Prismtect › Constellations › Corona Borealis
the Northern Crown
A small half-circle of stars like an open crown, between Bootes and Hercules. Its brightest star, Alphecca, is the jewel of the crown.
The crown was given to Ariadne, who helped Theseus escape the labyrinth. Dionysus threw it into the sky to remember her.
The crown holds T Coronae Borealis, a star that flares up about once every 80 years; its last outbursts were in 1866 and 1946.
In one version, Dionysus gave the crown to Ariadne, and she passed it to Theseus.
In Mesopotamia these stars were linked with the goddess Nanaya.
In Welsh tradition this is Caer Arianrhod, "the Castle of the Silver Circle", the home in the sky of the Lady Arianrhod.
The Arabs called it al-Fakkah, "the broken" or "the separated", because it looks like a string of jewels with a gap, or a broken dish.
The Skidi Pawnee saw a council of stars, with the North Star as their chief.
Many Polynesian peoples named these stars: Na Kaua-ki-tokerau in the Tuamotus, probably Kaua-mea in Hawaii, Rangawhenua in New Zealand, and Te Wale-o-Awitu on Pukapuka.
In Aboriginal Australian astronomy the shape is a boomerang.
In one version, Dionysus gave the crown to Ariadne, and she passed it to Theseus. He used its glow to find his way out of the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur. The Roman writer Hyginus gives another story: it was a wreath Dionysus wore as a disguise when he first went up to Mount Olympus to show himself to the gods.
In Mesopotamia these stars were linked with the goddess Nanaya.
In Welsh tradition this is Caer Arianrhod, "the Castle of the Silver Circle", the home in the sky of the Lady Arianrhod. The ancient Balts called it Darželis, "the flower garden".
The Arabs called it al-Fakkah, "the broken" or "the separated", because it looks like a string of jewels with a gap, or a broken dish. The name later passed to its bright star, Alphecca. Bedouins called it "the bowl of the poor people".
The Skidi Pawnee saw a council of stars, with the North Star as their chief. The circle was also the smoke hole over a fire, which carried their messages to the gods. The Shawnee saw the Heavenly Sisters, who came down each night to dance on earth. A hunter changed himself into a field mouse to get near the youngest, the brightest star, and married her, but she later went back to the sky. The Mi'kmaq of eastern Canada saw the den of the sky bear (the bowl of the Big Dipper). In one Cree story, seven birds chased a bear so fast that they all ended up in the sky as Tehpakoop Pinesisuk, "the Seven Birds". In another, the circle is a domed sweat lodge.
Many Polynesian peoples named these stars: Na Kaua-ki-tokerau in the Tuamotus, probably Kaua-mea in Hawaii, Rangawhenua in New Zealand, and Te Wale-o-Awitu on Pukapuka.
In Aboriginal Australian astronomy the shape is a boomerang. The Wailwun people of north-western New South Wales saw an eagle's nest, with Altair and Vega as the two eagles beside it. For the Wardaman people of northern Australia it is a meeting place where men's Law, women's Law and the Law of both come together.
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