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**-v:.J 


V    v'. 


I 


1 


STAR-NAMES  AND  THEIR  MEANINGS 


STAR-NAMES 


AND 


THEIR  MEANINGS 


BY 

RICHARD  HINCKLEY  ALLEN 


LOE    WHAT    VARIETIE    THERE   IS    AMONG    THESE    DEEPE    CLEARKES 
AND   GREAT   ASTROLOGERS ! 

PLINY'S   "NATURAL  HISTOtW" 


G.  E.  STECHERT 

NEW  YORK 
LEIPZIG  LONDON  PARIS 

1899 

All  rights  reserved 


102160 


Copyright,  1899,  by 
Richard  Hinckley  Allen 


I    GRATEFULLY   DEDICATE  THESE   PAGES 
TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 


HUBERT  ANSON  NEWTON 

AND 

WILLIAM    DWIGHT  WHITNEY 

SENIOR   PROFESSORS  IN  YALE  UNIVERSITY 

WHO   FIRST  ENCOURAGED  ME 
IN   MY  WORK 

R.   H.   A. 


HE  MADE  THE   STARS   ALSO 

GENESIS  1,    1 6 

STARS   INDEED   FAIR  CREATURES   BE 

HONEST   GEORGE   WITHER 
MAKE    FRIENDSHIP    WITH    THE    STARS 

MRS.   SIGOURNEY 


! 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction xi 

The  Solar  Zodiac i 

The  Lunar  Zodiac 7 

The  Constellations 10 

The  Galaxy 474 

Indices 489 


"  Wilt  thou  lere  of  sterres  aught  ? 

Elles  I  wolde  thee  have  told," 
Quod  he,  "  the  sterres  names,  lo, 
And  al  the  hevenes  signes  to, 
And  which  they  ben." 

Dan  Geoffrey  Chaucer's  Hous  of  Famr. 


INTRODUCTION. 

This  list  of  star-names  is  published  in  the  endeavor  to  fill  an  acknow- 
ledged vacancy  in  our  popular  astronomical  literature.  It  is  not  intended 
for  the  professional  astronomer,  who,  as  a  rule,  cares  little  about  the  old 
designations  of  the  objects  of  his  study, —  alphabets,  numerals,  and  circles 
being  preferable,  indeed  needful,  for  his  purposes  of  identification.  Yet 
great  scholars  have  thought  this  nomenclature  not  unworthy  their  attention, 
—  Grotius,  Scaliger,  Hyde,  and  our  own  Whitney,  among  others,  devoting 
much  of  their  rare  talent  to  its  elucidation ;  while  Ideler,  of  a  century  ago, 
not  without  authority  in  astronomy  as  in  other  branches  of  learning,  wrote 
as  to  inquiry  into  star-names : 

This  is,  in  its  very  nature,  coincidently  a  research  into  the  constellations,  and  it  is  so  much 
more  worth  while  learning  their  history  as  throughout  all  ages  the  spirit  of  man  has  con- 
cerned itself  with  a  subject  that  has  ever  had  the  highest  interest  to  him, —  the  starry 
heavens. 

Old  Thomas  Hood,  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  in  1590  asserted  that 
they  were  "for  instruction's  sake  .  .  .  things  cannot  be  taught  without 
names";  and  it  is  certain  that  knowledge  of  these  contributes  much  to  an 
intelligent  pleasure  when  we  survey  the  evening  sky.  For  almost  all  can 
repeat  Thomas  Carlyle's  lament : 

Why  did  not  somebody  teach  me  the  constellations,  and  make  me  at  home  in  the  starry 
heavens,  which  are  always  overhead,  and  which  I  don't  half  know  to  this  day  ? 


xii  Introduction 

Naturally  these  titles  are  chiefly  from  the  Arabs,  whose  Desert  life  and 
clear  skies  made  them  very  familiar  with  the  stars,  as  Al  Biruni  *  wrote : 

He  whose  roof  is  heaven,  who  has  no  other  cover,  over  whom  the  stars  continually  rise 
and  set  in  one  and  the  same  course,  makes  the  beginnings  of  his  affairs  and  his  knowledge 
of  time  depend  upon  them. 

So  that  the  shaykh  Ilderim  well  told  Ben  Hur  at  the  Orchard  of  Palms : 

Thou  canst  not  know  how  much  we  Arabs  depend  upon  the  stars.  We  borrow  their 
names  in  gratitude,  and  give  them  in  love. 

But  many  star-names  supposed  to  have  originated  in  Arabia  are  merely 
that  country's  translations  of  the  Greek  descriptive  terms,  adopted,  during 
the  rule  of  the  Abbasids,2  from  Claudius  Ptolemy's  H  Meydki]  2vvragi$ 
TTfc  'Aorpovofiiag,  the  Great  System  of  Astronomy,  of  our  second  century. 
For  it  was  early  in  this  khalifate, 

in  the  golden  prime 
Of  good  Haroun  Alraschid 

(Aaron  the  Just),  that  Ptolemy's  Ivvrafa*  was  translated  as  Al  Kitab  al 
Mijisti,  the  Greatest  Book.  This,  in  its  various  editions,  substituted 
among  the  educated  classes  a  new  nomenclature ;  while,  as  revised  by 
Al  Thabit  ibn  Kurrah  in  the  latter  part  of  the  9th  century,  it  eventually 
became,  through  a  Latin  version  by  Cremonaeus  (Gerard  of  Cremona)  of 
the  1 2th  century,  the  groundwork  of  the  first  complete  printed  Almagest 
This,  published  at  Venice  in  15 15,  so  manifestly  showed  its  composite 
origin  that  Ideler  and  Smyth  always  referred  to  it  as  the  Arabo- Latin 
Almagest.  The  Greek  text  of  the  Syntaxis  seems  to  have  been  practically 
unknown  in  Europe  until  translated  into  Latin  from  a  Vatican  manu- 
script by  Trapezuntius  (the  monk  George  of  Trebizond),  several  editions 

iThis  was  the  celebrated  Khorasmian  Abu  Raihan  Muhammad  ibn  Ahmad  of  A.  D.  1000, 
whose  designation  in  literature  came  from  his  birthplace,  a  birun,  or  suburb,  of  Khw&rizm. 
His  Vestiges  of  Past  Generations,  a  chronology  of  ancient  nations,  and  his  India,  are  of  interest 
and  authority  even  now. 

2  This  first  organized  government  among  the  Arabs  began  in  749,  and  under  "  its  enlight- 
ened and  munificent  protection  Baghdad  soon  became  what  Alexandria  had  long  ceased  to  be." 

SThis  was  subsequently  designated  as  c/f  l/«y/arij  to  distinguish  it  from  his  smaller  astro- 
logical work  in  four  books,  the  TitQafiiflkoc  £vvra$tc.  Our  word  Almagest  is  now  supposed  to 
be  composed  of  the  principal  letters  of  the  Greek  title. 


Introduction  xiii 

of  this  issuing  during  the  16th  century.  From  all  these  and  kindred  works 
have  come  the  barbarous  Graeco- Latin- Arabic  words  that,  in  a  varied 
orthography,  appear  as  star-names  in  modern  lists. 

But  there  were  other  purely  indigenous,  and  so  very  ancient,  titles  from 
the  heathen  days  of  the  Ishmaelites  anterior  to  Mediterranean  influences, 
perhaps  even  from  the  prehistoric  "'Arab  al  Baida,"  the  Arabs  of  the 
Desert, —  these  titles  generally  pastoral  in  their  character,  as  accords  with 
such  an  origin.  So  that  we  find  among  them  the  nomads'  words  for  shepherds 
and  herdsmen  with  their  maidens;  horses,  horsemen,  and  their  trappings; 
cattle,  camels,  sheep,  and  goats ;  predatory  and  other  animals ;  birds  and  rep- 
tiles. It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  archaic  nomenclature  of 
the  Arabs  —  archaic  properly  so  called,  for  we  know  nothing  of  its  begin- 
nings—  in  one  respect  is  unique.  They  did  not  group  together  several 
stars  to  form  a  living  figure,  as  did  their  Western  neighbors,  who  sub- 
sequently became  their  teachers;  single  stars  represented  single  creatures, — 
a  rule  that  seems  rarely  to  have  been  deviated  from, —  although  the  case  was 
different  in  their  stellar  counterparts  of  inanimate  objects.  Even  here  they 
used  but  few  stars  for  their  geographical,  anatomical,  and  botanical  terms; 
their  tents,  nests,  household  articles,  and  ornaments ;  mangers  and  stalls ; 
boats,  biers,  crosses,  and  thrones ;  wells,  ponds,  and  rivers ;  fruits,  grains, 
and  nuts;  —  all  of  which  they  imaged  in  the  sky. 

They  had,  too,  still  another  class  of  names  peculiar  to  themselves,  such 
as  Al  Saidak,  Al  Simak,  Al  Suha,  respectively  the  Trusted  One,  the  Lofty 
One,  the  Neglected  One ;  their  Changers,  Drivers,  Followers,  and  Wardens ; 
their  Fortunate,  or  Unfortunate,  Ones,  and  their  Solitary  Ones,  etc.  None  of 
these  early  asterisms,  however,  were  utilized  by  the  scientific  Arabians,  but, 
with  their  titles,  became  merely  interesting  curiosities  to  them,  as  to  us. 
These  were  known  as  "  of  the  Arabs,"  while  Ptolemy's  figures  were  "  of  the 
astronomers," —  a  distinction  maintained  in  this  book  by  the  use  of  "  Arab  " 
or  "Arabic"  for  the  first,  and  "  Arabian"  for  the  last.  The  Persian  astronom- 
ical writer,  the  dervish  eAbd  al  Rahman  Abu  al  Husain,  now  better  known 
as  Al  Sufi,1  the  Mystic  or  Sage,  made  mention  of  this  early  distinction,  in 

1  Al  Sufi  also  was  known  as  Al  Razi,  from  his  birthplace,  Al  Rayy,  east  of  Teheran.  A  French 
translation  of  his  work  was  published  in  1874  by  the  late  H.  C.  F.  C.  Schjellerup  of  Saint 
Petersburg. 

ir» 


xiv  Introduction 

964,  in  his  Description  of  the  Fixed  Stars  ;  Kazwini  following,  three  cen- 
turies later,  with  the  same  expressions. 

The  various  Arabic  titles  that  we  see  applied  to  a  single  star  or  group, 
and  the  duplicate  titles  for  some  that  are  widely  separated  in  the  sky,  ap- 
parently came  from  the  various  tribes,  each  of  which  had  to  a  certain  extent 
a  nomenclature  of  its  own. 

The  rest  of  our  star-names,  with  but  few  exceptions,  are  directly  from 
Greek  or  Latin  originals, —  many  of  these,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Arabian, 
although  now  regarded  as  personal,  being  at  first  only  adjectival  or 
merely  descriptive  of  the  star's  position  in  the  constellation  figure ;  while 
some  are  the  result  of  misunderstanding,  or  of  errors  in  translation  and  oft- 
repeated  transcription.  But  these  are  now  too  firmly  established  to  be  dis- 
continued or  even  corrected. 

Vergil  wrote  in  the  1  st  Georgic  : 

Navita  turn  stellis  numeros  et  nomina  fecit ; 
and  Seneca,  the  traditional  friend  of  Saint  Paul,  in  his  Quaestiones  Naturales: 

Graecia  stellis  numeros  et  nomina  fecit; 

both  of  these  heathen  authors  almost  exacdy  following  the  words  of  the 
sacred  psalmist,  who,  at  least  four  hundred  years  before,  had  sung : 

He  telle th  the  number  of  the  stars ; 
He  giveth  them  all  their  names, 

and  of  the  prophet  Isaiah : 

He  calleth  them  all  by  name. 

While  Seneca's  statement  may  have  some  foundation,  and  Vergil's  assertion 
as  to  the  sailor's  influence  in  star-naming  may  be  true  in  part,  yet  for  most 
of  this  we  should  probably  look  to  the  Desert,  where  the  stars  would  be  as 
much  required  and  relied  upon  for  guidance  as  on  the  trackless  ocean,  and  so 
necessarily  objects  of  attentive  interest  and  study.  Indeed,  Muljammad 
told  his  followers,  in  the  6th  Sura  of  the  Kur'dn  : 

God  hath  given  you  the  stars  to  be  your  guides  in  the  dark  both  by  land  and  sea. 


Introduction  xv 

It  seems  safe  to  conclude  that  they  were  first  named  by  herdsmen,  hunters, 
and  husbandmen,  sailors  and  travelers, — by  the  common  people  gener- 
ally, rather  than  by  the  learned  and  scientific ;  and  that  our  modern  lists 
are  the  gradual  accumulation  of  at  least  three  thousand  years  from  various 
nations,  but  chiefly  from  the  nomads,  as  well  as  the  scholars,  of  Arabia, — 

those  earthly  godfathers  of  heaven 'slights, 
That  give  a  name  to  every  fixed  star, — 

and  from  Greece  and  Rome. 

It  may  be  thought  that  too  much  attention  has  been  paid  to  stellar 
mythology,  now  almost  a  hackneyed  subject ;  but  it  serves  to  elucidate  the 
literary  history  of  the  stars,  and  the  age  of  its  stories  commands  at  least  our 
interest.  Indeed,  we  should  remember  that  the  stars  were  largely  the 
source  of  these  stories, —  Eusebius,  early  in  our  4th  century,  asserting  in  his 
Praeparatio  Mvangelka  : 

The  ancients  believed  that  the  legends  about  Osiris  and  Isis,  and  all  other  mythological 
fables  [of  a  kindred  sort],  have  reference  either  to  the  Stars,  their  configuration,  their 
risings  and  their  settings,  etc. 

And  Proctor  wrote  in  his  Myths  and  Marvels  of  Astronomy  that  the  chief 
charm  of  this  study 

does  not  reside  in  the  wonders  revealed  to  us  by  the  science,  but  in  the  lore  and  legends 
connected  with  its  history,  the  strange  fancies  with  which  in  old  times  it  has  been  associ- 
ated, the  half-forgotten  myths  to  which  it  has  given  birth. 

Yet  these  myths,  old  as  the  present  forms  of  some  of  them  may  be,  are  but 
modern  and  trivial  when  one  goes  back  into  the  dim  past  to  their  probable 
fountainhead  among  the  Himalayas  and  on  the  Ganges,  or  along  the  banks 
of  the  Euphrates,  where  the  recent  study  of  mythology  discovers  their  ori- 
gin in  serious  connection  with  the  most  ancient  of  earthly  religions,  long 
antedating  Moses, —  "  attempted  explanations  of  natural  phenomena,"  drawn 
from  observations  on  the  earth  and  in  the  sky  of  the  powers  of  nature  and 
of  nature's  God. 

The  world-wide  field  of  research  that  I  have  endeavored  to  traverse, 
containing  the  records  of  four  or  five  millenniums,  it  need  hardly  be  said 


xvi  Introduction 

demands  for  its  exploration  the  best  efforts,  long  continued,  of  the  scientist 
and  scholar  accomplished  in  archaeology,  astronomy,  literature,  and  philol- 
ogy. None  such,  however,  has  appeared  since  Ideler's  day,  nearly  a  cen- 
tury ago ;  so  that,  with  the  desire  of  taking  up  again  this  most  interest- 
ing task,  and  the  hope  of  thus  stimulating  others  more  competent  to  carry 
it  on,  I  have  done  what  I  could,  although  frankly  confessing  that  I  have 
fallen  very  far  short  of  my  ideal.  Originality  is  not  claimed  for  my  book 
Much  of  it  has  been  gathered  from  widely  scattered  sources,  brought  to- 
gether here  for  the  first  time  in  readily  accessible  form,  although  doubtless 
with  errors  and  certainly  with  much  omission ;  for  while  I  have  sought,  as 
did  Milton's  //  Penseroso,  to 

sit  and  rightly  spell 
Of  every  star  that  heav'n  doth  show, 

yet  in  preparing  my  material  I  have  seen,  as  Doctor  Samuel  Johnson  wrote 
in  the  preface  of  his  Dictionary, 

that  one  enquiry  only  gave  occasion  to  another,  that  book  referred  to  book,  that  to  search 
was  not  always  to  find,  and  to  find  was  not  always  to  be  informed. 

So  that,  following  him, 

I  set  limits  to  my  work,  which  would  in  time  be  ended  though  not  completed. 

While  to  temper  such  criticism  as  may  be  bestowed  upon  my  efforts,  I 
quote  again  from  the  same  source : 

Dictionaries  *  are  like  watches  ;  the  worst  is  better  than  none,  and  the  best  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  go  quite  true. 

Doctor  Christian  Ludwig  Ideler's  Untersuchungen  uberden  Ursprungund 
die  Bedeutung  der  Sternnamen,  dated  in  Berlin  the  2d  of  April,  1809,  is  the 
main  critical  compendium  of  information  on  stellar  names  —  Arabic,  Greek, 
and  Latin  especially.     It  is  to  him  that  we  owe  the  translation  of  the 

1  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  our  dictionaries  are,  without  exception,  singularly  unsatisfac- 
tory as  to  star-titles,  being  always  deficient  and  too  often  erroneous.  The  recent  Century 
Cyclopedia  of  Names,  however,  contains  the  most  correct,  detailed,  concise,  and  scholarly  list 
that  we  have. 


Introduction  xvii 

original  Arabic  text  of  Kazwini's *  Description  of  the  Constellations,  written 
in  the  13th  century,  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  Stemnamen,  with  Meier's 
additions  and  annotations  from  classical  and  other  sources.  From  this 
much  information  in  my  book  is  derived. 

The  Bedford  Catalogue  in  Captain  (afterwards  Vice-Admiral)  William 
Henry  Smyth's  2  Cycle  of  Celestial  Objects,  a  book  of  exceptional  value  as  to 
information  on  star-names  and  unique  in  its  racy  style,  also  has  been 
drawn  from. 

Sir  Joseph  Norman  Lockyer's  recent  Dawn  of  Astronomy  —  a  most  inter- 
esting work  even  if  all  his  deductions  are  not  accepted  —  has  furnished  many 
of  the  references  to  Egypt  and  its  temple  worship  of  various  stars;  this  new 
study  in  orientation  having  been  initiated  by  Professor  Nissen  of  Germany, 
although  independently  so,  about  the  same  time,  by  Lockyer. 

Professor  D'Arcy  Wentworth  Thompson's  Glossary  of  Greek  Birds  has 
been  utilized  as  to  the  ornithological  symbolism  3  on  early  coinage,  sculp- 
turing, etc. ;  for  this,  hitherto  unintelligible,  is  now  thought  to  be  largely 
astronomical. 

The  details  of  star-spectra  mainly  are  from  the  Spectralanalyse  der  Ge- 
sfime,  of  1890,  by  Doctor  J.  Scheiner,  of  the  Royal  Astrophysical  Observa- 
tory of  Potsdam,  translated  by  Professor  E.  B.  Frost,  of  Dartmouth  College, 
in  1894. 

The  matter  connected  with  the  astronomy  of  China  is  chiefly  from  Mr. 
John  Williams'  work  of  187 1, —  the  Observations  of  Comets  from  611  B.  C. 
to  A.  D.  1640,  extracted  from  the  Chinese  Atrnals, —  the  star-names  being 

1  His  customary  designation  is  from  his  birthplace,  Kazwin,  in  northern  Persia,  and  has 
been  variously  given ;  Smyth  abbreviating  it  to  'Omadu-d-din  Abu  Yahya  Zakariya  Ibn-Mah- 
mud  Ansarf  al-Kazwini.  The  name  is  correctly  written  Zakariya  ibn  Muhammad  ibn  Mafcmud 
al  Kazwinl.  He  was  collaborator  with  his  noted  fellow-countryman  Nasr  al  Din  al  Tusi, 
who.  in  1370,  compiled  the  Ilkhanian  Tables,  used  in  Persia  perhaps  to  the  present  day. 

*  It  is  pleasant  to  us  Americans  to  know  that  Smyth  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Captain  John 
Smith  of  Virginia  fame  ;  and  of  interest  to  all  New  Jersey  people  that  his  father  was  from  the 
province  of  East  Jersey,  but,  as  a  loyalist  in  our  Revolution,  was  compelled  to  flee  to  England, 
where  the  son  was  born  in  1788.  He  died,  in  1865,  after  a  most  useful  and  distinguished  career 
in  the  British  navy  and  as  astronomer  and  hydrographer. 

5  This  subject  originally  was  broached  by  Gorius,  in  1750,  in  his  De  Gemtnis  Astriferis ; 
and  Dupuis  treated  of  it,  although  in  an  exaggerated  way,  a  century  ago. 


xviii  Introduction 

from  that  or  from  Mr.  John  Reeves' Appendix  1  to  Volume  I,  Part  2,  of  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Robert  Morrison's  Dictionary,  published  at  Macao  in 
1 8 19,  with  Bode's  star-numbers.  I  have  also  been  aided  by  the  Reverend 
Doctor  Joseph  Edkins'  recent  papers  in  the  China  Review,  The  transla- 
tions of  the  names  in  Reeves'  list  are  by  Professor  Kazutami  Ukita,  of 
the  Doshisha  Theological  School  of  Kyoto,  Japan ;  but  he  expresses  mis- 
givings as  to  the  correctness  of  many  of  them  in  their  stellar  application. 

Professor  Richard  J.  H.  Gottheil,  of  Columbia  University,  has  very 
kindly  supervised  the  .transcription  and  translation  of  the  Hebrew  and 
Arabic  star-names,  and  has  added  the  table  of  the  Arabic  alphabet  and 
the  English  equivalents  of  its  letters.  But  his  absence  abroad  while  the 
earlier  pages  were  going  through  the  press  will  account  for  some  errors, 
which,  however,  I  have  endeavored  to  correct  in  the  Index.  The  Euphra- 
tean2  titles  are  from  various  sources. 

The  star-magnitudes  are  from  the  Estimates  of  the  Harvard  Photometry, 
a  list  of  4260  naked-eye  stars  north  of  the  30th  parallel  of  south  declination, 
published  in  1884  by  Professor  Edward  C.  Pickering,  or  from  the  Urano- 
metria  Argentina*  of  the  late  Doctor  Benjamin  A.  Gould,  published  in  1879. 

The  star-maps  of  the  northern  sky  to  which  I  generally  refer  are  those  of 
Doctor  Friedrich  Wilhelm  August  Argelander  in  his  Uranometria  Nor?a^ 
published  at  Berlin,  in  1843,  wl^  32*>8  stars  down  to  the  6th  magnitude; 
and  of  Doctor  Eduard  Heis  in  his  Atlas  Coelestis  Novus  of  1872.     But 

1  The  original  of  Reeves'  list  is  from  the  31st  volume  of  the  Leuk  Ltih  Yuen  Yuen,  in  one 
hundred  volumes,  issued  in  the  reign  of  Kang  Hi,  with  Jesuit  assistance.  The  early  native 
titles  seem  to  have  been  arbitrarily  applied  to  single  stars  or  small  groups,  with  no  apparent 
stellar  signification. 

2  The  term  "  Euphratean  "  is  used  throughout  these  pages  in  a  general  way  for  the  material 
lately  discovered  in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  the  source  of  which  —  Sumerian,  Akkadian,  Baby- 
lonian, Chaldaean,  or  Assyrian  —  is  as  yet  largely  undetermined.  The  references  to  this  ma- 
terial I  have  taken  bodily  from  the  works  of  Hommel,  Sayce,  Strassmaier  and  Epping,  Jen- 
sen, and  Robert  Brown,  Junior. 

3  This  great  work  is  designed  to  include  all  stars  down  to  the  7th  magnitude  in  that  portion 
of  the  sphere  within  ioo°  of  the  south  pole, —  the  favorable  atmospheric  conditions  atCdrdoba, 
whence  the  observations  were  made,  rendering  even  that  magnitude  readily  visible.  It  com- 
prises, of  course,  all  the  southern  constellations,  with  6733  stars,  and  those  parts  of  the  north- 
ern, with  907  stars,  that  lie  below  the  10th  degree  of  north  declination, —  66  constellations 
in  all,  with  7730  stars. 


Introduction  xix 

the  last-named  acute  observer  includes  those  to  the  6]4  magnitude l —  5421 
stars  from  the  pole  to  40°  of  south  declination,  in  eight  tenths  of  the 
heavens.  Smyth  more  conservatively  wrote  of  this  oft-mooted  point  in 
observational  astronomy  : 

The  number  of  those  seen  by  the  naked  eye  at  once  is  seldom  much  above  a  thousand ; 
though  from  their  scintillation,  and  the  indistinct  manner  in  which  they  are  viewed,  they 
appear  to  be  almost  infinite.  Indeed,  albeit  the  keen  glances  of  experience  might  do 
more,  the  whole  number  that  can  be  generally  perceived  by  the  naked  eye,  taking  both 
hemispheres,  is  not  greatly  above  three  thousand,  from  the  first  to  the  sixth  magnitudes, 
in  about  these  proportions  : 


I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

20 

70 

220 

500 

690 

1500,— 

3000  in  all.  Professor  David  P.  Todd,  in  his  New  Astronomy  of  1897,  in- 
creases the  number  of  5th-magnitude  stars  to  1400,  and  of  those  of  the 
6th  magnitude  to  5000, —  7185  in  all;  but  exceptional  conditions  of  eye- 
sight and  atmosphere  probably  must  exist  for  confirmation  of  this. 

The  star-colors  generally  are  from  Smyth's  list  whenever  noted  by  him ; 
but  it  should  be  remembered  that  even  good  authorities  sometimes  differ 
as  to  stellar  tints,  and  those  assigned  here  will  not  be  accepted  by  all,  and 
in  the  case  of  minute  objects  are  very  doubtful. 

I  have  begun  my  work  with  brief  notices  of  the  Zodiacs, — Solar  and 
Lunar, —  that  necessarily  are  constantly  alluded  to  in  treating  of  the  in- 
dividual Constellations ;  following  these  with  three  chapters  on  the  latter, — 
their  history  among  the  nations,  cataloguing  and  early  treatment  by  au- 
thors, and  their  connection  with  astrology,  art,  folk-lore,  literature,  and 
religion.  The  detailed  list  of  the  Constellations,  in  alphabetical  order, 
and  of  their  named  components  follows,  with  the  derivation,  signification, 
and  history  of  their  titles,  and  some  facts  as  to  the  scientific  aspects  of  the 
stars.  In  this  last  feature  of  my  book  Professor  Charles  A.  Young,  of 
Princeton  University,  has,  afforded  me  much  valuable  assistance,  for  which, 
although  very  inadequately,  I  here  return  my  sincere  thanks.  A  chapter 
on  the  Galaxy  ends  the  work. 

1  He  was  enabled  to  do  this  by  means  of  special  arrangements  for  shutting  off  outside  light 
from  the  field  of  sky  under  view ;  so  that  the  observations,  although  by  the  naked  eye,  were 
oot  unaided. 


xx  Introduction 

Where  thought  necessary,  the  accentuation  of  the  star-titles  is  given  in 
the  Indices,  although  in  some  cases,  from  the  uncertainty  of  origin,  this 
may  be  doubtful. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  acknowledge  my  obligations  for  useful  sugges- 
tions to  Professor  Edward  S.  Holden,  till  lately  the  Director  of  the  Lick 
Observatory ;  to  Mr.  Addison  Van  Name,  of  the  Yale  University  Library, 
for  access  to  volumes  of  reference  and  help  in  translations;  to  Messrs 
Theodore  L.  De  Vinne  &  Co.  (the  De  Vinne  Press),  for  their  accustomed 
skill  in  the  make-up  of  my  book;  and  to  Mr.  P.  J.  Cassidy,  for  his  interest 
and  intelligent  care  in  its  proof-reading.  Lastly  do  I  thank  my  young 
friend  Miss  Lucy  Noble  Morris,  of  Morristown,  for  long-continued  aid  in 
various  ways,  especially  in  her  tasteful  selection  of  poetical  illustrations. 

And  now,  with  the  hope  that  my  work,  even  with  its  imperfections, 
may  serve  to  foster  a  more  intelligent  interest  in  the  nomenclature  and 
"  archaeology  of  practical  astronomy,"  I  submit  it  to  all  lovers  of  the  stars. 

Richard  Hinckley  Allen. 

Meadow  View, 

Chatham,  New  Jersey, 

February  1 6,  1899. 


STAR-NAMES    AND  THEIR  MEANINGS 


.     .     .      a  broad  belt  of  gold  of  wide  extent. 
Wherein  twelve  starry  animals  are  shown, 
Marking  the  boundaries  of  Phoebus'  zone. 

Luiz  de  Camoes'  Os  Lusiadas. 


Many  theories  have  been  propounded  for  the  birthplace  and  time  of  for- 
mation of  this ;  but  there  now  seems  to  be  general  agreement  of  opinion 
that  it  originated,  mainly  as  we  have  it,  in  archaic  Euphratean  astronomy, 
possibly  with  only  the  six  alternate,  signs,  Taurus,  Cancer,  Virgo,  Scorpio, 
Capricornus,  and  Pisces,  and  later  divided  because  of  the  annual  occur- 
rence of  twelve  full  moons  in  successive  parts  of  it.  Yet  Servius,  about 
a.  d.  400,  said  that  for  a  long  time  it  consisted  of  but  eleven  constellations, 
Scorpio  and  its  claws  being  a  double  sign,  this  characteristic  feature  de- 
scending to  Greece  and  Rome. 

Riccioli,  about  1650,  cited  as  a  "  Chaldean  "  title  Hadronitho  Demalusche, 
or  Circle  of  trie  Signs;  but  this  must  be  taken  with  much  allowance,1  for 
in  his  day  Babylonian  study  had  not  begun,  while  modern  scholars  think  that 
it  was  known  to  the  Akkadians  as  Innum,  and  as  Pidnu-f  ha-Shame,  the  Fur- 
row of  Heaven,  ploughed  by  the  heavenly  Directing  Bull,  our  Taurus, 
which  from  about  3880  to  about  1730  b.  c.  was  first  of  the  twelve. 

Although  our  knowledge  of  that  country's  astronomy  is  as  yet  lim- 
ited, it  is  certain  that  the  Akkadian  names  of  the  months  were  intimately 
connected  with  the  divisions  of  this  great  circle;  the  calendar  probably 
being  taken  from  the  stars  about  2000  b.  c,  according  to  Professor  Archi- 
bald Henry  Sayce,  of  Oxford.  Thence  it  passed  to  the  Jews  through 
Assyria  and  Ararnaea,  as  the  identity  of  its  titles  in  those  countries  indi- 
cates •  and-  the  eleven,  or  twelve,  signs  for  a  time  became  with  that  people 
objects  of  idolatrous  worship,  as  is  evident  from  their  history  detailed  in  the 
2d  Book  0/  the  Kings,  xxiii,  5. 

In  the  Babylonian  Creation  Legend,  or  Epic  of  Creation,  discovered  by 

1  In  fact  the  same  caution  may  be  exercised  in  regard  to  much  of  the  Euphratean  transcrip- 
tion and  translation  throughout  this  work,  as  well  as  of  the  Chinese. 


2  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

George  Smith  in  1872^  the  signs  were  Mizrata, —  a  very  similar  word  ap- 
pears for  the  Milky  Way, —  generally  supposed  to  be  the  original  of  the 
biblical  Mazzaroth ;  Mazzaloth  being  the  form  used  in  the  Targums  and 
later  Hebrew  writings.  This  word,  although  of  uncertain  derivation,  may  come 
from  a  root  meaning  "  to  watch,"  the  constellations  thus  marking  the  watches 
of  the  night  by  coming  successively  to  the  meridian ;  but  Doctor  Thomas 
Hyde,2  the  learned  translator  at  Oxford  in  1665  of  the  Zij,  or  Tables,  of  XJlug 
Beg,  and  of  Al  Tizini's  work,  derived  them  from  Ezor,  a  Girdle ;  while  the 
more  recent  Dillmann  referred  them  to  Zahir,  from  Zuhrah,  a  Glittering 
Star,  and  so  signifying  something  specially  luminous.  Still  this  Bible  word 
has  been  variously  rendered,  appearing  for  the  Greater  Bear,  Sirius,  the 
planets,  or  even  for  the  constellations  in  general ;  indeed  it  has  been  thought 
to  signify  the  Lunar  Mansions. 

Another  name  with  the  Jews  for  the  zodiac  was  Galgal  Hammazaloth, 
the  Circle  of  the  Signs;  and  Bayer  said  that  they  fancifully  designated  it  as 
Opus  Phrygionarnm,  the  Work  of  the  Phrygians,  L  e.9  of  the  embroiderers  in 
gold. 

The  Jewish  historian  Flavius  Josephus,  followed  by  Saint  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  a.  d.  200,  surmised  that  the  twelve  stones  in  the  breastplate  of 
the  high  priest  might  refer  to  the  twelve  zodiacal  constellations.  Philo 
Judaeus,  of  about  the  same  time,  associated  the  latter  with  the  stars  of 
Joseph's  dream ;  the  modern  poet  Johann  Christoph  Friedrich  Schiller, 
in  Die  Piccolomini,  thus  alluding  to  the  ancient  opinion  as  to  its  sacred 
character : 

Twelve !  twelve  signs  hath  the  zodiac,  five  and  seven, 
The  holy  numbers  include  themselves  in  twelve ; 

while  Smyth  wrote : 

The  allegorical  images  of  Jacob's  blessing  have  been  identified  by  several  writers 
with  the  signs  of  the  Via  Solis,  whence  God,  as  bow-man,  becomes  Sagittarius.  Hebrew 
antiquaries  have  long  recognized  Enoch  as  inventor  of  the  Dodecatemory  divisions ;  and 
both  Berosus  [Berossos  as  now  written, —  the  Chaldaean  historian  of  about  260  B.  c]  and 
Josephus  declare  that  Abraham  was  famous  for  his  celestial  observations, 

and  even  taught  the  Egyptians. 

As  to  this  last  people,  while  our  twelve  figures  appear  on  the  Denderah 

1  This  was  found  on  tablets  of  the  reign  of  As-sur-ba-ni-pal,  600  B.  c,  although  supposed  to 
have  been  originally  composed  about  2350  B.  C:  a  supposition  confirmed  by  Pere  Scheil,  who 
recently  has  found  a  fragment  of  this  legend  on  a  tablet  bearing  the  name  of  Am-mi-za-du-ga, 
King  of  Babylon,  2140  B.  c. 

2  It  was  this  Doctor  Hyde  who  first  described  the  wedge-shaped  characters  of  the  Persepolis 
inscriptions  by  the  term  cuneiformes,  now  a  word  of  universal  acceptation. 


The  Solar  Zodiac  3 

planisphere  doubtless  from  Greek  or  Roman  influence,  we  have  little  know- 
ledge as  to  what  was  the  zodiac  of  their  native  astronomy,  although  it  per- 
haps represented  their  twelve  chief  divinities ;  and  Saint  Clement  tells  us 
that  the  White,  or  Sacred,  Ibis,  Ibis  aethiopica  or  religiosa,  was  its  emblem. 
The  Jesuit  Father  Athanasius  Kircher,1 1 602-1680,  has  left  to  us  its  separate 
Coptic-Egyptian  titles  in  the  Greek  text,  with  their  supposed  significations 
in  Latin ;  but  these,  presumably  translations  from  the  originals,  are  not 
lexicon  words.  Among  them,  for  the  zodiac  itself,  is  Ta/ierovpo  evreviipBa, 
whatever  that  may  be.  But  Miss  Agnes  M.  Clerke  says  that  when  Egypt 
adopted  the  Greek  figures  it  was  with  various  changes  that  effaced  its  char- 
acter as  "  a  circle  of  living  things." 

In  Arabia  the  zodiac  was  Al  Mintakah  al  Buruj,  the  Girdle  of  the  Signs, 
that  Bayer  quoted  as  Almantioa  seu  Hitao;  and,  more  indefinitely,  it  was 
Al  Falak,  the  Expanse  of  the  Sky. 

In  Greece  it  was  ra  bufieKaTrinopia,  the  Twelve  Parts,  and  6  Zudiandg 
Kv*Aoc ;  but  Aristotle,  the  Humboldt  of  the  4th  century  before  our  era, 
called  it  6  Kvtckog  t&v  ZghJ/'wv,2  the  Circle  of  Little  Animals,  the  signs  before 
Libra  was  introduced  being  all  of  living  creatures.  The  German  Thierkreis 
has  the  same  signification.  Proclus  of  our  5th  century  called  it  6  Aofoc 
Kv*A.oc,  the  Oblique  Circle,  that  originally  was  for  the  ecliptic ;  but  with 
Aratos,  who  regarded  the  claws  as  distinct  from  Scorpio,  it  was  ra  'EiSwka 
dvoKatdeita,  the  Twelve  Images.  As  Homer  and  Hesiod  made  no  allusion 
to  it,  we  may  consider  as  in  some  degree  correct  the  statement  that  another 
poet,  Cleostratos  of  Tenedos,  made  it  known  in  Greece  about  500  b.  c, 
from  his  observations  on  Mount  Ida. 

In  Rome  it  commonly  was  Zodiacus;  the  Orbis  qui  Graece  Ziodiatcog 
dicitur  of  Cicero's  De  Divination* ;  and  the  Orbis  ugniferuft,  or  Ciroulus 
signifer,  of  Cicero  and  Vitruvius,  the  Sign-bearing  Circle,  that  became  Sig- 
niportant  in  the  Livre  de  Creatures,  the  12th-century  Anglo-Norman  poem 
of  Philippe  de  Thaun.  Poetically  it  was  Media  Via  Solis  and  Orbita  Solifl ; 
the  Balteni  stellatns  of  Maniiius,  the  Starry  Belt ;  and  the  varii  Mutator 
Cirenlu  anni  of  Lucan. 

Bayer's  Sigillariufl  probably  is  a  Low  Latin  word  for  the  Little  Images ; 
and  he  quoted  Limbus  textilis,  the  Woven  Girdle,  and  Fascia,  the  Band, 
that  Ptolemy  used  for  the  Milky  Way. 

1  Kircher  was  a  distinguished  mathematician  and  scholar  to  whom,  as  also  to  Roger  Bacon  of 
four  centuries  previously,  is  attributed  the  invention  of  the  magic  lantern.  In  Samuel  Boteler's 
celebrated  poem  Hudibras,  1663-1678,  he  is  alluded  to  as  "  the  Coptic  priest  Kircherus."  It 
was  he  who  began  the  modern  study  of  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics. 

2  This  is  the  first  mention  of  the  zodiac  by  any  extant  writer. 


4  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Chaucer's  line  in  Troilus  and  Criseyde — 

and  Signifer  his  candeles  shewed  brighte  — 

was  borrowed  from  Claudian's  In  Rufinum,  and  referred  to  the  sky ;  but  the 
Astrolabe  had 

This  forseide  hevenish  zodiak  is  cleped  the  cercle  of  the  signes. 

Elsewhere  he  called  the  zodiac  figures  Eyrish  bestes  and  the  Cercle  of  the 
Bestes,  for 

zodia  in  langage  of  Greek  sowneth  bestes  in  Latin  tonge ; 

#5a,  the  original  word  in  The  Revelation,  iv,  6,  being  translated 
"  beasts  "  in  our  Authorized  Version  and  "  living  creatures  "  in  the  Revised. 
Chaucer's  terms  may  have  been  taken  from  Ovid's  Formasque  ferarum. 

In  manuscripts  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  it  is  Mielan  circul  zodiacum,  the 
Qreat  Zodiacal  Circle,  and  Twelf  Tacna,  the  Twelve  Signs ;  but  their  de- 
scendants, our  English  ancestry  of  four  or  five  centuries  ago,  knew  it  as  the 
Bestiary,  Oar  Ladye's  Waye,  and  as  the  Girdle  of  the  Sky ;  while  the  eclip- 
tic was  the  Yoke  of  the  Sky,  or  Thwart  Circle,  and  the  prime  meridian,  the 
Noonsteede,  or  Noonstead,  Circle. 

Milton,  in  Paradise  Lost,  thus  accounts  for  the  obliquity  of  the  earth's  axis, 
as  if  by  direct  interposition  of  the  Creator : 

Some  say,  he  bid  his  angels  turn  askance 
The  poles  of  earth  twice  ten  degrees  or  more 
From  the  sun's  axle ;  they  with  labour  push'd 
Oblique  the  centric  globe :  some  say,  the  sun 
Was  bid  turn  reins  from  th'  equinoctial  road 
Like  distant  breadth  to  Taurus  with  the  seven 
Atlantic  Sisters,  and  the  Spartan  Twins, 
Up  to  the  Tropic  Crab ;  thence  down  amain 
By  Leo,  and  the  Virgin,  and  the  Scales, 
As  deep  as  Capricorn,  to  bring  in  change 
Of  seasons  to  each  clime. 

Pope,  in  his  Essay  on  Man,  called  it  the  Solar  Walk,  and,  before  his  day, 
its  various  divisions  were  the  Houses  of  the  Sun,  and  the  Monthly  Abodes 
of  Apollo. 

Dante  Alighieri,  1 265-1321,  designated  it 

The  oblique  circle  which  conveys  the  planets, 

and  called  it  Rnbecohio,  the  Tuscan  word  for  a  Mill-wheel  whose  various 
cogs  were  represented  by  the  various  signs,  an  image  often  made  use  of  by 


The  Solar  Zodiac  5 

the  great  poet.  Longfellow  translated  this  the  Zodiac's  Jagged  Wheel.  But 
many  centuries,  perhaps  millenniums,  before  Dante  the  Rig  Veda  of  India 
had 

The  twelve-spoked  wheel  revolves  around  the  heavens ; 

720  children  in  pairs  [=  360  days  -f-  360  nights]  abide  in  it. 

And  again, 

The  fellies  are  twelve  ;  the  wheel  is  one;  within  it  are  collected  360  [spokes]. 

A  common  title  for  it  in  India  was  Ban  ohakra. 

In  the  neighboring  Persia,  the  Bundehcshy  or  Cosmogony,  in  the  Pahlavi 
dialect,  of  about  the  8th  or  9th  century,  a  queerly  mixed  farrago  of  Persian 
and  Semitic  words,  mentions  our  zodiacal  divisions  as  the  Twelve  Akhtars 
that  lead  the  army  of  Ormuzd,  while  the  seven  Asvahtars,  or  planets  (in- 
cluding a  meteor  and  a  comet),  fight  for  Aryaman. 

But  the  twelve  signs  of  that  country,  as  also  those  of  China  and  India, 
were  gathered  into  four  great  groups  marking  the  four  quarters  of  the 
heavens,  each  with  a  Royal  Star  or  Guardian ;  and  the  Aves/a,  or  Divine 
Law,  of  Zoroaster  is  thought  to  mention  a  heavenly  circle  of  figures  equiva- 
lent to  our  zodiac. 

Mr.  Robert  Brown,  Jr.,  says  that  in  China  the  Kung,  or 

zodiacal  signs,  are  the  Tiger  (Sagittarius);  the  Hare  (Scorpio);  the  Dragon  (Libra); 
the  Serpent  (Virgo);  the  Horse  (Leo);  the  Ram  (Cancer);  the  Ape  (Gemini);  the 
Cock  (Taurus);  the  Dog  (Aries);  the  Boar  (Pisces);  the  Rat  (Aquarius);  the  Ox 
(Capricornus).  This  is  a  zodiac  indeed ;  but  although  the  latest  research  [notably  by  the 
late  Doctor  Terrien  de  Lacouperie]  points  to  a  more  western  origin  of  Chinese  civiliza- 
tion [as  of  about  4000  years  ago],  and  even  (a  most  interesting  fact)  to  the  original  iden- 
tity of  the  Chinese  pictorial  writing  with  the  Akkadian  Cuneiform,  as  both  springing  from 
one  prior  source,  yet  the  Chinese  Zodiac  is  evidently  independent,  and  none  the  less  so  be- 
cause it  happens  to  include  the  Ram  and  the  Bull,  which,  however,  are  not  Aries  and 
Taurus. 

It  is  well  shown  on  the  Temple  Money,1  a  full  set  of  which,  of  uncertain 
age,  is  in  my  possession. 

This  Chinese  zodiac,  however,  progressed  in  reverse  order  from  our  own, 
opposed  to  the  sun's  annual  course  in  the  heavens,  and  began  with  the  Rat. 
It  was  known  as  the  Yellow  Way,  the  date  of  formation  being  assigned  to 
some  time  between  the  27th  and  7th  centuries  before  our  era,  and  the  twelve 
symbols  utilized  to  mark  the  twelve  months  of  the  year.  It  was  borrowed, 
too,  by  the  neighboring  nations  ages  ago,  some  of  its  features  being  still 

1  These  are  sharply  minted  coins,  somewhat  smaller  than  an  American  dime,  apparently  ot 
silver  and  copper  alloy,  with  a  square  perforation  similar  to  that  in  the  tsien  or  cash. 


6  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

current  among  them.  After  the  establishment  in  China  of  the  Jesuits  in 
the  1 6th  century  our  zodiac  was  adopted,  its  titles  being  closely  translated 
and  now  in  current  use. 

In  England  the  Venerable  Bede,  673-735,  substituted  the  eleven  apostles 
for  eleven  of  the  early  signs,  as  the  Corona  sen  Circulua  sanctorum  Apostolo- 
nun,  John  the  Baptist  fitly  taking  the  place  of  Aquarius  to  complete  the 
circle.  Sir  William  Drummond,  in  the  17th  century,  turned  its  constella- 
tions into  a  dozen  Bible  patriarchs;  the  Reverend  G.  Townsend  made 
of  them  the  twelve  Caesars;  and  there  have  been  other  fanciful  changes 
of  this  same  character.  Indeed,  the  Tree  of  Life  in  the  Apocalypse  has 
been  thought  a  type  of  the  zodiac,  as 

bearing  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  yielding  its  fruit  every  month. 

Probably  every  nation  on  earth  has  had  a  solar  zodiac  in  some  form, 
generally  one  of  animals.  Even  in  Rhodesia,  the  aboriginal  Mashona 1  Land 
of  South  Africa,  there  has  recently  been  found  a  stone  tablet  thirty-eight 
inches  in  diameter,  with  the  circle  of  the  zodiacal  signs  on  the  edge ;  and 
early  Mandaean  tradition  makes  its  figures  children  of  their  creative  spirits 
Ur  and  Ruha. 

The  introduction  of  the  twelve  figures  into  the  walls  or  pavements 
of  early  churches,  cathedrals,  and  public  edifices,  as  well  as,  sometimes,  pri- 
vate houses,  is  often  to  be  noticed  in  Europe,  and  still  more  frequently  in 
the  temples  of  the  East ; 2  while  all  visitors  to  the  New  York  State  Building 
in  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  of  Chicago  in  1893  will  recall  the 
striking  octagonal  zodiac3  designed  by  Messrs.  McKim,  Mead,  and  White, 
and  laid  in  brass  in  the  floor  of  the  entrance  hall,  which,  although  not 
astronomically  correct,  greatly  added  to  the  interior  effect  of  that  beautiful 
structure. 

The  zodiacal  constellations  being  of  unequal  extent,  Hipparchos  more 
scientifically  divided  the  ecliptic  circle  into  twelve  equal  spaces  of  300 
each,  the  twelve  signs  still  in  almanac  use ;  but  these  are  not  now  coincident 
with  the  similarly  named  constellations,  having  retrograded  about  330  on 
the  sphere  since  their  formation. 

The  constellation  north  or  south  of  the  one  of  the  zodiac  that  rose  or 
set  synchronically  with  it  in  Greece  was  known,  in  later  days,  as  its  pa- 
ranatellon. 

1  This  word  is  Anglicized  from  Amashuina,  the  Baboons,  the  nickname  given  by  the  Mata- 
bele  to  their  neighbors  the  Makalanga,  the  natives  of  Mashona  Land. 

2  Miss  Clerke  has  much  information  as  to  this  in  her  interesting  article  on  the  zodiac  in  the 
Encyclopaedia  Britannka,  as  has  Brown  in  the  47th  volume  of  Arthacologia. 

3  This  is  now  in  the  Boston  Public  Library. 


Their  number  is,  if  you  want  to  count  them, 
Twenty  stars,  and  a  number  8  after  them. 

An  A  rabic  Rhyme  quoted  by  Al  Biruni. 


€$e  £unat  Qttanaione 

once  bore  an  important  part  in  observational  astronomy,  especially  in  that 
of  Arabia,  China,  and  India,  and  of  Khiva  —  the  ancient  Khorasmia  —  and 
Bokhara  —  the  ancient  Sogdiana;  while  recent  research  finds  them  well 
established  in  the  Euphrates  valley,  Coptic  Egypt  and  Persia,  perhaps 
originating  in  the  first. 

They  lay  for  the  most  part  along  the  celestial  equator  or  in  the  zodiac, 
varying  in  extent,  although  theoretically  each  was  supposed  to  represent 
the  length  of  the  moon's  daily  motion  in  its  orbit.  They  sometimes 
were  twenty-seven,  but  usually  twenty-eight  in  number,  the  lunar 
month  being  between  twenty-seven  and  twenty-eight  days,  and  possibly 
long  antedated  the  general  constellations,  or  even  the  solar  zodiac. 
They  seem  to  have  been  among  the  earliest  attempts  at  stellar  science; 
indeed  with  the  Khorasmians,  to  whom  Al  Biruni  attributed  great  know- 
ledge of  the  stars,  an  astronomer  was  called  Akhtar  Wenik,  Looking  to 
the  Lunar  Stations;  and  they  have  largely  been  made  use  of  in  the  astrology 
of  all  ages,  as  well  as  in  early  poetry  and  prose,  even  in  Arabic  doggerel. 

Their  astrological  characters  were  various,  eleven  being  considered  for- 
tunate, ten  the  reverse,  and  seven  of  uncertain  influence;  but  each,  at  least  in 
India,  was  associated  with  some  occurrence  of  life.  Their  antiquity  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  there,  and  probably  elsewhere,  the  list  began  with  the  Pleiades, 
when  those  stars  marked  the  vernal  equinox,  although  this  was  changed 
about  the  beginning  of  our  era,  owing  to  precession,  to  stars  in  Aries,  the 
27th  of  the  early  series,  and  further  from  the  fact  that  many  of  their  titles 
occur  in  the  most  ancient  books  of  China,  and  are  positively  claimed  there 
as  of  at  least  2500  b.  c. 

While  these  lunar  asterisms  in  the  main  agree  as  to  their  component  stars, 
—eighteen  are  coincident, —  some  of  the  Hindu  and  Chinese  are  located  in 
our  Andromeda,  Aquila,  Bootes,  Crater,  Delphinus,  Hydra,  Lyra,  Orion,  and 
Pegasus,  outside  of  the  moon's  course.  Nor  are  their  titles  similar,  except 
in  the  16th,  17th,  and  28th  of  China  and  Arabia;  but  our  great  Sanskrit 
scholar  Whitney  thought  that  this  can  hardly  be  fortuitous,  and  claimed, 

7 


8  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

from  this  and  other  points  of  resemblance,  that  they  are  "  three  derivative 
forms  of  the  same  original." 

They  have  been  much  disputed  about, l  yet  no  substantial  agreement  has 
been  reached  as  to  the  date  of  their  formation,  or  their  place  of  origin. 
Whitney's  r£sum£  of  the  discussion  appears  in  his  Lunar  Zodiac,  his  con- 
clusion being  that  the  moon  stations  were  adopted  into  India,  perhaps 
everywhere,  from  Mesopotamia,  their  birthplace. 

Biot,  early  in  this  century,  said  that  they  were  of  Chinese  origin,  and 
Sedillot,  that  they  came  from  Arabia ;  but  Miss  Clerke  considers  India  as 
their  source,  and  that  they  were  first  published  in  Arabia,  in  Al  Ferghani's 
Elements  of  Astronomy,  under  the  Khalif  Al  Mamun,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  9th  century,  when  Hindu  cultivation  in  art,  literature,  and  the  sciences 
was  much  looked  up  to  by  the  Arabians.  Yet  in  the  year  1000  Al  Biruni 
wrote,  in  his  India,  about  its  astronomers : 

I  never  came  across  any  one  of  them  who  knew  the  single  stars  of  the  lunar  stations 
from  eyesight,  and  was  able  to  point  them  out  to  me  with  his  fingers. 

The  Hindus  knew  them  as  Bakihatras,  Asterisms,  the  Juf&r  of  Al 
Biruni,  and  thought  them  influential  in  their  worship,  and  selected  from  the 
list  the  names  of  their  months ;  but,  although  in  some  form  or  other  they 
were  very  ancient  in  India,  they  do  not  seem  to  have  been  fully  recognized 
there  until  the  7th  or  8th  century  before  Christ,  when  they  appeared  in  the 
Brahmanas, 

Unlike  their  counterparts  in  Arabia  and  China,  each  seems  to  have  been 
represented  by  some  special  figure,  in  no  way  associated  with  the  title. 

In  Arabia  they  were  Al  Nujum  al  Afidh,  the  Stars  of  Entering,  and 
Al  Bibatat,  the  Roadside  Inns,  although  better  known  as  Al  Manazil  al 
Eamr,  the  Mansions,  or  Resting- Places,  of  the  Moon;  manzil,  in  the  sin- 
gular, signifying  the  noonday  halt  of  camel  and  rider  in  the  desert.  Read- 
ers of  Ben  Hur  will  recall  this  in  connection  with  Balthasar,  the  Egyptian, 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Magi  in  their  search  for  Him  "  that  is  born  King  of 
the  Jews,"  after  they  saw 

his  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  worship  him. 

They  are  alluded  to  in  the  10th  Sura  of  the  Kurgan,  where,  referring  to 
the  moon,  it  says  that  God 

1  Professors  Whitney  and  Newton  have  done  the  most  to  elucidate  the  subject  in  all  its 
details  by  their  article  of  1858  in  the  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society  on  the  Surra 
Siddhanta,  the  Straight  (or  Standard)  Book  of  the  Sun,  the  most  important  astronomical  book 
of  India,  and  claimed  by  the  Hindus  to  be  of  divine  origin,  although  Al  Biruni  asserted  that 
it  was  composed  by  Lata. 


The  Lunar  Mansions  9 

hath  appointed  her  stations,  that  ye  might  know  the  number  of  years,  and  the  computa- 
tion of  time ; 

but  long  before  the  Prophet  the  authors  of  the  Chaldaean  Creation  Legend 
and  of  Genesis  wrote  similarly;  while  in  the  104M  Psalm,  that  noble  na- 
ture-psalm for  Whitsunday,  we  read  : 

He  appointed  the  moon  for  seasons. 

In  China  they  were  Sieu,  Houses,  the  series  commencing  with  Kio, —  a 
and  f  Virginis, —  at  the  September  equinox ;  and  some  are  disposed  to  re- 
gard them  there  not  merely  as  lunar  divisions,  but  also  as  determinant 
points  in  reference  to  the  movements  of  the  sun  and  planets.  Differing, 
however,  from  the  analogous  divisions  of  other  nations,  they  generally  were 
located  along  the  equator.  In  the  legends  of  that  country  they  were  the 
sky  representatives  of  twenty-eight  celebrated  generals. 

They  also  were  introduced  into  Japan  at  an  early  day,  and  the  chron- 
icler of  Magellan's  voyage  in  152 1  found  them  familiarly  known  in  the 
Malay  Archipelago,  and  their  astrological  influence  well  recognized. 

These  Hindu,  Arabic,  and  Chinese  lunar  asterisms  have  long  been  famil- 
iar to  us,  but  the  Persian  have  more  recently  been  found  in  the  Bundehesh, 
and  Brown  has  only  lately  published  transcriptions  and  translations  of  the 
Chaldaean,  Khorasmian,  and  Sogdian  titles,* — the  originals  of  the  last  two 
from  Al  Biruni, —  as  also  the  significations  of  the  Coptic  and  Persian. 
Their  names  and  locations  are  given  in  connection  with  their  component 
stars  throughout  this  work ;  and  they  have  been  charted  in  detail  by  Wil- 
liams and  by  Newton. 

Other  divisions  of  the  sky,  somewhat  analogous  to  these,  were  the  Dec^ 
ana  of  the  Chaldaeans,  Egyptians,  and  Greeks,  "  belts  of  stars  extending 
round  the  heavens,  the  risings  of  which  followed  each  other  by  ten  days 
or  so,"  but  of  much  greater  extent  north  and  south  than  the  Lunar  Man- 
sions, and  thirty-six  in  number  instead  of  twenty-eight.  Miss  Clerke 
writes  of  them : 

The  Chaldaeans  chose  three  stars  in  each  sign  to  be  the  "  councillor  gods  "  of  the  plan- 
ets. These  were  called  by  the  Greeks  "  decans,"  because  ten  degrees  of  the  ecliptic  and 
ten  days  of  the  year  were  presided  over  by  each.  The  college  of  the  decans  was  con- 
ceived as  moving,  by  their  annual  risings  and  settings,  in  an  "  eternal  circuit "  between 
the  infernal  and  supernal  regions. 

They  are  mentioned  by  Manilius  as  Decania,  by  others  as  Decaniea, 
Decane,  Decanon,  Degane,  Deganae,  and  Decima ;  while  the  lords  of  the 
decans  were  known  as  Decani  and  their  titles  have  been  preserved  to  us 


10  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

by  Maternus  Julius  Firmicus,  the  prose  writer  of  Constantine's  reign. 
They  appear  in  representations  of  ancient  zodiacs  on  temple  walls  and 
astrological  monuments  in  Egypt,  as  probably  elsewhere. 


The  sky  domed  above  us  with  its  heavenly  frescoes  painted  by  the  thought  of  the  Great 
Artist.  Allen  Throckmorton's  Sketches. 


Z%t  tonBttttationB) 


now  designated  by  arbitrary  lines  outside  and  entirely  independent  of  the 
figures,  in  ancient  times  were  confined  within  the  outlines  of  the  forms  that 
they  were  supposed  to  represent,  although  any  resemblance  was  only  occa- 
sionally noticeable.  All  stars  adjacent  to  but  beyond  these  were  called  by 
the  Greeks  aiiopQuroi,  unformed,  and  frnopadec,  scattered,  which  Latin 
authors  followed  in  their  extra,  informes,  dispersae,  disseminatae,  and  sparsiUs; 
and  the  Arabians  in  their  A I  Hdrij  min  A I  Surah,  Outside  of  the  Image. 

In  our  day,  however,  every  star  is  within  the  limits  of  some  one  of  the 
constellations,  although  the  boundaries  of  these  are  not  in  all  cases  agreed 
upon  by  astronomers.  Still  those  adopted  by  Argelander  are  generally 
accepted  for  the  northern  figures,  as  those  of  Gould  are  for  the  southern ; 
Gould's  boundaries  largely  agreeing  with  the  suggestions  of  Sir  John 
Herschel,  i.  e.,  formed  by  arcs  of  meridians  and  parallels  of  declination  for 
a  given  epoch. 

