The Legend of Eridanus Eridanus: this long southern constellation of rather dim stars is best observed on clear, moonless winter nights. It extends to the southwest in a horseshoe away from the bright star Rigel at Orion's foot. This river has been identified with the Nile, the Po and the Euphrates. Its celestial characteristics and position most strongly suggest a tie to the Euphrates. Its name is taken from the Sumerian Ariadan and means The Strong River. The constellation was extended by eighteenth-century astronomers in star catalogs to include the star Achernar. This extension ended the river near the Clouds of Magellan. The original constellation ended much earlier and was completely visible from northern latitudes that correspond with the position of Mesopotamia.
Greece: Phaëthon, son of Helios the sun, convinced his father that he was strong enough and able to drive the chariot of the sun across the sky. When his father tried to convince him that the idea was foolish, Phaëthon took the reins and drove the fiery chariot and its four horses forward. The horses felt that the hand at the reins wasn't sure and shot through the sky pulling the chariot and Phaëthon behind them. The quirky path described across the sky left the Earth alternately frozen and burned as the horses flew first too high and then too low. The peoples of India and Africa were so badly burned that their skin remained dark in color. Trying to contain the damage, Zeus hurled a thunderbolt at the unfortunate boy, knocking him from the chariot and bringing the horses and chariot under control. Phaëthon plummeted to earth as a meteor and landed in the river Eridanus. The gods placed the river in the sky to commemorate his sad passing. The irregular scar across the sky burned by the sun chariot became the Milky Way. See the Greek legend of Cygnus.
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