ARIES: THE RAM
CONSTELLATION
9 MAYON
ARIES: THE RAM
•Aries is the first sign of the zodiac
and is represented by the ram.
It’s located in the northern
celestial hemisphere, between
Pisces and Taurus
MYTHOLOGY AND STORY:
• The story begins in the ancient Kingdom of Boeotia;
it’s a kingdom that thrived under King Athamas and
the cloud nymph Nephele. Together, they had
children named Phrixus and Helle. However,
Athamas eventually fell in love with Ino, the
daughter of King Cadmus.
MYTHOLOGY AND STORY:
• Nephele was angered by the situation and left the
palace. Athamas and Ino had two children named
Learchus and Melicertes. Ino, desiring her own
children to inherit the throne, plotted to eliminate
Phrixus and Helle. Ino distributed dried and
corrupted seeds to the farmers, which caused
famine when the crops failed to grow.
MYTHOLOGY AND STORY:
• To know the cause of the famine, Athamas sent an
envoy to the Oracle of Delphi, a prophetess, a
priestess to the Greek god Apollo. However, the
envoy had been deceived by Ino earlier (in some
versions, the deceived person is a priest in the
temple). As a result, they informed the king that the
cause of the famine was Nephele’s children.
MYTHOLOGY AND STORY:
• Reluctantly, the king decided to sacrifice them, but
at that moment, a golden-winged ram sent by
Nephele arrived. The ram carried Phrixus and Helle
on its back, rescuing them. While flying on the
ram’s back, Helle fell into the sea due to the storm’s
influence; that sea was named Helle’s sea, or
Hellespont, in her honour.
MYTHOLOGY AND STORY:
• Phrixus, however, continued his journey on the
ram’s back and reached Colchis, where he was
welcomed by King Aeetes. Phrixus was then
married to the king’s daughter, Chalciope.
Phrixus sacrificed the Golden Ram to the gods
and gifted its radiant fleece to the king.
MYTHOLOGY AND STORY:
• The Golden Fleece was hung in a sacred grove
and was guarded by a serpent. In honour of
this event, the gods placed the ram in the sky
among the stars, making it the symbol of the
constellation Aries, and the ram became
associated with the zodiac sign of Aries.
FACTS:
• Aries is visible in both the Northern and
S1outhern hemispheres from September
through February. The best time to see the
constellation is at about 9:00 in the evening in
early December.
STARS:
Hamal – Hamal is the brightest star in the northern zodiacal constellation of Aries.
Sheratan – Beta Arietis, officially named Sheratan is a star system and the second-brightest star in the
constellation of Aries, marking the ram’s second horn
Mesarthim – Gamma Arietis is a binary star (possibly trinary) in the northern constellation of Aries. Called
“The First Star in Aries” as having been at one time the nearest visible star to the equinoctial point.
41 Ari – 41 Arietis is a triple star system in the northern constellation of Aries. With an apparent visual
magnitude of 3.63, this system is readily visible to the naked eye.
Why is it important to spread scientific
awareness about zodiac constellations, and why
should we avoid defining people based on their
horoscope?
Spreading awareness about zodiac constellations is
important because they can sometimes lead to
prejudice. These constellations are astronomical
formations, not indicators of personality. People
should be judged based on their actions and
character, not the alignment of the stars at their
birth.
