The familiar image of Saturn and its rings has come to symbolise our idea of a planet but there is still much about Saturn and its system that we do not understand. The history of our beliefs and knowledge about it, one of the most distant planets visible to the naked eye, is described, from the early myths, such as the Indian village that believes it is protected by Saturn, to current exploration and discoveries made by the Cassini Huygens space probes. The observations of early astronomers are outlined and the various NASA projects which have discovered so much about the mysterious planet.