Pisces

Authors: Youla Azkarrula, Susanne M Hoffmann, Doris Vickers, IanRidpath

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Pisces. IAU and Sky & Telescope

ʾΙχθύες (Ichthyes)

Asterism Info
Native	ʾΙχθύες
Romanisation	Ichthyes
Translation	Fish(es)
Position (2000)
Right ascension	359.8278759 to 5.149425122
Declination	1.255604976 to 31.80426168
Area	723.76 sq. deg.
Stars
Bright stars	136
Bayer/Flamsteed stars	102
Stars brighter than 3.00m	1
Brightest star	Algenib (2.84m)
Taxonomy
category of asterism	Almagest constellation
IAU- constellations	Psc, Peg, And, Cet, Ari

One of the 88 IAU constellations. The constellation Pisces emerged in rather late time in antiquity. Its origin is yet unexplained but it occurs in written Greek sources (Aratus, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Ptolemy) and it is depicted in the circular Denderah zodiac dating to Roman time Egypt. Babylonian sources do not have this constellations.

Etymology and History

Origin of Constellation

Two fish tied together with a ribbon: this image is incomprehensible, and it was already so in ancient times. It originated in Mesopotamia as a zodiac constellation, and in the second half of the first millennium, there were strange new interpretations of it that probably not everyone understood even then. Seal depictions from Uruk show a fish and a bird connected by a pointed ribbon. The image is called the swallowfish and could be a visualisation of a word – swallow and fish, linked by a ribbon. In fact, there is a certain species of flying fish in the Mediterranean today that is called this, but whether this is what is meant here is lost in the mists of time.

In Uruk, the constellation may have been called swallow fish in the Seleucid period, but in Babylon it never had this name (as far as we know). In the diaries of mathematical astronomy, the names are always abbreviated and there it says ‘tails’. If we go back a millennium and look in MUL.APIN, we find the full name ‘Tails of the Giant Swallow’ (ZIB^me). The V-shaped band is actually a swallowtail. It is the part of the ancient constellation Giant Swallow (SIM.MAḪ) through which the Sun, Moon and planets travel.

Here we can see a gradual reinterpretation of the figure over the centuries. In the 2nd millennium, the constellation was called Giant Swallow and was a calendar sign because the month was determined by the heliacal risings. In autumn, when the swallows fly south, the constellation is visible in the sky almost all night long – however, there is no evidence that any symbolism was derived from this.

In the 1st millennium, a project for an ‘astronomical database’ was developed in the city of Babylon, the so-called ‘diary project’, in which data was collected that could be used to establish causal relationships. The technical style of notation for this data set favours abbreviations. The group ‘tails of the giant swallow’ technically becomes the constellation and zodiac sign Tails.

Because the meaning has been forgotten – at least since it was received by the Greeks – it now seems to have been approached figuratively: the neighbouring Mesopotamian constellation ‘Great God’ (Ea) is often depicted with a bird on its arm, which is now separated as a small swallow of the swallow fish. This could be explained purely graphically. The fish of the swallow fish is likely to originate from the North Mesopotamian or Syrian variant of Andromeda, whose legend is linked there to a large fish (or dolphin). The foreign gods (Ishtar and Ea) are thus reinterpreted as heroes in Greek culture, and their attributes are grouped into a new constellation that turns out to be a play on words: the genus ‘Swallow Fish’ is depicted as a swallow and a fish.

If the fish had been a Greek constellation, they could have been connected because of the Babylonian swallowtail. Alternatively, a Mesopotamian image of a bird and a fish was later reinterpreted in Greek as two fish. The ribbon connecting them had been misunderstood for almost a millennium, and in Roman times the story was invented that the ribbon was a visualisation of their love for each other.

Babylonian

There has never been a constellation of 'a group of fish' in ancient Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamian constellation in this area was KUN^me(š) ša ^mulSIM.MAḪ, The Tails of the Swallow.

