Hobbies And Interests
"The Man in the Moon"
The moon's orbit presents the satellite's same face to earthly observers. Ancient cultures observed the full moon regularly and saw images within the moon's cratered surface. Over time, these images became ingrained. Some European cultures saw "the man in the moon," while others saw a woman's face, possibly that of a lunar goddess such as Selena or Hecate. Farther east, Chinese and Japanese cultures saw a hare. Pacific Islanders saw a crab. Try to find these images in the moon's markings and tell stories about them for younger children; older children might enjoy hearing the history of different cultures' moon mythologies.
The Zodiac
Astrology's myths spawned the science of astronomy. The constellations that make up the 12 zodiac signs retained their names from ancient times. Although astronomy has supplanted belief in the stars' influence on human lives, children find tales about their signs fascinating. For example, Virgo represents Persephone, the daughter of the harvest goddess Demeter. Hades abducted Persephone, leaving Demeter so sorrowful that she forgot to make things grow. According to the myth, Demeter's grief is why winter happens. The constellation Gemini represents the twins Castor and Pollux, the children of Leda and the Greek god Zeus, who placed his half-mortal children in the sky to honor them.
Perseus and Andromeda
The night sky features virtually all the characters in the myth of Perseus and Andromeda. The hero Perseus, the rescued maiden Andromeda, the hero's winged steed Pegasus, the haughty queen Cassiopeia and even the monstrous Cetus, who was to devour Andromeda as a sacrifice to Poseidon, all have their places in the stars. Greek mythology involves enough sacrifice and devouring that older children may appreciate the myths behind the constellations more than younger children.
Orion and Scorpius
Orion, the hunter, bears one of the most distinctive features in the night sky: the three bright stars that make up his belt. Children readily pick him out from among surrounding stars even under hazy conditions or in city lights. Orion fought with the great scorpion Scorpius and fell in battle. Zeus placed Scorpius and Orion on opposite sides of the sky so that the two could never fight again.
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
The "Big Bear" and "Little Bear" come from Greek mythology, but in other cultures, these distinctive constellations form The Plow, The Water-Dipper or the Wagon. The two bears represent Callisto and her son Arcas. Hera, the vengeful wife of Zeus, transformed the nymph Callisto into a bear so that her own son would shoot her. To save her, Zeus changed Arcas into a bear cub himself. The god then flung mother and son into the sky, where they remain forever safe from Hera.