Star lore

Star lore or starlore is the creating and cherishing of mythical stories about the stars and star patterns (constellations and asterisms); that is, folklore based upon the stars and star patterns. Using the stars to explain religious doctrines or actual events in history is also defined as star lore. Star lore has a very long history; it has been practiced by nearly every culture recorded in history, dating as far back as 5,500 years ago. It was practiced by prehistoric cultures of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods as well.

Orion and Scorpius

One example of star lore is the inventing of the story of Orion the Hunter and the Scorpius the Scorpion by the ancient Greeks. This ancient culture saw a very startling pattern of bright stars in the winter sky that, from their point of view, resembled a mighty hunter, which they named Orion. During the summer, they saw another startling pattern of bright stars that resembled a scorpion. They noticed that the constellations of Orion and the scorpion were positioned at opposite ends of the sky and were never seen in the sky simultaneously. As one constellation rose above the eastern horizon, the other was setting below the western horizon, and when either one was high in the sky, the other was completely absent. The ancient Greeks felt compelled to explain this phenomenon by composing a story or myth based on the two constellations.

The story was that Orion was a mighty and proud hunter who was stung by a scorpion. Orion died of the scorpion's sting and was placed among the stars by the gods. Although the scorpion was destroyed by the gods in vengeance for killing Orion, it was also placed among the stars. In order to prevent Orion and the scorpion from quarrelling and strifing with each other in the sky, the gods placed Orion and the scorpion at opposite ends of the sky, and in opposite seasons, so that both of them can never be seen in the sky at the same time.

References

* [http://www.threeworldsweb.com/starlore/myth.html Star Lore: Prehistoric Skywriting]
* [http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/contents.htm Star Tales – Ian Ridpath]

See also

* Dog Days