CAPRICORN
(December 22 - January 20)
Capricorn by KAGAYA
CLICK TO ENLARGE |
The constellation of the
Greek zodiac called Capricorn, is as strange as that of
Sagittarius. It is a sea god, with the head and half the body of
a goat, and the tail of a fish.
The story of Capricorn is associated with the birth of Zeus, the
king of the Olympians. When Rhea gave birth to baby Zeus, she
feared that her cruel husband Cronus would devour her child,
just as he did with the five previous ones that she gave birth
to.
Rhea replaced Zeus with a large stone and presented that to
Cronus. He swallowed the stone and thought himself safe.
Rhea then secretly took her child to the island of Crete, where
he was safely kept in a cave on Mount Dicte. There, he was
nursed and cared for by Amaltheia, whose name means "tender".
She was a goat nymph, and she looked after baby Zeus with the
greatest love and devotion, feeding him on her own rich milk and
sweet lavender-scented honey.
Zeus's golden cradle was suspended high upon a tree so that
Cronus would never find him in Heaven or Earth, or even in the
ocean. Young boys were dispatched to bang pots and metal,
creating a racket around the tree so Cronus would not hear the
cries of baby Zeus.
When Zeus later became the lord of the universe, he did not
forget his goat-mother, Amaltheia, who had nursed him so
lovingly. He took one of her horns and turned it into the
Cornucopia, the horn of plenty, which is always filled with
whatever delicious food or drink its owner may wish for, and is
never empty.
Finally, in recognition of all she had done for him, Zeus set
Amaltheia's image among the rest of the stars on the Greek
zodiac, as the constellation of Capricorn. |
