Matariki
Etymology – “Eyes of God”
Also known as: Pleiades, Mata Rikie (“Little Eyes”)
Alternate Spellings – Mata Ariki (“Eyes of God”)
For the Maori of New Zealand, Matariki is the name of the Pleiades star cluster. When this asterism is seen rising during late May and June, it marks the beginning of the New Year.
Eyes Of God
In one story, Ranginui, the sky father and Papatuanuku, the earth mother became separated by their children. When Tawhirimatea, the wind god, heard that his parents had been separated, he became so angry that he ripped out his eyes and threw them up into the heavens to become the star cluster Matariki.
Yes, as there are seven stars in Matariki, it means that Tawhirimatea had seven eyes.
Maori Goddess
As a goddess, Matariki is accompanied by her six daughters: Tupu-a-Nuku, Tupu-a-Rangi, Wai-Tii, Wai-Ta, Wai-puna-Rangi, and Uru-Rangi.
Assisting The Sun
In Maori stories, the Sun god, Te Rā begins his northward journey with Takurua, his winter bride and represented by the star Sirius. The Sun will later make his southward journey with Hineraumati, his summer bride. Matariki and her daughters are believed to appear so they can help Te Rā on his northward journey.
To Great Grandmother’s House We Go
When the New Year approaches, Matariki gathers up her daughters to go visit Papatuanuku, their great grandmother. During this visit, each of the daughters help Papatuanuku prepare for the coming year with each using a different ability to help get the earth ready. The daughters will also learn new skills and knowledge from Papatuanuku to pass on for others.
The Six Sisters
Tupu-a-Nuku – The oldest of Matariki’s daughters, she spends her time helping her great grandmother Papatuanuku tending plants needed for food, medicine and cloth.
Tupu-a-Rangi – She loves to sing. Papatuanuku has her singing to revive the forest and all the creatures of the land. Tupu-a-Rangi song is one of joy bringing the land back to life.
Wai-Tii and Wai-Ta – Twins, they care for the smallest and fastest creatures, typically insects who work in teams such as the bees to pollinate or ants building nests.
Wai-puna-Rangi – She goes with Papatuanuku down to the oceans, lakes and rivers to prepare the fish, who are the children of Tangaroa, the god of the sea for harvest to feed people. In addition, Papatuanuku also teaches her about the rain that falls from Ranginui to provide drinking water and how it evaporates by the sun to become clouds.
Uru-Rangi – She enjoys racing and helps set the tone when her sisters and great grandmother are getting the earth ready for the new year.
Navigation
The star cluster Matariki was important to Maori sailors when navigating between their islands. Like many astronomers and star gazers, the Maori used the stars for calculating time and the seasons, preserving knowledge and passing on star lore and the history of the tribe.
New Year
The New Year begins in New Zealand among the Maori when Matariki is seen rising and the next new moon. Often, the pre-dawning rise of Matariki begins in the last few days of May and the New Year begins with the new moon that happens in June.
Rigel – Also known as Beta Orionis, Puanga in northern Maori, Puaka in southern Maori. This star is said to be the daughter of Rehua (the star Antares), the Chief of all Stars. When Rigel is first seen in the night sky, the rise of Matariki isn’t far behind. The Moriori of the Chatham Islands and some of the Maori use Rigel’s appearance to mark the start of the New Year.
Maruaroa o Takurua – Winter Solstice
Generally, between June 20th to June 22nd is the middle of winter, the new moon that occurs after Matariki can be seen in the morning sky.
If you didn’t already know, south of the equator, this marks the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
Celebrations
The arrival of Matariki marks a time of celebration and preparing for the year’s coming harvests. Depending on how visible and bright the stars of Matariki are, would determine how warm the coming season would be and harvest size. When celebrating Matariki, different tribes would celebrate at varying times, though most festivities last around three days singing, dancing, feasting and sports.
Conservation – Living on an island meant that it was especially important for the Maori to practice conservation of their resources. The youth of the tribes would learn about the cultivation and care for the land, for not just crops, but certain birds and fish would be easy to hunt during this time.
For the Maori, they could ill afford to desecrate the land and over harvest or hunt on their islands if they wanted to continue living there. How they treated the land determined how long they could live on the land.
Offerings – Offerings of crops were made to different gods, like Rongo, the god of cultivated food. Other gods offerings were given too are: Uenuku and Whiro.
Remembering The Ancestors – Matariki also marks a time for the Maori to remember their ancestors, especially those who have passed during the previous year. Some tribes believe the stars of Matariki are where the souls of the departed have gone.
Official National Holiday
The Maori New Year celebrations had been popular for a while and stopped during the 1940’s. In 2000, a cultural revival was started that has come to be thought of as a “New Zealand Thanksgiving.”
Pakau – According to Hekenukumai Busby, an expert in traditional Maori navigation, said that the ancestors of the Maori celebrated Matariki by flying kites, known as Pakau. More modern celebrations have fireworks and hot air balloons to symbolize the ancient kites.
The Maori Language Commission – In 2001, a movement began by this organization to reclaim Matariki or the Aotearoa Pacific New Year. Since then, there have been various private and public institutions that celebrate Matariki that go from a week long to a month-long celebration.
Cultural Heritage – The years 2009 and 2011 saw efforts to pass a bill that acknowledge Matariki as an official holiday with New Zealand’s Parliament. The 2011 bill was successful in recognizing Matariki as an official holiday, it also honored a peace-making heritage founded by Parihaka.
Ara
Etymology – The Altar (Latin), Incense Burner or Censer (Greek – Thymiaterion)
Pronunciation: AY-ruh
Also known as: θυτήριον, θυμιατήριον, Thymiaterion (Greek), Ara Centauri (Roman), Focus, Lar, and Ignitabulum, Thuribulum (Latin),
Ara is the name of a constellation in both Greek and Roman mythology that represents the altar that sacrifices to the gods were made on. The Milky Way galaxy was said to represent smoke rising up from the offerings on the altar. It is a southern constellation that lays between the Scorpius and Triangulum Australe constellations along the southern horizon on the Northern Hemisphere.
Western Astronomy
The constellation known as Ara is one of 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy in his book, Almagest. Ara was noted as being close to the horizon by Aratus in 270 B.C.E. Bradley Schaefer, a professor of astronomy, has commented that the ancient star gazers must have been able to see as far south on the southern hemisphere for where Zeta Arae lays, in order to pick out an alter constellation. The stars comprising of Ara used to be part of the Centaurus and Lupus constellations until the astronomer, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille created the Ara constellation during the mid-eighteenth century. Today it remains as one of the 88 current or modern constellations. It is one of the smaller constellations, ranking 63rd in size.
Constellations bordering with Ara are: Apus, Corona Australis, Norma, Pavo, Scorpius, Telescopium, and Triangulum Australe. The best time to spot Ara is during July in the Northern Hemisphere.
Chinese Astronomy
The stars for Ara are found in Dōng Fāng Qīng Lóng or the Azure Dragon of the East. In modern Chinese, Ara is known as Tiān Tán Zuò (天壇座), meaning: “the heaven altar constellation.”
Guī – Five of the stars (most likely Epsilon, Gamma, Delta, Eta, and Zeta Arae) in Ara form a tortoise that lived in the river formed by the Milky Way. Since tortoises are land animals, this likely a turtle as they were a prized delicacy. Another turtle found in Chinese astronomy is Bie who is located on the banks of the Milky Way in the Corona Australis.
Chǔ – Three stars (most likely Sigma, Alpha, and Beta Arae) in Ara form a pestle that is seen as pounding rice and separating the husks into a basket, Ji that is found in Sagittarius. Sometimes Chǔ is placed within the constellation Telescopium and depicted by the stars Alpha and Zeta Telescopii.
Judeo-Christian Astronomy
In Christian astronomy, Ara represents the altar that Noah built to make sacrifices to God on after the great flood.
Greek Mythology
Titanomachy
In Greek myth, Ara represents the altar that Zeus and the other Greek gods swore their oaths of allegiance on before they went to war against the Titans to overthrow Cronus. This particular altar that the gods swore on is held to have been built by the Cyclopes.
It should be noted that Cronus was one of twelve Titans who had also usurped his own father, Uranus, the previous ruler.
What comes around, goes around. A prophecy was given that Cronus would suffer the same fate of being displaced by one of his own children. To prevent this from happening, Cronus swallowed all of his children whole as they were born. These children being: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon who would all go on to be the Olympic gods.
When Rhea, Cronus’ wife gave birth to her youngest son, Zeus, she hid him in a cave on Crete and gave Cronus a stone, telling him that this was Zeus. Duped, Cronus swallowed the stone. Later, when Zeus had grown up, he managed to get Cronus to vomit up his siblings. Cronus’ children swore vengeance and to help Zeus overthrow Cronus and the other Titans.
The war lasted many years and had come to a standstill at one point and Gaia, goddess of the Earth and spouse to Uranus instructed Zeus to free the ugly, deformed kin of the Titans. These kin were the Hecatoncheires (hundred-handed giants) and the one-eyed Cyclopes who sorely wanted revenge against Cronus for having been imprisoned down in Tartarus.
Making his way down to the depths of the underworld of Tartarus, Zeus freed the Hecatoncheires and Cyclopes, asking them to join his side against Cronus and the other Titans. In gratitude for their freedom, the Cyclopes created a helmet of darkness for Hades, Poseidon’s trident and thunderbolts for Zeus.
Victory didn’t take long after, bringing a ten-year war to an end. Zeus would become the god of the sky, ruling over the other gods from Mount Olympus, Poseidon would become the gods of the sea and Hades would become the god of the underworld.
To commemorate their victory over the Titans, Zeus placed the alter up into the heavens to become the constellation Ara.
King Lycaon
Alternatively, Ara has been seen to represent the altar of King Lycaon of Arcadia. Yes, that Lycaon, who held a feast for the gods and dished up one of his sons, Nyctimus as the main course.
Why? Because Lycaon wanted to test Zeus to see if he was omnipotent. Okay dude, not a good idea, this sort of thing with testing and challenging the gods is called Hubris. It is never a good idea to anger the gods.
Needless to say, Zeus was not amused by this affront and turns Lycaon into a wolf (represented by the constellation of Lupus) before killing Lycaon’s other sons with lightning. As for Nyctimus, Zeus restored the child back to life.
Another version of this story given by an Eratosthenes, holds that Lycaon had served up his grandson Arcas at this feast. This would really anger Zeus as Arcas is his son by way of an affair with Callisto, who happens to be Lycaon’s only daughter.
Weather Warning
In terms of predicting the weather forecast, it was said by the Greek poet Aratus, that if sailors saw the constellation of Ara, it meant that there would be wind blowing in from the south.
Other weather forecasting held that if the Ara constellation was the only visible constellation in a cloudy night sky, that there would be a storm coming.
Roman Mythology
The Romans called Ara by the name of Ara Centauri as it represented the altar that Centaurus used when sacrificing the wolf, Lupus.
