Pisces (♓︎; /ˈpaɪsiːz/;[2][3] Ancient Greek: Ἰχθύες Ikhthyes, Latin for "fishes") is the twelfth and final astrological sign in the zodiac.

[8] One star in the constellation, Alpha Piscium, is also known as Alrescha, which comes from the Arabic: الرشآء, romanized: al-rišā’, meaning "the well rope",[9] or "the cord".

[10][15] Although they appear as a pair, the name of the sign in all languages originally referred to only one fish with the exception of Greek,[16] Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Italian and Portuguese.

[18] It is one of the earliest zodiac signs on record, with the two fish appearing as far back as c. 2300 BC on an Egyptian coffin lid.

[3][21][18] Typhon, the "father of all monsters", had been sent by Gaia to attack the gods, which led Pan to warn the others before himself changing into a goat-fish and jumping into the Euphrates.

[8] A similar myth, one in which the fish "Pisces" carries Aphrodite and her son out of danger, is resounded in Manilius' five-volume poetic work Astronomica: "Venus ow'd her safety to their Shape.

[22] The story of the birth of Christ is said to be a result of the spring equinox entering into the Pisces, as the Savior of the World appeared as the Fisher of Men.

[33] They are also the subject of one of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetic works:[34] And here fantastic fishes duskly float,Using the calm for waters, while their firesThrob out quick rhythms along the shallow air.In the January 1970 edition of the Avengers (No.

72), the supervillain group Zodiac introduced the member "Pisces" whose abilities allowed him to live underwater, which included fins, scales and gills.