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Argo Navis is a large, now obsolete constellation in the southern hemisphere. It was one of the 48 original Ptolemaic Constellations and was later divided into the constellations Carina, Puppis and Vela.

Ancient Babylon According to J.H. Rogers, in the Babylonian Three Stars Each Table, the stars that later became the constellation Carina, including the bright Canopus (α Car) were called BIR, which translates to Kidney. Canopus was individually listed as NUN-ki, representing the city of Eridu. The stars that later became the constellation Puppis were known as NIN.MAH, the Exalted Lady. In the MUL.APIN tables, most of the stars that later became the constellation Vela were associated with the goddess Ninmah, or Ninhursag, the ancient Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. Sources J.H. Rogers: Origins of the ancient constellations, Wikipedia, R.H. Allen

Ninhursag Source: historyten.com/mesopotamia

Special attention was given to the star η Carinae. In the MUL.APIN tables, it was listed as gishGAN.UR, which J.H. Rogers translates as "the star which stands at its side: the Harrow, the weapon of Mar-biti, inside of which one sees the subterranean waters." This may have included the Carina Nebula, a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity. This nebula was not visible in Europe, it was re-discovered by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in 1752. According to R.H. Allen, "This is one of the most noted objects in the heavens, perhaps even so in almost prehistoric times, for Babylonian inscriptions seem to refer to a star, noticeable from occasional faintness in its light, that Jensen thinks was η. And he claims it as one of the temple stars associated with Ea, or Ia, of Eridhu,​ the Lord of the waves, otherwise known as Oannes,​ the mysterious human fish and greatest god of the kingdom." Sources: Wikipedia and J.H. Rogers, R.H. Allen

Oannes © Granger Historical Picture Archive

Ancient Egypt Greek philosopher Plutarch attributed the constellation to the Egyptian Barque of Osiris. Osiris was the Egyptian god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation. A depiction of the Barque can be found on the ceiling of the Dendera Temple, showing Osiris sailing across the sky as the personification of the full moon. Osiris is seated on a throne, accompanied by the goddesses Nephthys (left) and Isis (right). Source: Wikipedia

Barque of Osiris; worldhistory.org

Ancient Greece In Greek mythology, the constellation represented the argo, the ship that took Jason and the Argonauts to Colchis at the eastern shores of the Black Sea in search of the Golden Fleece. The heroic adventures of Jason and the Argonauts are one of the oldest legends in Mediterranean mythology. The BBC reported that "... an excavation of the 1920s and 30s, at Boghaz Koy, in central Turkey, uncovered Indo-European tablets from a Hittite civilization dating to the 14th century BC. One of these has an account on it of a story similar to that of Jason and Medea, and may reveal the prehistory of the myth. It is not known at what date the Greeks borrowed it, but it very possibly happened in the ninth or eighth century BC. This was the time when many themes were taken from the east and incorporated into Greek poetry." The best written Greek account of the legend is the epic poem Argonautica, written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The ship was named after its builder, Argus. The goddess Athena supported Argus in the design and the building of the ship. Athena fitted an oak beam from the oracle of Dodona into the ship's prow. The oak was able to speak and to tell oracles with a human voice. The rest of the ship was build using wood from Mount Pelion, the area where Jason was raised by his foster-father, the centaur Chiron (represented in the night sky by the constellation Centaurus). Jason was the rightful heir to the throne of Iolcus, but his father Aeson was overthrown by his half-brother Pelias. When Jason claimed the throne, his uncle challenged him to first bring back the golden fleece from Colchis, the home of King Aeëtes and his daughter Medea. Pelias, of course, was hoping that Jason would perish during the 2,000 miles journey. The Argo left the port of Pagasae, its 50 oars manned by the 50 Argonauts, which included, Jason, Argus, Heracles (represented by the constellation Hercules and the twins Castor and Pollux (represented by the constellation Gemini). Helmsman of the ship was Tiphys whom Athena had taught the usage of sails.

