The zodiacal constellation Sagittarius represents the centaur Chiron. Most of the centaurs were regarded in myth as bestial--they were, after all, half horse. However, the ancient Greeks had a great deal of respect for the horse, and so were reluctant to make the centaurs entirely bad. In fact, Chiron was renowned for his gentleness. He was an excellent archer, musician, and physician, and tutored the likes of Achilles, Jason, and Hercules.
Chiron, however, was accidentally shot and wounded by Hercules. The arrow, which had been dipped in the poison of the Lernaean Hydra, inflicted great suffering on Chiron--so great, in fact, that even the talented physician could not cure himself. In agony, but as an immortal unable to find release in death, Chiron instead offered himself as a substitute for Prometheus. The gods had punished Prometheus for giving fire to man by chaining him to a rock. Each day an eagle would devour his liver, and each night it would grow back. Jupiter, however, had at the request of Hercules agreed to release Prometheus if a suitable substitute could be found. Chiron gave up his immortality and went to Tartarus in place of Prometheus; in recognition of his goodness, Jupiter placed him in the stars.
Sagittarius is a prominent constellation of the zodiac. It consists of many medium-bright stars, and is a treasure-trove for binocular and telescope observers alike, with many deep sky objects to investigate. It is quite a challenge to study this constellation from a starmap, but is nevertheless very rewarding to just look at, for Sagittarius is located in the direction of our Milky Way galaxy’s centre. It sits right inside the broad band of the milky way itself, against a vast starry background. Sagittarius is a zodiac constellation playing important role in european and chinese astrologies.
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