Editing Cetus (section)

==History and mythology==
[[File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Psalterium Georgii, Fluvius Eridanus, Cetus, Officina Sculptoris, Fornax Chemica, and Machina Electrica.jpg|thumb|Cetus dominates this card from ''[[Urania's Mirror]]'' (1825) as if looking up towards the celestial sphere (east is left of frame).  Uses the modern custom: celestial maps to be held skywards while facing south.]]
[[File:Alexander Jamieson Celestial Atlas-Plate 23.jpg|thumb|An alike depiction from ''Celestial Atlas'' (A. Jamieson) (1822)]]
Cetus may have originally been associated with a [[whale]], which would have had mythic status amongst Mesopotamian cultures. It is often now called the Whale, though it is most strongly associated with [[Cetus (mythology)|Cetus the sea-monster]], who was slain by [[Perseus]] as he saved the princess [[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]] from [[Poseidon]]'s wrath. It is in the middle of "The Sea" recognised by mythologists, a set of water-associated constellations, its other members being [[Eridanus (constellation)|Eridanus]], [[Pisces (constellation)|Pisces]], [[Piscis Austrinus]] and [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aquarius]].<ref name="staal">{{Harvnb|Staal|1988|pp=33–35}}</ref>

Cetus has been depicted in many ways throughout its history. In the 17th century, Cetus was depicted as a "dragon fish" by [[Johann Bayer]], while both [[Willem Blaeu]] and [[Andreas Cellarius]] depicted Cetus as a whale-like creature in the same century. However, Cetus has also been variously depicted with animal heads attached to a piscine body.<ref name="staal"/>

===In global astronomy===
In [[Chinese astronomy]], the stars of Cetus are found among two areas: the [[Black Tortoise|Black Tortoise of the North]] (北方玄武, ''Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ'') and the [[White Tiger (Chinese astronomy)|White Tiger of the West]] (西方白虎, ''Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ'').

The [[Tukano]] and [[Kobeua people]] of the Amazon used the stars of Cetus to create a [[jaguar]], representing the god of hurricanes and other violent storms. Lambda, Mu, Xi, Nu, Gamma, and Alpha Ceti represented its head; Omicron, Zeta, and Chi Ceti represented its body; Eta Eri, Tau Cet, and Upsilon Cet marked its legs and feet; and Theta, Eta, and Beta Ceti delineated its tail.<ref name="staal"/>

In [[Hawaii]], the constellation was called ''Na Kuhi'', and Mira (Omicron Ceti) may have been called ''Kane''.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=281}}