Minotaur 'was
Stone Age palm
line cartoon' 

Stone Age Animation

Moving pictures were thought to have been a modern invention until recently. All that changed in 2012 when archaeologist Marc Azema revealed animals in cave paintings in France could be animated (1). By lighting different parts of paintings Azema showed animals trotting, galloping, tossing their heads or shaking their tails. This remarkable discovery is demonstrated in this short film by Azema (2), who spent 20 years researching Stone Age animation techniques.

https://www.soton.ac.uk/~cpd/pies/Azema.html

Azema identified 53 paintings in 12 French caves which superimpose two or more images to apparently represent movement. These images pre-date Walt Disney by around 30,000 years.
Azema’s researchers also found that engraved discs from the Magdalenian era may have been used as thaumatropes - an optical toy thought to have been invented in 1825 by astronomer John Hershel. Thaumatropes rely on retinal persistence, the capacity of the eye to retain an image already seen superimposed on images being seen.
Artist Florent Rivere was studying paleolithic bone discs cut from the shoulder blades of large animals when he noted that some were decorated on both sides with animals shown in different positions. Rivere and Azema hypothesised they could be strung on a cord of sinew or plant fibre and rotated as a thaumatrope.
. 

Illustration 1: Spinning disk animation

This picture shows a bone disc 3.1cm in diameter found in 1868 by M. Hardy in the Laugerie-Basse rockshelter in the Dordogne. It was previously thought to be a button. But it was discovered that by spinning this disc between two pieces of string, the doe-like creature repeatedly stands up.  
Azema and Rivere said in their study: “Palaeolithic thaumatropes can be claimed as the earliest of the attempts to represent movement that culminated in the invention of the cinematic camera.”

But this study suggests animation may be even older than cave paintings and spinning discs. 

Azema demonstrated prehistoric man had systems of breaking down movement and graphic narrative. By highlighting different lines and curves in sequence we could represent animal movement. Did we first discover this using the lines and curves of our palms?
This study shows that ancient storytellers had everything they needed to create animations in their hands.
Although every fingerprint is different, the four main lines crossing the palm are shared by all of us. Examples on this website show that palm lines and thumb creases can be positioned so that they depict a range of animals. Slight movements of the fingers and hands show these creatures swimming, flying and transforming into other animals. Human characters are also shown firing arrows and turning into creatures.
Different lines are emphasised by moving the fingers and thumb. One example shows a human figure appearing to take a step by switching the position of his front leg, the same technique that is used to move the bull’s legs in Azema’s film.
It is argued that prehistoric man worked out how to manipulate the curves and straight lines in his palm into pictures and moving pictures long before we had other means to record drawings. Although cave paintings and engraved discs date back tens of thousands of years, the lines in our palm have been with us since we first walked the earth around 200,000 to 300,000 years ago (3).

Stone Age Storytelling

But this study indicates the palm lines were not just used to represent animals in motion. They appear to offer a storyteller a format for illustrating ever-changing myths about gods, heroes and monsters.
The ease with which one character turns into another with a slight movement of a thumb or finger shows the hand is particularly well suited to illustrate stories about gods and their magical transformations into animals.
To demonstrate this, pictures and videos show palm line animations of famous transformation myths like Zeus becoming a bull and Pan turning into a Sea Goat (4). All the myths studied are linked to characters in the Graeco-Roman zodiac as these characters are still in the public mind, even if the transformation myths behind them are less well known.
These myths have been told for thousands of years and details vary in different versions. This study has focused on features most often quoted and which can be sourced to celebrated works by ancient writers.

Weapons Of The Gods

The idea of a storytelling format was supported when it was discovered during this study that the weapons of the major gods appear to match markings of the hand. In ancient palmistry, the fingers were named after the planetary gods (5). This is what first suggested a link between the palm symbols and storytelling. It was found that when the hand is held as a fist, markings at the tips of each finger appear to match the main weapon of each god. These weapons were thought to have been established by the Greek poets Homer and Hesiod around 800 BC (6). It is argued they were actually established - and recorded - by a Stone Age storyteller using just the creases of the hand.

