Perseus & the oher constellations
In the sky, Perseus lies near the constellations Andromeda, Cepheus, Cassiopeia (Andromeda's mother), Cetus, and Pegasus.
Greek Mythology
Several constellations are associated with the myth. Viewing the fainter stars visible to the naked eye, the constellations are rendered as:
A maiden (Andromeda) chained up, facing or turning away from the ecliptic.
A warrior (Perseus), often depicted holding the head of Medusa, next to Andromeda.
A huge man (Cepheus) wearing a crown, upside down with respect to the ecliptic.
A smaller figure (Cassiopeia) next to the man, sitting on a chair; as it is near the pole star, it may be seen by observers in the Northern Hemisphere through the whole year, although sometimes upside down.
A whale or sea monster (Cetus) just beyond Pisces, to the south-east.
The flying horse Pegasus, who was born from the stump of Medusa's neck after Perseus had decapitated her.
The paired fish of the constellation Pisces, that in myth were caught by Dictys the fisherman who was brother of Polydectes, king of Seriphos, the place where Perseus and his mother Danaë were stranded.
In Greek mythology, Andromeda is the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, king and queen of ancient Ethiopia.
Her mother Cassiopeia foolishly says that she is more beautiful than the Nereids, a display of pride by a human that is unacceptable to the gods.
To punish the queen for her arrogance, Poseidon forces her to wheel around the North Celestial Pole on her throne, spending half of her time clinging to it so she does not fall off.
Poseidon also floods the Ethiopian coast and sends a sea monster named Cetus to destroy the kingdom's inhabitants.
In desperation, King Cepheus consults the oracle of Ammon (Siwa).
He says there is no solution , until the king sacrifices his daughter, Andromeda, to the monster.
She is thus chained to a rock by the sea to await her death.
Perseus was the son of Danaë, who was sent by King Polydectes to bring the head of Medusa the monster.
When anyone gazed upon her face turned into stone.
Perseus is just then flying near the coast of Ethiopia on his winged sandals, having slain the Gorgon Medusa and carrying her severed head, which instantly turns to stone any who look at it.
Upon seeing Andromeda bound to the rock, Perseus falls in love with her, and he secures Cepheus' promise of her hand in marriage if he can save her.
Perseus kills the monster with the magical sword he had used against Medusa, saving Andromeda.
Preparations are then made for their marriage, in spite of her having been previously promised to her uncle, Phineus.
At the wedding, a quarrel between the rivals ends when Perseus shows Medusa's head to Phineus and his allies, turning them to stone.
Hindu Mythology
Cassiopeia was associated with the mythological figure Sharmishtha – the daughter of
the great Devil (Daitya) King Vrishparva( Cepheus) and a friend to Devayani (Andromeda).
In the Mahabharata, Yayati (Perseus) was one of the six sons of King Nahusha.
Devayani, whose love for Kacha remained unresponsed, marries Yayati to frustrate Sharmistha for whom she nurses a childhood jealousy.
Sharmishta is deeply in love with Yayati and subjects herself to a lot of mental and physical torture for love.
V.S.Khandekar was the eminent Marathi writer fromMaharashtra,India,who has written a beautiful novel 'Yayati' on this story,for which he has been awarded 'Dyanpeeth Paritoshik' & became the first Marathi writer to achieve that.
Isn't that great?
Bye then...
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ReplyDeleteEven Girish Karnad has written Yayathi in Kannada. He too has won the Gnyanapeet prashasti. 😊😊👍👍
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