Lyra - Revision history

Sushoff at 18:26, 26 February 2026

2026-02-26T18:26:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:26, 26 February 2026
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	----		----
	[[File:Lyra IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Lyra star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]		[[File:Lyra IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Lyra star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]
	~~One~~ of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]].		Lyra, The Lyre, one of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]].
	[[File:KugelGlobe Sge.JPG\|thumb\|Cyg, Lyr, Del, Aql and Sge on the Kugel Globe (1st century BCE), SMH 2024.]]		[[File:KugelGlobe Sge.JPG\|thumb\|Cyg, Lyr, Del, Aql and Sge on the Kugel Globe (1st century BCE), SMH 2024.]]

	==Etymology and History==		==Etymology and History==
	The Greek ~~constellation~~ ...		'''Note:'''<ref name=":0">Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref> In some languages, the translation may be ambiguous but it is by no means a barrel organ. The lyre is a musical instrument used in Greek folk music, surrounded by an opulent mythology. According to legend, Hermes invented the instrument when he strung a turtle shell with strings. In original Greek depictions, the sound box of the heavenly lyre therefore has the shape of a turtle – e.g. on the globe of the Farnese Atlas.

			===Origin of Constellation===
			The myths surrounding the lyre contain numerous topoi from Greek culture:<ref name=":0" /> Hermes is the son of one of the [[Pleiades\|Pleiade]]<nowiki/>s, the seven daughters of Atlas. That is why his lyre has seven strings. Orpheus is the son of one of the nine Muses, which is why his lyre has nine strings. This alludes to a piece of music history, as the number of strings developed from three to as many as 18.

	===~~Origin of Constellation~~===		Orpheus' journey with his lyre into the underworld is topical for the characteristic of music to overcome the limits of mortality and attain immortality.

			The name of the brightest star, [[Vega]], is of Arabic origin. It comes from ''an-naṣr al-waqi,'' the Arabic expression for a ‘diving eagle’ on the hunt. This is a constellation that is probably of Arabic origin and differs from the Greek eagle. Knowledge of this origin of the star's name has been passed down to this day, which is why modern star charts sometimes depict an eagle holding a lyre in its beak. This representation has a heraldic effect. Joh. E. Bode also depicts the constellation in this way in his trilingual ''Uranographia'' (1801), but then writes in German ‘der Geyer mit der Leyer’ (the eagle with the lyre) or in Latin: Vulture et Lyra. It is quite possible that he renamed the constellation because of the amusing rhyme.

			However, depictions of the Greek instrument vary greatly: sometimes the foot is at the top, sometimes at the bottom. In the drawings from Bode's two star charts – the ''Anleitung zur Kenntniß des gestirnten Himmels'' (Guide to the Knowledge of the Starry Sky) from 1782 and the ''Uranographia'' from 1801 – we find both variants even from the same author.

			==== Babylonian ====
			The constellation has no precursors in Babylon.<ref name=":0" /> In Mesopotamia, the constellation of the Sumerian deity [[Gula]] was located at this point in the sky. She is one of the most important goddesses because, among other things, she is responsible for medicine. Since the 3rd millennium, depictions of Gula have been handed down in the form of reliefs and statues: she is often seated on a throne (or symbolically on a temple building). She is usually accompanied by her attribute animal, the dog, which occupies parts of the neighbouring constellation Hercules.

			The star Vega is called ‘goat star’ in Babylonian and is of great importance in the cult of medicine. Recipes for medicines often state that a mixture should be irradiated by the goat star before being administered to the patient, i.e. it should be placed outside at night.

	==== Greco-Roman ====		==== Greco-Roman ====
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	</gallery>		</gallery>

	==Mythology==		==Mythology<ref name=":0" />==
	<gallery>		The god Hermes tended Apollo's cattle – a rather idle occupation, during which a quick-witted fellow like him could easily come up with brilliant ideas. He strung seven strings across a turtle shell and coaxed sounds from it. Since he then stole Apollo's cattle, he gave Apollo the lyre as compensation. Apollo composed a song with it and then passed the lyre on to Orpheus. Orpheus added two strings and became a famous singer. He was reputed to be able to charm animals and even stones with his singing.

