The Zodiac
The word zodiac comes from the Greek word zodiakos, which means circle of animals.
Aries . . . the first sign of the zodiac, is also known as the Ram. In Greek Mythology, this constellation comes from the story of the Golden Ram. It all began when King Athamus of Boetia, at Hera's command, married a woman named Nephele. Nephele was a woman created from a cloud in Hera's image to trap the centaur Ixion. Out of this union two children were created; a son named Phrixus and a daughter named Helle. After a while Athamus grew tired of Nephele and left her. Athamus then remarried, and took for his second wife Ino, the daughter of Cadmus. She also gave him children - two sons Learchus and Melicertes. Nephele was angry and asked Hera help her in avenging Athamus' desertion. Meanwhile, Zeus asked Ino and Athamus to care for Dionysus, since he wanted to keep him a secret from Hera (eventually Hera punished them for this by making them go mad).
Ino was very jealous of Athamus and Nephele's children and plotted their deaths. She tricked Athamus into attempting to sacrifice Phrixius. He was saved by a golden ram that was sent by Hercules to carry him to Colchis. Helle also grabbed hold of the winged ram, but fell to her death. Upon reaching Colchis, Phrixius sacrificed the ram to Zeus, who in turn placed the ram's image among the stars in honor of its heroism.
Taurus . . . or the Bull, comes from the Greek myth of Europa. She was the daughter of King Agenor and Telephassa. Zeus, who was as lustful as ever, fell in love with her and he appeared to her as a handsome, white bull at the Phoenician waterside.
	The princess was awestruck by the beauty of the bull so she walked over to it and climbed on its back. Zeus jumped out of the water and carried her to Crete, where he ravished her in the form of an eagle. Eventually, she bore him three sons: Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Sarpedon. Zeus then placed the image of the bull among the stars.
Gemini . . . is the sign of the twins. In Greek Mythology these twins were Castor and Polydeuces (or Pollux for short). Together they were known as the Discouri and their sisters were Helen & Clytemnestra. They were the sons of Leda and Tynadreus/Zeus. Leda was married to King Tyndareus of Sparta. However, at the same time she was seduced by Zeus, so the father of both children is uncertain.
The Discouri were inseperable and grew closer with age. Castor was a famous horse-tamer and Pollux was an excellent boxer. When Castor was killed during a battle, Pollux became very depressed and in the end he gave up his life to be with his brother. Zeus rewarded their love by placing their images among the stars.
	Cancer . . . the Crab, was a creature sent by Hera to destroy Heracles. This giant crab latched on to Heracles' foot as he was fighting the Hydra. Before finishing off the Hydra, he crushed the giant crab. As a reward for the crab's obedience and sacrifice, Hera placed its image among the stars.
Leo . . . has to do with the labors of Heracles. For his first task, he was sent to kill the Nemean Lion. This lion was savage and fearless, since he couldn't be harmed by weapons. Heracles wrestled the lion and strangled it to death.
Unfortunately for Heracles, the Nemean Lion managed to bite off one of his fingers. After the lion was dead, Heracles skinned it with it's own claws and made himself armor from the pelt and jaw. The constellation Leo was made to honor the bravery of battle between the Nemean Lion and Heracles.
Virgo . . . is the Goddess of Innocence and Purity, Astraea. She comes from the creation myth, when Zeus sent Pandora down to Earth to punish man. Pandora, because of her great curiosity opened the box that the gods had given her and warned her never to open it.. When she opened it she unleashed upon the world plagues of hate, envy, sickness, and so on.
	The only thing that didn't escape was Hope. The Earth became so unbearable that the gods returned to the heavens to live. The last god(dess) to leave was Astraea and she became the constellation Virgo. According to legend, when the Golden Age comes again, Astraea will return to Earth with her mother, Themis the Goddess of Justice.
Libra . . . or the Scales, represent balace & justice and harmony & equilibrium. In Greek Mythology the Goddess of Justice is Themis. She is usually depicted as a woman who is blindfolded holding the scale in her hands.
She is also the mother of Astraea, the Goddess of Innocence and Purity, who is also the constellation Virgo. The constellations (Libra and Virgo) shine side by side in the celestial sky. It is also said that Themis will return with her daughter when the Golden Age comes again.
Scorpio . . . comes from the Greek myth of Orion. Orion was a very big man, and the son of Poseidon and Euryale.
	It was also said he was the most handsome man alive. Orion and Artemis were hunting parteners, which made Apollo, Artemis' sister, jealous. He went to Gaea, the Goddess of the Land, and asked her to create a giant scorpio. The scorpio stung and killed Orion, and Zeus put both of them in the heavens as constellations.
Sagittarius . . . Sagittarius is the centaur Cheiron. He was very different from other centaurs who were violent and brutal. Cheiron was very kind and taught many things including medicine, hunting, music and prophecy. He was the teacher of many great heroes, like Achilles and Jason. He was also a friend of Heracles. Unfortunately, Heracles brought about Cheiron's death by accident. While they were out hunting for a boar, Herakles shot Cheiron in the knee with one of his poisoned arrows. Since Cheiron was immortal, he couldn't die, but Heracles promised him he would help.
One day, Herakles came across Prometheus and discovered that he could not be free unless someone took his place. Cheiron agreed and Prometheus and him switched places. Prometheus was set free, and Cheiron was allowed to die. Zeus placed his image among the stars as a reward of his noble deeds and character.
Capricorn . . . is usually portrayed as a goat with a fish's tail (or a sea-goat), but in Greek Mythology he was the God Pan. Pan ruled over sheperds & flocks and woodlands & forests. From the waist down he was a goat and also had the ears and horns of a goat, but from the waist up he was a man.
	He always tried to catch nymphs, who would run because of his grotesque appearance. He eventually became the God of Nature, and some of his qualities, like sexuality and love of nature became part of the character of people born under this sign.
Aquarius . . . also known as the Water Bearer, comes from the Greek myth of the Deucalion Flood. Zeus poured all the waters from the heavens out onto the Earth to wash away and destroy the wicked and evil men that lived there.
The only people that were spared were Deucalion and and his wife Pyrrha, who following the instructions of Zeus, threw stones over their shoulders to create a new race of men and women. Aquarius is also associated with Ganymede, the cupbearer of Olympus.
Pisces . . . or the fish, are Aphrodite and Eros in Greek Mythology.
	They were walking along the Euphrates River when Typhon (a Giant) appeared. Scared and unable to run away, they called upon Zeus for help. He turned them into two fish, and they jumped into the river and escaped. Athena placed their image among the stars and they became the constellation Pisces.
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