Every zodiac sign has a story behind its name. Some zodiac signs stories are more interesting than others, but most are incredible to read about simply because they come from Greek mythology. Each zodiac sign has a star constellation and an image or symbol that depicts the representation of the star alignment. That symbol comes from a story in Greek mythology, which makes the zodiac sign a lot more meaningful. Although it is inspiring to hear about your zodiac sign and how it defines you as a spiritual being, the explanations don’t stand for much if they don’t come from somewhere significant.
The Story of Amalthea
Capricorn has more than one God from Greek mythology that it represents, but the most exciting story associated with the Capricorn zodiac is the story of Amalthea and Zeus.
At one point in time, Zeus, the God of thunder and the ruler of the Gods, was born. Zeus’s mother wasthe titan, Rhea, who protected him from his evil father, Cronus. Cronus sought to consume baby Zeus, but Rhea would never let it happen.She hid him away in a cave on the island of Crete and left him in the care of the goat, Amalthea. She was no ordinary goat, but a mythological creature that could nurture and care for Zeus as her own until he was safe to leave the cave.
Amalthea mothered Zeus and let him feed on herteat. And then, as Zeus got older, there came a day when he became a handful; he accidentally broke off one of Amalthea’s horns. In his regret, Zeus turned a negative into a positive by blessing the broken horn. With his blessing, anyone who owned the horn fragment would find anything they wanted. This horn is the Cornucopia. You may recognize this name from the cone-shaped basket that holds fruit and pumpkins around autumn time. The Cornucopia remains a symbol of abundance, even though most do not know of its origin.
When you look at the Capricorn (or Capricornus) constellation in the night sky, its stars make a simple triangle shape, but in depictions of the zodiac constellation in mythology, it is the symbol of a goat or a sea-goat, which referencesthe story of Amalthea. The picture varies depending on where you view it; when the Capricorn symbol is a sea-goat, it appears as a goat that has a fishtail instead of two back legs.
Pandora’s Box
Greek mythology presents a unique way of explaining the creation of man and Earth. Part of this creation story includes a time when several adverse effects unleashed onto the Earth and its inhabitants, including hatred, envy, and sickness. These burdens were never meant to trouble humankind, but they escaped and did as such.
Pandora was the keeper of a box that contained those evil influences. It was that evil that could ultimately destroy humanity. The box is known today as Pandora’s Boxbecause Pandora is the one who opened it. She did not know what opening the box would release, but in doing so, she risked not only the lives of humans but of the Gods as well.
The Greek Gods had to evacuate the Earth and flee for Mount Olympus, but one Goddess stayed behind. That Goddess was Astraea, the Goddess of innocence and purity. In her effort to remain behind, Astraea became the zodiac constellation, Virgo.
The Virgo zodiac is a depiction of the winged Goddess herself. The constellation is made up of thirteen stars and applies to people born between August 23rd and September 22nd.
The Crab
The main character in the story that goes along with the Cancer zodiac sign has a lot of similarities with the personalities of people who are Cancers. The crab is the symbol of the Cancer sign and represents a cruel beast that the Goddess, Hera, sent on another God.
People who have Cancer as their zodiac sign are anything but beasts; they are very loyal friends if you give them a chance. However, Cancers tend to be straightforward, much like the way a crab is.
Hera was the wife of Zeus, the implied leader of the Gods. Hera and Zeus’s relationship had its ups and downs, but what Hera hated the most was the Zeus continued to have children with other Goddesses, humans, and mythological creaturesother than her.
Zeus and Hera did have their own children, but that did not excuse the fact that he impregnated others. Of course, Hera had her occurrences of unfaithfulness as well, but this story focuses on Zeus’s endeavors.
Heracles is one of the children of Zeus that didn’t have Hera as his birth mother. Hera had an especially intense hatred for Heracles Because she despised Heracles, Hera sent a giant crab to destroy him. The crab did not succeed, but he gave a memorable fight with Heracles since he had just defeated a Hydra before crushing the crab. The Cancer constellation came into existence as a reward from Hera to the giant crab.
Zodiac Signs Symbols, Gods
- Aries – A ram, based on the ram with the Golden Fleece
- Taurus – Bull, from the story of Europa
- Gemini – The twins, Castor, and Polydeuces (Pollux)
- Cancer – The crab (read the story above)
- Leo – The lion, based on the Nemean Lion Heracles fought
- Virgo – The maiden, Astraea (read the story above)
- Libra – Scale, Themis
- Scorpio – Scorpion, killer of Orion
- Sagittarius – Centaur, Chiron
- Capricorn – Sea-goat, Pan or Amalthea (read the story above)
- Aquarius – The Water Bearer, Ganymede, and the Deucalion flood
- Pisces – The Fishes, Aphrodite, and Eros
Zodiac Signs Stories
Zodiac signs have been around for centuries, since ancient times. No one knows who had the first idea to connect astronomy with personality traits to create astrology, but one Greek astronomerthat helped to place names on the zodiac signs was Claudius Ptolemy. Greece wasn’t the only country to contribute to the growth of astrology, and they indeed weren’t the last, but you can consider them one of the most crucial.