The  figures  were  variously  known  by  the  Greeks  as  lifj^ara  and  Teipeay 
Signs;  2u>fiara,  Bodies;  Zudia,  Animals;  and  as  Mcrt'opa,  Things  in 
Heaven,  our  word  Meteors.  Hipparchos  said  ' AaTepiopot ,  as  did  Ptolemy, 
but  also  alluded  to  them  as  Mop0a>a«c,  Semblances,  and  lxwaTai 
Figures. 

Pliny  and  other  Latins  called  them  Astra,  Sidera,  and  Signa,  while  later 
on  ConsteUatio  appeared,  that  in  the  15 15  Almagest  is  Stellatio;  and  the 
Arabians  knew  them  as  Al  Suwar,  Figures. 


The  Constellations  1 1 

Aratos,  in  the  Qau  ofieva  of  270  b.  a,  mentioned  forty-five,  but  many 
of  these  probably  had  been  formed  millenniums  previously  by  the  Chal- 
daeans,  or  even  by  their  predecessors ;  in  fact,  he  is  not  supposed  to  have 
invented  any  that  he  described.  Eratosthenes,  nearly  a  century  after 
Aratos,  reduced  the  number  to  forty-two  in  the  Karaorepiopoi  that  were 
attributed  to  his  authorship  until  Bernhardy's  time;  as  did  Gaius  Julius 
Hyginus  Historia,  about  the  beginning  of  our  era,  in  his  reputed  work, 
the  Poeticon  Astronomicon ',  and  Decimus  Magnus  Ausonius,  the  Christian 
poet  of  nearly  four  centuries  later. 

The  Catalogue  of  Hipparchos,  now  lost  except  as  preserved  by  Ptolemy, 
is  said  to  have  contained  forty-nine  constellations  with  1080  stars;  but  his 
Commentary  on  Eudoxos  and  Aratos^  that  we  still  have,  mentions  only  forty- 
six.  It  was  of  this  great  astronomer  that  Pliny  wrote  in  the  year  78,  as 
translated  by  Philemon  Holland,  in  1634,  in  his  Historie  of  the  Worlde: 

The  same  man  went  so  farre  that  he  attempted  (a  thing  even  hard  for  God  to  perform) 
to  deliver  to  posteritie  the  just  number  of  starres ; 

and  asserted  that  this  was  induced  by  the  appearance,  in  134  b.  c,  of  the 
bright  nova,  or  temporary  star,  in  Scorpio.  The  observations  of  Hipparchos 
seem  to  have  been  made  between  162  and  127  b.  c. 

Pliny,  although  but  a  poor  cosmographer,  devoted  two  chapters  to  as- 
tronomy in  the  Historia  Naturalis,  and,  according  to  the  usual  rendering, 
mentioned  seventy-two1  asterisms  with  1600  stars;  but  this,  if  the  original 
be  correctly  understood,  could  have  been  only  by  separately  counting  parts 
of  the  old  figures,  for  nowhere  does  he  allude  to  any  that  are  new,  unless  it 
be  his  Thronos  Caesaris,  probably  the  Southern  Cross. 

Ptolemy  scientifically  followed  with  those  now  known  as  the  ancient 
forty-eight,  in  the  7th  and  8th  books  of  the  Syntaxis,  twelve  of  the  zodiac 
with  twenty-one  northern  and  fifteen  southern,  made  up  by  1028  stars,  in- 
cluding 102  d{i6p<pu)Toi,  all  probably  from  Hipparchos,  although  with  some 
acknowledged  alterations  by  himself;  for  in  the  5th  chapter  of  his  7th  book 
he  wrote : 

we  employ  not  the  same  Figures  of  the  Constellations  that  those  before  us  did,  as  neither 
did  they  of  those  before  them,  but  frequently  make  Use  of  others  that  more  truly  represent 
the  Forms  for  which  they  are  drawn. 

His  catalogue  was  supposed  to  comprise  all  the  stars  above  the  54th  de- 

1  In  Chilraead's  Treatise  is  an  attempted  explanation  of  this,  from  Scaliger's  Commentaries 
on  Afattiiius:  "that  he  might  untie  this  knot,  reads  those  words  of  Pliny  thus  .  .  .  discrtta  in 
dnode  L.  signa,  cVr.,  where  for  seventy  two,  hee  would  have  it  to  be  wanting  two :  which  is 
48.  the  just  number  reckoned  by  Ptolemy." 


12  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

gree  of  south  declination,  his  earliest  recorded  observations  being  in  a.  d. 
127  and  the  last  in  151 ;  and  we  find  with  him  the  first  comparative  list 
of  star  magnitudes. 

In  the  year  1252  Europe  resumed  its  old  position  in  astronomical  work 
by  the  compilation  of  Los  Libros  del  Saber  de  Astronomia,  the  celebrated 
Alfonsine  Tables,  by  Arabian  or  Moorish  astronomers,  at  Toledo,  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Infante,  afterward  King  Alfonso  X,  El  Sabio,  the 
Wise,  and  the  Astronomer,  of  Leon  and  Castile,  who  "  abandoned  the 
crown  for  the  astrolabe  and  forgot  the  earth  for  the  sky." 

These  Tables  and  their  Latin  translations  are  strongly  Arabicized,  as 
plainly  appears  in  our  modern  star-titles  drawn  from  them ;  while  the  whole 
work  is  in  the  main  only  copied  from  Ptolemy  with  some  necessary  correc- 
tions. But  it  probably  fairly  represents  the  science  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
and  was  in  use  until  at  least  the  16th  century;  for  Eden,1  in  1555,  quoted 
from  Gemma  Phrysius'  On  the  Matter  of  Fyndynge  the  Longitude:  "Then 
eythcr  by  the  Kphemerides  or  by  the  tables  of  Alphonsus  ..."  Various 
editions  have  been  printed :  the  first  in  1483,  two  hundred  years  after  Alfonso's 
death;  again,  in  1492  and  1521,  all  at  Venice  and  in  Latin;  in  154521 
Paris;  in  1641  at  Madrid;  and,  lastly, splendidly  reproduced  therein  1863- 
1867,  in  the  earliest  accessible  Spanish  text,  with  illustrations,  supposed 
copies  of  the  original. 

It  was  this  Alfonso  who  has  so  often  been  condemned  for  his  remark: 

Had  I  been  present  at  the  Creation,  I  would  have  given  some  useful  hints  for  the  better 
ordering  of  the  universe ; 

but  as  he  was  speaking  of  the  absurd  Ptolemaic  system,  it  does  not  seem  so 
irreverent  now  as  it  did  before  Copernicus'  day.  Carlyle  quoted  it  in  his 
History  of '  Fritttrkh  I  I  of  Prussia, — 

that  it  seemed  a  crank  machine;  that  it  was  pity  the  Creator  had  not  taken  advice! 

and  said  that  this,  and  this  only,  of  his  many  wise  sayings  is  still  remem- 
IkmxhI  by  mankind. 

From  Ptolemy's  timc%  with  the  exception  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  no 
advance  was  made  in  astronomical  science  for  1300  years,  and  the  Syntaxis 
continued  to  be  the  standard  of  the  world's  astronomy,  "  a  sort  of  astro- 
nomical tttWc,  from  which  nothing  was  taken,  and  to  which  nothing  mate- 
rial in  principle  \>  as  added." 

t  Rxthanl*  Fden  «*<  one  of  the  r*nn<-ip*l  authors  of  the  reign  of  Mary  Tudor,  and  the 
uav.vKuoi  ot  the  writings  ot  lYter  Mamr  on  the  e*rlv  naxigmrors  Vespucci,  Corsati,  Pigafetta, 
andoihorv  Ht»  «*V.t*v<  «*v  tkt  »**v  w»-«j>  /*•  wx*  /«***  mas  the  third  English  book  on 
\«w»A  oi   VtmomxM  an  he  caUod  \\.  puMi>heti  :n  L^n«ion  in  1555- 


The  Constellations  13 

In  the  15th  century,  however,  it  was  corrected  and  copied  under  the 
auspices  of  the  celebrated  Ulug  Beg,  grandson  of  the  great  Tatar  con- 
queror, Timur  i  Leng,  Timur  the  Lame,  our  Tamerlane,  and,  as  his  Tables , 
was  published  at  Samarkhand,  with  the  date  of  the  5th  of  July,  1437. 
The  constellation  descriptions  in  these  are  from  Al  Sufi's  translation  of  five 
centuries  previously,  the  titles  of  a  few  groups  being  changed ;  and  the 
intrinsic  excellence  of  the  work,  as  well  as  the  deservedly  great  reputation 
of  its  author  as  an  astronomer,  supported  by  many  able  assistants,  made  it 
a  standard  authority  for  nearly  two  centuries.  Following  Ulug  Beg,  but 
from  Europe,  came  in  1548-51  the  globes  of  Gerardus  Mercator  (Gerhard 
Kramer),  on  which  were  located  fifty-one  asterisms  with  934  stars,  besides 
numerous  inform es.  About  this  time  Copernicus1  great  work  laid  the 
foundations  of  modern  astronomy,  and  was  soon  followed. by  Tycho  Brahe's 
posthumous  catalogue  of  1602,  with  forty-six  constellations,  but  only  777  stars, 
the  mystic  number,  and  so  perhaps  by  design,  for  the  author,  although  the 
first  real  observer  of  modern  days,  was  still  under  the  influence  of  astrology. 

In  the  succeeding  year  appeared  the  Uranometria  of  Johann  Bayer,  the 
great  Protestant  lawyer  of  Augsburg,  a  work  also  much  tinctured  with  the 
occult  science,  in  which  the  author  probably  followed  Tycho.  This  con- 
tained spirited  drawings,  after  Diirer,  of  the  ancient  forty-eight  figures,  with  a 
list  of  1709  stars  and  twelve  new  southern  asterisms.  These  last  were  its 
noticeable  feature,  with  the  fact  that  in  the  plates  of  the  ancient  constella- 
tions for  the  first  time  formally  appeared  Greek  and  Roman  letters  to  indicate 
the  individual  stars,  and  so  conveniently  taking  the  place  of  the  cumbersome 
descriptions  till  then  in  vogue.1  Although  this  lettering  did  not  come  into 
general  use  until  the  succeeding  century,  Bayer  had  been  anticipated  in  it 
fifty  years  before  by  Piccolomini  of  Siena,  and  even  the  Persians  and 
Hebrews  are  said  to  have  had  something  similar.  Dr.  Robert  Wittie,  of 
London,  in  his  'OvpavooKonla  of  168 1,  wrote  of  this  last  people : 

Aben  Ezra  tells  that  they  first  divided  the  Stars  into  Constellations,  and  expressed  them 
all  by  the  Hebrew  Letters,  which  when  they  had  gone  through,  they  added  a  second  Letter 
to  express  the  shape,  and  oft-times  a  third  to  set  forth  the  Nature  of  the  Constellation. 

After  Bayer  new  constellations  were  published  in  the  Planisphaerium 
Stdlatum  of  1624  by  Jakob  Bartsch  ( Bartschius) ;  in  the  Rudolphitie  Tables 
of  1627,  Kepler's  edition  of  Tycho's  catalogue;  in  Augustin  Rover's  work  of 
1679;  and  in  the  Catalogue  of  Southern  Stars  of  the  same  year,  by  Doctor 
Edmund  Halley,  from  his  observations  at  Saint  Helena.  The  Prodromus 
Astronomiae   of  1690,  by  Johann  Hewel,  or  Hoevelke  (Hevelius),  and  its 

1  No  lettering,  however,  was  applied  by  Bayer  to  stars  of  the  twelve  new  southern  figures. 


14  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

appendix  with  plates,  the  Firmamentum  Sobieseianum,  also  gave  new 
figures,  as  did  the  Historia  Coelestis  Britannica  of  the  Reverend  Doctor  John 
Flamsteed,  completed  in  1729  by  Crosthwait  and  Sharp  after  Flamsteed's 
death  in  17 19.  This  comprised  fifty-four  constellations,  the  stars  being 
consecutively  numbered  in  the  order  of  their  right  ascension ;  the  com- 
panion Atlas  following  in  1753,  and  again  in  1781.  The  AbW  Nicolas 
Louis  de  La  Caille,  "the  true  Columbus  of  the  southern  sky,"1  in  his 
Aft  moires  of  1752  and  his  Coelum  Stelliferum  of  1763,  introduced  four- 
teen new  groups,  "  to  which  he  assigned  the  names  of  the  principal 
implements  of  the  sciences  and  fine  arts";  while  a  few  others  were 
formed  by  Pierre  Charles  Le  Monnier  from  1741  to  1755,  and  by  Joseph 
Jerome  Le  Francais  [dit  de  La  Lande)  from  1776  to  1792,  the  3d  edition 
of  La  Lande's  Astronomie  containing  a  total  of  eighty-eight  constellations. 
Lastly,  in  1800,  Johann  Eliert  Bode  published  nine  new  figures  in  his 
Uranographia,  although  some  of  these  were  by  La  Lande ;  a  2d  edition, 
entitled  Die  Gestirne,  being  issued  in  1805.  But  none  of  these  inventions  of 
the  last  three  authors  are  now  recognized. 

The  greater  part  of  the  new  constellations  were  of  course  in  the  south, 
a  quarter  of  the  heavens  which,  although  alluded  to  by  a  writer  of  the  time 
of  Pharaoh  Neku,  who  sent  a  Phoenician  fleet  to  circumnavigate  Africa 
about  600  b.  c,  practically  was  unknown  till  the  discovery  of  the  New 
World  stimulated  the  efforts  of  the  early  voyagers  at  the  beginning  of  the 
1 6th  century.  Some  of  these  have  left  records  of  their  stellar  observations  — 
among  them  the  Italians  Corsali,  Pigafetta,  and  Vespucci,  and  the  Dutch 
Pieter  Theodor  of  Embden  (Embdanus),  alias  Pieter  Dircksz  Keyser, 
and  Friedrich  Houtmann.  But  the  results  did  not  formally  appear  till  a 
century  later  in  the  works  of  Bayer  and  Kepler,  although  they  were  men- 
tioned in  the  Decades  of  Peter  Martyr2  and  in  Eden's  translations  of  it  and 
similar  works ;  and  some  of  the  figures  were  inserted  on  the  now  almost 
unknown  globes  of  'Emeric  Mollineux,  Jodocus  Hondius,  and  Jansenius 
Caesius  (Willem  Jansson  Blaeu),  of  1592  and  the  years  following. 

The  hitherto  unfigured  space  around  the  south  pole,  the  object  of  these 
observations,  was  an  eccentric  one  as  to  the  pole,  although  in  itself  circular, 
reaching  from  Argo,  Ara,  and  Centaurus,  now  within  200  of  that  point  on 

1  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  La  Caille's  observations  were  made  with  a  half-inch 
glass. 

2  Peter  Martyr  —  not  the  great  reformer  Vermigli  —  was  Pietro  Martire  d'Anghiera,  Angle- 
ria,  or  Angliera,  from  his  supposed  birthplace  near  Milan.  His  work  De  Rebus  Oceanic  is  et 
Orbe  Novo,  issued  from  1511  to  1521,  is  a  most  interesting  source  of  information  on  the  eariy 
voyages  to  our  country,  largely  derived  from  Columbus. 


The  Constellations  15 

one  side,. to  Cetus  and  Piscis  Australis,  within  6o°  on  the  other;  while  its 
centre,  near  y  Hydri  and  the  Nubecula  Minor,  was  the  pole  of  2000  to  2400 
b.  c,  when  a  Draconis  corresponded  to  it  on  the  north.  From  this  fact 
came  Proctor's  ingenious  argument  that  such  was  the  date  of  formation  of 
the  latest  of  the  ancient  constellations. 

It  is  perhaps  worthy  of  notice  that  the  Ductor  in  linguas,  or  Guide  into 
Tongues,  the  polyglot  dictionary  of  1617-27,  by  John  Minsheu  (Min- 
shaeus),  at  the  word  Asterisme  in  the  later  editions  alluded  to 

Eighty-four  in  all  besides  a  few  found  out  of  late  by  the  Discoverers  of  the  South  Pole  ; 

but  he  gave  no  detailed  list,  and  doubtless  erred  in  his  statement. 

In  our  day  there  is  discrepancy  in  the  number  of  constellations  accepted 
by  astronomers,  few  of  whom  entirely  agree  in  recognition  of  the  modern  for- 
mations. For,  although  Ideler  described  106,  with  allusions  to  others  en- 
tirely obsolete,  or  of  which  nearly  all  traces  had  been  lost,  Argelander  cata- 
logued only  eighty-six,  Vela,  Puppis,  and  Carina  being  included  under 
Argo;  and  the  British  Association  Catalogue  of  1845  only  eighty-four.  Pro- 
fessor Young  recognizes  sixty-seven  as  in  ordinary  use,  although  he  cata- 
logues eighty-four,  Argo  being  divided  into  Carina,  Puppis,  and  Vela;  Up- 
ton's Star  Atlas,  of  1896,  eighty-five ;  and  the  Standard  Dictionary  eighty- 
nine,  but  the  latter's  list  of  188  star-names  is  disappointing.  Nor  should  I 
forget  to  mention  a  very  popular  book  in  its  day,  the  Geography  of  the 
Heavens^  with  its  Atlas  by  Elijah  H.  Burritt,  published  in  various  editions 
from  1833  to  1856.  This  described  fifty  well-recognized  constellations  visi- 
ble from  the  latitude  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  410  46';  although  his  table  of 
those  in  the  entire  heavens  included  ninety-six,  most  of  which  appeared  in 
the  accompanying  maps,  the  figures  being  taken  from  Wollaston's  drawings. 
Although  not  an  original  work  of  great  scientific  value,  and  erroneous  as 
well  as  deficient  in  its  stellar  nomenclature,  it  had  a  sale  of  over  a  quarter 
of  a  million  copies,  and  much  influence  in  the  dissemination  of  astronomical 
knowledge  in  the  generation  now  passing  away.  I  am  glad  to  pay  here 
my  own  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  author,  in  acknowledgment  of  the 
service  rendered  me  in  stimulating  a  boyhood  interest  in  the  skies. 

From  eighty  to  ninety  constellations  may  be  considered  as  now  more  or 
less  acknowledged ;  while  probably  a  million  stars  are  laid  down  on  the 
various  modern  maps,  and  this  is  soon  to  be  increased  perhaps  to  three 
millions  upon  the  completion  of  the  present  photographic  work  for  this  ob- 
ject by  the  international  association  of  eighteen  observatories  engaged  upon 
it  in  different  parts  of  the  world.     The  first  instalment  in  print  of  these  ob- 


16  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

serrations  may  be  expected  in  a  few  years ;  the  whole  perhaps  in  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years. 

It  has  been  the  fashion  with  astronomers  to  decry  this  multiplicity  of 
sky  figures,  and  with  good  reason ;  for,  as  Miss  Clerke  writes  in  her  mono- 
graph on  The  Herschels  and  Modern  Astronomy: 

Celestial  maps  had  become  "  a  system  of  derangement  and  confusion,"  of  confusion 
**  worse  confounded."  New  asterisms,  carved  out  of  old,  existed  precariously,  recognued 
by  some,  ignored  by  others ;  waste  places  in  the  sky  had  been  annexed  by  encroaching 
astronomers  as  standing-ground  for  their  glorified  telescopes,  quadrants,  sextants,  clocks 
a  chemical  apparatus  had  been  set  up  by  the  shore  of  the  river  Eridanus,  itself  a  meander- 
ing and  uncomfortable  figure ;  while  serpents  and  dragons  trailed  their  perplexing  convo- 
lutions through  hour  after  hour  of  right  ascension ; 

with  more  to  the  same  effect.  This  condition  of  things  led  the  Royal  As- 
tronomical Society,  in  1841,  to  depute  to  Sir  John  Herschel  and  Mr.  Francis 
Baily  the  task  of  attempting  a  reform.  But  although  improvement  was 
made  by  the  discarding  of  several  figures  and  the  subdivision  of  others, 
their  changes  were  too  sweeping  and  were  not  successful,  so  that  as  the 
constellations  stood  then,  in  the  main  do  they  stand  to-day,  and  so  will 
they  probably  remain,  at  least  with  the  people. 

The  change  from  the  old  system  of  star-designations,  however,  has  been 
much  more  thorough,  and,  except  in  the  popular  mind,  has  been  practically 
accomplished ;  but  now  in  turn  is  there  confusion  in  their  substitutes,  the 
various  catalogue  numbers  and  letters,  even  among  the  astronomers,  and 
certainly  with  us  unscientific  star-gazers.  As  to  this  Miss  Clerke  graphi- 
cally continues : 

pilpib'e  blunders,  unsettled  discrepancies,  anomalies  of  all  imaginable  kinds,  survive  in  an 
inextricable  web  of  arbitrary  appellations,  until  it  has  come  to  pass  that  a  star  has  often  a> 
many  aliases  as  an  accomplished  swindler. 


II. 

What  were  the  dates  of  formation  and  places  of  origin  of  the  earliest  of 
the  present  sky  figures  are  questions  that  have  often  been  asked,  but  till 
recently  ini{>os>iMe  to  be  answered,  and  now  only  in  part,  and  that  tenta- 
tively. Greece  and  Rome,  Kgypt  and  Chaklaea.  China,  India,  Aethiopia. 
and  Phoenicia,  and  perhaps  other  countries,  all  lay  claim  to  the  honor, 
whi'e  history,  theory,  and  tradition  are  all  cited  in  proof;  but  we  may 
safely  a^ree  with  La  Place  that  their  forms  and  names  have  not  been  given 
them  bv  chance. 


The  Constellations  17 

Aratos,1  the  first  Greek  poetical  writer  on  astronomy  now  extant,  de- 
scribed them  as  from  the  most  ancient  times,  and  wrote  in  the  Phainomena: 

Some  man  of  yore 
A  nomenclature  thought  of  and  devised, 
And  forms  sufficient  found. 

So  thought  he  good  to  make  the  stellar  groups, 
That  each  by  other  lying  orderly, 
They  might  display  their  forms.     And  thus  the  stars 
At  once  took  names  and  rise  familiar  now. 

His  sphere,  probably  identical  with  that  of  Eudoxos  of  a  century  previous, 
accurately  represented  the  heavens  of  about  2000  to  2200  b.  c,  a  fact 
which  has  induced  many  to  think  it  a  reproduction  from  Babylonia ;  and 
the  disagreement  in  the  poet's  description  with  the  sky  of  his  day  led 
Hipparchos,  the  first  commentator  on  the  Phainomena^  to  much  needless 
although  in  some  cases  well-founded  criticism ;  for  Aratos  was,  as  Cicero 
said,  hominem  ignarum  astronomiae.  Still  his  poem  is  now  apparently  our 
sole  source  of  knowledge  as  to  the  arrangement  of  the  early  constellations, 
and  has  been  closely  followed  in  all  star-maps  as  an  indispensable  guide. 
It  seems  to  have  been  a  versification  of  its  now  lost  prose  namesake  by 
Eudoxos,  somewhat  influenced  by  the  writings  of  Theophrastus,  and  had  a 
great  run  in  its  day.     Landseer2  wrote  in  his  Sabaean  Researches  of  1823 : 

When  the  poem  entitled  the  Phenomena  of  Aratus  was  introduced  at  Rome  by  Cicero 
and  other  leading  characters,  we  read  that  it  became  the  polite  amusement  of  the  Roman 
ladies  to  work  the  celestial  forms  in  gold  and  silver  on  the  most  costly  hangings ;  and 
this  had  previously  been  done  at  Athens,  where  concave  ceilings  were  also  emblazoned 
with  the  heavenly  figures,  under  the  auspices  of  Anttgonus  Gonatas, 

King  of  Macedonia  and  patron  of  Aratos.  It  has  always  been  much  trans- 
lated, versified,  commented  upon,  and  quoted  from;  and  we  know  of  thirty- 
five  Greek  commentaries  on  this  work.  "It  continued  to  be  used  as  a 
practical  manual  of  sidereal  astronomy  as  late  as  the  6th  century  of  our 
era."  Cicero  translated  it  in  his  youth,  seventy  years  before  the  appearance 
of  Vergil's  Aeneid;  Germanicus  Caesar  did  the  same  about  a.  d.  15;  and 
Rufus  Festus  Avienus  versified.it  in  our  4th  century :  all  commented  on  by 
Hugo  Grotius  in  his  Syntagma  Arateorum  of  1600.     Of  several  English 

1  Aratos  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  quit  alter  who,  with  Conon,  was  shown  on  the  •■  beechen 
bowls,  the  carved  work  of  the  divine  Alcimedon,"  that  Menalcas  wagers  with  Damoetasin  the 
3d  Eclogue  of  the  Bucolka. 

*  John  Landseer,  engraver  and  writer  on  art,  was  the  father  of  Thomas  and  Sir  Edwin 
Landseer. 


18  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

translations  the  most  literal  and  useful  is  that  of  Mr.  Robert  Brown,  Jr.,  in 
1885. 

Saint  Paul's  supposed  quotation  from  it  in  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  xvil 
28,  perhaps  made  it  popular  with  the  Christians  of  his  and  subsequent 
times,  for  apparent  references  to  it  occur  in  the  writings  of  the  early 
fathers. 

It  may  be  assumed  that,  with  the  exception  of  Ursa  Minor,  Equuleus. 
and  Libra  in  its  present  shape,  the  sources  of  the  old  forty-eight  have  been 
lost  in  their  great  antiquity.  Yet  Pliny  asserted  that  Aries  and  Sagittarius 
were  formed  by  Cleostratos  at  some  time  between  548  and  432  b.  c.  ;  and 
the  rest,  with  equal  improbability,  have  been  ascribed  by  Aristotle's  pupil 
Eudemos  to  the  Pythagorean  Oinopides  of  Chios  as  of  about  500  b.  c.,but 
from  Egyptian  dictation. 

Whatever  may  be  the  facts  as  to  all  this,  we  know  that  a  long  line  of  not- 
able Greeks,  from  Homer  and  Hesiod  to  Ptolemy,  were  interested  in,  and 
have  preserved  to  us,  their  constellated  heavens.  Of  these  the  first  astrono- 
mers were  Thales,  640-546  b.  c,  who  gave  us  Ursa  Minor;  Eudoxos,  who. 
according  to  common  story,  brought  the  constellations  from  Egypt,  and. 
about  366  b.  c,  was  the  first  to  publish  them  in  the  original  prose  Phaitio- 
mena%  Cicero  calling  him  the  greatest  astronomer  that  ever  lived ;  while  Hip- 
parchos,1  of  whom  Pliny  said  nunquam  satis  laudatus,  is  the  acknowledged 
founder  of  our  modern  science.  His  works,  however,  are  now  lost,  except 
his  Commentary  and  the  star-catalogue  reproduced  by  Ptolemy.  All  these 
are  mentioned  with  respect  even  by  the  astronomers  of  to-day ;  and  it  is 
certain  that  we  find  in  their  country  the  immediate  source  of  most  of  the 
constellations  as  they  now  appear  on  our  maps,  and  of  the  stories  connected 
therewith.  Yet  these  unquestionably  are  in  many  cases  variations  of 
long  antecedent,  perhaps  prehistoric,  legends  and  observations  from  the 
Euphrates,  Ganges,  and  Nile;  indeed  the  Greek  astronomers  always 
acknowledged  their  indebtedness  to  Chaldaea  and  Egypt,  but  gave  most  of 
the  credit  to  the  latter. 

While  we  have  few  individual  star-tides  from  Greece,  the  characters  of 
the  Argonautic  Expedition  are  largely  represented  in  the  heavens ;  and  Saint 
Clement,  followed  by  many, —  even  by  the  great  Sir  Isaac  Newton,—  attrib- 
uted the  invention  of  the  constellations  to  Chiron,  the  reputed  preceptor  of 
Jason,  for  the  latter's  use  on  that  celebrated  voyage,  fixing  its  date  as  about 
1420  b.  c.  And,  coincidently  as  to  the  time  of  their  formation,  that  good 
authority  Seneca  said  that  they  were  from  the  Greeks  of  about  1500  b.  c, 

1  The  Abarchis  and  Abrachvs  of  the  Arabians. 


The  Constellations  19 

which  may  be  true  to  the  extent  that  they  then  adopted  them  from  some  ear- 
lier nation.  But  the  mycologists  ascribed  them  to  Atlas,  the  Endurer,  the 
father  of  the  Hyades  and  Pleiades,  so  skilled  in  knowledge  of  the  skies  that 
he  was  shown  as  their  supporter ;  and  they  had  a  story  fitted  to  every  heav- 
enly figure. 

But  much  of  this  is  more  than  unreliable,  even  childish,  and  we  are  only 
sure  that  Greece  originated  our  scientific  astronomy  and  gave  great  atten- 
tion to  it  from  the  times  of  Thales  and  Anaximander;  this  culminating  in 
the  work  of  the  Alexandrian  School,1  Egyptian  in  location,  but  entirely 
Greek  in  character. 

To  the  Romans  we  owe  but  little  in  the  way  of  astronomy, —  indeed  they 
always  were  ready  to  acknowledge  the  superiority  of  Greece  in  this  respect, 
—  although  we  find  much  of  stellar  mythology  and  meteorology  in  their 
poetry  and  prose.  No  real  astronomer,  however,  appeared  among  them ; 
and  when  Julius  Caesar  needed  such  for  his  reform  of  the  calendar,  albeit 
himself  some  what  skilled  in  the  science,  as  his  De  Astris  shows,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  call  Sosigenes  to  his  aid.  The  architect  Vitruvius  (Marcus  Vi- 
truvius  Pollio),  just  before  the  beginning  of  our  era,  apparently  was  the 
most  scientific  among  them,  and  in  the  9th  book  of  his  De  Architecture 
tells  us  much  of  their  star-lore  in  connection  with  the  proper  location  of 
sun-dials;  while  Columella,  of  our  1st  century,  in  his  De  Re  Rustica  made 
many  allusions  to  stars  and  constellations  in  their  supposed  connection  with 
the  weather  and  crops. 

Many  have  maintained  that  Egypt  was  the  first  to  give  shapes  and  names 
10  the  star-groups;  Dupuis,  perhaps  inspired  by  Macrobius  of  our  5th 
century,  tracing  the  present  solar  zodiac  to  that  country,  and  placing  its 
date  13,000  years  anterior  to  our  era,  when  the  flow  of  the  Nile  with  its  con- 
sequent harvests,  and  the  seasons,  coincided  with  the  positions  of  the  sep- 
arate figures  and  the  characters  assigned  to  them.  In  this  he  has  been 
followed  by  others  even  to  our  day. 

The  little  that  we  know  of  Egypt's  early  constellations  indicates  that  they 
apparently  were  of  native  origin,  and  in  no  respect  like  those  of  Greece, 
which,  if  adopted  at  all,  were  so  at  a  very  late  time  in  that  history,  and 
from  the  influence  of  the  dominant   Greeks,  perhaps  aided  by  recollections 

I  This  great  school  was  begun  by  such  men  as  the  two  Arystilli  and  Timochares,  under 
Ptolemy  Soter,  300  B.  C,  the  first  really  scientific  astronomers  who  initiated  the  observations 
that  are  gencraUy  supposed  to  have  led  Hipparchos  to  his  discovery  of  the  phenomenon  of  pre- 
cession ;  and  it  was  carried  on  by  Aristarchos,  Eratosthenes  (the  inventor  of  the  armillary 
sphere),  Euclid  (the  geometrician),  Conon,  Sosigenes,  and  lastly  Ptolemy,  who  ended  the  fam- 
ous list  in  a.  D.  151.  although  the  school  was  nominally  maintained  till  the  final  destruction 
of  the  great  Alexandrian  Library  in  the  7th  century. 


20  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  Chaldaea.  Diodorus  the  Sicilian,  of  the  ist  century  before  Christ,  and 
Lucian,  of  three  centuries  later,  distinctly  assert  this. 

The  following  are  among  the  native  stellar  groups  of  Egypt  so  far  as  a: 
present  can  be  thought  assured:  Sahu,  identified  with  Orion,  although 
by  some  limited  to  the  head  of  that  figure;  Sept,  Set,  Sothis,  etc.,  with 
Sirius;  the  Hippopotamus,  a  part  of  our  Draco;  the  Thigh,  our  Ursa  Major; 
the  Deer,  our  Cassiopeia,  although  some  place  the  Leg  here.  The  doubt- 
ful ones  were  Mena,  or  Menat,  an  immense  figure  if  Renouf 1  be  correct 
in  his  statement  that  it  included  Antares  and  Arcturus ;  the  Many  Stan, 
our  Coma  Berenices;  Arit,  that  Renouf  thought  may  have  been  marked 
by  (3  Andromedae ;  the  Fleece,  indicated  by  some  stars  of  Aries ;  the  Goose, 
by  a  Arietis;  dm,  or  Chow,  the  Pleiades;  the  Cynooephalus,  claimed  by- 
La  Lande  for  Ara's  stars ;  the  Servant,  that  Brugsch  says  was  our  Pegasus, 
although  the  Denderah  planisphere  shows  a  Jackal  here ;  the  Two  Stan, 
that  we  may  guess  were  Castor  and  Pollux ;  and  the  Lute-Bearer,  or  Bepa, 
the  Lord,  perhaps  our  Spica. 

Those  so  far  unidentified  were  the  Stan  of  the  Water;  Mena's  Herald; 
Mena's  Followers;  Necht,  in  the  vicinity  of  our  Draco;  the  Lion,  but  not 
our  Leo ;  and  the  Hare,  with  some  others  that  La  Lande  indefinitely  al- 
luded to  as  lying  on  the  borders  of  Ophiuchus  and  Scorpio  and  in  Aquarius. 

A  reference  is  made  in  Egypt's  veritable  history  to  the  vernal  equinox, 
then  in  our  Taurus,  3285  b.  c. ;  yet  the  astronomy  of  that  country  was  not 
scientific,  and  we  know  little  of  it  except  as  connected  with  religion,  the 
worship  in  the  north,  about  5200  b.  c,  of  the  northern  stars  being  associated 
with  the  god  An,  Annu,  Ant,  or  On,  under  the  supposed  government  of 
Set,  or  Typhon,  the  god  of  darkness,  recognized  under  many  synonyms. 
That  of  the  east  and  west  stars  was  indicated  by  the  Ghizeh  temples  and 
pyramids,  about  4000  b.  c.  ;  while  in  southern  Egypt  the  worship  of  the 
southern  stars,  as  early  as  6400  b.  c,  perhaps  much  earlier,  was  presided 
over  by  Horus,  a  southern  sun-god,  although  later  he  occasionally  appeared 
as  a  northern  divinity.  The  rising  stars  represented  the  youthful  god- 
desses ;  those  setting,  the  dying  gods ;  while  a  figure  of  three  stars  together 
symbolized  divinity. 

Assertions  as  to  India  being  the  first  home  of  astronomy,  and  the  birth- 
place of  the  constellation  figures,  have  been  made  by  many — notably,  a  cen- 
tury ago,  by  Sir  William  Jones  and  Messrs.  Colebrooke,  Davis,  and  Von 
Schlegel ;  but  modern  research  finds  little  in  Sanskrit  literature  to  confirm 
this  belief,  while  it  seems  to  be  generally  acknowledged  that  the  Hindus 

1  The  eminent  Egyptologist  Sir  Peter  Le  Page  Renouf,  who  died  in  1897. 


The  Constellations  21 

borrowed  much  from  Greece,  perhaps  beginning  with  Pythagoras,  who  is 
said  to  have  traveled  there  and  even  listened  to  Zoroaster's  teachings.  In- 
deed, Aryabhata,  of  our  5th  or  6th  century,  reckoned  by  the  same  signs 
as  Hipparchos;  and  their  most  noted  later  astronomer,  Varaha  Mihira,1 
of  504,  in  writing  of  the  constellations,  used  the  Grecian  titles,  changed, 
however,  to  suit  his  native  tongue.  But  Arabia  also  probably  exercised  in- 
fluence over  them,  as  over  the  rest  of  Asia. 

Professor  Whitney's  opinion  as  to  this  is  summed  up  thus : 

We  regard  the  Hindu  science  as  an  offshoot  from  the  Greek,  planted  not  far  from  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  and  attaining  its  fully  developed  form  in  the  course 
of  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries ; 

but  unfavorably  criticizes  it,  as  did  Al  Biruni.  The  annals  of  China,  a  coun- 
try never  backward  in  claiming  the  invention  of  almost  everything,  new  or 
old.  on  earth  or  in  the  sky,  ascribe  the  formation  of  constellations  to  Tajao, 
the  prime  minister  of  Hwang  Ti,  2637  b.  c,  and  make  much  of  an  observa- 
tion of  the  Pleiades,  2537  b.  c,  from  an  observatory  said  to  have  been 
erected  2608  b.  c.  But  real  stellar  work  in  that  country  seems  to  have 
begun  only  about  ten  or  twelve  centuries  before  our  era,  and  then  almost 
solely  in  the  interests  of  astrology. 

The  attainment  of  the  Chinese  in  the  science,  probably  very  highly  over- 
rated, however,  is  thought  to  be  largely  due  to  Chaldaea,  and  later  on  the 
Arabians,  in  the  times  of  the  khalifs,  apparently  exercised  influence  over  them; 
while  all  their  recent  advance  is  due  to  the  Jesuit  missionaries  who  settled 
among  them  in  the  16th  century,  during  the  early  years  of  the  present  Tsing 
dynasty,  and  introduced  the  knowledge  of  our  Western  figures.  These  were 
thenceforward  to  a  great  extent  adopted,  and  our  own  star-titles  in  the 
translations  which  the  Chinese  called  Sze  Kwo  Ming,  the  Western  Nation 
Names,  became  common,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  constellations  visible 
only  from  south  of  the  parallel  of  Peking,  400.  The  indigenous  titles  were 
Chung  Kwo  Ming,  the  Middle  Nation  Names,  Edkins  saying  as  to  these 
that  there  were  two  great  periods  of  star-naming :  the  first  about  2300  b.  c. 
by  the  people,  and  the  second  from  11 20  to  220  b.  c,  during  the  Chow 
dynasty,  that  plainly  shows  an  imperial  origin.  And  it  was  during  this 
period,  about  600  b.  c,  that  a  chart  was  drawn  with  1460  stars  correctly 
laid  down.     This  is  now  in  the  Royal  Library  of  Paris. 

In  all  its  history  in  China  astronomy  has  been  under  the  special  care 
of  the  state,  and  the  regulator  of  all  affairs  of  life,  public  and  private. 

lAl  Biruni  mentioned  this  author  as  an  excellent  astronomer,  and  quoted  much  from  his 
work  the  Drihaisamhita ,  or  Collection. 


22  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  early  Chinese  included  the  twenty-eight  sieu  and  the  twelve  kung,  or 
zodiac  figures,  in  four  larger  equal  spaces, —  Tsing  Long,  the  Azure  Dragon ; 
Henng  Woo,  the  Dark  Warrior;  Choo  Neaou,  the  Red  Bird,  Phoenix. 
Pheasant,  or  Quail ;  and  Pih  Hoo,  the  White  Tiger.  And  they  marked  off. 
in  their  general  constellations,  three  large  yuen,  or  inclosures, —  Tne  Wei, 
the  circumpolar  stars ;  Tien  She  and  Tai  Wei,  containing  the  rest  that  were 
visible  to  them. 

Williams'  Observations  of  Comets  is  accompanied  by  a  full  set  of  maps  of 
351  early  asterisms  traced  over  Flamsteed's  figures;  but,  large  as  is  this 
number,  M.  Gustave  Schlegel,  in  his  Uranographie  Chinoise  of  1875,  cited 
670  that  he  asserted  could  be  traced  back  to  17000  b.  c.  ! 

In  the  neighboring  Japan  some,  even  of  its  wise  men,  thought  that  the 
stars  were  made  to  guide  navigators  of  foreign  peoples,  with  their  tribute, 
to  the  land  of  the  Mikados. 

Aethiopia's  claim  to  the  invention  of  the  constellations  probably  can  be 
entertained  only  by  considering  that  country  as  the  Kush  of  southwestern 
Asia,  —  Homer's  eastern  Aethiopia,  —  stretching  along  the  Arabian  and 
Persian  gulfs,  whence  early  migrations  across  the  Red  Sea  at  the  Strait  of 
Babd  al  Mandab  may  have  carried  astronomical  knowledge  directly  to  the 
Nile,  or,  by  a  roundabout  way,  to  Meroe  in  western  Aethiopia,  the  modern 
Nubia,  and  thence  northward  into  Egypt. 

Of  Phoenician  stellar  science  little  is  known,  and  assertions  as  to  its 
antiquity  rest  largely  upon  the  fact  that  this  people  was  the  great  maritime 
nation  of  ancient  times,  and  hence  some  knowledge  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
was  a  necessity  with  them.  Yet  Thales,  the  father  of  astronomy  and  a 
teacher  of  the  Greeks  in  the  science,  —  indeed  one  of  their  Seven  Sages, — 
probably  was  Phoenician  by  birth;  and  Samuel  Bochart,  the  Oriental 
scholar  of  the  1 7th  century,  as  well  as  other  authorities,  thought  that  many 
of  our  older  groups  in  the  sky  are  merely  reproductions  of  the  figureheads 
on  the  Carthaginian,  Sidonian,  and  Tyrian  ships:  This,  if  correct,  might 
account  for  the  incompleteness  of  such  as  Argo,  Pegasus,  and  Taurus,  as 
well  as  for  the  marine  character  of  many  of  them.  But  the  general  opinion 
is  that  the  Phoenicians  drew  from  Chaldaea  such  astronomy  as  they  may 
have  had. 

Ideler,  in  his  Sternkunde  der  Chaldaer  of  18 15,  asserted  that  the  constel- 
lations originated  on  the  Euphrates,  —  "reduplications  of  simpler  ideas 
connected  with  natural  phenomena,"  —  and  conviction  as  to  the  truth  of 
this  seems  to  be  growing  with  students  of  stellar  archaeology.  Indeed 
recent  discoveries  make  it  apparently  safe  to  say  that  those  of  the  zodiac  at 
least  were  first  formed  in  the  Akkad  country,  probably  in  almost  prehistoric 


The  Constellations  23 

times,  and  that  there,  as  among  all  the  earliest  nations,  "  their  order  and 
harmony  is  contrasted  with  and  opposed  to  the  supposed  disorderly  motion 
of  the  planets."  It  is  also  probable  that  many  of  the  extra-zodiacal  groups, 
in  somewhat  the  same  form  and  location  as  we  have  them  now,  came  from 
the  Valley  of  the  Great  River,  as  well  as  the  myths  associated  with  them, 
originally  introduced  by  Northern  invaders ;  for  Bailly  said  that  the  science 
current  in  Chaldaea,  as  well  as  in  India  and  Persia,  belonged  to  a  latitude 
higher  than  that  of  Babylon,  Benares,  and  Persepolis. 

With  the  Babylonians  the  chief  stars  represented  their  chief  gods,  and 
they  connected  the  several  constellations  with  particular  nations  over  whose 
destiny  they  were  thought  to  dominate.  Cuneiform  characters  arranged  in 
stellar  form  were  the  ideograph  of  Ilu,  Divinity ;  while,  combining  business 
and  religion,  their  Ku-dur-ru,  or  Division  Stones,  recently  unearthed,  that 
marked  the  metes  and  bounds  of  city  lots  and  farm  lands,  are  often  inscribed 
with  some  constellation  figure,  probably  the  one  representing  the  tutelar 
god  of  the  owner.  But  whatever  may  be  our  conclusions  as  to  the  be- 
ginning of  astronomy  in  the  Euphrates  valley,  it  can  be  considered  settled 
that  astrology  in  the  present  sense  of  the  word  had  its  origin  there,  and 
that  the  modern  astrological  characters  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets  are 
those  current  on  that  river  and  in  all  ages  since. 

The  prophet  Isaiah,  700  b.  c,  in  pronouncing  the  Almighty's  judgment 
on  Babylon,  contemptuously  referred  to 

the  astrologers,  the  stargazers,  the  monthly  prognosticators ; 

Daniel,  a  century  later,  knew  his  captors  as  accomplished  in  the  art,  al- 
though himself  and  his  companions  were  "  ten  times  better " ;  while  the 
terms  "  Babylonians  "  and  "  Chaldaeans  "  have  come  down  almost  to  our 
own  time  as  synonymous  with  observers  of,  and  diviners  from,  the  stars, 
whatever  their  individual  nationality. 

But  the  art  became  widely  spread  elsewhere,  and  especially  in  vogue  in 
Rome,  where  its  devotees,  known  as  Babylonii,  Chaldaei,  Astronomi,  Astro- 
logi,  Genethliaci,  Mathematici,  and  Planetarii,  seem  to  have  flourished  not- 
withstanding the  efforts  made  to  suppress  them  and  the  ridicule  cast  on 
them  by  Cicero,  Juvenal,  and  others  of  the  time.  Indeed  they  were  driven 
out  of  the  city  by  law  in  139  b.  c,  and  frequently  afterward,  but  as  often 
returned.  In  Greece,  Eudoxos  and  Aristarchos  of  Samos  felt  it  needful  to 
urge  their  countrymen  against  it,  although  Berossos  taught  it  there  soon 
after  them  \  and  its  influence  everywhere  up  to  two  hundred  years  ago  is 
well  known.  Dante's  belief  in  it  is  frequently  shown  throughout  the  Divina 
Commtdiay  while  in  Shakespeare's  day  —  indeed  for  a  century  after  him  — 


24  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

reliance  upon  it  was  well-nigh  universal,  and  much  was  made  of  it  in  all 
drama  and  poetry,  Kent,  in  King  Lear,  only  expressing  prevalent  opinion 
when  he  said : 

It  is  the  stars, 
The  stars  above  us  that  govern  our  conditions. 

Cecil,  Baron  of  Burghley,  calculated  the  nativity  of  Queen  Elizabeth; 
Lilly  was  consulted  by  King  Charles  I,  in  1647,  as  to  his  escape 
from  Carisbrooke  Castle ;  Flamsteed  drew  a  horoscope  of  the  heavens  at 
the  moment  of  laying  the  foundation  of  the  Royal  Observatory,  on  the  10th 
of  August,  1675,  although  he  added  to  it  Risum  teneatis  amici;  and  about 
the  same  time  astrologers  were  called  into  the  councils  of  Parliament.  The 
art  still  obtained  even  among  the  educated  classes  of  the  succeeding  cen- 
tury ;  for  astrological  evidence  was  received  in  a  court  of  justice  as  late  as 
1758,  and  Sir  Walter  Scott  made  Guy  Mannering  cast  a  horoscope  for  the 
young  laird  of  Elian  go  wan  that  the  latter  preserved  till  of  mature  age. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  decadence  of  astrology  in  England  was  has- 
tened by  the  publication  of  Boteler's  Hudibras,  in  which  the  practice  andits 
great  exponent  William  Lilly,  under  the  title  Sidrophel,  were  so  success- 
fully and  popularly  satirized.     Among  its  passages  we  read  of  its  devotee* ; 

in  one  case  they  tell  more  lies, 
In  figures  and  nativities, 
Than  th'  old  Chaldean  conjurors 
In  so  many  hundred  thousand  years. 

Dean  Swift  followed  in  the  same  vein  in  his  Predictions  for  the  year  1708 
fy  Isaac  Bickerstaff^  Esq. 

On  the  Continent  astrology  had  been  still  more  prevalent,  and  even  men 
of  science  were  seriously  interested  in  it.  Gassendi  began  his  distinguished 
career  in  its  practice;  Tycho  predicted  from  the  comet  of  1577,  and,  as  it 
happened,  successfully,  the  achievements  and  time  of  death  of  Gustavo 
Adolphus ;  the  still  greater  Kepler  prophesied  from  the  stars  a  coming  hard 
winter,  and  so  it  pro  veil.  Miss  Maria  Mitchell  wrote  of  these  two  astronomers: 

Both  of  these  philosophers  leaned  to  the  astrological  opinions  of  their  times  ;  and  Kep- 
ler was  certainly  a  believer  in  them.  He  calculated  nativities  when  pressed  for  money, 
and  published  a>trological  almanacs,  though  he  admitted  that  such  procedures  were  little 
better  than  begging,  and  his  work  but  **  wor:hle>>  conjectures  *' ; 

and  he  plaintively  said : 

The  >c»niy  rewards  of  an  a>trv>nomer  would  not  provide  me  with  bread,  if  men  did  not 
entertain  hopes  of  reading  the  future  in  the  heavens. 


The  Constellations  25 

The  horoscope  of  Wallenstein  by  one  or  the  other  of  these  great  men  is  still 
preserved  in  the  library  of  the  Poulkowa  Observatory.  Napoleon's  belief 
in  his  guiding  star  is  well  known.  But  as  an  occult  science  astrology  prac- 
tically died  out  in  England  with  the  astronomers  of  the  17th  century.  It  still 
flourishes,  however,  in  the  East,  especially  among  the  Chinese  and  Parsis. 
The  recent  advent  of  a  little  son  to  the  Chinese  consul-general  in  New 
York  was  the  occasion  of  much  telegraphing  to  the  chief  astrologers  of 
the  Celestial  Kingdom  who  were  to  predict  his  future ;  and  the  horoscope 
of  the  Parsi  even  now  is  carefully  preserved  during  life,  burned  at  his 
death,  and  its  ashes  scattered  over  the  Sacred  River.  In  a  measure  it  lingers 
among  the  people  everywhere,  for  its  almanacs  and  periodicals  are  still 
published ;  its  advertisements  and  signs  are  daily  to  be  seen  in  our  large 
cities ;  a  society  for  its  study,  called  the  Zodiac,  was  established  in  New  York 
City  in  1897;  and  even  now  there  are  many  districts  in  Germany  where 
the  child's  horoscope  is  regularly  kept  with  the  baptismal  certificate  in  the 
family  chest. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  astrology,  Kepler's  "  foolish  daughter  of  a 
wise  mother,"  originally  included  astronomy,  Seneca  being  the  first  in  clas- 
sical times  to  make  distinction  between  the  meanings  of  the  two  words ; 
and  he  was  followed  in  this  by  Saint  Isidore  of  Seville  (Isidorus  Hispa- 
lensis),  the  Egregius  Doctor  of  the  7th  century,  and  author  of  the  Origines 
et  JSfymoIogiae ;  although  even  as  late  as  the  17th  century  we  see  confu- 
sion in  their  use,  for  Minsheu  mentioned  the  "  astrologers  "  as  having  formed 
the  "  asterismes,"  and  the  diarist  John  Evelyn  wrote  of  "  Mr.  Flamsteed 
the  learned  astrologer." 

Contrariwise,  and  not  long  previously,  the  word  "  astronomer  "  was  ap- 
plied to  those  whom  we  would  now  call  astrologers.  Shakespeare  devoted 
his  14M  Sonnet  to  the  subject,  beginning  thus: 

Not  from  the  stars  do  I  my  judgment  pluck, 
And  yet  methinks  I  have  astronomy ; 

and  in  Troilus  and  Cressida  we  read 

When  he  performs  astronomers  foretell  it. 

But  this  is  a  long  digression  from  my  subject. 

Arabia's  part  in  early  astronomy  was  slight,  for  although  the  tribes  before 
Muhammad's  day  doubtless  paid  much  attention  to  the  heavenly  bodies, 
this  was  entirely  unscientific,  merely  observational  and  superstitious ;  and 
only  in  their  subsequent  days  of  peace  and  power,  after  the  Prophet  had 


26  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

solidified  them  into  an  active  nation,  did  their  more  cultured  class  seriously     I 
take  up  the  study  of  the  sky.      Even  this  was  solely  along  the  lines  laid 
down  by  Ptolemy,  and  they  originated  litde.    Still  we  owe  them  and  their     j 
Jewish  assistants  much  of  gratitude  for  their  preservation  of  the  beginnings 
of  modern  astronomy  during  the  thousand  years  of  the  Dark  and  Mediaeval 
Ages ;  while,  as  we  have  seen,  our  star-names  are  largely  due  to  them. 

The  heathen  Arabs  were  star-worshipers, —  Sabaeans, —  as  still  are  the 
Parsis  of  our  own  special  star,  the  sun ;  indeed  this  worship  was  very  gen- 
eral in  antiquity.  It  was  universal  in  earliest  India,  and  constantly  alluded 
to  in  their  sacred  books ;  Egyptian  priests  showed  to  Plutarch  stars  that  had 
been  Isis  and  Osiris ;  in  Greece  Aristophanes  made  special  mention  of  it 
in  his  Pax,  419  b.  c,  and  Aristotle  wrote  to  Alexander: 

Heaven  is  fall  of  the  gods  to  whom  we  give  the  name  of  stars. 

In  Plato's  Timaeus  we  read  of  his  supreme  divinity  : 

And  after  having  thus  framed  the  universe,  he  allotted  to  it  souls  equal  in  number  to  the 
stars,  inserting  each  in  each.  .  .  .  And  he  declared  also,  that  after  living  well  for  the 
time  appointed  to  him,  each  one  should  once  more  return  to  the  habitation  of  his  associate 
star,  and  spend  a  blessed  and  suitable  existence; 

Dante  adopting  this  in  the  Paradiso  : 

Parer  tornarsi  l'anime  alle  stelle, 
Secondo  la  sentenza  di  Platone ; 

while  Vergil  wrote  in  the  Georgus: 

viva  volare 
Sideris  in  numerum,  atque  alto  succedere  codo ; 

Milton,  in  Paradise  Lost: 

Those  argent  fields  more  likely  habitants, 
Translated  saints,  or  middle  spirits  hold. 
Betwixt  the  angelical  and  human  kind; 

and  Wordsworth,  almost  of  our  own  day,  in  his  JWms  of  the  Imagination: 

The  stars  are  mansions  built  by  nature's  hand, 
And,  haply,  there  the  spirits  of  the  blest 
Dwell  clothed  in  radiance,  their  immortal  vest. 

Indeed  this  thought  has  been  current  in  all  history  and  tradition,  in  civil- 
ized as  in  savage  life,  on  every  continent,  and  in  the  isles  of  the  sea. 


The  Constellations  27 

The  Christian  father  Origen,  following  the  supposed  authority  of  the 
Book  of  Job,  xxv,  5,  and  perhaps  influenced  by  the  43d  verse  of  chapter 
xiii  of  the  Gospel  of  Saint  Matthew^  said  that  the  stars  themselves  were 
living  beings ;  and  Dionysius  Exiguus,  the  chronologist  of  our  6th  century, 
established  in  the  constellations  the  hierarchies  of  the  genii,  assigning  to 
the  cherubim  the  domain  of  the  fixed  stars.  Shakespeare  has  many  allu- 
sions to  this  stellar  attribute.  In  King  Henry  Vf  Bedford,  invoking 
the  ghost  of  Henry  V,  said 

a  far  more  glorious  star  thy  soul  will  make 
Than  Julius  Caesar ; 

and  in  Pericles  we  see 

Heavens  make  a  star  of  him. 

Even  now,  according  to  Mr.  Andrew  Lang,  German  folk-lore  asserts  that 
when  a  child  dies  God  makes  a  new  star — a  superstition  also  found  in 
New  England  fifty  years  or  more  ago.  The  German  peasant  tells  his  children 
that  the  stars  are  angels'  eyes ;  and  the  English  cottager  impresses  it  on  the 
youthful  mind  that  it  is  wicked  to  point  at  the  stars,  though  why  he  cannot 
tell. 

In  much  the  same  way  Al  Blruni  cited  from  Varaha  Mihira : 

Comets  are  such  beings  as  have  been  on  account  of  their  merits  raised  to  heaven,  whose 
period  of  dwelling  in  heaven  has  elapsed  and  who  are  then  redescending  to  the  earth. 

Cicero,  in  De  Natura  Deorum,  asserted  that  the  constellations  were 
looked  upon  as  divine ;  and  Statius,  that  the  sea  nymphs  were  the  constel- 
lations of  the  sea,  the  divine  inhabitants  of  the  waters,  as  the  others  were  of 
the  heavens.  Yet  this  same  author  elsewhere  represented  Aurora  as  driving 
the  stars  out  of  heaven  with  a  scourge  like  so  many  beasts ;  and  Manilius 
called  them  a  flock  going  on  like  sheep ;  while  Shelley,  in  his  Prometheus 
Unbound \  writing  of  the  astronomer's  work,  said : 

Heaven's  utmost  deep 
Gives  up  her  stars,  and  like  a  flock  of  sheep 
They  pass  before  his  eye,  are  number'd,  and  roll  on. 

In  Upper  India  even  now  women  teach  their  children  that  the  stars  are 
kine,  and  the  moon  their  keeper. 

Following  the  opinion  of  Josephus,  Origen  said  that  the  constellations 
were  known  long  before  the  days  of  the  patriarchs  by  Noah,  Enoch,  Seth,  and 
Adam  —  indeed  were  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Enoch  as  "  already  named 


28  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

and  divided";  and  he  claimed  that  ancient  longevity  was  a  blessing  spe- 
cially bestowed  to  give  opportunity  for  a  long-continued  period  of  observa- 
tion and  comparison  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 

In  early  Christian  art  a  star  became  the  peculiar  emblem  of  sanctity,  and 
often  appeared  over  the  heads  or  on  the  breasts  of  representations  of  the 
saints. 

III. 

Some  allusion  should  be  made  to  what  Smyth  called  the  Biblical  School 
and  the  Mosaicists,  who  at  various  times  have  sought  to  alter  the  sky 
figures  to  others  drawn  from  sacred  history  and  its  interpretation.  Begin- 
ning with  the  Venerable  Bede,  this  school  has  come  to  our  time,  but  their 
efforts,  fortunately,  have  been  in  vain ;  for,  although  their  motives  may  have 
been  praiseworthy,  our  scheme  of  the  heavenly  groups  is  of  too  much 
historical  value  and  too  useful  and  interesting  a  source  of  popular  instruc- 
tion for  us  to  wish  it  discarded. 

Among  the  number  of  these  stellar  iconoclasts  was  the  unfortunate 
Giordano  Bruno  of  the  16th  century,  who,  in  his  Spaccio  della  Bestia  Trion- 
fante,  sought  to  substitute  for  the  ancient  figures  the  moral  virtues,  Law, 
Mercy,  Prudence,  Truth,  Universal  Judgment,  Wisdom,  etc. ;  and  others, 
most  numerous  in  the  17th  century,  were  Caesius,  Jeremias  Drexelius, 
Novidius,  Postellus,  Bartsch,  Schickard,  Harsdorffer,  and  Julius  Schiller  of 
Augsburg ;  while  in  our  day  the  Reverend  Doctor  John  Lamb,  the  versifier 
of  Aratos,  and  Proctor  wrote  in  somewhat  the  same  vein.  The  recent 
efforts  of  Miss  Frances  Rolleston  and  the  Reverend  Doctor  Joseph  A. 
Seiss  are  especially  remarkable.  Proctor  made  other  changes  in  constella- 
tion titles,  although  he  followed  the  old  lines ;  but  his  changes  have  not 
been  adopted,  and,  Chambers  says,  "  were  far  more  barbarous  than  the 
originals  which  he  condemned  " ;  indeed  in  his  later  works  he  abandoned 
the  effort  as  impracticable. 