Sources	Identification
MUL.APIN Stars in the Path of Anu: the tails are not mentioned as constellation, but only the Swallow (I i 41) and Anunitu (I i 42). Stars in the Path of the Moon": KUNmeš <ša2> mulSIM. MAḪ A-nu-ni-ti4 (I iv 36) "the tails of the Swallow, Anunitu"; cf. KUN-šu2-nu, "their tails" in MLC 1866 col. i 7 [Beaulieu et al. 2018, 35-39].	Swallow in Stellarium, Tails in the ecliptic section of Pisces (CC BY Jessica Gullberg 2022).
ADRT mulxKUNme, KUNme — the designation of the constellation Tails of the Swallow (=Pisces) in texts before the Seleucid era [AD I-III, passim].

• 
  Dumuzi, the shepherd god, as Hired Man, as lover of Inanna who is depicted in the constellation Anunitu(m); both east of the One Field-constellation (IKU), and north of the Swallow SIM.MAH and the giant, GU.LA, the god Enki/Ea. Drawings by Robert Perdok and Susanne M Hoffmann 2016, mapped in Stellarium.
• 
  Giant Swallow (MUL.APIN) with its tails in the path of the Moon (Stellarium, painting by Jessica Gullberg).
• 
  Psc as Swallow-Fish on seal from Uruk (Wallenfels 1993).

Greco-Roman

Egyptian

In Ptolemaic times (1st century BCE), when Egypt was ruled by the Romans, new Egyptian temples were built in Esna and Dendera (south and north of Thebes/ Luxor). They display a cultural mixture of Babylonian and Egyptian constellations.

• 
  Pisces; rectangular zodiac of Dendera
• 
  Psc with ^mulIKU, circular zodiac of Dendera (CC BY Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités égyptiennes)

Aratus

Still farther ahead and more in the approaches to the south [240] are the Fishes; but one is always more prominent than the other and hears more the fresh onset of the north wind. From both of them stretch, as it were, chains from the tail-parts, coming together in an unbroken line on both sides. One beautiful bright star occupies this position, [245] and they call it the celestial Knot. Let Andromeda’s left shoulder be your guide to the more northerly Fish, for it is very close to it. (Kidd 1997)

Eratosthenes

Pamias and Zucker (2013, 66-67)

Var. 1 (Περὶ τῶν Ἱχθύων): These are the descendants of the Great Fish (PsA), whose story we shall recount in greater detail when we come to him. The two Fish are separated from one another and are each situated in one of the two halves of the sky. One is called the “Northern Fish” and the other the “Southern Fish”. Between them lies a Node, adjacent to the foreleg of Aries.

The Northern Fish has twelve stars, and the Southern Fish fifteen. The line connecting them has three stars on the Northern Fish’s side, three on the Southern Fish’s side, three to the east, and three on the Node. Thirty-nine in all.

Var. 2 (Ἱχθύων): These are the descendants of the Great Fish (PsA), whose story we shall recount in greater detail when we come to him. The two Fish are separated from one another and are each situated in one of the two parts of the sky. One is called the “Northern Fish”, and the other the “Southern Fish”. They have a Node which adjoins the foreleg of Aries.

The Northern Fish has twelve stars, and the Southern Fish fifteen. The thread connecting them has three stars on the Northern Fish’s side, three on the Southern Fish’s side, three to the east, and three on the Node. In total, the two Fish and the Node have thirty-nine stars.

