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Draco the Dragon

"Mythological accounts of Draco vary considerably. By some this serpent is the guardian of the stars (the golden apples) which hang from the Pole tree in the Garden of Darkness. Others claim that this was the snake snatched by Minerva from the giants, and whirled to the sky before it had a chance to uncoil, thus twisted it sleeps to-day in the heavens around the axes of the world.

Draco with Ursa's major and minor

In north temperate latitudes this constellation never sets (a circumpolar constellation) and the Greeks therefore saw it as an emblem of eternal vigilance, symbolized by this Dragon of the Garden, guarding the precious fruit. Juno, it is said, presented these golden apples to Jupiter on the day of their nuptials, and rewarded Draco for his faithful services by placing him among the stars.

Draco wit Bootes, Canes Venatici and Ursa minor

The Legend relates that the serpent was slain by Hercules, and in the old maps Hercules is represented as crushing the head of the Dragon under his foot... (see image below) There seems evident reference to God's interview with the serpent in the Garden of Eden. "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel."

from Star Lore by William Tyler Olcott

Draco with Hercules, Corona Borealis and Ursa minor

Hercules holds in his left hand a miniature version of the tree with golden apples teeming with snakes as a symbol of his domination over and slaying of Draco the Dragon