♉ Taurus, Latin for “bull,” is one of the oldest constellations, its observation dating back tens of thousands of years. In fact, 40,000-year-old Paleolithic cave paintings of Taurus exist in the Hall of the Bulls in the caves at Lascaux, located in the southwest of France. Taurus takes the form of the bull in many mythologies of numerous cultures throughout history. In the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the world’s first works of literature, the goddess Ishtar asks her father, Anu, to send Taurus, the Bull of Heaven, to slay King Gilgamesh of Uruk for spurning her romantic advances. King Gilgamesh is depicted in that mythology as the neighboring constellation known to us as Orion, and he and Taurus face each other in perpetual combat in the night sky. …show more content…
With the arrival of the vernal equinox, the sun would overshadow Taurus. Taurus’s “sacrifice” led to the renewal of the land. In Greek mythology, Taurus was closely correlated to the god Zeus. According to one myth, Zeus disguised himself as a great white bull, and then kidnapped the mythic Phoenician princess Europa. A second Greek myth shows Taurus as Zeus’s mistress, Io. To conceal his paramore from his wife, Hera, Zeus transformed Io into a cow. Additionally, Taurus is the same bull that formed the myth of the Cretan Bull, which was one of the twelve labors of
"Leda and the Constellation Cygnus." Department of Engineering, University of Michigan. 17 February 1999 http://windows.ivv.nasa.gov/mythology/cygnus.html.
... Gilgamesh and the king from the relief both emulate brute strength and prowess in battle. For Gilgamesh, prowess was demonstrated when he combated beings like the demon Huwawa and the Bull of Heaven, while the cuneiform writing of the Assyrian Winged Protective Deity displays his reign over many people.
There is no doubt in mythology that the king of gods, Zeus, is the most supreme and powerful, ruling the sky. He controls the thunderbolt, a symbol of power feared by both gods and mortals. The Greeks and Romans honored Zeus above all other gods. He is without mistake, the god of all gods. Their stories of Zeus are plenty; his designs have molded mythology from his birth. Zeus' victory in outwitting his intelligent wife, Metis, by swallowing her pregnant, was the gateway used by the Greeks and Romans to show Zeus as the greatest god to come since his father and grandfather. However, as the stories of the gods and goddesses unfold, the Greeks and Roman's interpretation of Zeus' characteristics are different. Zeus is always upheld as the king of gods, but his other personal attributes to his godly rein are conflicting. Zeus' characteristics of fearfulness of female deities, cunningness and use of trickery, and lust in Ovid's Metamorphoses compared to the Theogony are opposed due to Hesiod's true respect of Zeus versus Ovid's lack of respect of Jupiter in Roman mythology.
The zodiac calendar is an astrological theory that divides the path that the sun seems to follow around the earth into twelve equal sections, each of which are associated with a sign, a symbol and a personality type. John Gardner embraces this astrological theme in his parallel novel, Grendel, by connecting each of the twelve chapters to its coinciding zodiac.
Ptolemy I. Serapis was the god whose association with Osiris, the god of the dead, formed the name Asar-Hapi. Asar is the Egyptian name of Osiris and Hapi was the name given to the Apis Bull which was the object of worship at Memphis. The Greeks combined the two together to form Zaparrus. Even though it is not quite clear, it is certain that Serapis is the shape Apis took after death. “Apis is called the “life of Osiris, the lord of heaven, tem (with) his horns (in) his head .”He is said to give life, strength, and health to thy nostrils forever.” At the beginning of the new Empire Osiris and Apis are united by priests of Memphis to represent a funeral character which, at the time, was considered a god of the underworld. This character that was considered to be the god of the underworld was the Apis Bull.
Perseus, the twenty-forth largest constellation, is depicted as a man holding a sword in one hand and the head of Medusa in the other. Ptolemy discovered the constellation during the second century. Measuring 28 degrees in length, it lies in the Northern Hemisphere and can be seen best in December around nine o’clock P.M. It can also be seen in the Southern Hemisphere during the summer from latitudes north of negative thirty-five degrees. (Coder pp. 85 & 87, Fanshawe, Perseus Astronomer, Perseus Champion, Perseus Constellation)
vidence of early goatmen becomes widespread in the ancient Middle East and perhaps the oldest written narrative on the planet emerges out of Sumerian within Mesopotamia; known as ’Gilgamesh.’ Essentially, the story tells of the adventures of a king somewhere between 2750 and 2500 B.C., written on twelve stone tablets in cuneiform script. Included in the epic, endures a creature named Endidu that exists as a horned man/beast. Cylinder seals, on clay found in the area, perpetually show the appearance of a similar creature; which historians, for whatever the reason, named the findings of the cylinder seals after the creature in the epic.
