V. Στεφάνου
Οὗτος λέγεται ὁ τῆς Ἀριάδνης· Διόνυσος δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς τὰ ἄστρα ἔθηκεν, ὅτε τοὺς γάμους οἱ θεοὶ ἐν τῇ καλουμένῃ Δίᾳ ἐποίησαν, ᾧ πρῶτον ἡ νύμφη ἐστεφανώσατο παρὰ Ὡρῶν λαβοῦσα καὶ Ἀφροδίτης. Ἡφαίστου δὲ ἔργον εἶναί φασιν ἐκ χρυσοῦ πυρώδους καὶ λίθων ἰνδικῶν· ἱστορεῖται δὲ καὶ διὰ τούτου τὸν Θησέα σεσῶσθαι ἐκ τοῦ λαβυρίνθου, φέγγος ποιοῦντος.
Φασὶ καὶ τὸν πλόκαμον ταύτης εἶναι τὸν φαινόμενον ἐπὶ τῆς κέρκου τοῦ Λέοντος.
Ἔχει δὲ ἀστέρας ὁ Στέφανος ἐννέα κύκλῳ κειμένους, ὧν εἰσι λαμπροὶ ⟨γʹ⟩ οἱ κατὰ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ Ὄφεως τοῦ διὰ τῶν Ἄρκτων.
5. Of the Crown
This is said to be Ariadne's. Dionysus set it among the stars when the gods held the wedding in the place called Dia; it was the first time the bride was crowned with it, receiving it from the Hours and from Aphrodite. They say it was the work of Hephaestus, made of fiery gold and Indian stones; and it is recorded that Theseus too was saved from the labyrinth by means of it, since it gave off a light.
They say also that her lock of hair is the one that appears at the tail of the Lion.
The Crown has nine stars lying in a circle, of which ⟨3⟩ are bright, those by the head of the Serpent which runs between the Bears.
VI. Ὀφιούχου
Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ Σκορπίου ἑστηκώς, ἔχων ἐν ἀμφοτέραις χερσὶ [τὸν] ὄφιν· λέγεται δὲ εἶναι Ἀσκληπιός, ὃν Ζεὺς χαριζόμενος Ἀπόλλωνι εἰς τὰ ἄστρα ἀνήγαγεν τούτου τέχνῃ ἰατρικῇ χρωμένου, ὡς καὶ τοὺς ἤδη τεθνηκότας ἐγείρειν, ἐν οἷς καὶ ἔσχατον Ἱππόλυτον τὸν Θησέως· καὶ τῶν θεῶν δυσχερῶς τοῦτο φερόντων, εἰ αἱ τιμαὶ καταλυθήσονται αὐτῶν τηλικαῦτα ἔργα Ἀσκληπιοῦ ἐπιτελοῦντος, λέγεται τὸν Δία ὀργισθέντα κεραυνοβολῆσαι τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ, εἶτα διὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα τοῦτον εἰς τὰ ἄστρα ἀναγαγεῖν· ἔχει δὲ ἐπιφάνειαν ἱκανὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ μεγίστου ἄστρου ὤν, λέγω δὴ τοῦ Σκορπίου, εὐσήμῳ τῷ τύπῳ φαινόμενος.
Ἔχει δ’ ἀστέρας ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς λαμπρὸν αʹ, ἐφ’ ἑκατέρων τῶν ὤμων λαμπρὸν αʹ, ἐπὶ τῆς ἀριστερᾶς χειρὸς γʹ, ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς δʹ, ἐφ’ ἑκατέρων ἰσχίων αʹ, ἐφ’ ἑκατέρων γονάτων αʹ, ⟨ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς κνήμης αʹ, ἐφ’ ἑκατέρων ποδῶν αʹ⟩, τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ λαμπρότερον· τοὺς πάντας ιζʹ· τοῦ δὲ Ὄφεως ἐπ’ ἄκρας κεφαλῆς βʹ * * *
6. Of the Serpent-Holder
This is the one who stands upon the Scorpion, holding a serpent in both hands. He is said to be Asclepius, whom Zeus raised to the stars as a favour to Apollo; for he practised the art of medicine so that he even raised those already dead, among whom, last, was Hippolytus the son of Theseus. And as the gods were taking this badly, [thinking] that their honours would be done away with if Asclepius were to accomplish such deeds, Zeus is said to have been angered and to have struck his house with a thunderbolt, and then, for Apollo's sake, to have raised him to the stars. He is very conspicuous, being on the largest of the constellations, I mean the Scorpion, appearing in a well-marked shape.
It has stars: on the head 1 bright one, on each of the shoulders 1 bright one, on the left hand 3, on the right 4, on each hip 1, on each knee 1, ⟨on the right shin 1, on each foot 1⟩, the one on the right foot being brighter; 17 in all; and of the Serpent 2 on the end of the head * * *
VII. Σκορπίου
Οὗτος διὰ τὸ μέγεθος εἰς δύο δωδεκατημόρια διαιρεῖται· καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐπέχουσιν αἱ χηλαί, θάτερον δὲ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὸ κέντρον. τοῦτον, φασίν, ἐποίησεν Ἄρτεμις ἀναδοθῆναι ⟨ἐκ⟩ τῆς κολώνης τῆς Χίου νήσου, καὶ τὸν Ὠρίωνα πλῆξαι, καὶ οὕτως ἀποθανεῖν, ἐπειδὴ ἐν κυνηγεσίῳ ἀκόσμως αὐτὴν ἐβιάσατο· ὃν Ζεὺς ἐν τοῖς λαμπροῖς ἔθηκε τῶν ἄστρων, ἵν’ εἰδῶσιν οἱ ἐπιγινόμενοι ἄνθρωποι τὴν ἰσχύν τε αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν δύναμιν.
