Zodiac myths · Scorpio
Scorpio is the small thing that brought down a giant
Orion said no animal on earth could beat him. The earth sent a scorpion. They have been chasing each other round the sky ever since.
Johann Bayer, Uranometria, 1603
At a glance
In Greek myth Scorpio is the scorpion that killed the giant hunter Orion. The two were placed on opposite sides of the sky: when Scorpius rises, Orion sets.
- The figure
- The scorpion that killed OrionOvid, Fasti 5.537-544
- Sign dates 2026
- Oct 23 to Nov 22, 2026Sun enters Oct 23, 2026, 09:38 UTC
- Sun in the stars, 2026
- Nov 24 to Nov 29, 20266 days inside the IAU Scorpius
- Best seen at midnight
- May 23 to May 29, 2027best night about May 26, 2027
The myth
The hunter, the boast, and the sting
Try this today
- Where does a small, precise action beat a loud one in your life right now?
- On a summer evening, find Antares and then notice that Orion is not up. That is the myth working.
- Retire one boast. Keep the skill.
Orion was a giant and the greatest hunter in Greek myth. In Ovid's Fasti, he walks with Artemis (Diana) and her mother Leto (Latona), and he says the line that dooms him: there is no beast he cannot beat.
The Earth heard. She sent a scorpion. It was a small thing, close to the ground, and it stung the giant on the heel. Ovid says Orion was trying to protect Leto when it struck. Either way he died, and Leto asked for him to be set among the stars as a thanks for his loyalty, with the scorpion beside him as a reminder.
Aratus tells a harsher version: Orion laid hands on Artemis, and the goddess split the hills of Chios to let a great scorpion out. Hyginus, collecting the variants, gives both the boast and the offence.
What every version agrees on is the staging. The two were placed on opposite sides of the sky, so they never appear together. Aratus says it outright: as the Scorpion rises in the east, Orion flees below the western horizon. You can watch it on a summer evening. Scorpius is up, and Orion is nowhere.
Other tellings
Antares, the rival of Mars
Scorpius is one of the few zodiac figures that looks exactly like its name: a curved tail ending in a stinger. Its heart is Antares, a red supergiant whose name means "rival of Ares," because its colour competes with the red planet Mars. When Mars passes nearby, the two red points really do look like rivals.
The figure is old. The Babylonians had a scorpion here too, GIR.TAB in MUL.APIN, and the scorpion-man appears in Babylonian myth as a guardian at the mountains of sunrise in the Epic of Gilgamesh. And as the Libra page explains, the Greeks gave this scorpion two signs' worth of stars, until its claws were redrawn as scales.
In the sky
Finding Scorpius: May 23 to May 29, 2027
On a summer evening look low in the south for the hook of stars with red Antares at its heart. From mid-northern latitudes the tail skims the horizon; from the southern hemisphere it rides high overhead.
2026: sign Oct 23, 2026, 09:38 UTC to Nov 22, 2026, 07:23 UTC. Sun in the stars: Nov 24 to Nov 29, 2026 (6 days). (Why the 32-day gap.) Scorpius peaks at midnight near May 26, 2027.
Pick your telling
Antares means "rival of Ares," because it rivals red Mars.
3 versions of the scorpion that killed Orion.
Scorpio, 3 ways
The Earth answers a boast
Orion boasts no beast can beat him; the Earth sends a scorpion, which kills him, and both are placed in the sky.
Source: Ovid, Fasti 5.537-544; Hyginus, Astronomica 2.26
See it yourself. Scorpius: May 23 to May 29, 2027.
More to read
One shorter read. It opens in place.
In astrology
Why the scorpion became the sign of depth
Traditional astrology gives Scorpio to Mars, and modern astrologers add Pluto. The sign is read as intense, private, loyal and hard to fool. The myth is a useful corrective to the meme version: the scorpion is not the villain. It is the earth answering arrogance, a small precise force that ends a giant's boast. Check that against your Scorpio placements.
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Scorpio by the numbers
| Dates | Days | |
|---|---|---|
| Sign | Oct 23 to Nov 22, 2026 | 30 |
| Sun in the stars | Nov 24 to Nov 29, 2026 | 6 |
| Midnight season | May 23 to May 29, 2027 | 7 |
All times are UTC. In the Americas the local date can be a day earlier; in Asia and Australia a day later.
Quick answers
What is the Scorpio myth?
In Greek myth the scorpion was sent to kill the giant hunter Orion, by the Earth after his boast or by Artemis after he offended her. Both were placed in the sky on opposite sides, so they never appear together.
Who is the Greek god of Scorpio?
In the myth the scorpion is the agent of Gaia (Earth) or Artemis. Astrologically Scorpio is ruled by Mars, with Pluto (Hades) as its modern ruler.
Why are Orion and Scorpius never in the sky together?
They sit about 180 degrees apart along the sky, so as one rises the other sets. Aratus describes Orion fleeing as the Scorpion rises.
What does Antares mean?
"Rival of Ares" (Mars), for its red colour. It is a red supergiant star at the scorpion's heart.
How long is the Sun in the Scorpius constellation?
Only about a week. The IAU boundaries give Scorpius a short stretch of the ecliptic, and the Sun spends longer in neighbouring Ophiuchus. See the dates computed above.
