Orion

Orion was a great hunter. Orion was the son of Poseidon and Euryale, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. Orion was a giant who could wade through the sea, with his head sticking out of the water.

Another version said that Hyreius, the king of Thrace, had hospitably entertained Zeus, Poseidon and Hermes, and was given a boon. Hyreius wanted to have children. The gods took a hide from a sacrificed bull, and urinated on the bull hide. Months later, a child was born.

Orion went to the island of Chios to woo King Oenopion's daughter, named Merope; according to Parthenius, her name was Aero. Oenopion blinded the drunken Orion, driving him off his island. Orion went to Lemnos, where Hephaestus gave one of his servants, Cedalion, as a guide.

Orion found out that his sight would be restored if he travelled east until the sun rose. While Cedalion sat on his shoulder, he guided Orion east. Upon reaching the home of Helius, the sun god restored his sight.

Orion returned to Chios to take revenge upon Oenopion, but the Chian king had hidden himself in a subterranean cave. After his futile search, Orion went to Crete.

---

Orion was said to lust after the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas. Zeus, taking pity on the Pleiades, placed them in the sky as a constellation.

Orion became a favourite of Artemis, goddess of hunting. Together, they chased animals through the forest of Crete. There are several accounts of Orion's death.

One was that Artemis killed him when he challenged her, while another said that Apollo, Artemis' brother, killed Orion, probably because the virgin goddess was seriously thinking of marrying Orion.

The most popular was that Apollo did not want his sister to marry the giant hunter, and tricked Artemis into killing Orion. Orion was walking in the deep sea with the top of his head sticking out of the water. Apollo, seeing Orion's head, challenged his sister if she could hit the target. Artemis' arrow flew true, piercing Orion's head. Artemis was horrified to see Orion's dead body floating on the water.

She was upset that she had killed her favourite hunter. To honour Orion, Artemis placed Orion in the stars. There, the constellation of Orion resumed his chase for the Pleiades. With him was possibly his famous hound that was transformed into the constellation Canis Major; there was also the constellation of the hare, known as Lepus.

According to the Astronomy, a work attributed to Hesiod, Orion had a different fate. Orion was a companion of Artemis and her mother Leto, hunting on the island of Crete. Orion had boasted that he could kill all the wild animals on earth. Gaea (Earth), fearing for the mass-slaughter of all wild creatures, sent a giant scorpion against Orion. The scorpion killed Orion.

Leto and Artemis asked Zeus to immortalise their favourite hunter as a constellation. The scorpion was also placed among the stars. As Orion chased after the Pleiades, the hunter was pursued by the scorpion in the night sky.