Piscis Austrinus
One of the 88 IAU constellations with a very old history: The original Greek name was The Great Fish was given to an earlier Babylonian constellation The Fish. When the constellation Pisces (two fish) was invented in Hellenistic times (possibly in Egypt) as a super-constellation from parts of neighbouring Babylonian originals (see Anunītu, Nunu, KU6, ...), the original constellation of The Fish needed to be specified. To distinguish the two fish of Pisces from the traditional The Fish south of Aquarius, it was named Piscis Austrinus (or Notius as a Latinized Greek term for "south").
Etymology and History
The Greek constellation ...
Origin of Constellation
Babylonian
Greco-Roman
Aratus
Below Capricorn and exposed to the winds of the south hovers the Fish, turned to face the Monster, distinct from the former two: they call it the Southern Fish. (Kidd 1997)
Eratosthenes
Hipparchus
Hyginus, Astronomica
This is the Fish that is called Southern. He seems to take water in his mouth from the sign of Aquarius. Once, when Isis was in labor, he is thought to have saved her, and as a reward for this kindness she placed the fish and its young, about whom we have spoken before, among the stars. As a result the Syrians generally do not eat fish, and worship their gilded likenesses as household gods. Ctesias, too, writes about this. (Mary Ward 1960)
Geminos
Almagest
| id | Greek (Heiberg 1898) | English (Toomer 1984) | ident. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ἰχθύος νοτίου ἀστερισμός | Constellation of the Southern Fish | ||
| 1 | ὁ ἐν τῷ στόματι ὁ αὐτὸς τῇ ἀρχῇ τοῦ Ὕδατος | The star in the mouth, which is the same as the beginning ofthe water | alf PsA |
| 2 | τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς φοτίου τῆς κεφαλῆς περιφερεύας γ’ ὁ ἠγούμενος | Thc most advanced of thc 3 stars on the southcrn rim of the head | bet PsA |
| 3 | ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν | The middlc onc | gam PsA |
| 4 | ὁ ἑπόμενος τῶν τριῶν | The rearmost of the three | del PsA |
| 5 | ὁ πρὸς τῷ βράγχω | The star hy thc gills | eps PsA |
| 6 | ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς νωτιαίας νοτίου ἀκάνθης | The star on the southcrnmost spine on the back | mu PsA |
| 7 | τῶν ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ β ὁ ἑπόμενος | The rearmost of the 2 stars in the belly | zet PsA |
| 8 | ὁ προηγούμενος αὐτῶν | The more advanced of them | lam PsA |
| 9 | τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς βορείου ἀκάνθης ἢ’ ὁ ἐπόμενος | The rearmost af the 3 stars on the northern spine | eta PsA |
| 10 | ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν | The middle one | tet PsA |
| 11 | ὁ προηγούμενος τῶν τριῶν. | The most advanced of the three | iot PsA |
| 12 | ὁ ἐπ’ ἄκρας τῆς οὐρᾶς | The star on the tip of the tail | gam Gru |
| ἀστέρες ἴα, ὧν δ’ μεγέθους θ, ε β | {11 stars, 9 of the fourth magnitude, 2 of the fifth} | ||
| Οἱ περὶ τὸν νότιον Ἰχθὺν ἀμόρφωτοι. | |||
| τῶν προηγουμένων λαμπρῶν φ τοῦ Ἰχθύος ὁ ἠγούμενος | The most advanced ofthe 3 bright stars in advance ofPiscis [Austrinus] | eta Mic | |
| ὁ μέσος αὐτῶ | The middle one | tet1 Mic | |
| ὁ ἐπόμευος τῶν τριῶη | The rearmost of the three | xi Gru | |
| ὁ τούτου προηγούμενος ἀμαυρός | The faint star in advance of this | tet2 Mic | |
| τῶν λοιπῶν πρὸς ἄρκτους β’ ὁ νοτιώτερος | The southernmost of the remaining 2 stars to the north | gam Mic | |
| ὁ βορειότερος αὐτῶν | The northernmost of them | alf Mic | |
| all | ἀστέρες ξ, ὥν γ’ μεγέθους γ, δ’ β, εα. |
Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation
Greek Mythology
Weblinks
- Ridpath, Ian, “Star Tales: online edition”.
References
