Constellation Libra: the scales or claws

Today I am doing another constellation post, and this time it is about a bit of an oddity: a constellation that the ancient Hellenes saw only as a part of another constellation. Often the names we use for the constellations are Roman, but the ancient Hellenes at least identified the constellation in the same way. Not so with Libra: to the ancient Romans, Libra represented scales, to the ancient Hellenes, the claws of the constellation Scorpio. As such, it was known by two names: Zyygos (the Scales) or Khêlai (the Claws).

The constellation Scorpio--which we will get to at a later date--was placed into the sky because of mythology that connexts him to Orion, the great hunter. In ancient times, the constellation Libra was almost solely identified with the scorpion, but eventually, another connection came to pass--to the constellation Virgo. The above image represents both connections. Hyginus, in his Astronomica, makes the connection between the scorpion and the scales best:

"This sign is divided into two parts on account of the great spread of the claws. One part of it our writers have called the Balance." [II. 26]

Hyginus (64 BC – AD 17), however, was a Latin author. Earlier work--for example by 3rd century BC poet Aratos, reveals nothing about scales. In his Phaenomena, he discusses the placement of Libra repeatedly:

"Toward the Crown leans the Serpent’s jaw, but beneath his coiling form seek thou for the mighty Claws [Libra]; they are scant of light and nowise briljant. [...] There too are the most swift courses of the Ram [Aries], who, pursued through the longest circuit, runs not a whit slower than the Bear Cynosura – himself weak and starless as on a moonlit night, but yet by the belt of Andromeda thou canst trace him out. For a little below her is he set. Midway he treads the mighty heavens, where wheel the tips of the Scorpion’s Claws and the Belt of Orion. [...] The constellation of Centaur [Centaurus] thou wilt find beneath two others. For part in human form lies beneath Scorpio, but the rest, a horse’s trunk and tail, are beneath the Claws. [...] In it [the equater] are the Belt of the well-starred Orion and the coil of the gleaming Hydra: in it, too, the dim-lit Crater and the Crow and the scanty-starred Claws and the knees of Ophiuchus are borne. [...] In it is the Crag; after the Crab the Lion and beneath him the Maiden; after the Maiden the Claws and the Scorpion himself and the Archer and Aegoceros, and after Aegoceros Hydrochoüs. [...] Nor can the rising Claws [Libra], though faintly shining, pass unremarked, when at a bound the mighty sign of Boötes rises, jeweled with Arcturus. Aloft is risen all of Argo, but the Hydra, shed as she is afar over the heavens, will lack her tail. The Claws bring only the right leg as far as the thigh of that Phantom that is ever On his Knees, ever crouching by the Lyre – that Phantom, unknown among the figures of the heavens, whom we often see both rise and set on the selfsame night. Of him only the leg is visible at the rising of both the Claws: he himself head-downward on the other side awaits the rising Scorpion and the Drawer of the Bow. For they bring him: Scorpion brings his waist and all aforesaid; the Bow his left hand and head. Even so in three portions is he all brought up piecemeal above the horizon. Half the Crown and the tip of the Centaur’s tail are upraised with the rising Claws." [88, 225, 436, 511, 544, 607]

About the connection to the constellation Virgo, many later writers have something to say, although very few of those words are in the public domain. Two Goddesses were identified with the scales by (mostly) the Romans: Astraia (Αστραια), daughter of Zeus and Themis, and Tykhe (Τυχη), daughter of Zeus. There is no Hellenic source to tie either of them to the constellation.

Manilius, a Roman poet, astrologer, and author from the 1st century AD, in his 'Astronomica' spoke of the influence of Libra for those born under it, writing:

"Balancing night with the length of day, the Scales will bestow the employment of weights and measures and a son to emulate the talents of Palamedes, who first assigned numbers, and to these numbers names, fixed magnitudes and individual symbols. He will be acquainted with the tables of law, abstruse legal points, and words denoted by compendious signs; he will know what is permissible and the penalties incurred by doing what is forbidden; in his own house he is a people's magistrate holding lifelong office… Indeed, whatever stands in dispute and needs a ruling the pointer of the balance will determine." [Loeb p.239]

Libra, especially for the Hellenes, was a minor constellation--part of another constellation, and barely connected to mythology. In modern times, however, the failt constellation has gained its share of fame. The constellation Libra is visible at latitudes between +65° and −90°, and best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of June.

