Cassiopeia.
Cassiopeia · Queen of Aethiopia
The queen whose vanity nearly cost her daughter's life — punished by being tied upside-down to her throne in the sky.
Wife of Cepheus, mother of Andromeda. Punished by Poseidon for boasting; placed among the stars as the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia.
Cassiopeia · Cassiopeia · Queen of Aethiopia
Wife of Cepheus, mother of Andromeda. Punished by Poseidon for boasting; placed among the stars as the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia.
Cassiopeia was queen of Aethiopia, married to Cepheus, mother to Andromeda. She was famous in her court for two things: a beautiful daughter and an unguarded tongue.
She announced — at a public feast, depending on which source you read — that she and Andromeda were more beautiful than the Nereids, the fifty sea-nymphs of Poseidon. The Nereids took the boast to their patron, who released a sea-monster to ravage the kingdom. Andromeda's chaining to the cliff was the price Cassiopeia's pride had cost.
"She boasted that she was fairer than the Nereids — and Poseidon, hearing her, sent the sea-monster."
Perseus rescued Andromeda. The royal couple survived the catastrophe but Poseidon's anger did not pass. After her death Cassiopeia was placed among the stars in the form of her throne — but tied to it upside-down, so that she circles the celestial pole half the year head-over-heels. The constellation's distinctive W is the queen herself; whether that is the throne or her bound figure depends on which source you read.
Where this comes from.
Mythology
- Apollodorus Bibliotheca 2.4.3
- Hyginus Astronomica 2.10
- Aratus Phaenomena 188–204
Paintings & illustrations
- Andromeda and Perseus — Pierre Mignard (c. 1679) · Wikimedia · PD
- Cave of the Storm Nymphs — Edward Poynter (1903) · Wikimedia · PD
- Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Camelopardalis (Urania's Mirror) — Sidney Hall (engraver), Jehoshaphat Aspin (text) (1825) · Wikimedia · PD
For fun · sources cited. We don’t publish horoscopes, personality readings, or compatibility takes — just astronomy + classical mythology, with public-domain art where available. See all 88 constellations.