The  following  remarks  by  Professor  Holden  on  the  history  of  the  delin- 
eation of  our  stellar  figures  are  interesting : 

The  contribution  of  Albrecht  Diirer  to  astronomy  is  .  .  .  unknown,  I  believe,  to  all  his 
biographers. 

But  this  statement  he  subsequently  modified  by  a  reference  to  Thausing's 
Life  of  Diirer,  in  which  this  artist's  map- work  is  mentioned: 

Hipparchus  (b.  c.  127)  and  Ptolemy  (a.  d.  136)  fixed  the  positions  of  stars  by  celestial 
latitudes  and  longitudes, and  named  the  stars  so  fixed  by  describing  their  situation  in  some 
constellation  figure.  The  celestial  globes  of  that  day  have  all  disappeared,  and  we  have 
only  a  few  Arabian  copies  of  them,  not  more  ancient  than  the  XHIth  century,  so  that  re 


The  Constellations  29 

may  say  that  the  original  constellation  figures  are  entirely  lost.  The  situations  of  the 
principal  stars  in  each  one  of  the  forty-eight  classic  constellations  are  verbally  described  by 
Ptolemy.  In  l*a  Lande's  Bibliographic  Astronomique  we  find  that  in  A.  D.  15 15  Albrecht 
Oarer  published  two  star-maps,  one  of  each  hemisphere,  engraved  on  wood,  in  which  the 
stars  of  Ptolemy  were  laid  down  by  Heinfogel,  a  mathematician  of  Nuremberg.  The 
stars  themselves  were  connected  by  constellation  figures  drawn  by  Diirer.  These  con- 
stellation figures  of  Diirer,  with  but  few  changes,  have  been  copied  by  Bayer  in  his 
Ummometria  (a.  d.  1603);  by  Flamsteed  in  the  Atlas  CoeUstis  (1729);  by  Argelander  in 
the  Z/nanometria  Nova  (1843);  and  by  Heis  in  the  Atlas  CoeUstis  Novus  (1872),  and 
have  thus  become  classic. 

It  is   a  matter  of  congratulation  that  designs  which  are  destined  to  be  so  permanent 
should  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  hands  of  so  consummate  a  master. 

I  would  add  to  this  that  Ptolemy's  catalogue  of  stars  was  published  at 
Cologne  in  1537,  in  folio,  with  the  forty-eight  drawings  by  Diirer. 

It  seems  singular  that  of  the  world's  artists  few,  save  he  and  Raphael, 
have  done  anything  for  this  most  ancient,  exalted,  and  interesting  of  the 
sciences;  others,  famous  or  forgotten,  introduce  the  subject  into  their 
compositions  with  generally  sad  result.1  One  instance  especially  absurd, 
although  not  strictly  astronomical,  is  worthy  repetition.  Mrs.  Jame- 
son, in  her  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  describes,  from  an  old  French 
f>rint, 

St.  Denis  at  Heliopolis,  seated  on  the  summit  of  a  tower  or  observatory,  contemplating, 
through  a  telescope,  the  crucifixion  of  our  Saviour  seen  in  the  far  distance. 

And   much  the  same  may  be  said  of  most  of  our  authors.     Pope  thus 
mistranslated  Homer's  allusion  to  Sirius: 

rises  to  the  sight 
Through  the  thick  gloom  of  some  tempestuous  night ; 

Henry  Kirk  White,  in  Time,  had 

Orion  in  his  Arctic  tower  ; 

Shelley,  in  the  Witch  of  Atlas,  wrote  of  the  minor  planets  as 

those  mysterious  stars 
Which  hide  themselves  between  the  earth  and  Mars ; 

and  in  Prince  Athanase  thus  ignored  the  apparent  motion  of  the  stars : 

far  o'er  southern  waves  immovably 
Belted  Orion  hangs; 

Dickens,  in  Hard  Times,  doing  the  same  in  his  description   of  Stephen 
Blackpool's  death,  comforted  the  sufferer  by  a  star  shining  brightly  for 

l  This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  moon,  which  is  rarely  correctly  located  or  drawn. 


30  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

hours  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  Old  Hell  Shaft.  In  the  poor  man's  own 
words : 

Often  as  I  coom  to  myseln,and  found  it  shinin'  on  me  down  there  in  my  trouble,  I  thowt 
it  were  the  star  as  guided  to  Our  Saviour's  home. 

Carlyle,  who  at  one  time  aspired  to  the  position  of  astronomer  at  the 
Edinburgh  University,  thus  alluded,  in  his  French  Revolution,  to  the  scenes 
in  Paris  on  the  night  of  the  9th  of  August,  1792  : 

the  night  .  .  .  "is  beautiful  and  calm";  Orion  and  the  Pleiades  glitter  down  quite 
serene, 

although  the  former  did  not  rise  till  daybreak;  and  again,  still  more 
blunderingly : 

Overhead,  as  always,  the  Great  Bear  is  turning  so  quiet  round  Bootes; 

while  Dickens,  in  Our  Mutual  Friend,  made  perhaps  the  worst  mistake 
of  all  when,  in  describing  the  voyage  that  "  brought  a  baby  Bella  home," 
a  revolution  of  the  earth  around  the  sun  marks  a  month  instead  of  a  year. 
Wallace,  in  Ben  Hur,  makes  the  shaykh  Ilderim  give  impossible  star- 
names  to  the  parents  of  his  great  team  —  Sinus,  from  the  hated  Roman 
tongue  instead  of  the  beautiful  Al  Shira  of  the  Desert;  and  Mira,  unknown 
to  him,  or  indeed  to  any  one,  till  nearly  sixteen  centuries  thereafter;  while 
the  unlikely  Greek  Antares  was  given  to  one  of  the  victorious  four. 

Errors  as  to  the  moon  and  planets  are  notoriously  frequent,  Venus  and 
the  new  moon  often  being  made  to  rise  at  sunset.  Shakespeare,  although 
contemporary  with  Galileo  and  Kepler,  has  many  such ;  yet  he  seems  to 
have  known  the  action  of  the  moon,  his  "  governess  of  the  floods,"  on  the 
tides,1  for  we  find  in  Hamlet 

the  moist  star 
Upon  whose  influence  Neptune's  empire  stands ; 

and  in  King  Henry  IV, 

being  governed  as  the  sea  is  by  the  moon. 

Marryat,  sea-captain  though  he  was,  wrote  of  a  waning  crescent  moon 
seen  in  the  early  evening ;  and  H.  Rider  Haggard  has  something  similar  in 
King  Solomoris  Mines  —  a  book,  by  the  way,  that  was  once  ordered  for  the 
library  of  a  school  of  mineralogy !  Charles  Wolfe,  in  his  Burial  of  Sir  John 
Moore  after  the  battle  of  Corunna,  January  16,  1809,  said  that  it  was 

By  the  struggling  moonbeams1  misty  light, 
1  Dante  showed  similar  knowledge  in  Paradiso,  xvi,  82,  83. 


The  Constellations  31 

whereas  the  moon  did  not  shine  that  night,  whether  misty  or  clear;  and 
Coleridge,  in  the  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner,  had 

The  horned  moon  with  one  bright  star 
Within  the  nether  tip. 

The  astronomy  of  the  modern  newspaper  is  notorious  —  ridiculous  were 
not  the  fact  of  such  prevalent  ignorance  lamentable. 

Classical  writers  abounded  in  stellar  allusions  far  more  than  do  authors 
of  our  day;  in  fact,  Quintilian,  of  our  1st  century,  in  his  Institutio  Oratoria, 
insisted  that  a  knowledge  of  astronomy  was  absolutely  necessary  to  a 
proper  understanding  of  the  poets.  And  these  allusions  generally  were 
correct,  at  least  for  their  day. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  Dante,  whose  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
stellar  science  of  the  14th  century  appears  everywhere  in  his  works  —  in 
fact,  the  Fteradiso  may  be  called  a  poetical  frame  for  the  Ptolemaic  system ; 
and  it  has  been  well  written  of  Milton,  "  the  poetical  historian  of  the  as- 
tronomy of  his  day,"  that  in  astronomy  the  accuracy  of  his  facts  fairly  di- 
vides the  honors  with  the  beauty  of  his  language ;  but  he  slipped  when  he 
located  Ophiuchus  "in  th*  Arctic  sky,"  and  it  is  not  till  late  in  his  works 
that  we  see  the  abandonment  of  Ptolemy's  theories. 

Tennyson  makes  many  beautiful  allusions  to  stars  and  planets,  and  is 
always  accurate,  unless  we  except  his  "  moonless  Mars,"  which,  however, 
was  before  Asaph  Hall's  discovery;  while  our  Longfellow  and  Lowell  knew 
the  stars  well,  and  well  showed  this  in  their  works. 


Andromeda !  Sweet  woman  !  why  delaying 
So  timidly  among  the  stars :  come  hither ! 
Join  this  bright  throng,  and  nimbly  follow  whither 
They  all  are  going. 

John  Keats'  Endymion. 

(&nbtometa,  t$e  Woman  Cfyxintb, 

the  'AvSpopidrj  of  Aratos  and  'Avdpopeda  of  Eratosthenes,  Hipparchos, 
and  Ptolemy,  represents  in  the  sky  the  daughter  of  Cepheus  and  Cassiopeia, 
king  and  queen  of  Aethiopia,  chained  in  exposure  to  the  sea  monster  as 
punishment  of  her  mother's  boast  of  beauty  superior  to  that  of  the  Nereids. 
Sappho,  of  the  7th  century  before  Christ,  is  supposed  to  mention  her,  while 
Euripides  and  Sophocles,  of  the  5th,  wrote  dramas  in  which  she  was  a  char- 


32  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

acter ;  but  she  seems  to  go  far  back  of  classical  times,  and  we  probably 
must  look  to  the  Euphrates  for  her  origin,  with  that  of  her  family  and  Cetus. 
Sayce  claims  that  she  appeared  in  the  great  Babylonian  Epu  of  Creation, 
of  more  than  two  millenniums  before  our  era,  in  connection  witKthe  story  of 
Bel  Marduk  and  the  dragon  Tiamat,  that  doubtless  is  the  foundation  of  the 
story  of  Perseus  and  Andromeda.  She  was  noted,  too,  in  Phoenicia,  where 
Chaldaean  influence  was  early  felt 

As  a  constellation  these  stars  have  always  borne  our  title,  frequently  with 
the  added  Hulier  Catenate,  the  Woman  Chained,  and  many  of  the  classical 
Latins  alluded  to  her  as  familiar  and  a  great  favorite.  Caesar  Germanicus 
called  her  Virgo  Devote;  a  scholiast,  Pertea,  as  the  bride  of  Perseus ;  while 
Manilius,  and  Germanicus  again,  had  Cepheii,  from  her  father. 

In  some  editions  of  the  A  if  on  sine  Tab/es  and  Almagest  she  is  Al&mac, 
taken  from  the  title  of  her  star  y;  and  Andromada,  described  as  Muiierqui 
non  vidit  maritum,  evidently  from  Al  Birunl,  this  reappearing  in  Bayer's 
Carens  Omnino  viro.  Ali  Aben  Reduan  (Haly),  the  Latin  translator  of  the 
Arabian  commentary  on  the  Tetrabiblos,  had  Amade,  which  in  the  Berlin 
Codex  reads  Anmade  et  est  mulier  quae  non  habet  tivum  maritum  ;  these 
changed  by  manifold  transcription  from  Alarmalah,  the  Widow,  applied  by 
the  Arabians  to  Andromeda;  but  the  philologist  Buttmann  said  from 
Anroneda,  another  erroneous  form  of  our  word.  The  Antemarda  of  the 
Hindus  is  their  variation  of  the  classical  name. 

The  original  figure  probably  was,  as  Durer  drew  it,  that  of  a  young  and 
beautiful  woman  bound  to  the  rocks,  Strabo  said  at  lope,  the  biblical  Joppa; 
and  Josephus  wrote  that  in  his  day  the  marks  of  her  chains  and  the  bones 
of  her  monster  foe  were  still  shown  on  that  sea-shore.  But  this  author, 
"  who  did  not  receive  the  Greek  mythology,  observes  that  these  marks  attest 
not  the  truth  but  the  antiquity  of  the  legend." 

Others,  who  very  naturally  thought  her  too  far  from  home  at  that  spot, 
located  lope  in  Aethiopia  and  made  her  a  negress ;  Ovid  expressing  this  in 
his  patriae  fusca  colore  suae,  although  he  followed  Herodotus  in  referring 
her  to  India.  Manilius,1  on  the  contrary,  in  his  version  of  the  story  de- 
scribed her  as  nivea  cervice  ;  but  the  Aethiopia  of  this  legend  probably  was 
along  the  Red  Sea  in  southwestern  Arabia. 

l  Manilius,  author  of  the  Poetico*  Astrxynomictm,  frequently  quoted  throughout  these  pages, 
flourished  under  Augustus  and  Tiberius,  and  probably  was  the  first  Latin  author  to  write  at 
length  on  astronomy  and  astrology ;  but  he  adhered  closely  to  Aratos*  scheme  of  the  constel- 
lations, making  no  mention  of  Berenice's  Hair,  Eqauleus,  or  the  Southern  Crown.  The  text, 
as  we  have  it,  is  from  a  manuscript  exhumed  in  the  15th  century  from  an  old  German  library 
by  Poggius.  the  celebrated  Gian  Francesco  Poggio  Bracciolini,  who  rescued  so  much  of  our 
classic  literature  from  the  dust  of  ages. 


The  Constellations  33 


Arabian  astronomers  knew  these  stars  as  Al  Mar'ah  al  Mnialnalah,  their 
e((uivalent  of  the  classical  descriptive  title, —  Chilmead's  Almara  Alma- 
ralsala, —  for  Western  mythological  names  had  no  place  in  their  science, 
although  they  were  familiar  with  the  ideas.  But  they  represented  a  Sea 
Calf,  or  Seal,  Vitulus  marinus  catenates,  as  Bayer  Latinized  it,  with  a  chain 
around  its  neck  that  united  it  to  one  of  the  Fishes ;  their  religious  scruples 
deterring  them  from  figuring  the  human  form.  Such  images  were  prohib- 
ited by  the  Kur*an ;  and  in  the  oral  utterances  attributed  by  tradition  to 
the  Prophet  is  this  anathema : 

Woe  unto  him  who  paints  the  likeness  of  a  living  thing:  on  the  Day  of  Judgment  those 
whom  he  has  depicted  will  rise  up  out  of  the  grave  and  ask  him  for  their  souls.  Then, 
verily,  unable  to  make  the  work  of  his  hands  live,  will  he  be  consumed  in  everlasting 
flames. 

This  still  is  the  belief  of  the  Muslim,  for  William  Holman  Hunt  was 
warned  of  it,  while  painting  his  Scape  Goat  in  the  Wilderness ',  by  the  shaykh 
under  whose  protection  he  was  at  the  time. 

The  Spanish  edition  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables  pictures  Andromeda  with 
an  unfastened  chain  around  her  body,  and  two  fishes,  one  on  her  bosom, 
the  other  at  her  feet,  showing  an  early  connection  with  Pisces;  the  Hyginus, 
printed  at  Venice  anno  salutifere  incarnationis9  7th  of  June,  1488,  by 
Thomas  de  blauis  de  atexandria,  with  some  most  remarkable  illustrations, 
has  her  standing  between  two  trees,  to  which  she  is  bound  at  the  out- 
stretched wrists ;  in  the  Ley  den  Manuscript x  she  is  partly  clothed  on  the 
sea  beach,  chained  to  rocks  on  either  side. 

Caesius 2  said  that  she  represented  the  biblical  Abigail  of  The  Books  of 
Samuel;  and  Julius  Schiller,  in  1627,  made  of  her  stars  Sepulohrom 
Chriiti,3  the  "new  Sepulchre  wherein  was  never  man  yet  laid." 

1  The  figures  in  this  old  manuscript  are  spirited,  many  of  them  beautiful,  and  all  studded 
nith  stars,  but  with  no  attempt  at  orderly  arrangement;  and,  although  in  perfect  preservation, 
high  antiquity  has  been  claimed  for  them  as  of  ancient  Roman  times.  Hugo  Grotius  repro- 
duced them  in  his  Syntagma  Arateorum,  and  the  Manuscript  is  still  preserved  in  the  University 
Library  at  Ley  den. 

2 The  work  of  Caesius  (Philip  Zesen),  the  Coelum  Astronomico-Pottuum,  published  by 
Joannes  Blaeu  at  Amsterdam  in  1662,  is  much  quoted  by  La  Lande,  and  is  a  most  interesting 
source  of  information  as  to  star-names  and  the  mythology  of  the  constellations,  with  many  ex- 
tracts from  Greek  and  Roman  authors.  He  mentions  sixty-four  figures,  but  some  of  his 
war-titles,  as  also  perhaps  those  of  other  astronomical  writers,  would  seem  merely  to  be  syn- 
onyms for  the  human  originals  erroneously  assumed  as  for  their  sky  namesakes. 

JThis  appeared  in  the  Coelum  Steliatum  Christianum,  which,  according  to  its  title-page,  was 
'he  joint  production  of  Schiller  and  Bayer,  an  enlarged  reprint  of  the  Uranometria  of  1603 ; 
md  Gould  says  that  it  was  in  reality  the  2d  edition  of  Bayer's  work,  almost  ready  for  the  press 
« thelatter's  death  in  1625,  but  appropriated  by  Schiller  to  embody  his  own  absurd  constella- 
°on  changes. 

3 


34  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  apparently  universal  impulse  of  star-gazers  to  find  earthly  objects 
in  the  heavens  is  shown  in  the  Cross  which  is  claimed  for  some  of  Androm- 
eda's stars ;  /3,  y,  and  6  marking  the  upright,  a  and  *  the  transverse.  But 
a  much  more  noticeable  group,  an  immense  Dipper,  is  readily  seen  in  fol- 
lowing up  its  y  and  0  to  the  Square  of  Pegasus,  far  surpassing,  in  extent 
at  least,  the  better-known  pair  of  Dippers  around  the  pole. 

Andromeda  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Cassiopeia  and  Perseus;  on  the 
east  by  Perseus;  on  the  south  by  Pisces  and  Triangulum ;  and  on  the  west 
by  Lacerta  and  Pegasus. 

Milton's  passage  in  Paradise  Lost,  where  Satan  surveys  our  world 

from  eastern  point 
Of  Libra  to  the  fleecy  star  that  bears 
Andromeda  far  off  Atlantic  seas 
Beyond  th'  Horizon, 

seems  to  have  puzzled  many;  but  the  poet  was  only  seeking  to  show  the 
comprehensive  view  had  by  the  arch-fiend  east  and  west  through  the  six 
signs  of  the  zodiac  from  the  Scales  to  the  Ram  with  the  golden  fleece; 
Andromeda,  above  the  latter,  apparently  being  borne  on  by  him  to  the 
westward,  and  so,  to  an  observer  from  England,  over  the  Atlantic. 
Kingsley's  Andromeda  well  describes  her  place : 

I  set  thee 
High  for  a  star  in  the  heavens,  a  sign  and  a  hope  for  the  seamen, 
Spreading  thy  long  whfre  arms  all  night  in  the  heights  of  the  aether, 
Hard  by  thy  sire  and  the  hero,  thy  spouse,  while  near  thee  thy  mother 
Sits  in  her  ivory  chair,  as  she  plaits  ambrosial  tresses ; 
All  night  long  thou  wilt  shine ; 

these  members  of  the  royal  family,  Andromeda,  Cassiopeia,  Cepheus, 
and  Perseus,  lying  contiguous  to  each  other,  wholly  or  partly  in  the  Milky 
Way. 

The  stars  that  mark  her  right  arm  may  be  seen  stretching  from  a  to  i  and 
k  ;  f  marking  the  left  arm  with  the  end  of  the  chain  towards  Lacerta ;  but 
in  early  days  she  was  somewhat  differently  located,  and  even  till  recently 
there  has  been  confusion  here ;  for  Smyth  wrote : 

Flamsteed's  Nos.  51  and  54  Andromedae  are  f  and  v  Persei,  though  placed  exactly 
where  Ptolemy  wished  them  to  be  —  on  the  lady's  foot :  so  also  a  in  this  asterism  has 
been  lettered  A  Pegasi  by  Bayer,  and  J  has  been  the  lucida  of  the  Northern  Fish. 

Argelander  has  83  stars  here,  and  Heis  138. 

La  Lande  and  Dupuis  asserted  that  the  Phoenician  sphere  had  a  broad 
Thrething»floor  in  this  spot,  with  stars  of  Cassiopeia  as  one  of  the  Gleaner* 


The  Constellations  35 

in  the  large  Wheat-field  that  occupied  so  much  of  that  people's  sky ;  its 
exact  boundaries,  however,  being  unknown  to  us. 


Ct,  Double,      magnitudes,  2.2  and  11,      white  and  purplish. 

Alpheratz,  Alpherat,  and  Sirrah  are  from  the  Arabians1  Al  Surrat  al 
Farae,  the  Horse's  Navel,  as  this  star  formerly  was  associated  with  Pegasus, 
whence  it  was  transferred  to  the  Woman's  hair;  and  some  one  has  strangely 
called  it  Umbilicus  Andromedae.  But  in  all  late  Arabian  astronomy  taken 
from  Ptolemy  it  was  described  as  Al  Has  al  Mar'ah  al  Husalsalah,  the 
Head  of  the  Woman  in  Chains. 

Aratos  designated  it  as  %i>v6g  afTTfjp,  i.  t.,  common  to  both  constellations, 
and  it  is  still  retained  in  Pegasus  as  the  6  of  that  figure,  although  not  in 
general  use  by  astronomers. 

In  England,  two  centuries  ago,  it  was  familiarly  known  as  Andromeda's 
Head. 

With  (3  Cassiopeiae  and  y  Pegasi,  as  the  Three  Guides,  it  marks  the  equi- 
noctial colure,  the  prime  meridian  of  the  heavens ;  and,  with  y  Pegasi, 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Great  Square  of  Pegasus. 

In  the  Hindu  lunar  zodiac  this  star,  with  a,  /3,  and  y  Pegasi, —  the  Great 
Square, —  constituted  the  double  nakshatra^ — the  24th  and  25th, —  Purva 
and  Uttara  Bhadrapadas,  the  Former  and  the  Latter  Beautiful,  or  Auspi- 
cious, Feet;  also  given  as  Proshthapadas,  Footstool  Feet;  while  Professor 
Weber  of  Berlin  says  that  it  was  Pratishthana,  a  Stand  or  Support,  which 
the  four  bright  stars  may  represent. 

With  y  Pegasi,  the  determinant  star,  it  formed  the  25th  sieu  Pi,  or  Peih, 
a  Wall  or  Partition,  anciently  Lek,  and  the  manzil  Al  Fargu,  from  Al  Farigh 
al  Mu'ah-h-ar,  the  Hindmost  Loiterer;  or,  perhaps  more  correctly,  the  Hind 
Spout  of  the  Water-jar,  for  Kazwini  called  it  Al  Farigh  al  Thani,  the 
Second  Spout ;  a  Well-mouth  and  its  accompaniments  being  imagined  here 
by  the  early  Arabs. 

The  Persian  title  for  this  lunar  station,  Hiyan ;  the  Sogdian,  Bar  Farshat ; 
the  Khorasmian,  Wabir ;  and  the  Coptic,  Artulosia,  all  have  somewhat  simi- 
lar meanings. 

In  astrology  o  portended  honor  and  riches  to  all  born  under  its  influence. 
It  comes  to  the  meridian  —  culminates  —  at  nine  o'clock l  in  the  evening  of 
the  10th  of  November. 

1  All  culminations  mentioned  in  this  work  are  for  this  hour. 


36  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

P,     2.3,    yellow. 

Miraeh  was  described  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1  as  super  mirat,  from 
which  has  been  derived  its  present  title,  as  well  as  the  occasional  forms 
Hirao,  Herach,  Hirar,  Mirath,  Mirax,  etc. ;  mirat  probably  corning  from 
the  15  T5  A  images  fs  super  mizar,  the  Arabic  mi'zar,  a  girdle  or  waist-cloih. 
Scaliger,  the  great  critical  scholar  of  the  15th  century,  adopted  this  Mizar  as 
a  title,  and  Riccioli  followed  him  in  its  use,  thus  confounding  the  star  with 
r  Ursae  Majoris.  The  Hirae  of  Smyth  doubtless  is  a  typographical  error. 
although  Mirae  had  appeared  in  Chilmead's  Treatise  x  of  1639  for  the  same 
word  applied  to  0  Ursae  Majoris. 

Hipparchos  seems  to  refer  to  it  in  his  $6>vt\  ;  and,  synonymously,  some 
have  termed  it  Cingulum ;  others,  Ventrale,  from  its  former  position  in  the 
figure,  although  now  it  is  on  the  left  hip.  In  later  Arabian  astronomy  it 
marked  the  right  side  of  Andromeda,  and  so  was  known  as  Al  Janb  al 
Mmaltalah,  the  Side  of  the  Chained  Woman.  0  appeared  in  very  early 
drawings  as  the  lucida  of  the  northern  of  the  two  Fishes,  and  marked  the 
26th  manzi/Al  Batn  al  Hut,  the  Belly  of  the  Fish,  or  Al  Kalb  al  Hat,  the 
Heart  of  the  Fish;  and  the  corresponding  sieu  Goei,  or  Kwei,  the  Man 
Striding,  or  the  Striding  Legs,  anciently  Kwet.  In  this  location  it  was  Al 
RiflM,  the  Band,  Cord,  Ribbon,  or  Thread,  as  being  on  the  line  uniting 
the  Fishes ;  but  this  title  now  belongs  to  a  Piscium. 

Brown  includes  it,  with  v,  0,  and  %  Piscium,  in  the  Coptic  lunar  station 
Kuton,  the  Thread ;  and  Renouf,  in  Arit,  an  asterism  indigenous  to  Egypt. 
It  lies  midway  between  a  and  y,  about  150  distant  from  each;  and 
in  astrology  was  a  fortunate  star,  portending  renown  and  good  luck  in 
matrimony. 

Y>  Binary, — and  perhaps  ternary,  2.3,  5.5,  and  6.5,  orange,  emerald,  and  blue. 

This  is  Alamao  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  and  1515  Almagest;  Riccioli's 
Alamak;  Flamsteed's  Alamech;  now  AJmach,  Almak,  Almaaok,  and 
Almaac  or  Almaak;  all  from  Al  'Anak  al'Ard,  a  small  predatory  animal 
of  Arabia,  similar  to  a  badger,  and  popularly  known  there  as  Al  Band. 
Scaliger's  conjecture  that  it  is  from  Al  Mauk,  the  Buskin,  although  likely 
enough  for  a  star  marking  the  left  foot  of  Andromeda,  is  not  accepted ;  for 

1  This  book,  a  Learned  Treatise  on  Globes,  was  a  translation  by  Master  John  Chilmead,  of 
Oxford,  ol  two  early  Latin  works  by  Robert  Hues  and  Io.  Isa.  Pontanus.  It  is  an  interesting!) 
quaint  description  of  the  celestial  globes  of  that  and  the  preceding  century,  with  their  stellar 
nomenclature. 


The  Constellations  37 

Ulug  Beg,  a  century  and  a  half  previously,  as  well  as  Al  Tizini  *  and  the 
Arabic  globes  before  him,  gave  it  the  animal's  title  in  full.  But  the  propri- 
ety of  such  a  designation  here  is  not  obvious  in  connection  with  Androm- 
eda, and  would  indicate  that  it  belonged  to  very  early  Arab  astronomy. 

Bayer  said  of  \typerperam  Alhaimm,  an  erroneous  form  of  some  of  the  fore- 
going.    Riccioli 2  also  mentioned  this  name,  but  only  to  repudiate  it. 

Muhammad  al  Achsasi3  al  Muwakkit  designated  y  as  Al  H'&mU  al 
tfa'amit,  his  editor  translating  this  Quinta  Struthionum,  the  5th  one  of  the 
Ostriches ;  but  I  have  not  elsewhere  seen  the  association  of  these  birds  with 
this  constellation. 

Hyde  gives  another  Arabian  designation  for  y  as  Al  Eijl  al  Mmalnalah, 
the  Woman's  Foot. 

In  the  astronomy  of  China  this  star,  with  others  in  Andromeda  and  in 
Triangulum,  was  Tien  Ta  Tseang,  Heaven's  Great  General.  Astrologi- 
cally  it  was  honorable  and  eminent. 

Its  duplicity  was  discovered  by  Johann  Tobias  Mayer  of  Gottingen  in 
1778;  and  Wilhelm  Struve,4  in  October,  1842,  found  that  its  companion 
was  closely  double,  less  than  i"  apart  at  a  position  angle  of  ioo°,  and  proba- 
bly binary.    The  two  larger  components  are  io".4  apart  with  a  position 

I  The  catalogue  of  this  author,  Muhammad  abu  Bekr  al  Tizini  al  Muwakkit,  was  published 
at  Damascus  in  1533  with  30a  stars,  and  from  its  long  list  of  purely  Arabic  star-names  was 
regarded  as  worthy  of  translation  and  republication  by  Hyde,  in  1665,  with  the  original  text. 
The  muwakkit  of  his  title  indicates  that  he  was  shaykh  of  the  grand  mosque. 

*  This  last  author,  to  whom  I  shall  make  frequent  reference,  was  Joanne  Baptista  Riccioli,  ot 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  whose  Almagestum  Novum  of  165 1  and  Astronomia  Reformata  of  1665  were 
famous  in  their  day,  and  are  interesting  in  ours,  as  preserving  to  us  much  of  the  queer  mediaeval 
stellar  nomenclature,  as  well  as  of  the  general  astronomical  knowledge  of  the  times.  In  the 
ad  volume  of  this  last  work  is  a  long  list  of  titles,  curiosities  in  philology,  with  this  heading: 
Nomina  Steliarum  Peregrinum  e>  PUrumque  Arabica;  while  the  comment  thereon,  nemirere 
Lector,  si  eidem  Stella*  diversa  nomina  videbis  adscripta,  pro  diversitate  Dialectorum  aut  codicum 
fortasse  corruptontmt  might  well  have  served  as  a  motto  for  this  book.  He  is  noted,  too,  as 
having  drawn  for  his  Almagest  the  2d  map  of  the  moon,— Hevelius  preceding  him  in  this  by 
four  year*,— and  as  having  given  the  various  names  to  its  various  features,  more  than  two  hun- 
dred of  these  being  still  in  use,  while  all  but  six  of  those  given  by  his  justly  more  celebrated 
contemporary  have  been  discarded.  His  lunar  titles  naturally  were  Jesuitical ;  nor  was  he 
overmodest,  for  his  own  name  appears  first  in  the  list,  and  that  of  his  colleague  Grimaldi  im- 
mediately succeeding. 

sThe  Arabic  manuscript  of  this  author,  with  its  star-list  of  about  the  year  1650,  has  been 
reviewed  by  Mr.  E.  B.  Knobel  in  the  Monthly  Notices  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  for 
June,  1895.  It  contains  112  stars,  perhaps  taken  from  Al  Tizini's  catalogue  of  the  preceding 
century.  The  Achsasi  of  his  title  was  from  the  village  of  similar  name  in  the  Fayum,  doubt- 
lew  his  birthplace ;  and,  like  Tizini,  he  was  shaykh  of  the  grand  mosque  in  Cairo,  where  his 
»ork«ras  writ  ten. 

4 Struve  was  the  first  director  of  the  Russian  National  Observatory  at  Poulkowa,  where  he 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Otto ;  and  two  of  the  grandsons  bear  names  already  celebrated  in 
astronomy. 

3* 


38  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

angle  of  63O  3.  The  contrast  in  their  colors  is  extraordinarily  fine.  Sir 
William  Herschel  wrote  of  it  in  1804: 

This  double  Star  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  Objects  in  the  Heavens.  The  striking 
difference  in  the  colour  of  the  two  Stars  suggests  the  idea  of  a  Sun  and  its  Planet,  to  which 
the  contrast  of  their  unequal  size  contributes  not  a  little;  but  Webb  thought  them 
stationary. 

It  is  readily  resolved  by  a  2^-inch  glass  with  a  power  of  forty  diameters, 
and  it  seems  singular  that  its  double  character  was  not  sooner  discovered. 

From  its  vicinity  radiate  the  Andromedes  II,  the  Bielid  meteors  of  No- 
vember, so  wonderfully  displayed  on  the  27th  of  that  month  in  1872  and 
1885,  and  on  the  23d  in  1892,  and  identified  by  Secchi  and  others  with  the 
celebrated  comet  discovered  by  Biela  in  1826,  which,  on  its  return  in  1832, 
almost  created  a  panic  in  France.  The  stream  completes  three  revolutions 
in  about  twenty  years,  although  subject  to  great  perturbations  from  Jupiter, 
and  doubtless  was  that  noticed  on  the  7th  of  December,  1798,  and  in  1838. 
These  objects  move  in  the  same  direction  as  the  earth,  and  so  with  appar- 
ent slowness, —  about  ten  miles  a  second, —  leaving  small  trains  of  reddish- 
yellow  sparks.  The  radiant,  lying  northeast  from  y,  is  remarkable  for  its 
extent,  being  from  7  to  10  degrees  in  diameter.  The  Mazapil  iron  meteorite 
which  fell  in  northern  Mexico  on  the  27th  of  November,  1886,  has  been 
claimed  "  as  being  really  a  piece  of  Biela's  comet  itself." 

0,  Double,     3  and  12.5,    orange  and  dusky. 

Burritt  added  to  the  letter  for  this  the  title  Delta,  perhaps  from  its  form- 
ing a  triangle  with  e  and  a  small  adjacent  star. 

It  marks  the  radiant  point  of  the  Andromedes  I  of  the  21st  of  July. 

The  components  are  27".9  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  299°.3. 

0,  a  4. 7 -magnitude  star,  with  p  and  0%  was  the  Chinese  Tien  Ke,1  the 
Heavenly  Stable. 

£»     4-9> 

is  Adhil,  first  appearing  in  the  Almagest  of  1515,  and  again  in  the  A  If  an  sine 
Tables  of  1521,  from  Al  Dhail,  the  Train  of  a  Garment,  the  Arabic  equiva- 
lent of  Ptolemy's  ovpfia ;  but  Baily  thought  the  title  better  applied  to  the 
slightly  fainter  A,  which  is  more  nearly  in  that  part  of  the  lady's  dress;  and 

1  The  star-names  of  China  that  appear  in  this  work  are  few  in  comparison  with  the  total  in 
the  great  number  of  that  country's  constellations.  I  occasionally  cite  them  merely  to  indicate 
the  general  character  of  Chinese  stellar  nomenclature. 


The  Constellations  39 

Bayer  erroneously  gave  it  to  the  6th-magnitude  b,  claiming — for  he  was 
somewhat  of  an  astrologer,  although  the  Os  Protestantium  of  his  day — that, 
with  the  surrounding  stars,  it  partook  of  the  nature  of  Venus. 

<p,  Binary,    4.9  and  6.5,    yellow  and  green,    and  /,      5, 

in  Chinese  astronomy,  were  Kenn  Han  Hun,  the  Camp's  South  Gate;  they 
lie  in  the  train  near  the  star  ovppa.  The  components  of  <f>  were  observed  by 
Burnham  in  1879,  o".3  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  272°.4. 

N.  G.  C.1  224,  or  31  M.,2 

the  Great  Hebula,  the  Queen  of  the  Nebulae,  just  northwest  of  the  star  v,  is 
said  to  have  been  known  as  far  back  as  a.  d.  905 ;  was  described  by  Al  Sufi 
as  the  Tattle  Cloud  before  986;  and  appeared  on  a  Dutch  star-map  of  1500. 
But    otherwise  there  seems  to  be  no  record  of  it  till  the  time  of  Simon 
Marius  (Mayer  of  Gunzenhausen),  who,  in  his  rare  work  De  Mundo  Jovial i, 
tells  us  that  he  first  examined  it  with  a  telescope  on  the  15th  of  December, 
16x2.      He  did  not,  however,  claim  it  as  a  new  discovery,  as  he  is  reported 
to    have    fraudulently  done  of  the  four  satellites  of  Jupiter,3  when  he  gave 
them  their  present  but  rarely  used  names,  Io,  Europa,  Ganymede,  and  Kal- 
listo,  that  are  now  known  as  I,  II,  III,  and  IIII,  in  the  order  of  their  dis- 
tances from  the  planet.     Halley,  however,  did  so  claim  it  in  1661  in  favor  of 
Bullialdus  (Ismail  Bouillaud),  who,  although  he  doubtless  again  brought  it 
into  notice  as  the  nebulosa  in  cingulo  Andromedaey  expressly  mentioned  that 
it  had  been  observed  150  years  previously  by  some  anonymous  but  expert 
astronomer. 

Hevelius  catalogued  it  in  his  Prodromusy  and  Flamsteed  inserted  it  in  his 
ffistoria  as  nebulosa  supra  cingulum  and  nebulosa  cinguli;  but  Hipparchos, 
Ptolemy,  Ulug  Beg,  Tycho  Brahe,  and  Bayer  did  not  allude  to  it,  from 
which  some  have  inferred  an  increase,  or  variability,  in  its  light;  but  there 
is  no  positive  evidence  as  to  this,  and  it  does  not  seem  probable. 

Marius  said  that  it  resembled  the  diluted  light  from  the  flame  of  a  can- 
dle seen  through  horn,4  while  others  of  our  early  astronomers  described  it 
differently ;  discordances  probably  owing  to  the  different  means  employed. 
Its  true  character  seems  as  yet  undetermined,  although  astro-photography 

1  This  is  the  New  General  Catalogue  of  Doctor  J.  L.  E.  Dreyer,  published  in  1887. 

2  Messier' s  Catalogue. 

3  This  planet  was  known  to  the  Greeks  as  Zei'c,  and  as  'Pai&tor,  the  Shining  One. 

4  This  reminds  us  of  Dante's  beautiful  simile  in  the  Faradiso,  although  of  a  different  object  : 

So  that  fire  seemed  it  behind  alabaster. 


4-0  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

"  has  proved  it  to  be  a  vast  Satumiform  body,  a  great,  comparatively  condensed 
nucleus,  surrounded  by  a  series  of  rings,  elliptical  as  they  appear  to  us,  but 
probably  only  so  from  the  angle  under  which  they  are  presented  to  our 
view";  "masses  of  nebulous  matter  partially  condensed  into  the  solid 
form  " —  a  new  and  enormous  solar  system  in  formation. 

Its  length,  or  diameter,  about  3^°,  is  estimated  at  more  than  thirty 
thousand  times  the  distance  from  the  earth  to  the  sun. 

Its  attendant  companion,  visible  as  a  nebula  in  the  same  field  if  a  low-power 
be  used,  is  the  star-cluster  N.  G.  C.  221,  32  M.,  discovered  in  1749  by  Le 
Gentil.  It  is  nearly  circular  in  form,  and  apparently  }fa  the  size  of  the 
Great  Nebula.  Sir  William  Huggins  and  others  have  suggested  that  the 
small  nebulae  near  the  latter  may  be  planets  in  process  of  formation. 

S  Andromedae,  the  nova  of  1885  that  excited  so  much  interest,  was  first 
seen  about  the  middle  of  August,  16"  of  arc  to  the  southeast  of  the  nucleus, 
and,  for  a  brief  period,  of  the  6th  to  the  7  th  magnitude;  but  it  soon  disap- 
peared to  ordinary  glasses,  and  Hall  last  saw  it  with  the  26-inch  refractor 
at  Washington  on  the  1st  of  February,  1886,  as  of  the  16th  magnitude. 


In  dreams  it  seemed  to  me  I  saw  suspended 

An  eagle  in  the  sky,  with  plumes  of  gold, 

With  wings  wide  open,  and  intent  to  stoop, 
And  this,  it  seemed  to  me,  was  where  had  been 

By  Ganymede  his  kith  and  kin  abandoned, 

When  to  the  high  consistory  he  was  rapt. 

Longfellow's  translation  of  Dante's  Purgatorio. 

<&nftnou0 

lies  in  the  Milky  Way,  directly  south  from  the  star  Altair ;  the  head  of  the 
figure  at  rj  and  <r,  the  rest  of  the  outline  being  marked  by  0, 1,  *,  A,  v,  and  6,  all 
now  in  Aquila.  Flamsteed  omitted  a  and  v  from  his  catalogue,  but  added  /'. 
The  constellation  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  the  sky,  in  the  year 
132,  by  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  in  honor  of  his  young  Bithynian  favorite, 
whose  soul  his  courtiers  had  shown  him  shining  in  its  lucida  after  the 
youth's  self-sacrifice  by  drowning  in  the  Nile  from  his  belief  that  his  mas- 
ter's life  might  thus  be  prolonged.  This  was  because  the  oracle  at  Beza  had 
asserted  that  only  by  the  death  of  the  object  which  the  emperor  most  loved 
could  great  danger  to  the  latter  be  averted.     The  new  asterism,  however, 


The  Constellations  41 

was  little  known  among  early  astronomers ;  and  although  Ptolemy  alluded 
to  it,  he  did  so  but  slightingly  in  calling  half  a  dozen  of  the  afiOfxpuroi  of 
Aquila  e<p  uv  6  dvrivoo^. 

After  his  day  it  seems  unnoticed  till  Mercator  put  it  on  his  celestial  globe 
of  1 55 1  with  six  components;  Bayer  following  him  in  illustrating  it  with 
Aquila,  although  with  no  distinct  list  of  its  stars.  Tycho  also  utilized  it ; 
but  it  first  separately  appeared  in  print  on  a  plate  in  Kepler's  Stella  Nova 
of  1606,  and  in  his  Rudolphine  Tables,  Longomontanus  (Christian  Long- 
berg  of  Denmark)  had  it  in  his  Astronomica  Danica  of  1640;  Hevelius 
included  it  in  the  Prodromus,  but  added  a  Bow  and  Arrow,  the  ancient 
Sagitta;  Flamsteed  mentioned  it  in  the  Historia  Coelesiis  as  Aquila  Anti- 
nonj,  Aquila  Tel  Antinona,  and  Aquila  cum  Antinoo;  and  the  Hungarian 
Jesuit  Abb£  Maximilian  Hell  had  it  in  constant  use  in  his  Ephemerides 
Astronotnicae  of  1769  and  1770.  Bode  also  distinctly  catalogued  and 
illustrated  it ;  but  Argelander  omitted  its  title  from  his  Uranometria  Nova 
of  1843,  although  he  showed  it  as  a  part  of  Aquila.  It  is  now  hardly  rec- 
ognized, its  stars  being  included  with  those  of  the  latter  constellation. 

Bayer  substituted  Ganymedes  for  Antinoiis,  and  others  have  used  both 
names  indiscriminately ;  Tennyson  describing  the  youth  as 

Flush'd  Ganymede,  his  rosy  thigh 
Half  buried  in  the  Eagle's  down. 

This  same  name  occasionally  has  appeared  for  Aquarius,  but  is  given  by 
La  Lande,  with  many  other  titles,  for  our  Antinoiis ;  among  these  are  Puer 
Adrianaeus,  Bithynicns,  Phryginj,  and  Troicns ;  Hovns  Aegypti  Deus ;  Puer 
Aquilae ;  Pinoerna  and  Pocillator,  the  Cup-bearer. 

Caesius  saw  in  it  the  Bon  of  the  Shnnammite  raised  to  life  by  the  prophet 
Elisha;  and  La  Lande  said  that  some  had  identified  it  with  the  bold  Itha- 
can,  one  of  Penelope's  suitors  slain  by  Ulixes. 

Two  of  the  Arabic  globes  bear  the  stars  d,  0,  k,  and  A  Aquilae,  which  mark 
the  distinguishing  rhombus  of  Antinoiis,  as  Al  Thalimain,  the  Two  Ostriches ; 
but  Ideler  assigned  this  title  to  t  and  A ;  giving  0*,  tj}  and  6  as  Al  Mizan,  the 
Scale-beam.  Simone  Assemani  said  that  they  were  Alkhalimain,  that 
more  correctly  is  Al  ftalDain,  the  Two  Friends,  or  Al  Halimatain,  the  Two 
Papillae ;  but  his  assertions  as  to  star-names  are  often  unfavorably  criticized 
by  Ideler  as  "  a  confused  medley,  raked  together  without  criticism." 

These  globes  are  so  frequently  referred  to  as  indicative  of  the  character 
and  progress  of  the  astronomy  of  Arabia,  that  I  may  be  pardoned  a  brief 
digression  as  to  them. 


42  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

One,  of  the  year  1225,  now  rests  in  the  museum  established  by  the  Car- 
dinal Borgia  at  Villetri ;  another,  of  1289,  is  in  the  Mathematical  Salon  at 
Dresden;  Mr.  A.  V.  Newton  claims  the  early  date  of  the  nth  century  for 
one  lettered  in  Arabo-Cufic  characters,  now  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale 
of  Paris,  as  does  Signor  F.  Meucci  for  one  in  Florence  ;  another,  of  bronze, 
from  Arabian  times,  the  stars  lettered  in  silver,  but  not  figured,  is  in  the 
rooms  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  of  London ;  and  the  Emperor 
Frederick  II  of  Italy,  in  the  13th  century,  is  said  to  have  had  one  of 
gold,  the  stars  being  shown  by  inlaid  pearls.  All  these  seem  to  have  been 
of  comparatively  small  dimensions,  five  to  eight  inches  in  diameter,  a  great 
contrast  to  the  six-foot  globe  of  Tycho  Brahe,  now  in  the  castle  at  Prague. 
Those  of  Mercator  were  about  sixteen  inches. 

But  celestial  globes  were  known  long  anterior  to  these.  One  that  is  con- 
sidered very  correct  as  to  the  location  of  the  early  constellations,  although 
it  does  not  show  the  individual  stars,  is  in  the  Farnese  collection  of  antiqui- 
ties, surmounting  the  statue  of  Atlas.  This  globe,  supposed  to  be  a  copy 
of  the  sphere  of  Eudoxos,  and  perhaps  antedating  Ptolemy,  although  some- 
what defaced,  has  preserved  to  us  more  than  forty  of  the  sky  figures  of  its 
day ;  while  another,  of  brass,  said  to  have  been  constructed  by  Ptolemy 
himself, —  doubtless  an  apocryphal  statement, —  was  found  in  1043  in  an 
old  public  library  in  Kahira,  the  modern  Cairo.  Ptolemy  described  the 
globe  of  Hipparchos  that  is  illustrated  in  Halma's  edition  of  the  Syntaxis, 
published  with  a  French  translation  in  Paris  in  1813-16;  Eudoxos  is  said 
to  have  constructed  one  366  b.  c,  as  did  Anaximander  of  Miletus  584  b.  c 

The  actual  invention  of  celestial  globes  has  been  credited  to  Thales,  as 
the  mythical  was  to  Atlas ;  but  Flammarion  nearly  rivals  this  last  when  he 
seriously  tells  us  of  Chiron's  sphere  —  "  the  most  ancient  sphere  known,  con- 
structed about  the  epoch  of  the  Trojan  War,  1300  b.  a";  and  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  induced  by  an  incorrect  translation  from  Diogenes  Laertius, 
asserted  that  Musaeus,  one  of  the  Argo's  crew,  was  the  first  to  make  a 
celestial  sphere,  on  which  he  located  the  ship  and  many  others  of  the  Greek 
constellations  derived  from  the  story  and  characters  of  the  Argonauts. 


gtntffo  (pneumattca,  f 0e  @ttr  {pump, 

is  La  Cattle's  Machine  Pneumatique,  at  first  Latinized  as  Machina  Pnenma- 
tica  (which  occurs  in  Burritt,  and  is  the  Italian  name);  but  astronomers 
know  it  as  simple  Antlia.     In  Germany  it  is  the  Luft  Pmnpa 


The  Constellations 


43 


The  constellation  lies  just  south  of  Crater  and  Hydra,  bordering  on  the 
Vela  of  Argo  along  the  branches  of  the  Milky  Way,  and  culminates  on 
the  6th  of  April ;  Gould  assigning  to  it  eighty-five  naked-eye  stars. 

He  thinks  that  a,  the  red  lucida,  may  be  a  variable,  as  his  observers  had 
variously  noted  it  as  of  from  the  4th  to  the  5th  magnitude,  and  Argelander 
entered  both  of  these. 

La  Caille's  j3  lies  within  the  present  limits  of  Hydra. 

Although  inconspicuous,  and  without  any  named  star,  Antlia  is  of  special 
interest  to  astronomers  from  containing  the  noted  variable  1  S,  discovered 
in  1888  by  Paul  of  Washington,  and  confirmed  by  Sawyer.  Chandler 
gives  its  maximum  as  6.7  and  its  minimum  as  7.3,  the  period  being  7  hours, 
46  minutes,  48  seconds, —  the  shortest  known  until  it  was  supplanted  by 
U  Pegasi  with  a  period  of  $}4  hours. 


And  all  the  stars  that  shine  in  southern  skies 
Had  been  admired  by  none  but  savage  eyes. 

John  Dryden's  Ode  to  Doctor  CharleUm. 


@Lpu0,  t$e  QBirb  of  (parabise, 


or  Apous,  as  Caesius  wrote  it  from  the  Greek,  lies  immediately  below  the 
Southern  Triangle,  about  130  from  the  pole.  It  is  the  French  Oiseau  de 
Paradia;  the  German  Paradies  Vogel;  and  the  Italian  Uccello  ParadiBO. 

Its  avian  original  is  found  only  in  the  Papuan  Islands,  and  the  title  is 
from  •Attovc,  Without  Feet,  for  the  ancient  Greek  swallow,  but  well  applied 
to  this  bird  that  has  been  thus  fabled,  as  witness  Keats'  "  legless  birds  of 
paradise,"  in  his  Eve  of  Saint  Mark. 

Bayer  strangely  had  it  Apia  Indioa  on  his  planisphere  of  the  new  southern 
figures,  where  the  typical  bird  is  shown,  as  also  in  the  corresponding  page 
of  text ;  but  the  universal  consent  as  to  the  name  Apus,  or  Avis,  and  its 
appearance  as  Apus  Indica  and  Indianischer  Vogel  in  the  abridged  German 
edition  of  Bayer's  work  issued  in  1720,  with  the  fact  that  he  had  another, 
and  correct,  Apis,  would  indicate  a  typographical  and  engraver's  error  in  the 
original ;  but  I  have  not  seen  this  alluded  to  till  now.  The  drawing  always 
has  been  of  the  typical  bird  of  our  title,  which  Caesius  adopted  in  his 
Paradiflaeus  Ales ;  but  it  sometimes  is  Avis  Indioa,  the  Indian  Bird. 

1  Chandler's  Third  Catalogue  of  Variable  Stars.  8th  July,  1896,  describes  393,  to  which  have 
been  added  36  to  the  19th  of  August,  1898,—  a  total  of  429,  not  including  those  still  awaiting 
notation,  and  those  found  in  star-clusters  by  the  Harvard  observers. 


44  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  planisphere  in  Gore's  English  edition  of  Flammarion's  Astronomie Jbpu- 
laire  has  the  constellation  as  the  Houie  Swallow,  probably  taken  from  early 
ornithological  lists  or  the  lexicons ;  for  our  Andrews- Freund  translates  Apus 
as  the  Black  Martin,  the  English  synonym  of  the  Hirundo  apus  of  Linnaeus,— 
the  Cypselus  apus  of  William  Yarrell, —  not  a  swallow,  however,  but  a  well- 
known  swift  of  the  Old  World,  with  perfectly  formed,  although  small,  legs 
and  feet,  yet  appropriate  enough  to  its  mode  of  life ;  and  the  stellar  bird 
appears  in  Willis'  Scholar  of  Thebet  Ben  Khorat  as 

Hirundo  with  its  little  company ; 

And  white-brow'd  Vesta  lamping  on  her  path 

Lonely  and  planet-calm ; 

with  this  explanatory  note : 

An  Arabic  constellation  placed  instead  of  the  Piscis  Australis,  because  the  swallow 
arrives  in  Arabia  about  the  time  of  the  heliacal  rising  of  the  Fishes. 

I  have  not  met  with  these  hirundine  star-titles  except  in  these  two  instances, 
and  think  them  both  incorrect  Mr.  Willis'  idea  may  have  come  from  the 
XeXtd6via$  of  the  zodiacal  pair,  but  he  errs  in  ascribing  the  figure  to  Arabia 
and  in  considering  it  a  substitute  for  the  Southern  Fish,  as  well  as  in  con- 
fusing it  with  the  older  Pisces. 

But  all  this  poem  is  beautiful  in  stellar  allusions.     Here  is  another  bit : 

Where  has  the  Pleiad  gone  ? 

Where  have  all  missing  stars  found  light  and  home  ? 

Who  bids  the  Stella  Mira  go  and  come  ? 

Why  sits  the  Pole-star  lone? 

And  why,  like  banded  sisters,  through  the  air 

Go  in  bright  troops  the  constellations  fair  ? 

Apus  similarly  appears  in  China  as  E  Cho,  the  Curious  Sparrow;  and  as 
the  Little  Wonder  Bird.  Schiller  included  it  with  the  Chamaeleon  and  the 
Southern  Fly  in  his  biblical  Eve.  Gould  details  sixty-seven  naked-eye  stars  in 
Apus,  its  lucid  a ,  y,  being  3.9.  It  culminates  about  the  middle  of  July,  but 
of  course  is  invisible  from  northern  latitudes. 

This  is  one  of  the  twelve  new  southern  constellations  with  which  Bayer's 
name  generally  is  associated,  although  he  only  adopted  them  and,  Gould 
says,  took  them  from  one  of  the  globes  of  Jacob,  or  Arnold,  Florent  van 
Langren;  but  Bayer  distinctly  attributed  their  formation  to  "  Americus  Vespu- 
tius,  Andreas  Corsalius,  Petrus  Medinensis  and  Petrus  Theodoras,"  naviga- 
tors of  the  early  part  of  the  16th  century,  giving  to  the  last  most  of  the  credit  of 
their  publication ;   and  Smyth  ascribed  their  invention  to  "Peter  Theodore," 


The  Constellations  45 

and  their  publication  to  another  sailor,  Andrea  Corsali,  in  15 16.  In  Chil- 
mead's  Treatise  they  are  indefinitely  ascribed  to  "  the  Portugals,  Hollanders, 
and  English  sea-faring  men" 

Willem  Jansson  Blaeu,  the  celebrated  globe-maker  of  Amsterdam,  Chil- 
mead's  contemporary,  credited  their  introduction  to  Friedrich  Houtmann, 
who  observed  from  the  island  of  Sumatra;  while  the  latter,  Semler  asserted, 
took  his  ideas  from  the  Chinese.  Although  Ideler  denied  this,  yet  he 
acknowledged  that  the  latter  nation  knew  Phoenix,  Indus,  and  Apus  as  the 
Fire  Bird,  the  Persian  and  the  Little  Wonder  Bird,  almost  exact  transla- 
tions of  the  Western  titles ;  and  summed  up  his  account  of  them  with  the 
opinion  that  their  origin  "  is  involved  in  an  obscurity  that  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  penetrate." 


The  son  his  locks  beneath  Aquarius  tempers, 
And  now  the  nights  draw  near  to  half  the  day, 
What  time  the  hoar  frost  copies  on  the  ground 
The  outward  semblance  of  her  sister  white, 
But  little  lasts  the  temper  of  her  pen. 

Longfellow's  translation  of  Dante's  Inferno. 

<$quartu6,  f$e  TOtf ernwn, 

II  Aquario  in  Italy,  le  Verteau  in  France,  der  Wassennann  in  Germany, 
has  universally  borne  this  or  kindred  titles;  Ideler  assigning  as  a  reason 
the  fact  that  the  sun  passed  through  it  during  the  rainy  season.  In  con- 
nection with  this  the  proximity  of  other  analogous  stellar  forms  is  worthy 
of  note:  Capricornus,  Cetus,  Delphinus,  Eridanus,  Hydra,  Pisces,  and 
Piscis  Australis,  all  the  watery  shapes  in  the  early  heavens,  with  Argo  and 
Crater,  are  in  this  neighborhood ;  some  of  whose  stars  Aratos  said  "  are 
called  the  Water";  indeed  in  Euphratean  astronomy  this  region  of  the  sky 
was  the  Sea,  and  thought  to  be  under  the  control  of  Aquarius. 

The  constellation  immemorially  has  been  represented,  even  on  very  early 
Babylonian  stones,  as  a  man,  or  boy,  pouring  water  from  a  bucket  or  urn, 
with  an  appropriate  towel  in  the  left  hand,  the  human  figure  sometimes 
being  omitted ;  while  the  Arabians,  who  knew  of  the  latter  but  did  not 
dare  to  show  it,  depicted  a  mule  carrying  two  water-barrels;  and  again 
simply  a  water-bucket.  This  last  was  Ulug  Beg's  idea  of  it,  his  original 
word  being  rendered  by  Hyde  Sitnla,  the  Roman  Well-bucket;  but  Al 
Biruni  had  it  in  his  astrological  charts  as  Amphora,  a  Two-handled  Wine- 


46  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

jar,  that  he  may  have  adopted  from  Ausonius  the  poet  of  our  4th  century. 
Even  Vercingetorix,  Caesar's  foe  in  Gaul,  52  b.  c,  is  said  to  have  put  the 
similar  figure  on  his  stateres  with  the  title  Diota,  a  Two-eared  Jar. 

On  a  Roman  zodiac  it  was  a  Peacock,  the  symbol  of  Juno,  the  Greek 
Here,  in  whose  month  Gamelion — January-February — the  sun  was  in 
the  sign ;  and  at  times  it  has  been  shown  as  a  Goose,  another  bird  sacred  to 
that  goddess. 

New  Testament  Christians  of  the  16th  and  17th  centuries  likened  itap- 
propriately  enough  to  John  the  Baptist,  and  to  Judas  Thaddaeus  the 
Apostle,  although  some  went  back  to  Haaman  in  the  waters  of  Jordan, 
and  even  to  Hoses  taken  out  of  the  water. 

