Hyades
Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, IanRidpath
The Hyades (Ὑας, Ὑαδες) are a significant pattern of stars in the sky that has been recognized as an asterism or constellation by almost all cultures. They form part of the modern constellation of Taurus.
Etymology and History
Name Variants:
- Suculae (Latin)
- Rainy Ones (hyô, hyetos)
- Regengestirn (German)
- ‘jaws of Taurus’ (is-lê)
- AGA A-nim, the Crown of the sky god Anu
- Rohiṅī śakaṭa - the cart of Rohiṅī (Sanskrit)
Origin of Constellation
The V-shaped Hyades appear more scattered in the sky; in Mesopotamia they were regarded as AGA A-nim, the Crown of the sky god Anu, or the ‘Jaw of The Bull’ (is-lê) and are interpreted in Greek as its face. The bright star Aldebaran, which physically does not belong to the star cluster but is (coincidentally) seen standing in the foreground in the same direction in the sky, had no proper name - neither in Mesopotamia nor in mathematical Greek astronomy. Only in his astrological work Tetrabiblos does Ptolemy give a name for the star: the torch. The modern name, Aldebaran, is Arabic and alludes to its position in the sky. The Pleiades rise first, followed by Aldebaran and the Hyades. Ad-Dabaran means ‘the following one’.
Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation
The star cluster seems to be also part of Late Babylonian constellation of The Chariot, GIGIR.[1] In Indian astral science, the star cluster is referred to as Rohiṅī śakaṭa - the cart of Rohiṅī. It is unknown whether these two carts, the Babylonian and the Indian, share the same root.
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Akkadian "Jaw of the Bull" -
Babylonian GIGIR, The Chariot, star cluster
Mythology
In Greek mythology, both the names of the sisters and their parents vary.[2]
| parents | sisters |
|---|---|
|
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Weblinks
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hoffmann, S.M. (2025). Image Analysis of VAT 7851, Archiv für Orientforschung (AfO) 56, 45-53
- ↑ Hyades in THEOI online
