Mesopotamia: known as An or Anu the true shepherd, the name
of the constellation is a variation of the Sumerian Uru-anna, Light of the
Sky. His wife is Antu. According to tradition An took over heaven when it
was separated from earth, creating the universe as we know it. He is son of
Ansar and Kisar, and father of all the gods. In the story of the three
superimposed heavens, Anu occupies the topmost heaven. The "way of Anu" is
the vertical band of the eastern horizon, between the "ways" of Enlil and
Enki which lie to its north and south. Anu is not a well defined god because
he encompassed so many concepts. No clearly recognizable artistic
representation of him has ever been identified.
The epic of Gilgamesh is probably the most complete legend connected with
this constellation. Dating to over 4000 years ago, the epic was discovered
inscribed on twelve clay tablets found in the library at Nineveh, each
recounting some portion of the story of Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu.
Gilgamesh was an actual living man, the king of Uruk in the first half of
the third millennium BC. He was a descendent of the Sumerian Noah,
Utnapishtim. Strong, commanding and a lady killer, he met his rival Enkidu
on the field of battle. Enkidu was his twin in size and strength, but his
polar opposite in temperament. After wrestling for several days, Gilgamesh
realized he could not beat Enkidu and the two became friends. For their
first exploit they attacked and killed the giant Humbaba who lived in the
Cedar Forest.
After witnessing his amazing strength and admiring his obvious beauty,
the goddess Istar fell in love with Gilgamesh and wished to become his
lover, which he refused. Istar called down the mighty Bull of heaven to
destroy Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu slew the animal, cutting it into pieces
which Enkidu threw at Istar and her priestesses. Istar cursed the beautiful
Gilgamesh with leprosy and caused Enkidu to lapse into a coma and die.
Gilgamesh roamed the desert in grief for Enkidu and in fear of dying before
finally returning to give his friend a proper funeral. His quest for
immortality ended with the once powerful, virile king an old, broken man. See the Mesopotamian legend of Taurus.
Egypt:
representation of the solar god Horus. He is shown as riding in a boat with
the star Sirius as Isis in the form of a cow in another boat behind him. The
souls of Osiris and Isis are represented by Orion and
Sirius.
Greece: the classical representation of the
hero Orion shows him kneeling with his raised right arm brandishing a club,
a shield or lion skin in his left. Orion was born to the childless widower
Irieus, a poor shepherd, who invited the gods Zeus, Poseidon and Mercury to
dinner without knowing who they were. Unable to offer them anything to eat,
he butchered the only animal he had, an ox, and made them comfortable. For
his sacrifice and hospitality the gods offered him anything he could want.
Irieus asked for a son and Orion was born from the ox skin some months
later. As Orion grew he became a great hunter, a womanizer and friend and
lover of the goddess Artemis. Her brother, Apollo, became jealous of
Artemis' infatuation with Orion and attempted to have him killed by a
scorpion placed on his hunting path. As Orion approached, the scorpion fled.
With the hunter in pursuit it jumped into the ocean and swam with Orion
close behind. Apollo placed a beam of light on the swimmer and dared his
sister to hit the tiny spot on the water. Never one to pass on a chance to
showcase her hunting skills, Artemis killed her lover with a single arrow.
His body washed up on the shore the next day. In her sorrow she asked that
Zeus place him in the sky where he could remain for eternity with his
hunting dogs and the hare Lepus. Apollo insisted that the scorpion be placed
in the sky as well to commemorate the hunter's downfall.
A constellation associated with Orion is Taurus, the ox from which he was
born. Two star clusters, the Pleiades and the Hyades, represent daughters of
Atlas who were the object of his unwanted affections. In an attempt to repel
his advances the women were placed in the sky out of his reach. When Zeus
agreed to allow Orion to become a constellation, he kept the hunter far
enough from the sisters so that he could chase but never catch them. The
scorpion is positioned so that it faces him. Sagittarius was placed next to
the scorpion, with drawn bow aimed at the scorpion's heart should he try to
advance toward Orion. See the Greek legends of Canis
Major, Lepus, Pleiades, Sagittarius, Scorpius and Taurus.
India:
the lord of all creatures, Praiapati, is disguised as a deer. In love with
his daughter, Rohini, represented by the star Aldebaran in Taurus, he
pursues her and is stopped by the hunter Lubdhka, the star Sirius. Lubdhka's
arrow is in the deer's back and is marked by the three stars of Orion's
belt.