			However, Orpheus' story is tragic: after his wife died, he descended into the underworld to bring her back. There are two versions of the story: In Plato's version, he fails because the gods only show him a shadow image of his wife; in Diodorus' version, he succeeds. Roman versions describe a near success, i.e. a meeting with his wife, but failure to bring her back at the last minute.

			In any case, after his visit to the underworld, Orpheus is no longer the same, changes his way of life and worships other gods. After his death, the Muses ask Zeus to place his lyre in the sky. It stands there in memory of the Muses themselves and their offspring Orpheus. According to Eratosthenes, it is also a symbol of the singer's tragic death. For today's viewer, it is a symbol of the immortality of music and of excellent musicians, whose works live on after their death and are interpreted in new ways.<gallery>
	File:Ainter of Agora 393 - ARV extra - standing boy with lyra and hare - Athens Agora Museum - 02.jpg\|Ainter of Agora 393 - ARV extra - standing boy with lyra and hare - Athens Agora Museum		File:Ainter of Agora 393 - ARV extra - standing boy with lyra and hare - Athens Agora Museum - 02.jpg\|Ainter of Agora 393 - ARV extra - standing boy with lyra and hare - Athens Agora Museum
	File:Achilles Painter ARV 990 41 youth with lyra and boy - bearded man with staff (02).jpg\|Achilles Painter ARV 990 41 youth with lyra		File:Achilles Painter ARV 990 41 youth with lyra and boy - bearded man with staff (02).jpg\|Achilles Painter ARV 990 41 youth with lyra

Sushoff at 07:15, 24 February 2026

2026-02-24T07:15:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:15, 24 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the one north of the bright one (eps)
	\|		\|the eastern one of the three on the jetty
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Aqr 4
	\|		\|Aqr 12
	\|		\|Ari 12 1/2
	\|		\|Tau 3
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the front one of the two bright on the jetty (beta)
	\|		\|the one north of the bright one (eps)
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|2 2/3 hours = ~~160~~ min = ~~40°~~		\| colspan="4" \|2/3 hours = 40 min = 10°
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Hipparchus */

2026-02-23T14:59:58Z

Hipparchus

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:59, 23 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Sco 8 1/2
	\|		\|Sco 18
	\|		\|Leo 12 1/2
	\|		\|Leo 26
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|~~2 1~~/8 hours = ~~127.5~~ min = ~~31 7/8~~ degree		\| colspan="4" \|4/5 hours = 48 min = 12 degree
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Hipparchus */

2026-02-22T17:49:12Z

Hipparchus

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:49, 22 February 2026
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	===== Hipparchus =====		===== Hipparchus =====

			====== Rising (Lib II Cap V §10) ======
			<blockquote>The Rising of ...</blockquote>
			{\| class="wikitable"
			\|+
			!
			! colspan="2" \|east
			! colspan="2" \|south
			\|-
			!
			!lam1
			!lam2
			!lam1
			!lam2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|star
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|duration
			\| colspan="4" \|2 1/8 hours = 127.5 min = 31 7/8 degree
			\|}

			====== Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10) ======
			{\| class="wikitable"
			!
			! colspan="2" \|west
			! colspan="2" \|south
			\|-
			!
			!lam1
			!lam2
			!lam1
			!lam2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|star
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|duration
			\| colspan="4" \|2 2/3 hours = 160 min = 40°
			\|}

			====== Stars Mentioned ======
			{\| class="wikitable"
			\|+
			!
			!Greek
			!German
			!English
			!ident.
			!src
			!
			!lam_culm
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap V §10
			\|rising, east, first
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap V §10
			\|rising, east, last
			\|
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap VI §2
			\|setting CrB, south, last
			\|Psc 13.5
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib II Cap VI §13
			\|setting Aql, south, first
			\|Ari 2
			\|-
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|Lib III Cap I §9
			\|rising Ori, south, last
			\|Psc 13
			\|}

	===== Hyginus, Astronomica =====		===== Hyginus, Astronomica =====

YoulaAzkarrula: /* Almagest Δύρα. */

2026-02-06T10:52:28Z

Almagest Δύρα.

