What is the story behind Scorpio?

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The story behind the constellation in Scorpio mythology has many possible origins, but the one that is most often referenced is the story of Scorpio versus Orion.

Orion was a giant hunter, some say the son of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon. He was considered a great hero, but he had a way of pissing off the gods that both became his undoing, and created the constellation Scorpio.

The primary story goes that Orion was the lover of Eos (Greek mythology), the goddess of the dawn, and bragged about his conquests with her. This of course, made her angry. Then Orion bragged about how he was such a great hunter that we was going to kill every creature on earth.

Normally in Greek myths this is the point where Artemis, the Greek hunting goddess, would take offense to anyone claiming superiority in hunting skills, and cut them down to size. The only thing was that Artemis had a big time crush on Orion and actually found him charming. Her brother, Apollo, the sun god, did not find this claim quite so amusing, as he was also the god of the animal herds. Neither did Gaia, Greek mythology’s great earth goddess, for obvious reasons.

So Apollo and Gaia talked and decided that it was time for Orion to go, so Gaia created a giant scorpion to hunt the hunter. This is where Scorpio mythology essentially begins and ends. Orion pretty much knew he was screwed, so he ran, and Scorpio chased him.

Depending on which myth you want to go with, either Scorpio killed Orion, or Artemis accidentally shot Orion in the head thinking she was shooting Scorpio. Either way, Orion died.

The leader of the gods Zeus, once again inserting himself at the tail end of a myth, had been watching the whole thing and put both Orion and Scorpio in the sky as constellations, but placing them 180 degrees apart so that they wouldn’t keep fighting in the heavens.

This doesn’t give us that great of a look at Scorpio himself. This myth pretty much is all about Orion, and Scorpio gets to be a bit player in his own mythology. Not exactly a tale befitting a major zodiac symbol.

Interestingly, the Scorpio zodiac symbol is often depicted in several different forms, including the shape of an eagle and a serpent, as well as a scorpion.

Unrelated to Greek mythology, these symbols immediately bring to mind the Mexican coat of arms, which depict an eagle devouring a snake, perched upon a cactus. This was the symbol that signified where the founding of Tenochtitlan would be. It is interesting also that if you consider the eagle devouring the snake as Scorpio devouring Scorpio, this coincides well with the fact that a scorpion, when cornered with no means of escape, will sting itself to death.

There is little reason to believe that ancient Greek and ancient Aztec myths share any sort of origins, but it does add a layer of interest to the otherwise short tale of Scorpio mythology.

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Scorpio: The Scorpion

While many stories exist that speak of the great Scorpion, plenty of stories describe this mighty beast in a head-to-head battle with the great hunter Orion. Unlike Cancer the Crab, who was sent to the sky for eternity in honor of its tragic death against the heel of Hercules, the sign of Scorpio the Scorpion represents the defeat of a great man by an even mightier animal. Thus, lean in close as we tell you of the demise of Orion by the stinger of the boundless Scorpion!

Once upon a time, in the lands of ancient Greece, long before action figures and toy stores, there were whispers of a hunter so large and attractive in all respects that no living man dared to challenge his prowess and strength. Orion was his name.

Rumors surfaced as the years passed that Orion was getting greater, faster, and stronger than anyone—even the gods themselves. Like Athena and Hercules, Orion had drawn the interested of a particular Greek goddess, himself. Artemis, the goddess of hunting and survival, was particularly fascinated by the boastfulness of Orion. She knew that she was the best hunter capable of roaming the Grecian hills, and yet, Orion not only proudly boasted of his ultimate greatness, but he also passionately believed that he was the greatest warrior indeed.

Now, not all gods were as easy-going and humoring when it came to boastful humans. Quite frankly, goddesses like Hera and gods like Apollo the sun god, Artemis’ brother, were not so forgiving. Great and ethereal gods, like Gaia goddess of the earth, usually chose to stay out of human affairs altogether. But Orion would run to the highest mountain peaks to declare his greatness, and the support of men like this by gods like Artemis and Athena worried Gaia, Hera, and Apollo greatly.

Orion became increasingly independent. Eventually, he lost contact with those who had raised him. Orion only followed the voice and musings of Artemis and himself. He roamed forests, mountainsides, and pastures aplenty in search of a hunt—day and night, dusk until dawn. Always beside him, his dogs would leer and bark at the sign of any movement. He was quite a sight to see!

He eventually happened on an unusual terrain—the desert. Sandy footsteps trailed for miles behind him as Orion ventured farther than he ever had before. He knew Artemis was either up ahead or close behind, and he did not fear the unknown. However, Orion had no idea of the fate that was to sting him deeply for eternity.

He shuffled his sandaled feet quickly through the crumbling pieces of land below him; he swiped his sword back and forth, back and forth in front of his body; and he cried out at the top of his lungs, «I am the man of gods!»

Watching from the safety of Mount Olympus above, Gaia, Apollo, and Hera themselves shuffled back and forth: they had decided. With the snap of her nimble fingers, Gaia created a giant scorpion to take Orion down. As the brave and boastful hero stumbled on a pack of wild boar resting in the shade of a stone pillar, he drew his sword and began to shout, «I said, I am the man of all gods!»

The boars awakened and trampled the sandy ground beneath their ruddy toes. Orion chortled and basked proudly in the noises he heard around him. He closed his eyes and lifted his sword to slice a beast below him. However, his pride blinded him: the scorpion swooped in with its stinger and impaled the great and mighty Orion. As the scorpion lifted Orion in the air, an arrow from Artemis’ bow pierced the hero’s leg. Orion heard Artemis gasp in horror as the scorpion mouthed Gaia’s great and gentle words, «Even we gods make mistakes.»

Orion let out his last breath, and Artemis returned to her brother Apollo. Gaia, Hera, and Apollo greeted her with the compassion of familiarity. And the scorpion became the stars in the sky. The gods knew historians and writers like us would continue to write about Orion’s bravery and so chose to center the narrative around the beast instead. The constellation Scorpio is where the scorpion lives now. It shuffles its stinging mark across the sky. It is the fiercest and bravest of us all.

Scorpius

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• Space.com — Scorpius Constellation: Facts About the Scorpion
• Windows to the Universe — Constellations — Scorpius
• IndiaNetzone — Scorpio, Zodiac
• Chandra X-Ray Observatory — Scorpius

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• Scorpius — Children’s Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
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• Space.com — Scorpius Constellation: Facts About the Scorpion
• Windows to the Universe — Constellations — Scorpius
• IndiaNetzone — Scorpio, Zodiac
• Chandra X-Ray Observatory — Scorpius

Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• Scorpius — Children’s Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• Scorpius — Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Also known as: Scorpio
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Scorpius, (Latin: “Scorpion”) also called Scorpio, in astronomy, zodiacal constellation lying in the southern sky between Libra and Sagittarius, at about 16 hours 30 minutes right ascension and 30° south declination. Its brightest star, Antares (Alpha Scorpii), the 15th brightest star in the sky, has a magnitude of 1.1. Its name comes from the Greek for “rival of Ares” (i.e., rival of the planet Mars) and was probably given because of the star’s red colour and brightness. The brightest X-ray source in the sky, Scorpius X-1, is found in this constellation.

In astrology, Scorpius (or Scorpio) is the eighth sign of the zodiac, considered as governing the period from about October 24 to about November 21. Its representation as a scorpion is related to the Greek legend of the scorpion that stung Orion to death (said to be why Orion sets as Scorpius rises in the sky). Another Greek myth relates that a scorpion caused the horses of the Sun to bolt when they were being driven for a day by the inexperienced youth Phaeton.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.