Sagittarius

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

One of the 88 IAU constellations. Originally, it depicted the Mesopotamian god Pabilsaĝ, a god of agriculture and war, later equated with Ninurta and depicted as a mixed creature of a human body attaced to horse body with wings and an additional scorpion tail. This complex image was simplified in Greek reception, and there drawn as a centaur.

Etymology and History

profile of the figure of Pabilsag from a 12th century BC kudurru. è.c. (Roland Laffitte 2023)

The Greek constellation ...

earliest known Greek depiction: Kugel Globe (1st c. BCE): two centaurs in Cen and Sgr with Lup+Ara in between (drawing by SMH 2024).

Origin of Constellation

Almagest Τοξότης.

id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
	Τοξότου ἀστερισμός.	Constellation of Sagittarius
1	ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀκύδος τοῦ βέλους	The star on the point of the arrow	gam Sgr
2	ὁ ἐν τῇ λαβῇ τῆς ἀριστερᾶρ χειρός	The star in the [bow-Jgrip held by the left hand	del Sgr
3	ὁ ἐν τῷ νοτίῳ μέρει τοῦ τόξου	The star in the Southern portion of the bow	eps Sgr
4	τῶν ἐν τῷ βορείῳ μέρει τοῦ τόξου ὁ νοτιώτερος	The southernmost of the [2] stars in the northern portion of the bow	lam Sgr
5	ὁ βορειότερος αὐτῶν ἐπ’ ἄκρου τοῦ τόξου.	The northernmost of these, on the tip of the bow	mu Sgr
6	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ ἅμου.	The star on the left shoulder	sig Sgr
	ὁ τούτου προηγούμενος κατὰ τοῦ βέλους	The one in advance of this, just over the arrow	phi Sgr
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ νεφελοειδὴς καὶ διπλοῦς,	The star on the eye, which is nebulous and double	nu1 + nu2 Sgr
	τῶν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ γ’ ὁ ἠγούμενος.	The most advanced of the 3 stars in the head	xi Sgr
	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The middle one of these	omi Sgr
	ὁ ἐπόμενος τῶν τριῶ.	The reannost of the three	pi Sgr
	τῶν ἐν τῇ βορεύῳ ἐφαπτίδι γ’ ὁ κότιος.	The southernmost of the 3 stars in the northern cloak·attachment	43 Sgr
	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The middle one of these	rho Sgr
	ὁ βόρειος τῶν τριῶη	The northernmost of the three	ups Sgr
	ὁ ἐπόμενος τοῦς τρισὶν ἀμαυρός	The faint sfar to the rear of these three	55 Sgr
	τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς νοτίου ἐφαπτίδος β ὁ βορειότερος;	The northernmost of the 2 stars on the southern cloak-attachment	61 Sgr
	ὁ νοτιώτερος αὐτῶν	The southernmost of them	57 Sgr
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ ὥμου.	The star on the right shoulder	chi1 Sgr
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ ἀγκῶνος..	The star on the right elbow	51+52 Sgr
	τῶν ἐν τῷ νώτῳ ἡ ὁ κατὰ τοῦ μεταφρένου.	The three stars in the back: the one just above the place between the shoulders	psi Sgr
	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν καὶ κατὰ τῆς ὡμοπλάτης.	The three stars in the back: the middle one, just above the shoulder-blade	tau Sgr
	ὁ λοιπὸς καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν μασχάλην.	The three stars in the back: the other one, under the armpit	zet Sgr
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐμπροσθίου καὶ ἀριστεροῦ σφυροῦ	The star on the front left hock	bet1 + bet2 Sgr
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ γόνατος τοῦ αὐτοῦ ποδός	The one on the knee of the same leg	alf Sgr
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐμπροσθίου καὶ δεξιοῦ σφυροῦ	The star on the front right hock	eta Sgr
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ μηροῦ	The star on the left thigh	kap1 + kap2 Sgr
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὀπισθύου δεξιοῦ πήχεως.	The star on the right hind lower leg	iot Sgr
	τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐκφύσει τῆς οὐρᾶς ὃ τῆς βορείου πλευρᾶς ὁ προηγούμερος	The four stars [forming a quadrilateral] in the place where the tail joins [the body]: the advance star on the northern side	omega Sgr
	ὁ ἐπόμενος τῆς βορείου πλευρᾶς.	The four stars [forming a quadrilateral] in the place where the tail joins [the body]: the rear star on the northern side	60 Sgr
	τῆς νοτίου πλευρᾶς ὁ προηγούμενος.	The four stars [forming a quadrilateral] in the place where the tail joins [the body]: the advance star on the southern side	59 Sgr
	ὁ ἐπόμενος τῆς νοτίου πλευρᾶς	The four stars [forming a quadrilateral] in the place where the tail joins [the body]: the rear star on the southern side	62 Sgr
	ἀστέρες λα, ὧν β’ μεγέθους β, γ’ 3, δ’ θ, εη, σ’ β, νεφελοειδής	{31 stars, 2 of the second magnitude, 9 of the third, 9 of the fourth, 8 of the fifth, 2 of the sixth, [1] nebulous

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

• 

  Babylonian "Sagittarius", Dictionnaire des Antiquités grecques et romaines, Daremberg et Saglio, article Zodiaque, vol. V 2. Source : Wikisource, https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Dictionnaire_des_Antiquit%C3%A9s_grecques_et_romaines_-_Daremberg_-_V_2.djvu/444

• 

  Kugel Globe (1st c. BCE): Sgr, CrA and Sco

• 

  Sagittarius in Hevelius (1690)

• 

  Sagittarius in Flamsteed (1776).

• 

  Bode (1805) Sagittarius and Sobieski's Shield

• 

  Sgr in Jamieson (1822)

• 

  Sagittarius in Sidney Hall (1825) Urania's Mirror.

References

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