Mythological interpretations of the Milky Way

There exists several mythological interpretations of the Milky Way , as observed with the naked eye.

Greek mythology

There exist two legends of the Greek Mythologie which explain the origin of the Milky Way:

the first fact call to the demigod Héraclès. Indeed, a day, whereas he was child, this last was placed on the center of Héra deadened. Unfortunately, Héraclès not overcoming yet its force, wanted to be nourished within the goddess, but it drew so extremely that milk squirted and spread itself in a large milky trail in the sky: the Milky Way. To return from there in Héraclès, one knows that it killed, during his famous twelve work, the dragon Ladon which kept the Pommes of gold of the garden of Hespérides (property of Héra). The goddess, in memory of the guard, placed it in the sky in the form of the constellation of the dragon.

the second legend refers to the trace left by a fire which remains in the Sky and which constitutes the Milky Way. This fire was caused by Phaéton which, one day, borrowed the carriage of fire of his/her father Hélios in order to prove at all its divine origins. But, during its demonstration, it put fire on the Earth like at the vault of heaven. Zeus, very annoyed, precipitated it in the Éridan after having struck down it. But Cycnos, half-brother of Phaéton, begged Zeus to forgive and to him to save it. Then Zeus placed Cycnos in the Milky Way like symbol of the faithful friendship. One can still see it in the form of the constellation of the Swan in the vestiges of the fire caused by his friend Phaéton. (It is also said that this constellation came from another Cycnos, wire of Poséidon, Trojan hero killed by Achille and transformed into a white swan by his/her father then placed in the Sky.)

Asian mythologies

Several people of the Asian east associated the Milky Way with a representation of the paradise. In the same way, the stars Altaïr and Véga are sometimes represented like lovers, for whom the meeting is allowed only once in the year the seventh day of the seventh month. This day is called Xi in Chinese, Japanese Tanabata and Korean CHilseok.

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