“There is a certain place where the scorpion with his tail and curving claws
sprawls across two signs of the zodiac”, wrote Ovid in his Metamorphoses. He was referring to the ancient Greek version of Scorpius, which was much
larger than the constellation we know today. The Greek scorpion was in two
halves: one half contained its body and sting, while the front half comprised
the claws. The Greeks called this front half Chelae, which means ‘claws’. In the first century BC the Romans made the claws into a separate constellation, Libra, the Balance.

In mythology, this is the scorpion that stung Orion the hunter to death,
although accounts differ as to the exact circumstances. Eratosthenes offers two
versions. Under his description of Scorpius he says that Orion tried to ravish
Artemis, the hunting goddess, and that she sent the scorpion to sting him, an
account that is supported by Aratus. But in his entry on Orion, Eratosthenes
says that the Earth sent the scorpion to sting Orion after he had boasted that
he could kill any wild beast. Hyginus also gives both stories. Aratus says that
the death of Orion happened on the island of Chios, but Eratosthenes and
Hyginus place it in Crete.

In either case, the moral is that Orion suffers retribution for his hubris. This
seems to be one of the oldest of Greek myths and the origin may lie in the sky
itself, since the two constellations are placed opposite each other so that
Orion sets as his conqueror the scorpion rises. But the constellation is much
older than the Greeks, for the Sumerians knew it as GIR-TAB, the scorpion, over 5000 years ago.

Scorpius from the Uranographia of Johann Bode (1801). Part of the scorpion’s body is overlapped by the lower left leg and foot of Ophiuchus. In the middle
of the scorpion’s body lies the red star Antares. On this chart, Bode also gives Antares the
alternative name Calbalacrab, from the Arabic meaning ‘scorpion’s heart’.

Scorpius clearly resembles a scorpion, particularly the curving line of stars
that form its tail with its sting raised to strike. Old star maps show the
lower left leg and foot of Ophiuchus, to the north, awkwardly overlapping the
scorpion’s body. Incidentally, Scorpius is the modern astronomical name for the
constellation; Scorpio is the old name, now used only by astrologers.

Stars of Scorpius

The brightest star in Scorpius is brilliant Antares, from the Greek word Αντάρης, meaning ‘like Mars’, on account of its strong reddish-orange colour, similar to that of the planet
Mars. The name is often translated as ‘rival of Mars’, but the star name expert Paul Kunitzsch prefers the translation ‘like Mars’. Antares is a remarkable supergiant star, several hundred times the diameter of
our Sun. Beta Scorpii is called Graffias, Latin for ‘claws’. This star is sometimes also known as Acrab, from the Arabic for ‘scorpion’. Delta Scorpii is called Dschubba, a strange-sounding name that is a corruption
of the Arabic word meaning ‘forehead’, in reference to its position in the middle of the scorpion’s head. At the end of the scorpion’s tail lies Lambda Scorpii, called Shaula from the Arabic meaning ‘the sting’ which is where Ptolemy described it as lying.

Chinese associations

In ancient China, ruddy Antares was called Huo, the fire star. With its two flankers, Sigma and Tau Scorpii, it formed Xin, the heart of the Blue Dragon, from which the fifth lunar mansion took its name. Antares/Huo was also said to represent a throne of the Emperor (he had several of them in
different parts of the sky) with Sigma being the Crown Prince sitting on one
side and Tau representing the son of a concubine on the other.

The four stars that we regard as forming the head of the scorpion, namely Beta,
Delta, Pi and Rho Scorpii, were known in ancient China as Fang (literally ‘room’), after which the fourth lunar mansion is named. Fang marks the abdomen of the Blue Dragon. These stars had several other
personifications, including four assistants to the Emperor and a team of four
horses. The adjacent naked-eye double Omega-1 Omega-2 Scorpii was Gouqian, a lock, while the single star Nu Scorpii just to the north was Jianbi, a bolt, presumably for securing the room.

The hook of nine stars from Epsilon to Lambda and Upsilon Scorpii formed the
constellation Wěi, meaning ‘tail’. The sixth lunar mansion was named after it. It is in fact the first of three
lunar mansions whose names are Romanized as Wei (the other two are in Aquarius and Aries), but each has a different meaning.
This Wěi referred to the tail of the Blue Dragon; in our own constellation system this
same hook of stars is the tail of the scorpion. Wěi was also seen as a palace of the Emperor, with various apartments for the
Empress and concubines. Next to the third star of the tail, Zeta Scorpii, was Shengong, a dressing room; this is identified not as a star but the naked-eye open
cluster NGC 6231.

Near the tip of the dragon’s tail was a single star called Fuyue, the present-day G Scorpii. This star represented a legendary slave or hermit
who became chancellor to the Emperor Wu Ding around 1200 BC. This star also
represents the Empress praying for sons and grandsons. Just north of it is Yu, representing a fish in the Milky Way, identified with the naked-eye open
cluster M7.

To the right of the tail, six stars including H and N Scorpii formed part of Jizu, a battalion of soldiers ready to repel invading forces. Jizu consisted of 12 stars in all, divided into four groups of three; two of these
groups were in Scorpius, another was in Lupus and the fourth in Norma.

In northernmost Scorpius were two constellations associated with the celestial
market in and around Ophiuchus. A line of three stars, identities uncertain,
formed Fa (‘punishment’), symbolizing fines or financial compensation against dishonest traders. Four
stars, including Xi Scorpii and extending into Libra, formed Xixian, the eastern door to a stewards’ room for investigating trading infringements; the western door, Dongxian, was in Ophiuchus.