The summer constellation Hercules is named after the well-known mythological hero Herakles, whose name meant "Glory of Hera". The constellation has some notable star clusters, and it sits between the constellations of Bootes & Lyra. This great figure was given a constellation by Ptolemy, the great Greco-Roman astronomer that lived in the second century AD. After the lion, Heracles had to kill the Hydra, a beast with many heads. He asked Zeus for help who sent him rocks which he threw at his attackers. Zeus took the boy and laid him at the breast of Hera, his wife. For this Heracles bent on his knee to thank Zeus. A life filled with victory and sadness came to an end when he donned a ceremonial robe made by his wife, Deianeira. Heracles was the son of Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder, who ruled Mount Olympus as the king of the gods. But it is the shape of the Pisces that resembles the depictions of ancient art. While fighting this monster, Hera wanted to distract him by sending a crab to fight him. The Nemean lion would become the constellation Leo. Finding Constellations; Educational Standards; The Mythology of Hercules. Herculis. Hera then sent serpents to kill him in his cradle, but Hercules strangled them both. In the myth, Draco represents Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the gardens of the Hesperides. It is suggested that … The Incas had their own star signs. For the tenth task, Heracles had to steal cattle from a monster. Draco and Ursa Minor, image: Sidney Hall You can find him on a constellation map in the third quadrant of the northern hemisphere. The head of the lion functioned as a helmet. Hercules contains the solar apex, the point on the sky toward which the Sun is moving as it orbits in the Milky Way Galaxy, and M13, one of the brightest globular clusters. OK, at £85,000 it’s also one of the most expensive, too. As Hercules was born of Alcmene, Hera (queen of the gods) did not like him and did all that was in her power to make Hercules miserable. He further argues that the original name of Hercules – the 'Kneeler' (see belo… Hercules constellation is located in the northern sky. The Sumerians associated the constellation with the hero Gilgamesh. Hercules or Heracles, son of Zeus (king of the gods) and the mortal woman Alcmene, was the greatest hero among the gods. Hercules was given a series of tasks as punishment for killing six other sons of Zeus. He was told he needed to serve King Eurystheus for 12 years, who set him to 12 labors. The constellation is one of the largest of all the constellations, however it’s not very prominent. Although he was seen as the champion of the weak and a great protector, Hercules' personal problems started literally at birth. The labors included:  1) killing the Nemean lion;  2) killing the Lernaean Hydra;  3) capturing the hind of Ceryneia;  4) capturing the Erymanthian boar;  5) cleaning the stables of Augeias;  6) driving away the Stymphalian birds;  7) capturing the Cretan bull;  8) stealing the man-eating horses of Diomedes;  9) stealing the Girdle of Queen Hippolyte;  10) capturing the cattle of Geryon;  11) stealing the Golden Apples of the Hesperides; and  12) capturing Cerberus. In a fit of madness caused by Hera, Hercules killed his wife and children. This constellation is associated with the Nemean Lion from Greek mythology, who was killed by Hercules / Heracles – during the first of his twelve labors. With the claws of this lion, he cut of the skin which he wore as a cloak. Copyright 2014-2017 Under the Night Sky | All Rights Reserved | Powered by Energetic Brains, Constellation Lists – Official to Ancient. So instead, she decided that she would do anything she had in her power to make poor Heracles’ life as miserable as possible. Hercules spans 50 degrees of the Zodiac in the Signs of Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn, and and contains 12 named … In one version of the myth, Alcmene abandoned her baby in the woods in order to protect him from Hera's wr… Constellation Hercules the Kneeling Man, is a northern constellation sitting above constellation Ophiuchus, with his foot on the head of the Dragon, constellation Draco, between constellation Bootes and constellation Lyra. Unlike the clusters of stars we have in the West, they also had dark constellations. Source image provided by www.RareMaps.com — Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. But obviously, she found out and got really angry at Zeus. Heracles, like any newborn would, drank the milk eagerly. It was named after Hercules, the Roman version of the Greek hero Heracles. Heracles still managed to kill it by strangling it. The tree was protected by the dragon. Many of these feats were done to … Constellation Hercules II. His mother Alcmene, granddaughter of Perseus and Andromeda, was married to Amphitryon, but her beauty attracted the god Zeus and the two became lovers. The story tells us that the Nemean Lion would take women as hostages to its lair in a cave, … Hercules is a hero from Greek mythology and his adventures provide the basis for several other constellations. The constellation of Aquila is the 22 nd largest constellation in the sky. This was known as Engonasin, a previous name of the