What is "cetus"

Cetus is a constellation. Its name refers to Cetus, a sea monster in Greek mythology, although it is often called 'the whale' today. Cetus is located in the region of the sky that contains other water-related constellations such as Aquarius, Pisces, and Eridanus.

In Ancient Greek, the word kētos (, plural kētē or kētea, κήτη or κήτεα)— Latinized as cetus (pl. cetea)—denotes a large fish, a whale, a shark, or a sea monster. The sea monsters slain by Perseus and Heracles were each referred to as a cetus by ancient sources. The term cetacean (for whale) originates from cetus. In Greek art, cetea were depicted as serpentine fish. The name of the mythological figure Ceto is derived from ketos. The name of the constellation Cetus also derives from this word.

Cetus can refer to:

• The constellation Cetus
• The former biotechnology company Cetus Corporation
• Cetus (mythology), the monster sent to devour Andromeda which was slain by Perseus
• "-cetus", a suffix used to describe whales in taxonomy.

The modern constellation Cetus lies across two of the quadrants, symbolized by the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ) and the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ), that divide the sky in traditional Chinese uranography.

The name of the western constellation in modern Chinese is 鯨魚座 (jīng yú zuò), meaning "the whale constellation".