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Sagittarius
The Greeks adopted the Mesopotamian figure of Pabilsaĝ as a centaur-like archer although
the omitted the wings. As there is already a Centaur in the Greek skies (the constellation Centaurus),
there is no particular Greek myth associated with this constellation. Ian Ridpath
describes the confusion:
"Aratus spoke of the Archer, Τοξότης (Toxotes), and his
Bow, Τόξον (Toxon), as though they were separate constellations. Most likely this is because the stars of the bow and
arrow are the most distinctive part of the figure. They form the asterism that we now know as the Teapot.
Some doubted that this was a centaur at all, among them Eratosthenes who gave as one of his
reasons the fact that centaurs did not use bows. Instead, Eratosthenes described Sagittarius as a two-legged creature with the tail of a satyr.
He said that this figure was Crotus, son of
Eupheme, the nurse to the Muses, who were nine daughters of Zeus. The Roman mythographer
Hyginus in his Fabulae added the information that the father of Crotus was
Pan, agreeing with Eratosthenes that the archer was a satyr rather than a centaur.
Crotus was said to have invented archery and often went hunting on horseback. He lived on Mount Helicon among the Muses, who enjoyed his company.
They sang for him, and he applauded them loudly. The Muses requested that Zeus place him among the stars, where he is seen demonstrating the art of
archery. In the sky he was given the hind legs of a horse because he was a keen horseman.
Aratus and Ptolemy, though, both spoke of the archer as a four-legged creature, which is how he is usually depicted. Ptolemy described him with
a flowing cloak, known as the ephaptis, attached at his shoulders. By his forefeet is a circle of stars that Hyginus said was a wreath ‘thrown off
as by one at play’. This circlet of stars is the constellation Corona Australis."
Source: Ian Ridpath.
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Sagittarius woodcutting,
Johannes Regiomontanus, 1512
Source: Wikipedia
Sagittarius in the Leiden Aratea
Source: Wikimedia
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