In Greek mythology, seven daughters of Atlas whom Zeus placed among the stars after death crossword

Unraveling the Mystery of the Hyades in Greek Mythology

The crossword puzzle you mentioned poses an intriguing question: "In Greek mythology, seven daughters of Atlas whom Zeus placed among the stars after death." The answer, as you correctly noted, is the Hyades - a group of stars in the constellation Taurus that hold a significant place in ancient Greek mythology.

The Daughters of Atlas

The Tragic Tale of the Hyades

In Greek mythology, the Hyades were the seven sisters of the Pleiades. All were daughters of the Titan Atlas and the ocean nymph Pleione. The Hyades grieved deeply after the death of their brother, Hyas. Overcome with sorrow, they wept bitterly. Moved by their profound loss, Zeus transformed them into a cluster of stars in the night sky.

Honoring the Hyades

The Hyades were revered in ancient Greece because people linked them to rain and to the turn of the seasons. When the cluster first rose before the Sun, farmers plus sailors took it as the sign that the rains would begin. In myth the sisters stood for loyalty between sisters and for sorrow strong enough to cross the boundary between life but also death.

The Hyades in the Night Sky

A Prominent Constellation

The Hyades form the bright V-shaped face of Taurus. Bright Aldebaran, the eye of the bull, stands beside them - the pattern has been easy to pick out for thousands of years.

• The Hyades sit 151 light years from Earth - this distance places the cluster among the nearest star groups to the solar system.
• The cluster contains at least 350 stars. Seven of the brightest stars form a clear "V" shape. In Greek myth, this shape represents the Hyades.
• The Hyades belong to the Taurus Moving Group. All stars in this group drift through space on the same path. They likely formed from one shared gas cloud.
• Beyond myth, the Hyades help astronomers fix the scale and layout of the Milky Way.

Conclusion - Enduring Legacy of the Hyades

The Hyades hold a long myth and a bright place in the night sky. The story begins in tragedy but ends as a sign of sisterly love plus of the turning seasons. The Hyades remain woven into Greek myth and into the awe of the heavens.