The Legend of Argo Navis Argo Navis: this large, ancient, northern constellation is now practically missing from our skies due to precession. It was divided into three individual constellations, Carina (Keel), Puppis (Stern) and Vela (Sails) by the French astronomer Lacaille in the eighteenth century. Argo lacks bright stars, with the exception of Canopus, due to its presence within the main stream of the Milky Way galaxy along the southern horizon.
Mesopotamia: representation of the ark used by the Sumerian Noah, Utnapishtim, and his wife during the time of the great flood. See the Mesopotamian legend of Ara.
Egypt: the ark that transported Isis and Osiris during the great deluge in Egyptian mythology. Osiris is identified with the star Canopus.
Greece: the Argo of Jason and the Argonaut fame. The representation of the ship typically shows the ship missing its bow, strange since the bow, a gift from Athena, had the power of speech and could warn of impending danger. See the Greek legend of Aries.
Christian legend: identifies the constellation as Noah's Ark.
The Legend of Canopus: stories abound about this star in several mythologies with the star receiving its name from the Greeks. Menelaus lost his helmsman, Kanopus, on the island of Pharos as he returned from the Trojan War. (Note for Career Day: don't become a helmsman! They usually died in tragic and/or painful ways. Very bad!) A monument and eventually a city were built in honor of Kanopus. The first star seen to rise above the monument was consecrated in his name. Ancient Canopus was the location of the Temple of Serapis, the Serapeum, which was where Ptolemy had his observatory. Desert nomads identified Canopus as al-Fahl, a mythical camel and the subject of superstitions, stories and proverbs. They believed its blue light imparted precious stones with their worth and also had healing powers. The rising of al-Fahl marks the year, the ripening of dates, the end of summer heat and the weaning of young camels. It also has the tradition of being used by travelers in the southern hemisphere in the same way as Polaris in the north. In the sixth century, Russian and Greek Orthodox Christian pilgrims used the star as their guide when traveling to the convent of Saint Catherine. These people called the star the Star of Saint Catherine.Back to the Constellations
