A look at the constellation of Orion: its history, shape and position in the night sky
Last month was most definitely the month of Orion; as the last bit of evening twilight fades away, we see him standing triumphantly high in the southern sky. There are numerous legends surrounding Orion. And there is more than one story of how he met his death. Orion liked to boast that no animal could ever escape him. This miffed the goddess Juno, so one day while Orion was pursuing a hare, she had a scorpion sting Orion on his heel, killing him.
Other legends about Orion include the Chaldeans who know him as Tammuz, named after the month in which Orion's familiar belt stars first rose before the sunrise. The Syrians referred to Orion as Al Jabbar,"The Giant." To the ancient Egyptians he was Sahu, the soul of Osiris.In yet another story, Diana, goddess of the moon, fell in love with Orion and neglected her task of lighting the night sky, often preferring to follow him and leaving the night sky in darkness.
Later, when Orion's body washed up on the shore, she saw what she had done. Inconsolable, she placed his body in her chariot and drove to where the night was darkest and placed him into the sky — and suddenly the heavens were bright with stars. Diana also placed Orion's hunting dogs to closely follow him and marked each with a brilliant star. Her grief also explains why the face of the moon, although so bright, appears so sad and cold.