—Ovid's Metamorphoses.
(ADDISON'S Trans.)
Thus we find among the constellations Draco, the Dragon; Cygnus, the Swan; Ursa Major, the Great Bear; Ursa Minor, the Little Bear;
The Constellation of Cygnus, the Swan.
Lyra, the Harp; Pegasus, the Flying Horse; Cancer, the Crab; Delphinus, the Dolphin; Pisces, the Fishes; Sagitta, the Arrow; Argo, the Ship; Corona, the Crown; Leo, the Lion; Scorpius, the Scorpion; Hydra, the Watersnake; Aries, the Ram; Taurus, the Bull; Eridanus, the River, and others.
Mapmakers later drew fanciful pictures of these objects and animals and heroes which had been transposed to the sky and united them up with the positions of the stars. This imaginative tapestry of figures is believed to be an attempt on the part of the ancient people to weave a record of their history in the dusk among the stars. That this most original method was successful is attested by the fact that although several thousand years have elapsed these ancient figures still stand and the names that they gave to the constellations are used by astronomers today.
Many of the Grecian characters which are mentioned in the stories of the gods and heroes are personified in groups of three—the three Fates, daughters of Chaos, appointed to watch over the thread of human life—
"Spin, Spin, Clotho spin!
Lachesis twist!
Atropos sever!"
—Lowell.