Scorpio

The story

Scorpio's mythological ancestor is the scorpion that killed Orion. Orion was a great hunter, Artemis's close friend; in some versions Artemis loved him. One day Orion had a fit of bragging: "There's no animal in this world that can kill me." This was read as contempt for the natural order. In response Mother Earth Gaia (in some versions Artemis herself, in others Apollo) sent a small scorpion. The scorpion stung Orion; Orion died. The mythological message is ancient: the greatest power is felled by the smallest. Zeus placed both Orion and the scorpion in the sky but on opposite sides — at one horizon one, at the other the other. As the Scorpion rises in the east, Orion sets in the west; an eternal chase.

Into the sky

Zeus placed the scorpion in the sky to keep the message that the small can fell the great alive forever. The Scorpion's heart is Antares — the royal star whose name means "rival of Mars."

Themes

• Orion and the Scorpion
• Artemis's punishment
• celestial chase
• erotic threat