►Greek Mythology: “The Pleiades”.

“The Pleiades” by Elihu Vedder (1885).

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The Pleiades were seven sisters: Maia, Electra, Alcyone, Taygete, Asterope, Celaeno and Merope.

Their parents were Atlas, a Titan who held up the sky, and the Oceanid Pleione, the protectress of sailing.

They were the sisters of the Hyades (a sisterhood of Nymphs that bring rain) and they were all together known as Atlantides . 

As it was already said, they were seven in number, six of whom are described as visible, and the seventh as invisible.

Some call the seventh Merope and relate that she became invisible from shame, because she alone among her sisters had had intercourse with a mortal man; Sisyphus, the King of Corinth.

Another explanation for the ‘lost’ star related to the myth of the Electra, an ancestress of the royal house of Troy. After the Trojan War and the destruction of that city, the grief stricken Electra abandoned her sisters and was transformed into a comet, everafter to be a sign of impending doom.

The word Pleiades was derived from the Greek word pleiôn, meaning “plenty “. Another suggested derivations include: from πλεῖν plein, “to sail,” making the Pleiades the “sailing ones”; from πλέος pleos, “full, many”; or from πελειάδες  Peleiades, “flock of doves.”

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The Seven Pleiades, plus Atlas and Pleione.

The Six visible Pleiades and Merope, the Seventh and invisible one.

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They Pleaides were  the virgin companions of Artemis, the Goddess of hunting and the Moon.

Whilst stalking a hind, the  hunter Orion crept into a sunlit glade, disturbing the sisters.

He then began to pursue them relentlessly. 

In frustration, Artemis pleaded with Zeus to for his intervention.

Therefore, Zeus transformed the sisters into a flock of doves, and soon after, into stars.

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The Seven Pleiades. Metamorphosis, from doves to stars.

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Artemis was angry because she no longer could see her companions and asked her brother, Apollo, to kill Orion. 

Apollo, Artemis´ brother, having been affronted by the mortal hunter’s prowess, was persuaded to set a monstrous Scorpion to attack Orion.

Finally, Zeus set the dead hunter in the sky in a vain pursuit of the Pleiades through the night sky for eternity, with the constellation Scorpio ever chasing after Orion, the hunter.

In many accounts, Apollo directed the scorpion to go after Orion. As he wanted to protect Artemis´chastity vows. He placed Orion´s constellation in the skies, along with Scorpio. Thus, at night, when Scorpio comes, Orion simultaneously begins to drop away to the opposite side, forever hightailing it away from the scorpion.

These two opponents, Orion and the Scorpion, were placed amongst the stars as their namesake constellations. But, they are positioned on opposite sides of the sky, one sets as the other rises.

The Scorpion rises as Orion starts to sink into the other side of the sky, and this was seen as Orion running away from the attacker, and still in fear of him.

Thus, Scorpius rule the northern hemisphere’s summer while Orion rules the winter skies.

From an astronomic point of view, Orion is known as the “mighty hunter” and is one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky.

The three stars in the Belt of Orion show up clearly in northern winter sky and align with the celestial equator; halfway between the North and South Poles.

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Constellations of Orion and Scorpio.

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When it comes to astronomy, the Nine bright stars of the Pleiades are named for the Seven Sisters, along with their parents Atlas and Pleion.

The Pleiades is an open star cluster, containing middle-aged stars, located in the constellation of Taurus.

Taurus is composed of two main groups of stars: the Pleaides and the Hyades, both  of them called Atlantides in Greek Mythology. 

The Pleiades, as mentioned, were placed in the sky by Zeus, as Artemis asked the Ruler of Gods to keep them safe from the lusty Orion.

The Seven Hyades lie 10° southeast of the Pleaides.

Mythologically, the Pleiades were daughters of Atlas and Aethra, and hence half-sisters of the Pleaides, with whom they made up the Fourteen Atlantides.

The Hyades were placed among the stars as a reward for their sisterly love, which was evinced by their sorrow at the death of their brother Hyas who was drowned in a well, or, in another version of the myth, he was killed by a wild beast in Libya).

The face of Taurus is marked by the V-shaped group of stars called the Hyades. It is among the nearest stars cluster to Earth and is the easily visible to in the night sky.

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Constellation of Taurus, including the Pleaides and the Hyades (Atlantides). And Constellation of Orion, alongside it.

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Annex: There is a similar Greek Myth which involves Stars and Constellations.

Specifically, the greek story featuring Zeus and his lover Callisto, in which Arcas and Callisto are transformed to stars, The Ursa Minor and Major, respectively. And after that, Callisto is transformed to a bear.