In this version of the myth, Centaurus is shown in the night sky as carrying the wolf, Lupus to sacrifice on the altar, Ara.
Altar To The Gods, Hearths & Oaths
A more minor bit of lore, is that the Ara constellation represents the actual altar that people would burn incense on to show respect for Zeus.
Out of all the constellations for Ptolemy and other ancient Greek Astronomers to point out, why an Altar? It’s clearly important to the ancient Greeks. Many heroes in the Greek & Roman mythologies made sacrifices to different deities, so it does make sense that something so important would find a place of note in the heavens.
It is very likely that this is just a smaller constellation taken from a larger whole that tells a story narrated out in the night sky, much like the constellations for the story of Perseus and Andromeda or the three constellations that make up the Argo Navis for the story of Jason and the Argonauts.
Usually I want to roll my eyes when I come across an article while researching for a bit of mythology that gets too long winded about the etymology of a word and seems to try and make far too many linguistic connections.
This time it seems to bear some strong merit.
The interesting tidbit I came across is how the Latin word altar was adopted into the Old English word altar as a derivative from the plural noun “altaria”, meaning: “burnt offerings” and likely from the verb “adolere” meaning: “burn up.”
This word connection and etymology has been linked to Hestia, the goddess of the Hearth. The center of the home. That the description of Ara with the smoke from the Altar is that of smoke rising from the hearth of Greek and Roman homes.
More significant is that the Altar was the place where people would swear their oaths. Further etymology games and connections have brought up that the Greek word for oath is horkos and where the modern word exorcise, meaning: “’to bind by an oath” or “to drive out evil spirits” as seen in the Greek word of exorkizein (ex – out and horkos – oath). That seems to make sense in the story of the Titanomachy when Zeus swears an oath on the altar to kill his father and over throw the other Titans. Thus, making way for a new era ruled by the Olympian gods
Making a jump to Roman mythology, you have Orcus, a god of the underworld and punisher of broken oaths. There wouldn’t be this aspect to a deity unless it wasn’t considered important. Again, comes the linking of the Roman Orcus to the Greek orkos or horkos, meaning to swear and the variations of exorkezein, “to bind by an oath,” orkizein ‘to make to swear’, from the word orkos, ‘an oath.”
Continued word etymology has me looking at how the root orkos is very similar to the Greek erkhos or serkos, meaning: “an enclosure, hedge or fence” and is a cognate to the Latin “sarcire” meaning: “to patch or mend” with similar words of sark “make restitution,” sartoruis and sarcire, “to mend or repair.”
It used to be that your word was your bond and that giving one’s word or oath really meant something. Nowadays it feels like you need to have it in writing with the possibility of needing to take people to court if they don’t fulfill any contractual agreements of significant importance.
Hercules Family
The constellation of Ara, along with 18 other constellations of: Aquila, Centaurus, Corona Australis, Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Hercules, Hydra, Lupus, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Sagitta, Scutum, Serpens, Sextans, Triangulum Australe, and Vulpecula.
All of these constellations have some connection to the overall legend and myth of the Grecian hero Hercules. They are the largest grouping of constellations found in the Western Hemisphere.
Stars of Ara
Alpha Arae – Also known in Chinese as Tchou or Choo, meaning “pestle.” Is the second brightest in the Ara constellation.
Beta Arae – This is the brightest star in the Ara constellation.
Gamma Arae – Is a blue-hued supergiant star thought to be 12.5 to 25 times bigger than the Earth’s own Sun.
Mu Arae – Is a sun-like star that has four known exo-planets orbiting it.
Delta Arae – Also known in Chinese as Tseen Yin, meaning “the Dark Sky.”
Zeta Arae – This is the third brightest star in the Ara constellation.
Stingray Nebula
Named for the distinct “stingray” shape, this Nebula is located roughly 18,000 light years away from the Earth. As of 2010, this is the youngest known planetary nebula found within Ara. While smaller than many other planetary nebulae that have been discovered so far, the Stingray Nebula is still 130 times larger than our solar system. The light for this nebula was first observed in 1987. It is a planetary nebula some 18,000 light years away from the Earth.
Water Lily Nebula
Also, catalogued as IRAS 16594-4656, this is a pre-planetary nebula found within the Ara constellation that is in the process of forming planets. It was first discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Westerlund 1 (Ara Cluster)
This is a compact cluster of relatively young (a few million years old) stars located some 12,100 to 16,000 light years from Earth. Westerlund 1 is named after the Swedish astronomer, Bengt Westerlund who first discovered it in 1961.
Mamlambo
Other Names – “the Brain Sucker”
In the Zulu mythology of South Africa, Mamlambo is a large serpentine river goddess as well as a goddess of beer. In some legends, Mamlambo appears during lightning storms.
For the Xhosa of South Africa, the Mamlambo is a giant river snake that will bring good fortune to the one who can claim it. Witch doctors are believed to use Mamlambo to extract revenge on their enemies.
Goddess Of Beer!
Yes, beer. This aquatic, serpentine deity is also known for brewing beer. This is a job that women in many Southeast African tribes do.
Cryptozoology
Mamlambo’s myth entered the realm of cryptozoology in 1997 when various South African newspapers began reporting sightings of a “giant reptile” monster in the Mzintlava River (also known as the Umzimhlava River) near Mount Ayliff in South Africa. The reports also mention how between 7-9 people and even a number of animals were all killed by this monster by dragging its victims underwater and drowning them. After which, the Mamlambo would suck out the blood and brains of the victims, earning it the name of “the Brain Sucker.”
Description
There are a few different accounts what Mamlambo is to look like.
One version has the creature being some 20 meters (67 feet) long, with the torso of a horse and lower body of a fish, short legs and neck of a snake. That it also shone green at night. Some have commented that this description fits that of a Mosasaur, a variety of giant marine reptiles that went extinct with the dinosaurs.
A slight variation to this description says the Mamlambo is half-fish, half-horse with short stumpy legs, crocodilian body and the head and neck of a snake. This version of the description also says the Mamlambo has a hypnotic gaze that it uses to lure its victims to a watery grave. Much like crocodiles do, the Mamlambo is able to leave the water to snag its potential victims that come to close to the water. The Mamlambo is also believed to glow an eerie bioluminescent green when it is dark.
Possible Reality Behind The Myths
In April of 1997, there had nine bodies found in the Mzintlava River. According to local police, all of the bodies had been in the water for a long time, long enough for scavengers such as crabs to come and eat the soft parts of the heads and necks. When the bodies were pulled from the water, river crabs were still clinging to the bodies. The local villagers on the other hand insist that these mutilations are the result of the Mamlambo eating people’s faces and then sucking out their brains.
Another idea put forward is that the Mamlambo may be an elasmosaur-like animal an ancient type of archaeocete from the cetacean evolutionary branch. Basically, a member of the whale family before whale legs became flippers.
Cryptid Cousins
Brosno Dragon – Or Brosnya, is a Russian Lake Monster that some have described as being a mutant beaver or a giant pike that’s around 100-150 years old.
Dobhar-Chú – A cryptid from Irish folklore described as being a water hound and known for dragging victims to a watery death.
Each-Uisge – A Scottish shape-shifting water horse, that much like the Irish Kelpie is known for drowning victims.
Glashtyn – Or Cabyll-Ushtey, it is a shape-shifting goblin that inhabits of the waterways in Manx, one of it’s favored forms is that of a horse.
Kelpie – A water horse, this is another creature from Irish folklore known for its shape-shifting abilities and drowning victims.
Lau – A dinosaur-like lake monster with tentacles from Sudan.
Loch Ness Monster – A similar aquatic and serpentine creature found in Scotland.
Mahamba – A reptilian cryptid from the Congo, it is often described as being similar to a giant crocodile or thought to be a fresh water living fossil mosasaur.
Mokele-Mbembe – A famous reptilian cryptid from the Congo described as looking a sauropod and herbivore in nature.
Reality T.V.
The Mamlambo has indeed featured on an episode of the SyFy channel’s Destination Truth.
Juok
Also called: Dyok, Jo-Uk, Joagh, Joghi, jok, Joogi, Jouk, Jok Odudu, Ju-Ok, Juong, Jwok or Nyikang
Etymology: Creator, Jok Odudu – “god of birth”
Juok is the main Creator God of the Shilluk, Dinka, Nuer and other tribes along the upper areas of the Nile river. It is generally believed that Juok controls the destinies of all living creatures. The legendary Shilluk king, Nyikang is often seen as being Juok’s earthly representative or avatar much like the Egyptian pharaohs were often seen as the living god Ra in earthly form.
God Of Creation
Creating Mankind – According to stories, Juok created or molded all of the people from the earth. While busy with creation, Juok wandered the earth. In the land of the white folk, Juok found a pure white earth or sand in which to create the first whites. In the land of Egypt, Juok made the red or brown people from the mud of the Nile river. When Juok finally came to the land of the Shilluks, he found some black earth in which to create black people from. Eventually, Juok gave people sex organs so they could reproduce themselves without his help.
Creating All Things – In this story, Juok created several different creatures such as the elephant, buffalo, lion, crocodile, dog and finally the first humans, a boy and girl. Juok wasn’t too happy with the humans he had created and told the dog to get of them. Proving to be man’s best friend, the dog instead raised and took care of the children until they grew up.
When Juok had finished with all of his creations, he started to divide up the land as to where each would live and providing each with weapons to defend or attack. Juok saw that the humans were still alive and decided he would wait until the last to deal with them. This way, he hoped, there would be no more land or weapons to give out.
The dog, figuring this out, told the man to tell Juok that they were the elephant, buffalo and lion. That way, when Juok came to pass out weapons, he gave them all spears.
When the real animals showed up for their weapons, there were no spears left. Juok then gave the elephant tusks, the buffalo horns, the lion claws and the crocodile teeth. The man used the spears he was given to drive and ward off the animals and took the best land for himself.
The Origins Of Death – In the beginning, death was not a permanent thing. For when people died, they would be dead for three days before returning to life. Juok decided to make death a permanent thing by throwing a rock into a river.
The dog who had previously helped men, told the people to work together and pull the rock out of the river. The people, however ignored the dog’s advice. So the dog tried himself to remove the rock. In his efforts, he was only able to break off a large piece of the rock and brought it home. As a result, humans have much longer lives than they otherwise would have.
I would say, looking at these last two stories, Juok doesn’t seem all that nice of a deity.
Nyikang
As Nyikang, he was a legendary king who became deified at death. He is often invoked as an intermediary for the gods.
Ancestral Spirit
Tribes such as the Acholi and Lango see Jok as a local and ancestral spirit.
Other tribes like the Alur of Uganda and Zaire saw the world as being full of spirits or Jok/Djok. For them, their ancestors manifested as snakes or large rocks. Whenever there was a drought, the Alur would sacrifice a black goat to Jok in order to bring rain.