• Thursday, July 1, 2021
  Aratos Astraia astronomy Constellation series Hyginus Manilius Mythology 101 Orion Ptolemy Tykhe

Constellation Virgo: the virgin

This is it, the last constellation in the Constellation series. Of course, I will ahve a little bonus for you--a closer so to speak--but as for the actual contellations, Virgo is the last. Naturally, the ancient Hellenes, with their appreciation of beauty, associated thic contellation with beautiful women.

The ancient Hellenes associated Virgo with Demeter, Goddess of agriculture and the firtile earth. In her hand is a wheat of corn. Alternatively, she was sometimes identified as the virgin Goddess Astraia, holding the scales of justice in her hand as the constellation Libra.

A third interpretation for the source of Virgo is given to us by Latin author Gaius Julius Hyginus (64 BC – AD 17) is that of Ikários (Ἰκάριος), a grape farmer from Athens who was trained by Dionysos. Ikários is not to be confused with Íkaros from mythology, the son of Daidalos. This Ikários was such a fine winemaker that he could produce wine so strong, those who drank it appeared to be poisoned. His skill turned out to be his undoing; Íkaros was killed by those who drank his wine, thinking the wine maker was out to kill them. His daughter Erigone was taken to his body by the family hound, Maera, whereupon both she and the dog committed suicide by hanging. It may have been that Dionysos was so angry over the murder and the following suicides, He punished Athens by making all of the city's maidens commit suicide in the same way. Zeus, stricken by the events, placed all of them in the sky; Ikários as Boötes, Erigone as Virgo, and Maera as Canis Major, Canis Minor or the star, Procyon.

Another myth identifies Virgo as Erigone, the daughter of Icarius of Athens. Icarius, who had been favoured by Dionysus, was killed by his shepherds while they were intoxicated and Erigone hanged herself in grief; Dionysus placed the father and daughter in the stars as Boötes and Virgo respectively. You can read more about them here, in this post about the Anthesteria festival in which Icarius' death is commemorated.

As per husual Hyginus in his 'Astronomica' is our main source of information on this constelation. He writes:

"Hesiod calls her the daughter of Jove and Themis. Aratus says that she is thought to be daughter of Astraeus and Aurora, who lived at the time of the Golden Age of men and was their leader. On account of her carefulness and fairness she was called Justice, and at that time no foreign nations were attacked in war, nor did anyone sail over the seas, but they were wont to live their lives caring for their fields. But those born after their death began to be less observant of duty and more greedy, so that Justice associated more rarely with men. Finally the disease became so extreme that it was said the Brazen Race was born; then she could not endure more, and flew away to the stars.

Others call her Fortune - others, Ceres, and they dispute the more about her because her head is dimly seen. Some have called her Erigone, daughter of Icarus, whom we have spoken of before. Others call her a daughter of Apollo by Chrysothemis, an infant, named Parthenos. Because she died young she was put by Apollo among the constellations." [II.25]

Virgo is visible at latitudes between +80° and −80°, and best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of May.

• Sunday, June 21, 2015
  Astraia astronomy Constellation series Demeter Dionysos Hyginus Ikários Mythology 101 Ptolemy

Constellation Libra: the scales or claws

Today I am doing another constellation post, and this time it is about a bit of an oddity: a constellation that the ancient Hellenes saw only as a part of another constellation. Often the names we use for the constellations are Roman, but the ancient Hellenes at least identified the constellation in the same way. Not so with Libra: to the ancient Romans, Libra represented scales, to the ancient Hellenes, the claws of the constellation Scorpio. As such, it was known by two names: Zyygos (the Scales) or Khêlai (the Claws).