erat.Cat.ID	constStarID	starName	ident.Bayer	ident.HIP	certainty
324	1	the northern Fish has twelve stars	g Psc	5544	1
325	2	the northern Fish has twelve stars	tau Psc	5586	1
326	3	the northern Fish has twelve stars	l Psc	6315	1
327	4	the northern Fish has twelve stars	ups Psc	6193	1
328	5	the northern Fish has twelve stars	phi Psc	5742	1
329	6	the northern Fish has twelve stars	chi Psc	5571	1
330	7	the northern Fish has twelve stars	rho Psc	6706	1
331	8	the northern Fish has twelve stars	64 Psc	3810	2
332	9	the northern Fish has twelve stars	57 Psc	3632	2
333	10	the northern Fish has twelve stars	eta And	4463	1
334	11	the northern Fish has twelve stars	psi1 Psc A	5131	1
335	12	the northern Fish has twelve stars	72 Psc	5081	2
336	13	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	delta Psc	3786	1
337	14	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	omega Psc	118268	1
338	15	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	iota Psc	116771	1
339	16	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	theta Psc	115830	1
340	17	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	gam Psc	114971	1
341	18	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	kappa Psc	115738	1
342	19	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	lambda Psc	116928	1
343	20	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	19 Psc	117245	1
344	21	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	beta Psc	113889	1
345	22	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	5 Psc	114273	1
346	23	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	d Psc	1645	1
347	24	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	27 Psc	118209	1
348	25	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	e Psc	5346	1
349	26	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	zeta Psc	5737	1
350	27	the southern [Fish has] fifteen [stars]	eps Psc	4906	1
351	28	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together has three stars on the northern side	omikron Psc	8198	1
352	29	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together has three stars on the northern side	pi Psc	7535	1
353	30	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together has three stars on the northern side	eta Psc	7097	1
354	31	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together[, has] three [stars] on the southern side	nu Psc	7884	1
355	32	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together[, has] three [stars] on the southern side	mu Psc	7007	1
356	33	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together[, has] three [stars] on the southern side	f Psc	6061	1
357	34	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together,[ has …] three [stars] on the eastern side	xi1 Cet	10324	1
358	35	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together,[ has …] three [stars] on the eastern side	xi2 Cet	11484	1
359	36	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together,[ has …] three [stars] on the eastern side	mu Cet	12828	1
360	37	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together,[ has …] three [stars] on the knot	112 Psc	9353	1
361	38	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together,[ has …] three [stars] on the knot	xi Psc	8833	1
362	39	the band by which they [the two Fish] are held together,[ has …] three [stars] on the knot	alpha Psc	9487	1

Hipparchus

Rising (Lib III Cap V §10)

The Rising of ...

	east		south
	lam1	lam2	lam1	lam2
	Aqr 7	Ari 16	Sco 26	Cap 9
star	the one at the end of the mouth of the southern fish	the one in the knot of the ribbon
duration	3 1/10 hours = 186 min = 46 1/2 degree

Setting (Lib III Cap IV §9)

	west		south
	lam1	lam2	lam1	lam2
	Aqr 23	Ari 5	Tau 17	Cnc 6
star	the one at the end of the mouth of the southern one of the two fish	the one at the end of the mouth of the northern fish
duration	3 1/2 hours = 210 min = 52 1/2°

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

Diognetus Erythraeus says that once Venus and her son Cupid came in Syria to the river Euphrates. There Typhon, of whom we have already spoken, suddenly appeared. Venus and her son threw themselves into the river and there changed their forms to fishes, and by so doing this escaped danger. So afterwards the Syrians, who are adjacent to these regions, stopped eating fish, fearing to catch them lest with like reason they seem either to oppose the protection of the gods, or to entrap the gods themselves. (Mary Ward 1960)

