Constellations Video

[Alan Agrawal]

Here’s a very good video about the constellations done by a classics professor.  

https://www.wired.com/video/watch/every-ancient-greek-constellation-explained

Best,

Alan

[Mark]

Hi Alan,

I was quite pleased to see your post about classic constellation.  Its mythology (western) is quite rich.  I have a copy of Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology, that's I've enjoyed for many years.  When I was writing content for Orion Telescope I would always fight to include some mythology, especially to help kids relate to the sky through stories.  It is how I learned constellations, which later lead to my love of astronomy.

I'll mention two lesser known (favorite) mythologies of the two Ptolemian constellations, Bootes and Pisces.

Did you know that when you put your grandchild on a swing and give a push, it harkens to the Greek tragedy of Icarius (Bootes), his daughter Erigone (Virgo) and her pet dog Maera (Canis Minor)?  In the story all the Athenian women ended up on swings.  Dionysus, Icarius' friend, was involved in this story.

Pisces is interesting as the pair Aphrodite and her son Eros were escaping the 100 headed monster Typhon, and transformed themselves into fish, hiding in disguise.  To keep together, they tied a string between them with a knot (Alrescha). Thus, love and desire survived destruction, ever present in our skies to enjoy.

My daughter grew up, out in our backyard hearing these stories, and became a ravenous reader (far surpassing me) - she loved the classics.  This is how I became innately familiar with the sky, and I am still learning (about the myths) as the topic is quite deep.  Constellations can help connect us to the sky, and help acquire the ability to visually (intimately)  navigate it.

[Alan Agrawal]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for sharing your comments. Glad to hear you liked it.

Best,

Alan

On Jul 21, 2026, at 1:55 PM, Mark <itsmar...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Alan,

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