The Chained Lady
Andromeda, beneath her mother shining.
Aratos.
The origin of the constellation known to us as Andromeda is lost in remote antiquity, but the myth that relates to Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, and associated with the constellation, is probably as well known to-day as any that has come down to us. According to this myth, Cassiopeia boasted that she was fairer than the sea nymphs. This attitude was offensive to Neptune, who despatched a monster of the deep to ravage the seacoast. Cassiopeia, terrified at the prospect, besought the aid of the all-powerful Zeus, who ruled that her daughter Andromeda must be sacrificed to appease the wrath of the sea god. Consequently Andromeda, amid great lamentation, was chained to a wave-washed rock, there to await the coming of the sea monster to devour her.
In accordance with this legend, we find the constellation Andromeda depicted in the old star atlases as a beautiful maiden chained to a rock, with Cetus the Whale or the sea monster represented near at hand about to devour her.
In Burritt's atlas,[1] Andromeda is represented with chains attached to her wrists and ankles. The rock to which she was said to have been bound does not appear in the picture.
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- ↑ Geography of the Heavens, by Elijah H. Burritt.
