Classical Mythology of the Constellations: Timeless Tales of the Starry Night Sky

A retelling of the classic myths and timeless tales by bestselling author Annette Giesecke that underlie the 88 named constellations in the night sky--from Andromeda to Orion to Ursa Major.

Classical Mythology of the Constellations is a stargazer’s guide to the wondrous stories of the gods, heroes, and monsters that populate the night sky. As long as humans have lived on Earth, they have gazed up at the starry sky with fascination and longing. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Sun, Moon, and Earth were gods. The stars beyond our Solar System, however, represented heroes, animals, and monsters that the gods placed in the sky after their death. These include the great hunter Orion and the scorpion who killed him with its sting, the beautiful maiden Callisto who was turned into a bear (Ursa Major) by the goddess Hera, Perseus, the slayer of Medusa, and many more.

In this beautifully designed work, stunningly illustrated by Jim Tierney, Giesecke tells the origin stories of the 48 constellations, first catalogued by the astronomer Ptolemy in the second century CE. A final section covers the names, locations, and brief descriptions of the remaining 40 constellations catalogued by astronomers in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, which are not named for Classical figures.

Organized by hemisphere and celestial quadrant, the book also includes two illustrated star maps to help guide the reader to the location of each constellation, as well as 48 color plates throughout.

Annette Giesecke, PhD is a Classicist and Professor at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She has written on Epicurean philosophy, the poetry of Homer and Vergil, garden history, and ancient attitudes towards the natural environment. Her books include Classical Mythology A to Z, The Epic City, A Cultural History of Plants (6 vols.), The Good Gardener, and Earth Perfect. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Jim Tierney is an illustrator and graphic designer living in southeastern Pennsylvania. He illustrated the bestselling 75th-Anniversary Edition of Mythology by Edith Hamilton and Classical Mythology A to Z.