Delta Orionis

Delta Orionis (δ Ori), traditionally known as Mintaka (from منطقة manţaqah, which means "area or region" in Arabic), is a star some 900 light years distant in the constellation Orion. Together with Zeta Orionis (Alnitak) and Epsilon Orionis (Alnilam), the three stars make up the belt of Orion, known by many names across many ancient cultures. When Orion is close to the meridian, Mintaka is the right-most of the belt's stars as seen by an observer in the Northern

The three belt stars were collectively known by many names in many cultures. Arabic terms include Al Nijād 'the Belt', Al Nasak 'the Line', Al Alkāt 'the Golden Grains or Nuts' and, in modern Arabic, Al Mīzān al H•akk 'the Accurate Scale Beam'. In Chinese mythology they were also known as The Weighing Beam. The belt was also the Three Stars mansion (simplified Chinese: 参宿; traditional Chinese: 參宿; pinyin: Shēn Xiù), one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger.

In Latin America, this asterism is known as Las Tres Marías or As Três Marias which stand for The Three Marys in Spanish and Portuguese respectively.

In Christian astromythology Mintaka is also regarded as the third of the three Magi on their way to Bethlehem (Sirius): Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar.