Constellation
Ophiuchus - The Serpent Holder
Object name: Ophiuchus
Equatorial: RA: 17h 11m 05s Dec: -04°14'51"(current)
Equatorial 2000: RA: 17h 10m 48s Dec: -04°14'24"
Sky Database: Constellation
Abbreviation: Oph
Genitive Form: Ophiuchi
Description: The Serpent Holder
Pronunciation: AHF' ih YOO' kuhs
Genitive Pronunciation: AHF' ih YOO' ky
The constellation Ophiuchus
represents Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. Asclepius was the son
of Apollo. He was raised by Chiron, the half-man
half-horse creature represented in the constellation Centaurus.
Centaurus taught Asclepius the art of healing, at which he became so
skilled he could raise the dead. Hades, god of the Underworld, not
wanting to see his supply of souls reduced, had Zeus strike Asclepius
down with a thunderbolt. Apollo, deeply angered, then killed the three
Cyclopes who made Zeus' thunderbolts.
In an attempt to appease Apollo, Zeus
made Asclepius immortal in the form of the constellation Ophiuchus.
His body is wrapped in the constellation Serpens, the snake. Snakes
were thought to have great healing powers since they periodically shed
their skin and are "reborn." This is why the snake has become a
traditional symbol of medicine.
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