- Eratosthenes and Hyginus both affirm that the lion was placed in the sky because it is the king of beasts. Mythologically speaking, this is reputed to be the lion of Nemea, slain by Heracles as the first of his 12 labours. Nemea is a town some way south-west of Corinth. There the lion lived in a cave with two mouths, emerging to carry off the local inhabitants, who were becoming scarce. The lion was an invulnerable beast of uncertain parentage; it was variously said to have been sired by the dog Orthrus, the monster Typhon, or even to be the offspring of Selene, the Moon goddess. Its skin was proof against all weapons, as Heracles found when he shot an arrow at the lion and saw that it simply bounced off.
passage through the ecliptic
- Star Tales - Virgo (ianridpath.com)
Virgo is the second-largest constellation in the sky, exceeded only by the much fainter Hydra. The Greeks called the constellation Παρθένος (Parthenos), which is the name Ptolemy gave in the Almagest. She is usually identified as Dike, goddess of justice, who was daughter of Zeus and Themis; but she is also known as Astraea, daughter of Astraeus (father of the stars) and Eos (goddess of the dawn). Virgo is depicted with wings, reminiscent of an angel, holding an ear of wheat in her left hand (the star Spica).
- Denny Mountain (summitpost.org)
Denny Mountain is the prominent peak seen to the northwest of Snoqualmie Pass and to the north of I-90. The mountain consists of a one-mile long ridgeline oriented to the NNW with many jagged outcrops. The southern buttress of Denny can be seen towering above I-90 as the road approaches the pass from the west but the actual highpoint of the summit is hidden from eastbound freeway vantage points. The summit can be spotted by westbound drivers from the pass. Its NE face is home to the notoriously challenging Alpental ski area that boasts of having only 3% “easy” slopes and 75% “expert” with 22% in between.