Perseus

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula, Doris Vickers

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

One of the 88 IAU constellations. Perseus is a handsome hero – not an overly muscular colossus like Heracles, nor of outstanding beauty like Orion, but a strong and armed young man. Eratosthenes describes the stars in this figure on his stomach, knees, feet, hands and – because he carries Medusa's head with him – some around the Gorgon's head. In a postscript to one of the text versions, which may have been added later, it is explicitly stated that Perseus' own head is not marked by a bright star.

Etymology and History

Origin of Constellation

Eratosthenes adds that it is possible, however, to recognise Perseus' weapon, a metallic sickle, in a nebulous cluster. He holds the sickle with his hand raised near his head. By this nebulous mass, he means the double star clusters h and χ Persei in the Milky Way.

In Ptolemy's Almagest, on the other hand, the star τ Per is identified with the hero's head. This is an excellent example of how ‘Greek’ constellations were never canonical, i.e. Eratosthenes draws the figures differently from Ptolemy, and Ptolemy differently from Hipparchus.

The Babylonian constellation in this region of the sky was also a male figure, but the constellation was called ‘Old Man’ (ŠU.GI). It is associated with Enmescharra, a god of primeval times and the last primeval ancestor of the chief god Enlil. This association suggests that the constellation of a man is relatively old – perhaps older than written culture – but underwent significant changes in interpretation over the course of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE: When Enlil was made the chief god and earlier gods were abolished, the constellation ‘God Enmescharra’ was simply called ‘Old Man’. This allowed it to live on when Marduk was elevated to chief god in the 13th century BCE.

Near the Old Man is the constellation of the Plough (^mulAPIN). The chief god Enlil (^dEn-lil₂) was a god of agriculture and thus a bringer of culture. The plough was his attribute. In the 2nd millennium, the seed drill plough was invented, which allowed seeds to be sown directly into the earth as the furrow was drawn. However, the star association in the constellation Old Man (Mel 20, a cluster around α Per, Mirfak) can easily be interpreted as seeds that he scatters in the field like the sower in van Gogh's painting.

Ploughing requires enormous physical strength and can only be done by young men. The lighter work of walking behind the plough and scattering the seeds can also be done by an old man. This suggests that the Old Man may originally have been a sower who became obsolete with the invention of the seed plough. Then one of the stars in the plough was renamed the ‘seed funnel’ and the Old Man was able to stand alone. Even in Eratosthenes, α Per is the star on the figure's belly, where the sower once held his cloth with the grains.

The Old Man in MUL.APIN walks bent over, so his head is not pointing upwards like the Greek hero, but diagonally forwards, where there are indeed a few stars to imagine him.

The constellation of the Old Man became the image of a young hero named Perseus, as people imagined a pair of lovers in this region of the sky. This has always been the case, but the exact location of the lovers in the stars has changed over the course of the history of constellations: in MUL.APIN, the neighbouring constellation ‘Wage Labourer’ (where Aries is today) is associated with the god Dumuzi. Dumuzi is the lover of the goddess of love, Ishtar, who became the princess Andromeda in Greek mythology. When a Babylonian pun turned the labourer into a ram (and thus deprived it of any visual clarity), the goddess of love was left without her lover. So it made sense to reinterpret the Old Man as a young man.

The upright man (wage labourer in Ari+Tri) next to the upright goddess (northern fish ellipse in Psc plus western part of And) became a ram (Aries), a fish (Pisces) and a reclining princess (Androemda), whose lover now stands a little further to the northeast: in the figure of Perseus.

Babylonian

see

• ŠU.GI

Kugel Globe (1st c.BCE): Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Cepheus, drawing by SMH 2024.

Greco-Roman

Aratus

The two feet of Andromeda will be pointers to her suitor Perseus, as they move for ever above his shoulders. [250] He runs taller than other figures in the north. His right hand is stretched out towards his bride’s mother’s chairseat, and as if on some immediate pursuit he takes long strides as he runs in the realm of his father Zeus. (Kidd 1997)

Hipparchus

Rising (Lib II Cap V §10)

The Rising of ...

	east		south
	lam1	lam2	lam1	lam2
	Cap 25	Ari 13 1/2	Sco 15 1/2	Cap 7 1/2
star	the nebulous of those in the sword	those above the Pleiades in the left foot
duration	3 5/6 hours = 230 min = 57 1/2 degree

Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10)

	west		south
	lam1	lam2	lam1	lam2
	Tau 2	Tau 29	Leo 5 1/2	Vir 9 1/2
star	of those in the head of Gorgo the northern and front one (pi)	the one in the right knee (b)
duration	2 1/3 hours = 140 min = 35°

