Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/385

Rh that "he might escape in the West as the reptile rose in the East."

The Hindus connect in a legend, Aldebaran, the red star in the eye of the Bull, Sirius, known to them as "the Deer-slayer," and Orion, which they regard as "a Stag." The story is as follows: "The Lord of created beings fell in love with his daughter. She took the form of a dove and fled. He thereupon changed himself into a stag and pursued her, but was shot by Sirius, who was selected by the indignant gods to slay him."

The three stars in the head of the Mighty Hunter constitute one of the Hindu lunar stations known as "the antelope's head, " in accordance with this myth.

Another legend concerning Orion relates that he was the lover of Merope, daughter of Œnopion, King of Chios. His suit was frowned upon, so he attempted to elope with the fair object of his affections. The King, however, discovered his perfidy, and drugging him, put out his eyes, and left him alone on the seashore. Following the sound of a hammer, Orion, it is said, made his way to the forge of Vulcan, where he besought assistance. Vulcan placed him on the shoulders of a Cyclops, who carried him to the top of a mountain, where, facing the rising sun, he received his sight.

This legend connects Orion with the Sun-god, and the title he sometimes bears, "Light of Heaven."

There is an analogous myth of the moon-goddess