The Legend of Draco Draco the Dragon: star group that twists between the constellations of the Great Bear and the Little Bear. Its star, Thuban, found within the body of the dragon, was once the pole star. Draco's strange, winding shape can be explained if Thuban and the rest of the sky is precessed back to their respective positions in the time of ancient Egypt. Draco's body joins with that of the snake held by Ophiuchus, which in turn connects to Hydra. Hydra delineated the celestial equator, and Ophiuchus' serpent followed the equator until it intersected the meridian of the fall equinox. It then bent in a right angle and followed the meridian at the base of Draco's tail until it marked the zenith with the pole star at Thuban. The upper coils and head of the beast wrapping about the pole star. By astronomical chance, the Dragon's Head and Dragon's Tail marked the positions of the lunar nodes, those points where the paths of the solar and lunar orbits intersect and where solar and lunar eclipses may occur. The Dragon's head refers to the ascending node, the Dragon's tail the descending node. In several cultures, an eclipse was attributed to the disappearance of the moon or sun as they were swallowed by a dragon. The fact that the stars of this circumpolar constellation never set plays an important part in its mythologies.
Mesopotamia: considered the female monster, Tiamat, symbol of chaos, defeated by Marduk when he cut her in two following an epic battle that describes the creation of earth as seen by the people of Sumer. One half became the constellation of the dragon and the other became the Hydra. See the Mesopotamian legends of Andromeda, Cetus, Hercules, Hydra and Perseus.
Egypt: part of the constellation of the Crocodile that represented Set, ruler of darkness, the dead and the circumpolar stars. Several of the pyramids at Abousseir and Giza were oriented to the position of the star Thuban. The Great Pyramid of Cheops was built with a narrow passage having a length of 126 meters and at an inclination of 26°17' over the horizon. Every night Thuban shown directly through this passage into the chamber of the sarcophagus.
Greece: representation of the vigilant dragon that protected the golden apples of the Hesperides, as well as the dragon who guarded the Golden Fleece in the Garden of Ares. See the Greek legends of Aries and Hercules.
China: part of the constellation of Yuen Wei
Christian legend: the serpent who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden.Back to the Constellations