Almagest Ἰχθύες

id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
	Ἰχθύων ἀστερισμός	Constellation of Pisces
1	ὁ ἐν τῷ στόματι τοῦ προηγουμένου Ἰχθύος	The star in the mouth of the advance fish	bet Psc
2	τῶν ἐν τῷ κραυίῳ αὐτοῦ β’ ὁ νοτιώτερος.	The southernmost of the 2 stars in the top of its head	gam Psc
3	ὁ βορειότερος αὐτῶν.	The northernmost of them	7 Psc
4	τῶν ἐν τῷ νώτῳ β ὁ προηγούμενος.	The more advanced of the 2 stars in the back	tet Psc
5	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν	The rearmost of them	iot Psc
6	τῶν ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ β ὁ προηγούμενος	The more advanced of the 2 stars in the belly	kap Psc
7	ὁ ἑπόμευος αὐτῶν.	The rearmost of them	lam Psc
8	ὁ ἐν τῇ οὐρᾷ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰχθύος	The star in the tail of the same [advance] fish	ome Psc
9	τῶν κατὰ τὸ λίνον αὐτοῦ ὁ πρῶτος ἀπὸ τῆς οὐρᾶς	The stars forming its fishing-line: the first after the tail	41 Psc
10	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν	The stars forming its fishing-line: the one to the rear	51 Psc
11	τῶν ἐφεξῆς λαμπρῶν ἢ ὁ προηγούμενος	The stars forming its fishing-line: the most advanced of the 3 following bright stars	del Psc
12	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The stars forming its fishing-line: the middle one of these	eps Psc
13	ὁ ἐπόμενος τῶν τριῶν.	The stars forming its fishing-line: the rearmost of the three	zet Psc
14	τῶν ὑπ’ αὐτοὺς ἐν καμπῇ μικρῶν β’ ὁ βορειότερος	The stars forming its fishing-line: the northernmost of the 2 small stars under these, in the bend	80 Psc
15	ὁ νοτιώτερος αὐτῶν	The stars forming its fishing-line: the southernmost of them	89 Psc
16	τῶν μετὰ τὴν καμπὴν ἢ ὁ προηγούμενος.	The stars forming its fishing-line: the most advanced of the 3 stars after the bend	mu Psc
17	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The stars forming its fishing-line: the middle one of these	nu Psc
18	ὁ ἑπόμενος τῶν τριῶν.	The stars forming its fishing-line: the rearmost of the three	xi Psc
19	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ συνδέσμου τῶν β λίνων	The star on the knot joining the 2 fishing-lines	alf Psc
20	τῶν ἐν τῷ βορείῳ λίνῳ ὁ ἀπὸ τοῦ συυδέσμου προηγούμενος	Stars in the northern fishing-line: the first in the section beginning at the knot	omi Psc
21	τῶν μετ’ αὐτὸν ἐφεξῆς γ’ ὁ νότιος.	Stars in the northern fishing-line: the southernmost of the 3 stars following after that	pi Psc
22	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν.	Stars in the northern fishing-line: the middle one of these	eta Psc
23	ὁ βόρειος τῶν γ καὶ ἐπ’ ἄκρας τῆς οὐρᾶς:	Stars in the northern fishing-line: the northernmost of the 3, which is also on the end of the tail	rho Psc
24	τῶν ἐν τῷ στόματι τοῦ ἐπομένου Ἰχθύος β ὁ βορειότερος,	The northernmost of the 2 stars in the mouth of the rear fish	82 Psc
25	ὁ νότιος αὐτῶν.	The southernmost of them	tau Psc
26	τῶν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ ἢ μικρῶν ὁ ἐπόμενος.	The rearmost of the 3 small stars in the head	68 Psc
27	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν.	The middle one of these	67 Psc
28	ὁ προηγούμενος τῶν τριῶν	The most advanced of the three	65 Psc
29	τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς ρωτιαίας ἀκάνθηςἢ μετὰ τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀγκῶνος. τῆς Ἀνδρομέδας ὁ προηγούμενος	The most advanced of the 3 stars on the spine in the back following [i.e. to the rear of] the star on the elbow of Andromeda	psi1 Psc
30	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The middle one of the three	psi2 Psc
31	ὁ ἐπόμενος τῶν τριῶν.	Thc rearmost of the three	chi Psc
32	τῶν ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ β ὁ βορειότερος.	The northernmost of the 2 stars in the belly	ups Psc
33	ὁ νοτιώτερος αὐτῶν.	The southernmost of them	phi Psc
34	ὁ ἐν τῇ ἐπομένῃ ἀκάνθη περὶ τὴν οὐράῃ.	The star in the rear spine, near the tail	psi3 Psc
	ἀστέρες λδ, ὧν γ’ μεγέθους β, δ’ κῇ, ε’7, ς ξ-	{34 stars, 2 of the third magnitude, 22 of the fourth, 3 of the fifth, 7 of the sixth}
	Οἱ περὶ τοὺς Ἰχθύας ἀμόρφωτοι.	Stars round Pisces outside the constellation:
35	τοῦ ὑπὸ τὸν ἠγούμενον Ἰχθὺν τετραπλεύρου τῶν βορείων β ὁ ἠγούμενος.	The quadrilateral under the advance fish: the more advanced of the 2 northern stars	27 Psc
36	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν.	The quadrilateral under the advance fish: the rearmost of them	29 Psc
37	τῆς νοτίου πλευρᾶς ὁ προηγούμευος.	The quadrilateral under the advance fish: the more advanced star on the southern side	30 Psc
38	ὁ ἐπόμενος τῆς νοτίου πλευρᾶς.	The quadrilateral under the advance fish: the rearmost one on the southern side	33 Psc
	ἀστέρες ὁ μεγέθους δ΄.	{4 stars of the fourth magnitude}

