A retelling of the classic myths and timeless tales by bestselling author Annette Gieseck that underlie the 88 named constellations in the night sky–from Andromeda to Orion to Ursa Major. Classical Mythology of the Constellations is a stargazer’s guide to the wondrous stories of the gods,heroesand monsters that populate the night sky. As long as humans have lived on Earththey have gazed up at the starry sky with fascination and longing. For the ancient Greeks and Romansthe SunMoonand Earth were gods. The stars beyond our Solar Systemhoweverrepresented heroesanimalsand monsters that the gods placed in the sky after their death. These include the great hunter Orion and the scorpion who killed him with its stingthe beautiful maiden Callisto who was turned into a bear (Ursa Major) by the goddess HeraPerseusthe slayer of Medusaand many more. In this beautifully designed workstunningly illustrated by Jim TierneyGiesecke tells the origin stories of the 48 constellationsfirst catalogued by the astronomer Ptolemy in the first century CE. A final section covers the nameslocationsand brief descriptions of the remaining 40 constellations catalogued by astronomers in the sixteenthseventeenthand eighteenth centurieswhich are not named for Classical figures. Organized by hemisphere and celestial quadrantthe book also includes two illustrated star maps to help guide the reader to the location of each constellationas well as 48 color plates throughout.