Orion as depicted in the constellation cards "Urania's Mirror"
Meaning unknown, it could possibly come from the Greek horion meaning "boundary, limit". Another source says it could be based of the Akkadian term Ura-anna, meaning "the light of heaven".
In Greek mythology, Orion was the giant hunter son of Poseidon who could walk through the oceans with his feat on the seabed and head above the waves. Like his brother Polyphemus, he was blinded in a quarrel, but his eyes where healed by the radiance of the sun of Helios.
There are several myths concerning how he died. According to one myth, the love that Eos, the goddess of dawn, felt for Orion was so strong that it caused her jealousy until the goddess Artemis was persuaded to shoot him in an arrow on behalf of the gods. He was then sent to the stars in form of a constellation. Another myth says that he got killed by a scorpion sent by Gaia.
Orion is a constellation on the celestial equator and is visible throughout the world. It is one of the most recognizable constellations. Orion of Thebes was a scholar who taught in Egypt. It is also the name of Sirius Black's father in the Harry Potter series.
Orion is ranked #419 in the United States.