The Cancer Myth
The crab has the distinction of being the first symbol of the Zodiac to be placed in the heavens by an immortal other than Zeus. The crab, originally known as Carcinus which is Greek for crayfish, was put into the sky by the third wife of Zeus, Hera.
Hera was the guardian of family and home and so believed passionately in the sacred bonds of marriage. She was therefore understandably jealous and hurt by the many illegitimate children that her husband Zeus had fathered. She had particular hatred for one of these, the great hero Hercules.
Hercules was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman Alcmene. Hera resented the presence of Hercules and made several attempts to kill him as he grew up. His mighty strength always saved him.
Earlier that year Hercules had relieved the city of Thebes from having to pay a tribute to a neighbouring state and as a way of thanks the king Creon offered his daughter Megara to Hercules in marriage. The two were happy together and soon had children to complete their joy. Hera, seeing this, now saw her chance to crush Hercules. She twisted his mind with a madness which made him believe his wife and children had betrayed him and become his enemies. In a fit of rage he slew his children in front of his terrified wife's eyes before turning and killing her. As the madness passed, he saw what a terrible deed he had done and vowed to travel to the oracle at Delphi to ask what he must do to atone for this terrible deed. The Oracle commanded Hercules to serve the king Eurystheus and for 12 years faithfully carry out every task he was set.
His first was to kill the mighty Nemean lion, his second was to defeat the nine headed Hydra. Hercules had heard the stories that when one of the Hydra’s heads was cut off another grew back making the beast as strong as ever.
When Hercules found the Hydra he was taken aback by its serpent like heads hissing and spitting fire. Even knowing of the Hydra’s strange ability, he was still amazed to see, after he had cut off one of its heads, another start to grow from the stump of its neck. The goddess Hera was watching the fight and realised she had another chance to destroy Hercules.
She commanded a giant crab to crawl from the mud of a nearby river. The crab moved slowly but relentlessly towards Hercules. When it was near enough it closed a mighty claw around the warrior’s ankle. Hera hoped this would disable Hercules long enough for the Hydra to strike and kill him. But Hercules was mightier than she realised, he lifted his other foot and brought it crashing down on the crab’s shell cracking it in two. Turning back to the Hydra he eventually defeated the monster.
Hera did not forget the crab who had died by her command and placed him into the heavens in recognition of his sacrifice.