Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/187

Rh of Starland, and in Greek mythology is connected with the well-known story of Perseus and Andromeda.

Burritt gives the following concise account of the part Cassiopeia played in this drama:

"Cassiopeia was the wife of Cepheus, king of Æthiopia, and mother of Andromeda. She was a queen of matchless beauty, and seemed to be sensible of it, for she even boasted herself fairer than Juno, the sister of Jupiter, or the Nereides, a name given to the sea nymphs. This so provoked the ladies of the sea that they complained to Neptune of the insult, who sent a frightful monster to ravage her coast as a punishment for her insolence. In addition, Neptune demanded a sacrifice of Cassiopeia's daughter Andromeda." The sequel to this sad tale is related in the mythological references to the constellations Perseus and Andromeda.

Brown thinks that this whole story of the sacrifice of Andromeda is Phœnician. He tells us that Cassiopeia was known as "Eurynomê" or " Quassiu-peær," meaning "beauty" or "rosy faced." In the cuneiform inscriptions we meet with the goddess "Kasseba," probably an ancient form of Cassiopeia. On the Assyrian tablets Cassiopeia was "the Lady of Corn," and the Alphonsine tables described the figure as holding the consecrated palm.

There seems to be a decided resemblance between Cassiopeia and the constellation Virgo, which may be nothing more than a coincidence. Virgo we find was called "the Maiden of the Harvest," and was represented as holding a sheaf of wheat or an ear of corn in her hand, and Cassiopeia as we have seen was called "The Lady of Corn."

Again Virgo was represented as a sunburned damsel, while Cassiopeia was called "Æthiop's Queen," clearly indicating her dusky complexion. The Arabs associated dogs with both constellations.

Cassiopeia is represented on some old maps as holding a palm in her left hand. Virgo is invariably represented as carrying a branch in her left hand.