Constellation Myths Hercules, Hydra and Corona Borialias

Hercules Hercules was perhaps the greatest hero in all mythology. He was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and was hounded all his life by Juno. (This is deliciously ironic, because in the original Greek myths, Juno is named Hera and Hercules is Heracles, which means "glory of Hera.") Juno was unhappy with Jupiter's infidelity, and saw Hercules as a living, breathing symbol of her shame. She delayed his birth, and when Hercules was a mere baby (but a big one!) sent two snakes into the crib he shared with his mortal half-twin Iphicles. Hercules killed them both with his bare hands, marking the beginning of his career as a monster-killer. After a precocious childhood and adolesence, Hercules married Megara (daughter of Creon, king of Thebes). Juno succeeded in driving him mad, though, and he killed his wife and his children. As atonement, he serves the king Eurystheus, performing the twelve labors for which he is most famed:

He wrestled and killed the Nemean Lion (Leo) in its den, then used one of the beast's teeth to remove the otherwise impenetrable hide. He wore the hide as protection from then on. He killed the Lernaean Hydra, a poisonous monster which could regenerate its heads, growing two each time one was lopped off. Hercules managed this by burning the stump of each before anything could grow back and burying the one immortal head beneath a rock. While battling the Hydra, his feet were nipped by a crab sent by Juno. He captured the Cerynean Hind, a stag with golden horns which was famous for its speed, after a year-long pursuit. He captured the Erymanthian Boar and killed the centaurs Pholus and Chiron who opposed him. He successfully cleaned the Augean Stables, which had held 3000 oxen for thirty years without ever having been cleaned, in one night by redirecting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through them. He killed the Stymphalian Birds, which fed on human flesh in Arcadia. He captured the Cretan Bull. He captured the mares of Diomedes, which fed on human flesh, by feeding them their owner. He stole the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. He stole the man-eating cattle of Geryon. He stole the three-headed guard dog Cerberus from the underworld. He obtained the golden apples of the Hesperides, killing a dragon to do so. Hercules also accompanied Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece and assisted in the war between the gods and the giants. He remarried, and eventually died after accidentally poisoned by his wife Deineira. He was subsequently immortalized, even though he was by birth only half immortal. The constellation Hercules, found between Lyra and Bootes, shows the hero wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion while holding his characteristic club and Cerberus the three-headed dog. He also rests his foot atop the head of Draco the dragon. The constellation is huge--the fifth-largest in the sky--but rather dim, which is an interesting parallel with Hercules himself. The hero was famed for his brawn, but his wits were rather lacking.

Hydra, the Water-Snake This constellation represents the Lernaean Hydra, slain by Hercules as his second labor. The Hydra was a multi-headed monster--according to Diodorus (first century B.C.), it had a hundred heads; Simonides (sixth century B.C.) said it had fifty. The most common opinion, however, seems to be that it had nine. What made the Hydra so difficult was the fact that, whenever one of its heads was chopped off, two would grow in its place. Hercules managed to get around this rather major obstacle by having his nephew, Iolaus, cauterize each stump with a hot iron as soon as Hercules could chop off a head. The hero then buried the monster's immortal head beneath a rock. The task was made somewhat more difficult by Juno, who sent a crab to nip at the feet of Hercules while he battled the Hydra. The Hydra is long and wandering, stretching almost from Canis Minor to Libra. It lies south of Cancer, Leo, and Virgo, and is best seen in the northern hemisphere during the months of February through May.

Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown This constellation is generally associated with Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. His wife had borne a hideous monster, half-man and half-bull, and Minos had it shut up in a labyrinth designed by the famous architect Daedalus. The maze was so complex and confusing that Daedalus "was himself scarcely able to find his way back to the entrance" (Metamorphoses VIII 166-167). Periodically, the Minotaur needed to be fed, and a number of Athenians would be put into the labyrinth for it to eat. This happened twice; on the third feeding, the hero Theseus was one of those chosen as a sacrifice. Ariadne fell in love with him, and offered to help if he would take her away with him when he escaped. He agreed, and she gave him a thread to unwind behind him to mark his passage. He killed the Minotaur, followed the thread out of the labyrinth, and sailed from Crete with Ariadne:

Immediately he set sail for Dia, carrying with him the daughter of Minos; but on the shore of that island he cruelly abandoned his companion. Ariadne, left all alone, was sadly lamenting her fate, when Bacchus put his arms around her, and brought her his aid. He took the crown from her forehead, and set it as a constellation in the sky, to bring her eternal glory. Up through the thin air it soared and, as it flew, its jewels were changed into shining fires. They settled in position, still keeping the appearance of a crown, midway between the kneeling Hercules and Ophiucus, who grasps the snake

From The Age Of Myth and Legend

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