Scorpius

Sco star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine, Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg).

a scorpion in the Sahara desert (2007).

One of the 88 IAU constellations. In contemporary history it was adopted from Ptolemy's Almagest (c. 137 CE) but this classical constellation has Babylonian roots (cf. GÍR.TAB) The Italian form "Scorpio" is frequently used in astrology-pop culture but the Latin form "Scorpius" (a Greek loanword) is the name of both constellation and zodiac sign.

Etymology and History

Origin of Constellation

The scorpion came to Greece with the zodiac from Mesopotamia. In the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, parts of which can be traced back to the 3rd millennium, scorpion men guard the entrance and exit of the sun. Scorpions or scorpion people are important in the sun cult.

Brightest Star

The reddish star in the heart of Scorpius had a proper name in Mesopotamia, but this was not passed down. It was called Lisi (LI₄.SI₉), a deity regarded as the mother goddess's child and understood in early sources as a daughter, later as a son. The Greek name Antares (anti-ares, counterpart or rival of Mars) is only documented in Roman times; it is one of the few star names in the Almagest.

Horowitz ( ) suggested that the Greek name "anti ares" roots in a misunderstanding or pun from the Babylonian term ^mulAN.TA.GUB, as GUB can also be read RE₆.

Babylonian

Kugel Globe: Sco and Sgr with CrA.

Greco-Roman

Eratosthenes

Var. 1: Given its large size, it can be divided into two dodecatamories. The pincers occupy one sign, and the body and stinger another. Artemis, it is said, made it rise from the summit of the island of Chios so that it could sting Orion and the latter would die, because Orion, in defiance of everything, had tried to rape the goddess during a hunt. Zeus placed Scorpius among the brilliant constellations, so that men of later generations would know its power and its effects. Scorpius has two stars on each claw - those in front are large, those behind are dim - three on the forehead - one of which is bright, the middle one - three bright stars on the back, two on the belly, five on the tail and two on the sting. These stars are led by the most beautiful of all, the bright star on the northern pincer. In all, nineteen.

Var. 2: Given its large size, it can be divided into two dodecatamories. The claws occupy one sign, and the body and stinger another. Orion is thought to have been killed by Gè, because he had proclaimed before Artemis that no beast would escape him; this sign appears as a symbol of the event. It is said that he stung Orion and that Orion died. Zeus placed Scorpius among the constellations because it was an extraordinary work of Gè, so that future generations would know its stature and power. know its stature and power. Scorpius has two stars on each of its claws - those in front are large and the other two are dim - and three on its forehead. three on the forehead - one of which is bright, the middle one three bright stars on the back, two on the belly, five on the tail, and two shiny ones on the sting. In all, there were nineteen.

(Pamias and Zucker 2013)

Geminos

Scorpius as drawn on the Farnese Globe, holding the Balance in its Claws and partially covered by the hand of Atlas. The stick figures outline the constellations as described in the Almagest in comparison (drawings and mapping by SMH 2021, Stellarium)

Almagest Σκορπίος

id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
	Σκορπίου ἀστερισμός	Constellation of Scorpius
1	τῶν ἐν τῷ μετώπῳ λαμπρῶν φ’ ὁ βόρειος	The northernmost of the 3 bright stars in the forehead	bet Sco
2	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The middle one of these	del Sco
3	ὁ νοτιώτερος τῶν τριῶν	The southernmost of the three	pi Sco
4	ὁ τούτου ἔτι νοτιώτερος ἐφ’ ἑνὸς τῶν ποδῶν	The star south again of this, on one of the legs	rho Sco
5	τῶν β τῶν παρακειμένων τῷ βορειοτάτῳ τῶν λαμπρῶν ὁ βόρειος	The northernmost of the 2 stars adjacent to the northernmost of the bright ones	nu Sco
6	ὁ φότιος αὐτῶν	The southernmost of these	ome1 + ome2 Sco
7	τῶν ἐν τῷ σώματι φ’ λαμπρῶν ὁ προηγούμευος.	The most advanced of the 3 bright stars in the body	sig Sco
8	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν καὶ ὑπόκιρρος καλούμενος Ἀντάρης.	The middle one of these, which is reddish and called 'Antares'	alf Sco
9	ὁ ἑπόμενος τῶν γ.	The rearmost of the 3	tau Sco
10	τῶν ὑπ’ αὐτοὺς β ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐσχάτου ποδὸς ὁ ἠγούμενος.	The advance star of the 2 under these, approximately on the last leg	13 Sco
11	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν.	The rearmost of these	HR 6070
12	ὁ ἐν τῷ α’ ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος σπουδύλῳ	The star in the first [tail-J joint from the body	eps Sco
13	ὁ μετὰ τοῦτον ἐν τῷ β’ σπονδύλῳ	The one after this, in the 2nd joint	mu1 + mu2 Sco
14	τοῦ ἐν τῷ γ’ σπονδύλῳ διπλοῦ ὁ βόρειος.	The northern star of the double-star in the 3rd joint	zet2 Sco
15	ὁ νοτιώτερος τοῦ διπλοῦ	The southern star of the double-star	zet1 Sco
16	ὁ ἐφεξῆς ἐν τῷ δ’ σπουδύλῳ	The one following, in the 4th joint	eta Sco
17	ὁ ἐφεξῆς ἐν τῷ δ’ σπουδύλῳ	The one after that, in the Sth joint	tet Sco
18	ὁ ἔτι ἐφεξῆς ἐν τῷ ς’ σπουδύλῳ	The next one again, in the 6th joint	iot1 Sco
19	ὁ ἐν τῷ ξ’ σπουδύλῳ τῷ παρὰ τὸ κέντρου.	The star in the 7th joint, the joint next to the sting	kap Sco
20	τῶν ἐν τῷ κέντρῳ β’ ὁ ἑπόμενος.	The rearmost of the 2 stars in the sting	lam Sco
21	ὁ ἠγούμενος αὐτῶν	The more advanced of these	ups Sco
	ἀστέρες κα, ὥυ β’ μεγέθους α, γ’ φ, δ’ ε, ε β	21 stars, I of the second magnitude, 13 of the third, S of the fourth, 2 of the ftfth
	Οἱ περὶ τὸν Σκορπίου ἀμόρφωτοι	Stars araund Scorpius outside the constellation
22	ὁ ἐπόμενος τῷ κέντρῳ νεφελοειδήρ	The nebulous star to the rear of the sting	G Sco
23	τῶν ἀπ’ ἄρκτων τοῦ κέντρου β ὁ προηγούμενος.	The most advanced of the 2 stars to the north of the sting	45 Oph
24	ὁ ἑπόμευος αὐτῶν.	The rearmost of them	3 Sgr
	ἀστέρες 7, ὥν ε μεγέθους β, νεφελοειδὴς ἂ.	{3 stars, 2 of the fifth magnitude, I nebulous}

