Ptolemy christened my constellation after any number of dead sons named Cygnus. There’s Cygnus the son of Aries who foolishly challenged Hercules to a duel—and died. There’s Cygnus the son of Poseidon who fought on the Trojan side of the Trojan War—and died. And there’s Cygnus son of Helios who had an accident while riding his father’s chariot across the sky—and died. Postmortem, the gods stepped in, transforming most of these guys into swans.
Ptolemy christened my constellation after any number of dead sons named Cygnus. There’s Cygnus the son of Aries who foolishly challenged Hercules to a duel—and died. There’s Cygnus the son of Poseidon who fought on the Trojan side of the Trojan War—and died. And there’s Cygnus son of Helios who had an accident while riding his father’s chariot across the sky—and died. Postmortem, the gods stepped in, transforming most of these guys into swans.