Zodiac Constellations Rachel Pagac Nikky Hayges Period 7 Due: September 24, 2010

Leo (The Lion) Many civilizations over thousands of years have portrayed the constellation of Leo as a lion. One theory is that the Sun was among its stars in Midsummer, during which time the lions of the Egyptian desert left their accustomed haunts for the banks of the Nile, where they could find relief from the heat in the waters of the in inundation. Pliny the Elder wrote that the Egyptians worshipped the stars of Leo because the rise of their great river coincided with the Sun entering among them.

LEO The constellation is referred to in an inscription on the walls of the Ramesseum at Thebes, which, like the Nile temples generally, was adorned with the animal's bristles. On the planisphere of Dendera, its figure is shown standing on an outstretched serpent. The Egyptian stellar Lion, however, comprised only a part of the modern constellation, and in the earliest records some of its stars were shown as a knife, whereas they now are as a sickle.

The early Greeks did not recognize Libra as the scales, but included it as the claws of the scorpion. Credit is usually given to the Romans for creating this constellation as a sign of the autumnal equinox. The constellation first appeared in the Julian calendar in 46 B.C. The constellation appears again in 43 B.B. in which a comet appeared during the same year as Caesar’s assassination. The writing indicated the comet took his soul to heaven, this comet may very well be the same one seen in 531, 1106, and 1680. It’s next appearance will be in 2255. LIBRA

Libra Scales Libra means “The Scales” or “Balance” because when the zodiac was still in its infancy. As a symbol for equality, the constellation came to represent Justice in several middle Eastern cultures. The Greeks had a different perspective. At one time Scorpios, which just lies to the east, was much larger, and the stars that make up Libra were known as the Claws of the Scorpion. Eventually, these stars of Libra, came to represent the Golden Chariot of Pluto.

Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_(constellation) http://www.library.thinkquest.org/c004580/mway/libra.html Works Cited