Legends of the Stars

by Patrick Moore

Have you ever wondered how the constellations got their names? Or wanted to know the stories of the gods and heroes immortalized in the night sky? In Legends of the Stars , Patrick Moore, Britain’s best-loved astronomer and presenter of The Sky at Night for more than 50 years, re-tells some of the stories behind these star-groups, and explains how to look for them in the heavens. From the great hunter Orion to his nemesis the Scorpion, and from Pegasus the flying horse to Jason’s ship the Argo, he guides the reader through the celestial picture book, bringing alive some of greatest tales ever told. In an age when the ancient myths are seldom taught in schools, this is an ideal book for anyone who has ever gazed at the stars and asked themselves how the names of the constellations came about.

Genres: Nonfiction, Astronomy, Science

185 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1966

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name.

Sir Alfred Patrick Caldwell-Moore, CBE, Hon FRS, FRAS, known as Patrick Moore, was an English amateur astronomer, who is the most well known English promoter of astronomy. Moore wrote numerous books on the subject, as well as make public, television and radio appearances, over the course of his long life. He is credited as having done more than any other to raise the profile of astronomy among the British general public.

Reviews

[I'mogén · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

It's basically short stories of some of the famous Greek heroes and how there legends got them constellations, as well as talking you through at the end how to find them. The storytelling vibe made it easier to get through and despite knowing these legends already, this way of narration made it more entertaining and gave constellations a nice context. It does feel very much like a fable being told, but it makes me see these heroes in a softer light. I've always read them as being arrogant, demanding of help and straight up rude, so it was cool to envision them in a different way.
It did, however, feel very PG... There's all this talk that the married gods and goddesses were deeply in love but completely glazed over the fact that all these demigods came about due to the infidelity of the gods with mortals.
The illustrations really added to the book, especially when they depicted the constellations after each story.

There were quite few typos which got mildly irritating. I also didn't like that the author said it doesn't matter if you use the Greek or Roman names and proceeded to refer to them all in the Roman form... This may not be a big issue but for me, if you're talking about Ancient Greek myths then is just makes sense to use the Ancient Greek names and terminology. It makes it less confusing if you're someone like me that are more familiar with the Greek history first and the Roman second.

I'd really like someone to do films of some of the famous heroes origins, in the build up to an epic Argonaut adventure... sort of like the build up to the Avengers.

Overall, if you're more interested in perhaps the basics of some of the famous Greek hero myths then this will be for you. I was expecting more of an astronomical, detached analytical perspective but as the synopsis rightfully states it is more about the tale behind the constellations... The stories that got them there.

Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very personal rating (as they all are, I suppose), as objectively this is probably a 3* book. This book did much to foster my interest in mythology, astronomy and science, so it was a formative read for me. It has great sentimental value and is one of the few books I have retained from early childhood.

What you've got here is a children's book with a very basic retelling of some of the Greek myths that link to the constellations of the northern skies, some nicely painted illustrations of the heroes and monsters, and some outlines of the relevant constellations, which make finding them in the night sky easy. At least it did when I was a child, before light pollution dimmed the view.

I don't know if this is still in print, but if it is it would be an excellent gift for a 6-9 year old (going on 50!).

Hmm... 🤔 Now going on 60!

[Alyce Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good selection of stories about the constellations. As someone who has always been interested in astronomy, this book is right up my alley. A few of the stories have similar themes ('The Gorgon's Head' and 'The Flying Horse' being basically identical) but the tales are charmingly told with beautiful illustrations so it's forgivable. The amount of spelling errors (at least 12, possibly more that I overlooked) was frustrating, because it interrupted the flow of the narration.

[Aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the premise of this book, and greatly respect Patrick Moore, but the actual quality of this book is atrocious. It doesn't know if it wants to be an adult's book or a children's book (presented like the former, written using vocabulary you would with the latter) and the number of typos and mistakes are extremely off-putting. Each story contains multiple glaring errors! There is also a lot of antiquated weirdness, like an explanation of fire turning people's skin black and Jason trying to tell Princess Medea that she cannot help because she's a woman. Even if written in the past, or else based on views held by those in the past, there should still be some kind of disclaimer or footnote by the author or editor to cover their backs. As it stands statements like that read very badly in such a recently published edition. It is also very confusing how much of the writing is actually based on the original myths and how much is made up by the author - the wording within dialogue is obviously not original but I have no idea how much of what I've just read is "fact" (ie, conforms to the "original" myths). Saying all this, though, the more factual parts stating how to find the constellations, the history of the stars themselves, etc., are really interesting and much more enjoyable to read. And if nothing else, this book has been good for giving me a starting point for research, and has made me enthusiastic to go and find some more resources and retellings that are perhaps of a better quality than this one.

[Isa (Pages Full of Stars) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm slightly torn about my thoughts on this book, because on one hand I enjoyed getting to know the stories behind some of the constellations, but on the other hand I feel like it's slightly dated and biased (though it might as well be because it was published in the 1960s).

The first thing that left me dumbfounded and that I couldn't shake away till the end, was that the author is literally retelling Greek myths but using Roman names for the gods, because he says that the Roman counterparts are more well known. Right away it had me question my knowledge, because I've always thought it's the opposite (the only exception being Heracles/Hercules). I read that he was a well known astronomer, so maybe he simply thought that the Roman names (some of them also being the names of the planets), will fit the book better, considering it's theme. Another thing that stood out to me as biased was saying that Hera/Juno had no reason to be angry at or jealous of Zeus/Jupiter, because he's always been faithful to her :D I mean, if anyone knows even a few myths, they would know it's really not true haha.

But overall, despite a few things I think I liked this book and it inspired me to try and look for more faithful versions of these myths. I've been casually interested in astronomy since my childhood but I have no idea why I've never seeked out the myths behind the constellations before. I did knew some of these already but now I'm inspired to discover more of them soon.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intended for younger readers, this is a retelling of the Greek legends that are reflected in the (Western) names of constellations, including Orion, Pegasus, and the Argos.
Each story concludes with a star map and instructions on how to find the constellations. Note that of course, the constellations are those that are easily seen in the Northern hemisphere. For those of us in the south, some of the constellations described will be unfamiliar.
Annoyingly, Moore insists on using the Roman names for the characters, because they are apparently "better known" (perhaps to British schoolboys of the mid-20th century, but certainly not to everyone!).

[Weasel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite good - a little frustrating and a very interesting take on the myths (lots of people were 'related' to Jupiter - and Juno was jealous of women for no good reason because Jupiter never strayed! aka the biggest example of the bias in the storytelling). Telling it from the Roman/Latin view also has a large impact on the stories (they don't actually always translate from original Greek version to Roman version so well - and some don't have a common Roman version i.e. Callisto is Greek and key aspects got dropped in this version :/)

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming collection of short stories of the Greek mythology of the constellations. I really enjoyed the illustrations and being interested in astronomy, I enjoyed these stories.

The stories themselves are very much like fables rather than educational text but I think that just adds to the character of the book and offers a storytellers view of the night sky.

As with some other reviews, I do wish that the stories were told using their Greek names, sometimes the use of the Roman names made it a little confusing as I’m more familiar with the Greek names but I enjoyed this book.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A simple retelling of various Ancient Greek legends connected to various constellations in the night sky. I enjoyed this book but the spelling errors and the author's insistence on using Roman names for Greek gods and heroes annoyed me. 

[Pinar · Rating 1 out of 5]

very frustrating. i love the idea of combining astronomy and mythology of constructions, but extremely bad story telling.

[Tim Heywood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the idea of linking astronomy and the recognisable constellations to the mythology that named them. Patrick Moore's style is very approachable and conversational, as would be expected. Each mythology (neatly recounted) is followed by an easy guide to how to find the various constellations.