References

1. (a) Azéma M., Rivère F., 2012 - Animation in Palaeolithic art: a pre-echo of cinéma, Antiquity , Volume 86 , Issue 332 , June 2012 , pp. 316 - 324DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00062785

1 (b). Azéma M., Rivère F, 2013 “Animation in Paleolithic Art: Recent Observations”, Palethnologie [Online], 5 | 2013, Online since 30 January 2013. http://journals.openedition.org/palethnologie/2094
2. Azema M, short film https://www.soton.ac.uk/~cpd/pies/Azema.html

3. Australian Museum, Human Evolution https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/homo-sapiens-modern-humans/#:~:text=Homo%20sapiens%20age,from%20about%20160%2C000%20years%20ago

4. Mythology of the zodiac https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/signs-of-the-zodiac.html

5. Pack, Roger A, 1972 On the Greek Chiromantic Fragment Roger A. Pack, University of Michigan Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association Vol. 103 (1972), pp. 367-380 (14 pages) https://www.jstor.org/stable/2935981

Establishes the system of planetary names for the fingers and parts of the hand. (Page 10)
Supports ancient origins of the fragment (Page 1)
6. (a) British Museum blog https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/who-was-homer

“(Homer’s) Iliad and Odyssey are conventionally dated to the late 8th or early 7th century BC. By this time the use of writing was becoming more widespread in Greece and it seems that the poems were also set down for the first time. But it's clear that the poems contain features preserved from the pre-writing age.”

7. (b) World History website https://www.worldhistory.org/Theogony/

The Theogony is an 8th-century BCE didactic and instructional poem, credited to the Greek poet Hesiod.

Head And Tail Of A Bull, The Body Of A Man

Zeus and the goddess, now his concubine, have a child who becomes the King of Minos. (16) The King of Minos upsets Poseidon, brother of Zeus, and as a result his wife gives birth to a monster with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. The Minotaur, grandson of Zeus. (17 and 18). Illustration 12 shows this creature in the hand.

Illustration 12: The half-bull, half-man minotaur 

We've already seen the head and the horns of the bull. If you twist your fingers inwards you can create a two-legged creature with a tail between its legs. It might look a little odd but it fits the description: The body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. The storyteller already had figures for a bull and a man. Why not combine them to create a new mythical creature and so keep the story going?

Illustration 13: Minotaur in the hand with labelled sketch 

The Labyrinth

The minotaur is thrown into a labyrinth by his shamed parents and blinded to ensure he never gets out. And it just so happens that the palm of the hand lends itself to depicting a maze.

Illustration 14: Lines of the palm

The major palms lines twist and turn across each other. Between the main lines there are innumerable smaller lines crossing the palm in all directions and forming swirls and loops. If storytellers were using the palm lines to create characters they may also have found those same lines could be used as scenery, especially if the stories were being told to a very small child. Imagine how the palm lines in Illustration 14 would look to a child's eye.
Perhaps it wasn’t really the blind minotaur but a small child. Let's suppose the story was being told to a child by his mother. Perhaps she would cover the child's eyes and get him to run his finger along the lines of her palm, to explore the labyrinth. And all the while the minotaur is lurking in the background.

The Storyteller's Trick

No one ever gets out of the labyrinth. Perhaps there’s a reason for that. Maybe the storyteller would get the child to learn his way around the main lines of her palm with his eyes covered. But when he was familiar with it she would play a trick - by turning her hand. The unsuspecting child would feel his way along the familiar paths, picturing in his head where he would be. But when Mum took her hand from his eyes he would never be where he thought he was.  Amaze-ing.
Illustration 15 shows “Mum” leading the "child’s finger" into the mouth of the minotaur simply by turning her hand. You will see the monster bite and trap the startled child’s finger. It's one thing being told about the minotaur crawling around the maze in search of water. But imagine a child with his eyes covered, feeling his way through the maze with his finger and squealing with delight as he gets bitten by the minotaur. That's not just storytelling, it's interactive storytelling.

Illustration 15: Into the mouth of the minotaur

Death Of The Minotaur

Each year seven young men are thrown into the labyrinth to be eaten by the minotaur as a sacrifice to Poseidon. One year a brave young man called Theseus volunteers to be one of these sacrifices, vowing to slay the monster. (19) Everyone agrees that even if he does, he will never get out of the maze alive. No one ever has. But the daughter of King Minos falls for our brave hero and helps him. She gives Theseus some thread he can trail behind him in the maze so he can find his way out. With the help of his lover, brave Theseus does kill the monster and by leaving a trail of thread behind him, finds his way out. (20) This video shows that by curling your fingers around one by one, you can recreate Theseus leaving thread behind him as he runs around the maze. And you will see the minotaur lying dead behind him.

Illustration 16: Theseus leaves thread in the maze

References

16. Minos, Britannica Encyclopaedia Online https://www.britannica.com/topic/Minos

Minos, legendary ruler of Crete; he was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and of Europa.

17. Kern, Hermann (2000). Through the Labyrinth. Munich, London, New York: Prestel. P34 (Wikipaedia) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minotaur

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man.

