Orion

Hyrieus buried the hide of a bull in the ground after Zeus, Poseidon, and Hermes had urinated in it. The gods had visited him in disguise. Hyrieus, a poor bee keeper and farmer, received them hospitably, then asked for a son. He had vowed to have no children, and had grown old and impotent. After nine months, a child rose from the buried hide. Hyrieus called him Urion, a name also written as Orion. This account explains the tradition that Orion was born from the earth through the action of the three gods.

Other accounts give him a different origin. Pherecydes calls him the son of Poseidon and Euryale. Poseidon granted him the power to walk across the sea. Orion was described as a giant and the handsomest man alive. His first wife was Side, whom Hera cast into Hades after she claimed to rival the goddess in beauty.

At Chios, Orion sought Merope, daughter of Oinopion. Oinopion promised her in marriage if Orion cleared the island of wild beasts. When Orion completed the task, Oinopion refused to honour the agreement, then made him drunk, blinded him as he slept, and cast him out. Orion reached the forge of Hephaistos and carried a boy on his shoulders towards the sunrise. The sun restored his sight. He later hunted with Artemis. In one account, Artemis killed him on Delos. Others say a scorpion killed him. After his death, Orion was placed among the stars.

Orion went to Chios and fell in love with Merope, the daughter of Oenopion. Oenopion promised her to Orion if he cleared the island of dangerous beasts. Orion hunted the animals and brought their spoils to Merope, but Oenopion continued to delay the marriage. Orion became angry and drank heavily before forcing himself upon Merope. Oenopion then had him blinded and cast out.

Guided by Cedalion, Orion travelled east towards the rising sun. Its light restored his sight. He returned to Chios seeking revenge, but Oenopion had hidden in an underground chamber made by Hephaestus. Orion failed to find him and went on to Crete.

There, Orion met Artemis, who shared his love of hunting. He hunted with her until he attempted to violate Opis, one of her followers. Artemis killed him with an arrow for the assault. Another account says that she mistakenly believed Orion was the man who had raped her priestess, Opis.

A different account says that Apollo feared Orion's influence over Artemis. Apollo persuaded Mother Earth to send a monstrous scorpion after him. Orion attacked it with arrows and a sword, but its armour resisted his weapons. He fled into the sea. After his death, Orion was placed among the stars as the constellation that bears his name.

Across the meadows of Boeotia, Orion pursued the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Their mother fled with them. Orion was a hunter from Boeotian Hyria, said to be the son of Poseidon and Euryale. The pursuit continued as the sisters and Pleione tried to escape him across the earth.

The usual account says that the gods, or Zeus, took pity on them. They changed the sisters into doves and set their images among the stars. The seven became the star cluster called the Pleiades, placed in the constellation Taurus. Pleione was transferred to the heavens with them. Zeus also changed Orion into a constellation, so the pursuer remained among the stars near the figures of those he had chased.

There is another version of the story. It says that Artemis was angered because Orion had amorously pursued her companions, described there as the seven Pleiades. That account adds that the sisters were not all virgins. Three had lain with Zeus, two with Poseidon, and one with Ares. The seventh had married Sisyphus of Corinth, a mortal, and so was not included in the constellation. This conflicts with the usual account, in which all seven sisters form the Pleiades.

Some accounts instead connect Orion’s death with a monstrous scorpion sent against him. He attacked it with arrows and his sword, but its armour resisted every mortal weapon. The stories differ, while the constellation tale preserves Orion, the sisters, and their mother in the heavens.