Sagitta: Difference between revisions

 

Sagitta's shape is reminiscent of an arrow, and many cultures have interpreted it thus, among them the Persians,[citation needed] Hebrews,[citation needed] Greeks andRomans. The Arabs called it as-Sahm, a name that was transferred Sham and now refers to α Sge only.Ancient GreeceSagitta can be seen above Aquila in this plate from Urania's Mirror (1825).In ancient Greece, Sagitta was regarded as the weapon that Hercules used to kill the eagle (Aquila) of Jove that perpetually gnawed Prometheus' liver. The Arrow is located beyond the north border of Aquila, the Eagle. Others believe the Arrow to be the one shot by Hercules towards the adjacent Stymphalian birds (6th labor) who had claws, beaks and wings of iron, and who lived on human flesh in the marshes of Arcadia - Aquila the Eagle and Cygnus the Swan, and the Vulture- and still lying between them, whence the title Herculea. Eratosthenes claimed it as the arrow with which Apollo exterminated the Cyclopes.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagitta Sagitta]</ref>