Myths in the Sky: the Big & Little Triangles, the Fly and the Ram

The Big Triangle (lat. Triangulum), the Little Triangle, the Fly

The Big Triangle is an ancient constellation apparently dedicated to the three colonies on the Island of Sicily.

The Little Triangle and the Fly constellations are no longer in use; the stars they contained are now included in Aries.

^{Johannes Hevelius, atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Map 25}

The Ram (lat. Aries)

This is a very ancient zodiac constellation. Eight thousand years ago the winter solstice point was in it. The Egyptians brought it offerings and prayed it to let the Sun descend to the Earth so that people could make use of its light and heat. Earlier than three millenia B. C. the vernal equinox point was in it. In ancient Egypt the Supreme Being Amon — Ra was depicted with the head of a ram. There is an alley with ram-headed sphynxes, leading to the famous Solar Temple in Kamak (near Luxor). Evidently these religious motifs are interconnected.

^{Johannes Hevelius, atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum, Map 26}