Taurus

Taurus, The Bull, modern definition. credit: IAU and Sky & Telescope

One of the 88 IAU constellations. For the star cluster-asterisms of the Pleiades and the Hyades see separate entry.

Etymology and History

The shape of a bull is quite easily recognisable in the sky in this asterism. Two open star clusters stand out prominently: the Hyades and the Pleiades. They are sometimes seen as the pillars of a gate through which the sun, moon and planets pass. By adding further stars, they become the figure of half a bull. Greek mythology explains the absence of the back of the bull by the fact that it is swimming.

In reality, of course, the zodiacal constellation - like all the others - is taken from Mesopotamia.

Kugel Globe: Auriga and Taurus (drawing by SMH 2024)

Origin of Constellation

Originally, the celestial bull is part of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was king of Sumer, the southern part of Mesopotamia, in the 3rd millennium. It is unclear how long this king actually lived and ruled, but he is documented in a list of kings. Perhaps several kings (of the same name) are mixed up there. The figure of Gilgamesh in literature symbolises a number of cultural upheavals or as a founder of culture.

The most important city in Sumer was Uruk, whose city goddess is Inanna/Ishtar. After Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu had already performed other heroic deeds, they fight together in Uruk against the celestial bull sent by Ishtar: the bull belonged to Ishtar's father, the sky god Anu, and was therefore a deity or mythical creature. The heroes succeed in defeating the beast when Enkidu grabs the bull from behind and Gilgamesh grabs it from the front. This explains the bisected constellation.

Some researchers see the Mesopotamian constellations Hired Man (today: Aries) and True Shepherd of the Heavens (today: Orion) as a representation of this bullfight between Enkidu (Hired Man on the invisible hindquarters of the bull) and Gilgamesh. The figure of Orion stretches out one hand towards the bull's head and, according to the Almagest, swings a club with the other as if to hit the bull between the horns - as reported in the Epic of Gilgamesh (tablet 6). In addition, the shepherd figure (for humans) is a metaphor for rulers, which can be traced back to Sumerian times for kings and lives on today in the symbolism of Christian bishops. However, the divine shepherd is typically Dumuzi, Ishtar's husband, assigned to the labourer's constellation. The connection between the constellations Ori-Tau-Ari is therefore very speculative without written evidence. Writing as a cultural technique had only just been invented at this time. Only a few commercial documents and no astronomical texts have survived from the 3rd millennium.

Greco-Roman

Hyginus, Astronomica

The Bull was placed among the stars because it carried Europa safely to Crete, as Euripides says. Some say that when Io was transformed into a heifer, Jupiter, to seem to make amends, put an image among the constellations which resembled a bull in its fore parts, but was dim behind. It faces towards the East, and the stars which outline the face are called Hyades. These, Pherecydes the Athenian says, are the nurses of Liber, seven in number, who earlier were nymphae called Dodonidae. Their names are as follows: Ambrosia, Eudora, Pedile, Coronis, Polyxo, Phyto, and Thyone. They are said to have been put to flight by Lycurgus and all except Ambrosia took refuge with Thetis, as Asclepiades says. But according to Pherecydes, they brought Liber to Thebes and delivered him to Ino, and for this reason Jove expressed his thanks to them by putting them among the constellations.

The Pleiades were so named, according to Musaeaus, because fifteen daughters were born to Atlas and Aethra, daughter of Ocean. Five of them are called Hyades, he shows, because their brother was Hyas, a youth dearly beloved by his sisters. When he was killed in a lion hunt, the five we have mentioned, given over to continual lamentation, are said to have perished. Because they grieved exceedingly at his death, they are called Hyades. The remaining ten brooded over the death of their sisters, and brought death on themselves; because so may experienced the same grief, they were called Pleiades. Alexander says they were called Hyades because they were daughters of Hyas and Boeotia, Pleiades, because born of Pleio, daughter of Ocean, and Atlas.

