Wikipedia
R.H. Allen:
Star Names
Ian Ridpath:
Star Tales
Universe Guide
Sea and Sky:
The Constellations
IAU
Map
NASA:
Constellations
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Wikipedia |
R.H. Allen: Star Names |
Ian Ridpath: Star Tales |
Universe Guide |
Sea and Sky: The Constellations |
IAU Map |
NASA: Constellations |
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Star LoreScorpiusPart 1 - Europe and Middle East |
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 Scorpius and Orion |
Scorpius is one of the most prominent and most recognizable constellations in our summer
sky. Located on the celestial equator, the constellation is visible throughout the world. The most popular star lore about Scorpius came from Greek mythology, but the saga originated in Mesopotamia and has parallels in Egypt. |
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Ancient Mesopotamia
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Around 3200 BC, three early zodiac constellations, lion, bull and scorpion had been defined. At that time, these constellations marked three
of the four cardinal points (both solstices and the spring equinox).
 Source: J. H. Rogers
In Babylonian star catalogues, Scorpius is called MUL.GIR.TAB,
meaning "The cutter" or "the (creature with) a burning sting".
In the same catalogue, Antares (α Scorpii) was called GABA GIR.TAB, meaning "the breast of the scorpion".
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Scorpion man on a cylindrical seal fromthe Elamite capital Susa, ca. 2500 BC; Highlighted by the author Source: J. H. Rogers |
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Antares may have also been known by the following names: Urbat, Bilu-sha-ziri ("the Lord of the Seed"), Kak-shisa ("the Creator of Prosperity"),
Dar Lugal ("The King"), Masu Sar ("the Hero and the King"), and Kakkab Bir ("the Vermilion Star").
Source: Wikipedia
According to R.H. Allen, the
association of α Scorpii with Mars, which later resulted in the Greek name Antares, meaning "opponent to Ares (Mars)" had its origins in Mesopotamia.
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In Mesopotamian cultures along the Euphrates, the asterism formed by
β, δ and
π Scorpii was called Gis-gan-gu‑sur, which
R.H. Allen translates as the
"Light of the Hero," or the "Tree of the Garden of Light."
Allen continues writing that the tree was "... placed in the midst of the abyss and so reminding us of that other tree, the Tree of Life, in the midst of the Garden of Eden." Source: R.H. Allen |
Gis-gan-gu‑sur
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In the MUL.APIN Tables,
λ and υ Scorpii were listed as
dSharur4 u dShargaz, meaning Sharur and Shargaz.
In Mesopotamian Mythology, Sharur, meaning "Smasher of Thousands" and Shargaz, meaning "Protector" were the weapons of Ninurta, the Sumerian god of farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes and war. They were adorned with the heads of an eagle and of a panther. |
Sharur© CapitanCatalufo |
Sharur and Shargaz
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| Sources: Wikipedia, J.H. Rogers, Mythology of all Races, Volume V |
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The Epic of Gilgamesh, which was written circa 1600 BC tells us about the Scorpion's encounter
with Gilgamesh (Orion):
On his journey to the homeland of Utnapishtim, Mesopotamian king Gilgamesh encounters initiated priests known as the scorpion-men. Sources: Gnostic Warrior, Chandra Observatory, Project Gutenberg |
Scorpion Man firing an arrowMiddle Assyrian cylinder seal Source: Wikiedia |
Babylonian Border Stone1157-1025 BC Source: John Bedell |
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Later, scorpions also appeared on Babylonian border stones (carved stone used to mark a royal land grant).
Sources: Wikipedia, Petros Koutoupis, J. H. Rogers, Astronomytrek |
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Sumerian Star Names
Starting about 4500 BC, Sumer was the earliest known civilization in southern Mesopotamia. Some of Scorpio's star names date back to the early days of the constellation and have remained unchanged for over 5,000 years.
Sargas (θ Sco) is Sumerian for "Stinger."
Girtab (κ Sco) was the Sumerian word for "Scorpion." It was originally applied to an
asterism consisting of κ, λ, υ and ι Scorpii.
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Greek Mythology
Myth about Scorpius go back to the days of Homer. There are different versions told by
Aratus, Eratosthenes and
Hyginus.
Links to other versions of the story in Greek Mythology
Antares (α Sco)
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Egypt
The Metternich Stela is dated to the
Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt, around 380–342 BC. The stela tells the
story of the death and resurrection of Horus.
Sources: Sacred Texts and
Chandra Observatory |
Metternich Stela; Source: Wikipedia
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In ancient Egypt, Antares represented the scorpion goddess Serket (and was the symbol of Isis in the pyramidal ceremonies).
It was called tms n hntt "the red one of the prow." Sources: Wikipedia, R.H. Allen |
Scorpion goddess Serket in The Louvre© Francesco Dazzi |
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Al-Aqrab - the original Scorpion
Before Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi and other Arabic astronomers adopted
Ptolemy's constellations, people on the
Arabian Peninsula had their own way to navigate the sky, creating constellations like Lam, Ostriches and
Vulture.
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Danielle Adams' scetch of Al-AqrabClick the image to see the original in the Arab Star Calendar |
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Danielle Adams at the University of Arizona in Tucson has developed an excellent project called Arab Star Calendar to preserve the astronomical knowledge of the people of the Arabian Desert. She writes about Al-Aqrab: The Arabian Scorpion followed the image of the scorpion defined by the Sumerians more than 3000 years ago. The Scorpion was well-defined with Two Claws, a Head (Crown), a Heart with its Aorta, Segments, a Raised Tail and a Sting. In the west, its Claws extend into Libra, just as it was drawn in Mesopotamia thousands of years ago. Here is a listing of all stars of the different segments of the Al-Aqrab celestial complex. Clicking on the headline name of a segment takes you to an extensive description of that segment in the Arab Star Calendar, which provides a lot more valuable information. |
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The Two Claws of the Scorpion Zubenelgenubi (α Lib) Zubeneschamali (β Lib)
The Crown of the Scorpion
The Heart of the Scorpion
The Aorta |
The Segments Larawag (ε Sco) Xamidimura (μ Sco) Sargas (θ Sco) Apollyon (ι Sco) Girtab (κ Sco) ζ Sco, η Sco
The Raised Tail
The Sting of the Scorpion |
Scorpio in The Book of the Birth of IskandarSource: Wikimedia |
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In her Star Calendar Blog, Danielle Adams kept the memories of this magnificent
constellation alive. Check out her essay on the Searing Heat from the Indelible Scorpion. |
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Medieval Islamic Astronomy
In the Book of Fixed Stars, Persian astronomer
Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi adopted
Ptolemy's constellation and translated it as Al ʽAḳrab, but there was an
original Arabic Scorpion constellation long before that (see below).
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Official names derived from Arabic origins are shown in bold.
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Antares (α Sco) once carried the Arabic name Qalb al-'Aqrab, the
"Heart of the Scorpion."
Before the general acceptance of Ptolemy's name Antares the star was known in Europe as Kalb Aakrab, Kelbalacrab or Calbalacrab. There was also the speculation, that the star was named after Antar (Antarah ibn Shaddad), a pre-islamic Arab hero. However, Antar was born 400 years after Ptolemy named the star. Al-Qalb (The Heart) was also the name of the 18th Arabic Lunar Mansion. Sources:R.H. Allen, Ihsan Hafez
Acrab (β Sco) carries the name that was once given to the entire constellation:
Ðanab al-'Aqrab, the Scorpion.
Dschubba (δ Sco) is derived from the Arabic Al-Jabha, the "Forehead"
(of the scorpion), related to the 17th Arabic Lunar Mansion (see above).
Jabbah (ν Sco) has the same origin as nearby Dschubba (δ Sco): Al-Jabha, the "Forehead."
Shaula (λ Sco) is the second brightest star in the constellation. Its name is derived from
Al-Šawlā, meaning "The Raised" (tail of the scorpion) or, in other translations, "The Stinger."
Lesath (υ Sco) is believed to come from Al Lasʽah, the "Pass (or Bite) of a
poisonous Animal," although there is some controversy abot the origin of the name. There is also the possibility, that the name is derived from
Al Laţkha, the "Foggy Patch", which refers to the nearby Ptolemy Cluster (Messier 7).
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Colored reproduction of al-Sufi's illustration;
pinterest.it
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Traditionally, Alniyat (σ Sco) and
Paikauhale (τ Sco) both carried the name Al-Niyāţ, meaning "The Arteries," referring to their position flanking the Scorpion's heart, Antares.
In 2016, the IAU started assigning proper individual names to stars. The name Alniyat is now given exclusively to σ Sco Aa1, while τ Sco received the Hawaiian name Paikauhale. Source:Wikipedia
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Norse Mythology
Richard Denning identified Scorpius as
Níðhöggr.
Sources:
Richard Denning: What did the Vikings and Saxons call the Stars?, |
Níðhöggr gnaws the roots of Yggdrasill17th-century Icelandic manuscript. Sources: Wikipedia, Mathisen Corollary
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In Star Myths of the Vikings, Bjorn Jónsson suggests, that the
southern part of Scorpius represents Hvergelmir, a spring mentioned in both the
Poetic Edda and Prose Edda.
The spring is located in Niflheim the realm of primordial ice and cold. It is the origin of all the cold water in the world. The spring is fed by dew dripping from his horns of a stag named Eikthyrinr. into the well. In spite of being the source of could water, Hvergelmir is also the home of countless snakes. Sources: Bjorn Jónsson, Blog Mythology and Cultures. |
HvergelmirBjorn Jónsson's Viking starmap Source: germanicmythology.com |
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