Stars Mentioned

	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

He is said to have come to the stars because of his nobility and the unusual nature of his conception. When sent by Polydectes, son of Magnes, to the Gorgons, he received from Mercury, who is thought to have loved him, talaria and petasus, and, in addition, a helmet which kept its wearer from being seen by an enemy. So the Greeks have called it the helmet of Haides [the Unseen One], though Perseus did not, as some ignorant people interpret it, wear the helmet of Orcus himself, for no educated person could believe that. He is said, too, to have received from Vulcan a knife made of adamant, with which he killed Medusa the Gorgon. The deed itself no one has described. But as Aeschylus, the writer of tragedies, says in his Phorcides, the Graeae were guardians of the Gorgons. We wrote about them in the first book of the Genealogiae. They are thought to have had but one eye among them, and thus to have kept guard, watch one taking it in her turn. This eye Perseus snatches, as one was passing it to another, and threw is in Lake Tritonis. So, when the guards were blinded, he easily killed the Gorgon when she was overcome with sleep. Minerva is said to have the head on her breastplate. Euhemerus says the Gorgon was killed by Minerva. We shall speak more of this later on. (Mary Ward 1960)

Almagest Περσεύς

id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
	Περσέως ἀστερισμός
1	ἡ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ ἀκροχείρου νεφελοειδὴς συστροφή	The nebulous mass on the right hand	NGC 884+869
2	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ ἀγκῶνος.	The star on the right elbow	eta Per
3	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ ὅμου	The star on the right shoulder	gam Per
4	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ ὤμου.	The star on the left shoulder	tet Per
5	ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς	The star on the head	tau Per
6	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ μεταφρέτου.	The star on the place between the shoulders	iot Per
	ὁ ἐν τῷ δεξιῷ πλευρῷ λαμπρός.	The bright star in the right side	alf Per
	τῶν μετὰ τόν ἐν τῷ πλευρῷ ν ὁ προηγούμενος.	The most advanced of the 3 stars next to the one in the side	sig Per
	ὁ μέσος τῶν τριῶν.	The middle one of the three	psi Per
	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν.	The rearmost of them	del Per
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ ἀγκῶνος.	The star on the left elbow	kap Per
	τῶν ἐν τῷ γοργουίῳ ὁ λαμπρός	Stars in the Gorgon-head: the bright one	bet Per
	ὁ τούτῳ ἑπόμενος	Stars in the Gorgon-head: the one to the rear of this	ome Per
	ὁ προηγούμενος τοῦ λαμπροῦ	Stars in the Gorgon-head: the one in advance of the bright star	rho Per
	ὁ ἔτι τούτου προηγούμενος καὶ λοιπός	Stars in the Gorgon-head: the remaining one, yet again in advance of this	pi Per
	ὁ ἐη τῷ δεξιῷ γόνατι.	The star m the nght knee	72 Per
	ὁ προηγούμενος αὐτοῦ καὶ ὑπὲρ τὸ γόνυ	The one in advance of this, over the knee	lam Per
	τῶν ἐπάνω τῆς ἀγκύλης β ὁ προηγούμενος.	The more advanced of the 2 stars above the bend in the knee	48 Per
	ὁ ἐπόμενος καὶ κατ’ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀγκύλης.	!he rearmost of them, just over the bend in the knee	mu Per
	ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς γαστροκυημίας.	fhe star on the right calf	53 Per
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ σφυροῦ.	The star on the right ankle	58 Per
	ὁ ἐν τῷ ἀριστερῷ μηρῷ.	The star in the left thigh	nu Per
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ γόνατος.	The star on the left knee	eps Per
	ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀριστερᾶς κυήμης.	The star on the left lower leg	xi Per
	ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀριστερᾶς πτέρνης.	The star on the left heel	omi Per
	ὁ ἑπόμενος αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ ἀκροποδίου,	The one to the rear of this, on the left foot	zet Per
	ἀστέρες πς, ὥν β’ μεγέθους β, γ’ ἓ, δ’ ἴς, ε’ β, νεφελοειδ.	26 stars, 2 of the second magnitude, 5 of the third, 16 of the fourth, 2 of the fifth, [1] nebulous
	Οἱ περὶ τὸν Περσέα ἀμόρφωτοι.	Stars around Perseus outside the constellation
	ὁ πρὺς ἀνατολὰς τοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ γόνατος.	The star to the east of the one on the left knee	52 Per
	ὁ ἀπ’ ἄρκτωυ τῶν ἐν τῷ δεξιῷ γόνατι.	The star to the north of the one in the right knee	HR 1314
	ὁ προηγούμενος τῶν ἐν τῷ γοργουίῳ.	The star in advance of those in the Gorgon-head	16 Per
	ἀστέρες ἢ, ὥν ἐ μεγέθους β, ἀμαυρὸς ἀ.	3 stars, 2 of the fifth magnitude, 1 faint

