Today Polaris is the pole star but 4,000 years ago Thuban (a Dra) held this position. In ancient times the heavens appeared to revolve around this constellation.

The great Egyptian pyramids of Khufu, located at Gizeh, seem to have been planned and built with Thuban as a guide when Thuban was the Pole Star around 3000 B.C. The pyramid was built in such a way that Thuban was visible day and night from the bottom of one of the pyramid's deep air shafts. Other pyramids also seem to have been planned and built with the then Pole Star as a focal point.

The Persians have regarded Draco as a man-eating serpent called Azhdeha. In early Hindu worship, Draco is given the form of an alligator known as Shi-shu-mara.

The origin of the constellation, Draco, and of most dragon lore as well, was probably the Chaldean dragon Tiamat, the sea serpent who existed even before the sea and sky had been divided from each other, the dragon of chaos.

Early Greek myths tell of a great battle between the gods and the Titans, terrifying figures cast up out of the volcanic fires that belched out of the bowels of Earth. These monsters, who represented the universal forces of evil. Zeus and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, along with Hera, Demeter, Athena and others battled these giants for dominion.

The Egyptians worshipped lion-gods which is evidence of the importance this beast held in Egyptian life. The Egyptians believed that the world was created at a time when the Sun rose in Leo near the star Denebola. The Persians knew Leo as Ser, to the Turk, Artan, to the Syrians, Aryo, to the Jews, Arye, and to the Babylonians, Aru, all meaning "Lion." The Sumerians also saw this group of stars as a lion. The form of the Lion was probably passed along to the Babylonians, Greeks, Roman and others.

Hercules' first labor was to kill the Nemean lion, a fierce beast who descended to Earth from the Moon in the form of a meteor and ravaged the countryside of Corinth. The lion’s hide was so tough that no weapon could pierce it. Hercules found the Lion’s lair inside a cave, then sealed off one of the entrances and pursued the lion inside. So great was the hero’s strength and fearlessness, he seized the lion and strangled it to death by ramming his fist down its throat. He then flung it over his shoulder and returned to King Eurystheus, proving that he had fulfilled his first labor. The cowardly king was terrified at the sight of the beast and fled. Hercules then skinned the lion and used its tough hide as a protective shield.

So angry was Hera at Hercules' success, she raised the soul of the lion high into the sky. Today he can be seen as the constellation Leo, or The Lion.

He was the Sun-god of both the Egyptians and Phoenicians. The ancient Arabians called Orion Al Jauzah, loosely meaning "the Middle Figure of the Heavens," and Al Babadur, "the Strong One." The Hebrews called him Gibbor, or "the Giant." They also considered him to be Nimrod, who was strapped to the great sky dome for rebelling against Jehovah. The Hindus once called him Praja-pati, meaning "the Stag." The stag was said to be chasing his own daughter, Aldebaran, but was killed by an arrow shot by Sirius. The arrow can be seen sticking into the stag as Orion's belt stars. In ancient China, Orion formed part of a larger constellation recognized as the White Tiger.

Orion was known in ancient Greece (around 500 B.C.) as the warrior, son of Poseidon, the god of the seas. There are many legend’s surrounding Orion. In the most common, he boasted that no animal could defeat him, and that he could single-handedly kill all the animals on the face of the Earth. Gaea, Goddess of Earth, decided that Orion must be killed just in case he might one day carry out his boast. She sent a giant scorpion to Orion and ordered the beast to sting Orion. As mighty as Orion was, after only a brief battle, the scorpion managed to deliver the hunter a deadly sting. Scorpius stung Orion on the heel (at the star Rigel). Orion and the scorpion were given honored places in the sky, but they were placed at opposite ends of the great dome so that they would never engage in battle again.

Uranus and Pluto were discovered in Gemini. Uranus was found near h Geminorum and Pluto near q Geminorum.

According to Greek mythology, Castor & Pollux were twin heroes, born from an egg laid by Leda after she was seduced by Zeus in the disguise of a swan. It was said that Pollux was the son of Zeus, but Castor was the son of Tyndareus, a mortal.

The twins were raised by the centaur Chiron (now the constellation Sagittarius) and later joined Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. Castor became famous as a rider of horses while his brother Pollux became skilled at boxing and at fighting in battle. The two brothers were good companions and became gods, patrons of athletes and protectors of sailors at sea with power over the winds and waves.

Greatest and strongest of the Greek demigods, Hercules was the son of Zeus by a mortal woman (Alcmene) and was hated by Zeus's wife, Hera. He began his life of heroic violence by strangling two serpents, sent by Hera to kill him, while still in his crib.

In manhood, Hera made Hercules insane by burning down his house and killing his wife and children. When Hercules recovered his sanity, he sought the help from the oracle of Delphi. The oracle told him he must serve his cousin Eurystheus, King of Argos, for 12 years. Hoping to destroy Hercules, Eurystheus set him twelve supposedly impossible tasks. The hero completed them all.

The twelve labors of Hercules were:

* Strangling the Nemean Lion that terrorized the valley of Nemea.
* Striking off the many heads of the Hydra of Lerna, Cancer joined in on this battle against Hercules.
* Delivering to Eurystheus the terrifying Erymanthian boar and the Arcadian stag, sacred pets of Artemis.
* Killing the man-eating birds of Lake Stymphalis.
* Cleaning in one day the stables of Augeas, King of Elis, which contained 3,000 oxen and had not been cleaned for 30 years.
* Capturing and bearing on his shoulders to Mycenae the white Cretan bull, sire of the Minotaur.
* Capturing the man-eating mares of Diomedes and feeding them the flesh of Diomedes.
* Fetching for Eurystheus' daughter the girdle of the Amazon queen, Hippolyte.
* Killing the three-headed monster Geryon, along with his giant herdsman Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orthrus, all in order to capture Geryon's oxen.
* Freeing Prometheus and bearing the weight of the world for Atlas, while he fetched the golden apples of the Hesperides.
* Descending to the underworld to bring the three-headed dog Cerberus to its master, Hades.

After completing his service to Eurystheus, Hercules took part in the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece.

Hercules died when his second wife accidentally poisoned him. Convinced that Hercules was being unfaithful, she poured a potion on his robe meant to restore his love for her. The poison burned his skin, causing him great pain. He tore at his flesh but the potion could not be removed.

Zeus honored his son by making him a god and placed him in the sky forever.

The Romans invented Libra and gave it importance as a constellation of the Zodiac. Libra was "the Scales of Justice" held by Julius Caesar. Later the scales became associated with Virgo, the Goddess of Justice. When the zodiac was still in its infancy, some four thousand years ago, the sun passed through this constellation at the autumnal equinox (September 21) when day and night were of equal length.

After Perseus' victory over the Medusa, he took to the air to present his prize to Athena. On the way, some of the blood from the Medusa's severed head dripped into the sea. Poseidon had been in love with the Medusa when she was a beautiful maiden. Poseidon raised her drops of blood from the sea and mixed them with white foam of the dancing waves and with white sand of the beach and created the Winged Horse, Pegasus.

The horse flew up to join the gods, and was caught by the goddess Athena, daughter to Zeus. Athena tamed Pegasus with a golden bridle. At Mount Helicon, Pegasus started the famous spring of Hippocrene flowing with a single kick. Hippocrene was said to have been the source of all poetic inspiration.