Its  nomenclature  has  been  extensive  but  consistent.  In  Greek  litera- 
ture it  was  rT<5po#6oc,  the  epic  'Tdpo^oevc,  or  Water-pourer,  transliterated 
by  Catullus  as  Hydrochoiii,  and  by  Germanicus  as  Hydroehotis ;  although  the 
latter  also  called  it  Aqnitenens  and  Fnndens  latices,  saying  that  it  personi- 
fied Deucalion  of  the  Greek  Deluge,  1500  b.  c.  Ausonius  had  Urnamqui 
tenet;  Manilius,  Aequoreus  Jnvenis,  or  simply  Jnvenis,  and  Ganymede*, 
the  beautiful  Phrygian  boy,  son  of  Tros  and  cup-bearer  of  Jove,  of  whom 
Statius  wrote  in  his  Thebais  : 

Then  from  the  chase  Jove's  towering  eagle  bears, 
On  golden  wings,  the  Phrygian  to  the  stars. 

This  title  also  appeared  with  Cicero,  Hyginus,  and  Vergil ;  and  with  Ovid,  in 
the  Fasti,  as  Ganymede  Jnvenis,  Pner  Idaens,  and  Iliacus,  from  his  birthplace, 
and  Jnvenis  gerens  aquam ;  while  in  a  larger  sense  it  was  said  to  represent 
the  creator  Jove,  the  pourer  forth  of  water  upon  the  earth. 

We  find  it,  too,  as  Aristaens,  their  Elijah,  who  brought  rain  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Ceos,  and  Cecrops,  from  the  cicada  nourished  by  the  dew. 
whose  eggs  were  hatched  by  the  showers ;  while  Appian,  the  historian  of 
our  2d  century,  called  it  Hydridurns,  which  reappeared  in  the  1515  Alma- 
gest as  Idrndnms  and  Hanritor  aqnae.  The  great  Grecian  lyric  poet 
Pindar  asserted  that  it  symbolized  the  genius  of  the  fountains  of  the  Nile, 
the  life-giving  waters  of  the  earth.  Horace  added  to  its  modern  title  Ty- 
rannns  aquae,  writing  of  it  as  "  saddening  the  inverted  year,"  which  James 
Thomson,  1 700-1 748,  followed  in  the  Winter  of  his  Seasons  : 

fierce  Aquarius  stains  th'  inverted  year ; 

and  Vergil,  calling  it  frigidus,  similarly  said  that  when  coincident  with  the 
sun  it  closed  the  year  with  moisture  :     • 

Kxtremoque  inrorat  Aquarius  anno. 


The  Constellations  47 

In  Babylonia  it  was  associated  with  the  nth  month  Shabatu,  the  Curse 
of  Rain,  January-February ;  and  the  Epic  of  Creation  has  an  account  of 
the  Deluge  in  its  nth  book,  corresponding  to  this  the  nth  constellation  ; 
each  of  its  other  books  numerically  coinciding  with  the  other  zodiacal  signs. 
In  that  country  its  Urn  seems  to  have  been  known  as  Gn,  a  Water-jar  over- 
flowing, the  Akkadian  Ku-ur-ku,  the  Seat  of  the  Flowing  Waters ;  and  it 
also  was  Ramman  or  Bammanu,  the  God  of  the  Storm,  the  still  earlier  Imma, 
shown  pouring  water  from  a  vase,  the  god,  however,  frequently  being  omitted. 
Some  assert  that  Lord  of  Canals  is  the  signification  of  the  Akkadian  word 
for  Aquarius,  given  to  it  15,000  years  ago  (!),  when  the  sun  entered  it  and 
the  Nile  flood  was  at  its  height.  And  while  this  statement  carries  the  begin- 
nings of  astronomy  very  much  farther  back  than  has  generally  been  sup- 
posed, or  will  now  be  acknowledged,  yet  for  many  years  we  have  seen 
Egyptian  and  Euphratean  history  continuously  extended  into  the  hitherto 
dim  past ;  and  this  theory  would  easily  solve  the  much  discussed  question 
of  the  origin  of  the  zodiac  figures  if  we  are  to  regard  either  of  those  coun- 
tries as  their  source,  and  the  seasons  and  agricultural  operations  as  giving 
them  names. 

Aben  Ezra  called  it  the  Egyptians'  Honiuf,  from  their  muau,  or  M<3, 
Water ;  Kircher  said  that  it  was  their  YTrevBepiav,  Brachium  benefieum,  the 
Place  of  Good  Fortune ;  which  Brown,  however,  limits  to  its  stars  a,  y,  f, 
and  Tf  as  a  Coptic  lunar  station ;  and  our  Serviss  writes  that  "  the  ancient 
Egyptians  imagined  that  the  setting  of  Aquarius  caused  the  rising  of  the 
Nile,  as  he  sank  his  huge  urn  in  the  river  to  fill  it." 

With  the  Arabians  it  was  Al  Dalw,  the  Well-bucket ;  and  Kazwini's  Al 
Sakib  al  Ma1,  the  Water- pourer;  from  the  first  of  which  came  the  Edeleu 
of  Bayer,  and  the  Eldelis  of  Chilmead.  The  Persians  knew  it  as  Dol  or 
Ml;  the  Hebrews,  as  Deli  (Riccioli's  Dalle);  the  Syrians,  as  Daulo,  like 
the  Latin  Do  Hum ;  and  the  Turks,  as  Kugha, —  all  meaning  a  Water- 
bucket.     In  the  Persian  Bundehesh  it  is  Vabik. 

In  China,  with  Capricornus,  Pisces,  and  a  part  of  Sagittarius,  it  consti- 
tuted the  early  Serpent,  or  Turtle,  Tien  Yuen ;  and  later  was  known  as 
Hiuen  Ying,  the  Dark  Warrior  and  Hero,  or  Darkly  Flourishing  One,  the 
Hfren  Wu,  or  Hiuen  Heaou,  of  the  Han  dynasty,  which  Dupuis  gave  as  Hiven 
lUo.  It  was  a  symbol  of  the  emperor  Tchoun  Hin,  in  whose  reign  was  a 
great  deluge;  but  after  the  Jesuits  came  in  it  became  Paon  Ping,  the 
Precious  Vase.  It  contained  three  of  the  sieu9  and  headed  the  list  of  zodiac 
signs  as  the  Bat,  which  in  the  far  East  was  the  ideograph  for  "  water,"  and 
still  so  remains  in  the  almanacs  of  Central  Asia,  Cochin  China,  and  Japan. 

Some  of  the  minor  stars  of  Aquarius, — 1,  A,  o,  and  0, — with  others  of 


48  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Capricornus  and  Pisces,  formed  the  asterism  Luy  Peih  Chin,  the  Camp 
with  Intrenched  Walls. 

On  the  Ganges,  as  in  China,  it  began  the  circle  of  the  zodiacal  signs; 
and  Al  Biruni  said  that  at  one  time  in  India  it  was  Khumba,  or  Knmbaba, 
which  recalls  the  Elamite  divinity  of  that  name,  the  KofiPrj,  or  Storm 
God,  of  Hesychios.  This,  too,  was  the  Tamil  title  for  it ;  La  Lande  writing 
it  Coumbnm.  Varaha  Mihira,  under  the  influence  of  Greek  astronomy, 
called  it  Hridroga  and  Udruvaga,  in  which  we  can  see  'Tdpo^ooc. 

With  the  Magi  and  Druids  it  represented  the  whole  science  of  astronomy. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  called  it  se  Waeter-gyt,  the  Water-pourer;  while  not 
long  after  them  John  of  Trevisa,  the  English  translator,  in  1398  thus  quaintly 
recalled  the  classical  form: 

The  Sygne  Aquarius  is  the  butlere  of  the  goddes  and  yevyth  them  a  water-potte. 

English  books  immediately  succeeding  had  Aquary,  Aquarye,  and,  still 
later,  the  queer  title  Skinker.  This  last,  which  has  puzzled  more  than  one 
commentator,  is  found  in  the  rare  book  of  1703,  Meteorologiae  by  Mr.  Cock, 
Philomathemat  : 

Jupiter  in  the  Skinker  opposed  by  Saturn  in  the  Lion  did  raise  mighty  South-west  winds. 

But  the  passage  affords  its  own  explanation  that  ought  not  to  have  been 
delayed  till  now ;  for  we  know  our  sign  to  be  the  opposite  of  Leo,  while  the 
dictionaries  tell  us  that  this  archaic  or  provincial  word  signifies  a  Tapster, 
or  Pourer-out  of  liquor,  which  Aquarius  and  Ganymede  have  notably  been 
in  all  ages  of  astronomy. 

Although  early  authors  varied  in  their  ascription  of  the  twelve  zodiacal 
constellations  to  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  yet  they  generally  were  in  accord 
in  assigning  this  to  Reuben,  "  unstable  as  water."  But  the  fountainheads 
of  all  this  Jewish  banner  story,  Jacob's  death-bed  address  to  his  sons  in 
Egypt,  and  Moses'  dying  song  on  Mount  Nebo,  are  not  clear  enough  to 
justify  much  positiveness  as  to  the  proper  assignment  of  any  of  the  tribal 
symbols,  if  indeed  the  Israelites  had  any  at  all.  The  little  that  we  have  on 
the  subject  is  from  Josephus  and  the  Chaldec  Paraphrase. 

Dante,  in  the  19th  canto  of  77  Purgatorio,  wrote  that  here 

geomancers  their  Fortuna  Major 
See  in  the  Orient  before  the  dawn 
Rise  by  a  path  that  long  remains  not  dim ; 

which  Longfellow  explains  in  his  notes  on  the  passage: 

Geomancy  is  divination  by  points  in  the  ground,  or  pebbles  arranged  in  certain  figures, 
which  have  peculiar  names.     Among  these  is  the  figure  called  the  Fortuna  Major,  which 


The  Constellations  49 

is  thus  drawn,  £  %  and,  by  an  effort  of  the  imagination,  can  also  be  formed  out  of  some 
of  the  last  stars  ***  in  Aquarius  and  some  of  the  first  in  Pisces. 

In  astrology  it  was  the  Airy  Trigon,  Gemini  and  Libra  being  included,  and 

a  sign  of  no  small  note,  since  there  was  no  disputing  that  its  stars  possessed  influence, 
virtue,  and  efficacy,  whereby  they  altered  the  air  and  seasons  "in  a  wonderful,  strange,  and 
secret  manner"; 

and  an  illuminated  manuscript  almanac  of  1386,  perhaps  the  earliest  in  our 
language  that  has  been  printed,  says  of  the  sign :  "  It  is  gode  to  byg  castellis, 
and  to  wed,  and  lat  blode."  With  Capricorn  it  was  the  House  of  Saturn, 
governing  the  legs  and  ankles ;  and  when  on  the  horizon  with  the  sun  the 
weather  was  always  rainy.  When  Saturn  was  here,  he  had  man  completely 
in  his  clutches — caput  et  eollum ;  while  Jupiter,  when  here,  had  humeros, 
pectus  et  pedes. 

As  Jnnonis  astrum  it  was  a  diurnal  sign,  Juno  and  Jove  being  its  guar- 
dians, and  bore  rule  over  Cilicia  and  Tyre ;  later,  over  Arabia,  Tatary, 
Denmark,  Russia,  Lower  Sweden,  Westphalia,  Bremen,  and  Hamburg. 

Proctor's  Myths  and  Mangels  of  Astronomy  has  a  list  of  the  astrological 
colors  of  the  zodiac  signs  attributing  to  Aquarius  an  aqueous  blue;  while 
Lucius  Ampelius,  of  our  2d  century,  assigning  in  his  Liber  Memorialis  the 
care  of  the  various  winds  to  the  various  signs,  intrusts  to  this  the  guardian- 
ship of  Eurus  and  Notus,  which  blew  from  the  east,  or  southeast,  and  from 
the  south. 

The  astronomers'  symbol  for  the  sign,  -£?,  showing  undulating  lines  of 
waves,  is  said  to  have  been  the  hieroglyph  for  Water,  the  title  of  Aquarius 
in  the  Nile  country,  where  a  measuring-rod  may  have  been  associated  with 
it;  indeed  Burritt  drew  such  in  the  hand  of  the  figure  as  Norma  Hilotica, 
a  suggestion  of  the  ancient  Nilometer. 

Brown,  in  the  47th  volume  of  Archaeologtay  has  these  interesting  remarks 
on  the  symbols  of  the  signs : 

Respecting  these  Mr.  C.  W.  King  observes :  "  Although  the  planets  are  often  expressed 
by  their  emblems,  yet  neither  they  nor  the  signs  are  ever  to  be  seen  represented  on  an- 
tique works  by  those  symbols  so  familiar  to  the  eye  in  our  almanacs.  Wherever  such 
occur  upon  a  stone  it  may  be  pronounced  without  any  hesitation  a  production  of  the 
cinque-cento,  or  the  following  century.  ...  As  for  the  source  of  these  hieroglyphics,  I 
have  never  been  able  to  trace  it.  They  are  to  be  found  exactly  as  we  see  them  in  very 
old  medieval  MSS." ;  and  Mr.  King  is  inclined,  in  default  of  any  other  origin, "  to  suspect 
they  were  devised  by  Arab  sages  "  —  an  opinion  which  I  do  not  follow.  The  subject  is 
certainly  shrouded  in  great  obscurity;  and  even  Professor  Sayce  recently  informed  me 
that  he  had  been  unable  to  trace  the  history  of  the  zodiacal  symbols  up  to  their  first 
appearance  in  Western  literature. 

4 


50  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

While  Miss  Clerke  writes  that  they  are  found  in  manuscripts  of  about  the 
ioth  century,  but  in  carvings  not  until  the  15th  or  16th.  Their  origin  is 
unknown;  but  some,  if  not  all,  of  them  have  antique  associations. 

Hargrave's  Rosicrucians  has  an  illustration  of  an  object  showing  an 
Egyptian  cross  and  disk  with  our  present  symbols  of  Leo  and  Virgo,  or 
Scorpio,  purporting  to  be  from  the  breast  of  a  mummy  in  the  museum  of 
the  London  University.  If  this  statement  be  correct,  a  much  earlier  origin 
can  be  claimed  for  these  symbols1  than  has  hitherto  been  supposed. 

From  his  researches  into  the  archaic  astronomical  symbolism  on  classic 
coins,  monuments,  etc.,  Thompson  concludes  that  the  great  bas-relief  of  the 
Asiatic  Cybele,  now  in  the  Hermitage  Museum  at  Saint  Petersburg,  was 
designed  to  represent  the  ancient  tropics  of  Aquarius  and  Leo ;  and  that 
Aquarius,  Aquila, — or  more  probably  the  other  Vultury  our  Lyra, — Leo, 
and  Taurus  appear  in  the  familiar  imagery  of  £zekie/i,  10,  and  x,  14,  and 
of  The  Revelation  iv,  7. 

Aquarius  is  not  conspicuous,  being  chiefly  marked  by  the  stars  y,  £  V*  3Ln^ 
rr, — the  Urn,  the  familiar  Y, — called  by  the  Greeks  Kd/.7T7/,  KcUttic,  Ka/L7re«r, 
and  Situla,  or  Urna,  by  the  Latins,  Pliny  making  a  distinct  constellation  of 
the  latter ;  and  by  the  line  of  fainter  stars,  a,  </>,  x,  Vs  0)>  an(*  others  indicat- 
ing the  water  running  down  into  the  mouth  of  the  Southern  Fish,  or,  as  it 
is  occasionally  drawn,  uniting  with  the  river  Eridanus.  Spence,  comment- 
ing on  this  figure  on  the  Farnese  globe  and  its  description  by  Manilius, 
Ad  juvenem^  aeternas  fundentetn  Piscibus  undas,  and  Fundentis  semper 
Aquariiy  wrote: 

Ganymedes,  the  cup-bearer  of  Jupiter.  He  holds  the  cup  or  little  urn  in  his  hand, 
inclined  downwards;  and  is  always  pouring  out  of  it:  as  indeed  he  ought  to  be,  to  be 
able  from  so  small  a  source  to  form  that  river,  which  you  see  running  from  his  feet,  and 
making  so  large  a  tour  over  all  this  part  of  the  globe. 

Manilius  ended  his  lines  on  Aquarius  with  Sic  profluit  urna,  which  Spence 
translated  "  And  so  the  urn  flows  on  ";  adding : 

which  seems  to  have  been  a  proverbial  expression  among  the  antients,  taken  from  the 
ceaseless  flowing  of  this  urn ;  and  which  might  be  not  inapplicable  now,  when  certain 
ladies  are  telling  a  story ;  or  certain  lawyers  are  pleading. 

Geminos,  in  his  'Eioayioyr),  about  77  b.  c,  made  a  separate  constellation 
of  this  stream  as  Xvoig  vdarog,  the  Pouring  Forth  of  Water;  but  Aratos 
also  had  called  it  this  as  well  as  the  Water,  although  in  the  latter  he  in- 
cluded 0  Ceti  and  the  star  Fomalhaut.     Cicero  gave  it  as  Aqua;  and  the 

lAn  interesting  article  on  the  symbols  appears  in  Bailly's  Histotre  de  V Astronomic 
Ancienne,  Paris,  1775. 


The  Constellations  51 

scholiast  011  Germanicus,  as  Effdaio  aquae;  while  Effosor  and  Fusor  aquae 
were  common  titles.    The  modern  Burritt  has  Fluviufl  Aqnarii  and  Cascade. 

The  stars  marking  the  ribs  of  the  figure  in  this  constellation  are,  in  some 
maps,  mingled  with  c  and  others  in  Capricorn. 

Although  of  astronomical  importance  chiefly  from  its  zodiacal  position 
and  from  its  richness  in  doubles,  clusters,  and  nebulae,  it  also  is  interesting 
from  the  fact  that  one  of  its  three  stars  tp  was  occulted  by  the  planet  Mars 
on  the  1  st  of  October,  1672.  This  occupation  was  predicted  by  Flamsteed, 
and,  on  his  suggestion,  observed  and  verified  in  France  and  by  Richer  at 
Cayenne;  and  the  several  independently  accordant  results  are  considered 
reliable,  although  made  more  than  two  centuries  ago.  These  have  enabled  our 
modern  astronomers,  especially  Leverrier,  accurately  to  ascertain  the  mean 
motion  of  Mars,  and  materially  aid  them  in  calculating  the  mass  of  the 
earth  and  our  distance  from  the  sun. 

Aquarius  lies  between  Capricornus  and  Pisces,  the  sun  entering  it  on  the 
14th  of  February,  and  leaving  it  on  the  14th  of  March. 

Argelander  catalogues  here  97  naked-eye  stars;  Heis,  146. 

La  Lande,  citing  Firmicus  and  the  Egyptian  sphere  of  Petosiris,1  wrote 
in  I Astronomic: 

Aquarius se  ltvetavec  un  autre  constellation  quUlnomme  Aquarius  Minor avec  la  Faulx, 
U  Loup,  le  Likvre  <5r»  PAutel; 

but  elsewhere  I  find  no  allusion  to  this  Lesser  Waterman,  and  the  statement 
is  incorrect  as  to  the  other  constellations;  indeed  the  Faulx  is  entirely  un- 
known to  us  moderns. 

Ct,     3.2,    pale  yellow. 

8adalmelik  is  from  the  Arabic  Al  Sad  al  Malik,  the  Lucky  One  of  the 
King,  sometimes  given  as  Al  Sa'd  al  Mnlk,  the  Lucky  One  of  the  King- 
dom, under  which  last  title  Kazwini  and  Ulug  Beg  combined  it  with  o.  It 
similarly  was  Sidm  Paustum  Regis  with  the  astrologers.  Burritt  called  it 
El  Kelik  and  Phard,  but  this  last  seems  unintelligible. 

The  Rucbah  of  the  Century  Cyclopedias  erroneous  for  this  star  —  indeed 
was  intended  for  a  Sagittarii. 

Sadalmelik  lies  on  the  right  shoulder  of  the  figure,  i°  south  of  the  celestial 
equator,  and  has  a  distant  nth-magnitude  gray  companion. 

With  e  and  0  Pegasi  it  made  up  the  23d  sieu  Goei,  or  Wei,  Steep,  or 
Danger,  anciently  Qui;  but  Brown  says  that  the  word  signifies  Foundation. 
«  was  the  determinant  star  of  this  lunar  station. 

1  Petosiris,  the  philosopher  of  Necepsos,  the  astronomical  King  of  Sais,  was  an  almost 
mythical  character  to  the  Greeks ;  for  Ptolemy  termed  him  u^/Jtoc,  although  he  is  generally 
assigned  to  the  period  of  900-700  B.c, 


52  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Gould  called  it  red,  and  of  2.7  magnitude.  It  culminates  on  the  9th  of 
October.  From  between  a  and  i\  radiate  the  Eta  Aquarids,  the  meteors 
visible  from  April  29th  to  May  2d. 

p,     3.1,     pale  yellow. 

Sadalsuud  —  not  Sund  nor  Saud,  as  frequently  written  — is  from  Al 
Sa'd  al  Su'ud,  liberally  translated  the  Luckiest  of  the  Lucky,  from  its  rising 
with  the  sun  when  the  winter  had  passed  and  the  season  of  gentle,  contin- 
uous rain  had  begun.  This  title  also  belongs  to  the  22d  manzil,  which  in- 
cluded the  star  with  f  of  Aquarius  and  c  of  Capricornus. 

p  and  £  also  constituted  the  Persian  lunar  station  Bnnda  and  the  similar 
Coptic  Upuineuti,  the  Foundation ;  but  0  alone  marked  the  sieu  Hen,  Hra,  or 
Hii,  Void,  anciently  Ko,  the  central  one  of  the  seven  sieu  which,  taken  together, 
were  known  as  Heung  Wn,  the  Black  Warrior,  in  the  northern  quarter  of 
the  sky.  It  is  found  in  Hindu  lists  as  Kalpeny,  of  unknown  signification. 
On  the  Euphrates  it  was  Kakkab  Hamma^,  the  Star  of  Mighty  Destiny, 
that  may  have  given  origin  to  the  title  of  the  manzil,  as  well  as  to  the  as- 
trologers' name  for  it  —  Fortuna  FortnnarunL 

Al  Firuzabadi  of  Khorasan,  editor  of  Al  Ramus,  the  great  Arabic  diction- 
ary of  the  14th  century,  called  some  of  the  smaller  stars  below  this  Al  Au'a, 
the  plural  of  Nau',  a  Star,  but  without  explanation,  and  they  certainly  are 
inconspicuous. 

Y>      4-*>     greenish, 

on  the  right  arm  at  the  inner  edge  of  the  Urn,  and  the  westernmost  star  in 
the  Y,  is  Sadachbia,  from  Al  Sa'd  al  Afibiyah,  which  has  been  interpreted 
the  Lucky  Star  of  Hidden  Things  or  Hiding-places,  because  when  it 
emerged  from  the  sun's  rays  all  hidden  worms  and  reptiles,  buried  during 
the  preceding  cold,  creep  out  of  their  holes!  But  as  this  word  Ah  biyah  is 
merely  the  plural  of  H'iba',  a  Tent, a  more  reasonable  explanation  is  that  the 
star  was  so  called  from  its  rising  in  the  spring  twilight,  when,  after  the  win- 
ter's want  and  suffering,  the  nomads'  tents  were  raised  on  the  freshening 
pastures,  and  the  pleasant  weather  set  in.  This  idea  renders  Professor 
Whitney's  "  Felicity  of  Tents  "  a  happy  translation  of  the  original.  £  *?» an(*  * 
are  included  with  y  under  this  designation  by  Ulug  Beg  — £,  in  the  centre, 
marking  the  top  of  the  tent;  Kazwini,  however,  considered  this  central  star 
as  Al  Sa'd,  and  the  three  surrounding  ones  his  tents. 

All  these  stars,  with  a,  formed  the  23d  manzil,  bearing  the  foregoing  title. 

y,  f,  77,  t,  and  r  were  the  Chinese  Pun  Mo,  the  Tomb. 


The  Constellations  53 

It  was  near  y  that  the  Capuchin  friar  of  Cologne,  Schyraelus  de  Rheita,1 
in  1643,  thought,  that  he  had  found  five  new  satellites  attendant  upon 
Jupiter,  which  he  named  Stellae  Urbani  Octavi  in  compliment  to  the  reign- 
ing pontiff;  and  a  treatise,  De  novcm  Stellae  circa  Javem,  was  written  by 
Lobkowitz  upon  this  wonderful  discovery.  "  The  planet,  however,  soon  de- 
serted his  companions,  and  the  stars  proved  to  be  the  little  group  in  front  of 
the  Urn." 

8>      34, 

the  Scheat  of  Tycho,  and  Seheat  Edelen  of  Riccioli,  is  Skat  in  modern 
lists,  and  variously  derived :  either  from  Al  Shi'at,  a  Wish,  said  to  be  found 
for  it  on  Arabic  globes;  or  from  Al  Sak,  the  Shin-bone,  near  which  it  is  lo- 
cated in  the  figure.  But  Hyde,  probably  following  Grotius,  said  that  it  was 
from  Al  Sa'd  of  the  preceding  stars. 

On  the  Euphrates  it  seems  to  have  been  associated  with  Hasisadra  or 
Xasisadra,  the  10th  antediluvian  king  and  hero  of  the  Deluge;  while,  with 
J,  k,  and  others  adjacent,  it  was  the  lunar  station  Apin,  the  Channel,  and 
individually  the  Star  of  the  Foundation.  The  corresponding  stations,  Khat- 
aar  in  Persia,  Shawshat  in  Sogdiana,  and  Hashtawand  in  Khorasmia,  were 
also  determined  by  this  star. 

The  Chinese  knew  it,  with  r,  x> tne  three  stars  i/>,  and  some  in  Pisces,  as 
Yu  lin  Keun,  the  Imperial  Guard. 

From  near  6  issues  a  meteor  stream,  the  Delta  Aquarids,  from  the  27th  to 
the  29th  of  July,  and  not  far  away  Mayer  noted  as  a  fixed  star,  on  the 
25th  of  September,  1756,  the  object  that  nearly  twenty-five  years  later  Sir 
William  Herschel  observed  as  a  comet,  but  afterwards  ascertained  to  be  a 
new  planet,  our  Uranus. 

£>     3-4, 

was  Al  Bali,  the  brightest  one  of  the  21st  manzi/,Al  Sa'd  al  Bula',  the  Good 
Fortune  of  the  Swallower,  which  included  n  and  v ;  these  last  also  known  as 
Al  Bnlaan  in  the  dual.  Kazwini  said  that  this  strange  title  came  from  the 
fact  that  the  two  outside  stars  were  more  open  than  a  and  0  of  Capricorn, 

1  pe  Rheita  is  more  deservedly  famous  as  a  supposed  inventor,  in  1650,  of  the  planetarium, 
an  honor  also  claimed  for  Archimedes  of  the  3d  century  before  Christ,  for  Posidonius  the 
Stoic,  mentioned  by  Cicero  in  De  Natvta  Deorum,  and  for  Boetius  about  the  year  A.  D.  510. 
This  instrument  is  the  orrery  of  modern  days,  named  by  Sir  Richard  Steele  after  Charles 
Boyle,  Earl  of  Orrery,  for  whom  one  was  made  in  1715  by  Rowley,  from  designs  by  the  clock- 
maker  George  Graham.  Professor  Roger  Long  constructed  one  eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  in 
1758,  for  Pembroke  Hall,  Cambridge,  where  it  probably  still  remains ;  and  Doctor  William 
Kitchiner  mentioned  one  by  Arnold,  annually  exhibited  in  London  about  the  year  1825,  that 
*as  130  feet  in  circumference, 

4# 


54  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

so  that  they  seemed  to  swallow,  or  absorb,  the  light  of  the  other !  The 
corresponding  situ,  Mo,  Mu,  Hiu,  Hfi,  or  Woo  Hen,  a  Woman,  anciently 
written  Hok,  was  composed  of  these  stars  with  the  addition  of  another,  un- 
identified, e  being  the  determinant ;  and  the  same  three  were  the  Euphra- 
tean  lunar  asterism  Munaga,  the  Goat-fish,  and  the  Coptic  Upeuritos,  the 
Discoverer. 

Bayer  mentioned  for  it  Mantellum  and  Mantile,  marking  the  Napkin  or 
Towel  held  in  the  youth's  hand ;  but  in  some  early  drawings  this  was  shown 
as  a  Bunch  of  Grain  Stalks. 

Grotius  had  Ancha  and  Pyxis,  but  neither  appropriate ;  while  in  our  day 
the  former  is  applied  only  to  0,  and  the  latter  is  never  seen  as  a  stellar  title 
except  in  La  Caille's  Pyxis  Nautica  in  Argo. 

Eastward  from  e,  near  v,  is  the  Saturn  Nebula,  N.  G.  C.  7009,  that  the 
largest  telescopes  show  somewhat  like  the  planet. 

Q,  Binary,    4  and  4.1,    very  white  and  white. 

Although  unnamed,  this  is  an  interesting  star  at  the  centre  of  the  Y  of 
the  Urn,  and  almost  exactly  on  the  celestial  equator. 

Mayer  discovered  its  duplicity  in  1777,  and  its  binary  character,  first 
noted  by  Herschel  in  1804,  was  confirmed  by  his  son  in  1821 ;  but  the 
period  is  not  yet  determined,  although  it  is  very  long. 

The  components  are  3".3  apart,  and  the  position  angle  32 20. 

is  Ancha,  the  Hip,  although  on  most  modern  atlases  the  star  lies  in  the  belt 
on  the  front  of  the  figure.     The  word  is  from  the  Latin  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
and  still  appears  in  the  French  banc  he,  our  haunch. 
Reeves  says  that  in  China  it  was  Lei,  a  Tear. 

*>     5-5- 

Situla  is  applied  to  this,  from  the  classical  Latin  term  for  a  Water-jar  or 
-bucket,  the  later  Arabian  word  being  the  somewhat  similar  Sail,  and  the 
earlier  Al  Dalw. 

Gassendi,  however,  derived  it  from  sitis,  thirst,  the  Waterman's  Urn 
having  been  figured  by  some  as  an  Oven ! 

Theon  the  Younger,  father  of  the  celebrated  Hypatia  of  our  5th  century, 
termed  this  star  'Oivoxoeia,  the  Outpouring  of  Wine,  as  if  by  Ganymede  • 
and  others,  KaArrq,  and  Urna,  the  southern  edge  of  which,  near  the  outflow 
it  marks. 


The  Constellations  55 

Keats,  in  ILrtdymion,  very  fancifully  wrote  of  this  Urn: 

Crystalline  brother  of  the  belt  of  heaven, 
Aquarius !  to  whom  King  Jove  has  given 
Two  liquid  pulse  streams  'stead  of  feather'd  wings, 
Two  fan-like  fountains, —  thine  illuminings 
For  Dian  play. 

In  China  *  was  Hen  Leang,  the  Empty  Bridge. 

K     3-8»     red» 
is  the  most  prominent  of  the  first  stars  in  the  Stream. 

Proclus  followed  Aratos  in  calling  it  "Ytop,  the  Water;  and  others,  "Ek- 
\;u<j*c,  the  Outpouring;  Aratos  describing  it, 

Like  a  slight  flow  of  water  here  and  there 
Scattered  around,  bright  stars  revolve  but  small ; 

although  these  titles,  appropriated  by  Bayer  for  A,  originally  were  for  the 
whole  group  set  apart  as  the  Stream. 

>,,  with  about  100  stars  surrounding  it,  was  the  23d  nakshatra  Catabhishaj, 
the  Hundred  Physician,  whose  regent  was  Varuna,  the  goddess  of  the 
waters  and  chief  of  the  Adityas,  the  various  early  divinities  of  Hindu 
mythology,  and  all  children  of  Aditi,  the  Sky  and  the  Heavens. 

With  £,  a,  and  0,  it  was  the  Chinese  asterism  Lny  Prill  Chin,  the  Camp 
with  Intrenched  Walls;  but  this  included  stars  in  Capricornus  and  Pisces. 

o,  4.7,  a  little  to  the  southwest  of  a,  was  associated  with  it  under  the  title 
Al  Sad  al  Hulk.     In  China  it  was  Kae  Uh,  the  Roof. 

tt,  4.8,  was  called  Seat  by  Grotius,  as  one  of  the  group  Al  Sa'd  al  Ah'biyah. 
Sundry  other  four  or  five  small  stars  in  Aquarius  were  given  by  Reeves  as 
Poo  Yne,  the  Headsman's  Ax. 


si  quaeritis  astra 
Tunc  oritur  magni  praepes  adunca  Jovis. 

Ovid's  Fasti. 
Jove  for  the  prince  of  birds  decreed, 

And  carrier  of  his  thunder,  too, 

The  bird  whom  golden  Ganymede 

Too  well  for  trusty  agent  knew. 

Gladstone's  translation  of  Horace's  Odts. 

$4uifo,  i%t  (gftgfe, 

the    French  Aigle,  the  German  Adler,  and  the  Italian  Aqnila,  next  to 
and  westward  from  the  Dolphin,  is  shown  flying  toward  the  east  and  across 


56  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

the  Milky  Way;  its  southern  stars  constituting  the  now  discarded  Antinous. 
Early  representations  added  an  arrow  held  in  the  Eagle's  talons;  and  Heve- 
lius  included  a  bow  and  arrow  in  his  description ;  but  on  the  Heis  map  the 
Youth  is  held  by  Aquila,  for  the  Germans  still  continue  this  association  in 
their  combined  title  der  Adler  mit  dem  Antinous. 

Our  constellation  is  supposed  to  be  represented  by  the  bird  figured  on  a 
Euphratean  uranographic  stone  of  about  1200  b.  c,  and  known  on  the 
tablets  as  Id^u  Zamama,  the  Eagle,  the  Living  Eye. 

It  always  was  known  as  Aquila  by  the  Latins,  and  by  their  poets  as  Jovii 
Ales  and  Jovis  Vntrix,  the  Bird,  and  the  Nurse,  of  Jove ;  Jovis  Armiger 
and  Armiger  Ales,  the  Armor-bearing  Bird  of  Jove  in  this  god's  conflict 
with  the  giants ;  while  Ganymedes  Raptrix  and  Servant  AntinoHm  are  from 
the  old  stories  that  the  Eagle  carried  Ganymede  to  the  heavens  and  stood 
in  attendance  on  Jove.  Ovid  made  it  Merops,  King  of  Cos,  turned  into 
the  Eagle  of  the  sky;  but  others  thought  it  some  Aethiopian  king  like 
Cepheus,  and  with  the  same  heavenly  reward. 

As  the  eagles  often  were  confounded  with  the  vultures  in  Greek  and 
Roman  ornithology,  at  least  in  nomenclature,  Aquila  also  was  Vultur 
volans,  the  stars  0  and  y,  on  either  side  of  a,  marking  the  outstretched 
wings ;  this  title  appearing  even  as  late  as  Flamsteed's  day,  and  its  transla- 
tion, the  Flying  Orype,  becoming  the  Old  English  name,  especially  with  the 
astrologers,  who  ascribed  to  it  mighty  virtue. 

'Aeroc,  the  Eagle,  in  a  much  varied  orthography,  was  used  for  our  con- 
stellation by  all  the  Greeks;  while  poetically  it  was  Atoc  "Opvtc,  the  Bird 
of  Zeus;  and  Pindar  had  'Oiv&v  BaaiAevc,  the  King  of  Birds,  which, 
ornithologically,  has  come  to  our  day.  Later  on  it  was  Bdoavog,  Baoavtofioc, 
and  BaoavHJTfjpiov,  all  kindred  titles  signifying  Torture,  referred  by  Hyde 
to  the  story  of  the  eagle  which  preyed  on  the  liver  of  Prometheus.  Simi- 
larly we  find  Aquila  Promethei  and  Tortor  Promethei ;  but  Ideler  said  that 
this  idea  came  from  a  confounding  by  Scaliger  of  the  Arabic  'Ikab,  Torture, 
and  'Okab,  Eagle. 

Dupuis  fancifully  thought  that  its  name  was  given  when  it  was  near  the 
summer  solstice,  and  that  the  bird  of  highest  flight  was  chosen  to  express 
the  greatest  elevation  of  the  sun ;  and  he  asserted  that  the  famous  three 
Stymphalian  Birds  of  mythology  were  represented  by  Aquila,  Cygnus,  and 
Vultur  cadens,  our  Lyra,  still  located  together  in  the  sky ;  the  argument 
being  that  these  are  all  paranatellons  of  Sagittarius,  which  is  the  fifth  in  the 
line  of  zodiacal  constellations  beginning  with  Leo,  the  Nemean  lion,  the 
object  of  Hercules'  first  labor,  while  the  slaying  of  the  birds  was  the  fifth. 
Appropriately  enough,  like  so  much  other  stellar  material,  these  creatures 


The  Constellations  57 

came  from  Arabia,  migrating  thence  either  to  the  Insula  Martis,  or  to  Lake 
Stymphalis,  where  Hercules  encountered  them. 

Thompson  thinks  that  the  fable,  in  Greek  ornithology,  of  the  eagle  attack- 
ing the  swan,  but  defeated  by  it,  is  symbolical  of  "  Aquila,  which  rises  in 
the  East,  immediately  after  Cygnus,  but,  setting  in  the  West,  goes  down  a 
little  while  before  that  more  northern  constellation." 

A  similar  thought  was  in  the  ancient  mind  as  to  the  eagle  in  opposition 
to  the  dolphin  and  the  serpent ;  their  stellar  counterparts,  Aquila,  Delphinus, 
and  Serpens,  also  being  thus  relatively  situated. 

In  connection  with  the  story  of  Ganymede,  the  eagle  appeared  on  coins 
of  Chalcis,  Dardanos,  and  Ilia ;  and  generally  on  those  of  M alios  in  Cilicia 
and  of  Camarina;  while  it  is  shown  perched  on  the  Dolphin  on  coins  of 
Sinope  and  other  towns,  chiefly  along  the  Black  Sea  and  Hellespont. 
One,  bearing  the  prominent  stars,  was  struck  in  Rome,  94  b.  c,  by  Manius 
Aquilius  Nepos,1  the  design  being  evidently  inspired  by  his  name ;  and  a 
coin  of  Agrigentum  bears  Aquila,  with  Cancer  on  the  reverse, — the  one 
setting  as  the  other  rises. 

To  the  Arabians  the  classical  figure  became  Al  'Okab,  probably  their 
Black  Eagle,  Chilmead  citing  this  as  Alhhakhab ;  while  their  Al  Vap  al 
Tiir,  the  Flying  Eagle,  was  confined  to  a,  P,  and  y ;  although  this  was 
contrary  to  their  custom  of  using  only  one  star  for  a  sky  figure.  Grotius 
called  the  whole  Altair  and  Aloair;  Bayer  said  Alcar  and  Atair.  Al 
Achsasi,  however,  mentioned  it  as  Al  Ghnrab,  the  Crow,  or  Raven,  probably 
a  late  Arabian  name,  and  the  only  instance  that  I  have  seen  of  its  applica- 
tion to  the  stars  of  our  Aquila. 

Persian  titles  were  Alnb,  Gherges,  and  Shahin  tara  zed,  the  Star-striking 
Falcon  of  Al  Nasr  al  Din,  but  now  divided  for  0  and  y.  In  the  Ilkhanian 
Tables  as  perhaps  elsewhere,  it  was  Vvrf)  7rcro^cvoc,  the  Flying  Vulture ; 
the  Turks  call  it  Taushaugjil,  their  Hunting  Eagle; — all  these  for  the 
three  bright  stars. 

The  Hebrews  knew  it  as  Keshr,  an  Eagle,  Falcon,  or  Vulture ;  and 
the  Chaldee  Paraphrase  asserted  that  it  was  figured  on  the  banners  of 
Dan;  but  as  these  tribal  symbols  properly  were  for  the  zodiac,  Scorpio 
usually  was  ascribed  to  Dan.  This  confusion  may  have  originated 
from  the  fact,  asserted  by  Sir  William  Drummond,  that  in  Abraham's  day 
Scorpio  was  figured  as  an  Eagle.  Caesius  said  that  Aquila  represented  the 
Eagle  of  military  Rome,  or  the  Eagle  of  Saint  John;  but  Julius  Schiller 
had  already  made  it  Saint  Catherine  the  Martyr;  and  Erhard  Weigel,  a 

'This  was  the  consul  defeated  and  captured  by  Mithridates,  who  put  him  to  death  by  pouring 
molten  gold  down  his  throat  in  punishment  for  his  rapacity. 


58  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

professor  at  Jena  in  the  17th  century,  started  a  new  set  of  constellations, 
based  on  the  heraldry  then  so  much  in  vogue,  among  which  was  the  Bran* 
denburg  Eagle,  made  up  from  Aquila,  Antinoiis,  and  the  Dolphin.  Hevelius 
said  that  the  stellar  Eagle  was  a  fitting  representation  of  that  bird  on  the 
Polish  and  Teutonic  coats  of  arms. 

The  Chinese  have  here  the  Draught  Oxen,  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
odes  entitled  She  King,  compiled  500  years  before  Christ  by  K'ung  fu  tsu, 
Kung  the  Philosopher  (Confucius), — the  passage  being  rendered  by  the 
Reverend  Doctor  James  Legge  : 

Brilliant  show  the  Draught  Oxen, 

But  they  do  not  serve  to  draw  our  carts ; 

and  the  three  bright  stars  are  their  Cowherd,  for  whom  the  Magpies'  Bridge 
gives  access  to  the  Spinning  Damsel,  our  Lyra,  across  the  River  of  the  Sky, 
the  Milky  Way.  This  story  appears  in  various  forms ;  stars  in  the  Swan 
sometimes  being  substituted  for  those  in  the  Eagle,  Lyra  becoming  the 
Weaving  Sisters.  ' 

The  Korean  version,  with  more  detail,  turns  the  Cowherd  into  a  Prince, 
and  the  Spinster  into  his  Bride,  both  banished  to  different  parts  of  the  sky 
by  the  irate  father-in-law,  but  with  the  privilege  of  an  annual  meeting  if  they 
can  cross  the  River.  This  they  accomplish  through  the  friendly  aid  of  the 
good-natured  magpies,  who  congregate  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  dur- 
ing the  7th  moon,  and  on  its  7th  night  form  the  fluttering  bridge  across 
which  the  couple  meet,  lovers  still,  although  married.  When  the  day  is  over 
they  return  for  another  year  to  their  respective  places  of  exile,  and  the 
bridge  breaks  up ;  the  birds  scattering  to  their  various  homes  with  bare 
heads,  the  feathers  having  been  worn  off  by  the  trampling  feet  of  the  Prince 
and  his  retinue.  But  as  all  this  happens  during  the  birds'  moulting-time, 
the  bare  heads  are  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  nor,  as  it  is  the  rainy  season, 
the  attendant  showers  which,  if  occurring  in  the  morning,  the  story-tellers 
attribute  to  the  tears  of  the  couple  in  the  joy  of  meeting ;  or  if  in  the  evening, 
to  those  of  sorrow  at  parting.  Should  a  magpie  anywhere  be  found  loitering 
around  home  at  this  time,  it  is  pursued  by  the  children  with  well-merited  ill- 
treatment  for  its  selfish  indifference  to  its  duty.  Nor  must  I  forget  to  mention 
that  the  trouble  in  the  royal  household  originated  from  the  Prince's  unfortu- 
nate investment  of  the  paternal  sapekes  in  a  very  promising  scheme  to  tap 
the  Milky  Way  and  divert  the  fluid  to  nourish  distant  stars. 

Another  version  is  given  by  the  Reverend  Doctor  William  Elliot  Griffis 
in  his  Japanese  Fairy  World,  where  the  Spinning  Damsel  is  the  industrious 
princess  Shokujo,  separated  by  the  Heavenly  River  from  her  herd-boy  lover, 


The  Constellations  59 

Kinjin.  But  here  the  narrator  makes  Capricorn  and  the  star  Wega  repre- 
sent the  lovers. 

The  native  Australians  knew  the  whole  of  Aquila  as  Totyarguil,  one  of  their 
mythical  personages,  who,  while  bathing,  was  killed  by  a  kelpie ;  their  stel- 
lar Eagle  being  Sinus. 

It  was  in  the  stars  of  our  constellation,  to  the  northwest  of  Altair,  that 
Professor  Edward  E.  Barnard  discovered  a  comet  from  its  trail  on  a  photo- 
graph taken  at  the  Lick  Observatory  on  the  12th  of  October,  1892 — the  first 
ever  found  by  the  camera. 

Argelander  catalogued  82  naked-eye  stars  in  Aquila,  including  those  of 
Antinous;  Heis  gives  123. 

Ct,     1.3,    pale  yellow. 

Altair  is  from  a  part  of  the  Arabic  name  for  the  constellation ;  but  occa- 
sionally is  written  Althair,  Athair,  Attair,  and  Atair;  this  last  readers  of 
Ben  Hur  will  remember  as  the  name  of  one  of  the  shaykh  Ilderim's  horses 
in  the  chariot  race  at  Antioch.  And  the  word  has  been  altered  to  Alcair, 
Alchayr,  and  Alcar. 

In  the  Syntaxis  it  was  'Aeroc,  one  of  Ptolemy's  few  stellar  titles,  probably 
first  applied  to  a,  and  after  the  formation  of  the  figure  transferred  to  the 
latter,  as  in  other  instances  in  the  early  days  of  astronomy.  Even  six  or 
seven  centuries  before  Ptolemy  it  was  referred  to  as  'Auto?  where  the 
chorus  in  the  'Pj}<toc,  until  recently  attributed  to  Euripides,  says: 

What  is  the  star  now  passing? 

the  answer  being : 

The  Pleiades  show  themselves  in  the  east, 
The  Eagle  soars  in  the  summit  of  heaven. 

It  is  supposed  that  long  antecedent  to  this  it  was  the  Euphratean  Id#u, 
the  Eagle,  or  Erigu,  the  Powerful  Bird,  inscriptions  to  this  effect  being 
quoted  by  Brown,  who  thinks  that  it  also  was  the  Persian  Muni,  the  Bird ; 
the  Sogdian  Shad  Maflhir,  and  the  Khorasmian  Sadmasij,  the  Noble  Falcon. 

In  Mr.  J.  F.  Hewitt's  Essays  on  the  Ruling  Races  of  Prehistoric  Times  it 
is  asserted  that  later  Zend  mythology  knew  Altair  as  Valiant,  the  Western 
Quarter  of  the  heavens,  which  earlier  had  been  marked  by  our  Corvus. 

With  P  and  y  it  constituted  the  twenty-first  nakshatra  Qravana,  the  Ear, 
and  probably  was  at  first  so  drawn,  although  also  known  as  Qrona,  Lame, 
or  as  AQYattha,  the  Sacred  Fig  Tree,  Vishnu  being  regent  of  the  asterism ; 
these  stars  representing  the  Three  Footsteps  with  which  that  god  strode 
through  the  heavens,  a  Trident  being  the  symbol. 


60  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

In  China  a,  0,  and  y  were  Ho  Koo,  a  River  Drum. 

In  astrology  Altair  was  a  mischief-maker,  and  portended  danger  from 
reptiles. 

Ptolemy,  who  designated  the  degrees  of  star  brilliancy  by  Greek  letters, 
applied  [3  to  this  as  being  of  the  2d  magnitude,  whence  some  think 
that  it  has  increased  in  light  since  his  day.  It  is  now  the  standard  1st 
magnitude  according  to  the  Pogson,  or  "  absolute,"  photometric  scale  gen- 
erally adopted  by  workers  in  stellar  photometry,  and  is  largely  used  in 
determining  lunar  distances  at  sea;  while  Flamsteed  made  it  the  funda- 
mental reference  star  in  his  observations  on  the  sun  and  in  the  construction 
of  his  catalogue. 

Its  parallax,1  o".2i4,  considered  by  Elkin  as  nearly  or  quite  exact,  indi- 
cates a  distance  of  about  15  £  light  years. 

Its  spectrum  is  of  Pickering's  class  Xb  of  Secchi's  first  type,  but  peculiar, 
with  very  hazy  solar  lines  between  the  broad  hydrogen  lines. 

Altair  has  the  large  proper  motion  of  o".6$  annually;  and  Gould 
thought  it  slightly  variable. 

It  marks  the  junction  of  the  right  wing  with  the  body,  and  rises  at  sunset 
about  the  15th  of  June,  culminating  on  the  1st  of  September. 

Near  it  appeared,  in  a.  d.  389,  an  object,  whether  a  temporary  star  or  a 
comet  is  not  now  known,  said  by  Cuspinianus  to  have  equaled  Venus  in 
brilliancy,  which  vanished  after  three  weeks'  visibility ;  and  there  is  record 
of  another,  of  sixty  years  previous,  in  this  constellation. 

50  to  the  eastward  of  Altair,  according  to  Denning,  lies  the  radiant  point 
of  the  Aquilidi,  the  meteor  stream  visible  from  the  7th  of  June  to  the  12th 
of  August. 

%     3-9»    Pale  orange. 

Alflhain  is  from  Shahin,  a  portion  of  the  Persian  name  for  the  constella- 
tion ;  but  Al  Achsasi  termed  it  Al  Unuk  al  Ghurab,  the  Raven's  Neck. 

It  is  the  southern  of  the  two  stars  flanking  Altair;  yet,  although  it  bears 
the  second  letter,  is  not  as  bright  as  y  or  6. 

Y?     3,    pale  orange- 

Tarazed,  or  Taraiad,  from  the  same  Persian  title,  lies  north  of  Altair. 
These  three  stars  constitute  the  Family  of  Aquila,  the  line  joining  them 
being  50  in  length. 

l  A  parallax  of  1"  represents  a  distance  from  the  earth  of  3.26  light  years;  a  light  year,  the 
astronomers'  unit  in  measuring  stellar  distances,— light  traveling  186,337  miles  in  a  second 
of  time,— being  about  63,000  times  the  distance  of  the  earth  from  the  sun.  But  no  star  thus 
far  investigated  has  so  large  a  parallax ;  that  of  the  nearest,  a  Centauri,  being  only  o".75. 


The  Constellations  61 

Just  north  of  y  is  ir,  the  only  pretty  and  fairly  easy  double  in  the  con- 
stellation. The  components,  of  6  and  6.8  magnitudes,  i".5  apart,  are  at  a 
position  angle  of  i2o°.7. 

d,  77,  and  0,  of  3d  to  4th  magnitudes,  in  Antinous,  were  Al  Mizan,  the 
Scale-beam,  of  early  Arabia,  from  their  similar  direction  and  nearly  equal 
distances  apart. 

S,    4.3,    and    C,    3.3,    green. 

Each  of  these  is  known  as  Deneb,  from  Al  Dhanab  al  'Okab,  the  Eagle's 
Tail,  which  they  mark. 

In  China  they  were  Woo  and  Yue,  names  of  old  feudal  states. 

77,  in  Antinoiis,  is  a  noteworthy  short- period  variable  of  the  2d  type,  dis- 
covered by  Pigott  in  1784,  yellow  in  tint,  and  fluctuating  in  brilliancy  from 
3.5  to  4.7  in  a  period  of  about  seven  days  and  four  hours,  and  thus  a  con- 
venient and  interesting  object  of  observation  for  midsummer  evenings. 

Its  spectrum  is  similar  to  that  of  our  sun,  and  Lockyer  and  Belopolsky 
think  it  a  spectroscopic  binary. 

H  was  the  Chinese  Tseen  Foo,  the  Heavenly  Raft. 

I,    4.3,    and    X,    3.6, 

were  Al  Thai  1  main,  the  Two  Ostriches,  by  some  confusion  with  the  not  far 
distant  stars  of  like  designation  in  Sagittarius;  but  the  Grynaeus  Syntaxis 
of  1538  gave  <*,  with  some  others  unlettered,  as  belonging  to  the  Dolphin. 

/,  with  cf,  7],  and  ir,  was  Tew  Ke  in  China,  the  Right  Flag ;  p  being  Tso  Ke, 
the  Left  Flag. 

/,  with  vfr,  g,  and  some  stars  in  Scutum,  was  Tseen  Peen,  the  Heavenly 

Casque. 

• 

And  this  you  note  but  little  time  aloft ; 
For  opposite  Bear-watcher  doth  it  rise. 
And  whilst  his  course  is  high  in  air, 
It  quickly  speeds  beneath  the  western  sea. 

Robert  Brown,  Junior's,  translation  of  the  Phainomena  of  Aratos. 

@tra,  f$e  Qftat, 

:<  Altar  in  Germany,  Altare  in  Italy,  Antel  and  Enoensoir  in  France. 
It  is  located  as  Aratos  described  it  — 

'neath  the  glowing  sting  of  that  huge  sign 
The  Scorpion,  near  the  south,  the  Altar  hangs  ; 


62  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

and  in  classical  times  was  intimately  associated  with  Centaurus  and  Lupus. 
which  it  joined  on  the  west  before  Norma  was  formed. 

The  Latins  knew  it  under  our  title,  often  designated  as  Ara  Centaury 
Ara  Thymiamatis,  and  as  Thymele,  the  altar  of  Dionysus ;  and  occasionally 
in  the  diminutive  Arala.  It  also  was  Altare,  Apta  Altaria,  Altarinm; 
Saorarinm  and  Saoris;  Aoerra,  the  small  altar  on  which  perfumes  were 
burned  before  the  dead ;  Batillus,  an  Incense  Pan ;  Pranaram  Coaceptacu- 
lam,  a  Brazier ;  Focus,  Lar,  and  Ignitabulum,  all  meaning  a  Hearth ;  and 
'E<rria,  or  Vesta,  the  goddess  of  the  hearth. 

Thuribulum  and  Tarribalam,  a  Censer,  more  correctly  Taribulua,  were 
customary  titles  down  to  the  18th  century. 

Pharos  also  appears,  altars  often  being  placed  upon  the  summits  of 
temple  towers  and  thus  serving  the  ancients  as  lighthouses,  of  which  the 
Alexandrian  Pharos  was  the  great  example. 

The  Alfonsine  Tables  added  to  some  of  these  tides  Patens,  a  Pit;  St- 
crarias,  and  Templum,  a  Sacred  Place ;  but  represented  it  as  a  typical  altar. 
The  Ley  den  Manuscript made  it  a  tripod  censer  with  incense  burning;  the 
illustrated  editions  of  Hyginus  of  1488  and  1535,  an  altar  from  which 
flames  ascend,  with  demons  on  either  side;  and  an  illustrated  German 
manuscript  of  the  15th  century  showed  the  Pit  with  big  demons  thrusting 
little  ones  into  the  abyss.  This  recalls  the  story  of  Jove's  punishment  of 
the  defeated  giants  after  he  had,  as  Manilius  wrote, 

Rais'd  this  Altar,  and  the  Form  appears 
With  Incense  loaded,  and  adorn M  with  Stars ; 

the  occasion  being  the  war  with  the  Titans,  when  the  gods  needed  an  altar 
in  heaven  for  their  mutual  vows.    That  poet  also  described  it  as 

ara  ferens  turns,  stellis  imitantibus  ignem, 

which  would  show  that  the  flame  was  conceived  of  as  rising  northwards 
through  the  Milky  Way,  or  that  the  latter  itself  was  the  smoke  and  flame; 
and  it  was  so  thought  of  and  represented  by  the  ancients,  and  down  to  the 
times  of  Arabic  globes  and  Middle  Age  manuscripts.  But  from  Bayers 
day  to  ours  it  has  been  shown  in  an  inverted  position,  which  for  a  southern 
constellation  is  appropriate. 

Aratos  called  it  Ornj^or ;  others.  Otto acrrjjpior,  both  signifying  an  Altar; 
Proclus  and  Ptolemy,  Oiwn-(fl>ior%  a  Censer;  and  Bayer  cited  'E#apa  that 
should  be  *h>\<i/xi%  a  Brazier ;  Ilr^im-i/,  not  a  lexicon  word  ;  and  AiBavuric, 
b\  which  he  doubtless  intended  the  Auiarurpic*  or  Censer,  where  the  votive 


The  Constellations  63 

plant  was  burned.  Eratosthenes  had  Nt'/rrap  r;  QvTtjpiov,  which  Ideler  and 
Schaubach,  however,  did  not  understand,  and  thought  a  corrupted  reading. 
Its  varied  classical  names  show  disagreement  as  to  its  form,  yet  great 
familiarity  with  its  stars,  on  the  part  of  early  observers,  with  whom  it  was  of 
importance  as  portending  changes  in  the  winds  and  weather ;  Aratos  devot- 
ing twenty-eight  lines— a  large  proportionate  space — of  the  Phainomena  to 
this  character  of  Ara. 

In  Arabia  it  was  Al  Mijmarah,  a  Censer,  which,  being  its  only  title  in 
that  country,  implies  that  it  was  unformed  there  before  the  introduction  of 
Greek  astronomy.  Derivations  from  this  word  are  found  in  the  Alme- 
gnunith  of  Riccioli  and  the  Almugamra  of  Caesius. 

This  last  author  said  that  Ara  represented  one  of  the  altars  raised  by 

Moses,  or  the  permanent  golden  one  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem ;  but  others 

of  the  biblical  school  considered  it  the  Altar  of  Noah  erected  after  the 

Deluge.     Euphratean  research  seems  to  show  a  stellar  Altar  differently 

located,  which  Brown  says  probably  was  the  lost  zodiacal  sign  subsequently 

represented  by  the  Claws  and  afterwards  by  the  Balance ;  and  identifies  it 

with  the  7th  Akkadian  month  and  sign  Tul-Ku,  the  Holy  Altar,  or  the 

Illustrious  Mound,  perhaps  a  reference  to  the  mound-altar  of  the  Tower  of 

Babel.  •  When  these  changes  were  accomplished  this  early  zodiacal  Altar 

was  removed  to  its  present  position,  and  its  diversified  altar-censer  form 

retained  from  the  Euphratean  figuring.     This  recollection  of  the  first  Altar 

will  perhaps  account  for  the  otherwise  strange  prominence  given  in  classical 

times  to  our  visually  unimportant  Ara,  when   Manilius  called  it  Mnndi 

Templnm ;  this  last  word  also  having  another  stellar  signification,  for  Varro 

used  it  to  indicate  a  division  of  the  sky. 

Other  details  of  this  early  Euphratean  Altar  are  noted  under  Libra. 

Ara  is  not  wholly  visible  now  north  of  the  23d  degree  of  latitude;  and 

its  brief  period  above  the   horizon  —  only  about  four  hours  —  explains 

Aratos'  allusion  in  our  motto ;  his  horizon  being  about  the  same  as  that  of 

the  city  of  New  York. 