Heracles constellation. This Constellation Audio Hercules II stereo amplifier from the company’s Reference Class is the best amplifier I have ever heard, and by a significant margin. Hercules is the 5th largest constellation, and contains 22 stars which span an impressive 1,225 square degrees of sky. As a final task, Heracles had to get Cerberus, the three headed dog. In this part of the story, Hercules was after the golden apples of the tree of the Hesperides. Equuleus, “The Little Horse”, is said to be Celeris, brother or offspring of Pegasus. Read reviews from world’s largest community for readers. You might know him as Hercules, this was the name the Romans gave him. He was renowned for his strength and courage, and accomplished a great many feats. Heracles, Greek Herakles, Roman Hercules, one of the most famous Greco-Roman legendary heroes.Traditionally, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene (see Amphitryon), granddaughter of Perseus.Zeus swore that the next son born of the Perseid house should become ruler of Greece, but—by a trick of Zeus’s jealous wife, Hera—another child, the sickly Eurystheus, was born first and became … With her magical powers she made sure Heracles went nuts. Although the hardest of them all, Heracles also completed this task as to which the king released him. Heracles was told to serve king Eurystheus of Mycenae for 12 years. When Heracles got back to the king he had to steal apples from Hera’s garden. Usually, people think about constellation as about something static, constant in time. These were known as the Labours of Heracles. Hercules as depicted by Johann Bayer in his Uranometria (1624). It is the fifth largest constellation in the night sky. The first task was to slay the Lion of Nemean. This was the space between stars.…, Uranus is a big blue Ice Giant. The fifth task was a more practical one, as he had to clean the stables of a friend of king Eurystheus. Many of these feats were done to atone for terrible things he had done. In this article we will tell you the ancient mythological story of Heracles and his labours. The Romans later gave him the name of Hercules. As we have seen with Perseus, Ptolemy also used the story of Heracles to name star signs. Then we had to catch a deer with golden horns and a wild boar, pretty simple tasks. He also rests his foot atop the head of Draco the dragon. She was a mortal woman. The Leo constellation story stems from the ancient Greek Mythology of Hercules, son of Zeus. Not so much for having breastfed Heracles, but more about the fact that Zeus cheated on her….again. This week, Mike Rugnetta re-introduces Herakles, the strong man of Greek and Roman myth. The story around the Hercules constellation family There are not many Greek heroes more famous than Heracles. Let’s get the headline story out the way first. As an infant Hercules strangled two serpents sent by Juno to kill him as he lay asleep in his cradle. To early Greek astronomers such as Eudoxus and Hipparchus, this constellation was known as … His mortal part died and the rest went to Mount Olympus where Zeus accepted him and placed him in the night sky as the constellation Hercules. He got attacked by locals and almost lost. Interesting stars and objects. White argues that this figure was, like the similarly named "Sitting Gods", depicted as a man with a serpent's body instead of legs (the serpent element now being represented on the Greek star map by the figure of Dracothat Hercules crushes beneath his feet). Ancient astronomers never discovered this blue planet named after a Greek god…. After having drank the milk, Heracles became immortal. The constellation Hercules, found between Lyra and Bootes, shows the hero wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion while holding his characteristic club and Cerberus the three-headed dog. Constellation Hercules Astrology. Number 8 was to deliver flesh eating horses, and the ninth was to deliver the belt of the queen of the amazons to Eurystheus. She had tainted it with a terrible poison that she had been told was a love potion. There are not many Greek heroes more famous than Heracles. The Myth Behind the Constellation Equuleus. Equuleus Constellation Points of Interest. Abbreviation: Her Size ranking: 5th Origin: One of the 48 Greek constellations listed by Ptolemy in the Almagest Greek name: Ἐνγόνασι (Engonasi) The origin of this constellation is so ancient that its true identity was lost even to the Greeks, who knew the figure as Ἐνγόνασι (Engonasi) or Ἐνγόνασιν (Engonasin), literally meaning ‘the kneeling one’. After that it was time to kill a bull that breathed fire. Although he is commonly referred to as Hercules this is actually the Roman translation of his name from the Greek Heracles. The Myth Behind the Constellation Hercules Most famous of the Greek heroes, Hercules was the son of Zeus and the beautiful Alcmene. He sought out the Oracle at Delphi to find out how he could atone. Bright Stars in Equuleus The constellation Draco is associated with several myths, most frequently with the one about the 12 labours of Heracles, represented by the neighbouring constellation Hercules. The king gave Heracles 10 tasks to fulfill. 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