Orion

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula, Doris Vickers

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Orion star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).

One of the 88 IAU constellations. Seven stars in Orion are extremely bright and form a very memorable figure. The three bright stars, which are arranged in a line, are particularly striking in the sky. In ancient times, people saw a male figure here. The imposing man has extremely broad shoulders and a magnificently decorated belt – but his head is not so bright. It consists of a group of faint stars (around 4 mag), which Ptolemy describes in the Almagest as a nebulous star. Below Orion's belt lies a chain of faint stars that can be seen out of the corner of the eye as a silvery glow. For the Arabs, this was a string of pearls that men dangled from their belts as a status symbol: this is still evident in the name of the middle star in the belt, ‘Alnilam’, meaning string of pearls. The Greeks saw this as a metallic (very short) hunting knife, as recorded in the Almagest, for example. Later Arabic depictions, copies of the book by as-Sufi, show a long curved sabre that reaches to the middle of the right leg. This explains the name of this star: Saïph is the Arabic word for sword (i.e. a long knife). Nowadays, a kind of Roman warrior is often drawn here, wielding a sword instead of a club, with a metal-decorated sword hanger dangling from his belt.

Orion-Group of constellations on the Kugel Globe, drawing and animated GIF by SMH 2025.

Etymology and History

In ancient times, Orion was depicted in a crouching position (see image on the Farnese Atlas globe). He is a hunter lurking in the bushes, depicted at the moment when he is raising his club to attack. While his right arm is stretched upwards with the club, he holds an animal skin with his left arm to protect himself from counterattack – very common among hunters at that time. Looking at the proximity of the defensive animal skin to the head of the constellation Taurus, it looks as if Orion is fighting the bull.

It has sometimes been suggested that the group of Orion and Taurus belonged together in the original Sumerian form, because the celestial bull was killed by Gilgamesh. According to this, Orion would originally have been Gilgamesh. Parts of the Gilgamesh epic are documented as far back as the 3rd millennium, and in the 2nd millennium the myth took on its canonical form. The suggestion that Orion and Taurus should be identified with the battle of Gilgamesh would imply that Gilgamesh's companion Enkidu should also be sought in the sky. The fact that he does not appear there could explain why there is only half a bull: It has been suggested that the battle between Gilgamesh and Enkidu with the bull was first depicted here, then Enkidu was transformed into the wage labourer and later into the ram. The figure of the shepherd was also changed in the 2nd millennium, because originally there was no constellation underneath it, so that its legs could be longer (see the constellations of the Hare and the Ram). Doubts arise about the suggestion of identifying Orion with Gilgamesh at all, because firstly, Gilgamesh's attribute animal is normally a lion, and secondly, the constellation was never called ‘Gilgamesh’, but True Shepherd of the Sky. The shepherd is associated with one of the divine messengers of the Babylonian pantheon.

While Orion crouches and raises his club, the shepherd stands calmly with his crook and tends his sheep. In Babylonian astronomy, sheep are a (originally metaphorical) term for the planets (UDU, the wild sheep). This fits with the position of Orion, whose club – or, in Babylonian terms, the head of the shepherd's crook – lies on the ecliptic. A shepherd's crook has a curve at the top so that sheep can be grabbed by the neck and pulled towards the shepherd, or rescued from inaccessible crevices.

The modern definition of the constellation boundaries places Orion's club half a degree south of the ecliptic, meaning that the Sun never appears in this constellation. However, this is still close enough to the ecliptic that the planets and the Moon sometimes appear there. So the shepherd of the heavens still occasionally catches a sheep and brings it back to the flock.

In Greek interpretation, the Babylonian shepherd of the heavens became a handsome hunter, and in Roman times the legend surrounding him was further embellished: Hyginus, Manilius and Germanicus Caesar in the 1st century praised him as one of the most beautiful constellations and also transferred this to the figure in the legend: Orion is said to have been one of the most beautiful men, with whom even goddesses fell in love – which, however, proved to be his undoing.

Aratos describes him as a hunter on Chios, an island in the Aegean Sea, while Eratosthenes and Hyginus locate his hunts in Crete. Both places still belong to Greece today.

Origin of Constellation

Greco-Roman

Aratus

[322] Aslant from the cut-off figure of the Bull lies Orion himself. Anyone whose glance misses him when he is positioned high up on a clear night may be sure he can never sight anything better to identify when he gazes up at the sky. (Kidd 1997)

Eratosthenes

Hesiod says that he was the son of Euryale, daughter of Minos, and Poseidon, and that he received the gift of walking on water as on land; he went to Chios where, after getting drunk, he raped Merope, daughter of Oinopion.

