Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/299



a variety of titles are indicative of the antiquity of a constellation, and its importance in the minds of the ancients, the constellation Hercules may well be considered one of the oldest and most prominent of the early star groups.

The origin of this constellation is shrouded in mystery. It was not known to Greek astronomers by the name "Hercules," but as "Engonasi" or "Engonasin," meaning the "Kneeling One." They also knew it as "the Phantom," and "the Man upon his Knees." Aratos refers to the figure as "the inexplicable Image." Manilius also alludes to the mystery attached to the title of this star group. Creech thus translates the passage:

As Hercules is usually represented,

In his right hand he brandishes a club, and in his left he holds a branch, in which serpents are entangled. Over his shoulders is thrown a lion's skin.

Allen tells us that some modern students of Euphratean mythology associate Hercules and Draco with the Sun-god Nimrod, and the dragon Tiamat slain by him. This