Scorpio

The land of Crete was ruled the cruel King Minos. King Minos was a tyrant who ordered Aegeus, King of Athens, to send seven boys and seven girls to Crete to be eaten by the Minotaur. This was done every nine years, much to the dismay of Minos' daughters.

Minos had many children by four different women. His final child, Euryale, was born to him by the beautiful Androgeneia. Euryale was gifted with her mother's beauty, and none of her father's cruelty.

Euryale often spent her days walking the beaches of Crete. She loved the ocean, and the smell of salt in the air. Her ocean visits did not go unnoticed, as Poseidon couldn't help but notice the beautiful mortal wandering the beach.

The two met on the beaches of Crete, and soon fell in love. Their love produced a child, Orion.

Orion was gifted by his father the power to walk on water. As he grew, he became a renown hunter who could kill any prey he set his sites on. Orion was also gifted his mother's beauty. Women everywhere became infatuated with the demi-god, but his most attentive lover came in the form of the goddess of dawn, Eos.

Eos was equally as beautiful as Orion, blessed with rose-tinted fingers and golden arms from opening the gates of Heaven for the sun to rise. The goddess had enormous white wings, like those of a dove. She was often draped in saffron, and shone like the sun itself. Her beauty caused jealousy in the other goddesses.

Having caught the attention of Ares, Eos began an affair with the God of War. His sweetheart, Aphrodite, became aware of the lovers, and in her rage she cursed Eos to perpetually be in love. Any mortal man with god-like beauty caused Eos to lose herself, and she often kidnapped the men with tragic consequences.

When Eos saw Orion, her heart was overcome with love for him. She went down to the mortal man, snatched him away and flew to the island of Delos.

Their love for each other grew as the couple spent many months together on Delos.

It just so happened that the island Eos chose to harbor her paramour was the home of the goddess Artemis. As the goddess of the hunt, Artemis took note of Orion's hunting prowess. The two became hunting companions, and spent their time together in the wilds of Delos.

In time, Orion felt the need to leave Delos. He parted with Eos, and walked upon the ocean's waters in search of new lands. He came to Crete, and met with Artemis and her mother Leto.

The three joined together for another hunt. As Artemis would take aim, Orion would rush in with his mighty club and kill his prey. He never let the goddesses bring down their game, and this inflated his ego. Orion declared himself the greatest hunter to have ever lived, and he announced that he would kill every beast that walked the earth.

This proclamation reached the ears of Mother Earth — Gaia. Gaia was offended by Orion's desire to kill all life that she created. In her anger, she summoned a massive scorpion as tall as Pnyx hill, and sent it to kill the demi-god in retribution.

Orion was shocked at the size of the scorpion, but his arrogance convinced him that he could take the beast on. He charged into battle with his club held high. The battle raged on, and Orion swung his mighty club so ferociously that the scorpion seemed to stand no chance.

Alas, the demi-god became overconfident and his attacks became careless. He lazily hit away the scorpions pincers, and turned back to smile at the goddesses, Leto and Artemis. With his back turned, the scorpion struck the demi-god's heart with his venomous stinger, killing him instantly. Once his adversary had died, the scorpion succumbed to his wounds.

Artemis was shocked by Orion's sudden death. In her despair, she called out to Zeus who came to her at once. When Zeus saw the body of Orion, he felt pity at his daughter's sorrow. He picked up the bodies of Orion and the scorpion, and placed them amongst the stars as the constellations Orion and Scorpius. The two mighty opponents were placed as if in an eternal battle.