The Legend of Aquila Aquila: this star group is always associated with rain. In many cultures this constellation foretold the coming of the summer monsoon season. The bright star Altair is part of the super constellation, the Northern Triangle, formed with Vega in Lyra and Deneb in Cygnus.
Mesopotamia: the hero, Etana, wanting to ease the pain his wife was feeling during childbirth, rode on the back of the god Shamash'eagle to the heavens to retrieve a medicinal plant that would relieve her pain. The magical plant was only found in the upper reaches of heaven where Anu lived. While Etana rode on the back of the eagle he noticed that the earth was becoming smaller and smaller, lost his nerve, and according to some versions of the story, his grip. One description of the legend has him living for 1,560 years and leaving only two children. A second version has him crashing to earth for daring to attempt to enter the realm of Anu. The mythical plant may actually be the poisonous mountain arnica which, when taken in controlled doses, does ease the pain of childbirth.
India: the mythical drink of the gods, soma, was brought to Indra the sun by Aquila. At the time of the summer solstice when the celebration of light and good over darkness and evil occurs, the moon god Chandra, who gives soma to the sun to drink, just enters the constellation of the eagle. See the Indian legends of Aquarius, Hydra and Pegasus.
Greece: known as the bird who brought rain and the keeper of Zeus' lightning bolts.
Persia: the Sultan Schemiram was sitting with his son Behiram and others when an eagle appeared and circled the Sultan's head. A serpent was wrapped around the eagle's neck strangling it. The Sultan ordered that the snake should be killed without harming the eagle. His son shot the snake, killing it. The grateful eagle returned the next year with a gift of unknown seeds which were sown and protected. An unknown fruit was produced from the plants. As they fermented, a liquid was produced which was given to a prisoner to taste. The prisoner became giddy, asked for more and fell asleep. This is the way that wine was brought to man.
China: the bright star Altair in Aquila represents the beautiful and modest She-niu, a girl gifted with wonderful weaving skills. She fell in love with a young shepherd, represented by the star Vega in the constellation Lyra. The two were separated by a river between their two lands which he would cross to meet with his love. The shepherd left on a trip to another land and the maiden renounced all others. She died of loneliness and a broken heart, believing he had found another. Unknown to her, the shepherd had died while away. The emperor, recognizing the importance of devotion and pure love, transported the young lovers to the sky where their stars, Altair and Vega, are separated by the river of the Milky Way. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh moon, the constellations join as magpies fly up to the heavens and allow the shepherd to join his love. See the Chinese legend of Lyra.Back to the Constellations
