Pisces, the Fishes, are not plainly defined. It is supposed that Venus and Cupid turned themselves into fish when the Titans assailed Heaven. This Constellation occupies a triangle in the sky.
The foregoing are the zodiacal constellations, and may be more easily remembered by repeating an old rhyme, which runs as follows:—
“The Ram, the Bull, the Heavenly Twins;
Then, next the Crab, the Lion shines,
The Virgin, and the Scales;
The Scorpion, Archer, and the Goat,
The Man who holds the Watering Pot,
The Fish with Glittering tails.”
The arrangement of the various Constellations at which we have so rapidly glanced, as well as of those that follow, has been the work of many different periods. Aratus and Ptolemy are the oldest enumerators, but modern research has added immensely to the store of knowledge. Many of the most prominent stars were named by Grecian and Arabian observers, and many of the names are still retained—such as Arcturus, Rigel, Capella, and others.
The Northern Constellations.