Introduction
Orion is a giant hunter of immense size and skill, traditionally regarded as a son of Poseidon, whose stories, which vary considerably between ancient sources, generally end with his death and transformation into one of the most easily recognised constellations in the night sky.
Family
- Father: Poseidon
- Siblings: Triton, Theseus, Pegasus, Chrysaor, Polyphemus
Birth traditions
Ancient sources give several different accounts of Orion's birth; one striking version has him formed from the combined urine of Zeus, Poseidon and Hermes, buried in an ox-hide at the request of a childless man who had hosted them, an origin story reflected in a folk etymology connecting his name to the Greek word for urine.
Death
Accounts of his death vary widely: in one tradition, he is killed by Artemis, either because he challenged her to a contest or because he assaulted one of her companions; in another, well-known version, he pursued the seven Pleiades until Zeus transformed them into doves and then stars to save them, and Orion was later killed by a scorpion (in some tellings sent by Gaia or Artemis), after which both he and the scorpion were placed in the sky as separate constellations, positioned so that Orion is said to flee whenever Scorpius rises.
The constellation
Orion is one of the most recognisable constellations in the sky worldwide, its distinctive belt of three stars visible from both hemispheres, and it remains directly named for him across many cultures that adopted Greek astronomical tradition.