I was reading the book “The Eloquent Stars” by James B. Kaler and I stumbled upon a chapter which discussed stars and their mythology. And in this chapter, he talked about the constellation Orion, whose name came from the Greek word “Orion,” who was a hunter in Greek mythology.
This got me thinking about other constellations and how they inspired fictional characters and it inspired me to write this blog post which will explore all of the constellations that are named after characters in real life, mythology or even fiction like Ursa Major (the constellation named after a bear) and Ursula (from The Little Mermaid).
Elba, Actor is a blog aimed at people who have an interest in astronomy, mythology and fictional characters.
A blog about astronomy, mythology, and fictional characters.
A few months ago, I was watching The Wolf of Wall Street. The character portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio mentions an asteroid, which he then proceeds to call a planet. Although I was watching the movie for fun and not necessarily for accuracy (like most people), I couldn’t help but think that this was incorrect. After doing some research and finding out that, in fact, it was inaccurate, I started to wonder why this mistake had been made in the first place.
If you look at all the science fiction movies that have ever been made, they all have one thing in common: they are never accurate. But this isn’t just limited to science fiction; many films and TV shows have scientific inaccuracies in them. Why do these mistakes keep being made? In my search for an answer to this question, I came across an interesting article on the BBC website called “Why Hollywood gets science wrong” by Robert Matthews. He says:
“Hollywood films tell us more about ourselves than we like to admit.”
The official name for the constellation Orion is “Orion The Hunter”, named after the Greek mythological hunter. It is one of the most recognized constellations, and the brightest. Many cultures have stories about how the constellation came to be; from Ancient Egypt to Greece to China. However, I find it fascinating that this constellation has inspired more than just myths and legends- it has inspired fictional characters!
The famous Disney movie “Hercules” tells the story of a teenage boy struggling against his heritage and trying to prove himself as a hero- though he wasn’t actually born one. Hercules is based on the Greek god of the same name- son of Zeus and half-brother to Ares, god of war. The movie is loosely based on actual mythology, but it is also a modern-day version of what a teenager would do if they were suddenly told they were destined to be a hero. For example, Hercules’ sidekick in his quest to become a hero is Philoctetes (also known as Phil), who trains him in order to pass his test as a true hero. In mythology, Philoctetes was an Argonaut and was given Heracles’ bow and arrows after Heracles died. The
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
No, I don’t mean Star Wars! The truth is we are all quite familiar with the idea of a universe filled with stars and planets. It’s something we’ve been taught since we were little kids and something that has inspired us to look deeper into space.
But you might be surprised to know that our ancestors before us also looked up at the night sky and wondered about what was out there. They too came up with stories about the stars and constellations, like why Orion was chasing after Taurus’ sister, or how Scorpius lost its tail to Ophiuchus. Sometimes these myths related back to important events in their culture or even told stories about their gods.
Another example of people doing this comes from modern science fiction and fantasy. Authors often use constellations as a basis for creating planets or even whole universes for their fictional characters to live in. One popular example is Ursa Major, which has inspired many different authors to write about bears. In fact, one of them (Brian Jacques) even used the constellation itself as the title of his book!
Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the night sky. I remember learning about the constellations in school and being amazed that people could look at the stars and find shapes that represented mythological beings.
I also remember learning in science class about the mythology of Greek gods and goddesses and how they relate to the different planets we can see from Earth. When I first heard these things, I found them very fascinating and now I would like to share my knowledge with you!
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Shakespeare’s influence doesn’t stop at just great works of literature. The characters throughout his plays are often based off of the same Greek mythology that inspired astronomers and astrologers to form constellations. As a result, there is a clear crossover between the stories people knew from mythology and those they knew from Shakespeare.
This blog will discuss how Shakespeare’s work has influenced the world of astrology, astronomy, and other fields. I hope you enjoy it!
