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The mythology of the Constellation Guide / Andromeda

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posted on Jun, 1 2016 @ 07:01 AM

The origin for this constellation is ancient, Ptolemy named her for our western hemisphere over 2000 years ago.

Let me tell you the story about Andromeda.

Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Located north of the celestial equator, it is named for Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia, in the Greek myth, who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus. Andromeda is most prominent during autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, along with several other constellations named for characters in the Perseus myth. Because of its northern declination, Andromeda is visible only north of 40° south latitude; for observers farther south it lies below the horizon. It is one of the largest constellations, with an area of 722 square degrees. This is over 1,400 times the size of the full moon, 55% of the size of the largest constellation, Hydra, and over 10 times the size of the smallest constellation, Crux.

Andromeda was a princess in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia, who ruled in the region of Aethiopia, which consisted of the Upper Nile region, along with areas south of the Sahara desert. Her mother boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, daughters of Nereus and Doris, and companions of Poseidon; thus, she committed hubris and Poseidon decided to send a sea monster, Cetus, to ravage the lands of Aethiopia. After consulting an oracle, the king and queen chained Andromeda to a rock, in order to be sacrificed to the monster. However, the hero Perseus was nearby and heard of the imminent death of Andromeda; when the monster emerged from the sea, he managed to kill it, either by slaying it with a knife, or by exposing it to Medusa’s head and turning it into stone. Thus, Andromeda was saved. Perseus married her and she followed him on his journey back to Greece. They had nine children together. After her death, the goddess Athena placed her on the sky as a constellation, nearby her beloved husband Perseus and her mother Cassiopeia.

There is also a fantastic page about Andromeda and mythology;


Continue the story

Link - Greek Mythology
Link - Wikipedia
edit on 201661 by LauGhing0ne because: sources

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