Aquarius is the water bearer to the gods on Olympus. His name is Ganymede, and among the young shepherds he was favored by Zeus. He was given the food of the gods, ambrosia, and Zeus sent down his pet eagle (Aquila) to bring Ganymede to Olympus. Once, when the Earth was lacking in water, Ganymede pleaded with Zeus to give water to humans. Zeus agreed, and so Ganymede sent water down to Earth in the form of rain.

Aquarius - The sign of Aquarius stems from the Tale of the Deucalion Flood. In this tale, Zeus pours all the waters of the heavens onto earth to wash away all the evil beings. Deucalion and Pyrrha then threw stones over their shoulders and created a new race of mankind.

Zeus’ pet ram, he sported a pelt of golden fleece. (Jason and his Argonauts would set off in search of this fleece later.) He gained his place in the heavens by rescuing two children from imminent death. Aries is traditionally the first constellation of the Zodiac.

Aries - The origin of Aries stems from the tale of the Golden Ram. In a plot to trap the centaur Ixion, Hera created a woman looking nearly identical to herself out of a cloud and named her Nephele. She then forced King Athamus to marry this woman. This relationship didn't work out at all as Athamus became bored with Nephele fairly quickly and left her. Athamus almost immediately after this, married Ino. This of course angered Nephele, so she asked Hera for vengeance. Hera had no problem in doing this as she was already angry at Athamus and Ino already as a cause of them taking care of Dionysus for Zeus. Hera then proceeded to poison their minds and make them crazy. Athamus attempted to sacrifice his son by Nephele, Phrixius. This plot was thwarted when Heracles sent a Golden Ram to save him. When the ram brought Phrixius to his destination, he sacrificed the Golden Ram to Zeus and in turn, Zeus placed the mighty ram among the stars for his heroic deed. It is also from this ram that the Golden Fleece from the tale of Jason & the Argonauts came from.

While Hercules was attacking the Hydra, a giant crab came to the Hydra’s defense and began attacking Hercules. Hercules had to smash the crab and kill it before he could focus on the Hydra. This crab was placed in the sky as Cancer.

Cancer - The sign of Cancer stems from one of the 12 Trials of Heracles. While battling the Hydra, Hera sent down a giant crab to thwart his efforts. The crab was only a nuisance at most as Heracles simply crushed the crab under his foot just before he defeated the Hydra. Hera honored the crab's attempt at stopping her most hated of Zeus' children by placing it amongst the stars.

Perhaps the strangest of any constellation, Capricornus was sorted the head and front legs of a goat, while the rest of its body was fish. According to some sources he is the son of Amalthea, the goat who nursed the Greek god Zeus (Jupiter) while he was an infant and hiding from his father, Cronus (Saturn).

Capricorn - The sign of Capricorn represents the goat Amalthea who fed the infant Zeus. It's said that Zeus placed her among the stars in gratitude. Other accounts say that Capricorn represents Pan, the god of the forest, woodlands, and nature.

The Dioscuri, twin half brothers Castor and Pollux (Polydeuces. They were hatched from eggs, along with their twin sisters Clytemnestra, and Helen of Troy. While they shared a mother, Pollux was the son of Zeus, and therefore immortal. Castor was the son of their mother’s husband, and was mortal. They were known as great heroes, sailing on the Argo with Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece (see Aries), and rescuing a young Helen from Theseus (long before the Trojan War.) Castor was eventually killed in a cattle raid, and Pollux volunteered to give up half his immortality to bring Castor back. To allow them to be together, the pair spends every other day on Mt. Olympus, or in the Underworld.

Gemini - This sign stems from the Tale of Castor and Pollux. Castor and Pollux were half-brothers. Castor was born of Tyndareus and Leda, Pollux was born of the affair between Zeus and Leda (also known as the Tale of Leda and the Swan). The twins grew inseparable as time went on. One day, Castor was killed in a battle. Pollux was so grief stricken that he took his own life to join his brother at death. In honor of the brothers' great love, Zeus placed them among the stars.

Leo is the lion to both ancient Greek culture and their neighbors in Babylon. The Greeks identified Leo with the Nemean Lion, victim of Hercules’ first labor. After Hercules killed the lion he continued to wear its fur on his back.

