The Milky Way was called the road leading to the palace of the gods. Anyone can see it on a clear night and even more so when the moon is hidden.
Astrea, goddess of innocence and purity. She was Themis's daughter. When he left the earth, he was placed among the stars, where he constituted the constellation of Virgo (the virgin).
Calisto was a young maiden who was turned into a bear by Juno due to an attack of jealousy. Calisto then wandered through the woods full of shame. One day she saw her own son hunting in the woods and she wanted to approach to hug him. The young man, seeing the bear, had arranged the bow and arrow to get his prey.
Jupiter watched the scene and before the crime was committed he placed both in the sky as the Big Dipper and the Minor Ursa.
Juno was furious to see Calisto and his son in the sky near the Pole and came with his complaint to the powers of the sea.
The Lords of the Sea gave Juno the reason and now both constellations turn in the sky but never sink like other stars in the sea.
Castor and Pollux were two twins sons of Leda and Zeus swapped in swan. Castor was a great tamer and Pollux very good boxer. They participated in several struggles. When Castor died, Pollux disconsoled asked Zeus to give his life a ransom for his brother's.
Zeus rewarded the affection of those brothers by placing them among the stars like Geminis (the Twins)
Ariadne was the daughter of the king of Minos. Ariadne was the maiden who helped Theseus escape the maze of the Minotaur. Theseus took her with him and then left her on the island of Naxos.
Ariadne mourned her misfortune when Bacchus found her and made her his wife and gave her a golden crown set with precious stones. When Ariadne dies, Bacchus threw the crown into heaven. As the crown rose, the stones became brighter and brighter to become stars. The crown of Ariadne remains fixed as a constellation between Hercules kneeling and the man holding the serpent.
Anfitrite was the daughter of Nereo and Doris. Neptune (the god of the sea) fell in love with her. To seduce her, she rode on a dolphin. When she agreed to be his wife, Neptune rewarded the dolphin, placing it among the stars.
Orion was Neptune's son. He was giant, hardworking and good-looking.
Orion had fallen in love with Merope, the daughter of the king of Chios, Enopion. Orion did everything he could to get her as his wife, but his father never agreed to his request. One day Orion tried to take it by force and his father, Enopion became so angry that he blinded him.
Vulcan took pity on poor Orion, put one of his men, Qualion at his disposal. He carried him on his shoulders and took him to the abode of the sun, where he regained his sight.
From that moment on, Orion stayed with Diana sharing his hunts and seemed like they were in love.
Diana's brother, Apollo, became jealous and taking advantage of Orion's swimming in the sea, challenged Diana in aim to hit a black spot that was at sea. Diana accepted the challenge and with accurate aim he unwittingly killed Orion. When the sea threw her body to the shore, Diana wept bitterly and placed it in the sky where she appears like a giant, with belt, sword, lion's skin and club.
Sirius, Orion's dog, follows his master in the sky shining brightly.
The Pleiades were daughters of the giant Atlas. Orion in love was chasing them. The Pleiades then begged the gods to transfigure them and Zeus turned them into pigeons. He later transformed them into a constellation. It was seven stars. One of them, Electra, left his place to see Troy's ruin. That's why you see only six stars and since Electra left his place they've turned pale.
Hercules was the son of Zeus and Almecna.
At the time of his death, he went to Mount Eta, built a funeral pyre and went to bed. The flames devoured the human part that belonged to his mother, Almecna, but the divine part that belonged to his father, reached more strength assuming a divine dignity.
His father, Zeus, covered him with a cloud and made him ascend to the sky on a four-horse carriage to stand among the stars.
Chiron was the wisest and fairest of all Centaurs. He was educated by Apollo and Diana. He was famous for his prowess in hunting, medicine, music and prophesied. At his death, Zeus, to reward him, placed him among the stars, to form the constellation of Sagittarius.
Pegasus was a magnificent winged horse that no one could tame or ride. When Belerophon saw him, he burned in the desire to mount him and, in order to do so, he asked the goddess Athena for help. She gave him a golden brake and through that contraption, Belerophon was able to tame and train Pegasus for war and was his inseparable companion of many exploits. One day Belerophon wanted to fly with Pegasus to Olympus and this earned him the wrath of the gods. Zeus sent a toad that stung Pegasus by throwing Belerophon through the air. Pegasus continued ascending into the sky where it became a constellation.
Andromeda was the daughter of Cassiopeia and King Cepheus. Cassiopeia had provoked the fury of the nereids by saying more beautiful than them.
Poseidon to avenge his pride sent a sea monster that ravaged the coasts devouring men and cattle.
When King Cepheus consulted the oracle to save his people from the fearsome monster, the oracle told him that the only way was to deliver his daughter Andromeda as food to the sea monster. Filled with pain, the king tied his daughter by the sea to feed the dreadful animal.
He wanted Perseus to pass through the place and see Andromeda tied by the rocks crying bitterly. He approached her and learned of her misfortune at the same time that her heart fell in love with the beautiful maiden.
While talking, the monster peered over the beach and Perseus without hesitation caught up in fierce struggle to kill the animal.
Perseus, unleashed Andromeda and handed her over to her father while she asked for her in marriage. The king gave it to her in marriage as a reward for her feat.
Perseus, along with Andromeda, became one of the brightest constellations in the firmament after his death.