Editing Cygnus (constellation) (section)

=== In Western astronomy ===
[[File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Cygnus as depicted in ''[[Urania's Mirror]]'', a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Surrounding it are Lacerta, Vulpecula and Lyra.]]
In [[Greek mythology]], Cygnus has been identified with several different legendary swans. [[Zeus]] disguised himself as a swan to seduce [[Leda (mythology)|Leda]], [[Sparta]]n king [[Tyndareus]]'s wife, who gave birth to the [[Castor and Pollux|Gemini]], [[Helen of Troy]], and [[Clytemnestra]];{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2001|pp=134–137}} [[Orpheus]] was transformed into a swan after his murder, and was said to have been placed in the sky next to his [[lyre]] ([[Lyra]]); and a man named [[Cycnus|Cygnus]] (Greek for ''swan'') was transformed into his namesake.

Later Romans also associated this constellation with the tragic story of [[Phaethon]], the son of [[Helios]] the sun god, who demanded to ride his father's sun chariot for a day.  Phaethon, however, was unable to control the reins, forcing Zeus to destroy the chariot (and Phaethon) with a thunderbolt, causing it to plummet to the earth into the river [[Eridanus (constellation)|Eridanus]]. According to the myth, Phaethon's close friend or lover, [[Cycnus of Liguria|Cygnus of Liguria]], grieved bitterly and spent many days diving into the river to collect Phaethon's bones to give him a proper burial. The gods were so touched by Cygnus's devotion that they turned him into a swan and placed him among the stars.<ref>P.K. Chen (2007)'' A Constellation Album: Stars and Mythology of the Night Sky'', p. 70 ({{ISBN|978-1-931559-38-6}}).</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] |title=[[Description of Greece]] |at=[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+1.30.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 1.30.3]}}</ref><ref name="msh">{{cite book |author=[[Maurus Servius Honoratus]] |title=On [[Aeneid]] |at=[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053%3Abook%3D10%3Acommline%3D189 10.189]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Grimal |first=Pierre |url=https://archive.org/details/concisedictionar00grim/page/114/mode/2up?view=theater |title=A concise dictionary of classical mythology |last2=Kershaw |first2=Stephen |publisher=Oxford, England ; Cambridge, Mass., USA : Blackwell |others=Internet Archive |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-631-16696-2 |edition=Reprint. 1994 |pages=114 |access-date=2024-11-02}}</ref>

In [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', there are three people named Cygnus, all of whom are transformed into swans. Alongside Cygnus, noted above, he mentions [[Cycnus (son of Apollo)|a boy from Aetolia]] who throws himself off a cliff when his companion [[Phyllius]] refuses to give him a tamed bull that he demands, but he is transformed into a swan and flies away.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 7.371 ff.</ref> He also mentions [[Cycnus of Kolonai|a son of Poseidon]], an invulnerable warrior in the [[Trojan War]] who is eventually killed by [[Achilles]], but [[Poseidon]] saves him by transforming him into a swan.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 12.64–145</ref>

Together with other [[bird|avian]] constellations near the [[summer solstice]], [[Lyra#History|Vultur cadens]] and [[Aquila (constellation)|Aquila]], Cygnus may be a significant part of the origin of the myth of the [[Stymphalian Birds]], one of [[The Twelve Labours]] of [[Hercules]].<ref>Allen (1963) p. 56.</ref>