Gould  catalogues  in  it  eighty-five  stars,  from  2.8  to  the  7th  magnitude; 
but  none  seem  to  be  named  except  in  China.  There  a,  2.9  magnitude, 
was  Choo,  a  Club  or  Staff;  and  with  /3,  y,  and  t,  Low,  Trailing. 

With  0  it  marks  the  top  of  the  Altar's  frame,  culminating,  on  the  24th  of 
July,  just  above  the  horizon  in  the  latitude  of  New  York, — 40°  42'  43"  at 
the  City  Hall. 

Bayer's  map  carries  the  latter  star  several  degrees  too  far  to  the  south- 
west; similar  errors  being  found  in  others  of  his  constellation  figures  of  the 
southern  heavens. 


64  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

P,  a  2.8-magnitude,  y,  6*,  e,  and  f  mark  the  flame  rising  toward  the  south. 

In  China  <5, 3.7,  with  £  was  Tseen  Yin,  the  Dark  Sky;  e,  a  4th-magnitude, 
was  Tso  Kang,  the  Left  Watch ;  and  e  602  of  Reeves  was  Tseen  0,  Heaven's 
Ridge. 

La  Lande  stated  that  a  constellation  was  supposed  to  exist  here,  con- 
taining Ara's  stars,  that  was  represented  on  the  Egyptian  sphere  of  Petosiris 
as  a  Cynocephalns. 


So  when  the  first  bold  vessel  dar'd  the  seas, 
High  on  the  stern  the  Thracian  rais'd  his  strain 

While  Argo  saw  her  kindred  trees 

Descend  from  Pelion  to  the  mgin. 

Transported  demi-gods  stood  round. 

Pope's  Ode  on  St.  Cecilia*  s  Day. 

%t%*  (JUfriB,  ffle  £$?  %*<$>, 

generally  plain  Argo, —  erroneously  Argus,  from  confusion  with  its  genitive 
case, —  and  Navis,  is  the  German  Schiff,  the  French  Navixe  Argo,  and  the 
Italian  Nave  Argo. 

It  lies  entirely  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  east  of  Canis  Major,  south  of 
Monoceros  and  Hydra,  largely  in  the  Milky  Way,  showing  above  the  hori- 
zon of  New  York  city  only  a  few  of  its  unimportant  stars ;  but  it  covers  a 
great  extent  of  sky,  nearly  seventy-five  degrees  in  length, —  Manilius  call- 
ing it  nobilis  Argo, —  and  contains  829  naked-eye  components.  The  centre 
culminates  on  the  1st  of  March. 

La  Caille  used  for  it  nearly  180  letters,  many  of  them  of  course  dupli- 
cated, so  that  although  this  notation  was  adopted  in  the  British  Association 
Catalogue^  recent  astronomers  have  subdivided  the  figure  for  convenience  in 
reference,  and  now  know  its  three  divisions  as  Carina,  the  Keel,  with  268 
stars,  Puppis,  the  Stern,  with  313,  and  Vela,  the  Sail,  with  248.  This  last  is 
the  German  Segel. 

La  Caille,  moreover,  formed  from  stars  in  the  early  subordinate  division 
Mains,  the  Mast,  Pyxis  Hantioa,  the  Nautical  Box  or  Mariner's  Compass, 
the  German  See  Compass,  the  French  Bonssole  or  Compas  de  Her,  and  the 
Italian  Bussola ;  and  this  is  still  recognized  by  some  good  astronomers  as 
Pyxis. 


The  Constellations  65 

From  other  stars  Bode  formed  Lochium  Funis,  his  Logleine,  our  Log 
and  Line,  now  entirely  fallen  into  disuse. 

The  Ship  appears  to  have  no  bow,  thus  presenting  the  same  sectional 
character  noticeable  in  Equuleus,  Pegasus,  and  Taurus,  and  generally  is  so 
shown  on  the  maps.     It  was  in  reference  to  this  that  Aratos  wrote  : 

Sternforward  Argd  by  the  Great  Dog's  tail 
Is  drawn ;  for  hers  is  not  a  usual  course, 
But  backward  turned  she  comes,  as  vessels  do 
When  sailors  have  transposed  the  crooked  stern 
On  entering  harbour ;  all  the  ship  reverse, 
And  gliding  backward  on  the  beach  it  grounds. 
Sternforward  thus  is  Jason's  Argo  drawn. 

This  loss  of  its  bow  is  said  to  have  occurred 

when  Argo  pass'd 
Through  Bosporus  betwixt  the  justling  rocks  — 

the  Symplegades,  the  Cyanean  (azure),  or  the  Planctae  Rocks  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Euxine  Sea.  Yet  Aratos  may  have  thought  it  complete,  for 
he  wrote : 

All  Argo  stands  aloft  in  sky, 
and 

Part  moves  dim  and  starless  from  the  prow 

Up  to  the  mast,  but  all  the  rest  is  bright ; 

and  it  has  often  been  so  illustrated  and  described  by  artists  and  authors. 
The  Alfonsine  Tables  show  it  as  a  complete  double-masted  vessel  with  oars, 
and  Lubienitzki,  in  the  Theatrum  Cometicum  of  1667,  as  a  three-masted 
argosy  with  a  tier  of  ports  and  all  sails  set  full  to  the  wind. 

Mythology  insisted  that  it  was  built  by  Glaucus,  or  by  Argos,  for  Jason, 
leader  of  the  fifty  Argonauts,  whose  number  equaled  that  of  the  oars  of  the 
ship,  aided  by  Pallas  Athene,  who  herself  set  in  the  prow  a  piece  from  the 
peaking  oak  of  Dodona ;  the  Argo  being  "  thus  endowed  with  the  power 
of  warning  and  guiding  the  chieftains  who  form  its  crew."  She  carried  the 
faraous  expedition  from  Iolchis  in  Thessaly  to  Aea  in  Colchis,1  in  search  of 
:he  golden  fleece,  and  when  the  voyage  was  over  Athene  placed  the  boat 
ra  the  sky. 

Another  Greek  tradition,  according  to  Eratosthenes,  asserted  that  our 
constellation  represented  the  first  ship  to  sail  the  ocean,  which  long  before 

1  Colchis  was  the  district  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Euxine  Sea,  now  Mingrelia. 

5 


66  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Jason's  time  carried  Danaos  with  his  fifty  daughters  from  Egypt  to  Rhodes 
and  Argos,  and,  as  Dante  wrote, 

Startled  Neptune  with  the  aid  of  Argo. 

Egyptian  story  said  that  it  was  the  ark  that  bore  Isis  and  Osiris  over  the 
Deluge;  while  the  Hindus  thought  that  it  performed  the  same  office  for 
their  equivalent  Isi  and  Iswara.  And  their  prehistoric  tradition  made  it  the 
ship  Argha  for  their  wandering  sun,  steered  by  Agastya,  the  star  Canopus. 
In  this  Sanskrit  argha  we  perhaps  may  see  our  title;  but  Lindsay  derives 
Argo  from  arek,  a  Semitic  word,  used  by  the  Phoenicians,  signifying  "long," 
this  vessel  having  been  the  first  large  one  launched. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  devoted  much  attention  to  the  famous  craft,  fixing  the 
date  of  its  building  about  936  b.  c,  forty-two  years  after  King  Solomon. 

With  the  Romans  it  always  was  Argo  and  Navis,  Vitruvius  writing  Navis 
quae  nominator  Argo ;  but  Cicero  called  it  Argolica  Navis  and  Argolica 
Puppis;  Germanicus,  Argoa  Puppis;  Propertius,  the  elegiac  poet  of  the  1st 
century  before  our  era,  Iasonia  Carina ;  Ovid,  Pagasaea  Carina  and  Pa- 
gasaea  Puppis,  from  the  Thessalian  seaport  where  it  was  built ;  Manilius, 
Eatis  Heronm,  the  Heroes'  Raft, 

which  now  midst  Stars  doth  sail ; 

and  others,  Navis  Jasonis,  or  Osiridis,  Celoz  Jaaonis,  Carina  Argoa,  Argo 
Ratis,  and  Navigium  Praedatorinm,  the  Pirate  Ship.  While  somewhat 
similar  are  Curnu  Maris,  the  Sea  Chariot,  the  Cnrrm  Volitans  of  Catullus, 
who  said  that  in  Egypt  it  had  been  the  Vehienlum  Lunae. 

It  also  was  Equua  Neptunins ;  indeed  Ptolemy  asserted  that  it  was  known 
as  a  Hone  by  the  inhabitants  of  Azania,  the  modern  Ajan,  on  the  north- 
eastern coast  of  Africa,  south  of  Cape  Gardafui. 

The  Arabians  called  it  Al  Safmah,  a  Ship,  and  Markab,  something  to 
ride  upon,  that  two  or  three  centuries  ago  in  Europe  were  transcribed 
Aliephina  and  Herkeb. 

Grotius  mentioned  Cautel  as  a  title  for  Puppis,  "from  the  Tables,"  but  he 
added  Hoc  quid  sit  ncseio. 

The  biblical  school  of  course  called  it  Noah's  Ark,  the  Aroa  Noacfci, 
or  Arena  Hoae  as  Bayer  wrote  it ;  Jacob  Bryant,  the  English  mythologist 
of  the  last  century,  making  its  story  another  form  of  that  of  Noah.  Indeed 
in  the  17th  century  the  Ark  seems  to  have  been  its  popular  title. 

In  Hewitt's  Essays  we  find  a  reference  to  "  the  four  stars  which  marked 
the  four  quarters  of  the  heavens  in  the  Zenda vesta,  the  four  Loka-palas,  or 
nourishers  of  the  world,"  of  the  Hindus ;  and  that  author  claims  these  for 


The  Constellations  67 

Sirius  in  the  east,  the  seven  stars  of  the  Greater  Bear  in  the  north,  Corvus 
in  the  west,  and  Argo  in  the  south.  He  gives  the  tatter's  title  as  Sata 
Vaesa,  the  One  Hundred  Creators;  all  these  imagined  as  forming  a  great 
cross  in  the  sky.  The  differing  Persian  conception  of  this  appears  in  the 
remarks  on  Regulus, —  a  Leon  is. 

The  Chinese  asterism  Tien  Meaon  probably  was  formed  from  some  com- 
ponents of  Argo. 

The  constellation  is  noticeable  in  lower  latitudes  not  only  from  its  great 
extent  and  the  splendor  of  Can  opus,  but  also  from  possessing  the  remark- 
able variable  r\  and  its  inclosing  nebula. 

Near  the  star  z'  Carinae  appeared,  between  March  5  and  April  8,  1895,  a 
nova  with  a  spectrum  similar  to  those  of  the  recent  novae  in  Auriga  and 
Norma. 

.     .     .    like  a  meadow  which  no  scythe  has  shaven, 
Which  rain  could  never  bend  or  whirl-blast  shake, 

With  the  Antarctic  constellations  paven, 
Canopus  and  his  crew,  lay  the  Austral  lake. 

Percy  Byssfae  Shelley's  Th*  Witch  0/ Atlas. 

Ot  Carinae,    — 0.4,     white. 

Kdvcjpos,  in  the  early  orthography  of  the  Greeks,  apparently  was  first 
given  to  this  star  by  Eratosthenes,  but  Kdvwro?  later  on  by  Hipparchos. 
Ptolemy  used  the  former  word,  among  his  few  star-names,  which  Halley  and 
Flamsteed  transcribed  into  Canobns;  but  now  it  universally  is  Canopus,  Al 
Sufi's  translator  having  Kanupus  as  an  Arabian  adaptation  of  the  Greek. 

Aratos,  Eudoxos,  and  Hipparchos  also,  designated  it  as  Urjdd/aov,  the 
Rudder,  Cicero's  Gnbernaculuin,  Aratos  writing : 

The  slackened  rudder  has  been  placed  beneath 
The  hind-feet  of  the  Dog. 

Ancient  ships  had  a  rudder  on  each  side  of  the  stern,  in  one  of  which  our 
star  generally  was  figured,  thus  differing  from  the  modern  maps  that  locate 
it  in  the  bank  of  oars. 

Strabo,  the  geographer  of  the  century  preceding  our  era,  said  that  its 
title  was  "  but  of  yesterday,"  which  may  have  been  true  of  the  word  that 
we  now  know  it  by;  but  an  Egyptian  priestly  poet  of  the  time  of 
Thothmes  III  — 1500  years  before  Strabo  —  wrote  of  it  as  Karbana, 

the  star 
Which  pours  his  light  in  a  glance  of  fire, 
When  he  disperses  the  morning  dew ; 


68  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

and  this  still  was  seen  a  millennium  later  in  the  Kabarnit  of  As-sur-ba-ni-pal's 
time. 

Our  name  for  it  is  that  of  the  chief  pilot  of  the  fleet  of  Menelaos,  who, 
on  his  return  from  the  destruction  of  Troy,  1183  b.  c,  touched  at  Egypt, 
where,  twelve  miles  to  the  northeastward  from  Alexandria,  Canopus  died 
and  was  honored,  according  to  Scylax,  by  a  monument  raised  by  his  grate- 
ful master,  giving  his  name  to  the  city  1  and  to  this  splendid  star,  which  at 
that  time  rose  about  jj4°  above  that  horizon. 

The  foregoing  derivation  of  the  word  Canopus  is  an  early  and  popular 
one;  but  another,  perhaps  as  old,  and  more  probable,  being  on  the  authority 
of  Aristides,  is  from  the  Coptic,  or  Egyptian,  Kahi  Hub,  Golden  Earth. 
Ideler,  coinciding  in  this,  claimed  these  words  as  also  the  source  of  other 
titles  for  Canopus,  the  Arabic  Warn,  Weight,  and  Hadar,  Ground;  and  of 
the  occasional  later  Ponderous  and  Terrertris.  Although  I  find  no  reason 
assigned  for  the  appropriateness  of  these  names,  it  is  easy  to  infer  that 
they  may  come  from  the  magnitude  of  the  star  and  its  nearness  to  the 
horizon ;  this  last  certainly  made  it  the  nepiyeiof  of  Eratosthenes. 

Similarly  the  universal  Arabic  title  was  Suhail,  written  by  Western 
nations  Suhel,  Snhil,  Suhilon,  Sohayl,  Sohel,  Sohil,  and  Soheil,  Sahil,  8ihei, 
and  Sibil;  all  taken,  according  to  Buttmann,  from  Al  Sahl,  the  Plain. 

This  word  also  was  a  personal  title  in  Arabia,  and,  Delitzsch  says,  the 
symbol  of  what  is  brilliant,  glorious,  and  beautiful,  and  even  now  among 
the  nomads  is  thus  applied  to  a  handsome  person.  Our  word  Canopus 
itself  apparently  had  a  somewhat  similar  use  among  early  writers ;  for  Eden 
translated  from  Vespucci's  account  of  his  third  voyage  and  Of  the  Pok 
Antartike  and  the  Starres  abowt  the  Same  ; 

Amonge  other,  I  sawe  three  starres  cauled  Canopi,  wherof  two  were  exceadynge 
cleare,  and  the  thyrde  sumwhat  darke ; 

and  again,  after  describing  the  "  foure  starres  abowte  the  pole  " : 

When  these  are  hydden,  there  is  scene  on  the  lefte  syde  a  bryght  Canopus  of  three 
starres  of  notable  greatnesse,  which  beinge  in  the  myddest  of  heaven  representeth  this 
figure;  ,  ; 

with  more  to  the  same  effect  in  connection  with  the  Nubeculae ;  for  it  is  to 

1  Ancient  Canopus  is  now  in  ruins,  but  its  site  is  occupied  by  the  village  of  Al  Bekur,  or 
Aboukir,  famous  from  Lord  Nelson's  Battle  of  the  Nile,  August  i,  1798,  and  from  Napoleon's 
victory  over  the  Turks  a  year  afterwards  ;  and  it  is  interesting  to  remember  that  it  was  here, 
from  the  terraced  walls  of  the  Serapeum,  the  temple  of  Serapis,  that  Ptolemy  made  his 
observations. 

Serapis  was  the  title  of  the  great  Osiris  of  Egypt  as  god  of  the  lower  world ;  his  incarnation 
as  god  of  the  upper  world  being  in  the  bull  Apis. 


The  Constellations  69 

these  Clouds  that  the  Canopus  of  Vespucci  would  seem  to  refer  in  much  of 
his  description.  But  I  have  never  seen  any  explanation  of  this  title  as 
used  by  him,  and  Vespucci's  fame  certainly  does  not  rest  upon  his  knowledge 
of  the  skies.  The  great  New  English  Dictionary  erroneously  quotes  some 
of  the  foregoing  as  being  references  to  our  a  Carinae,  strangely  ignoring  this 
different  use  of  the  star's  title. 

Among  the  Persians  Suhail  is  a  synonym  of  wisdom,  seen  in  the  well- 
known  Al  Anwar  i  Suhaili,  the  Lights  of  Canopus. 

A  note  to  Humboldt's  Cosmos  tells  us  that  this  name  was  given  to  other 
stars  in  Argo,  and  Hyde  asserted  the  same  as  to  its  use  for  stars  in  neigh- 
Iwring  constellations.  Thus  he  found  Suhel  Alfard,  Suhel  Aldabaran,  and 
Suhel  Sinus ;  in  fact  this  last  star,  Karsten  Niebuhr l  said,  was  commonly 
known  thus  in  Arabia  a  century  and  more  ago. 

The  Alfonsine  Tables  had  Suhel  ponderosus,  that  appeared  in  a  contem- 
porary chronicle  as  Sibil  ponderosa,  a  translation  of  Al  Suhail  al  Wain.  In 
the  1515  Almagest  it  was  Subhel;  and  in  the  Graeco- Persian  Tables  of 
Chrysococca  (the  14th-century  Greek  astronomer,  author,  and  physician 
resident  in  Persia),  edited  by  Bullialdus  in  his  Astronomia  Philolaica,  it  was 
ZoalX  lapavrj.  This  was  from  the  Arabs'  Al  Suhail  al  Yamaniyyah,  the 
Suhail  of  the  South,  or  perhaps  an  allusion  to  the  old  story,  told  in  con- 
nection with  our  Procyon,  that  Suhail,  formerly  located  near  Orion's  stars, 
the  feminine  Al  Jauzah,  had  to  flee  to  the  south  after  his  marriage  to  her, 
where  he  still  remains.  Others  said  that  Suhail  only  went  a- wooing  of  Al 
Jauzah,  who  not  only  refused  him,  but  very  unceremoniously  kicked  him  to 
the  southern  heavens. 

Another  occasional  early  title  was  Al  Fahl,  the  Camel  Stallion.  Allu- 
sions to  it  in  every  age  indicate  that  everywhere  it  was  an  important  star, 
especially  on  the  Desert.  There  it  was  a  great  favorite,  giving  rise  to  many 
of  the  proverbs  of  the  Arabs,  their  stories  and  superstitions,  and  supposed 
to  impart  the  much  prized  color  to  their  precious  stones,  and  immunity 
from  disease.  Its  heliacal  rising,  even  now  used  in  computing  their  year, 
ripened  their  fruits,  ended  the  hot  term  of  the  summer,  and  set  the  time  for 
the  weaning  of  their  young  camels,  thus  alluded  to  by  Thomas  Moore  in 
his  Evenings  in  Greece  : 

A  camel  slept  —  young  as  if  wean'd 
When  last  the  star  Canopus  rose. 

And  in  a  general  way  it  served  them  as  a  southern  pole-star. 

l  This  Niebuhr  was  the  noted  Danish  traveler  in  the  East  between  1761  and  1767,  and  sub- 
sequently the  father  of  the  great  historian.  His  discoveries  at  Persepolis  gave  the  clue  to  the 
decipherment  of  cuneiform  inscriptions. 


70  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

It  was  worshiped  by  the  tribe  of  Tai,  as  it  probably  still  is  by  the  wilder 
of  the  Badawiyy ;  and  in  this  connection  Carlyle  wrote  of  it  in  his  Heroes 
and  Hero  Worship: 

Canopus  shining-down  over  the  desert,  with  its  blue  diamond  brightness  (that  wild,  blue, 
spirit-like  brightness  far  brighter  than  we  ever  witness  here),  would  pierce  into  the  heart 
of  the  wild  Ishmaelitish  man,  whom  it  was  guiding  through  the  solitary  waste  there.  To 
his  wild  heart,  with  all  feelings  in  it,  with  no  speech  for  any  feeling,  it  might  seem  a  little 
eye,  that  Canopus,  glancing-out  on  him  from  the  great,  deep  Eternity ;  revealing  the 
inner  splendour  to  him. 

Cannot  we  understand  how  these  men  worshipped  Canopus ;  became  what  we  call  Sa- 
beans,  worshipping  the  stars  ?  .  .  . 

To  us  also,  through  every  star,  through  every  blade  of  grass,  is  not  a  God  made  visible, 
if  we  will  open  our  minds  and  eyes  ? 

We  do  not  worship  in  that  way  now :  but  is  it  not  reckoned  still  a  merit,  proof  of 
what  we  call  a  •*  poetic  nature,"  that  we  recognize  how  every  object  has  a  divine  beauty 
in  it ;  how  every  object  still  verily  is  **  a  window  through  which  we  may  look  into  In6oi- 
tude  itself"  ? 

Moore  wrote  of  it  in  Lalla  Rookh  : 

The  Star  of  Egypt,  whose  proud  light, 
Never  hath  beam'd  on  those  who  rest 
In  the  White  Islands  of  the  West ; 

again  alluding  to  it,  in  the  same  poem,  as  the  cause  of  the  unfailing  cheer- 
fulness of  the  Zingians.1  And,  as  the  constellation  was  associated  on  the  Nile 
with  the  great  god  Osiris,  so  its  great  star  became  the  Star  of  Ouris ;  but, 
later  on,  Capella  and  the  scholiast  on  Germanicus  called  it  Ptolemaeon  and 
Ptolemaeni,  in  honor  of  Egypt's  great  king  Ptolemy  Lagos ;  and  at  times 
it  has  been  Subilon,  but  the  appropriateness  of  this  I  have  been  unable  to 
verify.  The  Sd^TiAoc,  cited  by  Hyde  as  from  Kircher,  and  so  presumably 
Coptic,  is  equally  unintelligible. 

While  all  this  knowledge  of  Canopus  is  ancient,  it  seems  "  but  of  yester- 
day "  when  we  consider  the  star's  history  in  worship  on  the  Nile.  Lockyer 
tells  us  of  a  series  of  temples  at  Edfu,  Philae,  Amada,  and  Semneh,  so  oriented 
at  their  erection,  6400  b.  c,  as  to  show  Canopus  heralding  the  sunrise  at  the 
autumnal  equinox,  when  it  was  known  as  the  symbol  of  Khons,  or  Khonsu, 
the  first  southern  star-god ;  and  of  other  similar  temples  later.  At  least  two 
of  the  great  structures  at  Karnak,  of  2100  and  1700  b.  c,  respectively, 
pointed  to  its  setting ;  as  did  another  at  Naga,  and  the  temple  of  Khons  at 
Thebes,  built  by  Rameses  III  about  1300  b.  c,  afterwards  restored  and  en- 

1  The  inhabitants  ofZinge.  a  large  village  forty  miles  northeast  of  Mosul,  in  Kurdistan,  and 

not  far  from  Kazwin. 


The  Constellations  71 

larged  under  the  Ptolemies.  It  thus  probably  was  the  prominent  object  in 
the  religion  of  Southern  Egypt,  where  it  represented  the  god  of  the  waters. 

Some  of  the  Rabbis  have  asserted — and  Delitzsch  in  modern  times  — 
that  this  star,  and  not  Orion,  was  the  Ha$il  of  the  Bible,  arguing  from  the 
similarity  in  sound  of  that  word  to  the  Suhail  of  Arabia,  and  from  other 
reasons  fully  explained,  although  not  accepted,  by  Ideler;  while,  coinci- 
dently,  there  are  able  commentators  who  have  thought  that  the  Kesilim 
of  Isaiah  xiii,  10,  now  translated  "  Constellations,"  means  the  brightest 
stars,  which  often  are  those  now  referred  to  in  the  use  of  the  word  Suhail. 
Delitzsch,  in  his  commentary  on  the  Book  of  Job,  quotes  much,  from 
Wetzstein  and  others,  of  this  identity  of  Canopus  with  Hasil,  illustrating  it 
with  stellar  stories  and  proverbs  of  the  present-day  Arabs  of  the  Hauran, 
the  patriarch's  traditional  home. 

The  Hindus  called  it  Agastya,  one  of  their  Rishis,  or  inspired  sages, — 
and  helmsman  of  their  Argha, — a  son  of  Varuna,  the  goddess  of  the  waters; 
and  Sanskrit  literature  has  many  allusions  to  its  heliacal  rising  in  connection 
with  certain  religious  ceremonies.  In  the  Avesta  it  is  mentioned  as  "  push- 
ing the  waters  forward" — governing  the  tides (?). 

The  late  George  Bertin  identified  it  with  Sugi,  the  Euphratean  Chariot 
Yoke ;  but  others  claim  that  title  for  some  stars  in  the  zodiac  as  yet  perhaps 
unascertained,  but  probably  the  lucidae  of  Libra. 

In  China  it  was  Laou  Jin,  the  Old  Man,  and  an  object  of  worship  down 
to  at  least  100  B.  c. 

Since  the  6th  century  it  has  been  the  Star  of  8aint  Catharine,  appearing 
to  the  Greek  and  Russian  pilgrim  devotees  as  they  approached  her  convent 
and  shrine  at  Sinai,  on  their  way  from  Gaza,  their  landing-place. 

In  early  German  astronomical  books  it  was  the  8chif-*tern,  or  Ship-star. 

With  Achernar  and  Fomalhaut,  corresponding  stars  in  Eridanus  and 
Piscis  Australis,  it  made  up  the  Tre  Facelle  of  Dante's  Purgatorio,  symbol- 
izing Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity, — 

those  three  torches, 
With  which  this  hither  pole  is  all  on  fire. 

Hipparchos  was  wont  to  observe  it  from  Rhodes  in  latitude  360  30' ;  and, 
even  before  him,  Posidonius1  of  Alexandria,  about  the  middle  of  the  3d 
century  before  Christ,  utilized  it  in  his  attempt  to  measure  a  degree  on  the 
earth's  surface  on  the  line  between  that  city  and  Rhodes,  making  his  ob- 

1  This  Posidonius  should  not  be  confounded  with  the  Stoic  philosopher  contemporary  with 
Cicero,  although  the  Stoic  himself  was  somewhat  of  an  astronomer,  and,  it  has  been  said,  the 
inventor  of  the  planetarium. 


72  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

serrations  from  the  old  watch-tower  of  Eudoxos  at  Cnidos  in  the  Asian 
Caria, — possibly  the  earliest  attempt  at  geodetic  measurement,  as  this 
observatory  was  the  first  one  mentioned  in  classical  days.  Manilius  poeti- 
cally followed  in  his  path  by  using  it,  with  the  Bear,  to  prove  the  sphericity 
of  the  earth. 

The  confusion  in  the  titles  of  Canopus  and  Coma  Berenices  is  noted 
under  that  constellation. 

Lying  52°  38'  south  of  the  celestial  equator,  about  350  below  Sirius, 
this  star  is  invisible  to  observers  north  of  the  37th  parallel;  but  there  it  is 
just  above  the  horizon  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  February, 
and  conspicuous  from  Georgia,  Florida,  and  our  Gulf  States.  Sirius  follows 
it  in  culmination  by  about  twenty  minutes. 

Canopus  is  so  brilliant  that  observers  in  Chile,  in  1861,  considered  it 
brighter  than  Sirius;  and  Tennyson,  in  his  Dream  of  Fair  Women,  made 
it  a  simile  of  intensest  light, —  in  Cleopatra's  words, — 

lamps  which  outburn'd  Canopus. 

Yet  Elkin  obtained  a  parallax  of  only  o".o3, —  practically  nU> —  indicating 
a  distance  from  our  system  at  least  twelve  times  that  of  its  apparently 
greater  neighbor.     Its  spectrum  is  similar  to  that  of  the  latter. 

See  discovered,  in  1897,  a  i5th-magnitude  bluish  companion  30"  away, 
at  a  position  angle  of  1600. 


& 


2. 


Miaplacidu*  is  thus  written  in  Burritt's  Geography  of  1856,  but  is 
placidua  in  his  Atlas  of  1835,  the  meaning  and  derivation  of  which  I  cannot 
learn,  unless  it  be  in  part,  as  Higgins  asserts  in  his  brief  work  on  star- 
names,  from  Miyah,  the  plural  of  the  Arabic  Ma,  Water.  The  original, 
however,  is  better  transcribed  Mi'ah. 

j3  lies  in  the  Carina  subdivision  and  is  the  a  of  Halley's  Robur  Caro- 
linum,  250  east  of  Canopus,  and  6i°  south  of  Alphard  of  the  Hydra;  but 
Baily  said  that  he  could  find  no  star  corresponding  to  this  as  Bayer  laid  it 
down  on  his  map  of  Argo. 

Y>  Triple,     2,  6,  and  8,    white,  greenish  white,  and  purple, 

was  the  Arabs'  Al  Suhail  al  Muhlif,  the  Suhail  of  the  Oath,  as  with  £  and 
a  it  formed  one  of  the  several  groups  Al  Muhlifain,  Muljtalifaln,  or  Xulini* 
thain,  by  which  reference  was  made  to  the  statement  that  at  their  rising  some 


The  Constellations  73 

mistook  them  for  Suhail,  and  the  consequent  arguments  were  the  occasion 
of  much  profanity  among  the  disputatious  Arabs.  As,  however,  it  would 
seem  impossible  that  Canopus  could  be  mistaken  for  any  neighboring  star, 
this  derivation  is  as  absurd  as  the  proper  location  of  the  Mufclifain  was 
doubtful,  for  they  have  been  assigned  not  only  to  the  foregoing,  but  also  to 
stars  in  Canis  Major,  Centaurus,  and  Columba. 

y  lies  in  the  Vela  subdivision,  and  is  visible  from  all  points  south  of  420 
of  north  latitude.  Like  j3,  it  seems  to  have  been  incorrectly  laid  down  on 
the  Uranonutria,  for  Baily  wrote  that  he  could  not  find  Bayer's  y  in  the  sky. 

This  is  the  only  conspicuous  star  that  shows  the  Wolf-Rayet  type  of  a 
continuous  spectrum  crossed  with  bright  lines ;  and  its  superb  beauty  is  the 
admiration  of  the  spectroscopic  observer.  Eddie  calls  it  the  Spectral  Gem 
of  the  southern  skies. 

6,  2.2,  and  w,  with  stars  in  Canis  Major,  were  the  Chinese  Koo  She,  the 
Bow  and  Arrow. 

£,  2.5,  at  the  southeastern  extremity  of  the  Egyptian  X,  is  the  Suhail 
Hagar  of  Al  Sufi,  and  the  Haos,  or  Ship,  of  Burritt's  Atlas  ;  while,  with  y 
and  A,  it  was  one  of  the  Muhllfain. 

Its  south  declination  in  1880  was  390  40',  and  so  it  is  plainly  visible  from 
the  latitude  of  the  State  of  Maine,  coming  to  the  meridian  on  the  3d  of 
March. 


Tfr  Irregularly  variable,    >  1  to  7.4,    reddish, 

lies  in  the  Carina  subdivision,  but  is  invisible  from  north  of  the  30th  parallel. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  noted  objects  in  the  heavens,  perhaps  even  so  in 
almost  prehistoric  times,  for  Babylonian  inscriptions  seem  to  refer  to  a  star, 
noticeable  from  occasional  faintness  in  its  light,  that  Jensen  thinks  was  77. 
And  he  claims  it  as  one  of  the  temple  stars  associated  with  Ea,  or  la,  of 
Eridhu,1  the  Lord  of  the  Waves,  otherwise  known  as  Oannes,2  the  mysteri- 
ous human  fish  and  greatest  god  of  the  kingdom. 

In  China  i\  was  Tseen  She,  Heaven's  Altars. 

l  Eridhu,  or  Eri-duga,  the  Holy  City,  Nunki,  or  Nunpe,  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  the  world, 
even  in  ancient  Babylonia,  was  that  kingdom's  flourishing  port  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  but,  by 
the  encroachments  of  the  delta,  its  site  is  now  one  hundred  miles  inland.  In  its  vicinity  the 
Babylonians  located  their  sacred  Tree  of  Life. 

3  Bcrdssds  described  Oannes  as  the  teacher  of  early  man  in  all  knowledge ;  and  in  mythology 
he  was  even  the  creator  of  man  and  the  father  of  Tarn  muz  and  Ishtar,  themselves  associated 
with  other  stars  and  sky  figures.  Jensen  thinks  Oannes  connected  with  the  stars  of  Capri- 
corn ;  Lockyer  finds  his  counterpart  in  the  god  Chnemu  of  Southern  Egypt ;  and  some  have 
regarded  him  as  the  prototype  of  Noah. 


74  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  variations  in  its  light  are  as  remarkable  in  their  irregularity  as  in 
their  degree.  The  first  recorded  observation,  said  to  have  been  by  Halley 
in  1677,  although  it  is  not  in  his  Southern  Catalogue,  made  r\  a  4th- mag- 
nitude, but  since  that  it  has  often  varied  either  way,  at  longer  or  shorter 
intervals,  from  absolute  invisibility  by  the  naked  eye  to  a  brilliancy  almost 
the  equal  of  Sirius.  Sir  John  Herschel  saw  it  thus  in  December,  1837, 
as  others  did  in  1843 ;  but,  gradually  declining  since  then,  it  touched  its 
lowest  recorded  magnitude  of  7.6  in  March,  1886.  It  is  now,  however,  on 
the  increase;  for  on  the  13th  of  May,  1896,  it  was  5.1,  or  about  a  half- 
magnitude  higher  than  its  maximum  of  the  preceding  year. 

The  nebula,  N.  G.  C.  3372,  surrounding  this  star  has  been  called  the 
Keyhole  from  its  characteristic  features ;  but  the  most  brilliant  portion,  as 
drawn  by  Sir  John  Herschel,  seems  to  have  disappeared  at  some  time  be- 
tween 1837  and  187 1.  That  great  observer  saw  1203  stars  scattered  over 
its  surface. 

Near  rj  is  a  vacant  space  of  irregular  shape  that  Abbott  has  called  the 
Crooked  Billet ;  and  there  are  two  remarkable  coarse  clusters  in  its  imme- 
diate vicinity. 

t,     2.9,    pale  yellow. 

This  was  the  Latins'  Scutulum,  or  Little  Shield,  the  Arabians'  Tniaia, 
probably  referring  to  the  ornamental  Aplustre  at  the  stern  of  the  Ship  in  the 
subdivision  Carina ;  but  Hyde,  quoting  it  as  Tuxyeish  from  Tizini,  said  that 
the  original  was  verbutn  ignotum,  and  suggested  that  some  one  else  should 
make  a  guess  at  it  and  its  meaning.  Smyth  wrote  of  it  as  "  corresponding  to 
the  'komtiioKE  of  Ptolemy";  but  the  latter  described  it  as  being  in  the 
'AKpoarokiov,  Gunwale,  and  located  k,  £  o,  n,  p,  a,  and  t  in  the  fAam6iaKe, 
Or  Aplustre,  where  they  are  shown  to-day.  The  Century  Atlas  follows 
Smyth  in  calling  1  Aspidiake.  It  is  visible  from  the  latitude  of  New  York 
City. 

it,  3.9,  is  Markab  and  Markeb,  probably  from  the  Al/onsine  Tables  of 
1521,  where  this  last  word  is  found  plainly  applied  to  it  as  a  proper  name. 
This  also  is  visible  from  the  latitude  of  New  York,  culminating  on  the  25th 
of  March. 

A,  2.5,  in  Vela  is  Al  Sufi's  Al  Suhail  al  Wazn,  Suhail  of  the  Weight; 
and,  with  y  and  f,  one  of  the  Muhlifain. 

f,  3.4,  has  been  called  Asmidiske  by  an  incorrect  transliteration  of  the 
'AomdioKE  where  it  is  located  with  the  star  t. 

V'*  3*7> m  Vela  is  given  by  Reeves  as  Tseen  Ke,  Heaven's  Record;  a  star 


The  Constellations  75 

that  he  letters  A,  as  Hae  Shih,  the  Sea  Stone;  and  one  numbered  197 1,  as 
Taeen  Kow,  the  Heavenly  Dog. 

Grotius  mentioned  Alphart  as  the  title  of  some  star  in  Navis,  although 
without  locating  it,  and  very  correctly  added  sed  hoc  ad  lucidam  Hydra* 
pertinet  y  but  as  the  top  of  the  Mast  is  in  some  maps  very  close  to  this 
/ucufa,  Alphard,  the  explanation  would  seem  obvious. 

Baily  said  that  Flamsteed's  star  13  Argus,  strangely  placed  200  from  Argo 
across  Monoceros,  should  be  Fl.  15  Canis  Minoris. 

From  stars  in  Argo,  behind  the  back  of  the  Greater  Dog,  was  formed  by 
Bartsch  the  small  asterism  Oallus,  the  Cook,  but  it  has  long  since  been 
forgotten. 


.    .    .the  fleecy  star  that  bears 
Andromeda  far  off  Atlantic  seas 
Beyond  th'  Horizon. 

Milton's  Paradise  Lett 

glrtefi,  f fle  (Ram, 

isAriete  in  Italy,  Bflier  in  France,  and  Widder  in  Germany  —  Bayer's 
Wider ;  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  it  is  Ramm,  and  in  the  Anglo-Norman 
of  the  1 2th  century,  Muttons.  The  constellation  is  marked  by  the  notice- 
able triangle  to  the  west  of  the  Pleiades,  6°  north  of  the  ecliptic,  200  north 
of  the  celestial  equator,  and  200  due  south  from  y  Andromedae. 

With  the  Greeks  it  was  Kptoc,  and  sometimes  'Atyoicepwc,  although  this 
last  was  more  usual  for  Capricorn. 

It  always  was  Aries  with  the  Romans;  but  Ovid  called  it  Phrixea  Oris; 
and  Columella,  Pecus  Athamantidos  Helles,  Phrixus,  and  Portitor  Phrixi ; 
others,  Fhrixeum  Peons  and  Phrixi  Vector,  Phrixus  being  the  hero-son  of 
Athamas,  who  fled  on  the  back  of  this  Ram  with  his  sister  Helle  to  Colchis 
to  escape  the  wrath  of  his  stepmother  Ino.  It  will  be  remembered  that  on 
the  way  Helle  fell  off  into  the  sea,  which  thereafter  became  the  Hellespont, 
as  Manilius  wrote : 

First  Golden  Aries  shines  (who  whilst  he  swam 
Lost  part  of  s  Freight,  and  gave  the  Sea  a  Name)  ; 

and  Longfellow,  in  his  translation  from  Ovid's  IrisHa: 

The  Ram  that  bore  unsafely  the  burden  of  Helle. 


76  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

On  reaching  his  journey's  end,  Phrixus  sacrificed  the  creature  and  hung  its 
fleece  in  the  Grove  of  Ares,  where  it  was  turned  to  gold  and  became  the 
object  of  the  Argonauts'  quest.  From  this  came  others  of  Aries'  titles :  Oris 
aurea  and  auratus,  Chryflomallus,  and  the  Low  Latin  Chrysovellua. 

The  Athamas  used  by  Columella  was  a  classical  reproduction  of  the 
Euphratean  Tammuz  Dum-uzi,  the  Only  Son  of  Life,  whom  Aries  at  one 
time  represented  in  the  heavens,  as  did  Orion  at  a  previous  date,  perhaps 
when  it  marked  the  vernal  equinox  4500  b.  c. 

Cicero  and  Ovid  styled  the  constellation  Cornus ;  elsewhere  it  was  Cor- 
niger  and  Laniger;  Verves,  the  Wether ;  Dux  opulenti  gregis ;  Caput  arieti- 
num;  and,  in  allusion  to  its  position,  Aequinoetialis.  Vernui  Portitor,  the 
Spring-bringer,  is  cited  by  Caesius,  who  also  mentioned  Areanua,  that  may 
refer  to  the  secret  rites  in  the  worship  of  the  divinities  whom  Aries  repre- 
sented. 

From  about  the  year  1730  before  our  era  he  was  the  Prinoepa  ngnornm 
ooelestium,  Princeps  zodiaci,  and  the  Ductor  exeratus  zodiaci,  continuing 
so  through  Hipparchos'  time ;  Manilius  writing  of  this : 

The  Ram  having  pass'd  the  Sea  serenely  shines. 
And  leads  the  Year,  the  Prince  of  all  the  Signs. 

But  about  a.  d.  420  his  office  was  transferred  to  Pisces. 

Brown  writes  as  to  the  origin  of  the  title  Aries,  without  any  supposition 
of  resemblance  of  the  group  to  the  animal : 

The  stars  were  regarded  by  a  pastoral  population  as  flocks ;  each  asterism  had  its 
special  leader,  and  the  star,  and  subsequently  the  constellation,  that  led  the  heavens 
through  the  year  was  the  Ram. 

Elsewhere  he  tells  us  that  when  Aries  became  chief  of  the  zodiac  signs  it  took 
the  Akkadian  titles  Ku,  I-ku,  and  I-ku-u,  from  its  lucida  Hamal,  all  equiva- 
lents of  the  Assyrian  Rubu,  Prince,  and  very  appropriate  to  the  leading 
stellar  group  of  that  date,  although  not  one  of  the  first  formations. 

He  also  finds,  from  an  inscription  on  the  Tablet  of  the  Thirty  Stars,  that 
the  Euphratean  astronomers  had  a  constellation  Gain,  the  Scimetar,  stretch- 
ing from  Okda  of  the  Fishes  to  Hamal  of  Aries,  the  curved  blade  being 
formed  by  the  latter's  three  brightest  components.  This  was  the  weapon 
protecting  the  kingdom  against  the  Seven  Evil  Spirits,  or  Tempest  Powers. 

Jensen  thinks  that  Aries  may  have  been  first  adopted  into  the  zodiac  by 
the  Babylonians  when  its  stars  began  to  mark  the  vernal  equinox ;  and  that 
the  insertion  of  it  between  Taurus  and  Pegasus  compelled  the  cutting  off  a 


The  Constellations  77 

part  of  each  of  those  figures, —  a  novel  suggestion  that  would  save  much 
theorizing  as  to  their  sectional  character. 

The  Jewish  Nlsan,  our  March-April,  was  associated  with  Aries,  for  Jose- 
phus  said  that  it  was  when  the  sun  was  here  in  this  month  that  his  people 
were  released  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt ;  and  so  was  the  same  month 
Nisanu  of  Assyria,  where  Aries  represented  the  Altar  and  the  Sacrifice,  a 
ram  usually  being  the  victim.  Hence  the  prominence  given  to  this  sign  in 
antiquity  even  before  its  stars  became  the  leaders  of  the  rest;  although 
Berossds  and  Macrobius  attributed  this  to  the  ancient  belief  that  the  earth 
was  created  when  the  sun  was  within  its  boundaries;  and  Albumasar,1  of 
the  9th  century,  in  his  Revolution  of  Years  wrote  of  the  Creation  as  having 
taken  place  when  "the  seven  planets" — the  Sun,  Moon,  Mercury,  Venus, 
Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Saturn — were  in  conjunction  here,  and  foretold  the 
destruction  of  the  world  when  they  should  be  in  the  same  position  in  the 
last  degree  of  Pisces. 

Dante,  who  called  the  constellation  Montone,  followed  with  a  similar 
thought  in  the  Inferno: 

The  sun  was  mounting  with  those  stars 

That  with  him  were,  what  time  the  Love  Divine 

At  first  in  motion  set  those  beauteous  things. 

To  come,  however,  to  a  more  precise  date,  Pliny  said  that  Cleostratos  ol 
Tenedos  first  formed  Aries,  and,  at  the  same  time,  Sagittarius;  but  their 
origin  probably  was  many  centuries,  even  millenniums,  antecedent  to  this, 
and  the  statement  is  only  correct  in  so  far  as  that  he  may  have  been  the 
first  to  write  of  them. 

Many  think  that  our  figure  was  designed  to  represent  the  Egyptian  King 
of  Gods  shown  at  Thebes  with  ram's  horns,  or  veiled  and  crowned  with 
feathers,  and  variously  known  as  Amon,  Ammon,  Hammon,  Amen,  or 
Amun,  and  worshiped  with  great  ceremony  at  his  temple  in  the  oasis  Am- 
monium, now  Siwah,  50  west  of  Cairo  on  the  northern  limit  of  the  Libyan 
desert.  Kircher  gave  Aries'  title  there  as  Tafierovpo  Apovv,  Regum  Am- 
monis.  But  there  is  doubt  whether  the  Egyptian  stellar  Ram  coincided 
with  ours,  although  Miss  Clerke  says  that  the  latter's  stars  were  called  the 
Fleece. 

t  This  author,  known  also  as  'Abu  Ma'shar  and  Ja'phar,  was  from  Balh*  in  Turkestan, 
celebrated  as  an  astrologer  and  quoted  by  Al  Biruni,  but  with  the  caution  that  he  was  a  very 
incorrect  astronomer.  The  Lenox  Library  of  New  York  has  a  copy  of  his  Opus  introductorii 
tm  astronomic  Alhtmataris  abalachi,  Idus  Februarii,  1489,  published  at  Venice  with  illustra- 
tions. Its  similarity  to  the  Hyginus  of  the  preceding  year  would  indicate  that  they  issued 
from  the  same  press. 


78  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

As  the  god  Amen  was  identified  with  Zev?  and  Jupiter  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  so  also  was  Aries,  although  this  popularly  was  attributed  to  the  story 
that  the  classical  divinity  assumed  the  Ram's  form  when  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Olympus  fled  into  Egypt  from  the  giants  led  by  Typhon.  From  this  came 
the  constellation's  titles  Jupiter  Ammon;  Jovii  Siduf ;  Minervae  Sidus,  the 
goddess  being  Jove's  daughter;  the  Jupiter  Libyous  of  Propertius,  Dew 
Libycus  of  Dionysius,  and  Ammon  Libycus  of  Nonnus. 

The  Hebrews  knew  it  as  Tell,  and  inscribed  it  on  the  banners  of  Gad  or 
Naphtali ;  the  Syrians,  as  Amru  or  Emm ;  the  Persians,  as  Bara,  Bore,  or 
Bene ;  the  Turks,  as  Kuri ;  and  in  the  Parsi  Bundehesh  it  was  Varak:  all 
these  being  synonymous  with  Aries.  The  unexplained  Arabib,  or  Aritib, 
also  is  seen  for  it.  The  early  Hindus  called  it  Aja  and  Ketha,  the  Tamil 
Metham ;  but  the  later  followed  the  Greeks  in  Xriya. 

An  Arabian  commentator  on  Ulug  Beg  called  the  constellation  Al  Kabsh 
al  Alif,  the  Tame  Ram ;  but  that  people  generally  knew  it  as  Al  Hantsl,  the 
Sheep,  —  Hammel  with  Riccioli,  Alchamalo  with  Schickard,  and  Alhamel 
with  Chilmead. 

As  one  of  the  zodiacal  twelve  of  China  it  was  the  Dog,  early  known 
as  Heang  Low,  or  Kiang  Leu ;  and  later,  under  Jesuit  influence,  as  Pih 
Yang,  the  White  Sheep ;  while  with  Taurus  and  Gemini  it  constituted  the 
White  Tiger,  the  western  one  of  the  four  great  zodiac  groups  of  China; 
also  known  as  the  Lake  of  Fullness,  the  Five  Reservoirs  of  Heaven,  and  the 
House  of  the  Five  Emperors. 

Chaucer  and  other  English  writers  of  the  14th,  15th,  and  16th  centuries 
Anglicized  the  title  as  Ariete,  which  also  appeared  in  the  Low  Latin  of  the 
1 7th  century.  It  was  about  this  time,  when  it  was  sought  to  reconstruct  the 
constellations  on  Bible  lines,  that  Aries  was  said  to  represent  Abraham's 
Bam  caught  in  the  thicket ;  as  also  Saint  Peter,  the  bishop  of  the  early 
church,  with  Triangulum  as  his  Mitre.  Caesius  considered  it  the  Lamb  sac- 
rificed on  Calvary  for  all  sinful  humanity. 

Aries  generally  has  been  figured  as  reclining  with  reverted  head  admiring 
his  own  golden  fleece,  or  looking  with  astonishment  at  the  Bull  rising 
backward ;  but  in  the  Albumasar  of  1489  he  is  standing  erect,  and  some 
early  artists  showed  him  running  towards  the  west,  with  what  is  probably 
designed  for  the  zodiac-belt  around  his  body.  A  coin  of  Domitian  bears  a 
representation  of  him  as  the  Princeps  juventutis,  and  he  appeared  on 
those  of  Antiochus  of  Syria  with  head  towards  the  Moon  and  Mars  —  an  ap- 
propriate figuring;  for,  astrologically,  Aries  was  the  lunar  house  of  that 
planet.  In  common  with  all  the  other  signs,  he  is  shown  on  the  zodiacal 
rupees  generally  attributed  to  the  great  Mogul  prince  Jehangir  Shah,  but 


The  Constellations  79 

really  struck  by  Nur  Mahal  Mumtaza,  his  favorite  wife,  between  16 16  and 
1624,  each  figure  being  surrounded  by  sun -rays  with  an  inscription  on  the 
reverse. 

Its  equinoctial  position  gave  force  to  Aratos'  description  of  its  "  rapid 
transits,"  but  he  is  strangely  inexact  in  his 

faint  and  starless  to  behold 
As  stars  by  moonlight  — 


a  blunder  for  which  Hipparchos  seems  to  have  taken  him  to  task.     Aratos 
however,  was  a  more  successful  versifier  than  astronomer. 

Among  astrologers  Aries  was  a  dreaded  sign  indicating  passionate  temper 
and  bodily  hurt,  and  thus  it  fitly  formed  the  House  of  Mars,  although  some 
attributed  guardianship  over  it  to  Pallas  Minerva,  daughter  of  Jove  whom 
Aries  represented.  It  was  supposed  to  hold  sway  over  the  head  and  face ; 
in  fact  the  Egyptians  called  it  Arnum,  the  Lord  of  the  Head ;  while,  geo- 
graphically, it  ruled  Denmark,  England,  France,  Germany,  Lesser  Poland 
and  Switzerland,  Syria,  Capua,  Naples  and  Verona,  with  white  and  red  as 
its  colors.  In  the  time  of  Manilius  it  was  naturally  thought  of  as  ruling 
the  Hellespont  and  Propontis,  Egypt  and  the  Nile,  Persia  and  Syria;  and, 
with  Leo  and  Sagittarius,  was  the  Fiery  Trigon. 

Ampelius  said  that  it  was  in  charge  of  the  Roman  Africus,  the  Southwest 
Wind,  the  Italians'  Affrico,  or  Gherbino ;  but  the  Archer  and  Scorpion  also 
shared  this  duty.  Pliny  wrote  that  the  appearance  of  a  comet  within  its 
borders  portended  great  wars  and  wide-spread  mortality,  abasement  of  the 
great  and  elevation  of  the  small,  with  fearful  drought  in  the  regions  over 
which  the  sign  predominated ;  while  1 7th-century  almanacs  attributed  many 
troubles  to  men,  and  declared  that  "  many  shall  die  of  the  rope  "  when  the 
sun  was  in  the  sign;  but  they  ascribed  to  its  influence  "an  abundance  of 
herbs." 

Its  symbol,  T,  probably  represents  the  head  and  horns  of  the  animal. 

The  eastern  portion  is  inconspicuous,  and  astronomers  have  mapped 
others  of  its  stars  somewhat  irregularly,  carrying  a  horn  into  Pisces  and  a 
leg  into  Cetus. 

Argelander  assigns  to  it  50  naked-eye  components;  Heis,  80. 

The  sun  now  passes  through  it  from  the  16th  of  April  to  the  13th 
of  May. 

A  nova  is  reported  to  have  appeared  here  in  May,  1012,  described  by 
Epidamnus,  the  monk  of  Saint  Gall,  as  oculos  verbcrans. 


80  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

a>    2-3>    yellow. 

Hamal,  from  the  constellation  title,  was  formerly  written  Hamel,  Hemal, 
Hanral,  and  Hammel;  Riccioli  having  Has  Hammel  from  Al  Baa  al  Hamal, 
the  Head  of  the  Sheep. 

Burritt's  £1  Hath,  from  Al  Hatih,  the  Horn  of  the  Butting  One,  is  appro- 
priate enough  for  this  star,  but  in  our  day  is  given  to  j3  Tauri ;  still  Burritt 
had  authority  for  it,  as  Kazwini,  Al  Tizini,  Ulug  Beg,  and  the  Arabic  globes 
all  used  the  word  here;  and  Chaucer  wrote,  in  1374: 

He  knew  ful  wel  how  fer  Alnath  was  shove  ffro  the  heed  of  thilke  fixe  Aries  above. 

The  title  of  the  whole  figure  also  is  seen  in  Arietis,  another  designation 
for  this  star,  as  was  often  the  case  with  many  of  the  lucidae  of  the  constel- 
lations. 

In  Ptolemy's  and  Ulug  Beg's  descriptions  it  was  "over  the  head";  but 
both  of  these  mentioned  Hipparchos  as  having  located  it  over  the  muzzle, 
and  near  to  that  feature  it  was  restored  by  Tycho,  in  the  forehead,  as  we 
now  have  it. 

Renouf  identified  it  with  the  head  of  the  Goose  supposed  to  be  one  of  the 
early  zodiacal  constellations  of  Egypt. 

Strassmaier  and  Epping,  in  their  Astronomisches  aus  Babylon,  say  that 
there  its  stars  formed  the  third  of  the  twenty-eight  ecliptic  constellations,— 
Arku-sha-rishu-ku,  literally  the  Back  of  the  Head  of  Ku, — which  had  been 
established  along  that  great  circle  millenniums  before  our  era;  and  Lenor- 
mant  quotes,  as  an  individual  title  from  cuneiform  inscriptions,  Dil-kar,  the 
Proclaim er  of  the  Dawn,  that  Jensen  reads  As-kar,  and  others  Dil-gan,  the 
Messenger  of  Light.  George  Smith  inferred  from  the  tablets  that  it  might 
be  the  Star  of  the  Flocks;  while  other  Euphratean  names  have  been 
Lu-lim,  or  Lu-nit,  the  Ram's  Eye;  and  Si-mal  or  Si-mnl,  the  Horn  Star, 
which  came  down  even  to  late  astrology  as  the  Ram's  Horn.  It  also  was 
Annv,  and  had  its  constellation's  titles  I-ku  and  I-ku-u, —  by  abbreviation 
Ku, —  the  Prince,  or  the  Leading  One,  the  Ram  that  led  the  heavenly  flock, 
some  of  its  titles  at  a  different  date  being  applied  to  Capella  of  Auriga. 

Brown  associates  it  with  Aloros,  the  first  of  the  ten  mythical  kings  of 
Akkad  anterior  to  the  Deluge,  the  duration  of  whose  reigns  proportionately 
coincided  with  the  distances  apart  of  the  ten  chief  ecliptic  stars  beginning 
with  Hamal,  and  he  deduces  from  this  kingly  title  the  Assyrian  Ailuv,  and 
the  Hebrew  Ayil;  the  other  stars  corresponding  to  the  other  mythical 
kings  being  Alcyone,  Aldebaran,  Pollux,  Regulus,  Spica,  Antares,  Algedi, 
Deneb  Algedi,  and  Scheat. 


The  Constellations  81 

The  interesting  researches  of  Mr.  F.  C.  Penrose  on  orientation  in  Greece 
have  shown  that  many  of  its  temples  were  pointed  to  the  rising  or  setting 
of  various  prominent  stars,  as  we  have  seen  to  be  the  case  in  Egypt;  this 
feature  in  their  architecture  having  doubtless  been  taken  by  the  receptive, 
as  well  as  "  somewhat  superstitious,"  Greeks  from  the  Egyptians,  many  of 
whose  structures  are  thought  to  have  been  so  oriented  six  or  seven  millen- 
niums before  the  Christian  era,  although  our  star  Hamal  was  not  among 
those  thus  observed  on  the  Nile,  for  precession  had  not  yet  brought  it  into 
importance.  Of  the  Grecian  temples  at  least  eight,  at  various  places  and 
of  dates  ranging  from  1580  to  360  b.  c,  were  oriented  to  this  star;  those 
of  Zeus  and  his  daughter  Athene  being  especially  thus  favored,  as  Aries  was 
this  god's  symbol  in  the  sky. 

It  was  perhaps  this  prevalence  of  temple  orientation,  in  addition  to  their 
many  divinities  and  especially  6  "Ayvowroc  9eoc,  the  Unknown  God,  which 
furnished  an  appropriate  text  for  Saint  Paul's  great  sermon  on  the  Areopagus 
to  the  "  men  of  Athens,"  when,  in  order  to  prove  our  source  of  being  from 
Him,  he  quoted,  as  in  Acts  xvii,  28,  from  the  celebrated  fifth  verse  of  the 
Phainomena: 

tov  ydp  koI  ytvoc  kofuv  1 

(For  we  are  also  his  offspring). 

To  this  work  this  quotation  generally  is  ascribed,  and  naturally  so,  for  the 
poet  and  apostle  were  fellow-countrymen  from  Cilicia ;  but  the  same  words 
are  found  in  the  Hymn  to  Jupiter  by  Cleanthes  the  Stoic,  265  b.  c.  As 
Saint  Paul,  however,  used  the  plural  rives  in  his  reference,  "  certain  even  of 
your  own  poets,"  he  may  have  had  both  of  these  authors  in  mind. 

Hamal  lies  but. little  north  of  the  ecliptic,  and  is  much  used  in  naviga- 
tion in  connection  with  lunar  observations.  It  culminates  on  the  nth  of 
December. 

Vogel  finds  it  to  be  in  approach  to  our  system  at  the  rate  of  about  nine 
miles  a  second.     Its  spectrum  is  similar  to  that  of  the  sun. 

P,     2.9,    pearly  white. 

Sharatan  and  Sheratan  are  from  Al  Sharatain,  the  dual  form  of  Al 
Sharat,  a  Sign,  referring  to  this  and  y,  the  third  star  in  the  head,  as  a  sign 
of  the  opening  year;  0  having  marked  the  vernal  equinox  in  the  days  of 

1  The  Christian  fathers  Eusebius  and  Clement  of  Alexandria  made  this  same  quotation ; 
while  frequent  references  to  A  rates'  poem  appear  in  the  writings  of  Saints  Chrysostom  and 
Jerome,  and  of  Oecumenius.    The  heathen  Manilius  similarly  wrote, 
.    .    .    oostrumque  parentem 
Stirptiua, 
to  prove  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
6 


82  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Hipparchos,  about  the  time  when  these  stars  were  named.  Bayer's  Sartai 
is  from  this  dual  word. 

