Myths for the Constellation Orion

Samples of Chinese, Native American, and Western Mythology

Jul 22, 2007

Cultures worldwide had myths about the constellation Orion. He was the Stormy One, the First Slim One, as well as the cold and Chinook winds.

Orion

The constellation, Orion, dominates the northern hemisphere winter sky. Its position straddling the celestial equator, insures Orion's visibility from all inhabited parts of the Earth. Most ancient cultures saw the constellation Orion as a hunter, warrior, or some other heroic pugilistic male figure, but there were exceptions. Because the constellation is so visible nearly all cultures had some type of myth or legend associated with Orion. This article outlines a small sample of myths about the constellation Orion.

The Stormy One

Perhaps because Orion is so prominent during the northern hemisphere winter, he is associated with storms in many legends. This association began with the early Hindus and Babylonians. Roman writers including Virgil and Pliny often refer to Orion as the "bringer of clouds" or "the stormy one".

During the second century BC the Romans fought the first Punic war against Carthage in what is now Tunisia in northern Africa. The Romans eventually won, but they did lose three fleets of ships to a combination of battles and storms at sea. The Greek historian, Polybius, attributed the destruction of one Roman fleet during this war to the fact that the fleet set sail with Orion rising. The stormy one sent a storm.

This literary association of Orion with storms continued at least until the 17th century. In Book I line 305 of Paradise Lost, Milton refers to Orion vexing the Red-sea coast armed with fierce winds, as the Israelites fled Egypt and the waters parted.

Chinese Myth of Orion and Scorpius

The Chinese saw Orion as a general or warrior, but they had a different twist on the conflict between Orion and Scorpius. In Greek mythology, the sting from Scorpius killed Orion. The Chinese however saw Scorpius as Orion's brother with whom he fought. Sibling rivalry is apparently a universal phenomenon.

In a nearby region of Asia, Mongolian tribesmen saw Orion's belt as three stags to be hunted. They were the prey rather than the hunter as is more common.

Native American Myths

The Tewa tribe of New Mexico saw Orion as the hero Long Sash, who led their people on a long journey to freedom.

Their neighbors, the Navajo saw Orion as the First Slim One, or the First Slender One. They planted their crops when this constellation set at dusk, which is in May. One of the early uses of astronomy was as calendars. Early agricultural societies needed to know when to plant their crops. Interweaving their calendar with their myths allowed them to easily remember which stars represented specific seasons.

The Wasco tribe of Oregon saw Orion's belt as three fishermen in a canoe and his sword as three fishermen in another canoe. The canoes were each racing to catch a dead salmon, which was represented by a star between the belt and sword. In their region cold winds originate from the north and warm Chinook winds originate from the southwest. So the canoe to the north of the salmon, the belt stars, represented the cold wind. The sword stars, located to the south and slightly west of the salmon, form the canoe that represented the Chinook wind.