Aries

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Recommended: Greek mythology today

The ancient Greeks, along with many other cultures throughout history, wanted to explain the unexplainable. They believed in gods and goddesses, heroes and myths—and tied it all in with natural elements, such as constellations. One of these constellations, Aries, has many astronomical and mythological aspects.
The Greeks’ myth about Aries revolved around King Athamus and his kids, Phixrus and Helle. The king’s second wife, Ino, hated the kids and sought to have them killed. When their mother, Nephele, found out, she pleaded with the god Zeus, asking him to save her young children. Zeus, showing mercy, sent a golden ram to rescue Nephele’s children. Unfortunately, the ram was only successful in saving one of the kids—Helle fell off at the place named Hellespont in her honor, located between Europe and Asia. Phixrus, who survived, sacrificed the ram in appreciation to Zeus. After sacrificing the ram, Phixrus gave its golden fleece to the King, who returned the favor by “rewarding the ram by giving it an eternal place in the sky” (Berger 45). The constellation known to the Greeks as Aries is also recognized in other cultures in other forms. To the Chinese, it is known as the “twin inspector,” and in the Marshall Islands, a porpoise. (Aries; Zimmerman)
Besides the mythological and cultural aspects of Aries, there are many scientific facts. The name Aries means “ram” in Latin (Aries). It is a mid-size constellation, ranking 39th in size out of 88 constellations in our sky. The constellation Aries is not famous because of its brightness or size—in fact it is not very famous at all. Even Ms. Moon does not know very much about Aries (Moon). It is 441 square degrees large, and located at 3 hours right ascension, 20 degrees ...

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...uide. Constellation Guide, 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. .

Aries. Constellation on Top Astronomer. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. .

Berger, Melvin. Star Gazing, Comet Tracking, and Sky Mapping. pg. 44-45. Toronto: General Publishing Co., 1985. Print. 16 February 2014.

McClure, Bruce. EarthSky. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. .

Moon, Theresa. Personal Interview. 18 February 2014.

The History of the Star: Hamal. Hamal. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. .

Zimmerman, Kim Ann. Aries Constellation: Facts About the Ram. Space.com. N.p., 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. .

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