18. Minotaur, World History Encyclopaedia Online https://www.worldhistory.org/Minotaur/

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a monster with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. The Minotaur was the offspring of the Cretan Queen Pasiphae and a majestic bull. Due to the Minotaur's monstrous form, King Minos ordered the craftsman, Daedalus, and his son, Icarus, to build a huge maze known as the Labyrinth to house the beast. The Minotaur remained in the Labyrinth receiving annual offerings of youths and maidens to eat. He was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

19. Myth of Theseus and minotaur Greek Mythology.com https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-of-theseus-and-minotaur/

Son of Minos, Androgeus, went to Athens to participate to the Panathenaic Games, but he was killed during the Marathon by the bull that impregnated his mother Pasiphae. Minos was infuriated, and demanded Aegeus the king of Athens to send seven men and women every year to the Minotaur to advert the plague caused by the death of Androgeus.The third year, Theseus, son of Aegeus decided to be one of the seven young men that would go to Crete, in order to kill the Minotaur and end the human sacrifices to the monster. King Aegeus tried to make him change his mind but Theseus was determined to slay the Minotaur.

20. Apollodurus, Epitome, Translated by Sir James George Frazer, Epit E.19, Perseus Digital Library https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DEpitome%3Abook%3DE%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D9

And at his suggestion she gave Theseus a clue when he went in; Theseus fastened it to the door, and, drawing it after him, entered in. 9 And having found the Minotaur in the last part of the labyrinth, he killed him by smiting him with his fists; and drawing the clue after him made his way out again. And by night he arrived with Ariadne and the children10 at Naxos. There Dionysus fell in love with Ariadne and carried her off11; and having brought her to Lemnos he enjoyed her, and begat Thoas, Staphylus, Oenopion, and Peparethus.

Pan And The Sea Goat

In one famous story the gods turn into animals in order to flee Typhon, the Father Of All Monsters. (27) Pan, the god of shepherds and hunters, (28) is the first to spot Typhon and raise the alarm. To escape, Pan transforms into a sea goat and jumps into the river Euphrates. (29 and 30) A sea goat, in case you haven't heard of it, is a mythical hybrid with the front legs of a goat and the body and tail of a fish. Here’s a picture of one on a Roman coin. 

Illustration 23: Sea goat on a Roman coin, circa 80BC

Capricorn in the zodiac represents Pan in the form of a sea goat. The creature doesn’t seem suited to “fleeing quickly” either on water or land. In some versions Pan, who resembles a goat, is trying to turn himself into a fish but moves too quickly and his top half remains goat-like. (31).

Illustration 23: Pan with his flute?

If you create the archer character in your palm and then move your thumb towards the base of your middle finger, you will see a smaller character. It makes sense than Pan would be small as he is the son of Hermes, the boy god. Could the character now be playing a flute, with the lines behind his head now representing his hands? You may think that’s a stretch but there is a good reason for thinking that it might be. If you lift your fingers it turns into a sea goat.

Illustration 24: Sea goat in  palm

Illustration 25: Sea goat drawing

The Sea Goat Raising Zeus 

In the myths, Zeus is said to have been suckled by a goat. (33) A bizarre plot, it has to be said. But it seems that even this strange tale can be animated in the hand. Illustration 26 is a video showing how the archer figure can be "raised" from the figure of the sea goat.

Illustration 26: Sea goat turns into "Zeus"

Shield Of Sea Goat Hide

It is also said that Zeus’s shield was made from the hide of a goat (34). That’s a strange idea if ever there was one. And it’s a good example of how the hand symbols seem to not just illustrate and animate the myths - they seem to explain some odd plots. If you consider some of the characters we have seen it may make sense that the shield of Zeus should be made from the hide of the goat that suckled him. Look at the triangular area in the archer character. Could this be his shield? If so it’s also the body of the sea goat.  

Illustration 27: Triangular shield?

What suggests this idea is that the triangular area in question is the same area that forms the fish-like body of the sea goat.

Illustration 28: Shield of goat hide?

