Culture Alert!

[JackLuis]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Diane_aupr%C3%A8s_du_cadavre_d%27Orion.jpg

Daniel Seiter's 1685 painting of Diana over Orion's corpse, before he is placed in the heavens

The legend of Orion was first told in full in a lost work by Hesiod, probably the Astronomy; simple references to Hesiod will refer to this, unless otherwise stated. This version is known through the work of a Hellenistic author on the constellations; he gives a fairly long summary of Hesiod's discourse on Orion.[6] According to this version, Orion was the son of the sea-god Poseidon and Euryale,[7] daughter of Minos, King of Crete. Orion could walk on the waves because of his father; he walked to the island of Chios where he got drunk and attacked Merope,[8] daughter of Oenopion, the ruler there. In vengeance, Oenopion blinded Orion and drove him away. Orion stumbled to Lemnos where Hephaestus had his forge. Hephaestus told his servant, Cedalion, to guide Orion to the uttermost East where Helios, the Sun, healed him; Orion carried Cedalion around on his shoulders. Orion returned to Chios to punish Oenopion, but the king hid away underground and escaped Orion's wrath. Orion's next journey took him to Crete where he hunted with the goddess Artemis and her mother Leto, and in the course of the hunt, threatened to kill every beast on Earth. Mother Earth objected and sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion. The creature succeeded, and after his death, the goddesses asked Zeus to place Orion among the constellations. Zeus consented and, as a memorial to the hero's death, added the Scorpion to the heavens as well.[9

I was doing some research for a story on circa 2000 BC and tripped over this picture and description, which busted out in bunnies for Cletus and the Amazons.

Anyway I liked the picture

 

[3113]

Not a very good story, though. What is Orion's motivation? Character arc? Why is Artemis enamored of him to putting him up in the heavens? Wouldn't she sympathize both with Mother Earth in wanting to keep around some animals to hunt as well as sympathize with the girl Orion attacked? And while walking on the waves works as a super power for the son of a sea god, I don't see why a sea god's son would also be a good hunter on land.

I think this story needs work.

 

[sr71plt]

These two guys looked like they were about to have a good time before the dame showed up.

 

[3113]

These two guys looked like they were about to have a good time before the dame showed up.

True. She looks like she's saying, "Outta the way. I've first dibs." And that poor bearded fellow had just gotten out the extra-large jug of baby oil!