Attis
Pronunciation: ætɪs
Alternate Spelling: Atys, Ἄττις or Ἄττης (Greek), Atus, Attus, Attês, Attis or Attin
Etymology: Handsome Boy
Attis is the Phrygian god of shepherds and vegetation. The myth for Attis’ death and resurrection is very symbolic for the death and rebirth cycle that crops and plants go through every spring and winter. Attis’ worship is generally thought to have started around 5000 B.C.E. in Phyrgia and lasted up through the Roman era around 400 C.E.
Images portraying Attis has been found at several Greek sites. A wooden throne displaying a relief of Attis gathering pine cones beneath a pine tree was found in 2007 in the ruins of the Herculaneum. Attis’ likeness has been found on Roman era coins and tombstones. A silvery brass Attis kept at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum of Trier shows Attis dressed in Anatolian costume with trousers fastened together down the front of the legs and with toggles along with the Phrygian cap and a shepherd’s staff.
In myth, whenever Attis is shown with Cybele, he is shown as a younger, lesser deity to her. He is possibly even one of her priestly attendants. During the mid-2nd century B.C.E., various letters from the king of Pergamum to Cybele’s shrine in Pessinos, all address the chief priest as “Attis.” The name Attis was very common in Phyrgia and often used for priests. It is likely that portraying Attis as a deity or priest is a matter of personal interpretation in mythology. The worship of Attis and Cybele are very closely linked and wherever Cybele’s worship spread, the worship of Attis wasn’t far behind.
Attributes
Colors: Blue
Month: March
Planet: Jupiter or Venus
Plant: Pine
Sphere of Influence: Romantic, Nurturing
Stone: Emerald
Parentage and Family
Parents
This can get rather confusing as it varies and depends on the versions of the story given. In some versions, he is the son of Agdistis or Calaus.
Other accounts will place the goddess Cybele as his mother.
And yet further accounts will place the river nymph Nana as his mother by way of her becoming impregnated by an almond seed via Agdistis’ castrated genitalia.
According to Pausanias and Hermesianax, Attis is the son of Calaus, a Phrygian King and that Attis was a eunuch since birth.
Consort
Agdistis – This one can get messed up as Agdistis is either falling in love with their own son or falling in love with their now, separated male half.
Cybele – This one also gets messed up as it involves incest.
Offspring
Baby – An unknown baby, Attis fathered them with Cybele, his mother. Later both Attis and the baby would be killed by Cybele’s father.
What’s In A Name?
It should be noted that the name Attis in Phrygia was both a common name as well was a name or title for a priest. The name has been found on a lot of graffiti, dedications of personal monuments and several shrines dedicated to Cybele.
Cult Of Attis
The worship of Attis pretty much goes hand in hand with the worship of Cybele. There were however still some differences between the two no matter how similar they appeared.
As his own separate cult, Attis’ worship started around 1250 B.C.E. in Dindymon, located where modern Murat Dagi of Gediz, Kütahya is at. As a local god, Attis was associated with the Phrygian trade city of Pessinos that was near Mount Agdistis. Foreigners to the area would associate the local god and daemon, Agdistis with that of the Cybele, the Great Mother.
According to Julian the Apostate’s Oratio 5, Cybele’s cult spread from Anatolia to Greece and then to Rome during its Republican era. The cult of Attis found itself reborn as a eunuch consort that accompanied Cybele wherever she went.
Herculaneum – Excavations at the ruins of this place have yielded a wooden throne relief depicting Attis. The excavations at the Herculaneum have suggested that Attis’ cult was popular during the time of the Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 C.E.
Lydian Influences – According to Pausanias’ writings and the poet Hermesianax, Attis’ father is the Phrygian known as Galaus and was born a eunuch. When he was older, Attis moved to Lydia. There, Attis joined in celebrating Cybele with the Lydians in her orgies. After gaining a lot of esteem with Cybele, Zeus grew angry and jealous. As a result, he sent a boar to wreak havoc among the Lydians’ crops. During the boar’s rampage, many Lydians, including Attis were killed. It is thought that this confirmed why the Gauls living in Pessinus at the time refused to eat pork.
Galli – This is the name for Cybele’s priesthood during Imperial Rome. They were eunuch priests who practiced castration as a sign of their devotion to the goddess Cybele. The Galli castrated themselves in service to Cybele as they thought that doing so would give them the powers of prophecy. After castration, they would dress as women, keeping their hair long and adopting female mannerisms and appearances. The Galli also wore a tall cylindrical hat called a polos. It is known the Galli held orgiastic rituals accompanied by loud cries and the loud noise of flutes, drums and cymbals. While there are certainly the male priests who wore women’s clothing, in some regions there were also known to be female priestesses devoted to Cybele.
In Servius’ account, Attis is the founder of this priesthood with the highest ranking Gallus taking the name of Attis. The more junior Galli was known as Battakes. The Galli located at Pessinus were very politically influential among the Roman Senate.
In Rome, the Galli were forbidden citizenship and the rights of inheritance, as they were eunuchs and unable to have children. This was a very stark contrast to many other priests of other Roman gods who did have families and raise children, particularly of the more senior priests.
The Galli are thought to have castrated themselves in keeping with the myth of Attis where he castrates a king for their unwanted sexual advances and gets castrated in turn by the dying king. Cybele’s priest would have found Attis at the base of a pine tree where he dies and they proceed to bury him. In memory of Atti’s passing, the priests are believed to have emasculated themselves and added him to the celebrations and rites for the goddess Cybele. In Hellenistic Greek, a poet refers to Cybele’s priests as Gallai, a feminine form of the name. The Roman poet Catullus refers to Attis in the masculine form of his name until he is castrated. Catullus then refers to Attis in the feminine form of his name thereafter. Different Roman sources refer to the Galli by a third gender of medium genus or tertium sexus when mentioning them.
During the Megalesia festival, the Galli were permitted to leave their temple under Cybele’s law and go out into the streets begging for money. The standard of dress that the Galli wore, marked them as outsiders to the Roman people. Despite their effeminate dress and mannerisms, the Galli were considered sacred and inviolate as they were part of a state Cult. The Roman prohibitions of castration made the Galli a clear image of curiosity and scorn. The Galli were a constant presence within Roman cities even into Rome’s Christian era.
Attis & Agdistis
We should start a bit from the beginning to give some background to Attis’ relationship to Agdistis.
Agdistis was a hermaphrodite, whom the other deities of Mount Olympus couldn’t handle the huge sexual appetite that a being like Agdistis supposedly has.
Their solution? Make Agdistis single gender like the other gods.
Dionysus or Liber made a potion that they mixed in with Agdistis’ drink so that they would pass out, falling asleep. Dionysus then tied Agdistis’ genitals to a tree or sometimes their own foot. This way, when Agdistis jumped up from their sleep, they rip off their own genitals.
Ouch!
From Agdistis’ spilled blood that hit the earth, an almond tree is to have sprung up. The nymph Nana, the daughter of the river god Sangarius is said to have picked some of the almonds and she either eats them or when laying them on her lap, becomes pregnant and gives birth to the god Attis.
The story continues, that when Attis grew up, he was considered extremely handsome and Agdistis fell in love with him. Their own child and in many ways, just creepy. Attis’ adoptive relatives had plans for the youth to marry the daughter of the King of Pessinus. Other, slight variations to this story have the King punishing Attis with marriage to his daughter for the incestuous affair with his mother.
In either event, when the two are making their marriage vows and ceremony, Agdistis appears and causes all of the wedding guests to become made. Both Attis and the King wind up castrating themselves. The Princess cuts off her own breasts. As a result of the self-inflicted wounds, Attis dies and a suddenly grieving Agdistis pleads with Zeus to restore Attis to life. Zeus intercedes with the promise that Attis won’t die and will be reborn.
Incidentally, a hill or mountain by the same name of Agdistis in Phrygia is where Attis is believed to have been buried.
Other variations to this story have both Agdistis and the goddess Cybele falling in love with Attis.
The Roman Version – In one version of the myths, Cybele, known as Agdistis is thought to have been a hermaphrodite, having been born of the earth where Jupiter’s sperm fell. The gods castrated Agdistis who then becomes the goddess Cybele. Where the severed pieces of Agdistis’ manhood fell, an almond tree grew. The fruit of this tree impregnated the nymph Nana when she placed an almond on her womb. She later gave birth to the god Attis. The baby Attis was abandoned by Nana as she was afraid of her father. The baby Attis was discovered and saved by shepherds. Attis would grow up to become Cybele’s lover.
Pausanias’ Version – Pausanias identifies the Phrygian Sky-God and Earth-Goddess as being Zeus and Gaia.
In Pausanias’ version of the story, while sleeping, Zeus had some of his sperm fall on the ground. This of course created a Daimon that was hermaphroditic having the sexual organs for both male and female. This Daimon would be called Agdistis, another name for Cybele. The other gods feared Agdistis and cut off the male organs. This proceeded to create an almond tree. The daughter of the river Saggarios then took the almond fruit and held it to her bosom where it vanished. The daughter would find later that she was pregnant and give birth to Attis.
Attis & Cybele
This story is one of the major myths involving Cybele and they often include her relationship with Attis, a youthful consort to the goddess. Further, Attis doesn’t become a part of the myth with Cybele until the Roman poet Catullus references him with Cybele as Magna Mater and as the name of the head priest for the Galli. Additionally, pinecones are used as symbols of Attis’ death and rebirth.
The Myth
Attis was Cybele’s young lover who had devoted himself to the goddess. He had a made a promise that he would always be faithful. As fate would have it, Attis in time fell in love with a nymph by the name of Sagaritis (or Sagaris) and they decided to marry. When Cybele learned of this marriage, she burst in on the marriage ceremony, inflicting Attis with madness and sending the other guests into a panic.
In his maddened state, Attis fled for the mountains. There, he stopped under a pine tree and proceeded to mutilate himself to the point of castrating himself and bleeding to death there beneath the pine tree.
When Cybele found her lover, the young Attis dead, she mourned her actions and deeply regretted them. She pleaded with the god Jupiter to restore Attis to life. Jupiter vowed that that pine tree would remain sacred and like the tree, Attis would live again. The blood that Attis shed is said to have become the first violets.
In the versions of the myths where Maeon is Cybele’s father – Maeon kills Attis, the baby whom he sires after committing incest with his daughter. Cybele manages, in this myth to restore Attis back to life.
Pausanias’ Version – Another story of Attis, this time with Agdistis as another name for Cybele follows much of the same story as previously mentioned. Only now, when the baby, Attis is born, he is left exposed and a ram comes, standing guard over the child. As the baby grew, his beauty became ever more apparent as more than human. Agdistis saw Attis and fell in love with him.
When Attis finally came of age, he was sent to Pessinos, a city in Phrygia to wed the King’s daughter. After the marriage ceremony was completed, Agdistis appeared, causing Attis, driving him mad in her jealously to the point of cutting off his own genitals. The madness was such, it effected other nearby, that even the king cut off his own genitals.
Shocked, Agdistis sought amends for what she had done and begged Zeus to restore Attis to life so that he would be reborn.
