Sagittarius - Revision history

Sushoff: /* Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10) */

2026-02-27T18:31:37Z

Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10)

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:31, 27 February 2026
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	\|}		\|}

	====== Setting (Lib II Cap ~~VI §10~~) ======		====== Setting (Lib III Cap IV §6) ======
	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"
	!		!
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Sco 3
	\|		\|Sgr 26 1/2
	\|		\|Cap 20
	\|		\|Psc 4 1/2
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|the bright one in the front foot
	\|		\|the northern one of those in the upper garment
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|~~2 2/~~3 hours = ~~160~~ min = ~~40°~~		\| colspan="4" \|3 hours = 180 min = 45°
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Rising (Lib II Cap V §10) */

2026-02-27T17:50:42Z

Rising (Lib II Cap V §10)

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:50, 27 February 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
	\|		\|Sgr 5 1/2
	\|		\|Cap 18
	\|		\|Vir 19 1/2
	\|		\|Sco 8 1/2
	\|-		\|-
	\|		\|
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	\|-		\|-
	\|star		\|star
	\|		\|at the tip of the arrow
	\|		\|the bright one in the hind feet
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|duration		\|duration
	\| colspan="4" \|~~2 1/8~~ hours = ~~127.5~~ min = ~~31 7/8~~ degree		\| colspan="4" \|3 hours = 180 min = 45 degree
	\|}		\|}

Sushoff: /* Mythology */

2026-02-26T19:07:01Z

Mythology

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:07, 26 February 2026
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	[[File:Kugel cen-lup-ara+sgr-sco.JPG\|thumb\|earliest known Greek depiction: Kugel Globe (1st c. BCE): two centaurs in Cen and Sgr with Lup+Ara in between (drawing by SMH 2024).]]		[[File:Kugel cen-lup-ara+sgr-sco.JPG\|thumb\|earliest known Greek depiction: Kugel Globe (1st c. BCE): two centaurs in Cen and Sgr with Lup+Ara in between (drawing by SMH 2024).]]

	===Origin of Constellation===		===Origin of Constellation<ref name=":0">Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref>===
	This figure came to Greek culture from Mesopotamia as a zodiac sign. Since MUL.APIN, it has been called Pabilsang ([[PA.BIL.SAG]]). This is a deity depicted as a hybrid creature: a male upper body sits on a horse's body, which has a scorpion's tail and wings. Pabilsang is equated with Ninurta, a god of agriculture and war. This explains why he holds a bow and arrow – either for hunting or for defence.		This figure came to Greek culture from Mesopotamia as a zodiac sign. Since MUL.APIN, it has been called Pabilsang ([[PA.BIL.SAG]]). This is a deity depicted as a hybrid creature: a male upper body sits on a horse's body, which has a scorpion's tail and wings. Pabilsang is equated with Ninurta, a god of agriculture and war. This explains why he holds a bow and arrow – either for hunting or for defence.

Line 1,447:		Line 1,447:

	==Mythology==		==Mythology==
	Eratosthenes tells us that the satyr Krotos watched the Muses playing and then clapped his hands in rapturous delight. Others followed suit, and thus applause after a musical performance was invented. For this non-verbal sign of appreciation, he was transported to heaven.		Eratosthenes<ref name=":0" /> tells us that the satyr Krotos watched the Muses playing and then clapped his hands in rapturous delight. Others followed suit, and thus applause after a musical performance was invented. For this non-verbal sign of appreciation, he was transported to heaven.

	This is a beautiful star legend, but it does not explain why this hybrid creature is holding a bow and arrow. The story demonstrates once again the Greeks' perplexity with images from a foreign (Babylonian) culture.		This is a beautiful star legend, but it does not explain why this hybrid creature is holding a bow and arrow. The story demonstrates once again the Greeks' perplexity with images from a foreign (Babylonian) culture.