Argo Navis on a globe manufactured by Gerardus Mercator in 1551 Source: atlascoelestis.com The Argo on a 4th Century BC coin Iolcos, Greece; Source: Wikipedia Argo Navis in a colored version of Bode's Uranometia, 1641

The crew was under special protection by the goddess Hera who Jason once helped when she appeared to him in the disguise of an old woman. When Jason and the Argonauts arrived in Colchis, Medea fell in love with Jason and helped him steel the Golden Fleece using her witchcraft. (In Greek astronomy, the Golden Fleece is represented by the constellation Aries). After the Argonauts returned to Iolcus, the ship was dedicated to the Gods, who transferred it into the sky. Before Jason returned the Golden Fleece to temple of Zeus at Orchomenus, he and Medea used it to cover their wedding bed. Their love story, however did not have a happy ending. Jason abandoned Medea for Glauce, the daughter of the King of Corinth. Medea later poisoned Glauce and according to Euripides, Jason was killed by a beam from the top of the Argo, that fell from the sky and hit him in his sleep. Sources: Wikipedia, Ian Ridpath, BBC History, greeklegendsandmyths.com, mythencyclopedia.com

The Argo painting by Konstantinos Volonakis Source: greeklegendsandmyths.com

The Argo's missing Prow The original constellation consisted of three easily distinguishable part, the hull (or the keel), the poop deck and the sails. The front part of the ship disappears in the mist of the Milky Way. Early depictions, like the Leiden Aratea or Poeticon Astronomicon (see right) simply showed half a ship. Later, more elaborate illustrations (see above) showed the prow obscured either by clouds (representing the Milky Way) or by a pair of rocks - the Symplegades. These were clashing rocks, crushing any ship attempting to cross the Bosphorus. Rowed by the mighty Argonauts and pushed by the goddess Athena, the Argo was the first ship to survive the passage, which put the rocks into a steadfast place. Source: Ian Ridpath

Argo without prow Erhard Ratdolt, 1482

Medieval Arab Astronomy Most Arabic astronomers adopted Ptolemy's constellation. Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, in his Book of Fixed Stars called it ṣūrat al-safīnah, the constellation of the ship. On the Manuchihr Globe, it is called kawākib al-safīnah. Canopus (α Carinae), the brightest star in Argo Navis is not visible in the northern parts of the Mediterranean and thus did not play a big role in Greek Mythology. Ptolemy conducted his observations in Alexandria (where the star is visible) and thus included it in the constellation. However, in the southern parts of the Arabic world, for example in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, Canopus was an important part of astronomy and mythology. For details, see the mythology of the constellation Carina.

Argo Navis in a 1417 reproduction of Al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars Source: sciencephoto.com

The dismantling of the Ship Argo Navis was the largest of Ptolemy's original 48 constellations. Because of its unwieldy size, French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille suggested in 1763 to divide Argo Navis into three separate constellations. In 1928, the International Astronomical Union made de Lacaille's suggestion official and the Constellation is now split into Carina (the hull or the keel), Puppis (the Stern) and Vela (the Sail). De Lacaille, the initiator of the split, also created one new constellation, Pyxis, the Mariner's Compass, within the boundaries of Argo Navis, leading some publication to describe a split into four parts. However, the stars of Pyxis were not part of the original Argo Navis and furthermore, the magnetic compass was unknown in ancient Greece. Pyxis was rather one of de Lacaille's fourteen new constellations in the southern sky. There were also several attempts to create additional constellations in the area, such as John Herschel's Malus (the Mast) and Edmond Halley's Robur Carolinum (Charles' Oak).

Carina

Puppis

Vela

Southern Hemisphere The interpretation of these stars as the ship of the Argonauts was limited to Greek Mythology and Arabic adaptations. In the southern regions of the northern hemisphere and all over the southern hemisphere there are many legends regarding individual stars or asterisms within the boundaries of the once mighty ship. See the star lore of Carina, Puppis and Vela for details.

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