Andromeda: mythology and reality

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The older generation of the inhabitants of the former Soviet Union is very familiar with the name Andromeda, but not because Greek mythology was well taught in schools, but because in 1957 a science fiction and at the same time the socio-philosophical novel by Ivan Efremov "The Nebula of Andromeda". The incredible popularity of this work is evidenced by the fact that it was reprinted more than 20 times during the years of Soviet power.

Named constellation

Many far from astronomy people became aware that there is a nebula in space called Andromeda. Mythology, especially Greek mythology, gave names to many cosmic bodies and objects.

She immortalized the father and mother of this girl. Andromeda's father was a nice and kind man - he sheltered the long-suffering Demeter, who was looking for her missing daughter all over the world. In addition, he is considered the inventor of the first irrigation system. According to legend, the constellation in the Northern Hemisphere was named after Cereus (or Cepheus) at the behest of Pallas Athena herself.

Cruel andfrivolous gods

But for some reason, another constellation was named after the absurd and impudent mother Cassiopeia - the cause of all the misfortunes that Andromeda experienced. The mythology of the ancient Greeks left this instructive story to the world. It is contained in the cycle of stories about Perseus. The ancient Greek gods did not like people. Everyone knows what a terrible punishment the lecherous Zeus subjected Prometheus to for saving perishing humanity by giving him fire. Drinking nectar, they loved to watch the wars on earth from the height of Olympus, they provided some help only to their favorites. But if it came to punishing mortals who were guilty of something, then their imagination became simply irrepressible.

Cause of the tragedy

The essence of the story is that Andromeda (mythology tells about this), a quiet, smart, friendly and very beautiful girl, was doomed by Poseidon to a painful death in order to punish an arrogant mother in such a cruel way, who constantly clung to the Nereids, proving to them that she is more beautiful than all of them put together. Nereids are sea deities who quietly splashed in the waters of the ocean, danced, admired each other and so on.

And a woman stood on the shore and shouted that she was more beautiful than them. The Ethiopian queen was especially pestering with comparisons to Dorida and Panope. But when Cassiopeia began to cling to Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife, the latter's patience snapped, and he sent a terrible sea monster to Ethiopia.

The essence of the story

Terror seized Ethiopia. According to some reports, the monster systematicallybegan to devastate the country, then demanded every day to chain one girl to a rock, and gradually the turn came to the king's daughter. According to other versions, the oracle of Ammon immediately said that the monster would retreat if Andromeda was sacrificed to him. Mythology mentions this story in connection with the exploits of Perseus, who, according to the Greeks, just reached the southern edge of the world on his winged sandals. When he approached land, the first thing that the son of Zeus saw was a beauty chained to a rock. She was motionless, petrified with horror, and only her hair fluttering in the wind told the hero that there was a living girl in front of him. Perseus went down to her and learned the whole terrible story that Andromeda told him. Greek mythology tells that an innocent beauty who got into such a terrible story immediately won the heart of the hero.

Outrageous insult

And then the sea roared, foreshadowing that a monster was about to appear. The parents of the beauty came running, nothing but to look at the bloody ending. Where they were before is unknown. But the essence of the punishment chosen by Poseidon was that Cassiopeia should have seen the terrible death of her daughter - he still suspected that in this arrogant heart there was room for motherly love, and it should burst with grief.

The punishment of the stupid mother was to be torn to pieces by the innocent Andromeda (mythology). The goddess Amphitrite probably demanded just such revenge from her husband Poseidon. Maybe by that time she had no children of her own, andshe did so with the cruelty of an offended young beauty. Moreover, a mere mortal offended her.

I killed the monster, I freed you - and now, beautiful girl, I want to marry you

Perseus, before joining the battle with another evil, asked his parents for the hand of his daughter and a promise that they would keep their word. Some researchers blame him for such prudence. Obviously, the hero knew his strength and doubted the decency of future relatives. He received consent, and in a difficult battle he defeated Leviathan. Do not list the works of literature and painting that turned to this plot of "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece". The moment of the liberation of the beauty is especially famous for the works of Rubens. He had several of them.

Virtue Rewarded

Andromeda in mythology is a symbol of an innocent victim who received a well-deserved reward in the final for her virtue. After the wedding, which was not entirely successful, Perseus took his beloved wife to Argos, where they lived happily ever after. But there are other options.

In real life in space there is a Nebula, or the Andromeda Galaxy, and on earth - the great works of Rubens and the wonderful novel by I. A. Efremov.