Sushoff: /* Mythology */

2026-02-26T19:05:25Z

Mythology

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:05, 26 February 2026
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	----		----
	[[File:Sagittarius IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Sgr star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]		[[File:Sagittarius IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Sgr star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]
	One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. Originally, it depicted the Mesopotamian god Pabilsaĝ, a god of agriculture and war, later equated with Ninurta and depicted as a mixed creature of a human body attaced to horse body with wings and an additional scorpion tail. This complex image was simplified in Greek reception, and there drawn as a centaur.		One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. Originally, it depicted the Mesopotamian god Pabilsaĝ ([[PA.BIL.SAG]]), a god of agriculture and war, later equated with Ninurta and depicted as a mixed creature of a human body attaced to horse body with wings and an additional scorpion tail. This complex image was simplified in Greek reception, and there drawn as a centaur.

	==Etymology and History==		==Etymology and History==
	[[File:Pabilsag, ancêtre mésopotamien du Sagittaire,.jpg\|thumb\|profile of the figure of Pabilsag from a 12th century BC kudurru. è.c. (Roland Laffitte 2023)]]		[[File:Pabilsag, ancêtre mésopotamien du Sagittaire,.jpg\|thumb\|profile of the figure of Pabilsag from a 12th century BC kudurru. è.c. (Roland Laffitte 2023)]]
	~~The~~ Greek ~~constellation .~~..		[[File:Kugel cen-lup-ara+sgr-sco.JPG\|thumb\|earliest known Greek depiction: Kugel Globe (1st c. BCE): two centaurs in Cen and Sgr with Lup+Ara in between (drawing by SMH 2024).]]

			===Origin of Constellation===
			This figure came to Greek culture from Mesopotamia as a zodiac sign. Since MUL.APIN, it has been called Pabilsang ([[PA.BIL.SAG]]). This is a deity depicted as a hybrid creature: a male upper body sits on a horse's body, which has a scorpion's tail and wings. Pabilsang is equated with Ninurta, a god of agriculture and war. This explains why he holds a bow and arrow – either for hunting or for defence.

	~~[[File:Kugel cen-lup-ara+sgr-sco~~.~~JPG\|thumb\|earliest known~~ Greek ~~depiction: Kugel Globe~~ (~~1st c~~. ~~BCE)~~: two centaurs ~~in Cen~~ and ~~Sgr~~ with ~~Lup+Ara in between~~ (~~drawing by SMH 2024~~).]]		Such a hybrid creature was unknown to the Greeks. The most similar creature in Greek culture and mythology is a centaur, which at least combines horse and human (although it does not have a scorpion's tail and wings). However, Eratosthenes questions whether this is a centaur: He has illustrations in which the archer has only two legs – horse legs. For this reason, and because centaurs cannot use bows and arrows, Eratosthenes prefers the opinion that this is the satyr Krotos, the son of the nurse of the Muses. He is considered a cultural founder, having invented the bow and arrow and used it to hunt animals.

			Eratosthenes' belief that Sagittarius has a ship with him also points to a Babylonian influence and an accidental equation of the two-legged and four-legged figures. The Babylonian constellation Ship ([[MA2.GUR8\|MA<sub>2</sub>.GUR<sub>8</sub>]]) refers to a river boat and must have been located near Sagittarius. Based on depictions of Babylonian river boats, the constellation [[Corona Australis]] is usually equated with the Babylonian ship. However, centaurs do not travel on ships, which is why, according to Eratosthenes, the ship is another argument against the centaur.

			Eratosthenes' claim that Sagittarius is bipedal may seem surprising at first, as today he is depicted as a four-legged centaur in all common star charts.

			The Almagest mentions three feet, a horse's body and a human torso, from which we can conclude that Ptolemy also thought of Sagittarius as a centaur. So how did Eratosthenes come to the conclusion that it could be a man with horse's legs?

	~~===Origin~~ of ~~Constellation===~~		On the zodiac of Dendera, a depiction in an Egyptian temple that was restored in the Ptolemaic period in the 1st century (i.e. only about 100 to 150 years after Eratosthenes), there are two Sagittarians: one with two legs and one with four legs. The four-legged one is in the part of the sky where the constellation Sagittarius is located. The two-legged archer stands next to the star [[Sirius]]. This is significant in that [[Sirius]] and the stars around it formed the two Babylonian constellations ‘Arrow’ ([[KAK.SI.SA2\|KAK.SI.SA]]) and ‘Bow’ ([[PAN]]). The strong Babylonian influences are not surprising here, as there is evidence of a significant transfer of Babylonian mathematical astronomy to Greek astronomy in Egypt, especially in the 2nd century BCE.

