stars represents the figure of the ...Read more
Greek: The Nemean Lion
More than two thousand years ago, Greeks believed the god Zeus placed the figure of a gigantic ...Read more
Greek: The Lernaean Hydra
A long time ago, Greek people believed that a long strip of Zeus was really an image of a gigantic ...Read more
Greek: Cancer
According to an ancient Greek legend, the figure of a gigantic crab was placed in the nighttime ...Read more
Greek: Orion
The ancient Greeks saw the figure of the Greek myth, Orion, in the nighttime sky. There are ...Read moreMore about Myths about Constellations
- Greek: Europa and the Constellation Taurus
- Greek: Ganymede and the Constellation Aquila
- Greek: Andromeda
- Greek: Cassiopeia
- Greek: Cepheus
- Greek: Pegasus
- Greek: Perseus
- Greek: The Big Dipper and Bootes
- Greek: Leda and the Constellation Cygnus
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