Aquarius (constellation)

Originally posted to Shrubbery, 8 Oct 2003

Aquarius is the 11th zodiacal constellation and is said by some to represent Ganymede, cupbearer to the Olympians.

Ganymede was originally a young prince of Troy who had been sent to live as a shepherd for a while (as was the custom, apparently). One day he was spied by Zeus, who immediately fell in love with him (originally this was understood as a sexual love, but the Romans and later the Victorians were careful to avoid that part of the story). Zeus made up his mind to bring the youth to Olympus, so one day when Ganymede was out watching his flock Zeus sent a magnificent rooster to crow away and distract the boy. Ganymede was filled with amazement at the sight of the bird and began chasing it to bring it back to the farmyard.

As the chase lead the boy away from his companions, Zeus' eagle Aquila suddenly swooped out of the sky and grabbed Ganymede. By the time the other shepherds heard the youth's cries it was too late -- Ganymede was lost to them.

Zeus had intended to make Ganymede immortal and have him serve at his table, but there was one major problem. His jealous wife Hera had a daughter named Hebe who was already serving as cupbearer. Some of the stories say that Hebe retired gracefully to marry the hero/demigod Heracles, but some say she was maliciously tripped up one day as she was serving the Olympians and was forced to turn her cup over to Ganymede in shame. Either way, you can imagine that Hera was not impressed.

Despite her best plans, however, Ganymede was soon Zeus' constant companion. He was known to the people of earth as a symbol of compassion. Once when the earth was suffering a terrible drought Ganymede pleaded with his master Zeus to be allowed to pour just one cupful from his magic chalice to relieve the world a tiny bit. Zeus, touched by this kindness, gave Ganymede leave to pour the rains over the earth and end the drought. This is why Aquarius is usually represented as a man pouring a large container of water down from the sky.

The constellation Aquarius used to mark the start of the rainy season for many different ancient cultures.