Taurus is one of the major constellations of winter. In addition to two stories involving Zeus’s unspeakable private affairs, the region around Taurus contains the famous Crab Nebula and the Pleiades star cluster.
The White Bull That Abducted Princess Europa
Europa was a princess of the Phoenician. One day, the princess was strolling on the beach with her maidens, where she became one of the classic victims in Greek mythology. Zeus in the heavens was captivated by the princess and transformed into a white bull that approached the shore. The princess was drawn to the bull’s handsome appearance, and under the bull’s coaxing, she climbed up its back. The bull transformed from Zeus seized this opportunity and charged toward the sea. As the waves crashed, Princess Europa lay fearfully against the bull and clutched its horns tightly. The bull performed a miracle by running across the sea. Seeing this, the princess realized that this was certainly no ordinary bull, so she prayed that the bull would not harm her. The bull transformed from Zeus said nothing and continued running until it reached Crete. There, Zeus revealed his true form and declared his love to Princess Europa, who eventually gave birth to three children for him. The white bull, admired for its striking beauty, was placed in the sky by Zeus and became the constellation Taurus.
Io, Who Was Turned Into a Cow to Escape the Goddess
Another story is about the unfortunate Io. Io was a priestess who devoutly served the goddess Hera in a temple. One day, Zeus became enamored with Io. Despite Io’s utter unwillingness, she was hidden by Zeus within an overwhelming mass of clouds. Hera noticed the sudden appearance of this strange cloud and immediately knew it had to do with Zeus, who has the power the control clouds. Hera dispersed the cloud at once, revealing a white cow standing by Zeus’s side. Knowing that this was no simple matter, Hera demanded that Zeus give her the cow as a gift. Zeus had no choice but to hand the cow over. After receiving the cow, Hera assigned Argus, who possessed one hundred eyes, to keep strict watch over it. Zeus then sent Hermes to rescue Io, but Hera sent a gadfly to sting the cow that Io had become. Io could only flee continuously, running across lands until she crossed the sea and reached Egypt, where she was finally restored to human form by Zeus. Some also interpret the cow form of Io in this story as another possible origin of the constellation Taurus.
Astronomical Objects in Taurus
The winter night sky is rich with bright stars, among which Aldebaran sits at the eye of Taurus. It is the fourteenth brightest star in the night sky. Persian astronomers grouped Aldebaran with Regulus of Leo, Antares of Scorpius, and Fomalhaut of Piscis Austrinus as the four royal stars. The name Aldebaran means “the follower,” because in the sky Aldebaran always appears to follow the Pleiades.
The Pleiades star cluster lies along the line extended from Orion’s Belt to Aldebaran, and is commonly known as the Seven Sisters. To the naked eye, six brighter stars can usually be seen. The origin of the name Seven Sisters may relate to positional or brightness changes of the stars at different periods, causing the visible number of bright stars to vary. Around the world, many tales concerning the Pleiades circulate, and they coincidentally describe a group that originally numbered seven but, for various reasons, became six, showing human attempts to explain why the number of visible stars differs.
In addition to Aldebaran and the Pleiades, Taurus also contains the Crab Nebula, Messier 1, located at the tip of its horn. It is the clearest recorded remnant of a supernova event in human history. In the year 1054, observers across different regions documented a supernova so bright it was visible even during the day — the progenitor of the Crab Nebula. Several centuries later, observers once again saw the nebula’s outer shell. Because its inner filament structures resembled crab legs, it was named the Crab Nebula.
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Easter Egg
and recalled the days back in school,
when he and six friends left their mark and forged the seven great mysteries.
Time truly spares no one.
