The Summer Triangle and the Stymphalian Birds

Abstract

In western celestial cartography there is a grouping of three birds which are the constellations of Cygnus the Swan, Aquila the Eagle, and Lyra the Lyre, all found north of the ecliptic. Within each constellation, the three bright stars of Deneb Adige in Cygnus, Altair in Aquila, and Vega in Lyra constitute what is known today as the Summer Triangle, as they are visible in the summer months and form a triangle in the night sky. Rather than just a geometrical pattern, however, this essay argues that there is a myth that draws these three magical birds together. Using extant works of art, as well as the writings of Apollonius Rhodius (Argonautica 2, c.3rd century BCE) and Pseudo- Hyginus (Fabulae 30, c.2nd century CE), amongst others, this essay focuses initially on the Greek myth of the three Stymphalian Birds (Ornithes Stymphalides) which haunted Lake Stymphalis in Arkadia and suggests that, by searching within other myths, there are alternate ways that these three sky birds may have been understood through other cultures.