Pleiades Card

Category:Special Items
==Statistics==
==Other Uses==
Used in Special Events: Starlight Celebration
==Synthesis Recipes==
==Used in Recipes==
==Desynthesis Recipes==
==Obtained from Desynthesis==
==How to Obtain==
===Special Event===
:*Starlight Celebration (Christmas 2005 Event)
==Historical Background==
During Starlight Celebration Event (for Christmas 2005), there were 7 Rare Christmas cards that could be obtained. They were: Aldebaran Card, Betelgeuse Card, Canopus Card, Capella Card, Pleiades Card, Rigel Card, Sirius Card. All of these cards are named after some of the brightest stars in the night sky and most of which are visible in the evening hours in December. Most of the stars form the Winter Hexagon asterism, a giant hexagon formed from the brighest stars around at that time of year (Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux, Procyon, Rigel, Sirius). Procyon and Pollux are not included in these cards. Most of the stars form the Summer Hexagon in the Southern Hemisphere, with Canopus replacing Capella.
The Pleiades are an open star cluster (designated M45 [Messier 45]) in the constellation Taurus. They are one of the most attractive features of the night sky, being several bright blue stars (spectral type B6-B9). The Pleiades lie about 440 ly from the Sol system. The brighest stars are: Alcyone (Eta Tauri; 25 Tauri), Atlas (27 Tauri), Electra (17 Tauri), Maia (20 Tauri), Merope (23 Tauri), Taygete (19 Tauri), Pleione (28 Tauri), Celaeno (16 Tauri) Asterope (21 + 22 Tauri). Medieval astrology counted the Pleiades all as one star. The Pleiades come from the Pleiades (Seven Sisters) of Greek mythology, being the 7 daughters of the Titan Atlas and the nymph Pleione. The Pleiades were all very charming and all but 1 of the sisters had relationships with the Olympian gods at some point in mythological time. Eventually, Orion the Hunter began to chase after them and Zeus turned them first into doves, but as Orion got closer, he decided to turn them into stars. Orion, also placed in the stars, now continues his pursuit of them. The Seven Sisters are:
Maia- the eldest sister. She was said to be shy and reclusive, dwelling alone in a cave in Arcadia. She had a secret affair with Zeus and gave birth to Hermes, the messenger god. Her name is Greek for "nursing mother".
Electra- She had an affair with Zeus and sired the royal bloodline of the Trojan kings and the founder of the Samothracian Mysteries. Her name is Greek for "amber-colored" or "amber".
Taygete- She had an affair with Zeus and sired the royal bloodline of the Spartan kings. Her name is Greek for "of Mount Taygetus".
Alcyone- She had an affair with Poseidon (after Celaeno). Her name is Greek for "kingfisher" or "strong-help".
Celaeno- She had an affair with Poseidon (before Alcyone). Her name is Greek for "dark".
Sterope- She had an affair with Ares and sired the royal bloodlines of the Mykenaian and Eleian royal families. Her name is Greek for "dazzling light" or "star-faced".
Merope- the youngest sister. She married a mortal, King Sisyphus. Her star is said, mythologically, to be the dimmest because marrying a mortal has brought shame upon her. Her name is Greek for "bee-mask" or "eyes-turned".