![]() So let’s take a spin on its stars, see what they have to say. It is the 25th biggest constellation, and it is circumpolar, which means we can see it all year round. Her structure and position in the sky greatly matter. In the tribe of Lapps, Cassiopeia forms an elk antler, and the Chukchi in Siberia saw Cassiopeia as 5 reindeer stags.īut Cassiopeia doesn’t hold only divine mythological greatness. Meanwhile, in Chinese astronomy, Cassiopeia was represented as the Purple Forbidden enclosure, the Black Tortoise of the North, or the White Tiger of the West. In Persia, she was a queen holding a staff with a crescent moon, wearing a crown, and having a 2 humped camel. In Arab culture, Cassiopeia and a few stars from Perseus and Andromeda represent the Camel. Her boasting and selfishness come from Greek mythology, as with most north hemisphere constellations. Her story changes according to different cultures. Moreover, she spends half of the time upside down as a punishment for her boasting and selfishness. However, Cassiopeia was condemned to circle the north pole forever. And, Poseidon placed Cepheus and Cassiopeia in the sky. The suitor’s army was turned to stone, and unfortunately, Cepheus and Cassiopeia didn’t look away in time. He pointed to Medusa’s head, the head of a horrible sea creature, which turns anyone looking at it into stone. Naturally, there was a fight, with Perseus greatly outnumbered. However, at the wedding, Andromeda’s suitor showed up and proclaimed that only he had the right to marry Andromeda. Of course, Perseus and Andromeda fell in love and got married. At that moment, Perseus, the strong hero, who was flying on his horse, Pegasus (also a constellation and Perseus), swopped down to save her. Cetus was approaching, readying himself to devour her. They did just so, tying her to a rock in the middle of the sea. Trying to save their kingdom, Cepheus and Cassiopeia consult an oracle, saying they have to sacrifice their daughter to save the kingdom. He set free a sea monster called Cetus (the great whale, also a constellation) to ravage the kingdom. The Nereids were displeased, and they forced the king of the sea, Poseidon, to ravage Cepheuse’s kingdom. Cassiopeia loved to boast about her beauty and excellence and said she was more beautiful than all the sea nymphs called the Nereids. What will the queen tell us? Mythological originsĬassiopeia, or the Queen of Etiopia, was married to Cepheus, the King of Ethiopia, and they had a daughter, Andromeda. Still, it holds so much knowledge and is one of the rarest stars in the galaxy. Such a simple constellation represented as a W. It is said to depict the eye of the severed head of Medusa in the constellation of Perseus- although gazing up at this particular star won’t turn you to stone.Every time I look up into the night sky in winter, the first constellation that catches my eye is Cassiopeia, the Queen of Ethiopia. When the stars were later given names by al-Sufi, the variable star Beta Persei was named Algol, meaning the Demon’s Head. All of these characters have been placed into the stars, with the majority of them grouped together in a section of sky in the Northern Hemisphere, while Cetus lurks further south. Falling in love at first sight with the beautiful damsel in distress below, Perseus saved her from her doom using the severed head of Medusa as a weapon, and took Andromeda as his bride. As luck would have it, the great hero Perseus was flying back over Ethiopia on his winged horse, Pegasus, after slaying the Gorgon Medusa. They chained the beautiful maiden to a rock to await her fate - hence why the constellation of Andromeda is often called "the Chained Maiden" in modern times. Wanting to appease the gods and end Poseidon’s wrath, the king and queen were told that they must sacrifice their daughter to the sea monster. To punish the queen for her arrogance, Poseidon sent floods and a sea monster, Cetus- though this constellation is often called the Whale in astronomy-to terrorize the coast of Ethiopia. This vanity angered the Nereids, who complained to the sea god Poseidon about the vain queen’s words. Cassiopeia was incredibly vain, and boasted of her daughter’s beauty, telling people she was lovelier than even the Nereids, sea nymphs whose beauty was renowned. ![]() They had a beautiful daughter, Andromeda. In Greek mythology, Cepheus and Cassiopeia were the king and queen of ancient Ethiopia - now they are the King and Queen in our stars. The Cassiopeia constellation has the shape of an M or W, depending on how its position in the sky. ![]()
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