Orion

Orion, in Greek Mythology, an unusually handsome giant and hunter, the son of Hyriens of Hyria, in Bæotia. At Chios he fell in love with Merope, daughter of Enopion, but for an attempted outrage upon the maiden his eyes were put out by Dionysus. Orion recovered his sight by exposing his eyeballs to the rays of the rising sun, and afterwards hunted in company with Artemis. The cause and manner of his death are differently related. Some make Artemis slay him with an arrow, because Eos, enamoured of his beauty, had carried him off to Ortygia, and thereby offended the gods. Others say that Artemis, virgin-goddess though she was, cherished an affection for him that enraged her brother Apollo. One day pointing out to her at sea a black object floating in the water, he told her that he did not believe she could hit it. She took aim and hit the mark, which was the head of her lover swimming in the sea. A third myth makes him find his death from the sting of a scorpion. Æsculapius wished to restore him to life, but was slain by a bolt from Zeus. After his death Orion was placed with his hound among the stars, where to this day the most splendid of the constellations bears his name.