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Ophiuchus (serpent bearer)Location: Equatorial, visible in both HemispheresCoordinates: Right Ascension: 17h Declination: 0º Source: Greek Mythology  The story behind the name: The constellation Ophiuchus seems to be a figure of a man entwined with two snakes, one in each hand. The constellation is an ancient one, but most often associated with Asclepius, the son of Apollo and Coronis. Asclepius was regarded as the founder of medicine, having learned the healing arts from both his father Apollo and his tutor, the wise Centaur Chiron.
In one series of myths, Asclepius is killed by Zeus. He is said to have tried to save the life of Orion after the famous hunter was accidentally killed by Athena's arrow. Zeus struck him down before he could finish. "Another myth says that Asclepius could actually raise people from the dead, using healing powers he'd learned from witnessing a snake with a mouth full of herbs (some of which Asclepius took to study) revive its dead brother. A variant on this myth says that Athena gave him one or two vials of blood from Medusa, a goddess with hair of living, venemous snakes; her gaze could turn a living creature to stone. One vial could be used to destroy, the other to raise the dead. Another version said that she only gave him the life-saving blood.
In any case, Hades, god of the underworld, was angered by Asclepius's actions, arguing that souls were being stolen from him. Whether it was quantity, or a particular healing that so angered Hades -- in addition to Orion, Asclepius was said to have resurrected Tyndareus, Glaucus and Hippolytus -- legend says that Hades persuaded his brother Zeus to kill Asclepius. After doing so however, Zeus, regretting his decision, gave Asclepius the name Ophiuchus, or "serpent bearer", and placed his constellation among the stars of the Serpens, in recognition of his contributions to healing and medicine." Introduction to Constellations | Constellation Sources | Constellations Index Objects observed by Chandra in Ophiuchus:
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Revised: August 30, 2006
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