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

Stars within the Constellation Area

id	Label	IAU design.	description	Vmag
1	Algenib	HIP 1067	Inside the hull	2.84
2	Alpherg	HIP 7097	Constellation lines	3.62
3	γ Piscium	HIP 114971	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.7
4	* ome Psc	HIP 118268	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.02
5	Shimu	HIP 3693	Inside the hull	4.06
6	Alrescha A	HIP 9487	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.11
7	ι Piscium	HIP 116771	Constellation lines	4.12
8	Torcular	HIP 8198	Inside the hull	4.26
9	ϵ Piscium	HIP 4906	Constellation lines	4.28
10	θ Piscium	HIP 115830	Constellation lines	4.3
11	Kui	HIP 4463	Inside the hull	4.42
12	δ Piscium	HIP 3786	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.44
13	ν Piscium	HIP 7884	Constellation lines	4.44
14	λ Piscium	HIP 116928	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.51
15	τ Piscium	HIP 5586	Constellation lines	4.511
16	Fumalsamakah	HIP 113889	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.52
17	ξ Piscium	HIP 8833	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.604
18	χ Piscium	HIP 5571	Constellation lines	4.658
19	ϕ Piscium	HIP 5742	Constellation lines	4.66
20	υ Piscium	HIP 6193	Constellation lines	4.748
21	χ Pegasi	HIP 1168	Inside the hull	4.8
22	μ Piscium	HIP 7007	Constellation lines	4.84
23	κ Piscium	HIP 115738	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.94
24	19 Psc	HIP 117245	Inside the hull	5.02
25	-	HIP 3810	Inside the hull	5.04
26	47 Psc	HIP 2219	Inside the hull	5.06
27	7 Psc	HIP 115227	Constellation lines	5.069
28	77 Peg	HIP 117020	Inside the hull	5.071
29	Alrescha	HIP 9487	Inside the hull	5.135
30	89 Psc	HIP 6061	Constellation lines (Vertex)	5.137
31	82 Psc	HIP 5544	Constellation lines (Vertex)	5.152
32	Revati	HIP 5737	Constellation lines	5.19
33	ψ 1 Piscium A	HIP 5131	Constellation lines	5.273
34	82 Peg	HIP 117730	Inside the hull	5.3
35	ρ Piscium	HIP 6706	Constellation lines	5.344
36	41 Psc	HIP 1645	Constellation lines	5.37
37	52 Psc	HIP 2568	Inside the hull	5.37
38	57 Psc	HIP 3632	Inside the hull	5.38
39	55 Psc	HIP 3138	Inside the hull	5.428
40	68 Psc	HIP 4510	Constellation lines	5.438
41	36 And	HIP 4288	Inside the hull	5.45
42	ψ 1 Piscium B	HIP 5132	Inside the hull	5.455
43	94 Psc	HIP 6732	Inside the hull	5.495
44	σ Piscium	HIP 4889	Constellation lines (Vertex)	5.5
45	80 Psc	HIP 5346	Inside the hull	5.501
46	58 Psc	HIP 3675	Inside the hull	5.504
47	34 Psc	HIP 813	Inside the hull	5.53
48	π Piscium	HIP 7535	Constellation lines	5.535
49	86 Peg	HIP 476	Inside the hull	5.537
50	22 Psc	HIP 117683	Inside the hull	5.554
51	87 Peg	HIP 729	Inside the hull	5.555
52	ψ 3 Piscium	HIP 5454	Constellation lines	5.562
53	ψ 2 Piscium	HIP 5310	Constellation lines	5.563
54	72 Psc	HIP 5081	Inside the hull	5.631
55	51 Psc	HIP 2548	Constellation lines (Vertex)	5.679
56	16 Psc	HIP 116495	Inside the hull	5.68
57	32 Psc	HIP 194	Inside the hull	5.69
58	-	HIP 3765	Inside the hull	5.74
59	44 Psc	HIP 2006	Inside the hull	5.77
60	80 Peg	HIP 117628	Inside the hull	5.78
