The Legend of Sagitta Sagitta: this tiny constellation of three stars in a straight line is visible from July through October. It has an ancient history.
Mesopotamia: the arrow shot by the god Marduk as he slew the monster Tiamat. See the Mesopotamian legend of Hercules.
Greece: two stories concerning this arrow are found within classical Greek mythology. The first concerns the centaur Chiron, an immortal. After being accidentally shot by Hercules with an arrow dipped in the poisonous blood of the Hydra, Chiron lingered in ceaseless pain. The Titan Prometheus, punished for eternity for bringing fire to early man, was bound to a rock in Tartarus, a vulture pecking his liver forever. It was foretold that an immortal could release Prometheus from this torture only if the immortal voluntarily took his place. Knowing that Chiron was in agony from his wound, Hercules asked that Prometheus be released. Chiron would take his place. Hercules shot an arrow into the vulture ending the torture of the Titan and Chiron took his place in Tartarus. The arrow was placed in the sky in memory of the centaur. Another story places the arrow within the story of Ophiuchus, adopted son of the god Apollo, who was killed by Zeus' thunderbolt. The arrow was shot by Apollo at the Cyclopes, the Titan who forged the thunderbolt. See the Greek legends of Centaurus, Hercules and Ophiuchus.
Christian legend: the lance that was used by the Roman centurion Gaius Cassius to penetrate Christ's ribs during the crucifixion.Back to the Constellations