Is this another example of the ingenuity of the original hand storyteller, making a strength of the weakness of these pictures? All the characters and stories are made from the same four lines. By making this a feature of the stories, another objection has been removed. Why does that shield look like the body of a goat? Well, it was once. And that’s another story . . . for another night. The sea goat is the second hybrid creature we have seen. The bull and man characters can be merged into a half-man, half-bull. If there really was a storyteller way back in the mists of time, they had a cracking idea making animals out of the palm lines. You can easily show a man, a bull, a ram, a horse and more. But you are soon going to run out. Though not when you are as ingenious as this prehistoric author seems to have been. Because when you run out you start making hybrids, creating ever more fantastic mythical beings. Philosophers have discussed the meanings and origins of these creatures since history began. Is it possible that their original purpose was simply to keep the story going? The words “prehistoric storyteller” conjure up images of priests in bear skull hoods hopping around fires. Or at least someone whose full-time job is to tell stories. But the findings of this study suggest that perhaps a better word for these ancient mythographers would be “parents.” Not only are they storytellers - they are storytellers who have to produce new material night after night. There is something about these stories that suggests the author may already have had a full-time job. All the characters and myths on this site can be illustrated and animated with just one hand. The left hand. Did the original hand animator have something else to do with the right hand? Like hold a small child? The essence of these stories seems to be that they can be told with minimum movement. Pan becomes a sea goat by moving three fingers slightly. The next section of this study shows how Aphrodite becomes a fish with the same slight movement of two fingers.  In other words, with the least possible effort on behalf of the storyteller.

Illustration 26 . . . shiny metal shield

Despite starting out as a goat hide, Zeus’s shield was made of shiny metal, especially from Roman times onwards. (36 and 37). How do you create a shiny metal shield from a goat hide? Shine a light on to it.

Aphrodite And Eros As Fish

To escape Typhon, Aphrodite and her son Eros transform into fish and dive into the Euphrates. (37) And so they do not get parted, they are held together by a cord. Eros fires love arrows (38) so the storyteller could use the archer character to represent Eros. But what about Aphrodite? Is there a hand symbol to represent her? As we have seen, the head of the male character is depicted using the crease immediately below the tip of your thumb. But you can create a second character by using another thumb crease as the head.

Illustration 27 . . . female figure

You have to contort your hand a little to get this crease to touch the main body line in the palm. Because of this contortion, the character's body is smaller than the body of the male character. It also has a smaller head and shorter arms. Best of all, If you make the female character in the hands and then just lift two fingers you are left with two “fish” in the centre of the palm, joined by a cord.

Illustration 28: Aphrodite figure

Illustration 29: Lift two fingers to see the fish

The most compelling thing about these fish is the line that runs between them. Or to put it another way, the cord that holds them together. This cord is nearly always mentioned in the myths. (39) The story of the two fish dates back thousands of years. There are different versions and lots of reasons why the two fish are held together by a cord. In the story of Aphrodite and Eros the purpose of the cord is to stop the fish being parted. But was there originally a far more practical reason for this cord? Was it simply to explain to a curious child why there is a big line running through the middle of the two fish? You can almost hear a child asking "what's that line for?" Ah, that’s the cord that holds the fish together. And that’s another story . . . for another night.

Typhon - Father Of All Monsters

Illustration 30: Serpent monster Typhon

Typhon may be the best example of the storyteller's ingenuity. Typhon was known as the Father Of All Monsters and he seems to be exactly that - a monster made up of parts of all the other monsters in the hand. Typhon had the body of a man, down to his thighs - and from his thighs instead of legs he has serpents winding together. (Descriptions, 40, 41, 42)

Illustration 31: Typhon in the palm

You might be thinking, er, that’s just a lot of palm lines squeezed together. But look closely at the lines and see how they could be interpreted. We’ve already seen these lines represent a number of two and four-legged creatures. By twisting your little finger around as far as you can you create a number of curved lines in place of the creature’s back leg. Typhon has serpents that start at his thigh. These curved lines start at the human character’s thigh.

Illustration 32: Palm Typhon drawing

Grimy Beard And Pointed Ears

Typhon has a grimy beard, matted and muddy and pointy ears. By using another hand crease as a beard, you see this character front on. Nearly all the other characters are seen in profile. Because you see him from the front, the thumb creases are no longer horns. Now they’re pointy ears. To make the beard muddy, simply dab on a streak of mud. This would allow you to create a longer beard.

Illustration 33: Typhon's eye and beard

Eyes Flashing Fire

Another amazing special effect. This flashing eye is formed by lifting the thumb slightly so a gap appears under the crease. Illustration 35 shows how to make the eyes flash fire.

Illustration 34: Eyes flashing fire

All His Body Was Winged

All we have to do is borrow a wing from Pegasus to complete the picture.

Illustration 35: Typhon figure labelled

Serpents For Fingers

Typhon had fire-breathing serpents for fingers. Illustration 37 shows wriggling "serpent" fingers in front of a fire. Typhon has hundreds of these serpents and the storyteller would only have four. But there could be at least another four wriggling around beneath the audience’s blanket.

