THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet
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70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
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Altitude: 10 feet below sea level
Founded January 1970
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2019-2020: XLII
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Celestial Monster Gallery
Halloween or Samhain, the most famous of the four cross-quarter days, is
tomorrow. In honor of this holiday we're devoting today's DA to two of
the night sky's most celebrated autumnal "monsters," Medusa the mortal
gorgon and Cetus the sea monster. These two celestial monstrosities do
have some commonalities. First, they are both prominent in the autumn
evening sky. One will find Perseus holding Medusa's head high in the
northeastern sky. At the same time, one will find Cetus the sea monster
swimming about in the darkest regions of the southeastern sky.
Secondly, the ocean god Poseidon figures into the legends of each one.
Finally, Perseus killed them both,
*MEDUSA*
[image: demon_star_algol.jpg]
Of all the monstrous creatures loitering in our night sky, Medusa is
arguably the most sympathetic. Unlike her loathsome sisters Stentho and
Euralye, Medusa was not born a gorgon. Instead, she was a beautiful maiden
who fell madly -and most unfortunately- in love with Poseidon, the god of
the sea. Falling in love is always fraught with peril, particularly if
the subject of your affection is an ageless god who looks on mortals as
ephemeral in duration and countless in number as dying leaves gathering
around a tree base. The besotted Medusa, loved Poseidon passionately
and persuaded herself to believe the love was requited. She would soon
learn that her ardor was Poseidon's amusement.
One night, Medusa and Poseidon scheduled a liaison in the temple of Athena,
goddess of war and wisdom. This tryst, which Poseidon arranged merely
to taunt his sister goddess, so enraged Athena that she transformed Medusa
into a hideous gorgon as a punishment for this desecration. Suddenly
disfigured by tusks, scales and hair strands changed into the form of
hissing serpents, Medusa hastened to the barren rock island her sisters
inhabited. She was there consigned to a life of abject misery, repulsed
by her altered appearance and distraught that her lover abandoned her to
such a detestable fate.
Athena, notorious for her malicious nature, assigned the young hero Perseus
the task of bringing her Medusa's head. Slaying a gorgon is not a chore
for the faint hearted, as each gorgon possesses petrifying powers.
Anyone who makes eye contact with a gorgon is immediately turned into
stone. Athena accounted for this challenge by providing Perseus with a
highly polished shield that served well as a reflexive surface. When
Perseus arrived at the island far out in the wine-dark sea, he followed
Medusa's reflection. When she approached within arm's length, Perseus
lopped off her head with his broad sword and promptly concealed the head in
his satchel. He evaded the vengeful attacks of the other gorgons by
flying away on Hermes' winged sandals.
*CETUS*
[image: cetus-jamieson-1822-cr.jpg]
As Perseus flew swiftly along the Ethiopian coast, he happened upon the
remarkable sight of Andromeda, a beautiful princess who had been chained to
rocks along the shore. Perseus also noticed a ferocious leviathan close
by who had laid waste to what had once been a thriving village. This
monster had just started to move toward Andromeda when Perseus arrived.
Along a nearby cliff stood the Queen Cassiopeia and King Cepheus, both of
whom appeared understandably mournful, for Andromeda was their daughter.
You see, the boastful Cassiopeia often bragged about her beauty and that
of her daughter. Cassiopeia made the grave error of once openly
proclaiming that Andromeda's beauty even surpassed that of the Nereids,
Posideon's daughters. Poseidon's rage, or so it was said, was terrible
to behold The sea, itself, was heaved up in a tumult that shook the
world, itself. Out of these crashing waves arose Cetus the Seamonster, an
enormous creature said to have been spawned in the world's earliest days.
After its monstrous birth, Cetus lurked in the deepest reaches of the sea,
the desolate realm populated only by the most fearsome sea creatures.
There it would have always remained had the wrathful Poseidon not summoned
it to land to destroy Cassiopeia's village.
Suspecting that the queen's indiscreet remark resulted in Cetus' rampage
through her village, Cepheus and Cassiopeia consulted the Delphic Oracle
for advice. Apollo, speaking through the Pythia, explained that
Cassiopeia had to offer her daughter to Cetus in order to mollify Poseidon.
Once the monster devoured Andromeda, the subject of Cassiopeia's
blasphemous boast, it would be satiated and depart, leaving what little
remained of the village intact. With nothing else for it, Cassiopeia and
Cepheus chained their daughter to the rocks as an offering to Cetus.
After seeing Andromeda, Perseus promptly flew over to her parents, who
explained the situation. Perseus, a nuanced hero if there ever were one,
offered to rescue her in exchange for Andromeda's hand in marriage. The
desperate parents agreed at once and neglected to mention that she was
already betrothed to her uncle. Perseus immediately flew back down to
Cetus and, like a furious gnat, slew the monster with a countless series of
sword cuts. It was said that the sea shone as red as sunset with the
leviathan's blood as it crashed dead into the water.
Perseus released Andromeda and took her to a wedding party. (We recognize
that nobody asked Andromeda what she wanted.) During the party, the
uncle/fiancee, who had been curiously absent when Andromeda was in such
peril, arrived with a troop of friends, determined to reclaim Andromeda.
(Again, we recognize that nobody asked Andromeda what she wanted.)
Although Perseus and his friends were strong, bold and determined, they
were woefully outnumbered and would have lost the fight had Perseus not
shouted "Everybody who is my friend shield your eyes!" before withdrawing
the Medusa head. At that moment, all of the uncle's friends turned to
stone: some were petrified while fighting, making them appear like rather
dynamic statues.
Perseus and Andromeda lived happily ever after and remain to this day as
constellations.
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