| Aquarius | |
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Other Names |
Aquarius, Deucalion, Ganymede, Cecrops I, Ea |
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First Appearance |
Greek Myth |
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Created by |
Greek Myth |
Origin[]
Aquarius is an equatorial constellation of the zodiac, between Capricornus and Pisces. Its name is Latin for "water-carrier" or "cup-carrier", and its old astronomical symbol is (♒︎), a representation of water. Aquarius is one of the oldest of the recognized constellations along the zodiac (the Sun's apparent path). It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is found in a region often called the Sea due to its profusion of constellations with watery associations such as Cetus the whale, Pisces the fish, and Eridanus the river.
Aquarius (♒︎) is the eleventh astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation Aquarius. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in the Aquarius sign between about January 20 and February 18. Aquarius is one of the three air signs, alongside Gemini and Libra. The ruling planets of Aquarius are Saturn (In traditional astrology alongside Capricorn), and Uranus in modern astrology. It is a fixed Air Sign. The opposite sign of Aquarius is Leo.
In the Babylonian star catalogues and represents the god Ea himself, who is commonly depicted holding an overflowing vase. The Babylonian star-figure appears on entitlement stones and cylinder seals from the second millennium. It contained the winter solstice in the Early Bronze Age. In Old Babylonian astronomy, Ea was the ruler of the southernmost quarter of the Sun's path, the "Way of Ea", corresponding to the period of 45 days on either side of winter solstice. Aquarius was also associated with the destructive floods that the Babylonians regularly experienced, and thus was negatively connoted.
In Ancient Egypt astronomy, Aquarius was associated with the annual flood of the Nile; the banks were said to flood when Aquarius put his jar into the river, beginning spring.
In the Greek tradition, the constellation came to be represented simply as a single vase from which a stream poured down to Piscis Austrinus. The name in the Hindu zodiac is likewise kumbha "water-pitcher".
In Greek mythology, Aquarius is sometimes associated with Deucalion, the son of Prometheus who built a ship with his wife Pyrrha to survive an imminent flood. They sailed for nine days before washing ashore on Mount Parnassus. Aquarius is also sometimes identified with beautiful Ganymede, a youth in Greek mythology and the son of Trojan king Tros, who was taken to Mount Olympus by Zeus to act as cup-carrier to the gods. Neighboring Aquila represents the eagle, under Zeus' command, that snatched the young boy; some versions of the myth indicate that the eagle was in fact Zeus transformed. One tradition, stated that he was carried off by Eos. Yet another figure associated with the water bearer is Cecrops I, a king of Athens who sacrificed water instead of wine to the gods.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All published appearances of Aquarius before January 1, 1930 are in the public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- The Iliad
- Catalogues of Women Fragments
- The Little Iliad Fragments
- Pindar, Odes
- Greek Lyric III Ibycus, Fragments
- Greek Elegaic Theognis, Fragments
- Iphigeneia at Aulis
- Plato, Laws
- Phaedrus
- The Library
- The Argonautica
- Callimachus, Fragments
- The Library of History
- Strabo, Geography
- Description of Greece
- Philostratus the Younger, Imagines
- Fall of Troy
- Dionysiaca
- The Rape of Helen
- Fabulae
- Astronomica
- Metamorphoses
- Heroides
- Aeneid
- De Natura Deorum
- The Argonautica
- Thebaid
- Silvae
- The Golden Ass
- The Suda