The Dragon, or
Draco, is a
constellation located in the
northern hemisphere. Through ancient times it has been associated with dragons or
serpents. The
Persians knew it as a man-eating serpent, while the
Greeks saw it as a dragon which lived within the garden of the
Hesperides, or Daughters of the Evening, where he
guarded the stars or
golden apples which hung from the
Pole Tree in the
Garden of Darkness.
In
Egypt it was known as
Typhon or
Set, ruler of darkness and
enemy of the Sun.
Thuban, it's main star, means Serpent or Dragon in
Arabic. Around 3000 B.C. Thuban was the
Pole Star or
North Star, caused by the fact that the
celestial north pole slowly moves in a circle which passes through the body of the Dragon. Today the Pole Star is
Polaris, and will become
Deneb in thousands of years, then later
Vega will take it's place.