There is perhaps another set of myths that preserve ancient knowledge concerning our Galactic center. The center of the galaxy, from our viewpoint, lies in the constellation of Sagittarius. The galactic center was discovered only recently, as it is hidden in a cloud of dust - it is pinpointed by Sagittarius A*, which some surmise is a large black hole:
Here is a picture showing where the galactic center is located:
Now, what is odd, is that the Galactic Center is located in the constellation of Sagittarius, the archer. What is even more strange, the bow and arrow of the archer point almost exactly towards the Galactic Center. Here is a map of the constellation:
In the first image, note how the Galactic center is located about one-third the distance between the star clusters M6 and M8. In the constellation map, lambda Sagittarii (Kaus Borealis) is the upper tip of the bow, epsilon Sagittarii (Kaus Australis) is the lower tip of the bow, and gamma-2 Sagittarii (Alnasl) is the tip of the arrow, this is shown by their Arabic names; Alnasl means arrowhead. Following the line formed by delta Sagittarii and Alnasl leads just above the star cluster M6; this is where the Galactic Center is located.
Some have noted this, how Sagittarius the archer is aiming his arrow at the Galactic Center. But is this a coincidence? It could in fact be a very clever preservation of knowledge concerning the spiral of the galaxy and its center: the target of an arrow would be a very good symbol for ancients to understand the concept of the image of a spiral galaxy:
In Greek myths, Sagittarius is a centaur, more specifically he is the centaur Chiron or Cheiron (Greek meaning "hand", probably refering to the hand on the bow). Most presume that this archer is pointing his bow at Scorpius. Now, in Greek myth Chiron was conceived when Cronus impregnated a nymph while he had the form of a horse. In this he was unique among other Centaurs: all other Centaurs were actually descended from the union of king Ixion and and Nephele. Thus Centaurs all all known as Ixionidae.
Now, this is where the myth gets a little too strange for coincidence. Ixion means "fiery" and Nephele means "cloud" - the Centaurs were born from a union between a sun in a cloud. According to the myth Ixion was the first man who was guilty of murdering his own family: he was thus destined to a terrible punishment. He lived as an outlaw and was shunned by all others, until Zeus took pity on him and invited him to his table. Ixion, however, desired Zeus's wife Hera. Zeus noticed this, and created a cloud in the form of Hera,, known as Nephele. Zeus thus tricked Ixion into coupling with it, and from this union the Centaurs were born. Ixion was expelled from Olympus and blasted with a thunderbolt, moreover, Zeus ordered Hermes to bind Ixion to a fiery wheel that was always spinning. Ixion was thus eternally bound to a burning solar wheel for all eternity, at first spinning across the heavens, but in later myth he was consigned to Tartarus - the abyss where the Sun descends into a darkness, a perfect reference to a black hole.
Below is an image of Ixion: an ancient myth preserving knowledge of our Galaxy, hidden in a dark cloud of interstellar dust. And Sagittarius points right to it. Not only that, the image shows Atlas bearing earth, on the edge of the wheel - and our earth is at the edge of the Galaxy. A very strange "coincidence", is it not?
I almost forgot to mention: Ixion murdered his father-in-law by pushing him to his death on a bed of fiery coals and wood. And the Galactic Center brings about the death of many stars through its strong gravitational push.
