Many of the star constellations we see from the Northern Hemisphere have names that derive from Greek myths and legends.
Astronomer and Greece-native, Jean Creighton, knows both the science and the myths. One such tale is the story of the Corona Borealis constellation, also known as the Northern Crown.
“There was a huge battle between the Minoans and the Athenians, and the Athenians lost. So the king, Minos, said, ‘Okay. As your punishment, you’re going to be sending seven young women and seven young men to Crete to feed the Minotaur,’” says Creighton
The Minotaur, described as a half-person, half-bull, lived in a labyrinth. The Athenians paid this price for years while the king had protected his own son, Theseus, and people were getting more and more upset that his son had mysteriously not been chosen to go to Crete. Theseus is embarrassed by this and decides to take a trip to persuade the king of Crete to forgive their debt.
He sails to Crete with a group of seven men, and seven men disguised as women. When they get there, they are unable to convince the king, but they do convince his daughter, Ariadne. She tells Theseus to tie a string outside of the labyrinth, so if his team is able to defeat the Minotaur, they will be able to escape. Ariadne makes him promise to take her back to Athens if he’s successful, because her father will kill her, and Theseus says he will marry her.
“So the next morning, he did exactly what he told her to do… He went into the labyrinth with the 14 youth,” says Creighton. “They cornered the Minotaur and the 14 warriors including Theseus were able to kill the Minotaur once and for all, and that was that.”
They followed the string back, grabbed Ariadne, and rushed back to the ship. “In the meantime, however, a god was watching all this.” Dionysus, the god of wine, ritual madness, and theater (among other things), decides he wants Ariadne for himself.
Dionysus makes Theseus forget his promise and gives him the idea to drop her off at the first island they find. He does this while Ariadne is sleeping, she wakes and sees she has been abandoned.
“Dionysus came to her side and tried to comfort her and decided to make her feel better, he produced an absolutely beautiful crown as a gift,” says Creighton. “It was so beautiful, they say, that they put it in the sky. And that’s the ‘Northern Crown.’”