Leo - The sign of Leo stems from yet another of Heracles 12 trials. Leo of course represents the Lion of Nemea which was Heracles' first trial. The lion couldn't be defeated by any weapon. Heracles eventually battled the lion hand to hand (or maybe paw) and strangled the lion to death. In remembrance of the grand battle, Zeus placed the Lion of Nemea amongst the stars.

The only on of the Zodiac constellations that is not human or animal, Libra depicts a set of scales. It was the Babylonians who first placed a set of scales in the sky, but the Greeks saw this formation as the claws of the nearby Scorpius. Later, to the Romans, Libra came to be a symbol of Julius Caesar, and his fairness and justness.

Libra - Libra are the scales that balance justice. They are held by the goddess of divine justice, Themis. Why exactly she is placed among the stars I haven't yet found out, but it is interesting that Libra shines right beside Virgo which represents Astraea, daughter of Themis.

Pisces are the two fishes that are tied together by the tail. There seems to be no mythological story behind them, although different cultures related the constellation to Aphrodite, or her counterparts.

Sagittarius is one of two constellations that depicts a centaur, half man half horse creatures in Greek mythology. (Centaurus in the southern hemisphere is the other.) He is a great archer, and his arrow appears to be aimed at the heart of Scorpius (the star Antares). The brightest stars in Sagittarius form the shape of a teapot, which is more familiar than the constellation as a whole. Sagittarius marks the direction of the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.

Sagittarius - This sign is representative of the centaur, Cheiron. Cheiron was a friend of many great hero's in Greek mythology such as Achilles and Heracles. Speaking of Heracles, some friend he turned out to be. While hunting, Heracles accidentally shot Cheiron in the leg with a poison arrow. Cheiron was immortal so he couldn't die, he just had to take the unending pain. Heracles promised to help him somehow. Upon his ventures, Heracles came upon Prometheus who was trapped with no way of escape. The only way Prometheus could be set free was for someone else to take his place. Cheiron wanted only to be relieved of his insufferable pain, so he took Prometheus' place and died. In honor of the noble act, Zeus placed Cheiron amongst the stars.

According the Hesiod, whose writings supply a large part of what we now know of Greek mythology, Virgo is a symbol of the goddess Dike. Dike was one of the Horae, children of Zeus who were in charge of the seasons, and she was responsible for summer.

Virgo - One of the few signs not represented by an animal, Virgo's origin stems from the Tale of Pandora. Virgo of course is the representation of the goddess of purity and innocence, Astraea. After Pandora opened the jar and let loose all the evil's unto the world, the gods who lived on the earth fled back to the heavens and away from the evil's of the earth. Astraea was the last to return to the heavens. As a remembrance of innocence lost, Astraea was placed amongst the stars in the form of Virgo.

Among the many accounts of the death of Orion the hunter, most involve Scorpius. After Orion’s death from the scorpion’s sting they were both made constellations. They are, however, far from one another in the sky. Orion has always just set when Scorpius rises.

In the islands of Polynesia they saw not a scorpion, but a fishing hook in the distinctive "J" shaped constellation. To them this set of stars forms the hook of Maui, who brought many Pacific islands to the surface with his hook.

For many ancient cultures the bull was an important, and sometimes sacred, animal. So it is no surprise that it appears in the sky. The stars that form the nose of the bull are known as the Hyades, daughters of Atlas, who carries the world on his shoulders. Their half sisters, the Pleiades, now ride on Taurus’ back. The bull himself stands between the girls and Orion to protect them.

Taurus - The sign of Taurus stems from the Tale of Europa and the Bull. This is a tale of one of Zeus' many affairs. Zeus was extremely attracted to Europa and yearned for her affection. Zeus then appeared before Europa in the form of a magnificent white bull. Europa couldn't resist petting the bull, so she walked over to it and did just that. She then climbed upon the bull's back at which point the bull carried Europa across the sea to Crete where he then took the form of an eagle and, for a lack of better terms, raped her. In remembrance of this affair, Zeus placed the image of the bull amongst the stars.