Talk:Augeas

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[edit] Origin

The following speculation appears to be from Edward Carpenter: Pagan and Christian Cults (1920).

The Romans gave the constellation of Capricorn its name, taking it from part of a myth also concerning Pisces. The Greeks called it the Augean Stable, since the sun (brightness - the meaning of the name Augeas) appears to go to rest (i.e. stable) there during the winter solstice.

Since this time was so dark, early Greek religious ideas were that the darkness of the sky was due to the accumulation of sin throughout the year, thus the stable is extremely dirty and never cleaned before that year. These sins were said to be washed away as the sun arose again, and the next sign of the Zodiac is Aquarius, who is implicated in Greek mythology as causing a great flood. The factual river Alphaeus drains the mountains, but runs mostly underground, thus was seen as having been diverted.

While less silly than much modern mythography, we should not be stating this in Wikipedia's voice. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 21:32, 26 November 2007 (UTC)