After a short paragraph dedicated to astronomical phenomena such as comets or eclipses, we return to the constellations to explain the legend of the origin of one of the least known, but not the least beautiful.
It’s about the Eagle Constellation, a set of stars that seems to fly spreading its great wings in an easterly direction, through ourGo Milky.
Although it was first represented in the ancient Mesopotamia, there for the year 1,200 BC, were the greeks those who invented the legend that explained the origin of this bird in the sky.
Greek legend of the Eagle Constellation: the abduction of Ganmedes
The Greeks did not consider the eagle as a simple animal. For them it was the queen of the birds and he held an important mission, since he was in charge of collecting all the Ray that Zeus threw into the sky.
Therefore, there are many myths that revolve around it, but I’m only going to tell you some of them.
One of the best known is the one related to Ganmedes abductionwhich is not only a Jpiter satelliteit was also the name of the prince of troy that dazzled Zeus to the point of becoming his lover. However, this was not always the case, since at first the young man resisted the relationship, making him the father of all gods; that, as we have seen so many times, did not know the word no, he sent his precious eagle to kidnap him and send him with him to the Olympus.
In fact, if you look at the constellation, right at the bottom they appear two stars together; which, according to legend, represent the young Ganmedes trapped in the animal’s claws.
The legend of Prometheus’ punishment
Another legend about the eagle is much more rugged and arises from a dispute between Zeus and Prometheus. The latter, decided to give humans knowledge of art and science,something that seemed excessive to Zeus, since they were very important teachings for second-class beings, such as mortals. However, the worst came later, when Prometheus decided to bring the earth to earth. fire. Then Zeus couldn’t take it anymore and exploded in anger, punishing the poor titan for being chained naked while the bird I ate the liver, from sunrise to sunset.
So many years passed, until Zeus softened and attended to the Heracles’ supplications, who killed the bird with an arrow as soon as Prometheus was released.
We have therefore yet another kidnapping by Zeus and a legend that lovers of gore literature will love. Be that as it may, the poor bird only obeyed the orders of his master, who had quite peculiar tastes. What less than being sent eternally to the sky as a reward for so much obedience?
