CYGNUS The Swan

The representation of the stars of Cygnus as a bird has pre-Greek origins. The original Mesopotamian figure is thought to have been known as Urakhga , the prototype of the Arabic Rukh , best known to us as the huge "Roc" in the Arabian Nights' tale of Sindbad the Sailor, a fictional character based on the merchants of Baghdad.

On his second voyage, Sindbad found a roc's egg, which was 50 paces in circumference. When the parent roc arrived at the place where the egg had been found, Sindbad clung to its claws and was carried to the Valley of Diamonds, so that he was able to return home with a sizeable booty of treasure.

Several Greek myths tell of young men being turned into swans. However, the best-known and most relevant tale is that of Leda, wife of King Tyndareus, Leda lay both with her husband and with Zeus (in Roman myth, Jupiter), who had taken the guise of a swan. As a result of these unions, she produced two eggs; from one she bore Helen of Troy, from the other came the Dioscuri ("sons of god"), Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux).