The Aquarius Myth
In several ancient civilisations such as Egyptian, Babylonian and Greek there was a god known as the Water Bearer. Water was essential for sustaining life and whatever force caused the rain to fall from the heavens, was always amongst the most revered of the Gods.
In Greek mythology the Water Bearer was thought to be the handsome Gannymede, cup-bearer to the Gods. Gannymede was the son of Laomedon, King of Troy, and one day while tending his father’s flock of sheep he caught the eye of Zeus, gazing down from the heights of Mount Olympus. He asked who the beautiful youth was and when told decided to bring Gannymede up to Olympus to serve the Gods. He transformed himself into a giant eagle and swooped down to earth. As the sheep fled in terror Zeus snatched the boy up in his mighty claws and swiftly flew back to Mount Olympus. Once there the young man soon became a favourite with the gods who made him their cup-bearer serving them with a mixture of water and Nectar.
Not surprisingly Laomedon was very upset by his son’s abduction. To make amends Zeus sent Laomedon a present of two magnificent horses. They were the fastest horses in the world their father being the North Wind.
Laomedon wished to fortify Troy and make it unassailable. To help him achieve this he enlisted the help of the Sea God Poseidon. But when the work had been completed Laomedon’s greed got the better of him and he refused to pay Poseidon his fee. Furious at this slight Poseidon sent a fearsome sea monster to destroy the people of Troy and to spit seawater over their farmland.
The great hero Hercules heard about the king’s plight and agreed to help, however he demanded the magnificent horses as his reward. Laomedon reluctantly agreed to this and Hercules travelled to the beleaguered city. Quickly tracking down the monster he unexpectedly leapt down the great beast’s throat and with many mighty blows from his sword hacked at the inside of the monster’s body until the creature collapsed mortally wounded.
Emerging from the monster’s gaping mouth Hercules went to claim his reward. But once again the king went back on his word and refused to hand over the horses. In a terrible rage Hercules left Troy only to return with a vast army. He broke through the city’s defences and killed Laomedon. He then slaughtered all of the king’s sons and daughters.
The Gods, watching from Olympus rejoiced that one son, Gannymede, had escaped Hercules terrible revenge, being safe with them. To celebrate, they placed an image of their beloved cup-bearer up in the heavens, where he can still be seen pouring water into the mouth of the Southern Fish (Pisces Austrinis).