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Eridanus

 
Dictionary: E·rid·a·nus   (ĭ-rĭd'n-əs) pronunciation
n.
A constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Fornax and Cetus.

[Greek Ēridanos, mythical river associated with the myth of Phaeton.]


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1. Legendary amber-bearing river, vaguely located by the Greeks in the far north-west, into which Phaethon supposedly fell, the amber being the tears wept by his sisters who were transformed into poplar trees. Herodotus reported that he had heard of it as the source of amber but did not believe it existed. Later Greeks identified it with the river Po (Lat. Padus) in north Italy, and the Roman poets and occasionally prose writers adopted the name.

2. Name of a small tributary of the river Ilissus at Athens.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Eridanus
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Eridanus (ĭrĭd'ənəs), large southern constellation stretching SW from Orion for about 60°. Because of its long, winding shape it was identified with a river by many ancient civilizations; e.g., the Egyptians called it the Nile and the Babylonians called it the Euphrates. The brightest star in the constellation, Achernar, marks the southern end of the river. Eridanus reaches its highest point in the evening sky in December.


Wikipedia: Eridanus
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The name “Eridanus” can refer to:

Rivers

  • Eridanos (mythology) (or Eridanus), a river in Greek mythology, somewhere in Central Europe, which was territory that Ancient Greeks knew only vaguely
  • The Po River, according to Roman word usage
  • Eridanos (Athens), a former river near Athens
  • Eridanos (geology), a large river that flowed between forty million and seven hundred thousand years ago from Lapland to the North Sea through where the Baltic Sea is now

Astronomy

Miscellaneous


Best of the Web: Eridanus
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Some good "Eridanus" pages on the web:


Greek Mythology
www.pantheon.org
 
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Classical Literature Companion. The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Copyright © 1993, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Eridanus" Read more