These  were  the  ist  manzil  in  Al  Birum's  list,  the  earlier  27th,  but  some 
added  a  to  the  combination,  calling  it  Al  Aahrat  i°  the  plural ;  Hyde  saying 
that  X  also  was  included.  Al  N&tty  was  another  name  for  this  lunar  station, 
as  the  chief  components  are  near  the  horns  of  Aries. 

0  and  y  constituted  the  27th  nakshatra  Agvini,  the  Ashwins,  or  Horse- 
men, the  earlier  dual  Afviniu  and  Aovayujau,  the  Two  Horsemen,  corre- 
sponding to  the  Gemini  of  Rome,  but  figured  as  a  Horse's  Head,  a 
sometimes  was  added  to  this  lunar  station,  but  0  always  was  the  junction 
star  with  the  adjoining  Bharani.  About  400  years  before  our  era  this  super- 
seded Krittika  as  leader  of  the  nakshatras.  They  were  the  Persian  Fade- 
var,  the  Protecting  Pair;  the  Sogdian  Bashiah,  the  Protector;  and  the 
equivalent  Coptic  Pikutorion;  while  in  Babylonia,  according  to  Epping, 
they  marked  the  second  ecliptic  constellation  Xahra-sha-riaha-ka,  the 
Front  of  the  Head  of  Ku. 

a,  0,  and  y  were  the  corresponding  sieu  Leu,  or  Low,  the  Train  of  a  gar- 
ment, 0  being  the  determinant. 

Y,     Double,    4.5  and  5,    bright  white  and  gray, 

has  been  called  the  First  Star  in  Aries,  as  at  one  time  nearest  to  the  equi- 
noctial point. 

Its  present  title,  Mesarthim,  or  Mesartim,  has  been  connected  with  the 
Hebrew  Mesharetim,  Ministers,  but  the  connection  is  not  apparent;  and 
Ideler  considered  the  word  an  erroneous  deduction  by  Bayer  from  the  name 
of  the  lunar  station  of  which  this  and  0  were  members.  .  In  Smyth's  index 
it  is  Mesartun ;  and  Caesius  had  Soartai  from  Sharatain.  a,  0,  and  y  may 
have  been  the  Jewish  Shalisha, —  more  correctly  Sluttish, —  some  musical 
instrument  of  triangular  shape,  a  title  also  of  Triangulum.  And  they  formed 
one  of  the  several  Athafiyy,  Trivets  or  Tripods ;  this  Arabic  word  indicating 
the  rude  arrangement  of  three  stones  on  which  the  nomad  placed  his  kettle, 
or  pot,  in  his  open-air  kitchen ;  others  being  in  our  Draco,  Orion,  Musca, 
and  Lyra. 

Gamma's  duplicity  was  discovered  by  Doctor  Robert  Hooke  while  fol- 
lowing the  comet  of  1664,  when  he  said  of  it,"  a  like  instance  to  which  I 
have  not  else  met  in  all  the  heaven  " ; l  but  it  was  an  easy  discovery,  for 
the  components  are  8".8  apart,  readily  resolved  by  a  low-power. 

The  position  angle  has  been  about  o°  for  fifty  years. 

l  Huygens  is  said  to  have  seen  three  stars  in  #1  Ononis  in  1656,  and  Riccioli  two  in  £  Ursae 

Majoris  in  1650. 


The  Constellations  83 

8,    4.6. 

Botein  is  from  Al  Bn$ain,  the  dual  of  Al  Batn,  the  Belly,  probably  from 
some  early  figuring,  for  in  modern  maps  the  star  lies  on  the  tail. 

With  £  it  was  Tain  Yin  in  China. 

<5,  e,  and  p3  generally  were  considered  the  28th  manzi/,  Al  Bntain,  but  Al 
Biruni  substituted  n  for  p3,  and  others,  f ;  while  still  others  located  this 
station  in  our  Musca,  the  faint  little  triangle  above  the  figure  of  the  Ram. 

e  marks  the  base  of  the  tail,  and  is  the  radiant  point  of  the  Arietide,  the 
meteors  of  the  nth  to  the  24th  of  October.  It  is  a  double  star  of  5th  and 
6.5  magnitudes,  o7/.s  apart,  and  probably  binary.  Its  present  position  angle 
is  about  2000.     Gould  thinks  it  variable. 

Williams  mentions  b,  e,  0,  and  z  as  the  Chinese  Teen  Ho. 


Thou  hast  loosened  the  necks  of  thine  horses,  and  goaded  their  flanks  with  affright, 
To  the  race  of  a  course  that  we  know  not  on  ways  that  are  hid  from  our  sight. 
As  a  wind  through  the  darkness  the  wheels  of  their  chariot  are  whirled, 
And  the  light  of  its  passage  is  night  on  the  face  of  the  world. 

Algernon  Charles  Swinburne's  Ertchlkeus. 

gisriga,  t$e  Cfcriofeer  or  HEdgoner, 

in  early  days  the  Wainman,  is  the  French  Cooher,  the  Italian  Cocehiere, 
and  the  German  Fuhrmann. 

It  is  a  large  constellation  stretching  northward  across  the  Milky  Way 
from  its  star  y,  which  also  marks  one  of  the  Bull's  horns,  to  the  feet  of 
Camelopardalis,  about  300  in  extent  north  and  south  and  400  east  and 
west;  and  is  shown  as  a  young  man  with  whip  in  the  right  hand,  but  with- 
out a  chariot,  the  Goat  being  supported  against  the  left  shoulder  and  the 
Kids  on  the  wrist.  This,  with  some  variations,  has  been  the  drawing  from 
the  earliest  days,  when,  as  now,  it  was  important,  chiefly  from  the  beauty  of 
Capella  and  its  attendant  stars  so  prominent  in  the  northwest  in  the  spring 
twilight,  and  in  the  northeast  in  early  autumn.  But  the  Hyginus  of  1488 
has  a  most  absurd  Driver  in  a  ridiculously  inadequate  four-wheeled  car, 
with  the  Goat  and  Kids  in  their  usual  position,  the  reins  being  held  over 
four  animals  abreast  —  a  yoke  of  oxen,  a  horse,  and  a  zebra  (!) ;  while  the 
Hyginus  of  Micyllus,  in  1535,  has  the  Driver  in  a  two- wheeled  cart  with  a 
pair  of  horses  and  a  yoke  of  oxen  all  abreast.    A  Turkish  planisphere  shows 


84  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

these  stars  depicted  as  a  Mole,  and  they  were  so  regarded  by  the  early  Arabs, 
who  did  not  know  —  at  all  events  did  not  picture  —  the  Driver,  Goat,  or 
Kids.  In  this  form  Bayer  Latinized  it  as  the  Kului  cliteUatuf,  the  Mole 
with  Panniers. 

Ideler  thinks  that  the  original  figure  was  made  up  of  the  five  stars  a,0,e, 
f,  and  17 ;  the  Driver,  represented  by  a,  standing  on  an  antique  sloping  Chariot 
marked  by  0;  "the  other  stars  showing  the  reins.  But  later  on  the  Chariot 
was  abandoned  and  the  reins  transferred  to  their  present  position,  the  Goat 
being  added  by  a  misunderstanding,  the  word  "Ai£,  analogous  to  'Atyt't, 
simply  meaning  a  Storm  Wind  that,  apparently,  in  all  former  times  the  stars 
a,  97,  and  fhave  portended  at  their  heliacal  rising,  or  by  their  disappearance 
in  the  mists.  Still  later  to  a  as  the  Goat  were  added  the  near-by  17  and  f 
as  her  Kids,  the  'Epicpoi, —  an  addition  that  Hyginus  said  was  made  by 
Cleostratos. 

But  the  results  of  modern  research  now  give  us  reason  to  think  that  the 
constellation  originated  on  the  Euphrates  in  much  the  same  form  as  we 
have  it,  and  that  it  certainly  was  a  well-established  sky  figure  there  mil- 
lenniums ago.  A  sculpture  from  Nimroud  is  an  almost  exact  representation 
of  Auriga  with  the  Goat  carried  on  the  left  arm ;  while  in  Graeco-Baby- 
lonian  times  the  constellation  Bukubi,  the  Chariot,  lay  here  nearly  coin- 
cident with  our  Charioteer,  perhaps  running  over  into  Taurus. 

'Evioxog,  the  Rein-holder,  was  transcribed  Heniochus  by  Latin  authors, 
and  personified  by  Germanicus  and  others  as  Erechtheus,  or  more  properly 
Erichthoniui,  son  of  Vulcan  and  Minerva,  who,  having  inherited  his  fa- 
ther's lameness,  found  necessary  some  means  of  easy  locomotion.  This  was 
secured  by  his  invention  of  the  four-horse  chariot  which  not  only  well  be- 
came his  regal  position  as  the  4th  of  the  early  kings  of  Athens,  but  secured 
for  him  a  place  in  the  sky.     Manilius  thus  told  the  story : 

Near  the  bent  Bull  a  Seat  the  Driver  claims, 
Whose  skill  conferred  his  Honour  and  his  Names. 
His  Art  great  Jove  admir'd,  when  first  he  drove 
His  rattling  Carr,  and  fix't  the  Youth  above. 

Vergil  had  something  similar  in  his  ^d.Gforgu. 

These  names  appear  as  late  as  the  17  th  century  with  Bullialdus  and  Lon- 
gomontanus,  Riccioli  writing  Erichtonius. 

Others  saw  here  Myrtilui,  the  charioteer  of  Oenomaus,  who  betrayed  his 
master  to  Pelops;  or  Gillas,  the  latter's  driver;  Pelethronius,  a  Thessalian; 
andTrethon;  while  Euripides  and  Pausanias  identified  him  with  the  un- 
fortunate Hippolytuf,  the  Hebrew  Joseph  of  classical  literature.     Addi- 


The  Constellations  85 

tional  titles  in  Greece  were  tApfuXdTrj^9  AuppTjldrris,  tlTnrT]A.(lTri$9  and 
'EAotfiTTTrof ,  all  signifying  a  Charioteer ;  while  La  Lande's  Bellerophon  and 
Phaethon  are  appropriate  enough,  and  his  Troohilus  may  be,  if  the  word 
be  degenerated  from  rpoxaX6^9  running;  but  his  Absyrthe,  correctly 
'Aipvprof,  the  young  brother  of  Medea,  is  unintelligible. 

Although  Auriga  was  the  usual  name  with  the  Latins,  their  poets  called 
it  Aurigator ;  Agitator  cnrrns  retinens  habenas;  Habenifer  and  Tenons 
habenas,  the  Charioteer  and  the  Rein-holder ;  some  of  these  titles  descend- 
ing to  the  Tables  and  A  Images ts  down  to  the  16th  century.  Arator,  the 
Ploughman,  appeared  with  Nigidius  and  Varro  for  this,  or  for  Bootes;  in 
fact  the  same  idea  still  holds  with  some  of  the  Teutonic  peasantry,  among 
whom  Capella  and  the  Kids  are  known  as  the  Ploughman  with  his  Oxen, 
Grimm  mentions  for  the  group  Voluyara,  as  stars  that  ploughmen  know. 
The  Aoator  occasionally  seen  may  be  an  erroneous  printing  of  Arator. 

From  the  Goat  and  Kids  came  Custos  caprarum,  Habens  capella*,  Ha- 
beas haedos,  and  Habens  hirenm  Habens  oleniam  capram  and  Oleniae 
ridua  pluviale  Capellae  of  Ovid's  Metamorphoses  are  from  the  'SlXevivqv  of 
Aratos,  thought  to  be  derived  from  (bkevri,  the  wrist,  on  which  the  Kids  are 
resting.  Some,  however,  with  more  probability  have  referred  the  word  to 
Olenus,  the  father  and  birthplace  of  the  nymph  Amalthea  in  ancient  Aetolia. 

Isidorus  of  Hispalis1  —  Saint  Isidore — called  it  Mayors,  the  poetical 
term  for  Mars,  the  father  of  Romulus  and  so  the  god  of  the  shepherds ; 
Nonius,  the  Portuguese  Pedro  Nunez  of  the  1 6th  century,  similarly  said  that 
it  was  Mafdrtins ;  and  Bayer  found  for  it  Maforte:  but  his  Ophiultus,  probably 
a  Low  Latin  word  also  applied  to  a,  seems  to  be  without  explanation. 

Some  have  thought  that  Auriga  was  Horns  with  the  Egyptians ;  but  Scali- 
ger  said  that  the  Hora  of  the  translation  of  Ptolemy's  TcTpd/3//3Aof  should 
be  Boha,  Bayer's  Boh,  a  Wagoner;  Beigel,  however,  considered  it  a  mis- 
print for  Lora,  the  Reins. 

The  barbarous  Alhaior,  Alhaiot,  Althaiot,  Alhaiset,  Alhatod,  Alhajot, 
Alhajoth,  Alhojet,  Alanao,  Alanat,  and  Alioc, —  even  these  perhaps  do  not 
exhaust  the  list, —  used  for  both  constellation  and  lueida,  are  probably  de- 
generate forms  of  the  Arabs'  Al  'Anz  and  Al  'Ayyiik,  specially  applied  to 
Capella  as  the  Goat,  which  they  figured  as  the  desert  Ibex,  their  Bddan  ; 
and  Ideler  thinks  that  this  may  have  been  the  earliest  Arabic  designation 
for  the  star. 

The  1515  Almagest  says,  "et  nominator  latine  antarii  .  .  .  id  est  colla- 
rium," —  this  Collarium  perhaps  referring  to  the  collar  in  the  Charioteer's  har- 

iThis  early  Hispalis,  the  modern  Seville,  was  the  site  of  the  first  European  observatory  of 
our  era,  erected  by  the  Moor  Geber  in  1196. 
6* 


86  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

ness;  but  the  Antarii  has  puzzled  all,  unless  it  be  Professor  Young,  who 
suggests  that  it  may  be  the  reins  diverging  from  the  Driver's  hand  like  guy- 
ropes,  which  the  original  means  as  used  by  Vitruvius  in  his  description  of  a 
builder's  derrick. 

The  Arabians  translated  the  classic  titles  for  the  Rein-holder  into  Al 
Dhu  al  'Inan,  Al  Marik  al  'Inan,  and  Al  Mumsik  al  'Into,—  Chilraead's 
Mumassich  Alhanam;  but  the  Rabbi  Aben  Ezra1  mixed  things  up  by 
calling  the  figure  Pastor  in  cujus  manu  estfrenum. 

Some  have  illustrated  it  as  Saint  Jerome,  but  Caesius  likened  it  to  Jacob 
deceiving  his  father  with  the  flesh  of  his  kids ;  and  Seiss  says  that  it  repre- 
sents the  Good  Shepherd  who  laid  down  his  life  for  the  sheep.  A  Chariot 
and  Goat  are  shown  on  coins  of  consular  Rome,  and  a  Goat  alone  on  those 
of  Paros,  that  may  have  referred  to  this  constellation. 

Argelander  counts  70  naked-eye  stars  here,  and  Heis  144. 

Capella's  course  admiring  landsmen  trace, 
But  sailors  Hate  her  inauspicious  face. 

Lamb's  Aratas. 

a>     0.3,    white. 

This  has  been  known  as  Capella,  the  Little  She-goat,  since  at  least  the 
times  of  Manilius,  Ovid,  and  Pliny,  all  of  whom  followed  the  Kivfjoai 
XeifuDvag  of  Aratos  in  terming  it  a  Signum  pluviale  like  its  companions  the 
Haedi,  thus  confirming  its  stormy  character  throughout  classical  days. 
Holland  translated  Pliny's  words  the  rainy  Goatatarre;  Pliny  and  Ma- 
nilius treated  it  as  a  constellation  by  itself,  also  calling  it  Capra,  Caper, 
Hireus,  and  by  other  hircine  titles. 

Our  word  is  the  diminutive  of  Capra,  sometimes  turned  into  Crepa,  and 
more  definitely  given  as  Olenia,  Olenie,  Capra  Olenie,  and  the  Olenium  As- 
trum  of  Ovid's  Iferoides.  In  the  present  day  it  is  Cahrilla  with  the  Span- 
iards, and  Chevre  with  the  French. 

Amalthea  came  from  the  name  of  the  Cretan  goat,  the  nurse  of  Jupiter 
and  mother  of  the  Haedi,  which  she  put  aside  to  accommodate  her  foster- 
child,  and  for  which  Manilius  wrote : 

The  Nursing  Goat's  repaid  with  Heaven. 
From  this  came  the  occasional  Jovia  Hutrix. 

l  This  celebrated  man,  often  cited  in  bygone  days  as  Abenare,  Avenore,  Evenare,  was 
Abraham  ben  Meir  ben  Ezra  of  Toledo,  the  great  Hebrew  commentator  of  the  12th  century, 
an  astronomer,  mathematician,  philologist,  poet,  and  scholar,  and  the  first  noted  biblical  critic. 


The  Constellations  87 

But,  according  to  an  earlier  version,  the  nurse  was  the  nymph  Amalthea, 
who,  with  her  sister  Melissa,  fed  the  infant  god  with  goat's  milk  and  honey 
on  Mount  Ida,  the  nymph  Aige  being  sometimes  substituted  for  one  or 
both  of  the  foregoing;  or  Adrasta,  with  her  sister  Ida,  all  daughters  of  the 
Cretan  king  Melisseus.  Others  said  that  the  star  represented  the  Goat's 
horn  broken  off  in  play  by  the  infant  Jove  and  transferred  to  the  heavens 
as  Conra  eopiae,  the  Horn  of  Plenty,  a  title  recalled  by  the  modern  Lith- 
uanian Food-bearer.  In  this  connection,  it  was  'AtiaXOeiag  atpaq,  also 
brought  absurdly  enough  into  the  Septuagint  as  a  translation  of  the  words 
Keren-happuch,  the  Paint-horn,  or  the  Horn  of  Antimony,  of  the  Book  of 
Job  xlii,  14, —  the  Cornus  tibii  of  the  Vulgate.  Ptolemy's  *A*f  probably  be- 
came the  Arabo-Greek  'Aiovk  of  the  Graeco- Persian  Chrysococca's  book, 
and  the  Ayyfck,  Alhajoc,  Alhajoth,  Alathod,  Alkatod,  Alatudo,  Atud,  etc., 
which  it  shared  with  the  constellation;  but  Ideler  thought  'Ayyuk  an  in- 
digenous term  of  the  Arabs  for  this  star.  Assemani's  Aloahela  may  have 
come  from  Capella.  The  Tyrians  called  it  'Iyutha,  applied  also  to  Aldeb- 
aran  and  perhaps  to  other  stars;  but  the  Rabbis  adopted  the  Arabic 
'AyyQk  as  a  title  for  their  heavenly  Goat,  although  they  greatly  disagreed 
as  to  its  location,  placing  it  variously  in  Auriga,  Taurus,  Aries,  and  Orion. 
The  "  armborne  she  goat,"  however,  of  Aratos,  derived  from  the  priests  of 
Zeus,  would  seem  to  fix  it  positively  where  we  now  recognize  it.  Hyde 
devoted  three  pages  of  learned  criticism  to  this  important  (!)  subject,  but 
insisted  that  the  Arabic  and  Hebrew  word  'Ash  designated  this  star. 

With  £  and  17,  the  Kids,  it  formed  the  group  that  Kazwini  knew  as  Al 
Tnitf,  the  Goats,  but  others  as  Al  Anx,  in  the  singular. 

The  early  Arabs  called  it  Al  Rakib,  the  Driver;  for,  lying  far  to  the 
north,  it  was  prominent  in  the  evening  sky  before  other  stars  became  visi- 
ble, and  so  apparently  watching  over  them ;  and  the  synonymous  Al  Hid!  of 
the  Pleiades,  as,  on  the  parallel  of  Arabia,  it  rose  with  that  cluster.  Wetz- 
stein,  the  biblical  critic  often  quoted  by  Delitzsch,  explains  this  last  term  as 
"  the  singer  riding  before  the  procession,  who  cheers  the  camels  by  the 
sound  of  the  hadwa,  and  thereby  urges  them  on,"  the  Pleiades  here  being 
regarded  as  a  troop  of  camels.  An  early  Arab  poet  alluded  to  this  Had! 
as  overseer  of  the  MHsir  game,  sitting  behind  the  players,  the  other  stars. 

Bayer's  Ophiultui  now  seems  unintelligible. 

Capella's  place  on  the  Denderah  zodiac  is  occupied  by  a  mummied  cat 
in  the  outstretched  hand  of  a  male  figure  crowned  with  feathers ;  while, 
always  an  important  star  in  the  temple  worship  of  the  great  Egyptian  god 
Ptah,  the  Opener,  it  is  supposed  to  have  borne  the  name  of  that  divinity 
and  probably  was  observed  at  its  setting  1700  b.  c.  from  his  temple,  the 


88  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

noted  edifice  at  Karnak  near  Thebes,  the  No  Amon  of  the  books  of  the 
prophets  Jeremiah  and  Nahum.  Another  recently  discovered  sanctuary  of 
Ptah  at  Memphis  also  was  oriented  to  it  about  5200  b.  c.  Lockyer  thinks 
that  at  least  five  temples  were  oriented  to  its  setting. 

It  served,  too,  the  same  purpose  for  worship  in  Greece,  where  it  may  have 
been  the  orientation  point  of  a  temple  at  Eleusis  to  the  goddess  Diana  Pro- 
pyla ;  and  of  another  at  Athens. 

In  India  it  also  was  sacred  as  Brahma  Ridaya,  the  Heart  of  Brahma; 
and  Hewitt  considers  Capella,  or  Arcturus,  the  Aryaman,  or  Airyaman, 
of  the  Rig  Veda. 

The  Chinese  had  an  asterism  here,  formed  by  Capella  with  0,  0,  *,and  7, 
which  they  called  Woo  Chay,  the  Five  Chariots  —  a  singular  resemblance  in 
title  to  our  Charioteer ;  although  Edkins  says  that  this  should  be  the  Chariots 
of  the  Five  Emperors. 

The  Akkadian  Dil-gan  I-ku,  the  Messenger  of  Light,  or  Dil-gan  Babili,  the 
Patron  star  of  Babylon,  is  thought  to  have  been  Capella,  known  in  Assyria 
as  I-ku,  the  Leader,  /.  e.  of  the  year;  for,  according  to  Sayce,  in  Akkadian 
times  the  commencement  of  the  year  was  determined  by  the  position  of  this 
star  in  relation  to  the  moon  at  the  vernal  equinox.  This  was  previous  to 
1730  b.  c,  when,  during  the  preceding  2150  years,  spring  began  when  the 
sun  entered  the  constellation  Taurus ;  in  this  connection  the  star  was  known 
as  the  Star  of  Marduk,  but  subsequent  to  that  date  some  of  these  titles  were 
apparently  applied  to  Hamal,  Wega,  and  others  whose  positions  as  to  that 
initial  point  had  changed  by  reason  of  precession.  One  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tion, supposed  to  refer  to  our  Capella,  is  rendered  by  Jensen  Aftkar,  the 
Tempest  God;  and  the  Tablet  of  the  Thirty  Stars  bears  the  synonymous 
Ma-a-tu ;  all  this  well  accounting  for  its  subsequent  character  in  classical 
times,  and  one  of  the  many  evidences  adduced  as  to  the  origin  of  Greek 
constellational  astronomy  in  the  Euphrates  valley. 

The  ancient  Peruvians,  the  Quichuas,  whose  language  is  still  spoken  by 
their  descendants,  appear  to  have  devoted  much  attention  to  the  stars ;  and 
Jose"  de  Acosta,  the  Spanish  Jesuit  and  naturalist  of  the  16th  century,  said 
that  every  bird  and  beast  on  earth  had  its  namesake  in  their  sky.  He  cited 
several  of  their  stellar  titles,  identifying  this  star  with  Colca,  singularly 
prominent  with  their  shepherds,  as  Capella  was  with  the  same  class  on  the 
Mediterranean  in  ancient  days ;  indeed  in  later  also,  for  the  Shepherd's 
Star  has  been  applied  to  it  by  our  English  poets,  although  more  commonly 
to  the  planet  Venus. 

In  astrology  Capella  portended  civic  and  military  honors  and  wealth. 

Tennyson,  in  some  fine  lines  in  his  Maud,  mentions  it  as  "  a  glorious  crown/' 


The  Constellations  89 

As  to  its  color  astronomers  are  not  agreed ;  Smyth  calling  it  bright  white ; 
Professor  Young  yellow ;  and  others  say  blue  or  red,  which  last  it  was  as- 
serted to  be  by  Ptolemy,  Al  Ferghani,  and  Riccioli;  while  those  whose  eyes 
are  specially  sensitive  to  that  tint  still  find  it  such. 

Capella  perhaps  has  increased  in  lustre  during  the  present  century ;  but, 
brilliant  as  it  is,  its  parallax  of  o".095,  obtained  from  Elkin's  observations, 
indicates  a  distance  from  our  system  of  34^  light  years ;  and,  if  this  be  cor- 
rect, the  star  emits  250  times  as  much  light  as  our  sun. 

Its  spectrum  resembles  that  of  the  latter ;  indeed  spectroscopists  say  that 
Capella  is  virtually  identical  with  the  sun  in  physical  constitution,  and  fur- 
nishes the  model  spectrum  of  the  Solar  type,1  yellow  in  tinge  and  ruled 
throughout  with  innumerable  fine  dark  lines. 

Vogel  thinks  it  receding  from  our  system  at  the  rate  of  15^  miles  a 
second.  It  is  the  most  northern  of  all  the  ist-magnitude  stars,  rising  in  the 
latitude  of  New  York  City  at  sunset  about  the  middle  of  October,  and  cul- 
minating at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  19th  of  January.  Thus  it 
is  visible  at  some  hour  of  every  clear  night  throughout  the  year. 

p,    2.1,    lucid  yellow. 

Xenfcalinan,  Menkalinam,  and  Menkalina  are  from  Al  Mankib  dhil  'Inan, 
the  Shoulder  of  the  Rein-holder,  which  it  marks,  the  solstitial  colure  passing 
it  20  to  the  east;  the  star  itself  being  about  io°  east  of  Capella.  It  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  very  close  binary,  receding  from  us  about  iy}4  miles  a  second ; 
the  two  practically  equal  stars  that  compose  the  pair  being  only  7^  mil- 
lions of  miles  apart,  and  revolving  in  a  period  of  about  four  days,  with  a 
relative  velocity  of  fully  150  miles  a  second.  This  discovery  was  made  by 
Pickering  from  spectroscopic  observations  in  1889.  The  lines  in  the  spec- 
trum double  and  undouble  every  two  days. 

Y,     2.1,    brilliant  white, 

was  Al  Kab  dhil  'Inan,  the  Heel  of  the  Rein-holder,  of  Arabian  astronomy, 
so  showing  its  location  in  the  figure  of  Auriga.  From  the  earliest  days  of 
descriptive  astronomy  it  has  been  identical  with  the  star  Al  Hath,  the  0 
of  Taurus  at  the  extremity  of  the  right  horn,  and  Aratos  so  mentioned  it. 
Vitruvius,  however,  said  that  it  was  Aurigae  Manns,  because  the  Charioteer 
was  supposed  to  hold  it  in  his  hand,  which  would  imply  a  very  different 
drawing  from  that  of  Rome,  Greece,  and  our  own ;  and  Father  Hell,  in  1769, 

1  This  is  the  ad  of  the  classification  of  Father  Angelo  Secchi,  the  modern  Roman  astronomer. 


go  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

correctly  had  this  expression  for  the  star  0.  The  later  Arabian  astronomers 
also  considered  it  in  Taurus  by  designating  it  as  Al  K&rn  al  Thanr  al 
Shamaliyyah,  the  Northern  Horn  of  the  Bull ;  but  Kazwini  adhered  to 
Auriga  by  giving  "  the  two  in  the  ankles "  as  Al  Tawabi'  al  'Ayyuk,  the 
Goat's  Attendants,  Ideler  identifying  these  with  y  and  i. 

0,     4.1,    yellow, 

is  on  the  head  of  the  Charioteer.  It  is  unnamed  with  us,  but,  inconspicuous 
as  it  is,  the  Hindus  called  it  Praja-pati,  the  Lord  of  Created  Beings,  a  title 
also  and  far  more  appropriately  given  to  Orion  and  to  Corvus.  The 
Surya  Siddhanta  devotes  considerable  space  to  it ;  but  "  why  so  faint  and 
inconspicuous  a  star  should  be  found  among  the  few  of  which  Hindu 
astronomers  have  taken  particular  notice  is  not  easy  to  discover." 

The  Chinese  include  it,  with  £  A,  &,  1,  and  others  near  Cassiopeia,  in  their 
asterism  Pa  Kuh,  the  Eight  Cereals. 

£,    variable,    3  to  4.5. 

Hyde  cited  Arabic  authority  for  this,  being  at  one  time  Al  Xa'ai,  the 
He  Goat,  and  later  on  it  so  appeared  in  one  of  the  commentaries  on  Ulug 
Beg ;  but  Kazwini  knew  it  by  the  general  title  Al  'Adz,  although  it  was  not 
in  his  Al  'Inaz,  the  group  of  Goats, —  a,  £  and  17.  Some  modern  lists  in- 
clude it  with  the  Kids. 

Its  variability,  in  an  irregular  period,  was  suspected  by  Fritsch  in  1821, 
confirmed  by  Schmidt  in  1843,  and  independently  discovered  by  Heis  in 
1847.    £  and  rj  are  about  50  southwest  of  Capella. 

C>    4,    orange, 

is  the  western  one  of  the  *Epi(f>oit  or  Kids,  of  Hipparchos  and  Ptolemy,  the 
Haedi  of  the  Latins.     Pliny  made  of  them  a  separate  constellation. 
The  poet  Callimachus,  240  b.  c,  wrote  in  an  epigram  of  the  Anthologw  •' 

Tempt  not  the  winds  forewarned  of  dangers  nigh, 
When  the  Kids  glitter  in  the  western  sky ; 

Vergil,  commending  in  the  Georgics  their  observation  to  his  farmer  neighbors, 
made  special  allusion  to  the  dies  Haedorum,  and  with  Horace  and  Manilius 
called  them  fluvia/es,  the  latter  author's 

Stormy  Haedi  .  .  .  which  shut  the  Main 
And  stop  the  Sailers  hot  pursuit  of  gain. 


The  Constellations  91 

Horace  similarly  knew  them  as  horrida  et  insana  sidera  and  insana  Caprae 
sidera;  and  Ovid  as  nimbosi^  rainy.  They  thus  shared  the  bad  repute  in 
which  Capella  was  held  by  mariners,  and  were  so  much  dreaded,  as  presag- 
ing the  stormy  season  on  the  Mediterranean,  that  their  rising  early  in  October 
evenings  was  the  signal  for  the  closing  of  navigation.  All  classical  authors 
who  mention  the  stars  alluded  to  this  direful  influence,  and  a  festival,  the 
Natalis  navigationis,  was  held  when  the  days  of  that  influence  were  past. 
Propertius  wrote  of  them,  in  the  singular,  as  Haedus ;  Albumasar,  as  Agni, 
the  Lambs ;  the  Arabians  knew  them  as  Al  Jadyain,  the  Two  Young  He 
Goats ;  and  Bayer,  in  the  plural,  as  Capellae. 

£  appeared  in  the  original  edition  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables  as  Badatoni ; 
but  in  the  later,  and  in  the  Almagest  of  1515,  as  8adateni:  both  strangely 
changed,  either  from  Al  Dhat  al  'Inan,  the  Rein-holder,  or  more  probably 
from  Al  Said  al  Thani,  the  Second  Arm,  by  some  confusion  with  the  star/3 
that  is  thus  located;  or  because  itself  was  in  that  part  of  an  earlier  con- 
ception of  the  figure. 

i\  is  a  half-magnitude  brighter  than  £  but  not  individually  named. 

was  Al  Tizini's  Al  Ka'b  dhi'l  'Inan,  which  other  authors  gave  to  y ;  and 
Kazwini  included  it  with  the  latter  in  his  Al  Tawabi'  al  'Ayyffik. 

\  Double,  5  and  9^,  pale  yellow  and  plum  color;  |A,  5.1 ;  and  O,  5.3, 

in  the  centre  of  the  figure,  were  Kazwini's  Al  H'ibft*,  the  Tent ;  but  he  had 
other  such  in  Aquarius,  the  Southern  Crown,  and  Corvus,  for  this  naturally 
was  a  favorite  simile  with  the  Arabs. 

It  is  this  star  that  may  be  the  one  lettered  Al  Hurr,  the  Fawn,  on  the 
Borgian  globe. 

The  5th-magnitudes  ji,p,  and  a  were  Tseen  Hwang,  the  Heavenly  Pool; 
and  v,  t,  v,  0,  #,  with  another  unidentified  star,  Choo,  a  Pillar. 

20  south  from  %,  on  the  24th  of  January,  1892,  an  amateur  observer,  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Thomas  D.  Anderson  of  Edinburgh,  discovered  with 
an  opera-glass  a  5th-  magnitude  yellowish  nova,  now  known  as  T  Aurigae, 
which  has  excited  so  much  interest  in  the  astronomical  world  by  the  character 
of  its  spectrum.  Subsequent  to  the  optical  discovery  it  was  identified  on  a 
photographic  plate  taken  on  the  10th  of  December  previously,  but  not  on  one 
taken  on  the  8th,  thus  indicating  its  appearance  in  the  sky  between  those 
two  dates.  Other  photographs  show  that  its  maximum,  4.4,  occurred  about 
the  20th.    Its  conflagration,  however,  is  supposed  to  have  occurred  at  least 


92  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

a  hundred,  perhaps  many  hundred,  years  ago,  so  great  is  its  distance  from 
our  system.  It  became  invisible  towards  the  end  of  April,  1892,  but  was 
rediscovered  from  Mount  Hamilton  on  the  19th  of  August  as  a  planetary 
nebula,  the  second  instance  in  astronomical  history  of  such  a  change  of 
character,  the  nova  Cygniof  1877  having  been  the  first.  It  was  still  visible 
in  1895,  its  spectrum  continuing  distinctly  nebular  in  its  character;  and  it 
is  worthy  of  notice  that  two  others  of  the  new  stars  discovered  since  the  ap- 
plication of  the  spectroscope  to  this  class  of  investigations  have  had  nearly 
identical  histories.  Scheiner,  who  gives  a  detailed  account  of  this  phenom- 
enon in  his  Spectralanalysey  alludes  to  the  velocity  of  the  two  constituent 
bodies  as  being  400  miles  or  more  a  second ;  if  indeed  —  which  some  doubt 
—  the  peculiar  separation  of  the  bright  and  dark  lines  of  hydrogen  noted  in 
its  spectrum  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  relative  motion  of  gaseous  masses 
involved  in  the  phenomenon. 

xpl  to  ip10,  5th-magnitude  stars,  were  the  BovAqyec,  or  Goads,  the  Latin 
Dolones,  called  Stimulus  by  Tibullus.  Bayer  said  of  them :  Decern  stelluke 
flagellum  constituents.  As  figured  by  Diirer  they  are  the  several  lasbes  of 
the  whip  in  the  Charioteer's  hands. 


Bootes'  golden  wain. 

Pope's  Statins  His  Thsbau. 

Bootes  only  seem'd  to  roll 

His  Arctic  charge  around  the  Pole. 

Byron's  3d  Ode  in  Hours  of  Idleness. 

QBobfe*, 

the  Italians'  Botite  and  the  French  Bouvier,is  transliterated  from  Bowt#, 
which  appeared  in  the  Odyssey \  so  that  our  title  has  been  in  use  for  nearly 
3000  years,  perhaps  for  much  longer ;  although  doubtless  at  first  applied 
only  to  its  prominent  star  Arcturus.  Degenerate  forms  of  the  word  have 
been  Bootia  and  Bootres. 

It  has  been  variously  derived :  some  say  from  Bov$,  Ox,  and  &Qhv, t0 
drive,  and  so  the  Wagoner,  or  Driver,  of  the  Wain ;  Claudian  writing: 

Bootes  with  the  wain  the  north  unfolds ; 

or  the  Ploughman  of  the  Triones  that,  as  Arator,  occurs  with  Nigidius  and 
Varro  of  the  century  before  our  era.     But  in  recent  times  the  figure  has  been 


The  Constellations  93 

imagined  the  Driver  of  Asterion  and  Charain  their  pursuit  of  the  Bear  around 
the  pole,  thus  alluded  to  by  Carlyle  in  Sartor  Resartus: 

What  thinks  Bootes  of  them,  as  he  leads  his  Hunting  Dogs  over  the  zenith  in  their  leash 
of  sidereal  fire  ? 

Others,  and  perhaps  more  correctly,  thought  the  word  BorjTfy,  Clamorous, 
transcribed  as  Boetes,  from  the  shouts  of  the  Driver  to  his  Oxen, —  the 
Triones, —  or  of  the  Hunter  in  pursuit  of  the  Bear;  Hevelius  suggesting 
that  the  shouting  was  in  encouragement  of  the  Hounds.  In  translations 
of  the  Syntaxis  this  idea  of  a  Shouter  was  shown  by  Vociferator,  Vociferans, 
daman*,  Clamator,  Plerans,  the  Loud  Weeper,  and  even,  perhaps,  by  Canis 
latrans,  the  Barking  Dog,  that  Aben  Ezra  applied  to  its  stars  in  the  Hebrew 
words  Kelebh  hannabah. 

The  Arabians  rendered  their  similar  conception  of  the  figure  by  Al  *Aw- 
wa',—  Chilmead's  Alhava. 

The  not  infrequent  title  Herdsman,  from  the  French  Bouvier,  also  is  ap- 
propriate, for  not  only  was  he  associated  with  the  Oxen  of  the  Wain,  but  in 
Arab  days  the  near-by  circumpolar  stars  were  regarded  as  a  Fold  with  its 
inmates  and  enemies. 

Other  names  were  'Apicro^vka^  and  'AptcTovpo<;9  the  Bear-watcher  and 
the  Bear-guard,  the  latter  first  found  in  the  "Epya  nal  %H^£pcuy  the  Works 
and  Days,  "  a  Boeotian  shepherd's  calendar,"  by  Hesiod,  eight  centuries  be- 
fore our  era.  But,  although  these  words  were  often  interchanged,  the  for- 
mer generally  was  used  for  the  constellation  and  the  latter  for  its  lucida,  as 
in  the  Phainomena  and  by  Geminos  and  Ptolemy.  Still  the  poets  did  not 
always  discriminate  in  this,  the  versifiers  of  Aratos  confounding  the  titles  not- 
withstanding the  exactness  of  the  original ;  although  Cicero  in  one  place 
definitely  wrote : 

Arctophylax,  vulgo  qui  dicitur  esse  Bootes. 

Transliterated  thus,  —  or  Artophilaxe, —  and  as  Aroturui,  both  names  are 
seen  for  the  constellation  with  writers  and  astronomers  even  to  the  18th 
century ;  Chaucer  having  "  ye  sterres  of  Arctour."  The  scientific  Isidorus 
knew  it  as  Areturus  Minor,  his  Major  being  the  Greater  Bear.  Smyth  de- 
rived this  word  from  'Apicrov  dvpd,  the  Bear's  Tail,  as  Bootes  is  near  that 
part  of  Ursa  Major;  but  this  is  not  generally  accepted  —  indeed  is  expressly 
condemned  by  the  critic  Buttmann. 

Statius  also  called  it  Portitor  Unae ;  Vitruvius  had  Cnitos  and  Cuitos 
Arcti,  the  Bear-keeper;  Ovid,  Custoe  Erymanthidos  Ursae ;  the  Alfonsine 


94  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

TabUs,  Aretori  Custos ;  while  the  Bear-driver  is  often  seen  with  early  Eng- 
lish writers. 

Although  Manilius  knew  it  in  connection  with  the  Bear,  he  changed  the 

simile  when  he  wrote : 

whose  order'd  Beams 
Present  a  Figure  driving  of  his  Teams ; 

and  Aratos  long  before  had  united  the  two  thoughts  and  titles : 

Behind  and  seeming  to  urge  on  the  Bear, 
Arctophylax,  on  earth  Bootes  named, 
Sheds  o'er  the  Arctic  car  his  silver  light. 

Plaustri  Custos,  the  Keeper  of  the  Wain,  was  another  name  for  it  that 
altered  the  character  of  Bootes'  duties ;  Ovid  following  in  this  with : 

interque  Triones 
Flexerat  obliquo  plaustrum  temone  Bootes. 

It  has  been  Lycaon,  the  father,  or  grandfather,  of  Kallisto,  when  that 
nymph  was  identified  with  Ursa  Major;  as  well  as  Areas,  her  son;  Ovid 
distinctly  asserting  in  the  2d  of  the  Fasti  that  Arctophylax  in  the  skies  was 
the  earthly  Areas,  although  it  is  often  wrongly  supposed  that  the  latter  is  rep- 
resented by  Ursa  Minor;  it  was  Septentrio,  from  its  nearness  to  the  north, so 
taking  one  of  the  Bear's  titles ;  and  Atlas,  because,  near  to  the  pole,  it 
sustained  the  world. 

Hesychios,  of  about  a.  d.  370,  called  it  Orion,  but  this  seems  unintelligible 
unless  originating  from  a  misunderstanding  of  Homer's  lines,  translated  by 

Lord  Derby : 

Arctos  call'd  the  Wain,  who  wheels  on  high 
His  circling  course,  and  on  Orion  waits, 

as  if  they  were  in  close  proximity.  Or  the  title  may  come  from  some  confu- 
sion with  the  Orus,  or  Horns,  of  the  Egyptians,  that  was  associated  with  both 
Orion  and  Bootes.     La  Lande  alluded  to  this  when  he  wrote  : 

Arctouros  ou  l'Orus  voisin  de  l'Ourse,  pour  le  distinguer  de  la  constellation  meridional* 
d'Orion ; 

and,  in  considering  this  very  different  derivation  of  our  word  Arcturus,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  Kdvdaog  and  Kavdduv  were  the  titles  also  ap- 
plied to  Bootes,  as  the  latter  Greek  word  was  to  Orion  by  the  Boeotians. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  more  of  this  connection. 

Philomelas  is  another  designation,  as  if  he  were  the  son  of  the  neighboring 
Virgo  Ceres ;  and  the  early  title  Venator  Ursae,  the  Hunter  of  the  Bear,  t 


The  Constellations  95 

appears  as  Himrod,  the  Mighty  Hunter  before  the  Lord,  with  the  biblical 
school  of  two  or  three  centuries  ago;  although  this  was  more  usual  for  Orion. 

Pastor,  the  Shepherd,  presumably  is  from  the  Arabic  idea  of  a  Fold  around 
the  pole,  or  from  the  near-by  flock  in  the  Pasture  towards  the  southeast,  in 
our  Hercules  and  Ophiuchus ;  or  perhaps  by  some  confusion  with  Cepheus, 
who  also  was  a  Shepherd  with  his  Dog. 

Pastinator  is  Hyde's  rendering  of  a  supposed  Arabic  title  signifying  a  Dig- 
ger or  Trencher  in  a  vineyard.  A  commentator  on  Aratos  called  it  TpvycTiyc, 
the  Vintager,  as  its  rising  in  the  morning  twilight  coincided  with  the  au- 
tumnal equinox  and  the  time  of  the  grape  harvest ;  Cicero  repeating  this  in 
his  Protrygeter ;  but  both  of  these  names  better  belonged  to  the  star  Vinde- 
miatrix,  our  e  Virginis. 

Still  its  risings  and  settings  were  frequently  observed  and  made  much  of 
in  all  classical  days,  and  even  beyond  the  Augustan  age,  although  many, 
perhaps  most,  of  these  allusions  were  to  its  bright  star.  As  a  calendar  sign 
it  was  first  mentioned  by  Hesiod,  thus  translated  by  Thomas  Cooke : 

When  in  the  rosy  morn  Arcturus  shines, 
Then  pluck  the  clusters  from  the  parent  vines ; 

and  again,  but  for  a  different  season  of  the  year : 

When  from  the  Tropic,  or  the  winter's  sun, 

Thrice  twenty  days  and  nights  their  course  have  run ; 

And  when  Arcturus  leaves  the  main,  to  rise 

A  star  bright  shining  in  the  evening  skies ; 

Then  prune  the  vine. 

Columella,  Palladius,  Pliny,  Vergil,  and  others  have  similar  references  to 
Bootes,  or  to  Arcturus,  as  indicating  the  proper  seasons  for  various  farm- 
work,  as  in  the  1st  Georgic: 

Setting  Bootes  will  afford  the  signs  not  obscure. 

Ioarui,  or  Icariufl,  also  was  a  title  for  our  constellation,  from  the  unfor- 
tunate Athenian  who  brought  so  much  trouble  into  the  world  by  his  practi- 
cal expounding  of  Bacchus'  ideas  as  to  the  proper  use  of  the  grape,  and 
who  was  so  unworthily  exalted  to  the  sky,  with  his  daughter  Erigone  as 
Virgo,  and  their  faithful  hound  Maera  as  Procyon  or  Sirius.  From  this 
story  came  the  Icarii  boves  applied  to  the  Triones  by  Propertius,  and  in 
the  Andrews-Freund  Lexicon  to  Bootes  himself. 

CeginuSy  Seginna,  and  Chegniniu,  as  well  as  the  Chegnius  of  the  Arabo- 
Latin  Almagest,  may  have  wandered  here  in  strangely  changed  form  from 
the  neighboring  Cepheus ;  although  Buttmann  asserted  that  they  probably 


96  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

came,  by  long-repeated  transcription  and  consequent  errors,  from  Kheta- 
nu,  the  Arabian  orthography  for  Arcturus.  Bayer  had  Thegiui,  as  usual 
without  explanation ;  still  I  find  in  Riccioli's  A  Images  turn  Novum :  Arabic'e 
Thegniufl,  quasi plorans  aut  vociferans;  but  Arabic  scholars  do  not  confirm  this. 

La  Lande  cited  Cnitoi  Bourn,  the  Keeper  of  the  Oxen,  and  Bubnhu,  or 
Bubuleus,  the  Peasant  Ox-driver,  although  Ideler  denied  that  the  latter 
ever  was  used  for  Bootes.  Juvenal,  however,  had  it,  and  Minsheu  defined 
Bootes  as  Bubulcus  coelettis.  Landseer,  following  La  Lande,  said  that 
the  Herdsman  was  the  national  sign  of  ancient  Egypt,  the  myth  of  the 
dismemberment  of  Osiris  originating  in  the  successive  settings  of  its  stars: 
and  that  there  it  was  called  Otiria,  Baochus,  or  Sabaziufl,  the  ancient  name 
for  Bacchus  and  Noah;  and  that  Kircher's  planisphere  showed  a  Vine  in- 
stead of  the  customary  figure,  thus  recalling  incidents  in  the  histories  of 
those  worthies,  as  well  as  of  I  can  us. 

Homer  characterized  the  constellation  as  dxf)e  dvwv,  late  in  setting,  a 
thought  and  expression  now  become  hackneyed  by  frequent  repetition. 

Aratos  had  it : 

he,  when  tired  of  day, 
At  even  lingers  more  than  half  the  night ; 

Manilius  somewhat  varying  this  by 

Slow  Bootes  drives  his  lingering  Teams  ; 

Claudian,  Juvenal,  and  Ovid,  by  tardus,  slow,  and  piger,  sluggish,  which  their 
later  countryman  Ariosto,  of  the  16th  century,  repeated  in  his  pigro  Artnro; 
and  Minsheu,  in  the  17th  century,  wrote  of  it  as 

Bootes,  or  the  Carman,  a  slow  mooving  starre,  seated  in  the  North  Pole  neere  to  Charles 
Waine,  which  itfollawes. 

And  all  this  because,  as  the  figure  sets  in  a  perpendicular  position,  eight 
hours  are  consumed  in  its  downward  progress,  and  even  then  the  hand  of 
Bootes  never  disappears  below  the  horizon  —  a  fact  more  noticeable  in 
early  days  than  now.  The  reverse,  however,  takes  place  at  its  rising  in  a 
horizontal  position ;  hence  the  aOpooq,  all  at  once,  of  Aratos. 

Some  say  that  these  expressions  of  sluggishness  are  from  its  setting  late 
in  the  season  when  the  daylight  is  curtailed,  or  a  reference  to  the  natural 
gait  of  the  Triones  that  Bootes  is  driving  around  the  pole ;  while  still  others, 
more  astronomically  inclined,  attributed  them  to  his  comparative  nearness  to 

that  point  where  slowest  are  the  stars, 
Even  as  a  wheel  the  nearest  to  its  axle, 

that  Dante  wrote  of  in  the  Purgatorio. 


The  Constellations  97 

Bootes'  association  with  the  Mods  Maenalus,  on  which  he  is  sometimes 
shown,  is  unexplained  unless  by  the  suggestion  found  under  that  constella- 
tion heading.  This  association  was  current  even  in  early  days,  if  Landseer 
be  correct  where  he  says  : 

Easebius,  quoting  an  ancient  oracle  which  has  apparent  reference  to  this  constellation  as 
formerly  represented,  writes  — 

A  mystic  goad  the  mountain  herdsman  bears. 

Brown  says  that  it  was  known  in  Assyria  as  Riu-but-flame,  "  that  reappears 
in  Greek  as  Bootes";  and  thus 

the  idea  of  the  ox-driving  Ploughman  or  Herdsman,  as  applied  to  the  constellation,  is 
Euphratean  in  character. 

Among  its  Arabian  derivatives  are  Hekkar,  often  considered  as  Al  BTak- 
kar,  the  Digger,  or  Tearer,  analogous  to  the  classic  Trencher  in  the  vine- 
yard; but  Ideler  showed  this  to  be  an  erroneous  form  of  Al  Bakkar,  the 
Herdsman,  found  with  Ibn  Yunus  (or  Yunis). 

Alkalnrops,  which  appeared  for  Bootes  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  as  In- 
ealnrns,  is  from  KaXavpoty,  a  herdsman's  Crook  or  Staff,  with  the  Arabic 
article  prefixed;  this  now  is  our  title  for  the  star  p.  The  staff,  ultimately 
figured  as  a  Lance,  gave  rise  to  the  name  Al  Bamih,  which  came  into  gen- 
eral use  among  the  Arabians,  but  subsequently  degenerated  in  early  Eu- 
ropean astronomical  works  into  Aramech,  Ariamech,  and  like  words  for  the 
constellation  as  well  as  for  its  great  star. 

The  same  figure  is  seen  in  Al  HamiL  Lnsz,  the  Spear-bearer,  or,  as  Caesius 
had  it,  Al  Kameluz,  Riccioli's  Kolanza,  and  the  Azimeth  Colanza  of  Red- 
uan's  translator,  which  Ideler  compared  to  the  Latin  cum  lancea  and  the  Ital- 
ian colla  lancia.  Similarly,  Bayer  said  that  on  a  Turkish  map  it  was 
'O'io7o<f>6pof,  the  Arrow-bearer ;  and  elsewhere  Sagittifer  and  Lanoeator. 

Al  Harifl  al  Sama'  of  Arabic  literature  originally  was  for  Arcturus,  al- 
though eventually  applied  to  the  constellation.  But  long  before  these  ideas 
were  current  in  Arabia,  that  people  are  supposed  to  have  had  an  enormous 
Lion,  their  early  Asad,  extending  over  a  third  of  the  heavens,  of  which  the 
stars  Arcturus  and  Spica  were  the  shin-bones ;  Regulus,  the  forehead ;  the 
heads  of  Gemini,  one  of  the  fore  paws ;  Canis  Minor,  the  other;  and  Corvus, 
the  hind  quarters.  Yet  there  seems  to  be  doubt  as  to  all  this,  as  is  more 
fully  explained  under  o  Geminorum. 

In  Poland  Bootes  forms  the  Ogka,  or  Thills,  of  that  country's  much-ex- 
tended Wos  Niebeaki,  the  Heavenly  Wain;   and  in  the  Old  Bohemian 
tongue  it  was  Przyczck,  as  unintelligible  as  it  is  unpronounceable. 
7 


98  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  early  Catholics  knew  it  as  Saint  Sylvester;  Caesius  said  that  it  might 
represent  the  prophet  Amos,  the  Herdsman,  or  Shepherd  Fig-dresser,  of 
Tekoa;  but  Weigel  turned  it  into  the  Three  Swedish  Crowns. 

Proctor  asserted  that  Bootes,  when  first  formed,  perhaps  included  even  the 
Crown,  as  we  know  that  it  did  the  Hunting  Dogs;  and  that, so  constituted, 

it  exhibits  better  than  most  constellations  the  character  assigned  to  it.  One  can  readily 
picture  to  one's  self  the  figure  of  a  Herdsman  with  upraised  arm  driving  the  Greater  Bear 
before  him. 

The  drawing  by  Heis,  after  Diirer,  is  of  a  mature  man,  with  herdsman's 
staff,  holding  the  leash  of  the  Hounds;  but  earlier  representations  are  of  a 
much  younger  figure :  in  all  cases,  however,  well  equipped  with  weapons  of 
the  chase,  or  implements  of  husbandry;  the  earliest  form  of  these  probably 
having  been  the  winnowing  fan  of  Bacchus. 

The  Venetian  Hyginus  of  1488  shows  the  Wheat  Sheaf,  Coma  Berenices, 
at  his  feet;  Argelander's  Uranometria  Nova  has  different  figures  on  its  two 
plates — one  of  the  ancient  form,  the  other  of  the  modern  holding  the  leash 
of  the  Hounds  in  full  pursuit  of  the  Bear. 

This  constellation  and  the  Bear,  Orion,  the  Hyades,  Pleiades,  and  Dog 
were  the  only  starry  figures  mentioned  by  Homer  and  Hesiod ;  the  latter's 
versifier,  Thomas  Cooke,  giving  as  a  reason  therefor — "  the  names  of  which 
naturally  run  into  an  hexameter  verse  " ;  but  the  general  assumption  that 
these  great  poets  knew  no  other  constellations  does  not  seem  reasonable, 
although  it  will  be  noticed  that  all  those  alluded  to  are  identical  with  each 
author. 

Bootes  is  a  constellation  of  large  extent,  stretching  from  Draco  to  Virgo, 
nearly  50°  in  declination,  and  300  in  right  ascension,  and  contains  85 
naked-eye  stars  according  to  Argelander,  140  according  to  Heis. 

Poises  Arcturus  aloft  morning  and  evening  his  spear. 

Emerson's  translation  of  Haru'  To  tk*  Shah. 

a,     0.3,    golden  yellow. 

Aroturus  has  been  an  object  of  the  highest  interest  and  admiration  to  all 
observant  mankind  from  the  earliest  times,  and  doubtless  was  one  of  the 
first  stars  to  be  named;  for  from  Hesiod'sday  to  the  present  it  thus  appears 
throughout  all  literature,  although  often  confounded  with  the  Greater  Bear. 
Indeed  Hesiod's  use  of  the  word  probably  was  for  that  constellation,  except 
in  two  cases,  already  quoted,  where  he  unquestionably  referred  to  this  star, 
mentioning  its  rising  fifty  days  after  the  winter  solstice,  the  first  allusion 
that  we  have  to  that  celestial  point.     And  it  is  popularly  supposed  that 


The  Constellations  99 

our  Arcturus  is  that  of  the  Book  of  Job ,  xxxviii,  32  ;  but  there  it  merely  is 
one  of  the  early  titles  of  Ursa  Major,  the  Revised  Version  correctly  render- 
ing it  "  the  Bear."  Still,  even  now,  the  Standard  Dictionary  quotes  for  the 
star  the  Authorized  Version's 

Canst  thou  guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons  ? 

But,  like  other  prominent  stars,  it  shared  its  name  with  its  constellation — 
in  fact,  probably  at  first,  and  as  late  as  Pliny's  day,  was  a  constellation  by 
itself.  Homer's  B0WT77C  doubtless  was  this,  with,  possibly,  a  few  of  its  larger 
companions;  and  Bayer  cited  Bootes  for  the  star;  but  in  recent  times  the 
latter  has  monopolized  the  present  title. 

It  was  famous  with  the  seamen  of  early  days,  even  from  the  traditional 
period  of  the  Arcadian  Evander,  and  regulated  their  annual  festival  by  its 
movements  in  relation  to  the  sun.  But  its  influence  always  was  dreaded, 
as  is  seen  in  Aratos'  deivov  'Aptcrovpoio  and  Pliny's  horridum  sidus ;  while 
Demosthenes,  in  his  action  against  Lacritus  341  B.  c,  tells  us  of  a  bottomry 
bond,  made  in  Athens  on  a  vessel  going  to  the  river  Borysthenes  —  the 
modern  Dnieper — and  to  the  Tauric  Chersonese  —  the  Crimea — and  back, 
that  stipulated  for  a  rate  of  22^  per  cent,  interest  if  she  arrived  within  the 
Bosporus  "  before  Arcturus,'*  1.  e.  before  its  heliacal 1  rising  about  mid-Sep- 
tember ;  after  which  it  was  to  be  30  per  cent.  Its  acronycal 2  rising  fixed 
the  date  of  the  husbandmen's  Lustratio  frugum ;  and  Vergil  twice  made 
allusion  in  his  1st  Georgic  to  its  character  as  unfavorably  affecting  the 
farmers'  work.  Other  contemporaneous  authors  confirmed  this  stormy  repu- 
tation, while  all  classical  calendars  3  gave  the  dates  of  its  risings  and  settings. 

Hippocrates,  460  b.  c,  made  much  of  the  influence  of  Arcturus  on  the 
human  body,  in  one  instance  claiming  that  a  dry  season,  after  its  rising, 

agrees  best  with  those  who  are  naturally  phlegmatic,  with  those  who  are  of  a  humid  tem- 
perament, and  with  women ;  but  it  is  most  inimical  to  the  bilious ; 

and  that 

diseases  are  especially  apt  to  prove  critical  in  these  days. 

i  This  was  its  first  perceptible  appearance  in  the  dawn  after  emergence  from  the  sun,  then 
about  io°  or  ia°  away. 

