Cetus Traditional Cache

Cetus represents the sea monster from the Greek myth of the princess Andromeda, whose boastful mother Cassiopeia angered the sea god Poseidon and the Nereids (sea nymphs) by claiming that she was more beautiful than any of them. To appease the sea god and the nymphs, Cassiopeia and her husband, King Cepheus, had to sacrifice their young daughter to Cetus, a sea monster sent by Poseidon to punish the king and queen, or watch the monster ravage their land. Andromeda was chained to a rock and left to the sea monster, but to her good fortune, the hero Perseus was passing by just as Cetus was about to devour her. Perseus rescued the princess and killed Cetus. He and Andromeda were later married. Cetus was commonly depicted by the Greeks as a hybrid creature. It had forefeet, huge jaws, and a scaly body like a giant sea serpent. Even though the constellation is also known as the Whale, the mythical creature in the depictions does not in fact look like a whale.