Cassiopeia was a woman in
Greek mythology. She was the wife of
Cepheus who was king of
Ethiopia. They had a daughter called
Andromeda. Cassiopeia was very beautiful but also very
arrogant and
vain. She thought that she was better than other people. One day, Cassiopeia said that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than all of the
Nereids.
[1] The Nereids were sea-
nymphs. When the sea-
god Poseidon heard what Cassiopeia had said, he was very angry. He sent
floods and a sea
monster called
Cetus to destroy Ethiopia. Cassiopeia and her husband Cepheus asked an
oracle what to do. The oracle said that they must
sacrifice their daughter so they chained Andromeda to a rock. A
hero named
Perseus came and rescued Andromeda. Later, they got married.
Poseidon was still angry with Cassiopeia and wanted to punish her. He placed her in the sky. There is a constellation called Cassiopeia named after her.
References
