"The King"
Mythology:
Cepheus was the King of Ethiopia (modern day Israel, Jordan, and Egypt).
Cepheus was the descendant of Zeus, who had an affair with Io, Cepheus'
mother and for which one of the moons of Jupiter is named. Cepheus
was married to Queen Cassiopeia, and they had a daughter named Andromeda.
Cassiopeia was both beautiful and vain. She was so vain, in fact,
that she compared her beauty with that of the Nereids, or the Sea Nymphs.
One of the Sea Nymphs was Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon, who persuaded
Poseidon to punish Cassiopeia by sending Cetus the sea monster to attack
the shores of Ethiopia.
Cepheus consulted the Oracle at Ammon to attempt to discover how to appease
Cetus and stop the attacks. He was told that he must sacrifice his
virgin daughter Andromeda. Cepheus had Andromeda chained to a rock
off the Mediterranean for the monster.
Fortunately for Andromeda, Perseus arrived on the back of Pegasus.
Perseus was able to kill Cetus and release Andromeda. Perseus asked
Cepheus for Andromeda's hand in marriage, but Cepheus had already promised
Andromeda to his brother, Phineus.
At the engagement dinner of Perseus and Andromeda, Phineus arrived carrying
many flowers and gifts for Andromeda. To prove his worthiness, Perseus
fought Phineus for the love of Andromeda. After a very bloody battle,
Perseus killed not only Phineus but all of his followers.
Other Interesting Sights: The original Cepheid Variable, Delta Cephei, is within this constellation. A Cepheid Variable is a star whose size fluctuates (in other words, a variable star) and whose period is so predictable it can be measured and predicted to small fractions of a second. Cepheid variable stars are instrumental in determining stellar distances.