Astrology / Mythology Horoscope

Capricorn

This constellation is one that has retained a mythological explanation which predates the Greeks. Capricorn, the Seagoat, is thought to be the image of a powerful Babylonian deity named Ea. He has the lower half of a fish and the head and torso of a goat. The god lived in the ocean. He came out every day to watch over the land, and he returned to the sea every night. The Greek version of this legend does not match with the physical description of the Seagoat. Greeks thought that the starry figure was Pan, a Greek demigod. Pan had the upper half of a man, but he had the legs of a goat. He was the son of Hermes and a forest nymph. According to legend, when the nymph saw her strange baby, she shrieked in fear and ran away. Hermes, however, loved his strange son. He took him to Olympus, where the other gods and goddesses also took a liking to Pan. He became the god of shepherds and flocks, taking the responsibility from his father. He did not dwell on Olympus; he preferred to live among the shady trees in the mountains. He amused himself by playing his beloved reed pipes (known as Panpipes), or by chasing nymphs through the woods.