Artemis and Orion Their love will always be printed amongst the stars

The Story of Orion

In Greek mythology, Orion was the son of Neptune. He was a handsome giant and a mighty hunter. His father gave him the power of wading through the depths of the sea, or as others say, of walking on its surface. He is known for having a dog companion called Sirius (who apparently became the brightest star in the night time sky).

Orion's first wife was Side, a vain woman who boasted that she was more beautiful even than Hera (Juno), the Queen of Heaven, wife of Jupiter. Hera being a jealous woman, punished Side by sending her down to Hades. After losing his wife Orion traveled to the island of Chios (Khios, located 5 miles off the western coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea). King Oenopion ruled the land, he had a beautiful daughter named Merope (not to be confused with Merope of the Pleiades). Orion fell madly in love with her and asked her father for permission to marry her. The king didn't like the idea of letting her go, so he gave Orion the seemingly impossible task of ridding the island of its dangerous wild beasts, hoping he would fail. He told Orion he would permit the marriage when he finished the task. Orion worked very hard for several months from dawn to well after sunset, until the job was done.

He went to claim Merope, but King Oenopion hesitated to give his daughter away, and told Orion that he hadn't finished his job completely. By now Orion had figured out the real situation. He got very drunk one night and in a fit of rage, took Merope by force. The next morning, Merope told her father that Orion had raped her. The king was angered by the disturbing news, but somewhat glad of having good reason to get rid of him. The next night, Oenopion got Orion drunk again, blinded him and cast him out on the seashore to fend for himself. 

An oracle told Orion that he would see again if he went east and let the rays of the rising sun fall on his eyes. Because Orion was the son of Poseidon he had the powers of walking on the surface of the seas, this he began to do as he heard the ringing of a distant blacksmith's hammer, till he reached Lemnos (Limnos, located midway between Mt. Athos and the Turkish coast in the Aegean Sea), and came to the forge of Vulcan (Hephaestus) who fashioned the silver and gold and armor for the gods. Taking pity on Orion, Vulcan gave him Kedalion, one of his men, to be his guide to the abode of the sun. Placing Kedalion on his great shoulders, Orion told him to guide them to the east, and there meeting the sun-god, was restored to sight by his beam.

Eos, the goddess of the dawn had watched over Orion since he had left Chios and fell in love with him. Orion spent some wonderful times with Eos, before deciding to return to Chios to gain revenge on Oenopion. Bent on revenge, Orion journeyed to the island of Crete searching for King Oenopion. When the king discovered Orion returned, he immediately hid in a secret cave. Orion searched for the king, but could not find him.

Orion made his way to the island of Crete to live, there he hunted game and led a happy life. There he met the beautiful Artemis, goddess of the Moon and Wild Animals and as keen a hunter as Orion. She thought she had finally found someone special to fall in love with, and the feelings were mutual. Orion was so much in love that he abandoned his ideas of revenge and the couple spent many days together……

Now you know the story BEFORE he met Artemis, you can read about Artemis or go straight to the theories of his death.