Show changes

Sushoff at 13:27, 20 January 2026

2026-01-20T13:27:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:27, 20 January 2026
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			Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
			----
	[[File:Lyra IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Lyra star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]		[[File:Lyra IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Lyra star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]
	One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]].		One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]].

Sushoff: /* Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation */

2025-06-08T07:43:36Z

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:43, 8 June 2025
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	File:Lyr Fortin1795.jpg\|Lyra in Fortin's Atlas Céleste, 3rd edition (1795).		File:Lyr Fortin1795.jpg\|Lyra in Fortin's Atlas Céleste, 3rd edition (1795).
	File:8 Uranographia.jpg\|Lyra in Bode (1801)		File:8 Uranographia.jpg\|Lyra in Bode (1801)
			File:Young1807 Lyra.JPG\|Lyra in Young (1807): A Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts.
	File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser.jpg\|Lyra in Hall (1825)		File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser.jpg\|Lyra in Hall (1825)
	</gallery>		</gallery>

Dorvic: /* Ovid, Fasti */

2025-05-03T04:24:18Z

Ovid, Fasti

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	[1, 653] When the seventh sun, reckoned from that day, shall have set in the sea, the Lyre will shine no longer anywhere in the sky.		[1, 653] When the seventh sun, reckoned from that day, shall have set in the sea, the Lyre will shine no longer anywhere in the sky.

	[1, 655] After the setting of that constellation (the Lyre), the fire that glitters in the middle of the Lion’s breast will be sunk below the horizon at nightfall.		[1, 655] After the setting of that constellation (the Lyre), the fire that glitters in the middle of the Lion’s breast will be sunk below the horizon at nightfall. (James George Frazer 1931)</blockquote>

	~~Ovid. Fasti. Translated by Frazer,~~ James George~~. Loeb Classical Library Volume. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd.~~ 1931.</blockquote>

	===== Hipparchus =====		===== Hipparchus =====

Dorvic at 15:09, 2 May 2025

2025-05-02T15:09:58Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:09, 2 May 2025
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	===== Hipparchus =====		===== Hipparchus =====

			===== Hyginus, Astronomica =====
			<blockquote>The Lyre was put among the constellations for the following reason, as Eratosthenes says. Made at first by Mercury from a tortoise shell, it was given to Orpheus, son of Calliope and Oiagrus, who was passionately devoted to music. It is thought that by his skill he could charm even wild beasts to listen. When, grieving for his wife Eurydice, he descended to the Lower World, he praised the children of the gods in his song, all except Father Liber; him he overlooked and forgot, as Oineus did Diana in sacrifice. Afterwards, then, when Orpheus was taking delight in song, seated, as many say, on Mt. Olympus, which separates Macedonia from Thrace, or on Pangaion, as Eratosthenes says, Liber is said to have roused the Bacchanals against him. They slew him and dismembered his body. But others say that this happened because he had looked on the rites of Liber. The Muses gathered the scattered limbs and gave them burial, and as the greatest favour they could confer, they put as a memorial his lyre, pictured with stars, among the constellations. Apollo and Jove consented, for Orpheus had praised Apollo highly, and Jupiter granted this favour to his daughter.

			Others say that when Mercury first made the lyre on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, he made it with seven strings to correspond to the number of Atlantides, since Maia, his mother, was of their company. Later, when he had driven away the cattle of Apollo and had been caught in the act, to win pardon more easily, at Apollo's request he gave him permission to claim the invention of the lyre, and received from him a certain staff as reward. When Mercury, holding it in his hand, was journeying to Arcadia and saw two snakes with bodies intertwined, apparently fighting, he put down the staff between them. They separated then, and so he said that the staff had been appointed to bring peace. Some, in making caducei, put two snakes intertwined on the rod, because this seemed to Mercury a bringer of peace. Following his example, they use the staff in athletic contests and other contests of this kind.

			But to return to the subject at hand. Apollo took the lyre, and is said to have taught Orpheus on it, and after he himself had invented the cithara, he gave the lyre to Orpheus.

			Some also have said that Venus and Proserpina came to Jove for his decision, asking him to which of them he would grant Adonis. Calliope, the judge appointed by Jove, decided that each should posses him half of the year. But Venus, angry because she had not been granted what she thought was her right, stirred the women in Thrace by love, each to seek Orpheus for herself, so that they tore him limb from limb. His head, carried down from the mountain into the sea, was cast by the waves upon the island of Lesbos. It was taken up and buried by the people of Lesbos, and in return for this kindness, they have the reputation of being exceedingly skilled in the art of music. The lyre, as we have said, was put by the Muses among the stars.

			Some say that because Orpheus first favored love for youths, he seemed to insult women, and for this reason they killed him. (Mary Ward 1960)</blockquote>

	===== Geminos =====		===== Geminos =====

Dorvic: /* Aratos */

2025-05-02T06:20:35Z

Aratos

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:20, 2 May 2025
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	==== Greco-Roman ====		==== Greco-Roman ====

	===== ~~Aratos~~ =====		===== Aratus =====
			<blockquote>The Tortoise too is small; when Hermes was actually still in his cradle, he hollowed out the shell and bade it be called a Lyre. [270] He set it down in front of the unknown figure, when he had brought it to the sky. The figure, as he crouches, comes near it with his left knee, while the Bird’s head at one extremity circles opposite it: the Lyre is set fast between the Bird’s head and the knee. (Kidd 1997)</blockquote>

	===== Eratosthenes =====		===== Eratosthenes =====

	===== Ovid, Fasti 1 =====		===== Ovid, Fasti =====
	[315] Should the Nones be at hand, showers discharged from sable clouds will be your sign, at the rising of the Lyre.		<blockquote>[1, 315] Should the Nones be at hand, showers discharged from sable clouds will be your sign, at the rising of the Lyre.

	[653] When the seventh sun, reckoned from that day, shall have set in the sea, the Lyre will shine no longer anywhere in the sky.		[1, 653] When the seventh sun, reckoned from that day, shall have set in the sea, the Lyre will shine no longer anywhere in the sky.

	[655] After the setting of that constellation (the Lyre), the fire that glitters in the middle of the Lion’s breast will be sunk below the horizon at nightfall.		[1, 655] After the setting of that constellation (the Lyre), the fire that glitters in the middle of the Lion’s breast will be sunk below the horizon at nightfall.

	Ovid. Fasti. Translated by Frazer, James George. Loeb Classical Library Volume. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1931.		Ovid. Fasti. Translated by Frazer, James George. Loeb Classical Library Volume. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1931.</blockquote>

	===== Hipparchus =====		===== Hipparchus =====

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:43, 8 June 2025
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	File:Lyr Fortin1795.jpg\|Lyra in Fortin's Atlas Céleste, 3rd edition (1795).		File:Lyr Fortin1795.jpg\|Lyra in Fortin's Atlas Céleste, 3rd edition (1795).
	File:8 Uranographia.jpg\|Lyra in Bode (1801)		File:8 Uranographia.jpg\|Lyra in Bode (1801)
			File:Young1807 Lyra.JPG\|Lyra in Young (1807): A Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts.
	File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser.jpg\|Lyra in Hall (1825)		File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser.jpg\|Lyra in Hall (1825)
	</gallery>		</gallery>