Cetus deserves mention because some say the constellation represents the sea monster sent to Ethiopia as punishment for the boasting of Queen Cassiopeia. The monster nearly kills Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, but is itself killed by the hero Perseus.
More frequently, though, Cetus is represented as a whale, which implies no connection to the Andromeda myth--though it certainly is possible that the ancients perceived whales as monstrous creatures. Either way, the constellation is appropriately a large one, and is relegated to the southern sky--far from Andromeda, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Perseus.
Back to the main myth page.
These pages are the work of Cathy Bell
cmbell (at) comfychair (dot) org
originally for the Princeton University course CLA 212.