The constellations most of the world knows today are the Greek ones — 48 figures catalogued by Ptolemy in his Almagest around 150 CE, grown over the centuries to the modern 88. But the Greeks did not invent them from nothing: they inherited many from Babylon and wrapped them in their own glittering mythology.
So the Greek sky is best read as a set of stories. A single tragedy plays out across six constellations — vain Queen Cassiopeia, her daughter Andromeda chained to the rock, the sea-monster Cetus, and the hero Perseus on winged Pegasus who saves her.
The zodiac carries the Sun through the Bull, the Lion, the Scorpion; Orion the hunter strides the winter sky with his dogs; and among the gods' own things hang the Great Bear, the Lyre of Orpheus and the Swan.
The constellations grouped by the stories they tell. Tap a family to light it up on the map and table.
(These are the Western constellations, so no overlay is needed — this whole app's default sky is Greek.)
← swipe the strip sideways →
| Family | Constellation | Brightest star | Stars |
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Pick a constellation for its stars, its story, and the Chinese mansion & Indian nakshatra it shares.
The signs of the Sun's road as the Greeks named them (Latinised for us). Tap one for its myth.
The 22 constellations shown are a selection of the classical 48, grouped by myth (including all twelve of the zodiac); all are drawn from their bright stars at Hipparcos J2000 positions. Constellation figures and the wider Western sky appear throughout the app (e.g. the Western overlay on every other culture page). Myths follow the standard classical sources (Ptolemy, Aratus, Ovid). Shared-star links use the same coordinates as The Chinese Sky and The Indian Sky. Live view: The Greek Sky Tonight.