Ἔχει δὲ ἀστέρας ἐφ’ ἑκατέρας χηλῆς βʹ, ὧν εἰσιν οἱ μὲν πρῶτοι μεγάλοι, οἱ δὲ δεύτεροι ἀμαυροί, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ μετώπου ⟨λαμπροὺς γʹ, ὧν ὁ μέσος λαμπρότατος, ἐπὶ τῆς ῥάχεως⟩ λαμπροὺς γʹ, ἐπὶ τῆς κοιλίας βʹ, ἐπὶ τῆς κέρκου εʹ, ἐπὶ τοῦ κέντρου βʹ· προηγεῖται μὲν ἐν αὐτοῖς πάντων φαιδρότερος ὢν ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς βορείας χηλῆς λαμπρὸς ἀστήρ· ⟨τοὺς πάντας ιθʹ⟩.
7. Of the Scorpion
Because of its size this one is divided between two of the twelve divisions of the zodiac: the claws occupy one, and the body and the sting the other. They say that Artemis caused it to rise up ⟨from⟩ the mound [?] of the island of Chios, and to strike Orion, and that he died in this way, because in the hunt he had assaulted her disgracefully; Zeus set it among the bright stars so that the people who came after might know both his strength and his power.
It has stars: on each claw 2, of which the first are large and the second faint, and on the forehead ⟨3 bright ones, of which the middle one is brightest, on the back⟩ 3 bright ones, on the belly 2, on the tail 5, on the sting 2; the one that leads them all and is the most brilliant is the bright star on the northern claw; ⟨19 in all⟩.
VIII. Ἀρκτοφύλακος
Περὶ τούτου λέγεται ὅτι Ἀρκάς ἐστιν ὁ Καλλιστοῦς καὶ Διὸς γεγονώς, ᾤκησε δὲ περὶ τὸ Λύκαιον φθείραντος αὐτὴν Διός· οὗ προσποιησάμενος ὁ Λυκάων τὸν Δία ἐξένιζεν, ὥς φησιν Ἡσίοδος, καὶ τὸ βρέφος κατακόψας, παρέθηκεν ἐπὶ τὴν τράπεζαν· ὅθεν ἐκείνην μὲν ἀνατρέπει, ἀφ’ οὗ ἡ Τραπεζοῦς καλεῖται πόλις, τὴν δὲ οἰκίαν ἐκεραύνωσε, τὸν δὲ Λυκάονα ἀπεθηρίωσε καὶ αὐτὸν λύκον ἐποίησε· τὸν δὲ Ἀρκάδα πάλιν ἀναπλάσας ἔθηκεν ἄρτιον· καὶ ἐτράφη παρ’ αἰπόλῳ· νεανίσκος δ’ ὢν ἤδη δοκεῖ καταδραμεῖν εἰς τὸ Λύκαιον καὶ ἀγνοήσας τὴν μητέρα γῆμαι· οἱ δὲ κατοικοῦντες τὸν τόπον ἀμφοτέρους κατὰ νόμον θύειν ἔμελλον· ὁ δὲ Ζεὺς ἐξελόμενος αὐτοὺς διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν εἰς τὰ ἄστρα ἀνήγαγεν.
Ἔχει δ’ ἀστέρας ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς δεξιᾶς χειρὸς δʹ, οἳ οὐ δύνουσιν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς λαμπρὸν αʹ, ἐφ’ ἑκατέρων τῶν ὤμων λαμπρὸν αʹ, ἐπὶ τῶν μαστῶν ἑκατέρων αʹ, λαμπρὸν τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ καὶ ὑπ’ αὐτὸν αʹ ἀμαυρόν, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀγκῶνος ⟨δεξιοῦ⟩ αʹ λαμπρόν, ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν γονάτων αʹ λαμπρότατον, ὃς δὴ Ἀρκτοῦρος καλεῖται, ἐφ’ ἑκατέρῳ ποδὶ λαμπρὸν αʹ· ⟨τοὺς πάντας ιδʹ⟩.
8. Of the Bear-Watcher
It is said of this one that he is Arcas, the son of Callisto and Zeus, and that he lived around Lycaeum, Zeus having seduced her. Lycaon, pretending that he did not know, entertained Zeus, as Hesiod says, and cut up the baby and set it on the table; whereupon Zeus overturned that table (from which the city is called Trapezus [Trapezous]), struck the house with a thunderbolt, turned Lycaon into a beast and made him a wolf; and he re-formed Arcas and made him whole again; and he was brought up by a goatherd. When he was already a young man he is said to have run down into the Lycaeum and, not knowing his mother, to have married her; and the people who lived there were going to sacrifice both of them according to their law; but Zeus took them out, because of their kinship, and led them up to the stars.
It has stars: on the right hand 4, which never set; on the head 1 bright one, on each of the shoulders 1 bright one, on each of the breasts 1, the one on the right being bright and below it 1 faint one; and on the ⟨right⟩ elbow 1 bright one, between the knees 1 very bright one, which is called Arcturus, on each foot 1 bright one; ⟨14 in all⟩.
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