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

Stars within the Constellation Area

id	Label	IAU design.	description	Vmag
1	Mirfak	HIP 15863	Inside the hull	1.79
2	Algol	HIP 14576	Constellation lines	2.12
3	ζ Persei	HIP 18246	Constellation lines (Vertex)	2.85
4	ϵ Persei	HIP 18532	Constellation lines	2.89
5	γ Persei	HIP 14328	Constellation lines	2.93
6	δ Persei	HIP 17358	Constellation lines	3.01
7	ρ Persei	HIP 14354	Constellation lines	3.39
8	Miram	HIP 13268	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.79
9	ν Persei	HIP 17529	Constellation lines	3.8
10	Misam	HIP 14668	Constellation lines	3.81
11	Atik	HIP 17448	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.91
12	τ Persei	HIP 13531	Constellation lines	3.96
13	48 Per	HIP 19343	Inside the hull	4.03
14	ι Persei	HIP 14632	Constellation lines	4.04
15	Menkib	HIP 18614	Constellation lines	4.06
16	θ Persei	HIP 12777	Constellation lines	4.11
17	μ Persei	HIP 19812	Inside the hull	4.16
18	ψ Persei	HIP 16826	Inside the hull	4.23
19	58 Per	HIP 21476	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.26
20	λ Persei	HIP 19167	Inside the hull	4.29
21	σ Persei	HIP 16335	Inside the hull	4.36
22	-	HIP 20070	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.594
23	ω Persei	HIP 14817	Constellation lines	4.607
24	52 Per	HIP 19811	Inside the hull	4.691
25	π Persei	HIP 13879	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.7
26	34 Per	HIP 16244	Inside the hull	4.735
27	53 Per	HIP 20354	Constellation lines	4.812
28	32 Per	HIP 15648	Inside the hull	4.946
29	-	HIP 16147	Inside the hull	4.97
30	40 Per	HIP 17313	Inside the hull	4.972
31	Cl Melotte 20 772	Cl Melotte 20 772	Inside the hull	4.989
32	-	HIP 15219	Inside the hull	5.03
33	31 Per	HIP 15444	Inside the hull	5.032
34	42 Per	HIP 17886	Inside the hull	5.11
35	29 Per	HIP 15404	Inside the hull	5.157
36	-	HIP 14043	Inside the hull	5.219
37	-	HIP 18453	Inside the hull	5.25
38	V575 Per	HIP 15770	Inside the hull	5.3
39	36 Per	HIP 16499	Constellation lines	5.32
40	-	HIP 18396	Inside the hull	5.379
41	V396 Per	HIP 16470	Inside the hull	5.461
42	30 Per	HIP 15338	Inside the hull	5.476
43	-	HIP 13965	Inside the hull	5.485
44	-	HIP 18434	Inside the hull	5.488
45	-	HIP 19335	Inside the hull	5.52
46	-	HIP 17203	Inside the hull	5.57
47	-	HIP 16210	Inside the hull	5.572
48	-	HIP 17460	Inside the hull	5.588
49	-	HIP 17584	Inside the hull	5.655
50	-	HIP 17932	Inside the hull	5.657
51	11 Per	HIP 12692	Inside the hull	5.753
52	-	HIP 18212	Inside the hull	5.76
53	-	HIP 18081	Inside the hull	5.772
54	IW Per	HIP 16591	Inside the hull	5.776
55	-	HIP 16340	Inside the hull	5.82
56	-	HIP 12686	Inside the hull	5.835
57	-	HIP 13339	Inside the hull	5.859
58	-	HIP 13949	Constellation lines	5.877
59	-	HIP 16518	Inside the hull	5.9
60	-	HIP 15004	Inside the hull	5.913
61	-	HIP 15669	Inside the hull	5.93
62	-	HIP 20241	Inside the hull	5.958
63	-	HIP 15334	Inside the hull	5.967
64	V376 Per	HIP 17846	Inside the hull	5.97
65	-	HIP 13713	Inside the hull	6.03
66	-	HIP 17437	Inside the hull	6.042
67	-	HIP 14365	Inside the hull	6.05
68	-	HIP 15118	Inside the hull	6.06
69	-	HIP 19302	Inside the hull	6.08
70	V576 Per	HIP 15988	Inside the hull	6.09
71	-	HIP 17475	Inside the hull	6.091
72	-	HIP 14887	Inside the hull	6.139
73	-	HIP 17772	Inside the hull	6.14
74	-	HIP 15209	Inside the hull	6.18
75	V545 Per	HIP 20063	Inside the hull	6.205
76	-	HIP 13462	Inside the hull	6.21
77	-	HIP 13732	Inside the hull	6.21
78	-	HIP 16252	Inside the hull	6.217
79	-	HIP 17732	Inside the hull	6.252
80	10 Per	HIP 11279	Inside the hull	6.26
81	-	HIP 12690	Inside the hull	6.28
82	-	HIP 16424	Inside the hull	6.28
83	-	HIP 14566	Inside the hull	6.3
84	-	HIP 19810	Inside the hull	6.308
85	-	HIP 18565	Inside the hull	6.313
86	-	HIP 14914	Inside the hull	6.327
87	V521 Per	HIP 14544	Inside the hull	6.375
88	-	HR 1371	Inside the hull	6.38
89	-	HIP 18769	Inside the hull	6.389
90	-	HIP 16938	Inside the hull	6.402
91	KP Per	HIP 16516	Inside the hull	6.41
92	-	HIP 16447	Inside the hull	6.411
93	-	HIP 17558	Inside the hull	6.443
94	-	HIP 19746	Inside the hull	6.45
95	-	HIP 15282	Inside the hull	6.46
96	V509 Per	HIP 14264	Inside the hull	6.467
97	-	HIP 11020	Constellation lines (Vertex)	6.48
98	-	HIP 16425	Inside the hull	6.49

References

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