Corona Borealis
“Come and let me love you, let me gaze upon your face,
Stranded on this lonely isle makes folly of such grace.
Abandoned here by Theseus, while high on Minotaur –
He used you for his own ascent, but I shall raise you more.
So you shall wear my coronet, to sparkle in their eyes.
For Naxos is no place for you, but up there in the skies !”
Thus promised Dionysus unto Ariadne fair
As she took his hand in marriage and his crown upon her hair.
After all these years marooned, this prison with no bars,
A wine-god comes to save her and to place her in the Stars.
So she shall shine immortal, in her patch of nightly ground –
Whereas for Theseus the cad, he’s nowhere to be found…
Alas, first came Orion with his hounds and bovine foe,
Then Perseus and Hercules with entourage in tow,
And Booties and the Argo with their own supporting acts
Left precious little room up there for third-rate myths and hacks.
So only Ari’s crown could then be squeezed between those hunks.
The moral: never trust upon the promises of drunks.
Orion’s myth includes Canis Major, Canis Minor, Taurus, Lepus, & Scorpius.
Perseus includes Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Cetus, & Pegasus.
Hercules includes Leo, Hydra, Cancer, & Draco.
Booties includes Ursa Major & Ursa Minor
And the Argo includes Gemini, Lyra, Aries, & Hercules (again).
So that’s 24 of the 48 constellations identified by Ptomely. Five myths, half the sky…