Oinopiôn learned of this and, enraged by this outrage, gouged out his eyes and banished him from his country. Orion arrived as a vagabond in Lemnos, where he came into contact with Hephaestus, who took pity on him and gave him Cedalion, his own servant, to guide him. Orion took him and put him on his shoulders so that he could show him the way. He went to the east, came into contact with Helios and, apparently, was healed. He then returned to Oinopion to take revenge on him, but the latter had been hidden underground by his compatriots. Despairing of finding him, Orion left for Crete and devoted himself to hunting, hunting in the company of Artemis and Leto and, apparently, he threatened to exterminate all the beasts that appeared on earth. Angry with him, Earth brought forth a gigantic scorpion that killed him by stinging him with its sting. This is why Zeus, considering his courage, placed him among the constellations at the request of Artemis and Leto, and also placed the scorpion there, so that the event would be remembered.

Others say that Orion, as an adult, fell in love with Artemis, and that it was she who conjured up the scorpion and sent it against him; he was stung by the scorpion and died. The gods, pitying his fate, placed him in the sky among the constellations, along with the animal, so that the event would be remembered. Orion has three bright stars on his head, one bright star on each shoulder, one dim star on his right elbow, one dim star on his hand, three stars on his belt, three dim stars on his dagger, one bright star on each knee, and one bright star on each foot. A total of seventeen.

(Eratosthenes, edited and translated by Pamias, Geus and Zucker.)

Hyginus, Astronomica

Hesiod calls him the son of Neptune by Euryale, daughter of Minos. He had the ability of running over the waves as if on land, just as it is said that Iphiclus could run over standing grain and not bruise it.

Aristomachus says that there lived a certain Hyrieus at Thebes — Pindar puts him on the island of Chios — who asked from Jove and Mercury when they visited him that he might have a child. To gain his request more readily he sacrificed an ox and put it before them for a feast. When he had done this, Jove and Mercury asked him to remove the hide from the ox; then they urinated in it, and bade him bury the hide in the ground. From this, later on, a child was born whom Hyrieus called Urion from the happening, though on account of his charm and affability he came to be called Orion.

He is said to have come from Thebes to Chios, and when his passions were excited by wine, he attacked Merope, the daughter of Oinopion. For this he was blinded by Oinopion and cast out of the island. But he came to Lemnos and Vulcan, and received from him a guide named Cedalion. Carrying him on his shoulders, he came to Sol, and when Sol healed him returned to Chios to take vengeance on Oinopion. The citizens however, guarded Oinopion underground. Despairing of finding Oinopion, Orion came to Crete, and there began to hunt with Diana. He made the boast to her we have mentioned before, and thus came to the stars. Some say that Orion lived with Oinopion in too close intimacy, and wanting to prove to him his zeal in hunting, boasted to Diana, too, what we spoke of above, and so was killed. Others, along with Callimachus, say that when he wished to offer violence to Diana, he was transfixed by her arrows and fashioned for the stars because of their similar zeal in hunting.

Istros, however, says that Diana loved Orion and came near marrying him. Apollo took this hard, and when scolding her brought no results, on seeing the head of Orion who was swimming a long way off, he wagered her that she couldn't hit with her arrows the black object in the sea. Since she wished to be called an expert in that skill, she shot an arrow and pierced the head of Orion. The waves brought his slain body to the shore, and Diana, grieving greatly that she had struck him, and mourning his death with many tears, put him among the constellations. But what Diana did after his death, we shall tell in the stories about her. (Mary Ward 1960)

