ORION, THE GIANT HUNTER IN THE SKY: #BLOGCHATTERA2Z
Orion - Paleothea
Orion was the grandson of the Cretan king, Minos, the
creator of the labyrinth, and the son of Euryale, the Gorgon and Poseidon, the
god of the sea. This also made him the nephew of Zeus, the king of the gods.
Orion was a tall, well-built demigod who stood head and
shoulders over any man. He was also the greatest hunter who could beat anyone
with his club or sword. It is also believed that he represented strength, good
luck and spiritual intuition.
The myth goes that Artemis, the goddess of the Moon,
hunting and virginity, was attracted to the strong and handsome Orion. She fell
in love with him, but since she had taken a vow of virginity, she remained chaste.
Her brother, the sun god, Apollo, was wary of the relationship as he did not
want her to break her vow. There are two versions of the way he got rid of
Orion.
Artemis and Orion - Paleothea
In the first, he drove Orion to madness, and made him
wander about, boasting that he would hunt and kill every animal on earth. Gaia,
the protective mother of all animals, took umbrage at this. Unable to stand his
recklessness and his arrogance, she sent a monstrous scorpion to overpower him.
Orion, in his overweening conceit, underestimated the creature. The scorpion
stung him, and caused his death.
The gods gave both a place in the sky. Orion was the
Hunter, and even today, his belt of three stars can be witnessed in the dark
sky. If you look closely enough, you can see Orion’s shoulders, his legs and
his sword, accompanied by Sirius, the Dog star.
Stargazing Tenerife
The scorpion turned into Scorpius, the star, and when one
star arose, the other vanished below the horizon, perpetuating the myth that
they were still in pursuit of each other.
The second version of Orion’s end has to do with Apollo’s
disapproval of his sister’s relationship with Orion. One day, as Apollo was
travelling across the world in his chariot, he espied Orion swimming in the sea
below with only his head above water. He also noticed Artemis lying on the
shore. The wily god went to his sister and challenged her about her shooting
prowess. Artemis rose to the bait, fully confident because she was the goddess
of hunting, after all. Apollo pointed to a dark speck in the middle of the
ocean and asked her to aim at it. Artemis did so, and hit the target perfectly,
little realising that it was Orion whom she had shot.
Artemis and Apollo - Divine Twins - Timeless Myths
Apollo left, happy that his plot had succeeded. It was
only later when Orion’s body was washed up on shore that Artemis realised what
she had done. She was heartbroken and wept incessantly. She placed him the in
the night sky where she and everyone could admire his glory.
Trivia:
Phonetic pronunciation: Orion - / əˈraɪ.ən /
It
is said that when Orion died, Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, brought him back
to life with an antidote. Hence, Ophiuchus turned into a constellation between
Orion and Scorpius and is mentioned in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and also in
Virgil’s Aeneid.
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