Ovid’s Version – In this one, Attis had fallen in love with Cybele who wanted to keep the boy at her shrine as a guardian. She commanded Attis to always be a boy. Attis declared in kind that if he lied, let the lover he cheated be his last.
As happens with these kinds of stories, Attis does cheat with the Nymph Sagaritis (or Sagaris). Her tree is cut down by Cybele, killing her the Nymph. Attis in response goes mad and hallucinates that the roof to his bedroom is collapsing on him. Attis runs towards Mount Dindymus where he calls out for Cybele to save him.
Hacking away at his own body with a sharp stone, Attis continues to cry out to Cybele that she take his blood as punishment and cuts off his genitals as that is what has caused him to cheat on Cybele.
Ultimately, this story of Attis’ self-mutilation and castration is the basis for the Galli, Cybele’s priest to castrate themselves as a show of devotion to the goddess.
Attis & Sagaritis
Following much of the virgin birth where the nymph Nana swallows an almond seed, shortly after Attis’ birth, she abandons him and he is reared by a goat. And like the other versions, when Attis grows up, either Agdistis or Cybele fall in love with their own son and missing half. This time, being the unfaithful youth that he is, Attis falls in love with the nymph Sagritis. The goddess (either Agdistis or Cybele) drives him mad so that he castrates himself and dies. Attis is subsequently restored to life and goes back to either Agdistis or Cybele.
Sometimes this version of the story, the goddess turns Attis into a pine tree. Other versions will hold that Attis fathered a child with his own mother Cybele and that her father kills both Attis and the baby. Then Cybele will go and restore Attis to life.
Yet again, another version has Agdistis breaking in on the wedding celebrations of Attis and Sagaritis with the result that Attis castrated himself and his bride died from self-inflicted wounds. Some say that the castration was not self-inflicted but resulted from an attack by a wild boar.
Suffice to say, there a number of variatons to Attis’ story with either Agdistis and Cybele and whom he ends up cheating on them with or planning to marry instead.
Poor guy can’t get a break not wanting to have incest with his own mother and marry someone else of his own choosing.
Attis & Adonis
Because of the similarities in their myths, both are youth deities of youth and fertility who die and are reborn every year, Attis is often equated as being the same deity as Adonis.
The myths for both are slightly different, though it could explain the Lydian connection of the boar. Adonis was a favorite of both Aphrodite and Persephone. The god Zeus decreed that Adonis would spend the winter months in the underworld with Persephone and the summer months with Aphrodite. One version of Adonis’ myth has him killed by a boar after he had ventured into Artemis’ domain.
Attis & Greek Influences
Because there’s so many variations to Attis’ story, I’ll note here that for the Greeks, they identified Attis with their Iasion as a consort of the Great Mother in their Samothracian Mysteries. Too, the story of Aphrodite’s love for Ankhises on Mount Ida appears to have influenced the story of Attis’ relationship with Cybele.
Hilaria – Holy Week
In addition to the Megalesia festival, there is also a week-long festival known as Holy Week that starts from March 15th, also known as the Ides of March. That really gives a new meaning to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar when he’s told to beware the Ides of March. The entire festival is meant to have an air of celebration for the arrival of Spring and the Vernal Equinox.
The festival itself seems to have been established by Claudius as a means of claiming and honoring Trojan ancestry. As a result, the festival very likely grew and expanded over time as a celebration for the death and resurrection of Attis.
The Reed Entered – Also known as Canna Intrat, from the 15th to the end of the month, there is festival for Cybele and Attis that starts on the 15th or Ides, with Attis’ birth and his being left along the reed bank of the Sangarius river in Phrygia before either shepherds or Cybele find him. People known as Cannophores will carry away the reeds. During this time, there is a nine-day period of abstinence from eating bread, fish, pomegranates, pork, quinces and likely wine. Only milk was allowed to be drunk during this period.
The Tree Enters – Also known as Arbor Intrat, March 22nd marks the date of Attis’ death under a pine tree. It is observed. People known as Dendrophores or “Tree Bearers,” after sacrificing a ram, will cut down a tree and carry it to Magna Mater’s temple for a mourning period of three days.
Tubilustrium – March 23rd, this is an old, archaic holiday for the Roman god Mars. The tree has now been laid to rest in Magna Mater’s temple. Mars’ priest, the Salii will do a traditional beating of their shields accompanied by trumpets and other loud music from the Corybantes. Overall, this is a day of mourning.
The Day of Blood – Also known as Sanguis, Sanguem or Dies Sanguinis March 24th. The rites can only be described as frenzied as mourners and devotees whip or scourge themselves in order to sprinkle the alters and Attis’ effigy with their blood. Some of the rites involve castration and the tree is buried, symbolizing Attis’ placing within his tomb. This day was also to honor Bellona, a war goddess. Her priests were known as the Bellonarii and practiced mutilation along with using hallucinogenic plants.
The Day of Joy – Also known as Hilaria, on the Roman Calendar this marks the Vernal Equinox. It takes place on March 25th and celebrates Attis’ resurrection. It must be noted that is a day of celebration and not the previous mournful tones and rites. I’m also not the only one to have noted a similarity to the Christian association of Jesus’ resurrection.
Day of Rest – Also known as Requietio, March 26th. What can we say? Partying is hard work.
The Washing – Also known as Lavatio, March 27th. This is when Cybele’s sacred stone, the Pessinos’ black meteor is taken from the Palatine temple to the Porta Capena along a stream called Almo. This stream is a tributary to the Tiber river. Here, the stone would be bathed by a priest. The return trip back to the temple would be conducted by torchlight. It’s noted by Ovid as being an innovation by Augustus.
Initium Caiani – March 28th. This particular part of the festival is found on the Calendar of Philocalus. It is likely an initiation ceremony that was held at the Vatican sanctuary for the mysteries of Magna Mater and Attis.
Attis & Easter
While Hilaria is week-long celebration of Spring that honors the death and resurrection of Attis, many have noted the similarities between Attis and that of Easter that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus.
While Easter now days is a movable feast or holiday that tends to occur between March 22nd and April 25th depending on when the astronomical full moon is. By itself, Easter is a celebration that borrows from the Jewish Passover. Certainly the Christian Holy Week observed the week before Easter seems to line up with that of the ancient celebration of Hilaria.
There are a number of different resurrection deities such as Osiris, Tammuz, Dionysus and Orpheus who can all claim influence on the celebration of Easter, especially with the timing of the Spring Equinox and many ancient religions influencing each other and adding on as the times change.
Miraculous Virgin Birth And Born On December 25th!
As previously mentioned before for the birth of Attis in a virgin birth to the nymph Nana or Sagaritis depending on the version of the myth being retold. Attis isn’t the first demigod or deity to born of a virgin birth.
Other gods who have also been the result of miraculous virgin births are: Horus, Osiris, and Attis (all before 1,000 B.C.E.) and Mithra, Heracles, Dionysus, Tammuz, Adonis along with a number of others (all before 200 B.C.E.)
It’s rather interesting to note the common motif this has in mythology and how eventually even in Christianity, there is the celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25th, also born to a virgin. The dates of December 25th (the Winter Solstice, or close to it) and March 25th (the Spring Equinox, again close to it) make a lot of sense for the celebration of Life & Death, Vegetation, Sun and Resurrected Deities.
Regarding virgin births, I found an interesting article by D.M. Murdock in their “Attis: Born of a Virgin on December 25th, Crucified and Resurrected after Three Days” in which they note that the scholarly term to describe a virgin birth is the word: “parthenogenesis” and that many goddesses were referred to as “Parthenos,” the Greek word meaning “virgin.”
Quite the interesting point.
I can only point to my observations of many ancient religions that build and add upon each other as one religion becomes more prominent or one civilization and culture falls by the wayside to the sands of time and history.
Pine Cones
Pine cones are symbols of Cybele and the related myth of Attis. They are believed to have been worn by Cybele’s priests and followers as one of her symbols. As a protective symbol, a pine cone would be affixed to the top of a pole and placed out in vineyards to protect the crop. Pine cones would also be placed at the entrances to homes, gates and other entrances.
A wooden throne was found in the Herculaneum ruins in 2007 with a relief of Attis under a pine tree as he gathers pine cones.
Huang-Di
Alternate Spellings: 黄帝, Huang Di, Huangdi
Also known as: Gongsun, Kung-sun, Xuanyuan, Xuan Yuan, Hsuan-yuan, Huang Ti, Hwang Ti, Yellow Emperor, Yellow Thearch, the Yellow God, the Yellow Lord
Etymology: the Yellow Emperor, The character 黄 Huang, means “yellow” and is a homophony for the character, 皇 Huang, meaning, “august”, “creator” and “radiant”, Di “emperor”
Huang-Di, the Yellow Emperor ruled during a golden age of Chinese history and mythology. He is the first of five legendary Chinese emperors. Tradition has Huang-Di beginning his rule during 2697 B.C.E. and ending 2597. An alternate date is 2698-2598 B.C.E. These dates were first calculated by Jesuit missionaries studying the Chinese chronicles. They have been accepted by later scholars looking to try and establish a universal calendar.
There are a number of different legends surrounding Huang-Di that tell of his greatness as a benevolent ruler and establishing Chinese civilization. Huang-Di is to have ruled in a Golden Era of history before written Chinese history was established so many of his stories were passed down orally first. Just as Britain has its King Arthur, China has Huang-Di, the greatest ruler of all time that everyone looks up to and reveres.
What’s In A Name?
This gets a little tricky. Depending on the Chinese character used and its pronunciation; depends on what the word is translated to mean.
Huang-Di
The character for Di, is used to refer to the highest deity from the Shang dynasty. During the Warring States period, the term Di came to be associated with the gods of the five sacred mountains and colors. After this era, about 221 B.C.E. the term Di came to refer to earthly emperors.
The character for Huang can be translated a couple different ways. Either Yellow or August. Scholars and historians seeking to emphasize the more religious meaning to the name Huaung-Di will translate the name to mean “Yellow Thearch” or “August Thearch.”
Xuanyuan Shi
Some scholars such as Sima Qian in his “Records of the Grand Historian” compiled in 1st century B.C.E. have given Huang-Di’s name as Xuanyuan. The 3rd century scholar Huangfu Mi have said that this is to be the very same hill that Huang-Di lived and takes his name from. Liang Yusheng, from the Qing dynasty has argued that the hill is named after the Huang-Di. In Chinese astronomy, Xuanyan is the name for the star Alpha Leonis or Regulus.
The name Xuanyuan is also references Huang-Di’s birthplace. Huang-Di’s surname was Gongsun or Ji.
Youxiong
The name Youxiong is thought to be either a place name or clan name. Several Western scholars and translators have given their ideas on what Youxiong translate to. The British sinologist, Herbert Allen Giles says the name is from Huang-Di’s principal heritage. William Nienhauser, in translating the “Records of the Grand Historian” has put forth that Huang-Di is the head of the Youxiong clan who lived near Xinzheng in Henan. The French historian, Rémi Mathieu translates the name Youxiong to mean “possessor of bears” and linking Huang-Di in mythology to bears. Rémi isn’t the only one to make a connection to bears. Ye Shuxian also makes a connection with Huang-Di to the bear legends found throughout northeast Asia and the Dangun legend.
