Navajo: Ursa Major
Lakota: Constellation of the Hand
Hindu: Rishis
Greek: Scorpius
Greek: Draco
Greek: Heracles
The Nemean Lion
The Lernaean Hydra
Greek: Cancer
Greek: Orion
Greek: Taurus
Greek: Aquila
Greek: Andromeda
Greek: Cassiopeia
Greek: Cepheus
Greek: Pegasus
Greek: Perseus
The Big Dipper and Bootes
Greek: Cygnus
Young Voices for the Planet DVD in our online store includes 8 films where students speak out and take action on climate change.
"The Abduction of Europa"by Francois Boucher (1703-1770). Painting (1734).
The princess Europa is seated on the back of a beautiful white bull with her playmates nearby, tending to her and handing her garlands of flowers.
Image courtesy of the Reunion des Musees Nationaux, France.
Europa was the beautiful daughter of the king of Tyre, Agenor. Zeus (Jupiter), the King of the gods according to Greek mythology, saw Europa as she was gathering flowers by the sea a nd immediately fell in love with her.
Zeus transformed himself into the form of a magnificent white bull and appeared in the sea shore where Europa was playing. The great bull walked gently over to where Europa stood and knelt at her feet. The appearance and movements of the bull were so gentle that Europa spread flowers about his neck and dared to climb upon his back. But suddenly, the bull rushed over the sea abducting Europa. Only then the bull revealed its true identity and took Europa to the Mediterranean island of Crete.
There, Zeus cast off the shape of the white bull, and back into his human form, made Europa his lover beneath a simple cypress tree. Europa became the first queen of Crete and had by Zeus three sons. At last, Zeus reproduced the shape of the white bull, used by Zeus to seduce Europa, in the stars. Even today we can recognize its shape in the constellation Taurus.
Our online store includes issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, ranging from seismology, rocks and minerals, oceanography, and Earth system science to astronomy!
For the ancient Greeks, the Hyades were daughters of Pleione and Atlas, a giant who carried the heavens on his shoulders. The Hyades had several sisters, such as the Pleiades and the Hesperides. They were...more
The Myth of Jupiter and Callisto
Callisto was a river goddess, descended from the river god Inachus. Callisto was the favorite companion of Diana. She accompanied her on the hunt and attended her at her bath after the hunt. ...more
Tour - The Myth of Jupiter and Callisto
One day the god Jupiter saw the beautiful Callisto and fell in love with her. Knowing that Diana had warned Callisto about men and gods, Jupiter pretended he was the goddess Diana. In this disguise, Jupiter...more
Some time after Callisto had been forced out of the company of Diana, she gave birth to a boy child named Arcas. Jupiter's wife Juno was mad and changed Callisto into a bear. Callisto was afraid and she...more
Europa was the beautiful daughter of the king of Tyre, Agenor. Zeus (Jupiter), the King of the gods according to Greek mythology, saw Europa as she was gathering flowers by the sea a nd immediately fell...more
In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leto (Letona). He was the twin brother of the goddess Artemis. He was the god of the Sun, logic, and reason, and was also a fine musician and...more