2  The  latest  rising  visible  at  sunset. 

'Copies  of  these  calendars,  called  llaqani\y\iaxat  engraved  on  stone  or  brass,  were  conspicu- 
ously exposed  in  the  market-places,  and  two  are  supposed  to  have  come  down  to  us,  — that  of 
Geminos,  77  B.  c.,  and  of  Ptolemy,  A.  D.  140.  While  these  probably  in  the  main  were  accu- 
rate, the  allusions  to  their  subjects  by  the  poets  and  authors  generally  seem  to  be  as  often 
wrong  as  right,  being  based  upon  observations  taken  on  trust  from  earlier  writers,  or  from  tra- 
dition, although  by  various  causes,  and  especially  by  the  effect  of  precession,  they  had  become 
incorrect.  Hesiod's  statement,  in  the  Works  and  Days,  of  the  heliacal  rising  of  Arcturus  is  re- 
garded as  fixing  his  own  date  in  history  at  about  800  B.  c. 


ioo  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  Prologue  of  the  Rudens  of  Plautus,  delivered  by  Arcturus  in  person, 
and  "  one  of  the  early  opinions  of  the  presence  of  invisible  agents  amongst 
mankind,"  declares  of  himself  that  he  is  considered  a  stormy  sign  at  the 
times  of  his  rising  and  setting, —  as  the  original  has  it : 

Arcturus  signum,  sum  omnium  quam  acerrimum. 
Vehemens  sum,  cum  exorior,  cum  occido  vehementior. 

And  the  passage  from  Horace's  Odes  — 

Nee  saevus  Arcturi  cadentis 
Impetus  aut  orientis  Haedi  — 

is  familiar  to  all.  This  same  idea  came  down  to  modern  days,  for  Pope  re- 
peated it  in  his  verse, 

When  moist  Arcturus  clouds  the  sky. 

Astrologically,  however,  the  star  brought  riches  and  honor  to  those  born 
under  it. 

An  Egyptian  astronomical  calendar  of  the  15th  century  before  Christ, 
deciphered  by  Renouf,  associates  it  with  the  star  Antares  in  the  immense 
sky  figure  Menat ;  and  Lockyer  claims  it  as  one  of  the  objects  of  worship 
in  Nile  temples,  as  it  was  in  the  temple  of  Venus  at  Ancona  in  Italy. 

In  India  it  was  the  13th  nakshatra,  Svati,  the  Good  Goer,  or  perhaps 
Sword,  but  figured  as  a  Coral  Bead,  Gem,  or  Pearl ;  and  known  there  also  as 
tfishtya,  Outcast,  possibly  from  its  remote  northern  situation  far  outside  of 
the  zodiac,  whence,  from  its  brilliancy,  it  was  arbitrarily  taken  to  complete 
the  series  of  Hindu  asterisms.  Hewitt  thinks  that  it,  or  Capella,  was  the 
Aryaman  of  the  Rig  Veda;  and  Edkins  that  it  was  the  Tutar  usually  as- 
signed to  Sirius. 

The  Chinese  called  it  Ta  Kid,  the  Great  Horn,  four  small  stars  nearby 
being  Kang  Che,  the  Drought  Lake ;  Edkins  further  writing  of  it : 

Arcturus  is  the  palace  of  the  emperor.  The  two  groups  of  three  small  stars  on  its  right 
[?lt  r,  v]  and  left  [C,  o,  tt]  are  called  8he  ti,  the  Leaders,  because  they  assign  a  6xed 
direction  to  the  tail  of  the  Bear,  which,  as  it  revolves,  points  out  the  twelve  hours  of  the 
horizon. 

The  Arabs  knew  Arcturus  as  Al  Simak1  al  Eamili,  sometimes  translated 
the  Leg  of  the  Lance-bearer,  and  again,  perhaps  more  correctly,  the  Lofty 

1  This  word  Sim 5k  is  of  disputed  signification,  and  was  a  fruitful  subject  of  discussion  a  cen- 
tury ago.  It  is  from  a  root  meaning  "to  raise  on  high,"  and  is  thought  to  have  been  em- 
ployed by  the  Arabs  when  they  wished  to  indicate  any  prominent  object  high  up  in  the  heavens, 
but  with  special  reference  to  this  star  and  to  the  other  Simak,  Spica  of  the  Virgin. 


The  Constellations  101 

Lance-bearer.  From  the  Arabic  title  came  various  degenerate  forms :  Al 
Bamee,  Aramee,  Aremeah,  Ascimec,  Azimech,  and  Arimeth,  found  in  those 
queer  compendium*  of  stellar  nomenclature  the  Alfonsine  Tables  and  the 
Almagest  of  1 5 1 5  ;  Somech  haramach  of  Chilmead's  Treatise;  and  Aramakh, 
which  Karsten  Niebuhr  heard  from  the  Arabs  136  years  ago.  The  Khetunu 
of  their  predecessors,  already  alluded  to  under  Bootes,  also  was  used 
for  this. 

The  idea  of  a  weapon  again  manifested  itself  in  the  Kovrapdros,  Javelin- 
bearer,  of  the  GraecO'Persian  Tables;  while  Bayer  had  Gladiua,  Kolanza, 
and  PngiOy  all  applied  to  Arcturus,  which  probably  marked  in  some  early 
drawing  the  Sword,  Lance,  or  Dagger  in  the  Hunter's  hand.  Similarly  it 
took  the  title  Alkameluz  of  the  whole  constellation. 

Al  Harifl  al  Sama,  the  Keeper  of  Heaven,  perhaps  came  from  the  star's 
early  visibility  in  the  twilight  owing  to  its  great  northern  declination,  as 
though  on  the  lookout  for  the  safety  and  proper  deportment  of  his  lesser 
stellar  companions,  and  so  "  Patriarch  Mentor  of  the  1  rain."  This  subse- 
quently became  Al  Ijtaris  al  Sim&k,  the  Keeper  of  Simak,  probably  refer- 
ring to  Spica,  the  Unarmed  One. 

Al  Biruni  mentioned  Arcturus  as  the  Second  Calf  of  the  Lion,  the  early 
Asad ;  Spica  being  the  First  Calf. 

It  has  been  identified  with  the  Chaldaeans*  Papsnkal,  the  Guardian 
Messenger,  the  divinity  of  their  10th  month  Tibitu;  while  Smith  andSayce 
have  said  that  on  the  Euphrates  it  was  the  Shepherd  of  the  Heavenly  Flock, 
or  the  8hepherd  of  the  life  of  Heaven,  undoubtedly  the  8ib-zi-anna  of  the 
inscriptions ;  the  star  r\  being  often  included  in  this,  and  thus  making  one  of 
the  several  pairs  of  Euphratean  Twin  Stars. 

The  15 1 5  Almagest  and  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  1521  add  to  their  list  of 
strange  titles  et  nominator  Audiens,  which  seems  unintelligible  unless  the 
word  be  a  misprint  for  Audens,  the  Bold  One. 

John  de  Wiclif,  in  his  translation  of  Amos  v,  8,  in  1383,  had  it  Arture, 
which  he  took  from  the  Vulgate's  Arcturus  for  Ursa  Major;  but  John  of  Tre- 
visa  in  1398  more  correctly  wrote : 

Artfavmi  is  a  signe  made  of  vn  starres,  ...  but  properly  Arthurus  is  a  sterre  sette  be- 
hynde  the  tayle  of  the  synge  that  hyght  Vrsa  maior. 

With  others  it  was  Arturis  and  Aritnre,  or  the  Carlwaynesterre  from  the 
early  confusion  in  applying  the  title  Arcturus  to  Charles'  Wain  as  well  as 
to  Bootes  and  its  lucida. 

Prominent  as  this  star  always  has  been,  and  one  of  the  few  to  which 
Ptolemy  assigned  a  name,  yet  its  position  has  greatly  varied  in  the  draw- 
7* 


102  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

ings;  indeed  in  the  earliest  it  was  located  outside  of  the  figure  and  so  de- 
scribed in  the  Syntaxis.  It  has  been  put  on  the  breast ;  in  the  girdle, 
whence,  perhaps,  came  Bayer's  Arotuzona;  on  the  leg;  between  the  knees, 
—  Robert  Recorde,  the  first  English  writer  on  astronomy,  in  1556  mention- 
ing in  the  Castle  of  Knowledge  the  "  very  bryghte  starre  called  Arcturus, 
which  standeth  between  Bootes  his  legges  " ;  and,  as  some  of  its  tides  de- 
note, on  the  weapon  in  the  hand.  But  since  Dxirer's  time  it  has  usually 
marked  the  fringe  of  the  tunic. 

Smyth  asserted  that  this  is  the  first  star  on  record  as  having  been  ob- 
served in  the  daytime  with  the  telescope,  as  it  was  in  1635  by  Morin,  and 
subsequently,  in  July,  1669,  by  Gautier  and  the  Abbe*  Picard,  the  sun  hav- 
ing an  elevation  of  1 70.  Schmidt  has  seen  it  with  the  naked  eye  twenty- 
four  minutes  before  sunset.  While  these  instances  serve  to  show  its  brilliancy, 
yet  this  was  still  more  evinced  when,  enveloped  in  the  Donati  comet  of 
1858,  and  on  the  5th  of  October,  only  20'  from  the  nucleus,  "  it  flashed  out 
so  vividly  its  superiority, "  visible  for  many  hours.  And  it  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  this  same  thing  was  seen  240  years  before  in  the  case  of  the 
comet  of  1618;  at  least  such  is  the  record  of  John  Bainbridge,  "  Doctor  of 
Physicke,"  who  wrote : 

The  27th  of  November,  in  the  morning,  the  comet's  hair  was  spread  over  the  faire  starre 
Arcturus,  betwixt  the  thighs  of  Arctophylax,  or  Bootes. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  first  photograph  of  a  comet  was  of 
Donati's,  near  this  star,  on  the  28th  of  September,  1858. 

Ptolemy  specified  its  color  as  vnoici{>{>o$,  rendered  rutilus, "  golden  red," 
in  the  1551  Almagest;  but  Schmidt  observed,  on  the  21st  of  March,  1852, 
that  the  star  had  lost  its  usual  tinge,  which  it  did  not  regain  for  several 
years.  This  phenomenon  was  confirmed  by  Argelander  and  by  Kaiser  of 
Leyden ;  but  generally  it  has  "  figured  immemorially  in  the  short  list  of 
visibly  fiery  objects."  Its  rich  color,  in  contrast  with  the  white  of  Spica, 
the  deeper  red  of  An  tares,  and  the  sapphire  of  Wega,  is  very  noticeable 
when  all  can  be  taken  in  together,  at  almost  a  single  glance,  on  a  mid- 
summer evening. 

The  Germans  know  it  as  Arotur;  the  Italians  and  Spanish,  as  ArtuTO. 

Schiller  wrote  in  the  Death  of  Wallenstein  ; 

Not  every  one  doth  it  become  to  question 
The  far  off  high  Arcturus ; 

butElkin  did  so  in  1892,  his  observations  resulting  in  a  parallax  of  o".oi6, 


The  Constellations  103 

1.  e.  insensible,  the  probable  error  being  much  greater  than  the  measured 
parallax  itself. 

The  star  has  a  large  proper  motion,1  given  as  2".3  annually,  which  prob- 
ably has  shifted  its  position  southwestward  on  the  face  of  the  sky  by 
somewhat  more  than  i°  since  the  time  of  Ptolemy;  and  great  velocity  in 
the  line  of  sight  was  assigned  to  it  by  the  earlier  spectroscopists,  even  as 
high  as  seventy  miles  a  second ;  but  the  later  and  accordant  determinations, 
at  Potsdam  by  Vogel  and  at  the  Lick  Observatory  by  Keeier,  reduce  this 
to  between  4  and  4^  miles. 

Its  spectrum  is  Solar,  of  Secchi's  second  type,  but  with  a  remarkable  mass 
of  dark  lines  in  the  violet. 

Arcturus  culminates  on  the  8th  of  June. 

Pi    3«6,    golden  yellow. 

tfakkar  and  Vekkar  are  from  the  Arabic  name  for  the  whole  constellation. 

The  Chinese  knew  it  as  Chaou  Yaou,  or  Teaon,  words  meaning  "to 
beckon,  excite,  or  move." 

With  y,  d,  and  p,  it  constituted  the  trapezium  Al  Dhi'bah,  the  Female 
Wolves,  or,  perhaps,  Hyaenas,  an  early  asterism  of  the  Arabs  before  they 
adopted  the  Greek  constellation ;  these  animals,  with  others  similar  shown 
by  stars  in  Draco  and  near  it,  lying  in  wait  for  the  occupants  of  the  ancient 
Fold  around  the  pole. 

0  marks  the  head  of  the  modern  figure. 

T>     3-*- 

Seginus  appears  on  Burritt's  Atlas  from  the  Ceginus  of  the  constellation. 

Manilius  termed  it  prona  Lycaonia,  "  sloping  towards,  or  in  front  of, 
Lycaon,"  referring  to  the  Greater  Bear,  as  the  star  marks  the  left  shoulder 
of  Bootes  near  to  that  constellation ;  and  Euripides  similarly  wrote  in  his 
*Iwv  of  about  420  b.  c. : 

Above,  Arcturus  to  the  golden  pole  inclines. 

Flammarion  gives  to  it  the  Alkalurops  that  is  better  recognized  for  p.  The 
Chinese  called  it  Henen  Ko,  the  Heavenly  Spear. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  variable  v  is  in  the  telescopic  field 
with  y. 

1  This  proper  motion  of  some  of  the  stars,  i.e.  the  angular  motion  across  the  line  of  sight, 
was  first  detected  by  Halley,  in  1718,  from  examination  of  modern  observations,  especially 
those  of  Tycho,  on  Arcturus,  Aldebaran,  and  Sirius,  in  comparison  with  the  ancient  records. 


104  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

8,     3-5>    P^  yellow. 

This  star  does  not  appear  to  be  named,  but  in  China  was  part  of  TWh 
Kong,  the  Seven  Princes ;  the  other  components  being  /*,  v,  <f>,  tp,  ^,and  x\ 
or  b,  in  the  right  hand  and  on  the  Club,  200  northeast  of  Arcturus. 

£>     Binary,    3  and  6,    pale  orange  and  bluish  green, 

lying  io°  northeast  of  Arcturus,  bore  these  titles  in  Arabia:  Al  Mia- 
takah  al  'Awwa',  the  Belt  of  the  Shouter ;  Izftr,  the  Girdle ;  and  Mi'zar,  the 
Waist-cloth, —  all  references  to  its  place  in  the  figure.  This  last  word  was 
turned  by  early  European  astronomical  writers  into  Micar,  Mirar,  Merer, 
Xeirer,  Xesen,  Mezer,  Kerak,  and  Mirak,  similar  to  the  title  of  0  Androme- 
dae,  and  all  appropriate.  The  analogous  Perizoma  was  used  for  it  in  the 
Alfonsine  Tables. 

Why  it  was  so  favored  in  nomenclature  is  not  known,  for  with  us  it  is 
noticeable  only  from  its  exquisite  beauty  in  the  telescope,  whence  it  is  fast 
monopolizing  the  name  Puloherrima,  given  to  it  by  the  elder  Struve. 

The  components  can  be  seen  with  a  2  j^-inch  glass,  about  3"  apart,  at  a 
position  angle  of  3250.  The  period  of  their  revolution  is  as  yet  undeter- 
mined, but  they  are  thought  to  be  approaching  us  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles  a 
second. 

This  pair  was  the  chief  object  of  Sir  William  HerschePs  investigations  for 
stellar  parallax  about  1782,  in  which,  of  course,  he  was  unsuccessful,  al- 
though he  did*  not  know  the  cause  of  his  failure  till  years  thereafter,  when 
he  recognized  its  binary  character. 

f,  f,  0,  and  n  were  Tso  She  Ti,  an  Officer,  in  China,  on  the  left  hand  of  the 
emperor. 

■ty     2.8,    pale  yellow. 

Kuphrid,  Kufrid,  and  Mufride,  of  the  Palermo  and  other  catalogues,  is 
from  Ulug  Beg's  Al  Kufrid  al  B&mih,  the  Solitary  Star  of  the  Lancer,  and 
inexplicable  unless  on  the  supposition  that  it  formerly  was  regarded  as  out- 
side of  the  figure  lines.  Kazwini  called  it  Al  Eum^;  and  Al  Tizini,  with  Al 
Nasr  al  Din,  more  definitely,  Al  Bnmh  al  Ramih,  the  Lance  of  the  Lance- 
bearer,  although  inappropriately,  for  they  designated  its  position  as  on  Al 
Sak,  the  Shin-bone,  and  it  thus  appears  as  Saak  in  some  lists;  but  as  the 
figure  is  now  drawn  rj  lies  above  the  left  knee. 

It  seems  to  have  been  included  with  Arcturus  in  the  Euphratean 
Sib-zi-ttnna. 


The  Constellations  105 

With  v  and  t  in  the  feet,  it  was  Yew  She  Ti  in  China,  the  Officer  stand- 
ing on  the  right  hand  of  the  emperor. 

9,  4.1 ;  l,  Triple,  4.4,  4.5,  and  8;  and  %,  Double,  4.5  and  6.6. 

Bayer  called  these  Asellns, — primus,  secundus,  and  tertius  respectively, — 
although  without  explanation ;  but  the  title  is  well  known  for  each  of  the 
two  stars  in  Cancer  flanking  Praesaepe.  They  mark  the  finger-tips  of  the 
upraised  left  hand  just  eastward  from  Alkaid,  the  last  star  in  the  Greater 
Bear's  tail. 

In  China  they  were  Tseen  Tsang,  the  Heavenly  Lance. 

The  members  of  the  larger  component  of  *  are  o".8  apart ;  the  smaller 
is  38"  away. 

*  is  pale  white,  and  the  two  stars  are  about  12"  apart,  making  it  an  easy 
object  in  a  small  telescope. 

All  of  these,  with  the  4th-magnitude  A.  on  the  lower  part  of  the  left 
arm,  were  Al  Aulad  al  Dhi'bah,  the  Whelps  of  the  Hyaenas,  shown  by 
3,  y,  d,  and  p,  and  so  given  on  the  earliest  Arabic  maps  and  globes. 

Ji1,  Ternary,    4.2,  8,  and  8.5,    flushed  white,  the  last  two  greenish  white, 

the  small  companion  /x2  being  a  close  double. 

Alkalnrops  was  the  Arabian  adaptation  of  KaXavpcnp,  used  by  Hesychios 
for  the  Herdsman's  Club,  Crook,  or  Staff,  analogous  to  the  VdnaXov  of  Hy- 
ginus  and  the  Clava  of  the  Latins. 

Inkalnnin  appears  in  some  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables;  Icalurui  in  those  of 
1 52 1,  and  Inealnrns  in  the  15 15  Almagest,  all  long  supposed  to  be  bungled 
renderings  of  Ptolemy's  Kokkopdpog,  itself  probably  a  word  of  his  own 
coining  to  designate  the  position  of  the  star  in  the  club;  Riccioli  writing  it 
Colorrhobni.  But  Ideler,  rejecting  this,  thought  Schickard  more  correct  in 
deriving  these  words  from  kv  noXovpu,  "  in  the  colure,"  a  statement  that 
was  nearly  right  as  to  Arcturus  2000  years  ago;  the  name  since  then 
having,  in  some  way,  been  transferred  to  this  star,  as  also  to  the  con- 
stellation. The  editor  of  the  1515  Almagest  added  to  his  title  for  /1  et  est 
hastile  hahens  canes,  which,  Ideler  said, —  and  Homer  is  for  once  caught 
nodding, —  "is  with  reference  to  the  surrounding  hyaenas."  This  most 
erroneous  explanation  is  corrected  by  the  late  Professor  C.  H.  F.  Peters  of 
the  Hamilton  Observatory,  whose  private  copy  of  this  rare  edition  is  now 
in  my  possession,  in  his  autographic  annotation  that  the  original  Arabic 
should  have  been  rendered  ferrum  curvatum  instead  of  canes.  Some  Latin 
writers  have  called  this  star  Venabulum,  a  Hunting-spear. 


106  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

p  and  a,  4th-  and  5th-magnitude  stars,  were  Xang  Ho,  a  river  in  China; 
and  t/>,  according  to  Assemani,  with  another  in  the  right  arm  that  may  have 
been  e,  constituted  the  Arabs'  Al  Aulad  al  Vadhlat,  which  he  rendered  Filii 
altercationis ;  but  the  original  signifies  the  Low,  or  Mean,  Little  Ones. 

h,  or  Fl.  38,  a  5^-magnitude  hardly  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  is 
Merga,  and  marks  the  Reaping-hook  held  in  the  left  hand  of  the  figure. 
This  word  is  from  Marra,  a  Hoe,  or  Rake,  used  by  Columella  and  Juvenal, 
and  still  is  sometimes  seen  as  Marrha  for  the  star.  The  latter  was  well 
known  to  Pliny  as  Palx  Italioa. 


Caeftim,  or  ^cdfpf ortum,  t$e  (gforin  or  <?ratring;ioof, 

sometimes  incorrectly  written  Cela  sculptoria,  is  the  French  Burin,  the 
Italian  Bnlino,  and  the  German  GrabstieheL 

It  was  formed  by  La  Caille  from  stars  between  Columba  and  Eridanus, 
directly  south  of  the  Sceptrum  Brandenburgicum ;  Gould  now  assigns  to 
it  twenty-eight  components,  of  magnitudes  from  four  to  seven. 

Burritt,  in  the  early  editions  of  his  book,  arbitrarily  changed  the  name  to 
Praxiteles,  perhaps  thinking  thereby  to  avoid  possible  confusion  with  the 
constellation  Sculptor. 

Caelum  comes  to  the  meridian  with  the  star  Aldebaran  on  the  10th  of 
January,  and  is  entirely  visible  from  the  40th  parallel. 


Camefopattafte,  or  C^mefoparbus,  t$e  (Btraffe, 

the  French  Oirafe  and  Italian  Girafla,  is  long,  faint,  and  straggling  like 
its  namesake.  It  stretches  from  the  pole-star  to  Perseus,  Auriga,  and  the 
Lynx,  the  hind  quarters  within  the  Milky  Way. 

It  was  formed  by  Bartschius,  who  published  it,  in  outline  only,  in  1614? 
and  wrote  that  it  represented  to  him  the  Camel  that  brought  Rebecca  to 
Isaac.  Was  it  from  this  that  Proctor  attempted  to  change  its  title  to  (to* 
lus?  —  an  alteration  that  seems  to  have  been  adopted  only  by  Mr.  J.  Ellard 
Gore  in  his  translation,  in  1894,  of  Flammarion's  Astronomic  Pbpulaxn- 
Weigel  used  it  with  Auriga  to  form  his  heraldic  figure,  the  French  Lili* 

The  Chinese  located  seven  asterisms  within  its  boundaries :  Hwa  Kae,the 
State  Umbrella,  extending  beyond  Camelopardalis ;  Lull  Kea,  a  term  in 


The  Constellations  107 

anatomy;  Bhang  Cbing,  the  Higher  Minister;  8hang  Wei,  the  Higher 
Guard;  Shaon  Wei,  the  Minor  Guard;  Sze  Too,  the  Four  Official  Sup- 
porters of  the  Throne;  and  Tin  Tib,  Unostentatious  Virtue. 

Argelander  enumerates  84  naked-eye  stars,  and  Heis  138;  these  culminat- 
ing in  the  middle  of  January. 

The  4th-magnitude  lucida  is  200  north  of  Capella,  below  the  left  hock  of 
the  animal;  and  two  others  of  the  same  brilliancy,  i°  apart,  are  in  front  of 
the  fore  quarters. 


.     .     .    and  there  a  crab 
Puts  coldly  out  its  gradual  shadow-claws, 
Like  a  slow  blot  that  spreads, —  till  all  the  ground, 
Crawled  over  by  it,  seems  to  crawl  itself. 

Mrs.  Browning's  Drmma  0/  Exile. 

Cancer,  t$e  CtdB, 

der  Krebs  of  the  Germans,— die  Krippe  of  Bayer;  le  Canore,  or  l'fiere- 
viase,  of  the  French ;  and  il  Cancro  or  Granchio  of  the  Italians,  lies  next 
to  Gemini  on  the  east,  and  is  popularly  recognized  by  its  distinguishing 
feature,  the  Beehive,  ancient  Praesaepe.  Aratos  called  it  Kapxivog,  which 
Hipparchos  and  Ptolemy  followed ;  the  Carcinus  of  the  Alfomine  Tables 
being  the  Latinized  form  of  the  Greek  word.  Eratosthenes  extended  this  as 
Kapnivos,  "Ovoi,  *ai  Qdrvrj,  the  Crab,  Asses,  and  Crib ;  and  other  Greeks 
have  said  'OmaOoPdfKov  and  'Oicrdnov^  the  Oetipes  of  Ovid  and  Proper- 
tius.  Litoreua,  Shore-inhabiting,  is  from  Manilius  and  Ovid  ;  Astacnfl  and 
C&nunanu  appear  with  various  classic  writers;  and  tfepa  is  from  Cicero's 
De  Finibus  and  the  works  of  Columella,  Manilius,  Plautus,  and  Varro, — all 
signifying  Crab,  or  Lobster,  although  more  usual,  and  perhaps  more  correct, 
for  Scorpio.  Festus,  the  grammarian  of  the  3d  century,  said  that  this  was 
an  African  word  equivalent  to  Sidus,  a  Constellation  or  Star. 

It  is  the  most  inconspicuous  figure  in  the  zodiac,  and  mythology  apologizes 
for  its  being  there  by  the  story  that  when  the  Crab  was  crushed  by  Hercules, 
for  pinching  his  toes  during  his  contest  with  the  Hydra  in  the  marsh  of 
Lerna,  Juno  exalted  it  to  the  sky ;  whence  Columella  called  it  Lernaeus. 
Yet  few  heavenly  signs  have  been  subjects  of  more  attention  in  early  days, 
and  few  better  determined;  for, according  to  Chaldaean  and  Platonist  phi- 
losophy, it  was  the  supposed  Crate  of  Hen  through  which  souls  descended 
from  heaven  into  human  bodies. 

In  astrology,  with  Scorpio  and  Pisces,  it  was  the  Watery  Trigon ;  and  has 


108  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

been  the  House  of  the  Moon,  from  the  early  belief  that  this  luminary  was 
located  here  at  the  creation ;  and  the  Horoscope  of  the  World,  as  being, 
of  all  the  signs,  nearest  to  the  zenith.  It  was  one  of  the  unfortunate 
signs,  governing  the  human  breast  and  stomach ;  and  reigned  over  Scot- 
land, Holland,  Zealand,  Burgundy,  Africa  (especially  over  Algiers,  Tripoli, 
and  Tunis),  and  the  cities  of  Constantinople  and  New  York.  In  the 
times  of  Manilius  it  ruled  India  and  Aethiopia,  but  he  termed  it  a  fruitful 
sign.  Its  colors  were  green  and  russet;  and  early  fable  attributed  its 
guardianship  to  the  god  Mercury,  whence  its  title  Merourii  Sidus.  When 
the  sun  was  within  its  boundaries  every  thunder-storm  would  cause  commo- 
tions, famine,  and  locusts ;  and  Berossos  asserted  that  the  earth  was  to  be 
submerged  when  all  the  planets  met  in  Cancer,  and  consumed  by  fire  when 
they  met  in  Capricorn.  But  this  was  a  reversal  of  the  astrologers'  rule  ;  for, 
as  Pascal  wrote : 

They  only  assign  good  fortune  with  rare  conjunctions  of  the  stars,  and  this  is  how  their 
predictions  rarely  fail. 

It  is  said  to  have  been  the  Akkadian  Sun  of  the  South,  perhaps  from  its 
position  at  the  winter  solstice  in  very  remote  antiquity ;  but  afterwards  it 
was  associated  with  the  fourth  month  Duzu,  our  June-July,  and  was 
known  as  the  Northern  Gate  of  the  Sun,  whence  that  luminary  commences 
its  retrograde  movement.  Nan-gam  is  Strassmaier's  transliteration  of  the 
cuneiform  title;  others  being  Puluk-ku and  Xa*»  Division,  possibly  referring 
to  the  solstitial  colure  as  a  dividing  line.  Brown  has  recently  claimed  for 
it  the  title  Nagar-asagga,  the  Workman  of  the  Waterway. 

The  early  Sanskrit  name  was  Karka  and  Karkata,  the  Tamil  Karkatan, 
and  the  Cingalese  Kathaoa;  but  the  later  Hindus  knew  it  as  Kulira,  from 
KoXovpog ,  the  term  originated  by  Proclus  for  our  colure. 

The  Persians  had  it  Cherejengh  and  Kalakang;  the  Turks,  Lenknteh ; 
the  Syrians,  and  perhaps  the  later  Chaldaeans,  Sartono;  the  Hebrews, 
Sart&n ;  and  the  Arabians,  Al  Sarat&n,  all  words  equivalent  to  Cancer. 
Al  Birunl  added  Al  Liha*,  the  Soft  Palate,  but  this  was  an  early  title  of  the 
Arabs  in  connection  with  their  tnantiii  Al  Nathrah. 

Kircher  said  that  in  Coptic  Egypt  it  was  KXapla,  the  Bestia  seu  SUztio 
Typhonis,  the  Power  of  Darkness ;  La  Lande  identifying  this  with  Anubis, 
one  of  the  divinities  of  the  Nile  country  commonly  associated  with  Sirius. 
But  the  Jews  assigned  it  to  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  whom  Jacob  likened  to 
the  "strong  ass"  that  each  of  the  Aselli  represents;  Dupuis  asserting  that 
these  last  titles  were  derived  from  this  Jewish  association. 

A  Saxon  chronicle  of  about  the  year  iooo  had  "  Cancer  that  is  Crabba"  ; 


The  Constellations 


109 


Chaucer  had  Cancre,  probably  a  relic  of  Anglo-Norman  days,  for  in  his 

time  it  generally  was  Causer ;  and  Milton  called  it  the  Tropic  Crab  from  its 

having  marked  one  of  these  great  circles. 

Showing  but  few  stars,  and  its  lucida  being  less  than  a  4th-magnitude, 

it  was  the  Dark  Sign,  quaintly  described  as  black  and  without  eyes.     Dante, 

alluding  to  this  faintness  and  high  position  in  the  heavens,  wrote  in  the 

Paradiso: 

Thereafterward  a  light  among  ihem  brightened, 

So  that,  if  Cancer  one  such  crystal  had, 

Winter  would  have  a  month  of  one  sole  day. 

Jensen  makes  it  the  Tortoise  of  Babylonia,  and  it  was  so  figured  there  and 
in  Egypt  4000  b.  c.  ;  although  in  the  Egyptian  records  of  about  2000  b.  c. 
it  was  described  as  a  Scarabaeufl,  sacred,  as  its  specific  name  sacer  signifies, 
and  an  emblem  of  immortality.  This  was  the  Greek  Kapafiog,  with  its  nest- 
ball  of  earth  in  its  claws,  an  idea  which  occurs  again  even  as  late  as  the 
1 2th  century,  when  an  illuminated  astronomical  manuscript  shows  a  Water- 
beetle.  In  the  Albumasar  of  1489  it  is  a  large  Crayfish ;  Bartschius  and  Lu- 
bienitzki,  in  the  17th  century,  made  it  into  a  Lobster,  and  the  latter  added 
toward  Gemini  a  small  shrimp-like  object  which  he  called  Canoer  minor. 

Caesius  likened  it  to  the  Breastplate  of  Righteousness  in  Ephcsians  vi, 
14 ;  while  Praesaepe  and  the  Aselli  were  the  Manger  of  the  infant  Jesus, 
with  the  Ass  and  Ox  presumed  to  be  standing  by.  Julius  Schiller  said  that 
the  whole  represented  Saint  John  the  Evangelist. 

Our  figure  appears  on  the  round  zodiac  of  Denderah,  but  in  the  location 
of  Leo  Minor. 

This  planisphere1  is  a  comparatively  late  sculpturing,  supposed  to  be 
about  34  b.  c,  in  the  time  of  Tiberius  and  Cleopatra,  possibly  later;  but  it 
shows,  at  least  in  part,  the  heavens  of  many  centuries  previous,  the  exact 
date  fixed  by  Biot  being  700  b.  c,  although  some  scholars,  notably  Brugsch, 
carry  it  back  a  thousand  years  earlier  and  assert  that  it  was  largely  copied 
from  similar  works  of  Sargon's  time.  It  was  discovered  by  the  French 
general  Desaix  de  Voygoux  in  1799,  and  removed  in  1820  to  the  Biblio- 
theque  Imperiale  in  Paris,  where  it  has  since  remained.  Its  appearance  is 
that  of  a  very  large  antique  sandstone  medallion,  4  feet  9  inches  in 
diameter,  contained  in  a  square  of  7  feet  9  inches.  With  some  mani- 
fest errors,  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  most  interesting  and  much-quoted  object, 
although  not  of  the  importance  once  attributed  to  it.     Of  the  many  en- 

I  The  temple  which  contained  this  was  dedicated  to  Isis,  and  is  the  smaller  of  the  two  most 
celebrated  at  Denderah,  the  Tentyris  of  the  Greeks  and  Tentore  of  the  Copts,  names  derived 
from  the  Tan-ta-rer  of  ancient  Egypt,  signifying  the  Land  of  the  Hippopotamus.  It  is  on  a 
site  sacred  long  before  the  present  edifice,  of  which  we  now  have  the  ruins,  was  erected. 


no  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

gravings  of  this,  the  best  is  found  in  Flammarion's  journal  JO  Astronomic  to 
September,  1888. 

Cancer  appears  on  the  Farnese  globe  underneath  a  quadrangular  figure, 
in  the  location  of  our  Lynx,  of  which  I  can  find  no  explanation. 

In  this  constellation,  with  some  slight  variations  as  to  boundaries  at 
different  times  in  Hindu  astronomy, — y  and  6  always  being  included  and 
occasionally  17,  0,  and  Praesaepe, —  was  located  the  6th  nakshatra  Pnihya, 
Flower,  or  Tishiya,  Auspicious,  with  Brihaspati,  the  priest  and  teacher  of 
the  gods,  as  presiding  divinity.  It  was  sometimes  figured  as  a  Crescent, 
and  again  as  the  head  of  an  Arrow ;  but  Amara  Sinha,  the  Sanskrit  author 
of  about  56  b.  c,  called  it  Sidhaya,  Prosperous. 

The  manzil  Al  Hathrah,  the  Gap  in  the  hair  under  the  muzzle  of  the 
supposed  immense  ancient  Lion,  was  chiefly  formed  by  Praesaepe;  but 
later  on  y  and  6  were  sometimes  included,  when  it  was  Al  Himfirain,  the 
Two  Asses,  a  title  adopted  from  the  Greeks.  The  Arabs  also  knew  it  as  Al 
Fnm  al  Asad  and  as  Al  Anf  al  Asad,  the  Mouth,  and  the  Muzzle,  of  the 
Lion,  both  referring  to  the  early  figure. 

The  suu  Kwei,  Spectre,  anciently  Kut,  the  Cloud-like,  was  made  up 
from  Praesaepe  with  i\  and  0,  the  latter  most  strangely  selected,  as  it  is 
now  hardly  distinguishable  by  the  naked  eye,  and  yet  was  the  determining 
star, —  perhaps  a  case  of  variation  in  brightness.  This  asterism,  with  Tsing 
in  our  Gemini,  formed  Shun  Show,  one  of  the  twelve  zodiacal  Kung,  which 
Williams  translates  as  the  QuaiFs  Head,  giving  the  modern  title  as  Ken 
Hea,  the  Crab ;  this  Quail  being  otherwise  known  as  the  Phoenix,  Pheasant, 
or  the*  Red  Bird  that,  with  the  stars  of  Leo  and  Virgo,  marked  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Red,  or  Southern,  Emperor. 

Like  Gemini  and  Taurus,  it  was  shown  rising  backward,  to  which  some 
of  the  ancients  fancifully  ascribed  the  slower  motion  of  the  sun  in  passing 
through  these  constellations,  as  well  as  its  influence  in  producing  the  sum- 
mer's heat ;  even  Doctor  Johnson,  in  Rasselas,  alluded  to  "  the  fervours  of 
the  crab."  Very  differently,  however,  Ampelius  associated  it  with  the  cold 
Septentrio,  or  North  Wind. 

Coins  of  Cos  in  the  Aegean  Sea  bore  the  figure  of  a  Crab  that  may 
have  been  for  this  constellation. 

The  symbol  of  the  sign,  23,  probably  is  "the  remains  of  the  representa- 
tion of  some  such  creature  " ;  but  it  is  also  referred  to  the  two  Asses  that 
took  part  in  the  conflict  of  the  gods  with  the  giants  on  the  peninsula  of  the 
Macedonian  Pallene,  the  early  Phlegra,  afterwards  rewarded  by  a  resting- 
place  in  the  sky  on  either  side  of  the  Manger. 

The  sun  is  in  Cancer  from  the  18th  of  July  to  the  7  th  of  August;  but  the 


The  Constellations  1 1 1 

solstice,  which  was  formerly  here  and  gave  name  to  the  tropic,  is  now 
about  33°  to  the  westward,  near  i\  Geminorum. 

The  celebrated  Halley  comet  first  appeared  here  in  1531;  and  in  June, 
1895,  all  the  planets,  except  Neptune,  were  in  this  quarter  of  the  heavens, 
an  unusual  and  most  interesting  occurrence.  Argelander  catalogues  47 
stars  in  the  constellation  in  addition  to  Praesaepe;  and  Heis,  91. 

Qt,     Double,    4.4  and  n,    white  and  red. 

Aeubens,  from  the  Chelae  quas  Acubenae  Chaldai  vocant  of  the  Alfonsine 
Tables,  is  not  Chaldaean,  but  from  the  Arabic  Al  Zubanah,  the  Claws,  on 
the  southern  one  of  which  this  star  lies,  near  the  head  of  Hydra.  Bayer 
repeated  this  in  his  Aoubene  and  Azubene,  adding  Pliny's  names  for  it  — 
Acetabnla,  the  Arm  Sockets  of  a  crab,  and  Cirros, — properly  Cirrus, —  the 
Arms  themselves,  equivalent  to  Ovid's  Flagella,  which  Bayer  wrongly  trans- 
lated Scourge;  others  similarly  saying  Branohiae  and  Ungulae.  Bayer 
also  cited  the  "  Barbarians1  "  Grivenesoos,  unintelligible  unless  it  be  their 
form  of  Tpaxpalos,  a  Crab.  Sartan  and  Sertan  are  from  the  Arabic  word 
for  the  whole  figure.  The  star  1,  marking  the  other  claw,  shares  in  many 
of  these  titles. 

Some  assign  Al  Hamarein  to  a, — an  undoubted  error,  as  Al  Himarain  was 
the  common  Arabian  term  for  the  Aselli,  y  and  6,  that  the  Arabic  signifies. 

Aeubens  culminates  on  the  18th  of  March.  The  companion  is  11  ".4 
distant,  at  a  position  angle  of  32 50. 5. 

0,  a  4th-magnitude,  is  Al  Tarf^  the  End,  *.  e.  of  the  southern  foot  on 
which  it  lies. 

Sunt  in  signo  Cancri  duae  stellae  parvae,  aselli  appellati. 

Pliny's  Hisioria  Naturalu. 

y,    4.6,    and    8,    4.3,   straw  color. 

Aiding  borealif  and  Asellua  australis,  the  Northern  and  the  Southern  Ass 
Colt,  were  the  'Ovoi,  or  Asses,  of  Ptolemy  and  the  Greeks ;  the  Aselli,  or 
Afini,  of  the  Latins,  distinguished  by  their  position  as  here  given,  even  to 
the  present  day,  and  now  popularly  known  as  the  Donkeys.  The  Basel 
latin  Almagest  of  1551  says  Asuras  for  y  only,  but  the  Alfonsine  Tables 
and  the  Almagest  of  15 15  have  Duo  Afini;  and  the  Arabians  similarly 
knew  them  as  Al  Tfimarain,  the  Two  Asses.  Bailey,  in  his  Mystic  of  1858, 
calls  them  the  Aselline  Starlets. 

Manilius  is  supposed  to  allude  to  these  outstretched  stars  as  the  Jugulae, 
taken  indirectly  from  Jugum,  a  Yoke,  which  became  Jugulum,  the  Collar- 


112  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

bone, —  in  the  plural  Jugula  and  Jugulae ;  but  Ideler  asserted  that  this 
originated  from  an  erroneous  statement  of  Firmicus,  and  that  reference  was 
really  made  by  the  poet  to  the  well-known  Belt  of  Orion. 

Riccioli's  strange  title,  Elnatret,  doubtless  was  from  that  of  the  lunar 
mansion  Al  Hathrah,  which  the  Aselli  and  Praesaepe  constituted. 

In  astrology  they  were  portents  of  violent  death  to  such  as  came  under 
their  influence ;  while  to  the  weather-wise  their  dimness  was  an  infallible 
precursor  of  rain,  on  which  Pliny  thus  enlarges : 

If  fog  conceals  the  Asellus  to  the  northeast  high  winds  from  the  sooth  may  be  expected, 
but  if  the  southern  star  is  concealed  the  wind  will  be  from  the  northeast. 

Our  modern  Weather  Bureau  would  probably  tell  us  that  if  one  of  these 
stars  were  thus  concealed,  the  other  also  would  be.  Pliny  mentioned  them 
with  Praesaepe  as  forming  a  constellation  by  themselves ;  but  he  was  given 
to  multiplying  the  stellar  groups. 

Inconspicuous  though  it  be,  the  Babylonians  used  6  to  mark  their  13th 
ecliptic  constellation  Arku-aha-nangam-aha-flhutu,  the  Southeast  Star  in  the 
Crab ;  and  Brown  says  that  the  Aselli,  with  tj,  0,  and  Praesaepe,  were  the 
Akkadian  Gu-shir-kes-da,  the  Yoke  of  the  Enclosure.  They  also  marked 
the  junction  of  the  nakshatras  Pnshya  and  Aqlesha. 

The  following  passage  from  Hind's  Solar  System  in  regard  to  6  will  be 
found  interesting: 

The  most  ancient  observation  of  Jupiter l  which  we  are  acquainted  with  is  thai  reported 
by  Ptolemy  in  Book  X,  chap,  Hi,  of  the  Almagest,  and  considered  by  him  free  from  all 
doubt.  It  is  dated  in  the  83d  year  after  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great,  on  the  18th  of 
the  Egyptian  month  Epiphi,  in  the  morning,  when  the  planet  eclipsed  the  star  now  known 
as  6  Cancri.  This  observation  was  made  on  September  3,  B.  c.  240,  about  18  h  on  the 
meridian  of  Alexandria. 


was  applied  by  Bayer  to  the  coarse  extended  cluster,  N.  G.  C.  2632,44  M., 
on  the  head  of  the  Crab,  composed  of  about  150  stars  of  magnitudes  from 
6)4  to  10,  with  two  noticeable  triangles  among  them. 

With  us  it  is  the  well-known  Beehive,  but  its  history  as  such  I  have  not 
been  able  to  learn,  although  it  undoubtedly  is  a  recent  designation,  for  no- 
where is  it  Apiariutn. 

Scientifically  it  was  the  'Se<piXiovf  or  Little  Cloud,  of  Hipparchos ;  the 
'A#A,i;c,  or  Little  Mist,  of  Aratos;  the  'Se<f>eXoet6Tjgf  Cloudy  One,  Iva- 
TpoQfj,  Whirling  Cloud,  and  Hubilnm,  literally  a  Cloudy  Sky,  of  Bayer; 

l  This  planet  was  known  to  the  Greeks  as  Z%vgt  and  as  #ai&mv,  the  Shining  One. 


The  Constellations  113 

but  the  A Imagests  and  astronomers  generally  of  the  16th  and  17  th  centuries 
referred  to  it  as  the  Nebula,  and  Nebulosa,  in  pectore  Cancri,  for  before  the 
invention  of  the  telescope  this  was  the  only  universally  recognized  nebula, 
its  components  not  being  separately  distinguishable  by  ordinary  vision.  But 
it  seems  to  have  been  strangely  regarded  as  three  nebulous  objects.  Gal- 
ileo, of  course,  was  the  first  to  resolve  it,  and  wrote  in  the  Nuneius 
Sidereus  :  x 

The  nebula  called  Praesepe,  which  is  not  one  star,  only,  but  a  mass  of  more  than  forty 
>mall  stars.     I  have  noticed  thirty  stars,  besides  the  Aselli. 

Popularly  it  also  is  the  Manger,  or  Crib,  the  Qdrvrj  of  Aratos  and  Era- 
tosthenes ;  the  4>aTvqc  of  Ptolemy ;  and  with  the  Latins,  Praesaepe,  Prae- 
•aepes,  Praesaepis,  Praeeaepia,  Praesaepium,  the  Alfonsine  Presepe  and 
Bayer's  Peseta*, —  also  the  modern  Spanish,  —  flanked  by  the  Aselli, 
for  whose  accommodation  it  perhaps  was  invented.  Bayer  cited  for  it 
Melleff;  which  Chilmead  followed  with  Kellef,  and  Riccioli  with  Heeleph ; 
these  from  the  Arabians1  Al  Malaf,  the  Stall ;  and  this,  in  turn,  derived 
from  the  Greek  astronomy,  for  their  indigenous  Ma'laf  was  in  Crater. 
Schickard  had  this  as  Mallephon. 

Brown  includes  c  with  y,  d,  */,  and  6  in  the  Persian  lunar  station  Avra-k, 
the  Cloud,  and  the  Coptic  Ermelia,  Nurturing. 

Tyrtaeus  Theophrastus,  the  first  botanist-author,  about  300  b.  c,  and 
Aratos,  described  its  dimness  and  disappearance  in  the  progressive  conden- 
sation of  the  atmosphere  as  a  sure  token  of  approaching  rain ;  Pliny  said, 

If  Praesaepe  is  not  visible  in  a  clear  sky  it  is  a  presage  of  a  violent  storm  ; 

and  Aratos  in  the  Aioarjfiela  (the  Prognosticd) : 

A  murky  Manger  with  both  stars 

Shining  unaltered  is  a  sign  of  rain. 

If  while  the  northern  Ass  is  dimmed 

By  vaporous  shroud,  he  of  the  south  gleam  radiant, 

Expect  a  south  wind:  the  vaporous  shroud  and  radiance 

Exchanging  stars  harbinger  Boreas. 

Weigel  used  it  in  the  17th  century,  in  his  set  of  heraldic  signs,  as  the 
Hanger,  a  fancied  coat  of  arms  for  the  farmers. 

In  astrology,  like  all  clusters,  it  threatened  mischief  and  blindness. 

In  China  it  was  known  by  the  unsavory  title  Tseih  She  Ke,  Exhalation 
of  Piled-up  Corpses;  and  within  i°  of  it  Mercury  was  observed  from  that 

1  This  Nuneius  Sidereus,  published  at  Venice  by  Galileo  in  1610,  first  gave  to  the  world  the 
results  of  his  telescopic  observations. 
8 


U4  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

country,  on  the  9th  of  June,  a.  d.  118,  one  of  the  early  records  of  that 
planet. 

C?  Ternary,    5.6,  6.3,  and  6,    yellow,  orange,  yellowish, —  changing. 

This  lies  on  the  rear  edge  of  the  Crab's  shell,  and  is  known  as  Ttogmine, 
In  the  Covering;  but,  if  the  word  be  allowable  at  all,  it  should  be  Tegmen, 
as  Avienus  is  supposed  to  have  had  it.  Ideler,  however,  said  that  Avienus 
was  referring  to  the  covering  shell  of  the  marine  object,  and  not  to  the 
stellar. 

This  is  a  system  of  great  interest  to  astronomers  from  the  singular  changes 
in  color,  the  probable  existence  of  a  fourth  and  invisible  component,  and 
for  the  short  period  of  orbital  revolution  — sixty  years  —  of  the  two  closer 
stars.  The  maximum  of  interval  between  these  is  but  1",  the  minimum 
o".2  ;  yet  they  never  close  up  as  one  star.  The  third  member  is  5"  away, 
and  its  orbital  period  must  be  at  least  500  years. 

£  and  0,  according  to  Peters'  investigations,  probably  are  the  objects  an- 
nounced by  Watson  as  two  intra- Mercurial  planets,  discovered  (?)  during 
the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  on  the  29th  of  July,  1878. 

A,  of  the  6th  magnitude,  with  adjacent  stars,  was  in  China  Kwan  Wei, 
the  Bright  Fire. 

p,  a  5^-magnitude,  with  %  Geminorum,  was  Tsih  Trin,  a  Heap  of  Fuel. 

f,  another  5 y2  -magnitude,  with  X  Leonis,  formed  the  seventh  manzil  Al 
Tar£  the  End,  or,  as  some  translate  it,  the  Glance,  1.  *.  of  the  Lion's  Eye, 
the  ancient  Asad,  which  occupied  so  large  a  portion  of  the  sky  in  this  neigh- 
borhood. They  also  were  the  Persian  Hahn,  the  Nose,  and  the  Coptic 
Piautos,  the  Eye,  both  lunar  asterisms. 

£,  with  k  and  stars  in  Leo,  was  the  Chinese  Tsu  Ke,  one  of  the  flags  of 
that  country. 


Bootes  hath  unleash'd  his  fiery  hounds. 

Owen  Meredith's  Clytemntstra. 

Cdnes  (ttenafiri,  t$e  g)unfing  ©oge, 

are  the  French  Chienfl  du  Chasse,  or  Lenders;  the  German  Jagdhunde,  and 
the  Italian  Levrieri,  lying  between  Bootes  and  Ursa  Major.  Ptolemy  en- 
tered their  stars  among  the  apopfyvToi  of  the  latter  constellation,  and  the 


The  Constellations  il£ 

modern  forms  first  appear  in  the  Prodromus  of  their  inventor  Hevelius. 
The  more  northern  one  is  Aiterion,  Starry,  from  the  little  stars  marking  the 
body;  and  the  other,  which  contains  the  two  brightest  stars,  is  Chara,  as 
Dear  to  the  heart  of  her  master.  Flamsteed  followed  in  the  use  of  these 
names,  and  the  Hounds  are  now  well  established  in  the  recognition  of 
astronomers,  as  is  the  case  with  most  of  the  stellar  creations  of  Hevelius, 
which  were  generally  placed  where  needed. 

Proctor,  in  his  attempt  to  simplify  constellation  nomenclature,  called 
them  Catuli,  the  Puppies ;  but  the  usual  illustration  is  of  two  Greyhounds 
held  by  a  leash  in  the  hand  of  Bootes,  ready  for  pursuit  of  the  Bear  around 
the  pole ;  their  inventor  thus  reviving  the  idea  that  Bootes  was  a  hunter. 

Hevelius  counted  23  stars  here ;  Argelander,  54 ;  and  Heis,  88. 

The  Chinese  designated  three  stars  in  or  near  the  head  of  Asterion  as 
San  Knng»  the  Three  Honorary  Guardians  of  the  Heir  Apparent. 

Assemani  alluded  to  a  quadrate  figure  on  the  Borgian  globe,  below  the 
tail  of  the  Greater  Bear,  as  Al  Karb  al  Ibl,  the  Camel's  Burden,  that  can 
be  no  other  than  stars  in  the  heads  of  the  Hunting  Dogs. 

Bartschius  drew  on  his  map  of  this  part  of  the  sky  the  River  Jordan,  his 
Jordania  and  Jordanus,  not  now  recognized,  indeed  hardly  remembered. 
Its  course  was  from  Cor  Caroli,  under  the  Bears  and  above  Leo,  Cancer, 
and  Gemini,  through  the  stars  from  which  Hevelius  afterwards  formed  Leo 
Minor  and  the  Lynx,  ending  at  Camelopardalis.  But  the  outlines  of  his 
stream  were  left  somewhat  undetermined,  much  like  those  of  Central  Afri- 
can waters  when  guessed  at  by  map-makers  thirty  years  or  more  ago. 
This  river,  however,  had  already  existed  before  his  day  on  French  star- 
maps  and  -globes. 

Gt,  Double,    3.2  and  5.7,    flushed  white  and  pale  lilac. 

This  star,  the  12  of  Flamsteed's  list  of  the  Hounds,  stands  alone,  marking 
Chara's  collar;  but  was  set  apart  in  1725  by  Halley,  when  Astronomer 
Royal,  as  the  distinct  figure  Cor  Caroli,  not  Cor  Caroli  II  as  many  have  it, 
in  honor  of  Charles  II.  This  was  done  at  the  suggestion  of  the  court  phy- 
sician, Sir  Charles  Scarborough,  who  said  that  it  had  shone  with  special 
brilliancy  on  the  eve  of  the  king's  return  to  London  on  the  29th  of  May, 
1660.  It  has  occasionally  been  seen  on  maps  as  the  centre  of  a  Heart- 
shaped  figure  surmounted  by  a  crown,  and  its  name  occurs  in  popular  lists ; 
but  Flamsteed  did  not  insert  it  on  his  plate  of  the  Hounds,  although  he  HU- 
tinctly  wrote  of  it  in  his  manuscript  under  this  title;  and  the  Heart  perhaps 
is  shown  in  the  tail-piece  to  the  preface  of  the  Atlas  CoeUstis. 


Ii6  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

It  is  the  French  Coeur  de  Charles;  the  Italian  Cuor  di  Carlo;  and  the 
German  Hen  Karls. 

With  Ulug  Beg  it  was  Al  Xabd  al  Asad,  the  Liver  of  the  Lion, — here  a 
technical  term  indicating  the  highest  position  of  any  star  within  the  com- 
pass of  a  figure  reckoned  from  the  equator. 

In  China  it  was  Chang  Chen,  a  Seat. 

This  is  a  favorite  object  with  amateur  observers,  the  components  being 
about  20"  apart.  Espin  says,  in  Webb's  Celestial  Objects  of  1893,  that 
they  have  been  relatively  fixed  for  seventy-three  years,  yet  show  consider- 
able proper  motion,  and  probably  are  unequal  stars  at  nearly  equal  distances 
from  us;  and  he  gives  various  opinions  of  observers  as  to  their  colors. 
Miss  Clerke  calls  them  pale  yellow  and  fawn.  Their  present  position  angle 
is  about  2300,  but  is  slowly  changing. 

Cor  Caroli  culminates  on  the  20th  of  May. 

On  the  line  from  Cor  Caroli  to  Arcturus,  and  somewhat  nearer  the  latter, 
in  a  triangle  of  small  stars,  is  a  beautiful  globular  cluster  concentrated  into 
a  central  blaze.  This  is  N.  G.  C.  5272,  3  M.,  long  a  well-known  object, 
but  recently  rendered  specially  noticeable  by  Bailey's  discovery  in  1895,  on 
photographs  taken  by  Harvard  astronomers  at  Arequipa,  Peru,  of  no  less 
than  ninety-six  variable  stars  within  its  boundaries, —  nearly  ten  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  number  in  the  cluster  distinctly  photographed :  the  usual  pro- 
portion of  variables  among  the  naked-eye  stars  is  not  quite  one  per  cent. 
The  stars  near  the  centre  run  together  and  cannot  be  counted,  but  the  total 
number  in  the  cluster  probably  is  many  thousands. 

j3,  4.3,  is  Chara,  the  8  of  Flamsteed,  and,  after  Cor  Caroli,  the  brightest 
member  of  the  Southern  Hound. 


152  Schjellerup,     5.5,    brilliant  red. 

La  Superba  was  so  named  by  Father  Secchi  from  the  superbly  flashing 
brilliancy  of  its  prismatic  rays.  It  is  the  brightest  of  its  class  of  stars  with 
spectra  of  the  4th  type,  of  which  only  about  120  are  known  from  our  lati- 
tude, and  but  seven  or  eight  of  these  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  Variability 
in  its  light  is  also  suspected. 

It  lies  about  70  north  and  2  *4°  west  of  Cor  Caroli. 

A  misty  spot  in  this  constellation  can  be  seen  with  a  low-power  30 
southwest  from  Al  Kaid  (77  Ursae  Majoris).  This  is  the  Spiral  Nebula  of 
Lord  Rosse,  or  the  Whirlpool  Hebula,  N.  G.  C.  5194,  51  M.,  our  long-estab- 
lished ideas  of  which  have  recently  been  somewhat  modified  by  a  photograph 
taken  by  Mr.  Isaac  Roberts  after  four  hours'  exposure.     It  now  appears  to 


The  Constellations  117 

be  composed  of  a  pair  of  curving  arms  issuing  from  opposite  extremities  of 
an  oval  central  body,  one  of  the  arms  joining  itself  to  a  second  nucleus, — 
a  new  system  in  process  of  formation. 


Fierce  on  her  front  the  blasting  Dog-star  glowed. 

Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge's  On  the  French  Revolution. 

One  blazes  through  the  brief  bright  summer's  length, 
Lavishing  life-heat  from  a  flaming  car. 

Christina  G.  Rotsetti's  Later  Life. 

€ani*  (tttojor,  t$e  (Breaf er  ©og, 

of  the  southern  heavens,  and  thus  Canifl  Auatralior,  lies  immediately  to  the 
southeast  of  Orion,  cut  through  its  centre  by  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn,  and 
with  its  eastern  edge  on  the  Milky  Way. 

It  is  Cane  Maggiore  in  Italy;  Cftet  in  Portugal;  Grand  Chien  in  France; 
and  Chrosse  Hnnd  in  Germany. 

In  early  classical  days  it  was  simple  Canifi,  representing  Laelaps,  the 
hound  of  Actaeon,  or  that  of  Diana's  nymph  Procris,  or  the  one  given  to 
Cephalus  by  Aurora  and  famed  for  the  speed  that  so  gratified  Jove  as  to 
cause  its  transfer  to  the  sky.  But  from  the  earliest  times  it  also  has  been 
the  Dog  of  Orion  to  which  Aratos  alluded  in  the  Ptognostua,  and  thus  wrote 
of  in  the  Phainomena  in  connection  with  the  Hare: 

The  constant  Scorcher  comes  as  in  pursuit, 
.  .  .  and  rises  with  it  and  its  setting  spies. 

Homer  made  much  of  it  as  Kvwv,  but  his  Dog  doubtless  was  limited  to  the 
star  Sirius,  as  among  the  ancients  generally  till,  at  some  unknown  date,  the 
constellation  was  formed  as  we  have  it, —  indeed  till  long  afterwards,  for  we 
find  many  allusions  to  the  Dog  in  which  we  are  uncertain  whether  the 
constellation  or  its  lucida  is  referred  to.  Hesiod  and  Aratos  gave  this  title, 
both  also  saying  Zeiptog,  and  the  latter  iieyaq ;  but  by  this  adjective  he 
designed  only  to  characterize  the  brilliancy  of  the  star,  and  not  to  distin- 
guish it  from  the  Lesser  Dog.  The  Greeks  did  not  know  the  two  Dogs 
thus,  nor  did  the  comparison  appear  till  the  days  of  the  Roman  Vitruvius. 
8# 


1 1 8  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Ptolemy  and  his  countrymen  knew  it  by  Homer's  title,  and  often  as 
AorpoKvwv,  although  it  seems  singular  that  the  former  never  used  the  word 
Seiptog. 