Cultural Hero
As a culture hero, Huang-Di is seen as a wise and benevolent ruler who introduced government and laws. He is also seen as having taught people several different skills and to have invented several things such as clothing, building permanent structures such as palaces and houses, music, the wheel, armor & weapons, carts, ships, writing, digging wells, agriculture, taming and domesticating animals, astronomy, calendars, mathematics, cuju (a sport similar to football), the compass and currency.
At some time during Huang-Di’s rule, he reputed to have visited the Eastern sea where he met Bai Ze, a supernatural talking beast that taught him the knowledge of all supernatural creatures. Bai Ze explained to Huang-Di there were 11,522 (or 1,522) different types of supernatural beings.
San-Huang – The Three Sovereigns
Also, known as the Three Emperors, they are a group of god-kings and demigod emperors who are believed to have lived some 4,500 years ago. Huang-Di is counted as being part of this group and the leader of their number to have once ruled over China. Other’s counted among this number are Fu Xi, Nuwa and Shennong.
Five Emperors
This is another mythological and historical group of rulers important to Chinese culture. These five emperors were virtuous rulers of outstanding moral character. Taihao, the Yan Emperor, the Yellow Emperor (Huang-Di), Shaohao and Zhuanxu are considered among the Five Emperors in this group.
But that makes four with the Three Sovereigns! The math is off! There are a number of variations as to who is counted among these numbers and it all depends on which text and source is used. It will even flip-flop too as to where Huang-Di is placed as either one of the Three Sovereigns or Five Emperors.
Parentage and Family
Parents
Huang-Di’ parents are given as Shaodian as his father and Fu Pao as his mother.
According to the “Discourses of the States”, Shaodian is sometimes mentioned as being Huang-Di’s step-father.
Spouse
Huang-Di seems to have had several different wives:
Leizu – Of Xiling, she is the first wife, she is the most notable with any information as she is the first person to have domesticated silk worms for their silk. With Leizu, Huang-Di had two sons.
Fenglei – Second wife
Tongyu – Third wife
Momu – Fourth wife
Children
Huang-Di is reputed to have had 25 sons. 14 of these sons all started clans of their own with their own surnames.
Shaohao – Also known as Xuanxiao, he would become the Emperor after Huang-Di’s death.
Changyi, who in turn is the father of Zhuanxu who would succeed his uncle, Shaohao as the next Emperor.
Ancestor Of The Chinese
A lot of emphasis and importance has been placed on Huang-Di as many Chinese dynasty rulers would trace the rights of their sovereignty to him. The Chinese Han claim being descendants of both Yandi (The Flame Emperor) and Huang-Di. Eventually, Huang-Di would be seen as the ancestor to all Chinese. A many Dynasty Emperors would all lay claim to Huang-Di’s legacy to prove their rightful claim to the throne.
It should be noted that the earlier mentions of Huang-Di, the Yellow Emperor is on a fourth century bronze inscription for the royal house of the Qi. This inscription claims Huang-Di as an ancestor to the Qi. The scholar, Lothar von Falkenhausen has suggested that Huang-Di is likely created as an ancestral figure in order to claim that all the ruling clans from the Zhou share a common ancestor.
Birth Of A Legend
Per myth and legend, Huang-Di is the result of a virgin birth. His mother, Fubao become pregnant with him while walking out in the countryside and was struck by lightning from the Big Dipper constellation. Fubao would give birth to her son after a period of twenty-four months on either Mount Shou or Mount Xuanyuan. It is for mount Xuanyan that Huang-Di would be named.
In Huangfu Mi’s account, Huang-Di is born at Shou Qiu or Longevity Hill near the outskirts of Qufu in Shandong by modern times. Huang-Di lived with his tribe near the Ji River, a mythological river and later migrated with his tribe to Zhuolu near modern Hebei. As a cultural hero, Huang-Di tames six different animals, the bear, the brown bear, the pi and xiu. The pi and xiu get combined to become a mythological animal known as the Pixiu. He also tames the chu and tiger. I’m not sure which creatures all of these are or the difference between a bear and brown bear is, but there we have it.
Other legends surrounding Huang-Di hold that he could speak shortly after his birth. That when he was fifteen years old, there was nothing that he didn’t know. Huang-Di would eventually hold the Xiong throne.
Trouble In Paradise
Huang-Di’s rule wasn’t completely problem free. One god decided to challenge Huang-Di’s sovereignty. This god was helped by the emperor’s son, Fei Lian, the Lord of the Wind. Fei Lian sent fog and heavy rain to try and drown the Imperial Armies. The emperor’s daughter, Ba (meaning drought) put an end to the rain and helped to defeat Fei Lian and his forces.
The Yellow Emperor And The Yan Emperor
Despite there being some 500 years between Huang-Di and Shennong rules, both of these emperors’ rules near the Yellow River. Shennong hailed from another are up around the Jiang River. Shennong having trouble with keeping order within his borders, begged the Yellow Emperor, Huang-Di for help against the “Nine Li” lead by Chi You and his some 81 brothers who all have horns and four eyes.
Battle of Zhuolu – Shennong was forced to flee Zhuolu before begging for help. Huang-Di used his tame animals against Chi You who darkened the sky by breathing out a thick fog. Huang-Di then invented the south-point chariot to lead his army out of the miasma of fog.
In order to defeat Chi You, Huang-Di calls on a drought demon, Nüba to get rid of Chi You’s storm.
This story sounds a lot like a variation of the previous story where Huang-Di calls for his daughter Ba to defeat Fe Lian.
Battle of Banquan – It is at this battle, that both Huang-Di and Shennong finally defeat Chi You and his forces and replace him as ruler.
Death & Immortality
Huang-Di ruled for many years and is thought to have died in 2598 B.C.E. Legend holds Huang-Di lived over a hundred years, by some accounts this was 110 years. Before he died, Huang-Di met a phoenix and qilin before he rose to the heavens to become an immortal or Xian. He is considered the very archetype of a human who merges their self with the self of the Universal God; how a person reaches enlightenment and immortality.
Another account of Huang-Di’s death is that a yellow dragon from Heaven flew down to take up Huang-Di up. Huang-Di knew that he could not deny destiny and went with the dragon. On their way to fly back to Heaven, they flew over Mount Qiao where Huang-Di asked to be able to say goodbye to his people. The people cried out, not wanting Huang-Di to leave them and they pulled on his clothing to try and keep. Surprisingly, Huang-Di slipped free of his clothing and got back on the dragon to fly up to the heavens. As to his clothing, they were buried in a mausoleum built at Mount Qiao.
Two tombs commemorating Huang-Di were built in Shaanxi within the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor. Other tombs were built in Henan, Hebei and Gansu.
Taoism
Huang-Di is the founder of Taoism, one of the main philosophies and religions found in China.
As Huang-Di began to age, he began to allow his court officials to handle matters and make decisions. Huang-Di moved out into a simple hut in his courtyard. There, as he fasted, prayed and meditated, Huang-Di discovered Tao, or the way, a philosophy that would lead to the ideal state of being.
Lei Gong
In some of the older accounts with Huang-Di, he is identified as a god of light and thunder. The name Huang and Guang, meaning “light,” making him a Thunder God. However, Lei Gong or Leishen is the name of another deity and he is seen as Huang-Di’s student.
Shang-Di
The legend and origins for Haung-Di have been cast into doubt by many. The scholar Yang Kuan, a member of the Doubting Antiquity School has argued that Huang-Di is derived from the god, Shang-Di from the Shang dynasty. Yang says that the etymology of Shang-Di, Huang Shang-Di and Huang-Di all have a connection to the Chinese character of 黄 Huang, which means “yellow” and its homophony of, 皇 Huang, which means “august,” that to use the character for 皇 Huang, was considered taboo.
Other historians have disputed this claim like Mark Edward Lewis and Michael Puett. While Mark Edward Lewis agrees that the two characters are interchangeable, he has suggested that the character 黄 Huang is closer to the character wang phonetically. Lewis puts forth the idea that Huang might have referred to a “rainmaking shaman” and “rainmaking rituals.” He uses the Warring States and Han era myths for Huang-Di, in that these were ancient rainmaking rituals, as Huang-Di held power over the clouds and rains. Huang-Di’s rival, Chiyou or Yandi held power over fires and drought.
Lord Of The Underworld Or The Yellow Springs
Further disagreements with Yang Kuan’s idea of equating Haung-Di with Shang-Di is the Western scholar, Sarah Allen who has stated that the pre-Shang myths and history can be seen as changes to Shang’s mythology.
By this argument, Huang-Di was originally an unnamed Lord of the Underworld or Yellow Springs, the counterpart to Shang-Di in his role as the supreme deity of the sky. Continuing this theme, the Shang rulers claimed their ancestor as the “the ten suns, birds, east, life and the Lord on High. Shang-Di had defeated an earlier group of people who were associated with the Underworld, Dragons and the West.
After the Zhou dynasty overthrew the Shang dynasty in the eleventh century B.C.E., the Zhou rulers began to change out the myth, changing the Shang to the Xia dynasty. By the time of the Han, according to Sima Qian’s Shiji, Huang-Di as Lord of the Underworld had now become a historical ruler.
Huang-Di’s Cult
During the Warring States era of texts, the figure of Huan-Di appears intermittently. Sima Qian’s text, Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) is the first work to gather all of the fragments and myths surrounding Huan-Di into a coherent form and narrative. The Shiji would become a very important and influential text for the Chinese and the start of their history.
In the Shiji, Sima Qian he says that the state of Qin began worshiping Huang-Di during the fifth century B.C.E. along with Yandi, the Flame Emperor. Alters had been established in Yong, the capital of Qin. By the time of King Zheng in 247 B.C.E., Huang-Di had become the most important of the four “thearchs” worshiped in Yong.
During the late Warring States and early Han eras, Huang-Di’s cult became very prominent as he is regarded as the founder of the arts, civilization, governing and a supreme god. There have been a number of texts such as the Huangdi Neijing, a classic medical text, and the Huangdi Sijing, a group of political treatises that Huang-Di is credited with having written.
While his influence has waned for a period, the early twentieth century saw Huang-Di become an important figure for the Han Chinese when trying to overthrow the Qing dynasty. For some, Huang-Di is still an important, nationalist symbol.
Huángdì Sìmiàn – Yellow Emperor with Four Faces
In the Shizi, Huang-Di is known as the Yellow Emperor with Four Faces. Other names that Huang-Di is known by are: Sìmiànshén, Four-Faced God or the Ubiquitous God. The name Sìmiànshén is also the name for Brahma in Chinese.
As Huángdì Sìmiàn, Huang-Di represented the center of the universe and his four faces allowed him to see in everything that happened around him and in the world. In this aspect, he communicated directly with the gods for prayer and sacrifice. When traveling, Huang-Di rode in an ivory chariot pulled by dragons and an elephant. He would be accompanied by a troop of tigers, wolves, snakes and flocks of phoenix.