After the birth of her sixth and last child, Rhea tricked Cronos into swallowing a rock and then hid the child -- Zeus -- on earth. Zeus grew up on earth and was brought back to Mount Olympus as a cupbearer to his unsuspecting father. Rhea and Zeus connived against Cronos by mixing a noxious drink for him. Thinking it was wine, Cronos drank the mixture and promptly regulated his five other children, fully grown.
According to Ovid, Zeus "acted, however, with very little wisdom for the Father of Gods and Men..." (80) when he wraps the earth in darkness. Though Ovid implies that Zeus makes an illogical decision, Ovid's statement is subjective. Sure, because of the strange occurrence, Hera takes notice; but Zeus also buys time. Time is essential to think properly, and Zeus uses his time to conjure the brilliant idea of transforming Io into a heifer. Hera should have been fixated, almost mesmerized when she saw Io, as the cow is sacred to her. Zeus’ thought process is legitimate and cohesive, after all, Hera’s doubt should have been assuaged. Nonetheless, Hera still suspects infidelity. Even so, Zeus does not lose his cool and kept calm. He let Hera have her way and gave the heifer willingly. Later he craftily has Hermes free Io. Zeus is known for his rashness, but betrays that stereotype again by waiting patiently and using a vessel so that he would not be found guilty. Zeus really thinks his plan through, for he accounts for the consequences of being caught and or
The tales of Greek heroes and the gods are older than all of us. Most of these tales are thought to be myths, but every interpretation of Greek mythology and the stories that it contains correlates with something in the real world today. The story of the creation of the world, and the stories of the heroes Hercules, Perseus and Theseus, are only but a few of the compelling stories Greek mythology has to offer.
Aruru, the goddess of creation, favored Gilgamesh, but was forced to create a half man, half beast name Enkidu to satisfy the complaints of the elderly about Gilgamesh’s harsh treatments towards them. “Let her create a partner for Gilgamesh, mighty in strength, let then contend with each other, that Uruk may have peace” (Gilgamesh 60). At first, they were enemies, but after a long battle, they became friends with Enkidu tempering Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and Enkidu received the wrath of the god, Ishtar, after they killed Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. Odysseus asked for the favor and instructions from the gods by giving them sacrifices and trying to please them. During their adventures, Odysseus and Telemachus occasionally experienced the wrath of several gods when they displeased them. For example, “Athena spoke these words, but she did not yet give Odysseus the strength to turn the tide” (Homer 552). Athena always seemed to eventually help Odysseus and Telemachus, but she occasionally tested their perseverance. Many other gods disguised themselves to help Odysseus and Telemachus to be successful in their adventures. Disguises were prevalent in “The Odyssey”, both in the realms of the gods as well as mortal
Lo was a beautiful spirit of nature maiden and priestess of Hera. One day Zeus spotted Lo from coming home from the river he knew he had to have but she tried to get away. Zeus used one of his powers to transform himself into a thundercloud and captured Lo. Hera knew that something was up on Earth with Zeus when the clouds got dark and he suddenly had vanished. Hera has always been jealous with Zeus affairs so he knew he had to disguise Lo so he turned her into a cow. Hera welcomed Zeus home and asking questions involving the cow which caught Zeus off guard. Zeus on the spot in panic said the cow was from Earth. Hera was pleased with the cow and wanted it but Zeus was hesitant about it since not handing it over meant he was sinful. In the
Zeus was the king and leader of the 12. His symbol was the thunder and in many
It was not up until 200 years ago that people started identifying their zodiac sign with the position of the Sun. So when a person is asked what is his or sign, the Sun was passing through on the day that person was born. This can be demonstrated on a birth chart. Our birth charts are special "sky maps" which reflect the quality of the exact moment we drew our first breath. With that first breath, we each began our own incredible hero's journey through life on planet Earth. The birth positions of the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all play their own unique symbolic roles as messengers and ambassadors of the universe.
http://www.pentheon.com/articles/z/zeus.html 2 page, accessed April 7, 2004. Created on March 3 1997, Modified March 19. 12, 2004. Encyclopedia Mythica 1995-2004