Who is the Charioteer?

Cartomancer

Who is the Charioteer?

The Chariot card of the Tarot deck portrays the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. Some have identified Auriga as Erichthonius, an early king of Athens. Erichthonius may have been a son of Hephaestus and Atthis, daughter of Cranaus. The Romans knew Hephaestus as their fire-god Vulcan. Upon becoming a man, Erichthonius drove away King Amphictyon, who had himself usurped the throne from Cranaus twelve years earlier.

Erichthonius was said to be the first person to hitch four horses to a chariot, in imitation of the sun-chariot. He instituted the festival called Panathenaea in honor of Athena, who had taught him how to train horses. Zeus placed Erichthonius in the heavens holding the reins to the chariot.

Other writers say that the smith-god Hephaestus tried to rape Athena but she pushed him away and his semen spilled on the earth and Erichthonius was born. Athena brought up Erichthonius on the Acropolis above the city.

Hyginus believed that the stars of Auriga portray Myrtilus, the son of Hermes, and charioteer of King Oenomaus of Pisa. [Poetica Astronomica, 2.9]

King Oenomaus had a beautiful daughter named Hippodameia whom Pelops wanted to marry. Hippodameia fell in love with Pelops at first sight. Pelops was a son of Tantalus by either Dione or by a Pleiad. King Oenomaus had killed all other suitors to his daughter's hand by challenging them to a do or die chariot race. If he caught the suitor, he would be beheaded.

Hippodameia begged Myrtilus to fix the race, so Myrtilus loosened the linchpin of the King's chariot. During the race the wheels of the chariot fell off and the king was thrown to his death. Pelops then tossed Myrtilus into the sea, but while drowning Myrtilus cursed the house of Pelops. Hippodameia had many children including Atreus, Pitteus and Thyestes. Hermes is said to have placed Myrtilus in the constellation of Auriga.

Auriga may have been portrayed by Hippolytus, a son of King Theseus of Athens. Hippolytus's stepmother fell in love with him, but with her love rejected, she hanged herself. Hippolytus later instituted rites to Artemis.

Similar images in the image of Auriga and the early Chariot card include a chariot, a chariot driver, and two horses (Auriga has two goats instead). Auriga is a portrayal of the Greek god Hephaestus, who made armor, arrows, and chariots. Hephaestus was a forger of swords and that a sword sometimes appears in the Chariot card. As a goat herder, he was probably also seen with a staff.

Only some celestial portrayals of Auriga on planispheres have an actual picture of a chariot, although the Charioteer usually holds reins, which may have been converted to whips or possible bridals in some Tarot card versions. Some versions have a chariot drawn by a goat. Auriga is always portrayed as a man.

Also notice the seven balls around the waist on some decks, representing the seven bright circle (pentagon) of stars of Auriga. The ring of balls around the waist of the Chariot driver in some versions of the Chariot card could well represent the ring of five bright stars that make up the chariot of the Auriga constellation. Also notice that the round form of Auriga naturally associates it with wheels. Two additional stars (2 goat stars) could be added to make the seven balls on the Rothchild Chariot card and other decks.

Notice the "dove-like" image to the left of the Charioteer in the Cary-Yale card. Look closer at the object(s) on the Charioteer's right shoulder (left side from our view). These could possible be a representation of the goat(s) that usually appear on the shoulder of Auriga. It appears to be a poor reconstruction of a previous image that was unintelligible to the Tarot artist. But how could a goat become a bird? How could a goat become a winged horse? The wings on the horses are related to the dove on the Cary-Yale Chariot card.

Auriga was also connected with Phaethon, the child rider of the sun chariot, so there could also be a connection between the orb, which may represent the sun. Note that the Rothschild collection has circular objects on the upper corners that are emanating rays such as the sun is portrayed. The wings on the helmet of the chariot driver are a reminder that Auriga is a celestial charioteer. The feminine appearance in some of the Chariot cards could be because the artist was trying to portray a young man (Phaethon), not a young woman.

The Geofrey Catelin tarot from 1557 showing the Chariot card more clearly shows the Auriga constellation because the charioteer is portrayed as an older man (philosopher), which may have some connection with someone in the Francesco Sforza family.

Some of this information I previously posted at:
http://forum.tarothistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=31&start=40

The Chariot card clearly illustrates the constellation Auriga, but what member of the Visconti-Sforza family does it portray?

The constellation Auriga by Julius Hyginus as the CHARIOT card in the Tarot:
http://piecework.deviantart.com/art/AURIGA-Hyginus-CHARIOT-388609989

Link to historical illustrations of the constellation Auriga:
http://www.kristenlippincott.com/assets/Uploads/Auriga-Sept-2011.pdf

- Cartomancer (Lance Carter)
 

Huck

The Chariot card clearly illustrates the constellation Auriga, but what member of the Visconti-Sforza family does it portray?

Good question. Especially as the driver in the Visconti-Sforza cards is female, quite in contrast to all these Auriga prototypes.

Anyway, there are so many triumphal chariots in 15th century, that one wonders, why you search them in more than 2000 years old star myths.

In 15th century there was something like the triumphal bride's journey. What this occasionally meant, you might learn from the journey of Lucretia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, from Rome to Ferrara in 1502. This has a rather good description.