61	66 Psc	HIP 4267	Inside the hull	5.79
62	-	HIP 5494	Inside the hull	5.797
63	53 Psc	HIP 2903	Inside the hull	5.863
64	-	HIP 9353	Inside the hull	5.87
65	54 Psc	HIP 3093	Inside the hull	5.88
66	40 G. Psc	HIP 116918	Inside the hull	5.891
67	131 G. Psc	HIP 8404	Inside the hull	5.904
68	62 Psc	HIP 3760	Inside the hull	5.912
69	33 Cet	HIP 5510	Inside the hull	5.942
70	-	HIP 7447	Inside the hull	5.95
71	47 G. Peg	HIP 116768	Inside the hull	5.96
72	60 Psc	HIP 3697	Inside the hull	5.961
73	87 Psc	HIP 5778	Inside the hull	5.962
74	-	HIP 6492	Inside the hull	5.971
75	* 36 And A	HIP 4288	Inside the hull	6
76	73 Psc	HIP 5074	Inside the hull	6.007
77	35 Psc	HIP 1196	Inside the hull	6.01
78	88 Psc	HIP 5824	Inside the hull	6.022
79	97 Psc	HIP 6981	Inside the hull	6.023
80	48 Psc	HIP 2224	Inside the hull	6.039
81	-	HIP 2235	Inside the hull	6.04
82	-	HIP 5483	Inside the hull	6.043
83	-	HIP 1465	Inside the hull	6.045
84	-	HIP 3269	Inside the hull	6.046
85	67 Psc	HIP 4366	Constellation lines	6.1
86	ζ Piscium B	HIP 5743	Inside the hull	6.1
87	59 Psc	HIP 3685	Inside the hull	6.101
88	36 Psc	HIP 1319	Inside the hull	6.121
89	* 66 Psc A	HIP 4267	Inside the hull	6.13
90	WW Psc	HIP 4655	Inside the hull	6.14
91	75 Psc	HIP 5204	Inside the hull	6.144
92	-	HIP 2926	Inside the hull	6.16
93	-	HIP 6669	Inside the hull	6.187
94	-	HIP 5034	Inside the hull	6.202
95	26 Psc	HIP 117927	Inside the hull	6.209
96	118 G. Psc	HIP 6868	Inside the hull	6.214
97	101 Psc	HIP 7436	Inside the hull	6.219
98	-	HIP 5679	Inside the hull	6.23
99	42 Psc	HIP 1772	Inside the hull	6.24
100	-	HIP 4317	Inside the hull	6.24
101	25 Psc	HIP 117774	Inside the hull	6.28
102	* 65 Psc B	HIP 3885	Inside the hull	6.28
103	-	HIP 4520	Inside the hull	6.283
104	* 65 Psc A	HIP 3885	Constellation lines	6.29
105	BD+26 128	BD+26 128	Inside the hull	6.3
106	-	HIP 2832	Inside the hull	6.31
107	31 Psc	HIP 186	Inside the hull	6.325
108	-	HD 9496A	Inside the hull	6.33
109	-	HD 9496A	Inside the hull	6.33
110	-	HIP 5141	Inside the hull	6.34
111	124 G. Psc	HIP 7819	Inside the hull	6.345
112	DT Psc	HIP 5772	Inside the hull	6.347
113	98 G. Psc	HIP 3992	Inside the hull	6.368
114	46 Psc	HIP 2213	Inside the hull	6.38
115	-	HIP 2734	Inside the hull	6.39
116	92 G. Psc	HIP 2954	Inside the hull	6.407
117	CY Psc	HIP 7505	Inside the hull	6.42
118	* 36 And B	HIP 4288	Inside the hull	6.43
119	-	HIP 8210	Inside the hull	6.43
120	-	HIP 2178	Inside the hull	6.432
121	-	HIP 6714	Inside the hull	6.439
122	-	HIP 4382	Inside the hull	6.44
123	45 G. Psc	HIP 117445	Inside the hull	6.457
124	43 Psc	HIP 1948	Inside the hull	6.46
125	-	HIP 4558	Inside the hull	6.46
126	-	HIP 1339	Inside the hull	6.49
127	112 G. Psc	HIP 5575	Inside the hull	6.493
128	-	HIP 1057	Inside the hull	6.5
129	-	HIP 2358	Inside the hull	6.5
130	-	HIP 3730	Inside the hull	6.5
131	-	HIP 3236	Inside the hull	6.51
132	-	HIP 5646	Inside the hull	6.54
133	* 96 Psc	HIP 6915	Inside the hull	6.54
134	* 104 Psc	HIP 7710	Inside the hull	6.75
135	-	HIP 7456	Inside the hull	7.51
136	-	HIP 8327	Inside the hull	8.77

