the fountains of the river to refill it, and accordingly this constellation represented to the Egyptians the rainy period of the winter season. However, the Egyptians were probably indebted to some other people for their knowledge of this constellation, for Egypt is not a land subject to heavy rains.
Aquarius is represented even on very early Babylonian stones as a man or boy pouring water from a bucket or urn; around the waist is a scarf, part of which is held up by the left hand. For some reason, which is lost to us, his right arm is stretched backward to the fullest extent possible so as to reach over almost the entire length of the constellation Capricornus, which bounds Aquarius on the west.
The significance of the pouring of the water from the urn into the mouth of the Southern Fish is also unaccounted for. The conception is such a singular and striking one that it was evidently the result of design rather than fancy. Maunder referring to this peculiar figure says: "Strangely enough through all the long centuries that the starry symbols have come down to us, Aquarius has always been shown as pouring forth his stream of water into the mouth of a fish, surely the strangest and most bizarre of symbols."
According to Norse mythology, Aquarius was considered Wall's palace, and it was supposed to be covered with silver. In the Indian zodiac, the name of the constellation is "Kumbha," meaning "Water Jar." Allen states that Kumbha is from κομβη, or Storm-god. Here again we find the constellation associated with rain and tempest.
Brown tells us that Aquarius in the Hebrew zodiac represented the tribe of Reuben, "unstable as water."
In Greek mythology, Aquarius represented Ganymede, the cup-bearer of the gods. Ganymede was a beautiful youth of Phrygia, and the son of Tros, King of Troy. He was taken up to heaven by Jupiter as he was tending his father's flocks on Mt. Ida, and became the cup-bearer of the gods in place of Hebe.