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

As Scorpius are also widespread in the Mediterranean region and the constellation is characterised by relatively clear outlines, hardly any changes have occurred over the millennia - with the exception of the occasional reinterpretation of its northern parts (Libra).

Scorpius in the Zodiac

The southern part of the constellation, i.e. the tail and sting of the scorpion, extend very far southwards from the ecliptic. Essentially, only the scissors and the head lie in the zodiac. Because the Babylonian constellation Libra was reinserted into the zodiac in Roman times, stars from Scorpius were used for it. The problem was that the recumbent Greek Virgo was wider than the upright Babylonian goddess. This meant that there was no more room for Libra next to the Greek Virgo. Since the scissors were split off and renamed "Libra" in modern time, the scorpion today only covers about 5° of the ecliptic, although the zodiac signs are supposed to be 30° long. The sun is, therefore, not in this constellation for a month, but only for about 5 days (24 to 29 November). The rest of the zodiac sign (section of the ecliptic) is covered by the constellation Ophiuchus.

• 

  Scorpius as drawn on the Kugel Globe (1st c. BCE, drawing by SMH 2024)

• 

  Scorpius on the Mainz Globe (2nd c. CE), drawing by SMH 2021

• 

  Scorpius as drawn on the Farnse Globe, holding the Balance in its Claws and partially covered by the hand of Atlas. The stick figures outline the constellations as described in the Almagest in comparison (drawings and mapping by SMH 2021, Stellarium)

• 

  Scorpius with Ophiuchus in the Leiden Aratea (c.830 CE)

• 

  Scorpius in Mercator Globe (1551)

• 

  Scorpius in Bayer's Uranometria (1603)

• 

  Scorpius in Hevelius (1690)

• 

  Scorpius in Bode (1782/1805)

• 

  Scorpius and Sagittarius in Bode's Uranographia (1801)

• 

  Scorpius in Jamieson (1822)

Mythology

For Eratosthenes, the scorpion is part of the mythological complex surrounding Orion. In the chapter on the scorpion, he reports the same legend as Aratos: Artemis had the scorpion emerge from a hill to prevent the impetuous Orion from getting too close to her. Artemis and Orion were hunting together on the island of Chios when he was struck by the scorpion's sting and mortally wounded.

In the chapter for Orion himself, however, it is said that Mother Earth sent the scorpion to punish Orion's arrogance and poaching.

In Mesopotamia, this male figure is certainly one of the oldest constellations. It is connected to the oldest myth that we can currently reconstruct: the Gilgamesh epic. In its prehistory, a deluge is reported. Flood stories have been handed down in several cultures. The Babylonian story is very similar in some topoi to the biblical story of Noah. This is no coincidence, as a transfer through the exile of the Jewish elite under the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar is documented and attested in the Bible: the Greek and Jewish Flood stories can therefore certainly be traced back to the Sumerian story.

Our hero only appears much later: Gilgamesh, King of Uruk. He loses his friend and comrade Enkidu after they have freed Uruk together from the beast called the Heavenly Bull (Taurus). Gilgamesh then goes in search of eternal life, which is not normally granted to humans. He learns that his ancestor Utnapishtim (the Babylonian Noah) was, however, exceptionally granted eternal life by the gods because he had saved humanity from the Flood. Gilgamesh therefore sets off in search of Utnapishtim to ask him about this. Along the way, he comes to Mount Mashu, which he had to cross. The passage through the mountain took 12 double hours and the entrance to the mountain was guarded by a male and a female scorpion-being. They were horrible to look at, but Gilgamesh was brave enough to stop and talk to them. Then they let him pass.

After a few more paths, Gilgamesh finds Utnapishtim and the realisation that eternal life is not achieved through a magic herb or gods, but only through one's own deeds, with which one remains in people's memories - preferably in a positive way.

References

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