Ara is one of the 48 Claudius Ptolemy constellation. It has an area of 237 square degrees and 67 stars visible to the naked eye.

constellation is located just south of the tail of Scorpius and is easily visible in the Southern Hemisphere.

In Aratus's Phaenomena, there is a legend that the sea becomes very rough when Ara is low in the southern sky.

According to the "Katastelismoi," there is also a legend that a fire was lit on an altar built by the Cyclopes when Zeus and his comrades defeated Cronus.


[Source of the story]

Encyclopedia of constellation (New Edition) Kawade Shobo Shinsha (February 2011)
Encyclopedia of the Cultural History of Stars, Hakusuisha Publishing (December 2019)