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Folklore: Making Sense of
the Skies
(Stories of the Stars)
Since the dawn of time…
People have looked to the stars:
 For navigation
 To tell time
 For entertainment and religion
Astrological Mythology
Most every early culture had some mythology
involving the sun. In the link there are all the
different names of the mythological gods that
some of these cultures worshiped.
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/
mythology.html&nl=11l
The most popular that are studied and known
today are those from the ancient Greek and
Egyptian cultures.
Gods of the Sky
Africa: Olorun
 Olorun, whose name means "owner" is the skygod of the Yoruba people. He is also known as
Olodumare (Almighty). According to the Yoruba
people, Olorun created the world and mankind.
At one time the Earth was very watery.
 Olorun had a snail shell, a hen, a pigeon, and
some earth. Olorun threw the earth in one small
point of the Earth and put on it the hen and
pigeon. The two animals spread the Earth and
created solid ground.
Egypt: Horus
 Horus was a fierce and proud ancient
Egyptian god. He was the son of Osiris,
the god of air and the Earth, and the
goddess Isis.
Greek: Zeus
Roman: Jupiter
 In Greek mythology, Zeus (Jupiter in
Roman mythology) was the king of heaven
and Earth and of all the Olympian gods.
 He was also known as the god of justice.
He was named king of the gods in the
special meeting that followed his
overthrow of the god Cronus and the
Titans.
Constellations
Constellations are formed of bright stars
which appear close to each other on the
sky, but are really far apart in space.
 The shapes you see all depend on your
point of view. Many societies saw patterns
among the stars with gods and goddesses
or stories from their culture.
Constellations Continued…
Many peoples noticed that the planets, the
moon, and comets moved through the sky
in a different way than the stars.
 Because of the rotation of the Earth and its
orbit around the Sun, we divide the
constellations into two groups.

Two Groups of Constellations
Some constellations never rise nor set,
and they are called circumpolar.
 All the rest are divided into seasonal
constellations. Which constellations will be
circumpolar and which seasonal depends
on your latitude.

There are Many Constellations
Ursa Major (Changing Bear
Maiden)
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In Navajo myth, Ursa Major, the Great Bear, originated
from the story of the Changing Bear Maiden. In the story,
a girl accepts a bear as her husband. Her younger sister
tells the father, who in turn kills the bear. The older sister
changes into a bear to get revenge.
The younger sister and seven brothers tried to flea their
sister. The bear turns back into a girl and chases after
her siblings. She eventually killed six of the brothers.
The seven brothers flew up into the sky and became
Ursa Major.
This constellation is also known as the “Big Dipper.”
Orion and Scorpio
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The ancient Greeks saw the figure of the Greek myth
Orion in the nighttime sky.
Orion was a very handsome and strong man.
He was such a good hunter that he was hired by the king
Oenopion to kill the ferocious beasts that were terrifying
the habitants of the island Chios.
Happy for his success, Orion said he would kill all the
wild animals on the earth. But. the earth goddess Gaia,
who was the mother of all animals, was not pleased with
Orion's intention.
Then, Gaia set an enormous scorpion on Orion. Orion
soon realized that his strength and sword were useless
against that mighty beast.
He tried to escape, but the scorpion stung him to death.
As a reward, Gaia placed the scorpion in the sky as a
constellation which appears to be constantly chasing
after Orion whose figure was also placed among the
stars.
Create Your Own Constellation



http://www.middleschoolscience.com/personalco
nstellations.pdf
http://www.middleschoolscience.com/mythprojec
t.pdf
http://www.middleschoolscience.com/posterrubri
c.pdf

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeadult/IGLA/pdf/Sci
enceStars.pdf
Shoe Box Planetarium
http://www.middleschoolscience.com/shoe
boxplanetarium.htm
 http://www.middleschoolscience.com/shoe
boxplanetariumrubric.pdf
 http://www.middleschoolscience.com/plan
etariumlinks.htm

Identify Constellations

http://www.proteacher.com/cgibin/outsidesite.cgi?id=8145&external=http:
//rip.physics.unk.edu/Astronomy/Constellat
ion(212).html&original=http://www.proteacher.c
om/110020.shtml&title=Name%20That%2
0Constellation