Orion
Orion (in ancient Greek Ôríon) is a giant from Greek mythology.
Birth
Hyriée, the founder of the city of Hyria, in Boeotia, had never met a woman but nevertheless wished to have an heir.
One day, Zeus, Hermes and Poseidon visited him in his palace. For them, Hyriea sacrificed the finest ox of his herd.
Later, he asked them how he could manage to have a descendant without having to marry. For this, Zeus made him bring the skin of the ox that Hyriée had sacrificed to them and he asked him to urinate on it. So Hyriea complied. Then the three gods buried the skin in the palace garden and took their leave.
Nine months later, at the place where the skin had been buried, a boy appeared, to whom Hyrieus gave the name of Orion (from “ouria”:urine). By the time he reached adulthood, he was so tall that he could walk on the bottom of the sea while keeping his head and shoulders above water.
His first love and consequences
This is how he reached the island of Chios. He was welcomed into the court of Oenopion who reigned over Chios, and there Orion fell in love with Merope the king's daughter. Oenopion wanted to get rid of this troublesome suitor. He therefore decided to promise the hand of his daughter to Orion, on condition that he rid Chios of all the beasts that attacked men and herds! The king was convinced that he would not succeed. But Orion was an excellent hunter and had no trouble fulfilling his role. When he returned to ask for Merope's hand, Oenopion reneged on his promises, the lover became angry and ransacked the palace. This one was tied up somehow by the army launched by the king.
To punish him, Oenopion blinded him and left him on the shore. Orion then walked straight ahead across the sea to the island of Lemnos and was drawn to the forges of Hephaistos who agreed to lend him Cedalion, his assistant. The giant guided by the child reentered the sea and walked east facing the sun. During his walk, he miraculously regained his sight.
Meeting with Artemis and death of Orion
He returned to the island of Chios to take revenge on Oenopion, but Artemis asked him to forget his revenge and offered to hunt with her. But the brother of Artemis, Apollo, who had some fears for his sister, sent a monstrous scorpion in pursuit. Orion tried to fight him but he couldn't. To escape the monster, he sank into the sea which formed a natural barricade. So Apollo pointed to the giant and told Artemis to kill him, making him look like a villain. As the hunter was too far away, Artemis could not recognize him and therefore shot him an arrow. She swam to retrieve the corpse, but when she realized it was Orion, she placed his image among the stars with her dog, Sirius...
This is why the constellations of Orion and Canis Major (which includes the star Sirius, the brightest star in the sky outside the elements of the solar system) are close to each other, and that the Scorpion was placed on the other side on the celestial vault, the hero and the monster pursuing each other ceaselessly without ever catching up...
Another version of Orion's death
Another version of Orion's death exists:with his exceptional skills as a hunter, Orion never ceased to boast of his prowess. This arrogance strongly displeased Hera who, to give a lesson in humility to Orion, ordered a scorpion to lie in wait while waiting for the hunter to pass. Hidden by the foliage, the scorpion waited and when the time came it stung Orion who died struck down by the venom of this little animal, he who had struck down the most ferocious beasts. It was transformed into a constellation, but Hera did not forget to also carry to heaven the scorpion that had served her so loyally to keep the fight going. But Zeus intervened and made sure that Orion and Scorpion could never reach each other; this is why when Orion rises on the Eastern horizon, Scorpio sets on the Western horizon.