Constellation Pleiades
conceptThe seven daughters of Atlas and the Oceanid Pleione, pursued by Orion and transformed into a star cluster that has guided sailors and farmers for millennia.
The Myth
The Pleiades were seven sisters: Maia, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope. Their father Atlas was condemned by Zeus to hold up the sky after the Titanomachy. Orion the hunter pursued the sisters relentlessly across the earth, and Zeus transformed them into doves, then placed them among the stars to escape him. Maia was the most distinguished sister, becoming mother of Hermes by Zeus in a cave on Mount Cyllene. Electra bore Dardanus, founder of the Trojan royal line. Merope alone married a mortal, Sisyphus, which is why her star shines faintest. Hesiod used the rising and setting of the Pleiades in Works and Days to mark the agricultural calendar — their appearance in May signalled the harvest season and their setting in November marked the time for ploughing.
Parents
Atlas, Pleione
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Subaru car company is named after the Pleiades — "Subaru" is the Japanese name for the cluster, and the logo shows six stars (one representing the merger that formed the company). The Pleiades appear in the mythology of virtually every culture on earth, from Aboriginal Australian Dreamtime to Lakota tradition, making them arguably the most universally storied object in the sky.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
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conceptA syncretic figure combining the Greek Hermes with the Egyptian Thoth, representing ultimate...
Titanomachy
conceptThe ten-year war between the Titans led by Cronus and the Olympian gods led by Zeus, resulting in...
Trojan Horse
conceptThe hollow wooden horse used by the Greeks to infiltrate and destroy Troy. Devised by Odysseus, it...
Trojan War
conceptThe Trojan War was the central event of Greek mythology — a ten-year siege of Troy by a Greek...
Pleiades
nymphThe Pleiades were seven sisters, daughters of Atlas and Pleione, who were placed among the stars as...
Alcyone
nymphAlcyone and her husband Ceyx called themselves Zeus and Hera; as punishment, both were transformed...
Atlas
titanThe Titan who was condemned to hold the celestial sphere on his shoulders for eternity. His name...
Electra
heroDaughter of Agamemnon who plotted with her brother Orestes to avenge their father's murder by...
Hermes
godThe swift messenger of the gods and guide of souls to the underworld. Hermes was the cleverest of...
Hermes (Messenger)
godHermes was the messenger god, guide of souls, patron of travellers and thieves — the most versatile...
Hermes Kriophoros
godAn epithet of Hermes meaning "ram-bearer," depicting the god carrying a ram on his shoulders, an...
Hermes Psychopompos
godIn his role as Psychopompos, Hermes escorted the souls of the dead to the underworld — the only...