or simply the Three Stars. The passage "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?" is found in the Bible's Book of Job and Book of Amos. Tennyson's poem The Princess describes Orion's belt as: In China's Classic of Poetry, the asterism, under the name "Shen" (参), was paired with Antares, which is known as "Sheng" (商), to be a metaphor for two people who could never unite. This might have stemmed from the observation that both Orion's Belt and Antares rise in the east and set in the west, but Antares only rises once Orion's Belt has set and vice versa. The three stars of the belt are known in Portugal, South America, and the Philippines as Las Tres Marías in Spanish, and as "As Três Marias" in Portuguese.They also mark the northern night sky when the Sun is at its lowest point, and were a clear marker for ancient timekeeping. In Mexico they are called the Los Tres Reyes Magos. In Finnish mythology, the Belt of Orion is called Väinämöisen vyö (Väinämöinen's Belt). The stars which appear to "hang" off the belt form an asterism called Kalevanmiekka (Kaleva's sword). In pre-Christian Scandinavia, the belt was known as Frigg's Distaff (Friggerock) or Freyja's distaff. Similarly Jacob's Staff and Peter's Staff were European biblical derived terms, as were the Three Magi, or the Three Kings. Väinämöinen's Scythe (Kalevala) and Kalevan Sword are terms from Finnish mythology. The Seri people of northwestern Mexico call the three belt stars Hapj (a name denoting a hunter) which consists of three stars: Hap (mule deer), Haamoja (pronghorn), and Mojet (bighorn sheep). Hap is in the middle and has been shot by the hunter; its blood has dripped onto Tiburón Island. The Māori people of New Zealand refer to the belt as Tautoru (literally "string of three"), and it is often seen as the stern of the constellation Te Waka o Rangi (the canoe of Rangi), which extends to its prow at Matariki (The Pleiades). The rising of Matariki in the dawn sky marks the Māori New Year in late May or early June. Gallery See also Thornborough Henges, ancient monument in North Yorkshire Orion correlation theory, fringe theory relating the Giza pyramids to the stars of Orion's Belt References Orion (constellation) Asterisms (astronomy) Open clusters Stellar associations