Illustration 36: Serpent fingers breathing fire

References

27. Hollar, Wenceslaus, Typhon. UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO DIGITAL COLLECTION https://mythopedia.com/topics/typhoeus

Such and so great was Typhon when, hurling kindled rocks, he made for the very heaven with hissings and shouts, spouting a great jet of fire from his mouth. But when the gods saw him rushing at heaven, they made for Egypt in flight, and being pursued they changed their forms into those of animals.

28. Theo Project https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Pan.html

PAN was the god of shepherds and hunters, and of the meadows and forests of the mountain wilds. His unseen presence aroused panic in those who traversed his realm.Pan idled in the rugged countryside of Arkadia (Arcadia), playing his panpipes and chasing Nymphs. One of these, Pitys, fled his advances and was transformed into a mountain-pine, the god's sacred tree. Another, Syrinx, escaped but was turned into a clump of reeds from which Pan crafted his pipes. And a third, Ekho (Echo), was cursed to fade away for spurning the god, leaving behind just a voice to repeat his mountain cries. Pan was depicted as a man with the horns, legs and tail of a goat, a thick beard, snub nose and pointed ears. He often appears in scenes of the company of Dionysos.

29. Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 196 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) https://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Typhoeus.html

"When the god in Egypt feared the monster Typhon, Pan bade them transform themselves into wild beasts the more easily to deceive him. Jove [Zeus] later killed him with a thunderbolt. By the will of the gods, since by his warning they had avoided Typhon's violence." 

30. Greekerthanthegreeks.com https://greekerthanthegreeks.com/capricorn-the-ancient-greek-myth-behind-the-zodiac-sign/

Capricorn is identified as the satyr Pan, the god with a goat’s horns and legs, who saved himself from the monster, Typhon, by giving himself a fish’s tail, becoming a sea – goat and diving into a river, or, as the sea – goat, Pricus.

31. Pan Mythology, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_goat#:~:text=The%20myth%20goes%20that%20Pan,in%20combat%20with%20the%20monster. 

The myth goes that Pan jumped into the river to escape the monster Typhon. He tries to turn himself into a fish while jumping into the river, but he moves too quickly and only his lower half becomes that of a fish. Zeus then engages in combat with the monster. Zeus defeats him, but not without Typhon pulling the muscles out of Zeus' legs. With the help of Hermes, Pan replaces the damaged muscles. As a reward for healing him, Zeus placed Pan in the sky as Capricorn. The god Aegipan is also depicted in Greek art as a sea goat.

32. The Origins Of Pan, Thoughtco.com https://www.thoughtco.com/greek-mythology-pan-1524416#:~:text=The%20Origins%20of%20Pan,populated%20part%20of%20the%20country.

Pan is usually said to be the son of Hermes and Dryope, a tree-nymph

33. Hyginus, Gaius Julius. Poetical Astronomy ii. 13 (Wikipaedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis#:~:text=In%20a%20late%20rendering%20by,do%20battle%20against%20the%20Titans

Zeus is said to have used the skin of a pet goat owned by his nurse Amalthea (aigis "goat-skin") which suckled him in Crete, as a shield when he went forth to do battle against the Titans.[6]

34. Shield of Zeus. Perseus Digital Library https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=aegis-cn

AEGIS (αἰγίς), the shield of Zeus. The origin of the word appears to have been confused by the ancients themselves; in the Homeric sense it is probably from the root of ἀί̂σσω, to move violently, but it was early taken to come from αἴξ (Hdt. 4.189). According to the mythologers, the aegis worn by Zeus was the hide of the goat Amaltheia, which had suckled him in his infancy. Hyginus relates (Astron. Poet. 13) that, when he was preparing to resist the Titans, he was directed, if he wished to conquer, to wear a goat-skin with the head of the Gorgon. To this particular goatskin the term aegis was afterwards confined. Homer always represents it as part of the armour of Zeus, whom on this account he distinguishes by the epithet aegis-bearing (αἰγίοχος). He, however, asserts that it was borrowed on different occasions both by Apollo (Il. 15.229, 307-318, 360, 24.20), and by Athena (Il. 2.447-449, 18.204, 21.400).

35. Virgil, Aeneid, Book 8, 608-629 (written 19 BC) Translated by John Dryden, Sparknotes.com

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/aeneid/full-text/book-viii/

The rest refresh the scaly snakes that foldThe shield of Pallas, and renew their gold.Full on the crest the Gorgon's head they place,With eyes that roll in death, and with distorted face."My sons," said Vulcan, "set your tasks aside;Your strength and master-skill must now be tried.Arms for a hero forge; arms that requireYour force, your speed, and all your forming fire."He said. They set their former work aside,And their new toils with eager haste divide.A flood of molten silver, brass, and gold,And deadly steel, in the large furnace roll'd;Of this, their artful hands a shield prepare,Alone sufficient to sustain the war. 

