Decoding the Night: Greek Myth as a Celestial Map

"The heavens are full of gods, to whom we give the names of stars." - Aristotle Decoding the Night is a scholarly exploration of the astronomical basis of Greek myth and religion. Ancient Greeks relied on the steady movements of the stars for an accurate calendar and for navigation at sea or in other unmarked territory. What may have started as a practical, graphic tool for identifying the stars developed into an oral tradition of stories that have become Greek myth. The astronomical information became sacred not only for its practical value, but also because it represented an unchanging and perfect universe untouched by the vicissitudes of life on earth. Seeded by the original idea that "immortal" gods refers to circumpolar stars, who reside at the "highest seat of heaven", or North Celestial Pole, a map of the night sky has emerged from works by ancient authors, which places Greek myth in a logical and concrete context. The North Celestial Pole, as the pivot point of all stellar movement, was considered the most sacred and immutable part of the heavens. Mount Olympus to the Greeks, was the home of the "immortal gods", because those stars were always visible in the night sky. "Dying and resurrected" gods were found at lower latitudes, where their annual disappearance below the horizon, was considered a death and entrance into the Underworld. Resurrection occurred at the helical rising of that star/god months or days later. The "death and resurrection" of rise and set stars were the foundation of the Greek religious calendar and ceremonies. The Greeks and other ancient cultures aimed not simply to appease their gods, but used ceremony to mimic the heavens and bring the divine order above down to earth. Decoding the Night leads the reader through the astronomical, geographical, and cultural framework of ancient Greece, which lends new meaning to many facets of myth. The primary constellations are discussed as representatives of well-known gods and goddesses, with the connections and similarities richly illustrated in myth, sculpture, and other art.