Almagest Ὡρίων

id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
	Ὡρίωνος ἀστερισμός	Constellation of Orion
1	ὁ ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ τοῦ δρίωνος νεφελοειδής	Thc nebulous star in the hcad of Orion	lam Ori
2	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ ὤμου λαμπρὸς ὑπόκιρρος	The bright, reddish star on the right shoulder	alf Ori
3	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ ὥμου	The star on the left shoulder	gam Ori
4	ὁ ὑπὸ τοῦτου ἐπόμενος	The one under this to the rear	32 Ori
5	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ ἀγκῶνος	The star on the right elbow	mu Ori
6	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ πήχεως	The star on the right forearm	74 Ori
7	τοῦ ἐν τῷ δεξιῷ ἀκροχείρῳ τετραπλεύρου τῆς φοτίου : πλευρᾶς ὁ ἐπόμενος καὶ διπλοῦς	The quadrilateral in the right hand: the rear, double star on the southern side	xi Ori
8	ὁ προηγούμευος τῆς νοτίου πλευρᾶς	The quadrilateral in the right hand: the advance star on the southern side	nu Ori
9	τῆς βορείου πλευρᾶς ὁ ἐπόμενος	The quadrilateral in the right hand: the rear one on the northern side	72 Ori
10	ὁ προηγούμενος τῆς βορεύου πλευρᾶς	The quadrilateral in the right hand: the advance one on the northern side	69 Ori
11	τῶν ἐν τῷ κολλορόβῳ β ὁ προηγούμενος	The more advanced of the 2 stars in the staff	chi1 Ori
12	ὁ ἑπόμευος αὐτῶν	The rearmost of them	chii2 Ori
13	τῶν κατὰ τοῦ ψώτου δ ὡς ἐπ’ εὐθείας ὁ ἐπόμεσος	The rearmost of the 4 stars almost on a straight line just over the back	ome Ori
14	ὁ τούτου προηγούμεσος	The one in advance of this	38 Ori
15	ὁ ἔτι τούτου προηγούμενος	The one in advance again of this	33 Ori
16	ὁ λοιπὸς καὶ προηγούμενος τῶν δ	The last and most advanced of the 4	psi Ori
17	τῶν ἐν τῇ δορᾷ τῆς ἀριστερᾶς χειρὸς ὁ βόρειος	Stars in the pelt on the left arm: the northernmost	15 Ori
18	ὁ β’ ἀπὸ τοῦ βορειοτάτου	the 2nd from the northernmost	11 Ori
19	ὁ γ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ βορειοτάτου	the 3rd from the northernmost	omi2 Ori
20	ὁ δ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ βορειοτάτου	the 4th from the northernmost	pi1 Ori
21	ὁ ε ἀπὸ τοῦ βορειοτάτοη	the 5th from the northernmost	pi2 Ori
22	ὁ ς’ ἀπὸ τοῦ βορειοτάτου	the 6th from the northernmost	pi3 Ori
23	ὁ ξ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ βορειοτάτου	the 7th from the northernmost	pi4 Ori
24	ὁ ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ βορειοτάτου	the 8th from the northernmost	pi5 Ori
25	ὁ λοιπὸς καὶ νοτιώτατος τῶν ἐν τῇ δορᾷ	the last and southernmost of those in the pelt	pi6 Ori
26	τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς ζώνης ν’ ὁ προηφούμευος	The most advanced of the 3 stars on the belt	del Ori
27	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The middle onc	eps Ori
28	ὁ ἑπόμευος τῶν τριῶν	Thc rearmost of the three	zet Ori
29	ὁ πρὸς τῇ λαβῇ τῆς μαχαύρας	The star near the handle of the dagger	eta Ori
30	τῶν ἐπ’ ἄκρα τῇ μαχαίρᾳ συυημμένων γ’ ὁ βόρειος	Thc northernmost of the 3 starsjoined tagether at the tip ofthe dagger	42 + 45 Ori
31	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The middle one	tet1 + tet2 Ori
32	ὁ φότιος τῶν τριῶν	The southernmost of the three	iot Ori
33	ὁ τῶν ὑπὸ τὸ ἄκρου τῆς μαχαίρας β’ ὁ ἐπόμενος	The rearmost of thc 2 stars under the tip of the daggcr	49 Ori
34	ὁ προηγούμενος αὐτῶν	The more advanced of them	ups Ori
35	ὁ ἐν τῷ ἀριστερῷ ἀκρόποδι λαμπρὸς κοινὸς Ὕδατος	Thc bright star in the left foot, which is [applied in] common to the water [ of Eridanus]	bet Ori
36	ὁ βορειότερος αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ τὸν ἀστράγαλον ἐν τῇ κυήμῃἡ	The star to thc norih of it 76 in the lower leg, over the ankle-joint	tau Ori
37	ὁ ὑπὸ τὴν ἀριστερὰν πτέρηα» ἐκτός	The star under thc lelt hecl, outside	29 Ori
38	ὁ ὑπὸ τὸ δεξιὸν καὶ ἐπόμενου γόνυ	The star under the right, rear knee	kap Ori
	ἀστέρες λη, ὥν αἱ μεγέθους β, β’ δ, γ’ἡ, δ’ ἵε, εφ, ς ἓ, νεφελοειδής	{38 stars, 2 of the first magnitude, 4 ofthe second, 8 ofthe third, 15 of the fourth, 3 of the fifth, 5 of the sixth, [1] nebulous}

Convex Hull for the stars inside Orion (CC BY Youla Azkarrula).

