Laërtes is asteroid #11252 and also known as 1973 SA2. Laërtes was discovered by Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, and Tom Gehrels in a follow-up campaign (the Palomar-Leiden trojan survey) of their Palomar-Leiden Survey at the Palomar Observatory. Although Laërtes was discovered in 1973, Laërtes got named in 2000. Laërtes is a non-family asteroid of the Jovial background population. With other words, Laërtes is a Jupiter trojan. Laërtes belongs to the Greek camp in Jupiter’s L₄.

Laërtes is named after Laértēs (Λαέρτης) from Greek mythology. He is the connection between the solar heroes Jason and Odysseus because Laértēs (Λαέρτης) was first an Argonaut and then became the king of Ithaca and then got a son, who is Odysseus. But already in the Odyssey some people say that Sisyphos (Σίσυφος) is Odysseus’ real father and Laértēs (Λαέρτης) only Odysseus’ stepfather because Odysseus’ mother Antikleia (Ἀντίκλεια) was the widow of Sisyphos (Σίσυφος) when she became the wife of Laértēs (Λαέρτης). So the people, who want Odysseus’ wife and Odysseus’ throne, say that his mother was already pregnant when she married his father. Laértēs (Λαέρτης) retires as a king very early, so that Odysseus becomes the king of Ithaca. Why this remains unclear, but thus Laértēs (Λαέρτης) is able to put clear that Odysseus is really the king of Ithaca and acknowledged as his son, while on the other hand Laértēs (Λαέρτης) thus gets spared from having to go to the Trojan War and fights only later at the side of his son to reconquer Ithaca.

I actually wanted to supplement the theme, which was begun with writing about the asteroid Ophelia. The elder brother of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s theater play Hamlet is named Laertes. Could I get information on asteroids from a good computer program, then I would immediately been informed that the asteroid Laërtes is a Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp. Then I would have known that the asteroid got one of the really many names, and often only names, from early Greek mythology. But anyway Shakespeare must have got the name Laertes from Greek mythology because the name Laertes has never been a frequent name.

I suggest as a working hypothesis for astrological interpretations to step aside and hand over the leading role and also the representation of a male supporter. Mythologies know many female supporters, but male supporters are seldom and hence special. They are also different from female supporters. A male sidekick fights at the side of a male hero with the same or similar skills and methods. So male supporters are rather warriors, while female supporters, Medea is an example for this, are rather witches.