Orion was known in ancient Greece, around 500 B.C., as the warrior.

The Great Hunter, he boasted that no animal could defeat him.

Orion was the son of Poseidon, the god of the seas.

Orion boasted that so great was his might and skill as a hunter that he could kill all the animals on the face of the Earth.  Gaea, Goddess of Earth, was alarmed at such a boastful and inappropriate statement.  Gaea decided that Orion must be killed just in case he might one day decide to carry out his boast.  So Gaea sent a giant scorpion to Orion and ordered the beast to sting Orion.  As mighty as Orion was, after only a brief battle, the scorpion managed to deliver the hunter a deadly sting.  Scorpius stung Orion on the heel (at the star Rigel).  Orion and the scorpion were given honored places in the sky, but they were placed at opposite ends of the great sky dome so that they would never engage in battle again.  Although there are other stories about how Orion met his death, this one is the most common.

In another Greek myth, the goddess Artemis (goddess of Wild Animals and of the Moon) fell in love with the handsome Orion.  Her brother, Apollo, did not like this, and plotted to destroy Orion.  One day while Orion was swimming, Apollo walked by with Artemis.  Apollo challenged her to hit the target bobbing in the water.  Artemis did not know it was the head of Orion, and shot her arrow.  The arrow struck Orion in the head killing him.  When Orion's body washed ashore by the waves, Artemis was horrified to see her arrow and to learn that she had been tricked by Apollo.  In great sadness she tenderly placed the body of Orion in her silver Moon-chariot an carried him high up into the sky.  Then finding the darkest place, so that his stars would shine the brightest of all surrounding stars, she placed him where we see him today.

In one myth, Orion was blinded by King Oenopion for kidnapping his daughter Merope, who Orion was trying to marry.

He was the Sun-god of both the Egyptians and Phoenicians.

The ancient Arabians called Orion Al Jauzah,  loosely meaning "the Middle Figure of the Heavens," and Al Babadur,  "the Strong One."

The Jews called him Gibbor,  or "the Giant" who was strapped to the great sky dome for rebelling against Jehovah.

The Hindus once called him Praja-pati,  meaning "the Stag."  The stag was said to be chasing his own daughter, Aldebaran, but was killed by an arrow shot by Sirius.  The arrow can be seen sticking into the stag as Orion's belt stars.

In ancient China, Orion formed part of a larger constellation recognized as the White Tiger.

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