Starstruck Mythology

Leo Constellation The Nemean Lion was one of Heracles' 12 trials, where he was challenged to fight, kill, and skin the lion. Unbeknownst to the hero, the lion had an impenetrable hide and could not be stabbed or shot to death.  The Nemean Lion was not causing harm or hindrance to those near it, and was only necessary to kill to impress the immortal gods and a local King Eurystheus, however it was foretold in a prophecy that it would have soon rampaged across all of Greece, and that many god-worshipping citizens would be killed before a god could strike the beast down. Heracles originally attempted to shoot at the lion from a distance, however this only served to anger the lion. He moves to charge at the beast instead which spooks it into a cave with two entrances. The hero blocks the main entrance and fashions a club out of a large tree branch, stunning the lion by hitting it over the head and strangling it to death in it's forced sleep. He then sharpens his club and begins at

Horus, the Sun God  Horus, also known in Egyptian myth as Hor, Har, or Heru, was a falcon god whose right eye is a sun and the left eye was the moon. The sun represented power and the moon represents healing, and many areas of Egypt saw the rise of Falcon Cults which worshipped the god. He was known under many local names, which translate to "Horus, Son of Isis" or "Horus of the Horizon" among many others. One such story involving Horus was that the reigning king of Nekhen, an area of Egypt, was a manifestation of the god. This became widely accepted as fact after the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt. Due to this, every King of Egypt thereafter adopted a Horus name, which appeared on many tombs in a square frame called a serekh. Towards the middle to late end of the Egyptian empire, images of Horus spearing an old pharaoh named Seth in the head, as the king allowed for uprisings to occur. This imagery was used throughout Egypt to discourage riots and rebellions

Castor and Pollux (Gemini)  Castor and Pollux, known by some Greek myth fans as the forgotten twins, were twin half-brothers. Castor, the mortal offspring of Spartan King Tyndareus, and Pollux, the immortal son of Zeus, shared their mother Leda and together were named as the Dioscuri. Pollux was given a job amongst the gods under Artemis' domain of the stars, where worthy souls were now escorted by the god-spawn to become a constellation, which relieved Artemis of an excess duty. Meanwhile, Castor ventured with Jason and his Argonauts, slaying Calydonian Boars and sharpening his hunting skills for when his brother occasionally joined adventures or challenges. However, while Pollux was content with his job and continually helped with the growing number of dying mortal souls, Castor could not escape the grips of mortality. He grew old over time and his soul weakened beyond repair as the fates called him home. His brother, no longer distracted with his work, felt his twin soul pulling

 "The Sun, sister of the moon, Shone from the south With her hand Over the rim of Valhalla, Unknowing of where her home should be, While the moon did not yet know what power she had" - Voluspa, Stanza 5 Like in many mythologies, the sun (Sol) is seen as feminine and the moon (Mani) as a masculine force. The above is a stanza from a poetic book named the Völuspá which contains information about the sun and moon's relationship at the beginning and end of time. The moon is mentioned first in the book, and one word used to describe it is 'Mundil'. This may be related to 'mund', a time period, which could be explained by the simple fact that for the Norse, the day began at night, and the year in winter, therefore the Moon takes priority. In the same poem, the sun is said to be swallowed by the wolf Fenrir, which may reference the frequent eclipses and lack of sunrises where such Norse myths arose during winter. Such personifications also rode individual horses.

Orion's Constellation  Orion was a well-trained, respected hunter when he met Artemis. He had been hunting in the woods when he had shot one of her protected deer, and she had apparated to deal with the perpetrator.  She saw the man, geared up and successful in his hunt, and gave him many tasks to prove his prowess in hunting and avoid punishment by the goddess. Orion was successful, and soon had impressed the hunting goddess enough to join her on her stalks in the woods. However, with all her time spent at Orion's side in the woods, the virgin goddess had neglected to spend time with her brother Apollo, the sun god. He had become jealous and sought revenge on Orion for stealing Artemis away from him. Apollo approached Artemis when she had been sat by a stream while her friend had been sleeping on the watery shore of a nearby river. He lured her away to the top of a faraway mountain and challenged her to a shooting contest. Of course, Artemis knew she would win as her bow was m