Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/150

Two geometrical figures called Corvus, the Crow, and Crater, the Cup, rest on the back of this Lernean Hydra. These two small constellations are easily traced, one having the form of a quadrilateral figure and the other a section of a circle. Kippax says that Crater has been variously called the Cup of Hercules, the Cup of Achilles, the Cup of Medea and the Wine Cup of Noah. The Greeks called Crater the "Goblet of Apollo" but according to Manilius it was the "generous Bowl of Bacchus," God of Wine.

During the springtime, Hydra, the Water-snake, may be seen creeping along the horizon in the south.

Although this Water-snake is generally represented as the one connected with the Labors of Hercules, there is also another legend which combines the Crow, the Cup and the Snake in one tale. The crow was at one time Apollo's favorite bird until one day, in anger at its tale bearing, the Sun-god turned its color from

[136]