	==== Babylonian ====		==== Babylonian ====
			see

			* [[PA.BIL.SAG]]

	==== Greco-Roman ====		==== Greco-Roman ====
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	==Mythology==		==Mythology==
			Eratosthenes tells us that the satyr Krotos watched the Muses playing and then clapped his hands in rapturous delight. Others followed suit, and thus applause after a musical performance was invented. For this non-verbal sign of appreciation, he was transported to heaven.

			This is a beautiful star legend, but it does not explain why this hybrid creature is holding a bow and arrow. The story demonstrates once again the Greeks' perplexity with images from a foreign (Babylonian) culture.

	==Weblinks==		==Weblinks==

Sushoff: /* Hipparchus */

2026-02-22T17:58:36Z

Hipparchus

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:58, 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 Τοξότης. */

2026-02-06T10:17:37Z

Almagest Τοξότης.

Show changes

Sushoff at 13:34, 20 January 2026

2026-01-20T13:34:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:34, 20 January 2026
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			Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
			----
	[[File:Sagittarius IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Sgr star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]		[[File:Sagittarius IAU.svg\|alt=star chart\|thumb\|Sgr star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).]]
	One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. Originally, it depicted the Mesopotamian god Pabilsaĝ, a god of agriculture and war, later equated with Ninurta and depicted as a mixed creature of a human body attaced to horse body with wings and an additional scorpion tail. This complex image was simplified in Greek reception, and there drawn as a centaur.		One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. Originally, it depicted the Mesopotamian god Pabilsaĝ, a god of agriculture and war, later equated with Ninurta and depicted as a mixed creature of a human body attaced to horse body with wings and an additional scorpion tail. This complex image was simplified in Greek reception, and there drawn as a centaur.

Sushoff at 13:26, 5 September 2025

2025-09-05T13:26:37Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:26, 5 September 2025
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	[[Category:Modern]]		[[Category:Modern]]
	[[Category:88 IAU-Constellations]]		[[Category:88 IAU-Constellations]]
	[[Category:European]]		[[Category:European]][[Category:Zodiac]]
	[[Category:4work]]		[[Category:4work]]

Dorvic at 03:56, 3 May 2025

2025-05-03T03:56:38Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:56, 3 May 2025
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	===== Hipparchus =====		===== Hipparchus =====

			===== Hyginus, Astronomica =====
			<blockquote>Many have called this sign the Centaurus; others deny the name, for the reason that no Centaurus makes use of arrows. The question is raised, too why he is formed with horse flanks but a Satyr's tail.

			Some say that he is Crotus, son of Eupheme, nurse of the Muses. As Sositheus, writer of tragedies, says, he had his home on Mount Helicon and took his pleasure in the company of the Muses, sometimes even following the pursuit of hunting. He attained great fame for his diligence, for he was very swift in the woods, and clever in the arts. As a reward for his zeal the Muses asked Jove to represent him in some star group, and Jove did so. Since he wished to display all his skills in one body, he gave him horse flanks because he rode a great deal. He added arrows, since these would show both his keenness and his swiftness, and he gave him a Satyr's tail because the Muses took no less pleasure in Crotus than Liber did in the Satyrs. Before his feet are a few stars arranged in a circle, which some said were a wreath, thrown off as by one at play. (Mary Ward 1960)</blockquote>

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

Dorvic: /* Aratos */

2025-05-02T06:25:03Z

Aratos

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:25, 2 May 2025
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	==== Greco-Roman ====		==== Greco-Roman ====

	===== ~~Aratos~~ =====		===== Aratus =====
			<blockquote>[300] After much suffering at sea even in the previous month, when the sun inflames the bow and the Drawer of the bow, you should put ashore in the evening and not continue to trust the night. A sign of that season and that month will be the rising of the Scorpion at the end of night. [305] The Archer actually draws his great bow near the sting; the rising Scorpion stands a little ahead of him, and he then rises shortly after. At that time the head of Cynosura runs very high up at the end of night, and just before dawn Orion sets entirely, and Cepheus from hand to waist. (Kidd 1997)</blockquote>

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