Orion is depicted in E. Burritt’s Atlas of 1835 attacking the bull Taurus |
Orion
The legendary hunter and giant who was turned into a constellation
There are numerous stories about Orion. In the best known stories, the giant was blinded for his love of a princess, and killed by the goddess Artemis who turned him into a constellation.
Orion fell in love with the princess Merope. Her father, the king of Chios, disapproved of him and persistently delayed the marriage. Orion eventually raped Merope, and the king had him blinded in revenge.
The god Hephaestus took pity on Orion, and gave him a boy to guide him to the east, where the rays of the rising sun restored his sight.
Orion and Artemis
Orion went to live and hunt with the goddess Artemis, the virgin huntress.
Orion attempted to rape either Artemis or one of her maidens. In revenge, the goddess had him stung to death by a scorpion.
She then transformed Orion into a constellation in the night sky. His hunting dog became Sirius, the dog star. And the scorpion was also placed in the sky, so that Orion was just out of danger; thus just as Scorpius rises in the east, Orion begins to set in the west.