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

• 
  (1952) H.A. Rey's stick figure of Pisces
• 
  (1988) O. Hlad's stick figure of Pisces

Mythology

Eratosthenes notes succinctly: ‘The fish are descendants of the Great Fish,’ referring to what we call Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish. He does not recount any legends about it.

In Roman times, Pseudo-Hyginus and Ovid make a very brief mention that Venus (Aphrodite) and her son Cupid (Eros) were fleeing from the storm demon Typhon. When they came to a river, they jumped fearfully into the water. In Ovid's version of the story, they called on the nymphs for help and twin fish came to bring them to safety. In another version, they themselves were turned into fish.

The Typhon myth is already documented by Hesiod, but this detail is not found in his story, especially since the constellation Pisces did not yet exist at the time of Hesiod (around 700 BCE). The Roman myth seems to be based on the constellation. The constellation myth then explains the ribbon as the ribbon of motherly love.

Hyginus (also 1st century CE) tells another version of the fairy tale. According to this, two fish rolled an egg that had fallen into the Euphrates ashore. There it was hatched by doves and Aphrodite hatched from it. This story contradicts Hesiod's version of Aphrodite's birth ‘from the foam of the sea’, which gives the constellation its name: (-7th century): αφρός (aphrós) means foam. It is certainly borrowed from a foreign culture. The Euphrates as the setting is noteworthy. This could indicate the Mesopotamian origin of the constellation or a variant of the Syrian Derkato myth (see Andromeda). However, it may also be a mythological description of the constellation's history, because a huge egg made up of faint stars can be seen in the area east of Pegasus. The lower part of this egg is called the ellipse of the northern of the two fish in Greek, while the upper part of the egg belongs to the constellation Andromeda, which is equated with Aphrodite Urania.

None of the variants is convincing, because Babylonian mathematical astronomy never called the constellation ‘fish’ and did not need a myth.

Weblinks

• Warburg Institute Iconographic Database – Pisces
• Ian Ridpath's Star Tales – Pisces

References

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