Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/166

 happens, and the earth grows withered and drear. Of all the myths, Virgo seems the most charming when identified as Proserpine. Watch for the white flame of Spica as it rises just south of east on the 10th of April, for Spica shines on the ear of wheat in the hand of Ceres' daughter and is a symbol of the coming spring.



The red star Antares lies on the heart of the Scorpion and stands out conspicuously with a bright star on either side.

In Greek legend this is the same Scorpion which so frightened Phæthon, rash child of the Sun-god, when he was driving his father's chariot along the zodiac. The headstrong youth had experienced trouble enough in passing by the ferocious Nemean Lion, and he was just getting a free breath while driving by the Virgin and the Scales when he came to this terrifying creature sprawled along and almost blocking the sky path. Unable to longer control either himself or his excited horses, Phæthon turned the steeds aside and blazed a new pathway, which soon grew cold and left a gray ash across the sky. The strip burned out by the scorching heat of the chariot may still be seen at night and is claimed by some to be the Milky Way.

There is still another legend which tells how the scorpion came to be a constellation. In ancient Greece there was once a mighty hunter named Orion. Armed with only a club, this powerful and handsome giant was able to conquer any beast in the world but, unfortunately, he boasted so continuously that Juno resolved to teach him a lesson. One day while he was battling with a mon-