Stars within the Constellation Area

id	Label	IAU design.	description	Vmag
1	Rigel	HIP 24436	Constellation lines (Vertex)	0.13
2	Betelgeuse	HIP 27989	Constellation lines	0.42
3	Bellatrix	HIP 25336	Constellation lines	1.64
4	Alnilam	HIP 26311	Constellation lines	1.69
5	Alnitak	HIP 26727	Constellation lines	1.77
6	Saiph	HIP 27366	Constellation lines (Vertex)	2.06
7	Mintaka	HIP 25930	Constellation lines	2.41
8	NGC 1980	NGC 1980	Inside the hull	2.5
9	Hatysa	HIP 26241	Inside the hull	2.77
10	Cl Collinder 69	Cl Collinder 69	Inside the hull	2.8
11	Tabit	HIP 22449	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.19
12	η Orionis	HIP 25281	Inside the hull	3.35
13	τ Orionis	HIP 24674	Constellation lines	3.59
14	Meissa	HIP 26207	Constellation lines	3.66
15	π 4 Orionis	HIP 22549	Constellation lines	3.68
16	π 5 Orionis	HIP 22797	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.73
17	σ Orionis	HIP 26549	Inside the hull	3.79
18	ο 2 Orionis	HIP 22957	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.06
19	ϕ 2 Orionis	HIP 26366	Constellation lines	4.09
20	29 Ori	HIP 25247	Inside the hull	4.12
21	32 Ori	HIP 25813	Inside the hull	4.2
22	NGC 1981	NGC 1981	Inside the hull	4.2
23	-	HIP 28614A	Inside the hull	4.3
24	π 2 Orionis	HIP 22509	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.35
25	ν Orionis	HIP 29038	Constellation lines	4.397
26	χ 1 Orionis	HIP 27913	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.4
27	ϕ 1 Orionis	HIP 26176	Constellation lines	4.41
28	π 6 Orionis	HIP 23123	Constellation lines	4.459
29	ξ Orionis	HIP 29426	Constellation lines	4.48
30	ρ Orionis	HIP 24331	Inside the hull	4.48
31	42 Ori	HIP 26237	Inside the hull	4.59
32	ω Orionis	HIP 26594	Inside the hull	4.59
33	ψ 2 Orionis	HIP 25473	Inside the hull	4.611
34	χ 2 Orionis	HIP 28716	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.63
35	υ Orionis	HIP 25923	Inside the hull	4.63
36	π 1 Orionis	HIP 22845	Constellation lines	4.648
37	11 Ori	HIP 23607	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.661
38	μ Orionis	HIP 28614	Constellation lines	4.71
39	31 Ori	HIP 25737	Inside the hull	4.71
40	-	HIP 26199	Inside the hull	4.72
41	22 Ori	HIP 25044	Inside the hull	4.74
42	56 Ori	HIP 27750	Inside the hull	4.75
43	49 Ori	HIP 26563	Inside the hull	4.8
44	15 Ori	HIP 24010	Constellation lines	4.82
45	126 Tau	HIP 26777	Inside the hull	4.836
46	134 Tau	HIP 27511	Inside the hull	4.875
47	51 Ori	HIP 26885	Inside the hull	4.9
48	69 Ori	HIP 29434	Constellation lines	4.92
49	-	HIP 26736	Inside the hull	4.95
50	ψ 1 Orionis	HIP 25302	Inside the hull	4.96
51	23 Ori	HIP 25142	Inside the hull	5
52	27 Ori	HIP 25282	Inside the hull	5.072
53	68 Eri	HIP 23941	Inside the hull	5.119
54	θ 1 Orionis C	HIP 26221	Inside the hull	5.13
55	64 Ori	HIP 28691	Inside the hull	5.13
56	-	HIP 24197	Inside the hull	5.163
57	6 Ori	HIP 22833	Inside the hull	5.184
58	45 Ori	HIP 26268	Inside the hull	5.234
59	133 Tau	HIP 27364	Inside the hull	5.29
60	-	HIP 22834	Inside the hull	5.324
61	21 Ori	HIP 24817	Inside the hull	5.325
62	38 Ori	HIP 26126	Inside the hull	5.326
63	72 Ori	HIP 29704	Constellation lines (Vertex)	5.327
64	-	HIP 25980	Inside the hull	5.34
65	VV Ori	HIP 26063	Inside the hull	5.34
66	U Ori	HIP 28041	Inside the hull	5.4
67	16 Ori	HIP 23983	Inside the hull	5.43
68	130 Tau	HIP 27338	Inside the hull	5.455
69	33 Ori	HIP 25861	Inside the hull	5.46
70	-	HIP 24450	Inside the hull	5.494
71	* lam Ori B	HR 1880	Inside the hull	5.51
72	18 Ori	HIP 24555	Inside the hull	5.515
73	116 Tau	HIP 25555	Inside the hull	5.515
74	135 Tau	HIP 27581	Inside the hull	5.52
75	122 Tau	HIP 26382	Inside the hull	5.525
76	-	HIP 26197	Inside the hull	5.53
77	137 Tau	HIP 27743	Inside the hull	5.586
78	35 Ori	HIP 26093	Inside the hull	5.593
79	-	HIP 26215	Constellation lines	5.638
80	[SC93] 64	[SC93] 64	Inside the hull	5.65