The Pleiades are called seven in number, but only six can be seen. This reason has been advanced, that of the seven, six mated with immortals (three with Jove, two with Neptune, and one with Mars); the seventh was said to have been the wife of Sisyphus. From Electra and Jove, Dardanus was born; from Maia and Jove, Mercury; from Taygete and Jove, Lacedaemon; from Alcyone and Neptune, Hyrieus; from Celaeno and Neptune, Lycus and Nycteus. Mars by Sterope begat Oinomaus, but others call her the wife of Oinomaus. Merope, wed to Sisyphus, bore Glaucus, who, as many say, was the father of Bellerophon. On account of her other sisters she was placed among the constellations, but because she married a mortal, her star is dim. Others say Electra does not appear because the Pleiades are thought to lead the circling dance for the stars, but after Troy was captured and her descendants through Dardanus overthrown, moved by grief she left them and took her place in the circle called Arctic. From this she appears, in grief for such a long time, with her hair unbound, that, because of this, she is called a comet.

But ancient astronomers placed these Pleiades, daughters of Pleione and Atlas, as we have said, apart from the Bull. When Pleione once was travelling through Boeotia with her daughters, Orion, who was accompanying her, tried to attack her. She escaped, but Orion sought her for seven years and couldn't find her. Jove, pitying the girls, appointed a way to the stars, and later, by some astronomers, they were called the Bull's tail. And so up to this time Orion seems to be following them as they flee towards the west. Our writers call these stars Vergiliae, because they rise after spring. They have still greater honour than the others, too, because their rising is a sign of summer, their setting of winter — a thing is not true of the other constellations. (Mary Ward 1960)

