The Constellation
Cetus |
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Mythology and History |
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The Whale. |
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Cepheus was King of Æthiopia (not present day Ethiopia),
and the beautiful Cassiopeia was his Queen. Soon after their marriage,
Cassiopeia bore her husband a daughter, Andromeda. Cassiopeia was
vain and boastful. So great was her beauty and that of Andromeda,
she said, that it surpassed even that of Nereids (the Sea-goddess). |
When Nereids overheard Cassiopeia
she became very jealous. She complained to Poseidon, God of the Sea,
and demanded that Cassiopeia be punished. Poseidon agreed and summoned
a terrible sea-monster, Cetus. "Go to the coast of Cassiopeia's land,"
Poseidon directed, "and lay waste to the land, and kill the people, and
kill the cattle."
Cetus, in the form of a monstrous
whale, set upon his mission of destruction and began the slaughter, working
his way up and down the coast. The frightened people gathered and
pleaded to their king to save them. Cepheus consulted an oracle--one
with magical powers who could communicate with the gods when men sought
their advice. The oracle told Cepheus that there was only one way
to stop the slaughter: "You must offer your daughter Andromeda as
a sacrifice." She was to be chained to the rocks on the coast and
left for Cetus to devour. He made the bitter choice of sacrificing
Andromeda, whereupon she was chained to the rocks and abandoned to await
Cetus.
When Cetus discovered the prize awaiting
him, he left off his wholesale destruction of the land and began swimming
toward the ledge where Andromeda was chained. But then a distant figure
appeared in the sky. It was Perseus, the brave son of Zeus and Danae,
just returning from a journey during which he had succeeded in killing
the dreaded Medusa.
It was when Perseus was flow over
the coast of Æthiopia that he noticed Andromeda chained to the rocks
by the sea, and not far away he could see Cetus rapidly nearing her.
Down he swept to the girl's side. "Why are you thus bound?" he asked,
overwhelmed by Andromeda's beauty. Andromeda told him the story of
her boastful mother and the advice the oracle had given her father.
Perseus quickly turned to Cepheus
and said: "I can save your daughter from the sea-monster, but for my reward
I demand Andromeda's hand in marriage, and a kingdom." Cepheus promised
Perseus that he would have what he asked for, whereupon Perseus unsheathed
his sword and leapt into the air to the attack. One thrust of his
sword found a soft spot between the armored scales of the monster.
Wounded, it twisted over on its side. Perseus then inflicted another
deep cut, and another. Blood now colored the water red and soaked
Perseus' winged shoes. Fearful of losing his ability to fly, he settled
on a rock near the shore and waited for the sea-monster to attack again.
As it did, Perseus' sword plunged deeply into the monster's evil heart.
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In ancient Mesopotamia, these star were Tiamat, the cosmic
dragon slain by the hero Marduk. |
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