Wufang Shangdi – Five Forms of the Highest Deity
In Chinese texts and common beliefs, the Wudi (“Five Deities”) or Wushen (“Five Gods”) are five main deities who are personifications or extensions of a main deity.
Zhōngyuèdàdì – Huang-Di, when he becomes an Immortal or Xian and deified, is one of the Wudi. As Zhōngyuèdàdì, the “Great Deity of the Central Peak”, he is the most important of the Wudi, representing the element of earth, the color yellow and the Yellow Dragon. He is the hub and center of all creation upon which the divine order found within physical reality makes way for possible immorality. Huang-Di is the god of the governing the material world, the creator of the Huaxia (Chinese) civilization, marriage, morality, language, lineage and the primal ancestor to all Chinese people. In addition, he is a Sun God and associated astrally with the planet Saturn, the star Regulus and the constellations Leo and Lynx. The constellation Lynx in Chinese star lore, represents the body of the Yellow Dragon.
Huángshén Běidǒu – the “Yellow God of the Northern Dipper”, connected to this constellation, Huang-Di becomes identified as Shangdi or Tiandi, the supreme God or “Highest Deity.”
Further, Huang-Di is the representation for the hub of creation, the divine center and the axis mundi for the divine order in physical reality which opens the way to immortality. He is the god who is the center of the cosmos that connects the San-Huang and the Wudi.
Huángdì Nèijing – The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Also, spelled as Huang Ti Nei Ching (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine).
This medical text forms the foundation for traditional Chinese Medicine. it comprises of the theories of the legendary emperor Huang Di who lived around 2600 B.C.E. This tome preserved a lot of ancient medical knowledge and is compose of two volumes. The first one is a dialogue between Huang Di and his minister, Qibo. The second one has the descriptions of anatomy, medical physiology and acupuncture. The real author of this book is unknown.
Huangdi Sijing – Four Scriptures of the Yellow Emperor
In this text, it is explained how regulating the heart and one’s emotions, they will never allow oneself to get overly emotional and carried away. Huang-Di had accomplished doing this during his three years at the refuge at Mount Bowang in order to find himself. Doing this, creates an internal void where all the forces of creation gather, where the indeterminate they stay, the more powerful these forces of creation will be. In more simpler terms, this is self-mastery and self-control.
Other Books –
Other books attributed to Huang Di are: Huángdì Yinfújing (Yellow Emperor’s Book of the Hidden Symbol) and the Yellow Emperor’s Four Seasons Poem that is found contained in the Tung Shing fortune-telling almanac.
Chinese Astronomy
As a Sun God, Huang-Di as Zhōngyuèdàdì is associated astrally with the planet Saturn, the star Regulus and the constellations Leo and Lynx. The constellation Lynx in Chinese star lore, represents the body of the Yellow Dragon.
Going Back To Where It All Began!
As previously mentioned earlier, tradition has Huang-Di begin his rule during 2697 B.C.E. and ending in 2597. An alternate date is 2698-2598 B.C.E. These dates were first calculated by Jesuit missionaries studying the Chinese chronicles. They have been accepted by later scholars looking to try and establish a universal calendar.
It should be noted that the traditional Chinese calendar didn’t mark years consecutively. Some Han-dynasty astronomers have tried to determine when Huang-Di ruled. Under the reign of Emperor Zhao in 78 B.C.E. a court official, Zhang Shouwang calculated that some 6,000 years had passed since the time of Huang-Di rule. The court however rejected this claim and said that only 3,629 years had passed. Comparisons with the Western, Julian calendar place the court’s calculations to the late 38th century B.C.E. for Huang-Di. Nowadays, the 27th century B.C.E. is accepted by many.
Possible Reality Behind The Legends
Getting anything for reliable accuracy and the historical context of China before the 13th century B.C.E. is difficult. There is a lot of reliance on what archaeology can provide and prove. The earliest Chinese writing and records date to the Shang dynasty around 1200 B.C.E. This system of writing is the use of bones for oracles. Even any hard evidence for the Xia dynasty is hard to find, even with Chinese archaeologists trying to link this dynasty to the Bronze Age Erlitou sites.
Many Chinese historians view Huang-Di to have a stronger historical basis than other legendary figures like Fu Xi, Nuwa and the Yan Emperor. While many legendary figures and ancient sages have all been considered to be historical figures, it is not until the 1920’s that members of the Doubting Antiquity School in China began to question the accuracy of these legends and claims.
Warring States Era
These early figures of Chinese history, as Gu Jiegang from the Doubting Antiquity School, as stated are mythological in origin. They started off as gods and then became depicted as mortal during the Warring States era by intellectuals.
Yang Kuan, another member of the Doubting Antiquity School, has commented that it is only during the Warring States era that Huang-Di is mentioned as the first ruler of China. Yang goes on to argue that Huang-Di is really the supreme god, Shang-Di, the god of the Shang pantheon.
Even the French scholars Henri Maspero and Marcel Granet, in their “Danses et légendes de la Chine ancienne” (“Dances and legends of ancient China”) have commented that early Chinese legends have more to do with the period to when they were written than to when they are supposed to have happened.
From God To Man
Huang Di’s status as a god faded during the 2nd century C.E. with the rise and reverence of Laozi. Huang Di will still be regarded as an immortal and the master of the longevity techniques and a deity who would reveal new teachings in the form of books like the Huang Di Yinfujing in the 6th century C.E.
Nowadays, many scholars accept the view that Huang-Di and other figures like him started off as a god of religious importance and then become humanized, mortal during the Warring States and Han periods. Even though Huang Di’s status as a god faded during the
Indo-European Connections
Okay?
Chang Tsung-tung, a Taiwanese scholar has argued, that based on a vocabulary comparison between Bernhard Karlgren’s Grammata Serica and Julius Pokorny’s Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, there is a connection with the Old Chinese and the Proto-Indo-European etymologies. That there is a strong influence of Indo-European languages on the Old Chinese language around 2400 B.C.E. Chang goes on to say that the Shang dynasty was founded by Indo-European conquerors and identifies Huang-Di as an Indo-European god. Chang says that the “yellow” in Huang-Di’s name should be interpreted as referring to blond hair. That as a nomad of the steppes, Huang-Di encouraged road construction and horse-drawn carriages to establish a central state.
This idea, to me, seems farfetched. Since it is one of the ideas I came across, I’ll include it here.
Babylonian Immigrants
Thanks to the French scholar, Albert Terrien de Lacouperie, many Chinese historians got hooked on the idea Chinese civilization getting its start in 2300 B.C.E. by Babylonian immigrants and that Huang Di would have been a Mesopotamian tribal leader. This idea has been rejected by European sinologists, however the idea was advocated for again by two Japanese scholars Shirakawa Jiro and Kokubu Tanenori in 1900.
The ideas certainly seem to held on to by anti-Manchu intellectuals who are looking for the truth of China’s history and wanting to prove the superiority of the Han over the Manchu and the importance of Huang Di as the ancestor of all Chinese.
The Mausoleum Of The Yellow Emperor
Also called Xuanyuan Temple, this mausoleum is the most important of ancient mausoleums in China and praised as “the First Mausoleum in China.” The mausoleum is located at Mount Qiao, north of the Huangling County of Yan’an some 200 kilometers north of Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province. According to historians, the mausoleum was first built on the western side of Qiao during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E. – 220 C.E.) It was later restored during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 C.E.) It had been damaged by floods and moved to Qiao’s eastern side by the Emperor Song Taizu of the Song Dynasty (960 – 1234 C.E.)
During the Qingming Festival that is held on April 5th, Chinese people from all over gather to hold a memorial ceremony to commemorate the Yellow Emperor, Huang-Di. Yan’an also earns the distinction of being considered the birthplace of Chinese civilization.
Yang Jing
Etymology: Yang – “goat,” “sheep,” “sun” or “Aspen”, Jing – “essence” or “clean”
Here’s another entity that caught my interest. Once I sat down to try and find more on them, I found the information to be rather sparse.
Per the few sources I can find, Yang Jing is a Chinese Goat God who is often described as wearing a goatskin and a goat’s head like a hood. He may have been viewed as a fertility god possessing a great sexual potency.
The local villagers in the mountainous areas would offer up sacrifices to Yang Jing to gain his protection of themselves, their harvest and livestock from wild animals.
That would have been it, except I found a couple other tidbits of interest in connection to the name Yang Jing that very likely cast some doubt to the authenticity of a Chinese Goat God.
Chinese Medicine
Horny Goat Weed
Also, known as Epimedium, I found the name Yang Jing in connection to this herb for an herbal tonic used for restoring a person’s overall energy and for men. An alternative to using Viagra!
Any herb used for restoring male sexual energy is referred to as a Yang Jing herb.
Chinese Surname
The name Yang is the sixth most popular surname found in Mainland China. There’s a number origins for the Yang clan in China. The first family this name are the descendants of Huang Di during the Xia Dynasty. More families and Emperors from the Zhou, Song, Sui, Ji and Tang dynasties have all claimed or changed names to the Yang surname. Often this seems an effort to lay claim to the dynasty aristocracies.
Shilluk Pantheon
I came across a few of the gods or ancestral deities for the Shilluk people. However, the information is sparse enough, I decided to combine all the deities into one article in order to expand this post. Plus, it feels more worthwhile writing it up.
First up is that Shilluk is a corruption of the word Chollo, so a lot of my research did center around looking up Shilluk and not just Chollo.
The Shilluk or Chollo people are a large, native or Luo Nilotic people living along the Nile River of modern, Southern Sudan.
Legend and traditions hold that sometime during the 15th century C.E., Nyikango, the mythical ancestor and founder of the Shilluk or Chollo nation had an argument with Dimo and other Luo groups in a place known as Bahr el Ghazel.
Taking a group of his closest family and friends, Nykango led them northwards up along the Nile in rafts and canoes until they found the place of Otango Dirum to settle. Through the use of war and diplomacy, Nykango managed to conquer over time the entire area of Otango Dirum. For each of the tribes, Nykango granted a name and ritual they were to perform. Legends and tradition hold that Nykango’s son, Dak was the most influential in establishing the Shilluk Kingdom.
Today though, the Shilluk as a nation is recognized by the Sudanese state as only part of native administrations. Since 1837, the Shilluk have never truly free except for a brief period from 1881 and 1898 during the Mahdiya. The Shilluk still have a common territory, language, tribal authority they listen to and their customs and traditions they hold to.
Diang
Diang is a cow goddess, she lived along the west bank of the Nile river. She is seen as the wife of the first human Omara that had been sent by the Creator God, Juok.
Diang and Omara have a son, Okwa who grows up and marries the crocodile goddess Nyakaya.
In Shilluk religion and beliefs, this shows a connection of the three major elements of life. Men or humans for the sky, cattle for the earth and crocodiles for water.