The constellation Scorpio--which we will get to at a later date--was placed into the sky because of mythology that connexts him to Orion, the great hunter. In ancient times, the constellation Libra was almost solely identified with the scorpion, but eventually, another connection came to pass--to the constellation Virgo. The above image represents both connections. Hyginus, in his Astronomica, makes the connection between the scorpion and the scales best:

"This sign is divided into two parts on account of the great spread of the claws. One part of it our writers have called the Balance." [II. 26]

Hyginus (64 BC – AD 17), however, was a Latin author. Earlier work--for example by 3rd century BC poet Aratos, reveals nothing about scales. In his Phaenomena, he discusses the placement of Libra repeatedly:

"Toward the Crown leans the Serpent’s jaw, but beneath his coiling form seek thou for the mighty Claws [Libra]; they are scant of light and nowise briljant. [...] There too are the most swift courses of the Ram [Aries], who, pursued through the longest circuit, runs not a whit slower than the Bear Cynosura – himself weak and starless as on a moonlit night, but yet by the belt of Andromeda thou canst trace him out. For a little below her is he set. Midway he treads the mighty heavens, where wheel the tips of the Scorpion’s Claws and the Belt of Orion. [...] The constellation of Centaur [Centaurus] thou wilt find beneath two others. For part in human form lies beneath Scorpio, but the rest, a horse’s trunk and tail, are beneath the Claws. [...] In it [the equater] are the Belt of the well-starred Orion and the coil of the gleaming Hydra: in it, too, the dim-lit Crater and the Crow and the scanty-starred Claws and the knees of Ophiuchus are borne. [...] In it is the Crag; after the Crab the Lion and beneath him the Maiden; after the Maiden the Claws and the Scorpion himself and the Archer and Aegoceros, and after Aegoceros Hydrochoüs. [...] Nor can the rising Claws [Libra], though faintly shining, pass unremarked, when at a bound the mighty sign of Boötes rises, jeweled with Arcturus. Aloft is risen all of Argo, but the Hydra, shed as she is afar over the heavens, will lack her tail. The Claws bring only the right leg as far as the thigh of that Phantom that is ever On his Knees, ever crouching by the Lyre – that Phantom, unknown among the figures of the heavens, whom we often see both rise and set on the selfsame night. Of him only the leg is visible at the rising of both the Claws: he himself head-downward on the other side awaits the rising Scorpion and the Drawer of the Bow. For they bring him: Scorpion brings his waist and all aforesaid; the Bow his left hand and head. Even so in three portions is he all brought up piecemeal above the horizon. Half the Crown and the tip of the Centaur’s tail are upraised with the rising Claws." [88, 225, 436, 511, 544, 607]

About the connection to the constellation Virgo, many later writers have something to say, although very few of those words are in the public domain. Two Goddesses were identified with the scales by (mostly) the Romans: Astraia (Αστραια), daughter of Zeus and Themis, and Tykhe (Τυχη), daughter of Zeus. There is no Hellenic source to tie either of them to the constellation.

Manilius, a Roman poet, astrologer, and author from the 1st century AD, in his 'Astronomica' spoke of the influence of Libra for those born under it, writing:

"Balancing night with the length of day, the Scales will bestow the employment of weights and measures and a son to emulate the talents of Palamedes, who first assigned numbers, and to these numbers names, fixed magnitudes and individual symbols. He will be acquainted with the tables of law, abstruse legal points, and words denoted by compendious signs; he will know what is permissible and the penalties incurred by doing what is forbidden; in his own house he is a people's magistrate holding lifelong office… Indeed, whatever stands in dispute and needs a ruling the pointer of the balance will determine." [Loeb p.239]

Libra, especially for the Hellenes, was a minor constellation--part of another constellation, and barely connected to mythology. In modern times, however, the failt constellation has gained its share of fame. The constellation Libra is visible at latitudes between +65° and −90°, and best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of June.

• Thursday, September 12, 2013
  Aratos Astraia astronomy Constellation series Hyginus Manilius Mythology 101 Orion Ptolemy Tykhe