According to a different version of the myth of Zeus and Callisto, Zeus transformed himself to his sister Goddess Artemis, the Goddess of Nature and Hunting, in order to mate with Callisto.

Again, Hera, used to her husband’s cheating methods, figured out what was going on and tried to catch them on action, but then Zeus-Artemis changed Callisto back in to a bear and made her the largest constellation in the northern sky.

Located at the top of the heavens, these two stars of the two bear-constellations, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, never set, meaning, they are always visible in the night sky, all night, every night, throughout the year.

One version of the myth explains why they were positioned so… Zeus placed Callisto in the sky as the constellation Ursa Major, or “Great Bear”, and her son, Arcas who was also Zeus’ son, as Ursa Minor, as “Little Bear”.

Finally, a further point on the subject of the Pleiades.

When, it comes to Native American Mythology, probably the most famous legend of the Pleiades, is the story behind Devil’s Tower, Wyoming, a volcanic rock which the local Kiowa Indians call Mateo Tepe. According to that account, once seven maidens camped near the river in a region known to have many bears.

One of the bears began to chase the maidens, who knelt to pray for help, calling upon the gods. The ground was raised into the sky. The bear tried to follow in vain and clawed the side of the rock, the marks of which are seen on the Tower.

To protect the maidens, the Great Spirit allowed them to remain in the sky as the seven sisters, the Pleiades.

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The Seven Pleiades.

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►Gallery: The Pleiades … and Stuff featured in this post:

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►Links Post:

http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NymphaiPleiades.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades_(Greek_mythology)

http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/pleiades_myth.html

http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/Orion.html

http://www.constellationsofwords.com/stars/hyades.html

http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/UrsaMajor.html

http://mysteryoftheiniquity.com/2011/05/31/close-encounters-of-the-pleiades-kind/

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 ⭐ Last but not Least: “Three Awards” ⭐

I would like to thank  bloggers from Shehanne Moore, My Green Nook and Aromas and Flavours for nominating my blog for a Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award, a One Lovely Blog Award and a Dragons Loyalty Award, respectively.

I suggest you to check out these blogs and follow them, if you haven’t still done so…

•Rules for the One Lovely Blog Award and the Dragons Loyalty Award. ♠Thank the person who nominated you. ♠Add the logo to your post. ♠Nominate ten (10) bloggers of your choice and tell them about the nomination. 

•Rules for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. ♠Thank the person who nominated you. ♠Add the logo to your post. ♠Nominate ten (10) bloggers of your choice and tell them about the nomination. ♠Answer these questions, as per Shehanne Moore. When bestowing other bloggers with this award, You shall set your own 10 questions, if you wish

1. Do you like hamsters?. I do…

2. If you had  a hamster what would you call it? Tangerine or Haruki.

3. Seriously, if you did have to sum up your life in ten words, what would they be?  I try to enjoy life and its little things… 

4. Have you ever broken the law? Yes… Minor charges…

5 .What would be your ideal day? A sunny saturday, I guess… 

6. Favourite colour? Blue… Black?

7. Favourite recipe? Lemon Pie…

8. Favourite place close to where you live? Tigre, Buenos Aires.

9. Best thing that’s happened to you this year so far? Feeling blessed to have certain wonderful people in my Life. 

10. And the worst? …. Disclaimer:  I´d rather keep that one for myself!… 

•Notes:

-If you have been nominated and want to follow the Nomination Process, just click on the award for which you have been nominated for. That way you’ll be able to grab in regular size!.~☀ 🌟★🌟 ☀ ~☀ 🌟★🌟 ☀ ~☀ 🌟★🌟

I. Nominees: 1. Solveig Werner 2. Bottled Memos 3. Gator Woman 4. Of Opinions 5. A Writer of History 6. My Berkeley Bowl 7. Sundown 8. Claremary P. Sweeney 9. Breathing Space 10. Traveling Rockhopper.

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II. Nominees: 1. Being Southern Somewhere Else 2. Thefeatheredsleep 3. Fashionable Librarian 4. Storyshucker 5. Jane Eyre Gets Real 6. Charlotte Hoaks 7. Aromas and Flavours 8. Course of Mirrors 9. Jennifer´s Journal 10. Journey into Poetry.

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III. Nominees: 1. Shehanne Moore 2. Quoth The Wordsmith 3. My Green Nook 4. Rami Ungar, the Writer 5. Scribble and Scrawl 6. The Metropolis Marvel 7. Minuscule Moments 8. Living the Dream 9. Great Indie Authors 10. Touch my Sound.

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August 2015.

August 2015.

August 2015.

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