Let’s begin with Sagittarius, the Archer. This zodiac is surrounded in various myths, first originating from the culture of the Sumerians and later adopted by the Greeks and Romans. Sagittarius begins as a depiction of the Sumerian god of war, Nergal, who was represented as an archer. For the Greeks, it could have been associated with the satyr Crotus, son of Pan and the nurse of the Muses, Eufeme. He was believed to be the inventor of archery, so upon his death the muses asked Zeus to place him in the heavens, where he can be seen demonstrating his skills as an archer. Alternatively, for both the Greeks and Romans, it could have been identified as the famous centaur, Chiron. However, this is uncertain as the Sagittarius constellation may have been commonly confused with the Centaurus constellation, also possibly depicting Chiron.
Similarly, Capricorn is also seen to have been depicting various myths through time. Babylonians believed that Capricorn was a Sea-Goat, a god named Ea, who brought learning and culture to the people of Mesopotamia. It was believed that Ea lived in the ocean and that he came out of the water every day to watch over the land and returned at night. In Greek mythology, the constellation is sometimes identified as Amalthea, the goat that nursed the infant Zeus after his birth. When Zeus became king of the gods, he showed his gratitude for Amalthea by picturing her among the stars. Pisces may represent the myth following the defeat of the Titans. To get revenge on the victorious Olympians, Gaia (Mother Earth) sent a horrible monster to destroy the Gods. This monster, Typhon, had one hundred dragon heads with flaming eyes and mouths filled with black tongues. To escape Typhon, many of the gods having been warned by Pan transformed themselves to hide: Zeus took the shape of a ram, Hermes an ibis, Apollo a crow, Artemis a cat, and Dionysus a goat. However, Aphrodite and her son, Eros, were caught unaware while bathing at a river. To escape they transformed into fish, with their tails tied together so they wouldn’t be separated. Just before Typhon could destroy them, they swam into the depths of the river. Alternatively, it is believed two fish appeared on the riverbank and carried Venus and Cupid to safety.
Scorpio follows various versions of the myth of the hunter Orion. One version is that Orion, the most handsome man in the world, was punished for boasting. Gaia sent a scorpion to sting Orion, killing him, and to celebrate this victory Gaia placed the scorpion’s image in the stars. Another myth suggests that Orion was in love with seven sisters, the Pleiades. He chased them, however they were terrified and begged Zeus to save them. Zeus transformed the sisters into doves and punished Orion with the sting of the scorpion. Similarly, this Scorpion was now placed in the sky by Zeus, in pursuit of an alternative constellation depicting Orion.
Taurus is associated with the famous legend of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus volunteered to be one of the youths from Athens who would be offered as food to the half-man, half-bull Minotaur. With the help of Minos' daughter Ariadne, he found his way into the labyrinth and killed the Minotaur with a club, finding his way out again with a strand of thread given to him by Ariadne. Libra's symbol of the scales is based on the Scales of Justice held by Themis, the Greek personification of divine law and custom. It is the only zodiac sign formed from an object, rather than a particular person or creature in mythology. However, Libra’s are seen to be the children of Venus, the goddess of love.