81	-	HIP 25028	Inside the hull	5.68
82	-	HIP 25223	Inside the hull	5.7
83	* i Ori A	HIP 23879	Inside the hull	5.72
84	131 Tau	HIP 27316	Inside the hull	5.721
85	-	HIP 25751	Inside the hull	5.745
86	-	HIP 26345	Inside the hull	5.75
87	117 Tau	HIP 25583	Inside the hull	5.758
88	-	HIP 27280	Inside the hull	5.768
89	-	HIP 25708	Inside the hull	5.78
90	-	HIP 25041	Inside the hull	5.8
91	-	HIP 26487	Constellation lines	5.852
92	-	HR 2014	Inside the hull	5.86
93	-	HIP 28139	Inside the hull	5.884
94	59 Ori	HIP 28271	Inside the hull	5.886
95	-	HIP 24203	Inside the hull	5.89
96	-	HIP 28302	Inside the hull	5.89
97	-	HIP 24162	Inside the hull	5.892
98	-	HIP 24294	Inside the hull	5.892
99	57 Ori	HIP 27965	Inside the hull	5.894
100	-	HIP 26108	Inside the hull	5.895
101	-	HIP 26386	Inside the hull	5.9
102	NGC 2169	NGC 2169	Inside the hull	5.9
103	-	HIP 23408	Inside the hull	5.908
104	-	HIP 27549	Inside the hull	5.91
105	-	HIP 26762	Inside the hull	5.912
106	-	HIP 27253	Inside the hull	5.93
107	-	HIP 25790	Inside the hull	5.934
108	-	HIP 27560	Inside the hull	5.936
109	* 52 Ori A	HIP 27386	Inside the hull	5.95
110	-	HIP 26535	Inside the hull	5.96
111	-	HIP 28110	Inside the hull	5.964
112	-	HIP 26926	Inside the hull	5.965
113	-	HIP 27435	Inside the hull	5.97
114	-	HR 2099	Inside the hull	5.97
115	-	HIP 26624	Inside the hull	5.974
116	-	HIP 27939	Inside the hull	5.975
117	-	HIP 27588	Inside the hull	5.976
118	-	HIP 27747	Inside the hull	5.985
119	129 Tau	HIP 27265	Inside the hull	5.994
120	-	HIP 26427	Inside the hull	6.024
121	-	HIP 23643	Inside the hull	6.031
122	-	HIP 29371	Inside the hull	6.036
123	-	HIP 28686	Inside the hull	6.075
124	-	HIP 27118	Inside the hull	6.089
125	-	HIP 24349	Inside the hull	6.09
126	-	HIP 25950	Inside the hull	6.09
127	-	HIP 26414	Inside the hull	6.095
128	110 Tau	HIP 25216	Inside the hull	6.096
129	W Ori	HIP 23680	Inside the hull	6.1
130	-	HIP 24041	Inside the hull	6.102
131	-	HIP 27900	Inside the hull	6.115
132	-	HIP 25378	Inside the hull	6.144
133	-	HR 1691	Inside the hull	6.15
134	-	HIP 25187	Inside the hull	6.15
135	-	HIP 24493	Inside the hull	6.154
136	-	HIP 25976	Inside the hull	6.16
137	-	HIP 26477	Inside the hull	6.18
138	-	HIP 25502	Inside the hull	6.182
139	CK Ori	HIP 25785	Inside the hull	6.202
140	-	HIP 28232	Inside the hull	6.202
141	-	HIP 25869	Inside the hull	6.208
142	-	HIP 26106	Inside the hull	6.22
143	-	HIP 26713	Inside the hull	6.22
144	113 Tau	HIP 25410	Inside the hull	6.23
145	-	HIP 25401	Inside the hull	6.233
146	-	HIP 24130	Inside the hull	6.236
147	-	HIP 26149	Inside the hull	6.251
148	-	HIP 28614B	Inside the hull	6.27
149	-	HIP 25288	Inside the hull	6.297
150	-	HIP 27902	Inside the hull	6.302
151	-	HIP 27212	Inside the hull	6.31
152	V1197 Ori	HIP 26953	Inside the hull	6.311
153	-	HIP 25786	Inside the hull	6.313
154	-	HIP 24377	Inside the hull	6.323
155	V1649 Ori	HIP 25205	Inside the hull	6.334
156	-	HIP 25638	Inside the hull	6.34
157	-	HIP 24847	Inside the hull	6.35
158	-	HIP 25505	Inside the hull	6.35
159	-	HR 1891	Inside the hull	6.35
160	-	HIP 25582	Inside the hull	6.38
161	-	HIP 25667	Inside the hull	6.38
162	-	HIP 26257	Inside the hull	6.38
163	θ 2 Orionis	HIP 26235	Inside the hull	6.39
164	-	HIP 25453	Inside the hull	6.399
165	-	HIP 24607	Inside the hull	6.408
166	V1377 Ori	HIP 26263	Inside the hull	6.41
167	-	HIP 22938	Inside the hull	6.42
168	-	HIP 24925	Inside the hull	6.42
169	-	HIP 25368	Inside the hull	6.42
170	-	HIP 24960	Inside the hull	6.43
171	-	HIP 26104	Inside the hull	6.45
172	-	HR 1898	Inside the hull	6.45
173	-	HIP 26020	Inside the hull	6.46
174	* sig Ori E	HR 1932	Inside the hull	6.46
175	-	HIP 27116	Inside the hull	6.46
176	-	HIP 22923	Inside the hull	6.485
177	-	HR 1847	Inside the hull	6.49
178	-	HIP 25732	Inside the hull	6.5
179	-	HIP 26234	Inside the hull	6.5

