In ancient astronomy, who was orion? Why did he have two dogs?

Question

Can anyone tell me what orion did before he became a part of the constellation (a god?), what his job was, why he had two dogs, and what happened to cause him to be a part of the constellation.
Why did he have stars on his belt? What roles did majis canis play in egyptian, roman, indian mythology? What events/purpose did this star cause or play on earth, i.e. it was the brightest star, dog days of summer or flooding of the Nile.

I am absolutely clueless about mythology and astronomy. To me a star is a star. They all look the same. Thanks

Answer 1

In Greek mythology, Orion left Eos to hunt with Artemis. Apollo, Artemis's brother, highly disapproved of such a relationship because of Orion's treatment with Eos. Orion was already offending the Immortals, but he finally crossed the line when he claimed to be able to kill all beast and animal of the Earth. In response, Mother Earth sent a gigantic scorpion to kill him. Orion fought well, but soon realized it was futile. To escape, he tried swimming through the sea in hopes of reaching the Delos Island, where Eos would protect him. Artemis, however, was already there. Apollo joined her and bet she could not hit the small bobbing shape in the sea with her arrow, which Apollo knew was actually Orion. Artemis accepted the challenge, and shot Orion accurately, killing him quickly.

When she learned of the truth, however, she snatched him from the depths of the sea and made him immortal. Artemis then placed him in the vault of the heavens, where he could continue to follow his favorite pursuits among the stars. The constellation Sirius, a dog, hunts with him, as Scorpion crawls far behind, vainly snipping at the hunter's heels.The mythographers site the birthplace of Orion in Boeotia, the fertile heart of civilized Hellas, whose folk the Boeotian poet Hesiod described as farmers in the winter and sailors in the summer season. (Did the Boeotians sail but not swim, that they disputed whether Orion waded the Aegean from island to island or merely strode through the waves?) Though some say Orion sprang directly from Gaia, the Earth Mother, others make his father Gaia's grandson Atlas, who equally has his great feet planted in the sea.

Others select Poseidon for his father and the beautiful and awful Gorgon Euryale for his mother, the "wide-ranging" one, she of the "wide salt sea" (eureia halys(Kerenyi 1976, p.42)), herself a grand-daughter of Gaia.

Orion's birth in Boeotia took place at Hyrai, an ancient place mentioned in Homer's catalogue of the ships that set forth to fetch Helen home from Troy. Ovid in his Fabulae invents a tale of a king "Hyreus", father of Orion, but no "Hyraeius" dwelt at Hyrai. Like some other archaic names of Greek cities, such as Athenai or Mycenae, Hyrai is a plural form: its name once had evoked the place of "the sisters of the beehive". According to Hesychios, the Cretan word hyron meant 'swarm of bees' or 'beehive' (Kerenyi 1976 pp42-3). Through his "beehive" birthplace Orion is linked to Potnia, the Minoan-Mycenaean "Mistress" older than Demeter—who was herself sometimes called "the pure Mother Bee". Winged, armed with toxin, creators of the fermentable honey (see mead), seemingly parthenogenetic in their immortal hive, bees functioned as emblems of other embodiments of the Great Mother: Cybele, Rhea the Earth Mother, and the archaic Artemis as honored at Ephesus. Pindar remembered that the Pythian pre-Olympic priestess of Delphi remained "the Delphic bee" long after Apollo had usurped the ancient oracle and shrine. The Homeric Hymn to Apollo acknowledges that Apollo's gift of prophecy first came to him from three bee-maidens.

Answer 2

According to greek mythology Orion died being stung by a scorpion. He is set such in the sky that he sets in the west while his slayer, the Scorpius raises in the east.
Followed by his two dogs he is now fighting the bull Taurus.

I have no idea what the source of this mythical character is and why he has 2 dogs.

Answer 3

"According to Greek mythology, Orion was in love with Merope, one of the Seven Sisters who form the Pleiades, but Merope would have nothing to do with him. Orion's tragic life ended when he stepped on Scorpius, the scorpion. The gods felt sorry for him, so they put him and his dogs in the sky as constellations. They also put all of the animals he hunted up there near him. Scorpius, however, was placed on the opposite side of the sky so Orion would never be hurt by it again."

Answer 4

I'm sorry but I don't have enough time right now to post an in-depth answer. Call me a wiki-paster, but the links below have some great information about the constellation in today's world as well as greek/roman mythology. hope this helps!

Answer 5

Notes and history: Master of the winter skies is the giant Orion. The heavenly Hunter in his golden armor, club in hand, and holding a trophy from the chase, shines on the celestial equator, through which runs his belt, the String of Pearls [TBS]. Accompanying him on his nightly journey across the heavens are his two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor; Taurus, the Bull; Auriga, the Charioteer; Gemini, the Twins; and the dainty cluster of stars known as the Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus. The frightened Hare (Lepus), leaps and trembles at Orion's feet, while the great river Eridanus thunders by. Directly overhead, the Milky Way gleams as an unfurled silvery sash reminding us of our infinitesimal minuteness within the context of our universe - The Great Hunting Scene of Orion; the Hunter.