36. Aegis, Wikipaedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis

Virgil imagines the Cyclopes in Hephaestus' forge, who "busily burnished the aegis Athena wears in her angry moods—a fearsome thing with a surface of gold like scaly snake-skin, and the linked serpents and the Gorgon herself upon the goddess's breast—a severed head rolling its eyes", furnished with golden tassels and bearing the Gorgoneion (Medusa's head) in the central boss. Some of the Attic vase-painters retained an archaic tradition that the tassels had originally been serpents in their representations of the aegis. When the Olympian deities overtook the older deities of Greece and she was born of Metis (inside Zeus who had swallowed the goddess) and "re-born" through the head of Zeus fully clothed, Athena already wore her typical garments.

37. Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 30 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) Theo Project https://www.theoi.com/Ther/Ikhthyes.html

"Pisces (Fishes). Diognetus Erythraeus says that once Venus [Aphrodite] and her son Cupid [Eros] came in Syria to the river Euphrates. There Typhon [Typhoeus\, of whom we have already spoken, suddenly appeared. Venus [Aphrodite] and her son threw themselves into the river and there changed their forms to fishes, and by so doing this escaped danger. So afterwards the Syrians, who are adjacent to these regions, stopped eating fish, fearing to catch them lest with like reason they seem either to oppose the protection of the gods, or to entrap the gods themselves."Ovid, Metamorphoses 5. 319 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :"Typhoeus, issuing from earth's lowest depths, struck terror in those heavenly hearts, and they all turned their backs and fled, until they found refuge in Aegyptus (Egypt) and the seven-mouthed Nilus (Nile) . . . Typhoeus Earthborn (Terrigena) even there pursued them and the gods concealed themselves in spurious shapes . . . Venus [Aphrodite] became a fish."

38. Cupid and Greek Mythology, History.com  https://www.history.com/news/who-is-cupid

Armed with a bow and a quiver filled with both golden arrows to arouse desire and leaden arrows to ignite aversion, Eros struck at the hearts of gods and mortals and played with their emotions. In one story from ancient Greek mythology, which was later retold by Roman authors, Cupid (Eros) shot a golden arrow at Apollo, who fell madly in love with the nymph Daphne, but then launched a leaden arrow at Daphne so she would be repulsed by him.

39. Pisces Constellation https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/pisces-constellation/

The Babylonians saw it as a pair of fish joined by a cord. The constellation is usually associated with the Roman myth of Venus and Cupid, who tied themselves with a rope and transformed into fish to escape the monster Typhon

40. Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 39 - 44 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) Theoi Project https://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Typhoeus.html

"The defeat of the Gigantes (Giants) by the gods angered Ge (Gaea, the Earth) all the more, so she had intercourse with Tartaros and bore Typhon in Kilikia (Cilicia). He was a mixture of man and beast, the largest and strongest of all Ge's children. Down to the thighs he was human in form, so large that he extended beyond all the mountains while his head often touched even the stars. One hand reached to the west, the other to the east, and attached to these were one hundred heads of serpents. Also from the thighs down he had great coils of vipers, which extended to the top of his head and hissed mightily. All of his body was winged, and the hair that flowed in the wind from his head and cheeks was matted and dirty. In his eyes flashed fire. Such were the appearance and the size of Typhon as he hurled red-hot rocks at the sky itself, and set out for it with mixed hisses and shouts, as a great storm of fire boiled forth from his mouth.

41. Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 28 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) Theoi Project: https://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Typhoeus.html

"Typhon was the son of Ge (Gaea, Earth), a deity monstrous because of his strength, and of outlandish appearance. There grew out of him numerous heads and hands and wings, while from his thighs came huge coils of snakes. He emitted all kinds of roars and nothing could resist his might."

42. Theoi Project, Typhoeus Description https://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Typhoeus.html

Typhoeus was a winged giant, said to be so huge that his head brushed the stars. He was man-shaped from the waist up with two coiled serpents in place of legs. He had a hundred serpent-heads for fingers, a filthy, matted beard, pointed ears, and eyes flashing fire. According to some he had two hundred hands consisting of fifty serpent-headed fingers on each hands and a hundred heads proper--one was human, the other ninety-nine bestial (of bulls, boars, serpents, lions and leopards). As a volcano-demon Typhoeus hurled red-hot rocks at heaven and fire boiled forth from his mouth.

