Mythology Of Scorpio, Leo, And Cancer
There are many variants of the mythology of Scorpio, but
nearly all of them also include the constellation of Orion, the
Hunter. In some versions, Scorpio was an assassin sent by
Artemis to kill Orion. The reasons vary.Sometimes, it's out of
rage at her defeat at his hands. In another, it's to protect
the bull of Taurus, and in another, it's for his bragging ofhis
skills andglory in hunting (Artemis believed in hunting only
for food).And in yet another version, the scorpion was a
punishment for Orion's pursuit of the goddesses of the
Pleiades.
Regardless of the version you like to believe, the
assassination of Orion plays out again and again every night in
the stars. Orion is opposite Scorpius in the sky, so as the
scorpion arrives on the scene, Orion "dies" by dropping below
the horizon.
Leo and Cancer both owe their existence--and their deaths,
unfortunately--to the great Olympian hero, Hercules.
Hercules was charged with killing the vicious and giantNemean
Lion. None of his weapons could cut through the lion's skin, so
he was finally forced to wrestle it to the ground and strangle
it with his bare hands.
Hercules kept thelion's skin, and it came in very handy. His
next task was the Lernean Hydra, a dragon with seven heads.
And, as if multiple heads weren't enough of aproblem, when any
head was cut off, two more would grow in it's place! The Lion's
skin helped protect Hercules from the heads while he set about
to find a way to kill it.
Hera, Zeus's wife, wanted Hercules dead. She sent a crab to
distract Hercules from his fight with theHydra. Unfortunately,
Hercules was only distracted long enough to crush the crab
under his foot. Hera placed the crab in the sky to remember
it's sacrifice. More information :
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