The
Dragon, or Draco, is a
constellation located in the northern hemisphere. It lies just east of Ursa Major and extends all the way to the east of Ursa Minor, its tail between the two.
Through ancient times it has been
associated with dragons or serpents. The
Persians knew it as a
man-eating serpent, while the
Greeks saw it as a
dragon which lived within the garden of the
Hesperides, or Daughters of
the Evening, where he guarded the stars
or golden apples which hung from the Pole Tree in the
Garden of
Darkness.
In
Egypt it was known as
Typhon or
Set, ruler of darkness and enemy of
the Sun.
Thuban, it's main star, means
Serpent or Dragon in
Arabic. Around 3000 B.C. Thuban was the
Pole Star
or
North Star, caused by the fact that
the celestial north pole slowly moves in a circle which passes through
the body of the Dragon. Today the Pole Star
is
Polaris, and will become
Deneb in thousands of years, then later
Vega
will take its place.