Orion And Scorpio

We have now seen the archer character as Zeus, Poseidon, Pan and Heracles. Illustration 41 shows him as Orion, the boastful huntsman. (49) Orion, who believes he can kill any creature, is brought down to earth by the sting of a scorpion, Scorpio in the zodiac. (50) The video shows the scorpion emerging from the fist. It is suggested that the child might be invited to examine the tail of the scorpion only to “feel its sting” in the form of a flick on the nose.

Illustration 41: Orion and the scorpion

Rest Of The Zodiac

We have seen seven of the 12 characters of the zodiac: Leo The Lion, Cancer The Crab, Taurus The Bull, Aries The Ram, Pisces The Fish, Capricorn The Sea Goat and Scorpio The Scorpion. Can the other five be seen in the hand?

Gemini The Twins

One of twins was said to be immortal and the other mortal. The mortal twin, Castor, fathered by a mortal, carried a club for a weapon. His brother Pollux, fathered by Zeus, carried an arrow.  (51, 52 and 53)
This picture from an 18th Century atlas of the stars shows the twins as they are usually seen, with one holding a club and the other a spear. The club was the weapon of the mortal twin and the arrow his immortal brother, fathered by Zeus.

Illustration 42: The twins in astronomer John Flamsteed’s Atlas Coelestis 1729

Illustration 43 : Immortal twin with arrow

Illustration 44: Mortal twin with club

Let’s assume the archer character shows the immortal twin, fathered by Zeus. Could this second character represent his brother? This character is created using the second thumb crease for a head.
When you create a character using this head, the uppermost crease of the arrow tail disappears. The lower creases curves downwards. Is this the club of the mortal twin?

Aquarius The Water Bearer

Aquarius The Water Bearer was abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle and taken to Mount Olympus to serve as a cupbearer to the gods. (54 and 55)

Illustration 45: Mortal twin carrying pot

Form the character of the mortal Gemini twin and then move the tip of your thumb to create another line next to the character’s head. Could this be Aquarius carrying a jug?
It makes sense that the Aquarius figure would be formed from the mortal twin. In the zodiac, Aquarius is linked with Saturn, the father of time and death. (56-58)

Sagittarius The Archer

We’ve seen that by lifting the thumb to create the shape of a horse’s head, the bull character can be turned into a horse. Can the archer be merged with the legs of the horse to create Sagittarius, half-man, half horse? If so, we have another of the storyteller’s trademark mythical hybrids.

Illustration 46: Half man, half horse archer

Illustration 47: Half man, half horse

The fascinating thing to note here is that the horse part of Sagittarius is the same horse from which we get Pegasus with his fiery mane and wing. (Poseidon, Illustration 21) Which means that the characters for each of the fire signs in the zodiac - Leo, Aries and Sagittarius - are all created using fire as part of the character.

Libra The Scales

The Scales, the only inanimate zodiac character, were a Roman invention. Before that this sign was referred to as the Scorpion’s claw. Both the scales and the claws represent balance. In astrology, the Autumn Equinox falls in this part of the zodiac, when there is, almost, an equal 12 hours of light and darkness at every place on earth.  (59)

Illustration 48: The scorpion’s claw

There’s a good reason why this picture may represent balance. The claw and the Zeus finger sit side by side. The ruler of the heavens - the mightiest creature - lying alongside the scorpion, the smallest. The mightiest balanced by the smallest. Look at the tip of the Zeus finger. His thunderbolt can no longer be seen. Is that because balance has been achieved? The two lines that form the scorpion’s claws are the same two lines that form the heads of the male and female characters. When the characters are seen, they have different size heads. The female character has a much smaller head than the male. But in this symbol both heads are the same size. Balance again? The Romans replaced the scorpions’s claw with a set of weighing scales.

Illustration 49: Claw and scales

Are the lines in the centre of the palm the scales they were referring to? It may be interesting to note that if they are scales, they are made of two "fish." Could that be a visual pun?

Virgo The Virgin

The Scales were said to be held by Astraea, the goddess of justice, who is associated with Virgo in the Greek mythology. (60) We have seen the female symbol representing Aphrodite and other maiden goddesses. Could she also be Virgo The Virgin? Compare the symbol for the virgin in the hand and the glyph for the star sign Virgo. 

Illustration 50: Virgo glyph

Illustration 51: Create the goddess symbol, then lift your fingers 

Create the goddess symbol in the palm and then lift your fingers. Look at the Virgo glyph. It's basically an M shape with a hook to the left of the M, as we look at it. To the right of the M there is an oval shape and a cross. When you squeeze your hand together like this to form the goddess, a curved line appears from the right edge of the M, to the index finger. This curved line suggests the oval shape to the right of the M in the glyph. And another crease appears below the little finger which suggests the cross. 

