Orion was a great huntsman of Greek mythology who was placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion. He is described as a great hunter in the ancient Greek epic, the Odyssey, when Ulysses meets him in the underworld. The bare bones of his story are told by the Hellenistic and Roman collectors of myths, but there is no record of him comparable to that of other Greek heroes, such as that of Jason in the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes or in Euripides' Medea. The remaining fragments of legend have provided a fertile field for speculation about the prehistory of Greek myth. Ancient sources tell several different stories about Orion. There are two major versions of his birth and several main versions of his death. The most important recorded episodes are his birth somewhere in Boeotia, his visit to Chios where he met Merope and was blinded by her father, Oenopion, the recovery of his sight at Lemnos, his hunting with Artemis on Crete, his death by the blow of Artemis or of the giant scorpion which became Scorpio, and his elevation to the heavens.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_%28mythology%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1877: After battling the U.S. Army for more than three months, retreating over 1,000 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and enduring a five-day siege, Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce band finally surrendered. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Joseph)

1908: Prince Ferdinand became the first Tsar of Bulgaria since the Ottoman invasion in the 14th century. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Bulgaria)

1930: The British airship R101 crashed in France en route to India on its maiden voyage, killing 48 passengers and crew. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R101)

1970: Members of the Front de Libération du Québec kidnapped British diplomat James Cross, sparking the October Crisis in Montreal, Canada. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_de_lib%C3%A9ration_du_Qu%C3%A9bec)

1986: The British newspaper Sunday Times published former nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu<nowiki>'s</nowiki> story revealing details of Israel's nuclear capability. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu)

_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:

ballast: Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship or in the gondola of a balloon, to provide stability. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ballast)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

The philosopher forms his principles on an infinity of particular observations. ... He does not confuse truth with plausibility; he takes for truth what is true, for false what is false, for doubtful what is doubtful, and probable what is probable. ... The philosophical spirit is thus a spirit of observation and accuracy. -- Denis Diderot

(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Denis_Diderot)