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

• 
  Orion with two dogs on the Kugel Globe (drawing by SMH 2021)
• 
  Orion on the Mainz Globe with one dog (drawing by SMH 2021)
• 
  Orion on the Farnese Globe (drawing by SMH 2017)
• 
  Orion drawn in an early as-Sufi manuscript (1170). Kitāb Ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābitah (Bodleian Library MS. Huntington 212, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford) Place of Origin: Mosul
• 
  Orion on the Mercator Globe (1551)
• 
  Orion in Hevelius (1690)
• 
  Orion in Flamsteed/Fortin (1776)
• 
  Orion in Bode (1782,1805)
• 
  Orion in Bode's Uranographia (1801)

Mythology

Greek

Eratosthenes recounts Hesiod's version as a legend about Orion: he was the son of Princess Euryale and Poseidon. As a demigod, he had been given the gift of walking both on land and on water. He was also a gifted hunter and roamed the lands (perhaps also poaching).

In Chios, he raped the princess in a drunken stupor, whereupon the king blinded him and chased him away. On his odyssey, Orion met Hephaistos, who took pity on him and gave him a slave to show him the way. From then on, Orion carried him on his shoulder, walking towards the sunrise until he met the sun god Helios and was healed.

Orion then went to Crete, where he took part in numerous hunts, which were also attended by the goddesses Artemis and Leto. The presence of Artemis, the goddess of hunting, indicates great success. The presence of Leto, the goddess of motherhood, could indicate that he became a father – so he seems to have led a successful life in Crete.

However, success seems to have gone to his head, as he then boasted that he could kill any animal that existed on earth. This angered the goddesses – depending on the legend, either Artemis or the goddess of the earth, Gaia. According to Hesiod, Gaia then sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion with its poisonous sting.

Because he did not let the setbacks get him down, Zeus placed Orion's image in the sky as a constellation. At the request of Artemis and Leto, the monster, the giant scorpion, was also placed in the sky – but on the opposite side of the sky, so that Orion and Scorpio are never above the horizon at the same time.

References

• References (general)
• References (Babylonian)
• References (ancient Greco-Roman)
• References (medieval)