References

49. Orion and Scorpius, Stony Brook University, New York https://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/AST101/pdf/orion.pdf

Orion was a skilled hunter. He was also boastful, asserting that no animal alive couldharm him. Juno, wife of Jupiter, disliked mortal men, especially boastful men, so shedecided to teach Orion a lesson. She placed a scorpion on the path that Orion took daily tohis hunting grounds. As you might expect, Orion trod upon the scorpion, which stung himand killed him.
50. Orion, Wikipedia  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpius

In Greek mythology, several myths associated with Scorpius attribute it to Orion. According to one version, Orion boasted to the goddess Artemis and her mother, Leto, that he would kill every animal on Earth. Artemis and Leto sent a scorpion to kill Orion.
51. Apollodorus. 3.10.7 Translated by Sir James George Frazer. Loeb Classical Library Volumes 121 & 122. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Perseus Digital Library https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D10%3Asection%3D7#:~:text=%5B7%5D%20But%20Zeus%20in%20the,Castor%20and%20Clytaemnestra%20to%20Tyndareus.

7] But Zeus in the form of a swan consorted with Leda, and on the same night Tyndareus cohabited with her; and she bore Pollux and Helen to Zeus, and Castor and Clytaemnestra to Tyndareus.

52. Mythworld Website https://mythworld.fandom.com/wiki/Castor_and_Pollux

In the myth the twins shared the same mother but had different fathers which meant that Pollux was immortal and Castor was mortal. When Castor died, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together and they were transformed into the Gemini constellation. The pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmo's fire.

53. Castor&Pollux, Airship Online https://airshipsonline.com/airships/r101/Nonclamenture/Castor&Pollux.html

The Sign of GEMINI. Gemini is the picture of two youthful twins seated side by side and at rest, with their feet placed upon the Milky Way. Their heads lean against each other. The one on the left has a club in his hand, but even the club is at repose, leaning against his shoulder. The other twin, on the right, has a harp in one hand and a bow and arrow in the other.

54. Graves, Robert (1955, 1960) The Greek Myths, London, Penguin. Chapter 29

It is said that Zeus, desiring Ganymedes also as his bedfellow, disguised himself in eagle’s feathers and abducted him from the Trojan plain.

55. Greek Myths Website https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/signs-of-the-zodiac.html

More obvious is the mythological tale behind the eleventh sign of the Zodiac Aquarius, the Water-bearer, for it is said by most that Aquarius is Ganymede.

56. Bustle website https://www.bustle.com/life/what-planet-rules-aquarius-uranus-saturn-astrologer

In traditional astrology, Aquarius is ruled by Saturn

57. Wikipedia, Saturn mythology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_(mythology)#:~:text=He%20was%20described%20as%20a,with%20the%20Greek%20Titan%20Cronus

He was described as a god of time, generation, dissolution, abundance, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. Saturn's mythological reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace. After the Roman conquest of Greece, he was conflated with the Greek Titan Cronus.

58. Wikipedia, Maraka (Hindu astrology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraka_(Hindu_astrology)#:~:text=Saturn%20and%20Rahu%20are%20the%20Mrityu%2Dkarakas%20or%20significators%20of%20death.

Saturn and Rahu are the Mrityu-karakas or significators of death.

59. Libra, Space.com https://www.space.com/26088-libra-constellation-scales-origins.html

When the Romans invented the Libra constellation, approximately 3,500 years ago, it contained the Autumnal Equinox — the point in the sky where the sun crossed the equator on its way from the Northern Hemisphere to the south. That's the time of the year when days and nights were equal. It was likely because of Libra's location at this particular spot on the night sky that scales were chosen for the symbol for this constellation. They were thought to represent the scales in which night and day were weighed which on the date of the equinox were perfectly balanced.The Romans made the two claws of the constellation Scorpius (the Scorpion) into the arms of Libra. Originally, Libra was known as "the Claws" of Scorpius the Scorpion to the poet Aratus and others of classical times.

60. Virgo, Theoi Project https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Astraia.html#:~:text=ASTRAIA%20(Astraea)%20was%20the%20virgin,stars%20as%20the%20constellation%20Virgo.

ASTRAIA (Astraea) was the virgin-goddess of justice. During the Golden Age she dwelt upon the earth with mankind but was driven away by the increasing lawlessness of the subsequent Bronze Age. Zeus then set her amongst the stars as the constellation Virgo.

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