Orion, the splendid huntsman, was famous for his prowess both as a hunter and as a lover. He was of gigantic size and strength, and of great beauty; he supposedly had greater strength and stature than any other mortal and was the most handsome man who ever lived. Poseidon bestowed on him the power of striding across the sea; Orion was so tall that he could walk through deep water without wetting his head. A skilled blacksmith; he fabricated a subterranean palace for Vulcan. He also walled in the coasts of Sicily against the encroaching sea and built a temple to the gods there. Orion was named by the Greeks, but this obvious figure was variously known as a god, hero, warrior, and hunter by almost every culture that cared about naming stellar groupings. It was already known as Orion by 425 BCE, and there are connections in ancient legend with Ares, god of war.

He had no fear of any animal, and once he even threatened to exterminate all the animals of the Earth, when Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, heard of this threat she became furious and sent a scorpion to kill Orion. The scorpion bit Orion, and he fell to Earth mortally wounded. In the real sky or on a planisphere, one can see that when the stars of Orion sink below the western horizon; the stars of the Scorpion are just rising in the east. The next night the giant rises again; - restored to health and strength by Ophiuchus, the Doctor of Antiquity. Ophiuchus gave Orion an antidote for the scorpion's poison, which saved the giant's life. This can also be seen in the sky, when the Scorpion sets in the southwest, Ophiuchus stands over him, which means that he tramples the Scorpion underfoot and gives Orion the antidote. Later, when Ophiuchus sets in the west, Orion comes up in the east, fully recovered. [NPS p.61].

Companion, and Lover of Diana, were other titles. The Hero, after his death from the Scorpion's sting inflicted for his boastfulness, having been located by Jove (Jupiter) in his present position, at the request of the goddess, that he might escape in the west when his slayer, the Scorpion, rose in the east,- as Aratos said: "When the Scorpion comes, Orion flies to utmost end of earth". [SLM]. Orion shines brightly on winter nights, but his brilliance fades when the constellation of Scorpio appears. [LEM p.144].

In another Greek story; Orion is mentioned as the son of Hyrieus, King of Hyria in Boeotia. One day Zeus, Hermes and Poseidon were traveling on Earth and were entertained royally by Hyneus. In gratitude for his hospitality, these gods promised to grant Hyneus whatever he requested. Hyneus asked for a son. The three gods then took the hide of a cow, urinated on it, and buried it. Nine months later Orion emerged from the ground. The hide has been eternalized in the seven main stars of Orion. [NPS p.64].

Orion was a handsome hunter, and his beauty could not pass unnoticed. Diana, Goddess of Moon and Goddess of the Hunt, fell deeply in love with him and did her utmost to draw him nearer to her. Diana was not, however, the only one competing for Orion's attention. Aurora, the Goddess of the Dawn, also pursued Orion with her love. Orion seems oblivious to the advances of these two goddesses as he moves across the Winter sky, when Orion sets in the west, however, his stars fade very slowly, which means that the Dawn tries to stay by his side as long as possible. When Orion eventually leaves the scene, Aurora weeps bitter tears, which we can see on the flowers, grass, and trees in the morning as glistening drops of dew. Diana had, of course, seen her rival's actions and, as so often happens, jealousy got hold of her. Rather than let Aurora be at Orion's side, Diana planned to punish him. The next time Orion set in the west, Diana shot him with an arrow and blinded him. Orion's blindness can be imagined if you look at the stars of his head; these stars are very faint, which depict the giant's poor eyesight. There is, however, another version of this myth, (See below) which maintains that the arrow fired by Diana was not meant in wrath but was instead an accident. Diana's brother, Apollo, the Sun God, had been displeased for a long time because his sister seemed to neglect her hunting duties. Apollo was alleged to have teased Diana by telling her that she could not even shoot a hare, which he thought he saw move in the undergrowth, knowing full well that Orion was hunting there. Diana, without thinking, grabbed her bow and arrow and fired a shot, killing Orion. Zeus, at Diana's bidding, placed Orion in the stars so that the illustrious hunter would never be forgotten. [NPS p.63].

Like all myths borrowed from several sources over a great length of time, the Greek stories offer many variations. There is another version of this myth (See below) that says Apollo tricked his sister into shooting Orion because Diana was neglecting her duties in forgetting to carry the Moon across the sky each night.

Greeks knew Orion as, 'Roaming', 'the Foot-turning Wanderer', mythologically recorded as roaming in his blindness till miraculously restored to sight by viewing the rising sun. Other names were 'the Dweller of the Mountain', 'the Strutting Cock', and 'Cock's Foot', 'God, of War', 'Warrior'. In much of the Middle East he was the "Giant" or the "Strong One". In early Arabia Orion was Al Jauzak, originally it was the term used for a black sheep with a white spot on the middle of the body, the Walnut, the Strong One. [SLM].
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http://www.winshop.com.au/annew/Orion.html