Ancient astronomy
Though the ancient Greek interpretations are the ones that stuck, what did other cultures see in the stars?
Today we know of trillions of stars, and even other galaxies. We have classifications for different stellar types, and can work out a star’s mass, density and composition from many light years away. We know that stars are dense balls of gas that are fusing hydrogen to power themselves, creating light as they do. But before the modern age of science, people could only guess at what these bright lights in the night were. Here are some of the oldest interpretations, and what the stars meant to these ancient observers.