Human mythology is very neat in all kinds of beings, gods and legends. That is why today we are going to delve into a unique story, that of the myth of Perseus. But how is it possible that a son of Zeus ends up associated with a Christian saint like the case of St. Lawrence ? The answer is simple, the Perseids. Do we know more about this exciting association and its peculiarities? Let's go there.
What are the Perseids?
We begin by explaining what Perseids are. Surely every summer you hear everywhere that during a few nights in August you will see rains of shooting stars known by this name . In reality, they are dust fragments that fall into our atmosphere after detaching from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet.
When burning with contact with our atmosphere they burn and appear as shooting stars that combined, they are a rain of fire and wonderful color. Don't forget to make a wish when you see them . There is no better time throughout the year for your dreams and illusions to come true.
The myth of Perseus
Since the Perseids appear above our sky in the direction in which we find the Constellation of Perseus, they were already baptized by our former ancestors.
But who is Perseus? This man was actually a demigod son of Zeus who fell in love with a nymph named Danae . In order to gain access to his beloved's place of imprisonment, he metamorphosed, accessed and begat a scion.
But the most curious thing in history is that Perseus, to sneak into the place where his great love was confined, decided to transform into a golden rain, hence the name of the famous Perseids that appear where we observe his constellation.
But his story does not end there, since in the night sky, Perseus appears next to the Constellation of Andromeda, princess with whom he also had romantic relationships in the past . Moreover, when the future regent was about to be eaten by a sea monster, she was released and saved by this courageous hero. It was even he who managed to defeat the terrible Medusa without turning it into stone.
The tears of San Lorenzo
However, Las Perseidas also receives another name, that of the Tears of San Lorenzo . To explain this denomination, we approach a few centuries to our present.
It turns out that San Lorenzo is celebrated in the Catholic tradition on August 10, on which date this shower of stars coincides . And since this saint died burned in Rome at the stake, it is popularly said that the man, in full martyrdom, exclaimed: "Turn me around, that on this side I am done."
And so it was that the legend tells that his tears are the same stars as every night. They commemorate his death, and appear to remember the martyrdom of this man.
So today, every year in the middle of August, we celebrate a unique rain that fills us with joy. Perseids have already become a symbol, even for astronomers .
In fact, comet Swift-Tuttle, responsible for bringing this phenomenon to life, was believed missing. The scientists lost their trail and were not right with estimates of their orbit. However, everything was a mistake in calculating the movement of the object. It didn't really take 120 years to complete a lap, as it was believed, but almost 130 years.
Be that as it may, the magic that surrounds the Perseids goes far beyond its cosmological reality and its mythology . Every night, millions of people across the planet turn their eyes to the dark and infinite sky. And for a moment, we all seem united, peaceful and brothers . Let us make this wish the next time this wonderful phenomenon illuminates our world.
By Pedro, editor of the Great White Brotherhood
