Narrative

The Giant Orion

​

​

It is said that there was once a hunter, called Orion, the son of a king, Hyrieus. The son of the king grew tall, so tall, that his forehead was over the clouds , and if he went swimming in the waves of the sea, where the water was deeper, his chest remained outside.

This giant, this lad, out of all the existing crafts, indulged only one: hunting. He also had a charmed dog, called Sirius, and together they would wander, hunting, far, over seas and countries. The God of the sea, Poseidon, had given Orion the gift of being able to walk on water, like on land. He had given the son this gift because once, Hyrieus feasted in honour of him in his country, just the way Poseidon liked it.

But, at the time our story begins, Orion had already done enough laudable deeds, praised all over the land. He, among others, had been called by the king of Chios to help him. The beautiful island, Chios, had been invaded by wild animals. The brave Orion fought and destroyed all the wild animals who ruined the land.

In return for his deed, the hunter had asked for the hand of the king’s daughter. But the king – unwilling to give him the child – cunningly got Orion drunk and, when he was deeply sleeping, the king drew his eyes out with a sharp knife, hidden under his royal coat.

The giant woke up in terrible pains. He wanted to catch the enemy and kill him, but, groping without seeing, he stumbled and, as tall as he was, collapsed on the sea shore, with his head and shaggy hair in the waves.

But he had still not given up. He lifted himself and, listening more carefully what was happening, he’s discerned in the distance a noise. The knocking of big hammers on the anvil.

He had then understood that Lemnos – the island where the crafter of the Olympus, Hephaestus, was working hard with a dwarf – was nearby. The giant walked through the sea, guided by the noise, until he had reached Lemnos. There, he asked for the limp God, Hephaestus’ help. Through an oracle, the crafter advised Orion to stand, in every morning dawn, when Eos – the aurora – is coming up, with his eyes to the sunrise, and he will heal with time. Orion listened to his advice, and at every sunrise, he took a child on his shoulders. The child would guide him with his face towards the roasted sunrise and, tall as he was, and the sun rays would fall on his face first, slowly, he has been cured from his suffering.

His eyes started seeing, firstly easy and weak, like through a sieve, and then better and better, until Orion’s sight was like new.

Just so, during the time he was waiting for his healing, looking at the sunrise, Eos kept seeing him and fell in love with the sturdy Orion.

​

​

​

Two Goddesses are Arguing for a Mortal

​

​

More, the aurora Goddess loved the sturdy hunter so much, that she cast a spell and took him in the sky with her.

The moment the other Goddesses saw Orion, other hearts had also beaten for him. And out of all of them, the most in love with him was Artemis herself. And in her jealousy on Eos, she almost committed s thoughtless act. And the Gods started thinking: “How? She, Olympian Goddess, wants to take another Goddess’ mortal and make him her man?”

‘Our glory will fade, said Zeus to the others, if we don’t do something about it. No! I won’t allow this to happen in Olympus. Let’s stop her as soon as possible.’

‘But how?... But how?... asked Hera. And who would dare?...’

‘I will dare! said Apollo. She is my sister and I owe it to her to defend her, to the end, of this inconsiderate love for a mere mortal.

And in the next day, at dawn, Apollo called for Orion. He ordered Orion to quickly leave and hunt many birds, the ones who were flying over Poseidon’s sea. And then to hunt animals from faraway land.

The order of Apollo had had to be fulfilled right away. Orion took his club, his bow and quiver and his broadsword. On his shoulders he tossed a lion fur he had killed a long time ago. He took his dog, Sirius, and they have both left hunting.

Apollo was watching him leaving. His rough eyes were sparkling.

​

​

​

A New Constellation

​

​

The hunter was far away. He could be barely seen over the sea, a small dot, lost in the horizon. then Apollo called for his sister, Artemis, with a gentle, bigoted voice:

‘Sister, come quickly! You said so many times that no one in this world is better than you in hunting. I want you to prove this to me today. If you can do this, I will admit your primacy, and even say you are better in shooting a bow than I am. Do you accept?’

‘Of course, brother. What is the target? I just need to take my bow… and shoot carefully.’

And Artemis placed the arrow on her bow and pulled the string.

‘Look there! Can you see, sister, a small and pale dot, ready, almost ready to disappear?...’

‘I see it. It must be a bird.’

‘Can you shot it?’

‘You’re kidding, Apollo! said the Goddess, sure of herself. Not to touch such a target?... If it was smaller – one idea; if it was further away, over the world, I can still shot it. Watch out!...’

Aiming, in a moment, the Goddess shot her arrow to the moving dot in the blue horizon, that was barely visible.

The arrow pierced the clear morning sky and shot the target right in the chest.

A terrible roar was heard, and Orion collapsed.

The sea empurpled of blood and Eos started mourning with a sharps voice:

‘Artemis, you killed my lover!...’

Artemis, without answering, ventured on a golden cloud. She rushed to the place where the hunter was lying in the waves and lovingly gripped him. And, overwhelmed of pain, she begged Zeus the permission to send him between the Constellations, her beloved, Orion, not to completely perish, so she can see him, every day.

Zeus, the master, seeing so much pain, sent the hunter in the sky. It’s the constellation that is called, according to the legend, Orion. It can be seen from the beginning of the summer and dies close to the arrival of winter, when big rains fall from the sky. These rains are perhaps tears, as it is said in poems. Tears spilled by the Goddesses.

So that Orion isn’t alone in the sky, Artemis asked Zeus to give him a friend, next to him, the dog who has accompanied him, during his lifetime, in hunting. This is how Sirius is in the Sky, a shining star, that can be seen clearly in the summer, in the constellation Canis Major.