Almagest Ταῦρος

id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
	Ταύρου ἀστερισμός	Constellation of Taurus
1	τῶν ἐν τῇ ἀποτομῇ δ’ ὁ βόρειος.	The northernmost of the 4 stars in the cut-off	5 Tau
2	ὁ ἐχόμενος αὐτοῦ.	The one close by this	4 Tau
3	ὁ ἔτι τούτου ἐχόμενος.	The one close again to the latter	xi Tau
4	ὁ ροτιώτατος τῶν δ	The southernmost of the 4	omi Tau
5	ὁ τούτοις ἐπόμενος ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς ὡμοπλάτης	The one to the rear of these, on the right shoulder-blade	30 Tau
6	ὁ ἐε τῷ στήθει	The star in the ehest	lam Tau
7	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ γόρατος	The star on the right knee	mu Tau
8	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ σφυροῦ	The star on the right hock	nu Tau
9	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ γόνατος	The star an the left knee	90 Tau
10	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ πήχεως	The star on the left lower leg	88 Tau
11	τῶν ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ καλουμένων Τάδων ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν μυκτήρων	The stars in the face, called 'the Hyades': the one on the nostrils	gam Tau
12	ὁ μεταξὺ τούτου καὶ τοῦ βορεύου ὀφθαλμοῦ	The stars in the face, called 'the Hyades': the one between this and the northern eye	del1 Tau
13	ὁ μεταξὺ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ φοτύου ὀφδαλμοῦ	The stars in the face, called 'the Hyades': the one between it [ no. 11] and the southern eye	tet1 Tau
14	ὁ λαμπρὸς τῶν Ῥάδων ἐπὶ τοῦ νοτίου ὀφθαλμοῦ ὑπόκιρρος	The stars in the face, called 'the Hyades': the bright star ofthe Hyades, the reddishone on the southern eye	alf Tau
15	ὁ λοιπὸς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ βορεύου ὀφθαλμοῦ	The stars in the face, called 'the Hyades': the remaining one, on the nordlern eye	eps Tau
16	ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκφύσεως τοῦ νοτίου κέρατος καὶ τοῦ ὠτίου	The star on the place where the southern horn and the ear join [the head]	97 Tau
17	ὁ τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ φοτίου κέρατος β ὁ νοτιώτερος	The southernmost of the 2 stars on the southern horn	104 Tau
18	ὁ βορειότερος αὐτῶν	The northernmost of these	106 Tau
19	ὁ ἐπ’ ἄκρου τοῦ νοτίου κέρατος	The star on the tip of the southern horn	zet Tau
20	ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκφύσεως τοῦ βορείου κέρατος.	The star on the place where the northern horn joins [ the head]	tau Tau
21	ὁ ἐπ’ ἄκρου τοῦ βορείου κέρατος ὁ αὐτὸς τῷ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ ποδὸς τοῦ Ἡνιόχου.	The star on the tip of the northern horn, which is the same as the one on right foot of Auriga	bet Tau
22	τῶν ἐν τῷ βορείῳ ὠτίῳ β σύνεγγυς ὁ βορειότερος	The northernmost of the 2 stars close tagether in the northern ear	ups Tau
23	ὁ νοτιώτερος αὐτῶν.	The southernmost of them	kap Tau
24	τῶν ἐν τῷ τραχήλῳ β μικρῶν ὁ προηγούμενος	The more advanced of the 2 small stars in the neck	37 Tau
25	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν	The rearmost of them	omega Tau
26	τοῦ ἐν τῷ αὐχένι τετραπλεύρου τῆς προηγουμένης πλευρᾶς ὁ νοτιώτερος	The quadrilateral in the neck: the southernmost star on the advance side	44 Tau
27	ὁ βορειότερος τῆς προηγουμένης πλευρᾶς	The quadrilateral in the neck: the northernmost star on the advance side	psi Tau
28	τῆς ἐπομένης πλευρᾶς ὁ νοτιώτερος	The quadrilateral in the neck: the southernmost star on the rear side	chi Tau
29	ὁ βορειότερος τῆς ἐπομένης πλευρᾶς.	The quadrilateral in the neck: the northernmost one on the rear side	phi Tau
30	τῆς Πλειάδος τὸ βόρειου πέρας τῆς ἠγουμένης πλευρᾶς	The Pleiades: the northern end of the advance side	19 Tau
31	τὸ νότιον πέρας τῆς ἠγουμένης πλευρᾶς	The Pleiades: the southern end of the advance side	23 Tau
32	τὸ ἐπόμενου καὶ στεηότατον πέρας τῆς Πλειάδος.	The Pleiades: the rearmost and narrowest end of the Pleiades	27 Tau
33	ὁ ἔκτος καὶ μικρὸς τῆς Πλειάδος ἀπ’ ἄρκτων	The Pleiades: the small star outside the Pleiades, towards the north	HR 1188
	ἀστέρες λβ, ὥν αἱ μεγέθουςα, γ’ς, δ’ ἴἄ, ε φ, ς’ α.	32 stars, 1 of the first magnitude, 6 of the third, 11 of the fourth, 13 of the ftfth, 1 of the sixth
	Οἱ περὶ τὸν Ταῦρον ἀμόρφωτου.	Stars araund Taurus outside the constellation:
34	ὁ ὑπὸ τὸν δεξιὸν πόδα καὶ τὴν ὡμοπλάτην.	The star under the right foot and the shoulder-blade	10 Tau
35	τῶν ὑπὲρ τὸ νότιον κέρας γ’ ὁ προηγούμενος.	The most advanced of the 3 stars over the southern horn	iot Tau
36	ὁ μέσος τῶν τριῶν.	The middle one of the three	109 Tau
37	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν.	The rearmost of them	114 Tau
38	τῶν ὑπὸ τὸ ἄκρου τοῦ νοτίου κέρατος β’ ὁ βορειότερος.	The northernmost of the 2 stars under the tip of the southern horn	126 Tau
39	ὁ νοτιώτερος αὐτῶν.	The southernmost of them	129 Tau
40	τῶν ὑπὸ τὸ βόρειον κέρας ἓ ἐπομένων ὁ προηγούμενος.	The 5 Stars under and to the rear of the northern horn: the most advanced	121 Tau
41	ὁ τούτῳ ἑπόμενος.	The 5 Stars under and to the rear of the northern horn: the one to the rcar of thi's	125 Tau
42	ὁ ἔτι τούτῳ ἐπόμενος.	The 5 Stars under and to the rear of the northern horn: the one to the rear again of the latter	132 Tau
43	τῶν λοιπῶν καὶ ἐπομένωυ β ὁ βορειότερος.	The 5 Stars under and to the rear of the northern horn: the northernmost of the remaining, rearmost 2	136 Tau
44	ὁ νοτιώτερος αὐτῶν.	The 5 Stars under and to the rear of the northern horn: the southernmost of these two	139 Tau
	ἀστέρες ιὰ, ὧν δ’ μεγέθους ἄ, 8 ἱ.	{ll stars, I of the fourth magnitude, I 0 of the fifth}