Juok is known by a number of other names: Jo-Uk, Joagh, Joghi, jok, Joogi, Jouk, Jok Odudu, Ju-Ok, or Jwok
He is the main Creator God of the Shilluk and other tribes along the upper areas of the Nile river. It is generally believed that Juok controls the destinies of all living creatures. The legendary Shilluk king, Nyikang is often seen as being Juok’s earthly representative or avatar much like the Egyptian pharaohs were often seen as the living god Ra in earthly form. Other tribes such as the Acholi and Lango use the name Jok to refer to local or ancestor spirits.
Nyakaya
A crocodile goddess, she is the wife of Okwa and the mother of Nyikang.
Nyikang
Also known as Nyakango.
He is a fertility god and the mythical ancestor from whom all the kings of the Shilluk are descended from. Being an immortal and the avatar of Juok, Nyikang is believed not to have died, but instead, to have vanished in a whirlwind. The later kings of the Shilluk are seen as the reincarnations of Nyikang. The vitality and well-being of the tribe is closely connected to the health of Nyikang.
Okwa
The son of Omara and Diang, he is the husband of Nyakaya and the father of Nyikang.
Omara
The husband of Diang, he is the first man in the mythology of the Shilluk. Omara and Diang fathered Okwa who would eventually found the lineage of Nyikang.
Mali
Etymology – hippopotamus
Mali is the name of a shape-shifting, monstrous and carnivorous hippopotamus responsible for the destruction and eating entire fields of rice.
Among the Mali and Songhay people, the hero, Fara Maka is the one who finally defeats this monster after numerous attempts. In his first attempt, Fara Maka tries throwing spears to no affect, as the spears would disintegrate or melt on contact with Mali’s skin.
In Fara Maka’s next attempt, he is joined by fellow hunter, Karadigi who set his pack of 120 black dogs on the raging monster. Karadigi’s pack were all eaten in short order by Mali.
At last, Fara Maka decided to consult with his wife, Nana Miriam. She cast a spell of paralysis on Mali. With the monster unable to move, Fara Maka was now able to destroy this monstrous hippopotamus.
In some versions of this stories, the crops eaten were Fara Maka’s. When he had failed at killing Mali, Fara Maka’s wife, Nana Miriam used the spell of paralysis to defeat the monster.
The Niger River
The third longest river on the African continent after the Nile and Congo rivers. This river is the location for where the confrontations with Mali and Fara Maka take place in traditions and legends.
Ophiuchus
Etymology – Greek – ophis (serpent), ekhein or okhos (holder), “Serpent-Bearer”
Pronunciation: Oh-fee-YOU-cuss
Also known as: Ὀφιοῦχος (Greek), Anguitenens, Serpentarius, Hebitsukai-Za (Japanese, “Serpent Bearer”, the Serpent-holder, the Serpent Bearer, the Serpent Wrestler, or the Snake Charmer
The constellation of Ophiuchus is represented as a man holding a snake, seen in the constellation of Serpens. The body of Ophiuchus divides the Serpens constellation in half to Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda.
The ancient Greeks saw the god Apollo in the constellation of Ophiuchus, contending with a large snake that guarded the Delphi Oracle. Many others have seen various legendary healers from Joseph and Aaron from the Bible, Imhotep and Asclepius in this constellation.
Astronomy & Astrology
Much of the foundations of Western knowledge regarding the fields of Astronomy and Astrology owe its roots to Ancient Mesopotamian cultures. Many ancient cultures studied the stars, seeing in them patterns that are called constellations. These ancient astronomers could make predictable, annual turnings of the heavens that they could divide and mark for the passing of the Seasons and time. For the ancients, Astrology served as a precursor to Astronomy and they believed that by studying the heavens, they could foretell future events and even a person’s life path.
These ancient cultures would also meet and exchange ideas frequently and in this fashion, when the Greeks encountered the Persians, there was an exchange of knowledge regarding Astronomy that becomes the constellations and zodiacs so many know today. Eventually, there is no clear distinction between what ancient Mesopotamian Astronomers and Greeks Philosophers knew. Even in current, modern times, the influence of these ancients is still known.
Western Astronomy
The constellation known as Ophiuchus is one of 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy in his book, Almagest. Today it remains as one of the 88 current or modern constellations. It is a large constellation, ranking 11th in size and located near the celestial equator. Ophiuchus was previously known as Anguitenens and Serpentarius; which in Latin has the same meaning as the modern name.
Constellations bordering with Ophiuchus are: Aquila, Libra, Scorpius, Serpens and Hercules. If you know where in the night sky that Orion is, Ophiuchus on the opposite. The best time to spot Ophiuchus is during the month of July in the Northern Hemisphere.
Babylonian Astronomy
The ancient Babylonians have a constellation known as the “Sitting Gods” that might have been in the same location of the night sky that Ophiuchus is found.
Enki
The Sumerian god, Enki has also been suggested as who the constellation is based on.
Nirah
In his book, Babylonian Star-lore, Gavin White suggests that Ophiuchus has a connection to the ancient snake god, Nirah, who is sometimes depicted having the upper body of a man and snakes for legs. This idea seems a bit farfetched as there aren’t too many other scholarly works to validate or refute it.
Nu-tsir-da
Ophiuchus, combined with Serpens was known as Nu-tsir-da.
Arabic & Islamic Astronomy
According to 10th century C.E., Azophi’s Uranometry, the constellation of Ophiuchus is known by the name of Al-Hawwa’, the Snake-Charmer.
An Arabic title for Ophiuchus is Suille. Herodotus mentions a tribe of snake-charmers known as Psylli in North Africa. This part offered up some confusion keeping this straight. Again, as there’s some conflicting information and research. I found a “le Psylle” that refers to an insect. This may be to a lot of confusion with languages and translations.
Chinese Astronomy
Hou
To the ancient Chinese astronomers, Alpha Ophiuchi is known as Hou, a senior assistant to the Emperor. The Emperor’s thrown, Dizuo is located directly north in the Hercules constellation where it corresponds with the star Alpha Herculis. What exactly Hou’s role is, is rather unclear. Some have referred to him as an overseer, an usher bringing in guests and possibly an astrologer.
Hu
The stars Iota and Kappa Ophiuchi formed Hu, a measuring cup for liquids, this constellation is found further in the Hercules constellation.
Tianshi
For the ancient Chinese, the southern part of Hercules, most of Serpens and Ophiuchus were viewed as a celestial market place, Tianshi. To the left of Tianshi, there is an eastern wall that starts in the constellation of Hercules and heads south through Serpens Cauda and ending in Ophiuchus at Eta Ophiuchi. To the right of Tianshi, a western wall runs southward from Hercules, through Serpens Caput and ends in Ophiuchus with stars Delta, Epsilon and Zeta Ophiuchi. The stars 20 Ophiuchi and Chesi are seen as market stalls along the right wall. The stars Lambda Ophiuchi and Sigma Serpentis made up Liesi, an arcade where jewelers shops could be found.
Shilou
Comprised of stars Mu, 47, 30 and a much fainter star formed a six-star loop that represents a hall or a tower housing the trading standards office. Finishing out this shape are the stars Omicron and Nu in Serpens Cauda.
Zongzheng, Zongren, and Zong
These three constellations are found to the south of Hou. Zongzheng is noted by the stars Beta and Gamma Ophiuchi and Zongren is noted by the stars 66, 67, 68 and 70 Ophiuchi. These two constellations are seen to represent a governor and his aides who are supervising the younger members of the royal family. Zong is noted by the stars 71 and 72 Ophiuchi and is seen to represent a revered ancestor to the royal family.
Dongxian
The stars Phi, Chi, Psi, and Omega Ophiuchi formed Dongxian found outside the market walls. Dongxian is the western door to the steward’s room, used for investigating on any trade infractions. The eastern door, Xixian is found in Scorpius and Libra.
Tianjiang
Marked by Theta Ophiuchi and three other stars, this constellation is a celestial river, located in the Milky Way and thought to control the waterways.
Tianyue
Lying next to Tianjiang, this constellation is composed of eight faint stars found in Ophiuchus and Sagittarius. It is thought that Tianyue lays directly on the ecliptic and represents a keyhole or lock that the Sun must thread itself through every year. It lays directly across the heavens from Tiangun, a gate found on the ecliptic within the Taurus constellation.
Christian Theology
In later symbolic literature for Christianity, the imagery of Ophiuchus and the serpent is used in the story of the Garden of Eden. In his Paradise Lost, John Milton uses Ophiuchus as a major simile where he compares Satan to a comet that burns through the length of the constellation.
Again, with the strong imagery of the figure holding a serpent, some astrologists have connected the story of Joseph from the Biblical Book of Genesis and his interpreting dreams for the Pharaoh. Another story connecting Ophiuchus to the bible is that of Aaron and his casting down his rod to become a snake.
Egyptian Mythology
Due to the rise of interest in Ophiuchus as a 13th Astrological sign, many have been quick to identify the Greek physician Asclepius in this constellation. In turn, discussion extends to an earlier Egyptian healer, Imhotep that Asclepius is based on.
Greek Astronomy
The 4th century B.C.E. Greek poet, Aratus has the earliest mention of Ophiuchus in his Phaenomena, which in turn is based on earlier works by Eudoxus of Cnidus. While Aratus didn’t know much about astronomy by Greek standards of the day, he was very well known for his poetry and descriptive imagery for the constellations.
Apollo
The ancient Greeks saw the god Apollo in the constellation of Ophiuchus, contending with a large snake that guarded the Delphi Oracle.
Asclepius
The son of the god Apollo, Asclepius is the figure most often seen and identified in the constellation of Ophiuchus. Elevated to the status of a demi or lesser god, Asclepius was greatly renowned for his healing skills to the degree that he could even bring people back from the dead.
This knowledge of healing came about after Glaucus, the son of King Minos of Crete had fallen into a jar of honey and drowned. Asclepius had been called into the scene and while there, saw a snake slithering towards Glaucus’ body. Asclepius killed the snake and then saw another snake come in and place an herb on the body of the first snake, bringing it back to life. After witnessing this, Asclepius proceeded to take the same herb and place it on Glaucus’ body and bring him back to life.
Another story of Asclepius bringing people back to life is the resurrection of Thesues’ son, Hippolytus after the king’s son had been thrown from his chariot.
Asclepius had been raised by Chiron, the immortal centaur and god in his own right. From Chiron, Asclepius learned the art of healing and in one story, Asclepius received the blood of the slain gorgon Medusa from the goddess Athena. The gorgon’s blood reportedly held some mystical qualities. The blood taken from the left side of Medusa’s body was a poison while the blood taken from the right side would be able to resurrect people, bringing them back from the dead.
This caused enough of a complaint from Hades to Zeus that humans would become immortal and that there wouldn’t be any one entering the Underworld. To prevent people from becoming immortal, Zeus agreed to kill Asclepius, doing so with a lightning bolt. Later, Zeus placed Asclepius’ image up into the heavens to become the constellation of Ophiuchus in honor and memory.
