Greek Mythology Behind the Southern Hemisphere Zodiac Signs

"What is your sign?", is the number one question that everyone has been asking. Many may see this question as a pick-up line but some people are really interested in knowing our Zodiac Sign. Maybe because our Zodiac Sign has been said to help us better understand each other's personality and traits. There are 12 Signs in the Greek Zodiac. Zodiac means "circle of animals" in Greek, although the 12 signs are composed of animals and humans, with the exception of Libra. There is an interesting and fun Greek Mythology behind each of our Signs. The Greek Myths behind each of the Southern Hemisphere Zodiac Signs, which include Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, are as follow: Libra - the Libra Sign is represented by scales, which Egyptians believed were used to weigh the souls of the dead. However, in Greek Mythology, Libra actually represented the golden chariot of Pluto (Hades). Pluto was the brother of Zeus and ruler of the underworld. One day he spotted a beautiful girl named Persephone, while riding into the Upper World with his golden chariot, which was pulled by four jet-black horses, Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. Pluto was so mesmerized by her beauty that he quickly forced her into his chariot and carried her away to the Underworld and made her, his Queen. Demeter became so depressed about the kidnapping of her daughter that she could not pursue with her godly duties. Zeus demanded that this brother Pluto returned the girl back to the Upper World. Pluto agreed, just as long as his Queen would divide her time between the two worlds, four months of the year. Scorpio - the Scorpio Sign represents a giant Scorpion. The myth begins with a giant hunter named Orion. He was very handsome and this made him think very highly of himself. He had no respect for the immortals and started to brag about how better of an anchor he was than Artemis and how he would be able to kill every animal he encountered. Artemis was the goddess of the wilderness and she became very angry at Orion and decided to call his bluff. She sent a giant Scorpion to deal with Orion. The fight was pretty intense but the Scorpion was able to defeat Orion. Zeus, the king of the gods, was so impressed with the whole duel that he placed the Scorpion in the high heavens. Sagittarius - the Sagittarius Sign is represented by a Centaur named Chiron. In Greek Mythology, Centaurs were half-man and half-horse. They were known to cause great trouble, except for a gentle Centaur named Chiron. He was very kind and an excellent anchor and physician. Unfortunately, Hercules had mistaken Chiron for one of the evil Centaurs he was battling and accidently shot Chiron in the heart with a poisoned arrow. The arrow caused Chiron such great pain that he offered to take place of a man named Prometheus and become mortal. Prometheus was a Titan who had stolen fire from Zeus and was punished greatly for it. Prometheus was chained up to a rock by Zeus and every morning an eagle would eat his liver. The liver would grow back the next day and once again be eaten. Chiron decided that a few minutes of pain was much better than a life-time of agony and so he took the place of Prometheus. Caprico - the Capricorn Sign is represented by a goat named Pan. In Mythology, Pan was being chased by the god of dangerous winds, Typhoeus. Pan had no choice but to jump into the Nile River. Little did Pan know, the Nile River was very powerful. The Nile River was able to turn Pan's lower half to a fish while his other half remained a goat. Pan was then able to quickly swim away and escape Typhoeus. Aquarius - the Aquarius Sign is represented by the Cupbearer. There was a young boy named Ganymede. He was son of Tros, the King of Troy. Zeus took a liking for the young boy and decided to kidnap Ganymede and take him to the heavens. One day while Ganymede was attending his father's sheep, Zeus turned into an eagle and swooped the boy away. Ganymede then became the Cupbearer for the gods. Pisces - the Pisces Sign represents a pair of fish. Typhoeus once again was terrorizing the gods and was trying to scare them away. The gods immediately turned into animals, wanting to escape this evil monster. Aphrodite and her son Euro ran to the river and quickly turned into a pair of fish with cords attached to their tails. The cord kept the two together and they swam away safety.