The legend of Orion

Orion is considered to be the most striking and extraordinary star pattern.

A veritable treasure trove of celestial wonders, it features two of the brightest stars, Rigel and Betelgeuse, and its three bands of stars, arranged in a unique diagonal alignment.

There are countless legends about Orion. There is more than one story about how he died. This is one of them

Diana, the moon goddess, fell in love with Orion and neglected her task of illuminating the night sky, often preferring to follow him and plunge the night sky into darkness.

His twin brother Apollo, the sun god, was furious. It was bad enough that the moon chariot was idle, but it was even more shameful that his sister had fallen in love with a mortal.

One afternoon, after seeing Orion swimming in the open sea, he challenged his sister to hit what looked like nothing more than a speck in the waves.

-You may be the goddess of the hunt, -he taunted her- but I bet you couldn't hit that faint, dark object on the horizon.

Not realising it was Orion, Diana shot him with her bow.

Later, when Orion's body washed up on the shore, she saw what she had done.

Heartbroken, she placed his body in her chariot and drove to the darkest place in the night, placing it in the sky, which was suddenly filled with stars.

Diana also had Orion's dogs follow her and marked each dog with a bright star.

Her grief also explains why the face of the moon, though so bright, looks so sad and cold.