Hercules
Ophiuchus is part of the Hercules Family of constellations. The myth I found making this connection, has the famous hero Hercules kill Kaikias, the Blinding One. Kaikias or Caecius is the god of the North East Wind who is shown carrying a large shield that scatters hailstones upon the earth.
Laocoön
Other Greek myths see the figure of Laocoön, a Trojan priest of Poseidon. Laocoön had tried to warn the other Trojans about the Trojan Horse and the fact that the Greeks were hiding within it. He would later be killed by a pair of sea serpents sent by the gods to punish Laocoön.
Phorbas
Another Greek myth links Phorbos with the constellation of Ophiuchus. The son of Triopas and Hiscilla, Phorbas became the hero of the island of Rhodes when he saved the people from a plague of serpents. Sometimes this is interpreted to have been dragons, but snakes is often referred to or meant in the story. An oracle had told the people to call on Phorbas who came and rid the island of snakes.
Renaissance And Early Modern Depictions
Inspired by Aratus’ description of Ophiuchus stepping on the constellation of Scorpio with his feet, others such as Renaissance artist such as Albrecht Dürer and astronomer Johannes Kepler continued this idea.
Roman Astronomy
Aesculapius
For the Romans, the legendary healer, Asclepius is Romanized to the Latin spelling of Aesculapius. The Ophiuchus constellation is known by the Latin name of Serpentarius.
Hercules Family
The constellation of Ophiuchus, along with 18 other constellations of: Cygnus, Hercules, Sagitta, Aquila, Lyra, Vulpecula, Hydra, Sextans, Crater, Corvus, Serpens, Scutum, Centaurus, Lupus, Corona Australis, Ara, Triangulum Australe, and Crux.
These constellations have some connection to the overall legend and myth of the Grecian hero Hercules. They are the largest grouping of constellations found in the Western Hemisphere.
The connection extends from Donald H. Menzel, the director of the Harvard Observatory, who in his A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets, takes groups of constellations based on where in the night sky they are located and grouping them by the very same location.
Stars Of Ophiuchus
Alpha Ophiuchi – Also known as Rasalhagues or Ras Alhague, meaning “Head of the Snake Charmer” or “Snake Collector” in Arabic, is the brightest star in the Ophiuchus constellation. It marks the head of Ophiuchus.
Beta Ophiuchi – Also known as Celbalrai. Cheleb and Kelb Alrai, it comes from the Arabic word kalb al-rā‘ī, meaning “the shepherd dog.” Ptolemy in his Almagest, placed the right shoulder of the Serpent Holder with this star along with Gamma Ophiuchi.
The Arabs saw a Shepherd in the star Alpha Ophiuchi with his dog, the star Beta Ophiuchi guarding sheep in the area.
Delta Ophiuchi – Also known as Yed Prior, the word “yed” comes from the Arabic language meaning “the hand.” Along with the star Epsilon Ophiuchi, these two stars mark the left hand of the Serpent Bearer, holding the head of the snake.
Epsilon Ophiuchi – Also known as Yed Posterior, this star along with Delta Ophiuchi mark the left hand of the Serpent Bearer.
Eta Ophiuchi – Also known as Sabik is the second brightest star in Ophiuchus.
Gamma Ophiuchi – Ptolemy in his Almagest, placed the right shoulder of the Serpent Holder with this star along with Beta Ophiuchi.
Iota Ophiuchi – Ptolemy in his Almagest, placed the left shoulder of the Serpent Holder with this star along with Kappa Ophiuchi.
Kappa Ophiuchi – Ptolemy in his Almagest, placed the left shoulder of the Serpent Holder with this star along with Iota Ophiuchi.
Barnard’s Star – This is the second or third closest star to our own sun about 6 light-years away. The only other stars that are closer are those found in the Alpha Centauri binary star system and Proxima Centauri. Banard’s Star is located just north of a V-shaped group of stars that form a now obsolete constellation known as Taurus Poniatovii or Poniatowski’s Bull, specifically 66 Ophiuchi.
Taurus Poniatovii – Obsolete Constellation
According to Ptolemy’s The Almagest, the stars 66, 67, 68, 70, and 72 Ophiuchi made a short-lived constellation that formed a bull. The constellation has since then been combined wiwth Ophiuchus to form the right shoulder and tail of the serpent.
Ophiuchus Superbubble
First off, what is a Superbubble? It’s an astronomical event that happens when area of space, often hundreds of light years in distance has been created by several stars going supernovae and stellar winds blowing in interstellar gas. It’s basically what’s left over after the star or stars have finished going nova.
2005 saw a group of astronomers using information from the Green Bank Telescope to discover and identify one such Superbubble or Supershell. This particular superbubble is so large it reaches out beyond the furthest edges of the galaxy.
Kepler’s Supernova
Also, known as Keplar’s Star. On October 9th, 1604, Johannes Kepler observed a supernova near the star Ophiuchi. Johannes would study this nova so extensively that it would eventually be named after him. The book, De stella nova in pede Serpentarii (On the New Star in Ophiuchus’ Foot) contains all of Johannes’ studies and finding on this nova.
Galileo used this nova’s brief appearance when countering Aristotelian dogma and beliefs that the heavens were unchangeable.
Little Ghost Nebula
This is a planetary nebula found in Ophiuchus by William Herschel. It is about 2,000 light years away from the Earth.
Dark Horse Nebula
Also, known as the Great Dark Horse is a nebula found in Ophiuchus. This nebular is so named as its shape looks like the profile of a horse. It lays near the border with the constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpius. The Dark Horse Nebula is one of the largest and with the right conditions, it can be seen without the aid of binoculars.
Pipe Nebula
This nebula is part of the larger Dark Horse Nebula and is considered to form the hind legs or quarters of the Dark Horse. Like the Dark Horse, the Pipe can be seen without any aid from telescopes or binoculars, but its still helpful to use them.
Snake Nebula
Yet another nebula found in Ophiuchus. Like the Pipe Nebula, the Snake Nebula is also part of the much larger Dark Horse Nebula. It is about 650 light years from the Earth. While small, the snake is easily found for its distinctive s-shape near the bowl part of the Pipe Nebula.
Twin Jet Nebula
Also, known as Minkowski’s Butterfly or the Butterfly Nebula, it was first discovered by German-American astronomer Rudolph Minkowski in 1947. The nebula is so named as it appears like either a butterfly or a pair of exhaust pipes on a jet.
Ophiuchids
There are four meteor shows associated with the constellation of Ophiuchus. They are the Ophiuchids, the Northern May Ophiuchids, Southern May Ophiuchids and Theta Ophiuchids.
Ophiuchus In Astrology?
Yes!
The 13th Sign of the Zodiac!
Not so fast there! It may sound great and exciting, but such is not the case.
The idea of a 13th Sign for the Zodiac quickly caught fire in the imaginations of many aspiring astrologers, New Agers and assorted others.
Even from the expert astrologers, it must be remembered that Ophiuchus is a constellation, not a new Zodiac Sign. You don’t have to worry about going to bed, believing you were a Scorpio or Sagittarius and suddenly, everything has changed and you’re now an Ophiuchus. Nothing of the sort.
Yes, Ophiuchus is one of thirteen constellations that crosses the ecliptic as the earth makes it monthly journey around the sun and appears to move from one Zodiac Sign to the next. There is a huge difference though between a constellation and a Sign within the Zodiac. Traditionally the classical Greek Zodiac is set up into twelve Signs that stretch along the earth’s ecliptic path with each sign having roughly a month’s time. Especially in the Western traditions. The set up for the for the Signs also follow the changes of the seasons so that the March equinox will fall on the day when the celestial boundary is between Aries and Pisces.
Constellations on the other hand, vary in size and are based on the positions of the stars. Due to the precession of the equinoxes over the millennia, a Sign and constellation no longer directly line up and correlate to which Zodiac is in the heavens.
A History Lesson
Ptolemy, in his book Tetrabiblos, 170 C.E., mentions only 12 Signs. Yes Ophiuchus and some of the fixed stars got used by some of the ancient astrologers for the more significant celestial events. The 1st C.E. poet Manilius for example, in his Astronomica, describes Ohiuchus in an astrological poem. Later, Manilus goes on to discuss the astrological influence of Ophiuchus, commenting that when this constellation is rising, a person will have an affinity for snakes and be protected from their poison. Of course, a later 4th century astrologer known as Anonymous of 379 will make the association of Ras Alhague, the brightest star in Ophiuchus, as the star of doctors, healers and physicians.
Alright, so I can see where some people will jump up and down getting excited for: “See! It is the 13th Sign!”
In more modern 20th and 21st century, the IAU (International Astronomy Union) in 1930 came up with the idea of 13 astrological Signs due to “the Sun is in the sign of Ophiuchus” between November 29th and December 17th with where the constellation boundaries lay. This continues with Stephen Schmidt in 1970, when he suggested a 14-Sign Zodiac, which includes Cetus as a Sign. Later, in 1995, the 13-Sign Zodiac is put forward by Walter Berg in his “The 13 Signs of the Zodiac” and Mark Yazaki in Japan. There, the concept of Ophiuchus took off in Japanese pop culture appearing in a number of video games, notably Final Fantasy and the anime and manga series known as Fairy Tail.
People’s imaginations got fired up for a 13th Sign when an astronomy professor Parke Kunkle from the Minneapolis Community and Technical College explained to his local paper, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about the precession of stars over time and that eventually, old markers for time with the changes of the season altered.
The specific quote is this – “Two thousand years ago the Sun was ‘in’ whatever it was in. Now it’s about a whole constellation off from that.” It’s a quote that went viral and got picked up by various media news sites. And for the lay person who first gets into Astrology or doesn’t know anything at all, there’s the assumption that it’s all based on the constellations and not the Signs.
But It Must Be A Sign!
If you’re insisting it must be a new Zodiac Sign, here we go –
The time for Ophiuchus is from November 29th to December 17th. This takes up a good chunk of the time that’s for Sagittarius that typically runs from November 23rd to December 21st. Perhaps you can see why this is problematic.
As a 13th Sign, Ophiuchus doesn’t have an opposite Sign like all the others do. Adding Ophiuchus makes the use of the Zodiacs more Constellation based or sidereal. The use of sidereal astrology is more typical of the Vedic Astrology. Walter Berg states that the Sun is the Planet associated for this Sign. Many also place a strong emphasis on Ophiuchus’ role and affinity with healing through the use of imagery with Asclepius, Imhotep and to a lesser degree others like Joseph of Biblical fame for his interpretation of dreams and the Babylonian god Enki.
Ophiuchans are described as: seekers of wisdom and knowledge, they’re known for having a flamboyant or brightly colored wardrobe, they get along will with authority and supervisors, a seeker of peace and harmony, dream interpretation, premonitions, medical affinity, likely to have a large family though possibly have left their own home at an early age and have an eye for design and construction. The number 12 is considered an Ophiuchan’s lucky number and people may or may not be a bit envious for their progress and advances in life.
