The Legend of Crater Crater: typically seen as a vessel for wine.
Mesopotamia: called the Cup of the Serpent, this constellation was associated with wine, orgies and funerals. (The finer things in life?) Before the cultivation of grapes and their use in the making of wine, myrtle berries were boiled in a bronze or terra-cotta crater mounted on a tripod or pedestal. This wine had strong aphrodisiac properties and orgies usually followed heavy drinking bouts. The non-agricultural peoples of the time did not understand the importance or the possibility of cultivation and assumed that all plants came from the decaying bodies of demons.
Greece: a crater was a terra cotta vessel in which equal parts water and wine were mixed to cut the potency of strong Greek wine. According to legend, the people of the city of Eleusis were struck by a horrible plague that took the lives of many. Apollo's oracle decreed that a sacrifice must be made each year to the gods of the city. The sacrifice was to be the life of a maiden of noble blood. Demonphon, the king, not wishing to include his own daughters, drew lots to choose from the daughters of the noblemen of the city. He got away with this for several years when the nobleman, Mastusius, objected since the king's daughters were not included in the lots. Demonphon sacrificed one of Mastusius' daughters without drawing lots and said nothing more. Pretending all was fine and continuing as an ally to the king, Mastusius hatched a plan. An invitation to dinner was sent to the king. Sending his daughters ahead and thinking nothing was amiss, Demophon drank the wine that was offered upon his arrival. Mastusius had hoped the daughters would arrive before their father and had them killed. He mixed their blood with wine in a crater and served this to the king. When the murders were discovered, Mastusius was killed and thrown into the sea along with the crater. The vessel was also placed in the sky to remind men that evil deeds do not go unpunished. See the Greek legend of Corvus.
India: the goblet that was used to carry soma, the drink of the gods, by the moon, Chandra. These early peoples believed that the changing phases of the moon meant that the gods had drunk the moon away. At the time of these beliefs, 4,000 BC, and due to the precession of the axis, the sun shown directly over this constellation during the summer solstice. Indra-sun drank several goblets of soma to invigorate himself to do battle with the evil darkness, Vritra. Soma was stored in this constellation. See the Indian legends of Hydra and Pegasus.Back to the Constellations
