Editing Pisces (constellation) (section)

== History and mythology ==
[[File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Pisces.jpg|thumb|300px|left|From ''[[Urania's Mirror]]'' (1824)]]
Pisces originates from some composition of the [[Babylonian constellation]]s ''Šinunutu<sub>4</sub>'' "the great swallow" in current western Pisces, and ''[[Annunitum|Anunitum]]'' the "Lady of the Heaven", at the place of the northern fish. In the first-millennium BC texts known as the ''[[Astronomical Diaries]]'', part of the constellation was also called '''DU.NU.NU''' (''Rikis-nu.mi'', "the fish cord or ribbon").<ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998JBAA..108....9R Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions] by J. H. Rogers 1998, [http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1998JBAA..108....9R&db_key=AST&page_ind=10&plate_select=NO&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_GIF&classic=YES page 19] [http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1998JBAA..108....9R&db_key=AST&page_ind=18&plate_select=NO&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_GIF&classic=YES page 19 (table 3, rows 2-3) and page 27]</ref>

=== Greco-Roman period ===
Pisces is associated with the Greek legend that [[Aphrodite]] and her son [[Eros]] either shape-shifted into forms of fishes to escape, or were rescued by two fishes.

In the Greek version according to [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], Aphrodite and Eros while visiting [[Syria]] fled from the monster [[Typhon]] by leaping into the [[Euphrates River]] and transforming into fishes (''[[Poeticon astronomicon]]'' 2.30, citing Diognetus Erythraeus).{{sfnp|Hard|2015|pp=84–85}} The Roman variant of the story has [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] and [[Cupid]] (counterparts for Aphrodite and Eros) carried away from this danger on the backs of two fishes ([[Ovid]] ''[[Fasti]]'' 2.457ff).{{sfnp|Hard|2015|pp=85–86}}<ref name=ovid-fasti-tr-nagle/>

There is also a different origin tale that Hyginus preserved in another work. According to this, an egg rolled into the Euphrates, and some fishes nudged this to shore, after which the doves sat on the egg until Aphrodite (thereafter called the [[Syrian Goddess]]) hatched out of it. The fishes were then rewarded by being placed in the skies as a constellation (''[[Fabulae]]'' 197).<ref name=rigoglioso/>{{sfnp|Ridpath|1988|p=108}} This story is also recorded by the [[Third Vatican Mythographer]].<ref name=van-berg/>

=== Modern period ===
[[File:Pisces - Prodromus astronomiae 1690 (5590556).jpg|thumb|250px|Pisces in Hevelius's map (1690). As with all Hevelius's figures this one is shown as seen on a globe, so appears a mirror image by comparison with the sky]]
In 1690, the astronomer [[Johannes Hevelius]] in his ''Firmamentum Sobiescianum'' regarded the constellation Pisces as being composed of four subdivisions:<ref name="Hevelius" /><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/piscesbodehevelius.html | title=Pisces as depicted by Bode and Hevelius |publisher=Ian Ridpath’s Star Tales (online edition) |access-date=5 May 2025}}</ref>
* '''Piscis Boreus''' (the North Fish): σ – 68 – 65 – 67 – ψ<sup>1</sup> – ψ<sup>2</sup> – ψ<sup>3</sup> – χ – φ – υ – 91 – τ – 82 – 78 Psc.
* '''Linum Boreum''' (the North Cord):<ref name="Hevelius" /> χ – ρ,94 – VX(97) – η – π – ο – [[Alpha Piscium|α]] Psc.
* '''Linum Austrinum''' (the South Cord):<ref name="Hevelius" /> α – ξ – ν – μ – ζ – ε – δ – 41 – 35 – ω Psc.
* '''Piscis Austrinus''' (the South Fish):<ref name="Hevelius" /> ω – ι – θ – 7 – β – 5 – κ,9 – λ – TX(19) Psc.

"[[Piscis Austrinus]]" now refers to a separate constellation in its own right, which Hevelius and Bode called Piscis Notius.

In 1754, the botanist and author [[John Hill (author)|John Hill]] proposed to sever a southern zone of Pisces as '''Testudo''' (the Turtle).<ref name=allen/> 24 – 27 – YY(30) – 33 – 29 Psc.,<ref name=ciofi>Ciofi, Claudio; Torre, Pietro, [http://astrocultura.uai.it/mitologia/antiche/costellazioniperdute2.htm Costellazioni Estinte (nate dal 1700 al 1800)]: Sezione di Ricerca per la Cultura Astronomica</ref> It would host a natural but quite faint [[Asterism (astronomy)|asterism]] in which the star 20&nbsp;Psc is the head of the turtle. While [[William Henry Smyth|Admiral Smyth]] mentioned the proposal,<ref>Smyth, W. H., (1884) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=aEo1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA23 The Bedford Catalogue]'', p. 23</ref> it was largely neglected by other astronomers, and it is now [[Former constellations|obsolete]].<ref name=ciofi/>

===Western folklore===
The Fishes are in the German lore of Antenteh, who owned just a tub and a crude cabin when he met two magical fish. They offered him a wish, which he refused. However, his wife begged him to return to the fish and ask for a beautifully furnished home. This wish was granted, but her desires were not satisfied. She then asked to be a queen and have a palace, but when she asked to become a goddess, the fish became angry and took the palace and home, leaving the couple with the tub and cabin once again. The tub is sometimes recognized as the [[Great Square of Pegasus]].{{sfnp|Staal|1988|pp=45–46}}

=== In non-Western astronomy ===
The stars of Pisces were incorporated into several constellations in [[Chinese astronomy]]. Wai-ping ("Outer Enclosure") was a fence that kept a pig farmer from falling into the marshes and kept the pigs where they belonged. It was represented by Alpha, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Mu, Nu, and Xi Piscium. The marshes were represented by the four stars designated Phi Ceti. The northern fish of Pisces was a part of the House of the Sandal, Koui-siou.{{sfnp|Staal|1988|pp=45–47}}