Myths about Stars

While many civilizations developed associated myths with various combinations of stars in the sky, some also associated specific stars with their myths. The stories below provide a mix of stories about stars and star groups from various cultures around the world.
This is a Pawnee Indian shown in ceremonial dress. The Pawnee people were one of the largest and most powerful of the Native American groups. They, like many indigenous groups, had a sophisticated knowledge of astronomy. They also had many stories (myths) that connected their people to the natural world.<p><small><em> Image is now in public domain. It was originally published by Powell, J. W. <i>Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology - Part 2.</i> Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904.</em></small></p>The Pleiades (Tianquiztli) are portrayed in the upper left of this image. Other symbols represent other constellations, a meteor, the sun, the moon, and eclipses. From the Primeros Memoriales, a sixteenth-century colonial manuscript compiled by Fray Bernardino de Sahagun.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of David Carrasco and Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. University Press of Colorado, 1992. </em></small></p>

Explore Myths about Stars

Greek: Hyades

For the ancient Greeks, the Hyades were daughters of Pleione and Atlas, a giant who carried ...Read more

Greek: Pleiades

In Greek mythology, the Pleiades were seven sisters. Their names were Maia, Electra, Alcyone, ...Read more

Navajo: Flintboys

The Flint Boys is the name that Navajo Indians give to the Pleiades. According to a Navajo ...Read more

Pawnee: Tirawa

According to the Pawnee Indians, the world was created by the god Tirawa who assigned to the ...Read more

Navajo: Coyote

According tho the Navajo mythology, the Milky Way was created by the misbehavior of the mischievous ...Read more

Maya: The Milky Way

Mayans seem to have thought of the Milky Way as the mystic road along which souls walk into ...Read more

Hindu: Krttika

In the Hindu mythology, it is said that the stars of the Big Dipper were the seven sages called ...Read more

Hindu: Svaha

According to Hindu mythology, Svaha represents the star Zeta Tauri, which is the tip of one ...Read more

Aztec: Tianquiztli

The Pleiades were known to the Aztecs as Tianquiztli which means the "marketplace." The Pleiades ...Read more

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