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

• 

  Bull of Heaven drawn on the clay tablet VAT 7851, drawing by Weidner (1967, reproduced by SMH).

• 

  clay tablet VAT 7851, microzodiac tablet with drawings for the zodiac sign of Taurus, The Bull

• 

  Front part of the Bull of Heaven, painted by Jessica Gullberg for Stellarium.

• 

  Taurus as shown on the marble Farnese Globe (drawing SMH)

• 

  Taurus in the Leiden Aratea, 9th century, the Pleiades marked with six dots

• 

  Pleiades as Seven Sisters in the Leiden Aratea

• 

  Taurus in Bayer's Uranometria (1603)

Greek Mythology

Greek 2 Euros coin, reverse, princess Europa riding a Bull

The most famous of the Greek myths about the bull is the abduction of Princess Europa of Phoenicia. Zeus had transformed himself into a bull, she played with him, sat on his back and then he galloped into the water and swam to Crete. Euripides tells this story and also found its way into astronomical literature via Eratosthenes. Today, the motif is depicted on Greek 2 euro coins.

Mythographers favour the Pleiades story of the nymph Pleione and her seven daughters, who supposedly want to remain virgins but are pursued by the lustful Orion. They apparently do not achieve their goal of eternal virginity, because each of them becomes pregnant: none by Orion. Six of them give birth to sons of the gods, one of them - Merope - marries the mortal Sisyphus (from the Greek ‘merops’, mortal).

In Mesopotamia, the Celestial Bull is undoubtedly from the Epic of Gilgamesh:

Gilgamesh was a cruel ruler under whom his subjects suffered. The gods therefore created a companion for him. This one, Enkidu, had grown up among animals and represents the moral antithesis to Gilgamesh: He criticises the ruler's cruelty. After a wrestling match, they become friends and set off together to cut down trees in the sacred cedar forest. First they have to defeat the guardian of this forest, which they succeed in doing, but afterwards Enkidu regrets the deed because the forest is no longer so beautiful and is inhabited and ‘animated’ by animals. Next they come to Uruk, where the city goddess offers Gilgamesh to become her husband. He refuses, pointing out that her other suitors have fared badly. Ishtar then complains to her father Anu and asks him for the Bull of Heaven to set him on Gilgamesh, who has insulted her. Anu points out that the city of Uruk and its inhabitants are threatened with great famine if he is brought down to earth, but Ishtar says that she has made provisions for the people. Nevertheless, 300 men fall victim to this bull before Enkidu and Gilgamesh slaughter it and sacrifice it to the sun god.

Enkidu must atone for this deed with death and Gilgamesh, who initially sets out in search of the herb of life for immortality, finally realises that there are more important things than power and violence and that immortality can only be achieved through good deeds. He invents the city wall to pacify Uruk and becomes a good king.

A bull associated with the sun is a fairly common religious motif: it also appears in the contemporary Egyptian deity Apis and later in the cult of Mithras.

Weblinks

• Ridpath, Ian, “Star Tales: online edition”.

References

• References (general)
• References (Babylonian)
• References (ancient Greco-Roman)
• References (medieval)