The  Latins  adopted  their  Canis  from  the  Greeks,  and  it  has  since  always 
borne  this  name,  sometimes  even  Canieula  in  the  diminutive  (with  the  ad- 
jectival candens,  shining),  Erigonaeua,  and  Icariua;  the  last  two  being  from 
the  fable  of  the  dog  Maera, —  which  itself  means  Shining, —  transported 
here;  her  mistress  Erigone  having  been  transformed  into  Virgo,  and  her 
,  master  Icarius  into  Bootes.  Ovid  alluded  to  this  in  his  Icarii  stella  fro- 
terva  canis;  and  Statius  mentioned  the  Icarium  astrum,  although  Hyginus 
had  ascribed  this  to  the  Lesser  Dog. 

Sirion  and  Syrius  occasionally  appeared  with  the  best  Latin  authors; 
and  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1  had  Canif  Syrius. 

Vergil  brought  it  into  the  1st  Georgic  as  a  calendar  sign, — 

adverso  cedens  Canis  occidit  astro, — 

instructing  the  farmer  to  sow  his  beans,  lucerne,  and  millet  at  its  heliacal 
setting  on  the  1st  of  May;  the  adverso  here  generally  being  referred  to  the 
well-known  reversed  position  of  the  figure  of  Taurus,  but  may  have  been 
intended  to  indicate  the  hostility  of  the  Bull  to  the  Giant's  Dog  that  was 
attacking  him. 

CnftOf  Europae  is  in  allusion  to  the  story  of  the  Bull  who,  notwithstand- 
ing the  Dog's  watchfulness,  carried  off  that  maiden ;  and  Janitor  Lethaens, 
the  Keeper  of  Hell,  makes  him  a  southern  Cerberus,  the  watch-dog  of  the 
lower  heavens,  which  in  early  mythology  were  regarded  as  the  abode  of 
demons:  a  title  more  appropriate  here  than  for  the  so-named  modern 
group  in  the  northern,  or  upper,  sky. 

Bayer  erroneously  quoted  as  proper  names  Dexter,  Magnus,  and  Secundum 
while  others  had  Alter  and  Sequens;  but  these  originally  were  designed 
only  to  indicate  the  Dog's  position,  size,  and  order  of  rising  with  regard 
to  his  lesser  companion. 

The  aestifer  of  Cicero  and  Vergil  referred  to  its  bright  Sirius  as  the  cause 
of  the  summer's  heat,  which  also  induced  Horace's  invidum  agricolis ;  and 
Bayer's  "Xdpo<f>ofiia  was  from  the  absurd  notion,  prevalent  then  as  now, 
of  the  occurrence  of  canine  madness  solely  during  the  heat  from  the 
Dog-star:  an  idea  first  seen  with  Asclepiades  of  the  3d  century  before 
Christ.  Or  it  may  have  come  from  being  confounded  by  Bayer,  none  too 
careful  a  compiler,  with  the  'Tdpaywyov,  which  Plutarch  applied  to  Sirius 
in  his  De  Isidoro,  signifying  the  Water-bringer,  i.  e.  the  cause  of  the  Nile 
flood. 


The  Constellations  119 

Aratos  termed  the  constellation  nouciko<;y  as  of  varying  brightness  in  its 
different  parts;  or  mottled — the  Dog,  lying  in  as  well  as  out  of  the  Milky 
Way,  being  thus  diversified  in  light. 

In  early  Arabia,  as  indeed  everywhere,  it  took  titles  from  its  lucida,  al- 
though strangely  corrupted  from  the  original  Al  Shi'ra  al  Abur  al  Yama- 
niyyah,  the  Brightly  Shining  Star  of  Passage  of  Yemen,  in  the  direction 
of  which  province  it  set.  Among  these  we  see,  in  the  Latin  Almagest  of 
1515,  "canis:  et  est  aseheie,  alahabor  aliemenia";  in  the  edition  of  1551, 
Hscheere;  in  Bayer's  Cfranowetria,  Elseiri  (which  Grotius  derived  from 
oeipto<;),  Elsere,  Sceara,  Scera,  Scheereliemini;  in  Chilmead's  Treatise,  Aba- 
hare  aliemalija;  and  Elohabar,  which  La  Lande,  in  his  PAstronomie,  not 
unreasonably  derived  from  Al  Kabir,  the  Great. 

The  Arabian  astronomers  called  it  Al  Kalb  al  Akbar,  the  Greater  Dog, 
so  following  the  Latins,  Chilmead  writing  it  Alcheleb  Alachbar ;  and  Al 
Biruni  quoted  their  Al  Kalb  al  Jabbar,  the  Dog  of  the  Giant,  directly  from 
the  Greek  conception  of  the  figure.  Similarly  it  was  the  Persians'  Kelbo 
Gavoro. 

It  was,  of  course,  important  in  Euphratean  astronomy,  and  is  shown  on 
remains  from  the  temples  and  mounds,  variously  pictured,  but  often  just  as 
Aratos  described  it  and  as  drawn  on  maps  of  the  present  day, —  standing 
on  the  hind  feet,  watching  or  springing  after  the  Hare.  Professor  Young 
describes  the  figure  as  one  "  who  sits  up  watching  his  master  Orion,  but 
with  an  eye  out  for  Lepus." 

Bayer  and  Flamsteed  alone  among  its  illustrators  showed  it  as  a  typical 
bulldog. 

A  Dog,  presumably  this  with  another  adjacent,  is  represented  on  an 
ivory  disc  found  by  Schliemann  on  his  supposed  site  of  Troy ;  and  an  Etrus- 
can mirror  of  unknown  age  bears  it  with  Orion,  Lepus,  the  crescent  moon, 
and  correctly  located  neighboring  stars.  While  both  of  the  Dogs,  the 
Dragon,  Fishes,  Swan,  Perseus,  the  Twins,  Orion,  and  the  Hare  are  de- 
scribed as  on  the  Shield  of  Hercules  in  the  old  poem  of  that  title  generally 
attributed  to  Hesiod.  The  Hindus  knew  it  as  Mrigavyadha,  the  Deer- 
slayer,  and  as  Lubdhaka,  the  Hunter,  who  shot  the  arrow,  our  Belt  of 
Orion,  into  the  infamous  Praja-pati,  where  it  even  now  is  seen  sticking  in 
his  body ;  and,  much  earlier  still,  with  their  prehistoric  predecessors  it  was" 
Saiama,  one  of  the  Twin  Watch-dogs  of  the  Milky  Way. 

Among  northern  nations  it  was  Greip,  the  dog  in  the  myth  of  Sigurd. 

All  of  these  doubtless  referred  solely  to  Sirius. 

Novidius,  who  imagined  biblical  significance  in  every  starry  group,  said 
that  this  was  the  Dog  of  Tobias  in  the  Book  of  Todit,  v,  16,  which  Moxon 


120  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

confirmed  "  because  he  hath  a  tayle,"  and  for  that  reason  only;  but  Julius 
Schiller,  another  of  the  same  school,  saw  here  the  royal  Saint  David, 
Gould  catalogued  178  stars  down  to  the  7th  magnitude. 

Hail,  mighty  Sirius,  monarch  of  the  suns  ! 
May  we  in  this  poor  planet  speak  with  thee  ? 

Mrs.  Sigourney's  The  Stars. 

a,  Binary,      — 1.43  and  8.5,    brilliant  white  and  yellow. 

Sirius,  the  Dog-star,  often  written  Syrius  even  as  late  as  Flamsteed's  and 
Father  HelFs  day,  has  generally  been  derived  from  oeipiog,  sparkling  or 
scorching,  which  first  appeared  with  Hesiod  as  a  title  for  this  star,  although 
also  applied  to  the  sun,  and  by  Abychos  to  all  the  stars.  Various  early 
Greek  authors  used  it  for  our  Sirius,  perhaps  generally  as  an  adjective,  for 
we  read  in  Eratosthenes : 

Such  stars  astronomers  call  oetpiovc  on  account  of  the  tremulous  motion  of  their  light; 

so  that  it  would  seem  that  the  word,  in  its  forms  oeip,  oeipo$,  and  otipioq, — 
Suidas  used  all  three  for  both  sun  and  star, —  originally  was  employed  to 
indicate  any  bright  and  sparkling  heavenly  object,  but  in  the  course  of  time 
became  a  proper  name  for  this  brightest  of  all  the  stars.  Lamb,  however, 
thought  it  of  Phoenician  origin,  signifying  the  Chief  One,  and  originally 
in  that  country  a  title  for  the  sun ;  Jacob  Bryant,  the  mythologist,  said  that 
it  was  from  the  Egyptians'  Cahen  Sihor;  but  Brown  considers  itatrans- 
scription  from  their  well-known  Henri,  the  Greek  Osiris;  while  Du- 
puis  distinctly  asserted  that  it  was  from  the  Celtic  8yr. 

Plutarch  called  it  UpoonrTjg,  the  Leader,which  well  agrees  with  its  character 
and  is  an  almost  exact  translation  of  its  Euphratean,  Persian,  Phoenician,  and 
Vedic  titles;  but  Kvwv,  Kvuv  oeipiog,  Kvg)v  dorrjp,  Zelpios  dorf/p,  Seipiov 
doTpov,  or  simply  to  aorpov,  were  its  names  in  early  Greek  astronomy  and 
poetry.  UpoKvcjv,  better  known  for  the  Lesser  Dog  and  its  lucid  a,  also  was 
applied  to  Sirius  by  Galen  as  preceding  the  other  stars  in  the  constellation. 
Homer  alluded  to  it  in  the  Iliad  as  'Onwpi vog,  the  Star  of  Autumn ; 1  but 
the  season  intended  was  the  last  days  of  July,  all  of  August,  and  part  of 
September  —  the  latter  part  of  summer.  Lord  Derby  translated  this  cele- 
brated passage : 

A  fiery  light 

There  flash'd,  like  autumn's  star,  that  brightest  shines 

When  newly  risen  from  his  ocean  bath ; 

l  The  Greeks  had  no  word  exactly  equivalent  to  our  "  autumn  "  until  the  5th  century  before 
Christ,  when  it  appeared  in  writings  ascribed  to  Hippocrates. 


The  Constellations  121 

while  later  on  in  the  poem  Homer  compares  Achilles,  when  viewed  by 
Priam,  to 

th'  autumnal  star,  whose  brilliant  ray 
Shines  eminent  amid  the  depth  of  night, 
Whom  men  the  dog-star  of  Orion  call. 

The  Roman  farmers  sacrificed  to  it  a  fawn-colored  dog  at  their  three 
festivals  when,  in  May,  the  sun  began  to  approach  Sirius.  These,  in- 
stituted 238  b.  c,  were  the  Robigalia,  to  secure  the  propitious  influence  of 
their  goddess  Robigo  in  averting  rust  and  mildew  from  their  fields ;  and 
the  Floralia  and  Vinalia,  to  ensure  the  maturity  of  their  blooming  flowers, 
fruits  and  grapes. 

Among  the  Latins  it  naturally  shared  the  constellation's  titles,  probably 
originated  them ;  and  occasionally  was  even  Canioula ;  indeed,  as  late  as 
1420  the  Palladium  of  Husbandry  urged  certain  farm-work  to  be  done 
"  Er  the  caniculere,  the  hounde  ascende  " ;  and,  more  than  a  century  later, 
Eden,  in  the  Historic  of  the  Vyage  to  Moscovie  and  Cathay,  wrote :  "  Serins 
is  otherwise  cauled  Canicula,  this  is  the  dogge,  of  whom  the  canicular  dayes 
have  theyr  name." 

It  has  been  asserted  that  Ovid  and  Vergil  referred  to  Sirius  in  their 
Latrator  Anubis,  representing  a  jackal-  or  dog-headed  Egyptian  divinity, 
guardian  of  the  visible  horizon  and  of  the  solstices,  transferred  to  Rome  as 
goddess  of  the  chase;  but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  they  had  in  mind 
either  star  or  constellation. 

Its  well-known  name,  Al  Shi'ra,  or  Al  Si'ra,  extended  as  al  Abur  al 
Yamaniyyah,  much  resembles  the  Egyptian,  Persian,  Phoenician,  Greek, 
and  Roman  equivalents,  and,  Ideler  thought,  may  have  had  common  origin 
with  them  from  some  one  ancient  source :  possibly  the  Sanskrit  Surya,  the 
Shining  One, —  the  Sun.  The  ' Abur,  or  Passage,  refers  to  the  myth  of 
Canopus'  flight  to  the  South ;  and  the  adjective  to  the  same,  or  perhaps  to 
the  southerly  position  of  the  star  towards  Yemen,  in  distinction  from  that 
of  Al  Ghumaisa'  in  the  Lesser  Dog,  seen  towards  Sham, — Syria, —  in  the 
North.  From  these  geographical  names  originated  the  Arabic  adjectives 
Vamaniyyah  and  Shamaliyyah,  Southern  and  Northern ;  although  the  former 
literally  signifies  On  the  Right-hand  Side,  /.  e.  to  an  observer  facing  east- 
ward towards  Mecca. 

In  Chrysococca's  Tables  the  title  is  liarjp  Japavf) ;  and  Doctor  C.  Edward 
Sachau's  translation  of  Al  Biruni's  Chronology  renders  it  Sirius  Jemenicns. 
Riccioli  had  Halabor,  which  the  15 15  Almagest  applied  to  the  constellation; 
and  Chilmead,  Gabbar,  Eober,  and  Habor ;  while  Shaari  lobur,  another 


122  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

queerly  corrupted  form,  is  found  in  Eber's  Egyptian  Princess,  In  the 
Alfonsine  Tables  the  original  is  changed  to  Ascoher  and  Aschere  Aliemini; 
while  Bayer  gives  plain  Aschere  and  Elscheere  for  the  star,  with  others 
similar  for  both  star  and  constellation.  Scera  is  cited  by  Grotius  for  the 
star,  and  Sceara  for  the  whole,  derived  from  an  old  lexicon;  and  Alflere; 
but  he  traced  all  to  leipio^. 

In  modern  Arabia  it  is  Suhail,  the  general  designation  for  bright  stars. 

The  late  Finnish  poet  Zakris  Topelius  accounted  for  the  exceptional 
magnitude  of  Sirius  by  the  fact  that  the  lovers  Zulamith  the  Bold  and 
Salami  the  Fair,  after  a  thousand  years  of  separation  and  toil  while  build- 
ing their  bridge,  the  Milky  Way,  upon  meeting  at  its  completion, 

Straight  rushed  into  each  other's  arms 

And  melted  into  one  ; 
So  they  became  the  brightest  star 

In  heaven's  high  arch  that  dwelt  — 
Great  Sirius,  the  mighty  Sun 

Beneath  Orion's  belt. 

The  native  Australians  knew  it  as  their  Eagle,  a  constellation  by  itself; 
while  the  Hervey  Islanders,  calling  it  Mere,  associated  it  in  their  folk-lore 
with  Aldebaran  and  the  Pleiades. 

Sharing  the  Sanskrit  titles  for  the  whole,  it  was  the  Deer-slayer  and  the 
Hunter,  while  the  Vedas  also  have  for  it  Tiahiya  or  Tishiga,  Tistrija,  Tish- 
trya,  the  Tirtar,  or  Chieftain's,  Star.  And  this  we  find  too  in  Persia ;  as  also 
8ira.  The  later  Persian  and  Pahiavi  have  Tir,  the  Arrow.  Edkins,  how- 
ever, considers  Sirius,  or  Procyon,  to  be  Vanand,  and  Arcturus,  Tistar. 

Hewitt  sees  in  Sirius  the  8ivanam,  or  Dog,  of  the  Rig  Veda  awakening 
the  Ribhus,  the  gods  of  mid-air,  who  "  thus  calls  them  to  their  office  of  rain 
sending,"  a  very  different  office  from  that  assigned  to  this  star  in  Rome. 
Yet  these  gods,  philologically,  had  a  Roman  connection,  for  Professor  Fried- 
rich  Maximilian  Mueller,  writing  the  word  Arbhu,  associates  it  with  the 
Latin  Orpheus.  Hewitt  also  says  that  in  the  earliest  Hindu  mythology 
Sirius  was  Sukra,  the  Rain-god,  before  Indra  was  thus  known ;  and  that 
in  the  Avesta  it  marked  one  of  the  Four  Quarters  of  the  Heavens. 

Although  the  identification  of  Euphratean  stellar  titles  is  by  no  means 
settled,  especially  and  singularly  so  as  to  this  great  star,  yet  various  authori- 
ties have  found  for  it  names  more  or  less  probable. 

Bertin  and  Brown  think  it  conclusively  proved  that  it  was  Kak-flhidia, 
the  Dog  that  Leads,  and  "  a  Star  of  the  South  " ;  while  Kak-shidi  is  Sayce's 
transliteration  of  the  original  signifying  the  Creator  of  Prosperity,  a  charac- 
ter which  the  Persians  also  assigned  to  it;  and  it  may  have  been  the  Akka- 


The  Constellations  123 

dian  Du-ihiaha,  the  Director  —  in  Assyrian  Met-ri-e.  Epping  and  Strass- 
raaier  have  Kak-ban  as  a  late  Chaldaean  title,  which  Brown  renders  Kal-bu, 
the  Dog,  "  exactly  the  name  for  Sirius  we  should  expect  to  find  " ;  Jensen 
has  Xakkab  lik-kn,  the  Star  of  the  Dog,  revived  in  Homer's  kvuv ;  and  it 
perhaps  was  the  Assyrian  Kal-bu  Sa-mas,  the  Dog  of  the  Sun ;  and  the 
Akkadian  Mul-lik-nd,  the  Star  Dog  of  the  Sun.  Jensen  also  gives  Kakkab 
kaiti,  the  Bow  Star,  although  this  may  be  doubtful;  and  Brown  has,  from 
the  Assyrian,  Sn-ku-du,  the  Restless,  Impetuous,  Blazing,  well  characteriz- 
ing the  marked  scintillation  and  color  changes  in  its  light.  Hewitt  cites  an 
Akkadian  title  Ha-khu. 

Its  risings  and  settings  were  regularly  tabulated  in  Chaldaea  about  300 
b.  c,  and  Oppert  is  reported  to  have  recently  said  that  the  Babylonian 
astronomers  could  not  have  known  certain  astronomical  periods,  which  as 
a  matter  of  fact  they  did  know,  if  they  had  not  observed  Sirius  from 
the  island  of  Zylos  in  the  Persian  Gulf  on  Thursday,  the  29th  of  April, 
11542  b.  c! 

It  is  the  only  star  known  to  us  with  absolute  certitude  in  the  Egyptian 
records  —  its  hieroglyph,  a  dog,  often  appearing  on  the  monuments  and  tem- 
ple walls  throughout  the  Nile  country.  Its  worship,  chiefly  in  the  north, 
perhaps,  did  not  commence  till  about  3285  b.  c,  when  its  heliacal  rising  at 
the  summer  solstice  marked  Egypt's  New  Year  and  the  beginning  of  the 
inundation,  although  precession  has  now  carried  this  rising  to  the  10th  of 
August.  At  that  early  date,  according  to  Lockyer,  Sirius  had  replaced  y 
Draconis  as  an  orientation  point,  especially  at  Thebes,  and  notably  in  the 
great  temple  of  Queen  Hatshepsu,  known  to-day  as  Al  Der  al  Bahari,  the 
Arabs'  translation  of  the  modern  Copts'  Convent  of  the  North.  Here  it 
*as  symbolized,  under  the  title  of  Isil  Hathor,  by  the  form  of  a  cow  with 
disc  and  horns  appearing  from  behind  the  western  hills.  With  the  same 
title,  and  styled  Her  Majesty  of  Denderah,  it  is  seen  in  the  small  temple 
of  Isis,  erected  700  b.  c,  which  was  oriented  toward  it;  as  well  as  on  the 
walls  of  the  great  Memnonium,  the  Ramesseum,  of  Al  Kurneh  at  Thebes, 
probably  erected  about  the  same  time  that  this  star's  worship  began. 
L<x:kyer  thinks  that  he  has  found  seven  temples  oriented  to  the  rising  of 
Sirius.  It  is  also  represented  on  the  walls  of  the  recently  discovered  step- 
temple  of  Sakkara,  dating  from  about  2700  b.  c,  and  supposed  to  have 
l»een  erected  in  its  honor. 

Great  prominence  is  given  to  it  on  the  square  zodiac  of  Denderah,  where 
l*  is  figured  as  a  cow  recumbent  in  a  boat  with  head  surmounted  by  a  star; 
and  again,  immediately  following,  as  the  goddess  Sothis,  accompanied  by 
the  goddess  Anget,  with  two  urns  from  which  water  is  flowing,  emblematic 


124  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  the  inundation  at  the  rising  of  the  star.  But  in  the  earlier  temple  service 
of  Denderah  it  was  Ins  Sottas,  at  Philae  Ins  Sati,  or  Satit,  and,  for  a  long 
time  in  Egypt's  mythology,  the  resting-place  of  the  soul  of  that  goddess, 
and  thus  a  favorable  star.  Plutarch  made  distinct  reference  to  this;  al- 
though it  should  be  noted  that  the  word  Isis  at  times  also  indicated  any- 
thing luminous  to  the  eastward  heralding  sunrise.  Later  it  was  Oniii, 
brother  and  husband  of  Isis,  but  this  word  also  was  applied  to  any  celestial 
body  becoming  invisible  by  its  setting.  Thus  its  titles  noticeably  changed 
in  the  long  period  of  Egypt's  history. 

As  Thoth,  and  the  most  prominent  stellar  object  in  the  worship  of  that 
country, —  its  heliacal  rising  was  in  the  month  of  Thoth, — it  was  in  some 
way  associated  with  the  similarly  prominent  sacred  ibis,  also  a  symbol  of 
Isis  and  Thoth,  for,  in  various  forms,  the  bird  and  star  appear  together  on 
Nile  monuments,  temple  walls,  and  zodiacs. 

Sirius  was  worshiped,  too,  as  Sihor,  the  Nile  Star,  and,  even  more  com- 
monly, as  Sotta  and  Sottas,  its  popular  Graeco- Egyptian  name,  the  Brightly 
Radiating  One,  the  Fair  Star  of  the  Waters;  but  in  the  vernacular  was  Sept, 
Sepet,  Sopet,  and  Sopdit;  Bed,1  and  Sot, —  the  £j?0  of  Vettius  Valens. 

Upon  this  star  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Canicular,  Sothic,  or  Sothiac 
Period  named  after  it,  which  has  excited  the  attention  and  puzzled  the 
minds  of  historians,  antiquarians,  and  chronologists.  Lockyer  has  an 
admirable  discussion  of  this  in  his  Dawn  of  Astronomy. 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold  writes  of  it  in  his  Egyptian  Princess: 

And  even  when  the  Star  of  Kneph  has  brought  the  summer  round, 
And  the  Nile  rises  fast  and  full  along  the  thirsty  ground ; 

for  the  Egyptians  always  attributed  to  the  Dog-star  the  beneficial  influence 
of  the  inundation  that  began  at  the  summer  solstice ;  indeed,  some  have 
said  that  the  Aethiopian  Nile  took  from  Sirius  its  name  Siris,  although 
others  consider  the  reverse  to  be  the  case.  Minsheu,  who  dwells  much  on 
this,  ends  thus :  "  Some  thinke  that  the  Dog-starre  is  called  Sirius,  because  at 
the  time  the  Dogge-starre  reigneth,  Nilus  also  overfioweth  as  though  the 
water  were  led  by  that  Starred  Indeed,  it  has  been  fancifully  asserted 
that  its  canine  title  originated  in  Egypt,  "  because  of  its  supposed  watchful 
care  over  the  interests  of  the  husbandman ;  its  rising  giving  him  notice  of 
the  approaching  overflow  of  the  Nile." 

Caesius  cited  for  it  Solechin  as  from  that  country,  signifying  the  Starry 
Dog,  and  derived  from  the  Egypto-Greek  word  SoAc/ctJv. 

1  According  to  Mueller,  this  Sed,  or  Shed,  of  the  hieroglyphic  inscriptions 
appeared  in  Hebrew  as  El  Shaddar. 


The  Constellations  125 

Perhaps  it  is  the  ancient  importance  of  this  Dog  on  the  Nile  that  has 
given  the  popular  name,  the  Egyptian  X,  to  the  figure  formed  by  the  stars 
Procyon  and  Betelgeuze,  Naos  and  Phaet,  with  Sinus  at  the  vertices  of  the 
two  triangles  and  the  centre  of  the  letter.  On  our  maps  Sinus  marks  the 
nose  of  the  Dog. 

The  Phoenicians  are  said  to  have  known  it  as  Hannabeah,  the  Barker. 

The  astronomers  of  China  do  not  seem  to  have  made  as  much  of  Sirius 
as  did  those  of  other  countries,  but  it  is  occasionally  mentioned,  with  other 
stars  in  Canis  Major,  as  Lang  Hoo;  and  Reeves  quoted  for  it  Tseen  Lang, 
the  Heavenly  Wolf.  Their  astrologers  said  that  when  unusually  bright  it 
portended  attacks  from  thieves. 

Some  have  called  it  the  Mazzaroth  of  the  Book  of  Job;  others  the  Hafil 
of  the  Hebrews;  but  this  people  also  knew  it  as  Sihor,  its  Egyptian  name, 
and  Ideler  thinks  that  the  adoration  of  the  S«erim,  or  "  Devils  "  of  the  Au- 
thorized Version  of  our  Bible ^  the  "  He  Goats  "  of  the  Revision,  which,  as 
we  see  in  Leviticus  xvii,  7,  was  specially  prohibited  to  the  Jews,  may  have 
had  reference  to  Sirius  and  Procyon,  the  Two  Sirii  or  Shi'rayan,  that  must 
have  been  well  known  to  them  in  the  land  of  their  long  bondage  as  wor- 
shiped by  their  taskmasters. 

The  culmination  of  this  star  at  midnight  was  celebrated  in  the  great 
temple  of  Ceres  at  Eleusis,  probably  at  the  initiation  of  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries;  and  the  Ceans  of  the  Cyclades  predicted  from  its  appearance  at 
its  heliacal  rising  whether  the  ensuing  year  would  be  healthy  or  the  reverse. 
In  Arabia,  too,  it  was  an  object  of  veneration,  especially  by  the  tribe  of 
Kais,  and  probably  by  that  of  Kodha'a,  although  Muhammad  expressly 
forbade  this  star-worship  on  the  part  of  his  followers.  Yet  he  himself 
gave  much  honor  to  some  "  star  "  in  the  heavens  that  may  have  been  this. 

In  early  astrology  and  poetry  there  is  no  end  to  the  evil  influences  that 
were  attributed  to  Sirius. 

Homer  wrote,  in  Lord  Derby's  translation, 

The  brightest  he,  bat  sign  to  mortal  man 
Of  evil  augury. 

Pope's  very  liberal  version  of  the  same  lines, — 

Terrific  glory !  for  his  burning  breath 

Taints  the  red  air  with  fevers,  plagues  and  death, — 

seems  to  have  been  taken  from  the  Shepheard's  Kalendar  for  July : 

The  rampant  Lyon  hunts  he  fast  with  dogge  of  noysome  breath 
Whose  balefuil  barking  brings  in  hast  pyne,  plagues  and  dreerye  death. 

Spenser,  however,  was  equally  a  borrower,  for  we  find  in  the  Aeneid : 


126  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  dogstar,  that  burning  constellation,  when  he  brings  drought  and  diseases  on  sickly 
mortals,  rises  and  saddens  the  sky  with  inauspicious  light ; 

and  in  the  4th  Georgic: 

Jam  rapidus  torrens  sitientes  Shius  Indos 
Ardebat  coelo, 

rendered  by  Owen  Meredith  in  his  Paraphrase  on  Vergil's  Bees  of  Aris- 

taeus : 

Swift  Sirius,  scorching  thirsty  Ind, 
Was  hot  in  heaven. 

Hesiod  advised  his  country  neighbors,  "When  Sirius  parches  head  and 
knees,  and  the  body  is  dried  up  by  reason  of  heat,  then  sit  in  the  shade 
and  drink," —  advice  universally  followed,  even  till  now,  although  with  but 
little  thought  of  Sirius.  Hippocrates  made  much,  in  his  Epidemics  and 
Aphorisms,  of  this  star's  power  over  the  weather,  and  the  consequent 
physical  effect  upon  mankind,  some  of  his  theories  being  current  in  Italy 
even  during  the  last  century ;  while  the  result  of  all  physic  depended  upon 
the  sign  of  the  zodiac  in  which  the  sun  chanced  to  be.     Manilius  wrote 

of  Sirius : 

from  his  nature  flow 
The  most  afflicting  powers  that  rule  below. 

But  these  expressions  as  to  the  hateful  character  of  the  Dog-star  may 
have  been  induced  in  part  from  the  evil  reputation  of  the  dog  in  the  Kast. 

Its  heliacal  rising,  400  years  before  our  era,  corresponded  with  the  sun's 
entrance  into  the  constellation  Leo,  that  marked  the  hottest  time  of  the 
year,  and  this  observation,  originally  from  Egypt,  taken  on  trust  by  the 
Romans,  who  were  not  proficient  observers,  and  without  consideration  as 
to  its  correctness  for  their  age  and  country,  gave  rise  to  their  dies  cani- 
culariae,  the  dog  days,  and  the  association  of  the  celestial  Dog  and  Lion 
with  the  heat  of  midsummer.  The  time  and  duration  of  these  days,  although 
not  generally  agreed  upon  in  ancient  times,  any  more  than  in  modern,  were 
commonly  considered  as  beginning  on  the  3d  of  July  and  ending  on  the 
1  ith  of  August,  for  such  were  the  time  and  period  of  the  unhealthy  season 
of  Italy,  and  all  attributed  to  Sirius.  The  Greeks,  however,  generally 
assigned  fifty  days  to  the  influence  of  the  Dog-star.  Yet  even  then  some 
took  a  more  correct  view  of  the  matter,  for  Geminos  wrote  : 

It  is  generally  believed  that  Sirius  produces  the  heat  of  the  dog  days ;  but  this  is  an 
error,  for  the  star  merely  marks  a  season  of  the  year  when  the  sun's  heat  is  the  greatest. 

But  he  was  an  astronomer. 


The  Constellations  127 

The  idea  prevailed,  however,  even  with  the  sensible  Dante  in  his  "  great 
scourge  of  days  canicular  "  ;  while  Milton,  in  Lycidas,  designated  it  as  "  the 
swart  star."  And  the  notion  holds  good  with  many  even  to  the  present 
time.  This  character  doubtless  is  indicated  on  the  Farnese  globe,  where 
the  Dog's  head  is  surrounded  with  sun-rays. 

But  Pliny  took  a  kinder  view  of  this  star,  as  in  the  "  xii.  chapyture  of 
the  xi.  booke  of  his  naturall  hystorie,"  on  the  origin  of  honey : 

This  coometh  from  the  ayer  at  the  rysynge  of  certeyne  star  res,  and  especially  at  the 
rysyngc  of  Sirius,  and  not  before  the  rysynge  of  Vergiliae  (which  are  the  seven  starres 
cauled  Pleiades)  in  the  sprynge  of  the  day ; 

although  he  seems  to  be  in  doubt  whether  "  this  bee  the  swette  of  heaven, 
or  as  it  were  a  certeyne  spettyl  of  the  starres."  This  idea  is  first  seen  in 
Aristotle's  History  of  Animals.  So,  too,  in  late  astrology  wealth  and  re- 
nown were  the  happy  lot  of  all  born  under  this  and  its  companion  Dog. 
Our  modern  Willis  wrote  in  his  Scholar  of  Thebet  ben  Khorat: 

Mild  Sinus  tinct  with  dewy  violet, 

Set  like  a  flower  upon  the  breast  of  Eve. 

When  in  opposition  Sirius  was  supposed  to  produce  the  cold  of  winter. 

It  has  been  in  all  history  the  brightest  star  in  the  heavens,  thought  worthy 
by  Pliny  of  a  place  by  itself  among  the  constellations,  and  even  seen  in  broad 
sunshine  with  the  naked  eye  by  Bond  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  and 
by  others  at  midday  with  very  slight  optical  aid ;  but  its  color  is  believed 
by  many  to  have  changed  from  red  to  its  present  white.  This  question 
recently  has  been  discussed,  by  See  in  the  affirmative  and  Schiaparelli  in 
the  negative,  at  a  length  not  allowing  repetition  here,  the  weight  of  argu- 
ment, however,  seeming  to  be  against  the  admission  of  any  change  of  color 
in  historic  times. 

Aratos'  term  noacikog,  applied  to  the  Dog,  is  equally  appropriate  to 
Sirius  now  in  the  sense  of  many-colored  or  changeful,  and  is  an  admirable 
characterization,  as  one  realizes  when  watching  this  magnificent  object 
coming  up  from  the  horizon  on  a  winter  evening.  Tennyson,  who  is 
always  correct  as  well  as  poetical  in  his  astronomical  allusions,  says  in  The 

Princess: 

the  fiery  Sirius  alters  hue 
And  bickers  into  red  and  emerald; 

this,  of  course,  being  largely  due  to  its  marked  scintillation ;  and  Arago 
gave  Burftfr**11  as  an  Arabic  designation  for  Sirius,  meaning  Of  a  Thousand 


128  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Colors ;  and  said  that  as  many  as  thirty  changes  of  hue  in  a  second  had 
been  observed  in  it.1 

Sirius,  notwithstanding  its  brilliancy,  is  by  no  means  the  nearest  star 
to  our  system,  although  it  is  among  the  nearest ;  only  two  or  three  others 
having,  so  far  as  is  yet  known,  a  smaller  distance.  Investigations  up  to  the 
present  time  show  a  parallax  of  o".39,  indicating  a  distance  of  8.3  light 
years,  nearly  twice  that  of  a  Centauri. 

Some  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  apparent  magnitude  of  Sirius  is  partly 
due  to  the  whiteness  of  its  tint  and  its  greater  intrinsic  brilliancy ;  and  that 
the  red  stars,  Aldebaran,  Betelgeuze,  and  others,  would  appear  much 
brighter  than  now  if  of  the  same  color  as  Sirius ;  rays  of  red  light  affecting 
the  retina  of  the  eyemore  slowly  than  those  of  other  colors.  The  modern 
scale  of  magnitudes  that  makes  this  star — 1.43, —  about  9^  times  as 
bright  as  the  standard  ist-magnitude  star  Altair  (a  Aquilae), —  would  make 
the  sun  — 25.4,  or  7000  million  times  as  bright  as  Sirius ;  but,  taking  distance 
into  account,  we  find  that  Sirius  is  really  forty  times  brighter  than  the  sun. 

Its  spectrum,  as  type  of  the  Sirian  in  distinction  from  the  Solar,  gives 
name  to  one  of  the  four  general  divisions  of  stellar  spectra  instituted  by 
Secchi  from  his  observations  in  1863-67 ;  these  two  divisions  including 
nearly  -fj-  of tne  observed  stars.     Of  these  about  one  half  are  Sirian  of  a 

brilliantly  white  colour,  sometimes  inclining  towards  a  steely  blue.  The  sign  manual 
of  hydrogen  is  stamped  upon  them  with  extraordinary  intensity 

by  broad,  dark  shaded  lines  which  form  a  regular  series. 

It  is  found  by  Vogel  to  be  approaching  our  system  at  the  rate  of  nearly 
ten  miles  a  second,  and,  since  Rome  was  built,  has  changed  its  position  by 
somewhat  more  than  the  angular  diameter  of  the  moon. 

It  culminates  on  the  1  ith  of  February. 

The  celebrated  Kant  thought  that  Sirius  was  the  central  sun  of  the  Milky- 
Way  ;  and,  eighteen  centuries  before  him,  the  poet  Manilius  said  that  it  was 
"a  distant  sun  to  illuminate  remote  bodies,"  showing  that  even  at  that 
early  day  some  had  knowledge  of  the  true  character  and  office  of  the  stars. 

Certain  peculiarities  in  the  motion  of  Sirius  led  Bessel  in  1884,  after  ten 
years  of  observation,  to  the  belief  that  it  had  an  obscure  companion  with 
which  it  was  in  revolution ;  and  computations  by  Peters  and  Auwers  led 
Safford  to  locating  the  position  of  the  satellite,  where  it  was  found  as  pre- 

1  Montigny's  scintillometer  has  marked  as  many  as  seventy-eight  changes  in  a  second  in 
various  white  stars  standing  300  above  the  horizon,  though  a  somewhat  less  number  in  (hose 
of  other  colors. 


The  Constellations  129 

dieted  on  the  31st  of  January,  1862,  by  the  late  Alvan  G.  Clark,1  at  Cam- 
bridgeport,  Mass.,  while  testing  the  i8j4-inch  glass  now  at  the  Dearborn 
Observatory.  It  proved  to  be  a  yellowish  star,  estimated  as  of  the  8*4  mag- 
nitude, but  difficult  to  be  seen  because  of  the  brilliancy  of  Sirius,  and  then 
10"  away;  this  diminishing  to  5"  in  1889;  and  last  seen  and  measured  by 
Burnham  at  the  Lick  Observatory  before  its  final  disappearance  in  April, 
1890.  Its  reappearance  was  observed  from  the  same  place  in  the  autumn 
of  1896  at  a  distance  of  3".7,  with  a  position  angle  of  1950.  It  has  a 
period  of  5 1  *4  years,  and  an  orbit  whose  diameter  is  between  those  of 
Uranus  and  Neptune ;  its  mass  being  yi  that  of  Sirius  and  equal  to  that 
of  our  sun,  although  its  light  is  but  U)^0(j  of  that  of  its  principal.  So  that 
it  may  be  supposed  to  be  approaching  non-luminous  solidity, —  one  of 
BessePs  "  dark  stars." 

It  is  remarkable  that  Voltaire  in  his  Micromegas  of  1752,  an  imitation 
of  Gulliver's  Travels ',  followed  Dean  Swift's  so-called  prophetic  discovery 
of  the  two  moons  of  Mars  by  a  similar  discovery  of  an  immense  satellite 
of  Sirius,  the  home  of  his  hero.  Swift,  however,  owed  his  inspiration  to 
Kepler,  who  more  than  a  century  previously  wrote  to  Galileo : 

I  am  so  far  from  disbelieving  in  the  existence  of  the  four  circumjovial  planets,  that  I 
long  fur  a  telescope  to  anticipate  you,  if  possible,  in  discovering  two  round  Mars  (as  the 
proportion  seems  to  me  to  require),  six  or  eight  round  Saturn,  and  perhaps  one  each 
round  Mercury  and  Venus. 

Other  stars  are  shown  by  the  largest  glasses  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Sirius,  two  additional  having  very  recently  been  discovered  by  Barnard 
at  the  Yerkes  Observatory. 

p,     2.3,     white. 

Munrim,  generally  but  less  correctly  Mirzam,  and  occasionally  Mirza,  is 
from  Al  Munim,2  the  Announcer,  often  combined  by  the  Arabs  with  0 
Canis  Minoris  in  the  plural  Al  Mirzamani,  or  as  Al  Mirzama  al  Shi'rayain, 
the  two  Sirian  Announcers ;  Ideler's  idea  of  the  applicability  of  this  title  be- 
ing that  this  star  announced  the  immediate  rising  of  the  still  brighter 
Sirius. 

Buttmann  asserted  that  it  also  was  Al  Kalb,  the  Dog,  running  in  front 

1  His  death  occurred  on  the  9th  of  June,  1897,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  just  after  the 
1  m pie t ion  and  successful  installation  of  the  40-inch  glass  in  the  Yerkes  Observatory,  the 
latest  of  his  many  great  lenses,  and  the  last,  excepting  the  24-inch  for  Mr.  Percival  Lowell. 

'-Literally  the  Roarer,  and  so  another  of  the  many  words  in  the  Arabic  tongue  for  the  lion, 
of  which  that  people  boasted  of  having  four  hundred. 

9 


130  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  Sinus,  but  this  must  have  been  from  early  times  in  the  Desert.  In  our 
maps  it  marks  the  right  fore  foot  of  the  Dog. 

The  Chinese  called  it  Kuen  She,  the  Soldiers'  Market. 

y,  4.5,  is  Burritt's  Mnliphen  that  properly  belongs  to  6  and  to  stars  in  Co- 
lumba;  but  the  Century  Atlas  has  it  Mirza. 

It  is  Iris  with  Bayer,  which  Ideler  confirms,  but  Grotius  applied  the  title 
to  the  adjacent  fi,  adding,  however,  nisi  potius  quarto  sit,  thus  referring  to  y. 

Montanari  said  that  it  entirely  disappeared  in  1670,  and  was  not  again 
observed  for  twenty-three  years,  when  it  reappeared  to  Miraldi,  and  since 
has  maintained  a  steady  lustre,  although  faint  for  its  lettering. 

It  marks  the  top  of  the  Dog's  head. 


0,     2.2,     light  yellow, 

is  the  modern  Wezen,  from  Al  Wazn,  Weight,  "  as  the  star  seems  to  rise 
with  difficulty  from  the  horizon";  but  Ideler  justly  calls  this  an  astonishing 
star-name. 

It  also  was  one  of  the  MnhlifaXn  particularly  described  under  Columba. 

The  Chinese  knew  r\  and  *  of  Canis  Major,  with  stars  in  Argo,  as  Hoo 
She,  the  Bow  and  Arrow. 

Gould  thought  6  variable.  It  lies  near  the  Dog's  hind  quarter,  and  has 
a  7.5-magnitude  companion  21  45"  away,  readily  seen  with  an  opera-glass. 


£,  Double,     2  and  9,    pale  orange  and  violet. 

Adara,  Adhara,  Adard,  Udara,  and  Udra  are  from  Al  'Adhara,  the  Vir- 
gins, applied  to  this  star  in  connection  with  6,  tj,  and  o;  perhaps  from  the 
Arabic  story  of  Suhail.  It  has  also  been  designated  Al  Zara,  with  proba- 
bly the  same  signification,  although  this  form  is  erroneous. 

The  component  stars  are  f'.$  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  i6o°.6. 


C,     3,    light  orange. 

Furud  is  either  from  Al  Furud,  the  Bright  Single  Ones,  or,  perhaps  by  a 
transcriber's  error,  from  Al  Kurud,  the  Apes,  referring  to  the  surrounding 
small  stars  with  some  of  those  of  Columba;  Ideler  thought  the  latter  deri- 
vation more  probable.    Al  Sufi  mentioned  these  as  Al  Agribah,  the  Ravens. 

£  marks  the  toe  of  the  right  hind  foot. 


The  Constellations  131 

TQ,     2.4,    pale  red. 

Aludra  is  from  Al  Adhra,  the  singular  of  Al  Adhara,  and  one  of  that 
group.  This  title  has  been  universal  from  the  days  of  Arabian  catalogues 
and  globes  to  our  modern  lists. 

Smyth  wrote  in  his  notes  on  rj,  "  Well  may  Hipparchus  be  dubbed  the 
Praeses  of  ancient  astronomers ! "  for  that  great  man  used  this  star,  then  at 
90°  of  right  ascension,  as  convenient  in  astronomical  reckoning. 

fi,  a  double,  of  4.7  and  8th  magnitudes,  2".9  apart,  yellow  and  blue,  was 
known  as  Iris  by  Grotius,  although  he  admitted  that  y  might  havcbeen 
the  one  referred  to  by  this  title. 

ol,  a  red  star  of  the  4th  magnitude,  and  n,  a  double,  of  5th  and  10th  magni- 
tudes, with  other  small  stars  in  the  body  of  the  Dog,  were  the  Chinese  Ya 
Ke,  the  Wild  Cock. 

Bayer's  star-lettering  for  this  constellation  ended  with  0,  but  Bode  added 
others  down  to  g>. 


The  Dog's-precursor,  too,  shines  bright  beneath  the  Twins. 

Brown's  A  ratos. 

Came  (gXtnot,  i$e  feeeeet  ©og, 

is  der  KLeine  Hund  of  the  Germans;  le  Petit  Chien  of  the  French ;  and  il 
Cane  Minore  of  the  Italians ;  Proctor,  ignoring  La  Lande,  strangely  altered 
it  to  Felis. 

It  was  not  known  to  the  Greeks  by  any  comparative  title,  but  was  always 
T(>oKva)v,  as  rising  before  his  companion  Dog,  which  Latin  classic  writers 
transliterated  Procyon,  and  those  of  late  Middle  Ages  as  Prochion  and 
Prodon.  Cicero  and  others  translated  this  into  Antecanis, —  sometimes 
Awti^Tiig, —  Antecedenfi  Canifl,  Anteoursor,  Praecanifl,  Procanis,  and  Pro- 
eynis ;  or  changed  to  plain  Canifl.  To  this  last  from  the  time  of  Vitruvius, 
perhaps  before  him,  the  Romans  added  various  adjectives;  septcntrio?ialisy 
from  its  more  northerly  position  than  that  of  Canis  Major;  minor \  minus- 
cuius,  and  parvus,  in  reference  to  its  inferior  brightness ;  primus,  as  rising 


132  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

first;  and  sinister,  as  on  the  left  hand,  in  distinction  from  the  Canis  dtxtcr 

on  the  right.     Lucan  described  both  of  the  Dogs  as  semi  deosque  Canes. 

It  was  also  Catellui  and  Catnlui,  the  Puppy. 

Horace  wrote  of  it, 

Jam  Procyon  furit, 

which  Mr.  Gladstone  rendered, 

The  heavens  are  hot  with  Procyon's  ray, 

as  thpugh  it  were  the  Canicula,  and  he  was  followed  by  others  in  this ; 
indeed,  Pliny  began  the  dog  days  with  its  heliacal  rising  on  the  19th  of 
July,  and  strangely  said  that  the  Romans  had  no  other  name  for  it. 

With  mycologists  it  was  Actaeon's  dog,  or  one  of  Diana's,  or  the  Egyp- 
tian Anubis ;  but  popularly  Orion'i  2d  Hound,  often  called  Canii  Ononis, 
and  thus  confounded  as  in  other  ways  with  the  Sirian  asterism.  Hyginus 
had  Ioarinm  Astrum,  referring  to  the  dog  Maera ;  Caesius,  Erigonius  and 
Canis  virginem  of  the  same  story,  but  identified  by  Ovid  with  Canis  Major: 
and  Firmicus,  Argion,  that  perhaps  was  for  mixes'  dog  "Apyo?.  It  also 
was  considered  as  representing  Helen's  favorite,  lost  in  the  Euripus,  that 
she  prayed  Jove  might  live  again  in  the  sky. 

It  shared  its  companion's  much  mixed,  degenerate  nomenclature,  as  in 
the  1 5 1 5  Almagest's  "  Antecedens  Canis  et  est  Abehere  Asoemie  Algameua"; 
while  the  industrious  Bayer  as  usual  had  some  strange  names  for  it.  Among 
these  are  Fovea,  a  Pit,  that  Caesius  commented  much  upon,  but  little  to 
our  enlightenment ;  and  2vKdnivo$,  or  Moms,  the  Sycamine  tree,  the  equiva- 
lent of  one  of  its  Arabic  titles.  His  Aschemie  and  Aflchere,  as  well  as 
Chilmead's  Alsahare  alfiemalija,  and  mongrel  words  from  the  foregoing 
Almagest,  etc.,  can  all  be  detected  in  their  original  Al  Shira  al  Shamiyyah, 
the  Bright  Star  of  Syria,  thus  named  because  it  disappeared  from  the 
Arabs'  view  at  its  setting  beyond  that  country. 

We  also  find  Al  Jummaiza,  their  Sycamine,  although  some  say  that  this 
should  be  Al  Ghumais&,  the  Dim,  Watery-eyed,  or  Weeping  One;  either 
from  the  fact  that  her  light  was  dimmer  than  that  of  her  sister  Al  Shi  ra,  or 
from  the  fable  connected  with  Suhail  and  his  marriage  to  Al  Jauzah  and 
subsequent  flight,  followed  by  Al  Shira  below  the  Milky  Way,  where  she 
remained,  the  other  sister,  Al  Ghumaisa',  being  left  in  tears  in  her  accus- 
tomed place,  or  it  may  be  from  a  recollection  of  the  Euphratean  title  for 
Procyon, —  the  Water-dog.  Bayer  wrote  the  word  Algomeiza;  Riccioli, 
Algomisa  and  Algomiza ;  and  others,  Algomeyia,  Algomyso,  Alohamizo,  etc. 
Thus  the  Two  Dog-stars  were  the  Arabs'  Al  Afiawat  al  Suhail,  the  Sisters 


The  Constellations  133 

of  Canopus.  Still  another  derivation  of  the  name  is  from  Al  Ghamus,  the 
Puppy ;  but  this  probably  was  a  later  idea  from  the  Romans. 

Also  borrowing  from  them,  the  Arabians  called  it  Al  Kalb  al  Asghar,  the 
Lesser  Dog, —  Chilmead's  Alcheleb  Alasgar,  Riccioli's  Kelbelazguar,— 
and  Al  Kalb  al  Mutakaddim,  the  Preceding  Dog. 

In  Cam's  Minor  lay  a  part  of  Al  Dhira*  al  Asad  al  Makbuijah,  the  Con- 
tracted Fore  Arm,  or  Paw,  of  the  early  Lion ;  the  other,  the  Extended 
Paw,  running  up  into  the  heads  *of  Gemini. 

Like  its  greater  neighbor,  Procyon  foretold  wealth  and  renown,  and  in 
all  astrology  has  been  much  regarded.  Leonard  Digges1  wrote  in  his 
Prognostication  Everlasting  of  Right  Good  Effect,  an  almanac  for  1553, — 

Who  learned  in  matters  astronomical,  noteth  not  the  great  effects  at  the  rising  of  the  starre 
called  the  Litel  Dogge. 

Caesius  made  it  the  Dog  of  Tobias,  in  the  Apocrypha,  that  Novidius  had 
claimed  for  Canis  Major;  but  Julius  Schiller  imagined  it  the  Paschal  Lamb. 

Who  traced  out  the  original  outlines  of  Canis  Minor,  and  what  these 
outlines  were,  is  uncertain,  for  the  constellation  with  Ptolemy  contained 
but  two  recorded  stars,  and  no  'ap6p<fH»)7oi;  and  even  now  Argelander's 
map  shows  only  15,  although  Heis  has  37,  and  Gould  51. 

Canis  Minor  lies  to  the  southeast  from  the  feet  of  Gemini,  its  western 
border  over  the  edge  of  the  Milky  Way,  and  is  separated  by  Monoceros 
from  Canis  Major  and  Argo. 

Qt,  Binary,    0.4,  and  13,    yellowish  white  and  yellow. 

Procyon,  varied  by  Procion  and  Prochion, —  Upoicvav  in  the  original, — 
has  been  the  name  for  this  from  the  earliest  Greek  records,  distinctly  men- 
tioned by  Aratos  and  Ptolemy,  and  so  known  by  all  the  Latins,  with  the 
equivalent  Antecanis. 

Ulug  Beg  designated  it  as  Al  Shi'ra  al  Shamiyyah,  shortened  to  Al 
Shamiyyah ;  Chrysococca  transcribing  this  into  his  Low  Greek  ^larjp  liafiij, 
and  Riccioli  into  Siair  Siami;  all  of  these  agreeing  with  its  occasional 
English  title  the  Northern  Sirins.  The  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1  quote  it  as 
Asckere,  Aschemie  et  Algomeysa;  those  of  1545,  as  prochion  &*  Algomeyla. 

It  thus  has  many  of  its  constellation's  names ;  in  fact,  being  the  magna 
pars  of  it,  probably  itself  bore  them  before  the  constellation  was  formed. 

Ut  was  this  Digges  who,  nearly  fifty  years  before  Galileo,  wrote  of  the  telescope  as  though 
it  were  an  instrument  with  which  he  was  familiar, —  perhaps  from  Roger  Bacon's  writings  of 
3So years  before  him. 

9* 


134  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Jacob  Bryant  insisted  that  its  title  came  to  Greece  from  the  Egyptian 
Pur  Cahen. 

Euphratean  scholars  identify  it  with  the  Kakkab  Paldara,  Pallika,  or 
Palura  of  the  cylinders,  the  Star  of  the  Crossing  of  the  Water-dog,  a  title 
evidently  given  with  some  reference  to  the  River  of  Heaven,  the  adjacent 
Milky  Way ;  and  Hommel  says  that  it  was  the  Kak-shiiha  which  the  majority 
of  scholars  apply  to  Sirius. 

Dupuis  said  that  in  Hindu  fables  it  was  Binge  Hannant;  and  Edkins 
that  it,  or  Sirius,  was  the  Persian  VanaucL 

Reeves'  Chinese  list  gives  it  as  Van  Ho,  the  Southern  River,  in  which  3 
and  r\  were  included. 

With  the  natives  of  the  Hervey  Islands  it  was  their  goddess  Vena. 

In  astrology,  like  its  constellation,  it  portended  wealth,  fame,  and  good 
fortune.     Procyon  culminates  on  the  24th  of  February. 

Elkin  determined  its  parallax  as  0^.34 1,  making  its  distance  from  our 
system  about  9^  light  years;  and,  according  to  Vogel,  it  is  approaching 
us  at  a  speed  of  nearly  six  miles  a  second.     Gould  thinks  it  slightly  variable. 

Its  spectrum  is  on  the  border  between  Solar  and  Sirian. 

It  is  attended  by  several  minute  companions  that  have  long  been  known; 
but  in  November,  1896,  Schaeberle  of  the  Lick  Observatory  discovered  a 
i3th-magnitude  yellowish  companion,  about  4". 6  away,  at  a  position  angle 
of  31 8°.8,  that  may  be  the  one  predicted  by  Bessel  in  1844  as  explaining  its 
peculiar  motion, —  a  motion  resembling  that  of  Sirius,  which  astronomers  had 
found  to  be  moving  in  an  oval  orbit  entirely  unexplained  until  the  discover)- 
of  its  companion  by  Alvan  G.  Clark  in  1862.  Barnard,  at  the  Yerkes 
Observatory  in  1898,  makes  the  close  companion  of  Procyon  4".83  away, 
at  a  position  angle  of  3260. 

The  period  of  revolution  of  this  most  magnificent  system  is  about  forty 
years,  in  an  orbit  slightly  greater  than  that  of  Uranus,  the  combined  mass 
being  about  six  times  that  of  our  sun  and  earth,  and  the  mass  of  the  com- 
panion equaling  that  of  our  sun.     Its  light  is  three  times  greater. 


p,     3.5,     white. 

Gomeisa  is  from  the  Ghumaisa  of  the  constellation,  changed  in  the 
Alfonsine  Tables  to  Algomeyla,  and  by  Burritt  to  Gomelia. 

Occasionally  it  has  been  Al  Ganuu,  from  another  of  the  Arabians'  titles 
for  the  whole;  and  Al  Munim,  identical  with  the  name  of  0  Canis  Majoris, 
and  for  a  similar  reason, —  as  if  announcing  the  rising  of  the  brightest  star 


The  Constellations  135 

of  the  figure.  The  Arabs  utilized  this,  with  Procyon,  to  mark  the  terminal 
points  of  their  short  Cubit,  or  Ell,  Al  Dhiri',  their  long  Cubit  being  the  line 
between  Castor  and  Pollux  of  Gemini.  This  same  word  appears  in  the 
title  of  one  of  the  moon  stations  in  that  constellation. 

&  has  some  close  companions  of  the  10th  and  12th  magnitudes. 

£  0,  0,  and  tt  were  the  Chinese  Shwuy  Wei,  a  Place  of  Water,  a  designa- 
tion that  may  have  been  given  them  from  their  nearness  to  the  River  of 
Heaven,  the  Galaxy. 


Thy  Cold  (for  thou  o'er  Winter  Signs  dost  reign, 
Pull'st  back  the  Sun,  and  send'st  us  Day  again) 
Makes  Brokers  rich. 

Thomas  Creech's  translation  of  Mantlius'  Poetkon  Astronomicon, 

Cajnricotmw, 

next  to  the  eastward  from  Sagittarius,  is  our  Capricorn,  the  French  Capri- 
corne,  the  Italian  Caprieorno,  and  the  German  Steinbock, —  Stone-buck,  or 
Ibex, —  the  Anglo-Saxon  Bnoca  and  Bnccan  Horn. 

The  common  Latin  name  was  varied  by  the  Caper  of  Ausonius,  flexni 
Gaper  of  Manilius,  Hircus  corniger  of  Vergil,  hircinus  Sidnj  of  Prudens, 
Gapra  and  aequorifl  Hircns,  the  Sea  Goat ;  while  Minsheu's  "  Capra  ilia 
Amalthea"  indicates  that  it  was  identified  by  some  with  the  goat  usually 
assigned  to  Auriga.  All  this,  doubtless,  was  from  oriental  legends,  perhaps 
very  ancient,  which  made  Capricorn  the  nurse  of  the  youthful  sun-god  that 
long  anticipated  the  story  of  the  infant  Jupiter  and  Amalthea.  The  Latin 
poets  also  designated  it  as  Neptuni  proles,  Neptune's  offspring;  Pelagi 
Procella,  the  Ocean  Storm;  Imbrifer,  the  Rain-bringing  One;  Signnm 
hiemale,  and  Gelidus,  because  then  at  the  winter  solstice,  the  equivalent 
'Afla/rrfjc  appearing  with  the  Greeks,  which  Riccioli  repeated  as  Athalpis. 

Aratos  called  it  'A/yorttpwc,  the  Horned  Goat,  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
*Ai£  of  Auriga,  as  did  Ptolemy,  but  Ionic  writers  had  '  Aiyoicepevs ;  and  this 
word,  Latinized  as  Aegoeeros,  was  in  frequent  use  with  all  classical  authors 
who  wrote  on  astronomy.  The  Arabo-Latin  Almagest  of  1515  turned  this 
into  AloauctLTUi,  explained  by  habens  cornua  hint;  and  Bayer  mentioned 


136  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

AWnty^a  Eratosthenes  knew  it  as  Udv  and  'Aiyi-Uav,  the  Goat- Footed 
Pan,  half  fishified,  Smyth  said,  by  his  plunge  into  the  Nile  in  a  panic  at 
the  approach  of  the  monster  Typhon ;  the  same  story  being  told  of  Bacchus, 
so  that  he,  too,  always  was  associated  with  its  stars. 

In  Persia  it  was  Buihgali,  Bahi  or  Vahik,  and  Goi;  in  the  Pahlavi 
tongue,  Hahi;  in  Turkey,  Ughlak;  in  Syria,  Oadjo;  and  in  Arabia,  Al 
Jady,  usually  written  by  us  Giedi;  all  meaning  the  Goat,  or,  in  the  latter 
country,  the  Badan,  or  Ibex,  known  to  zoologists  as  Capra  beden*  Burritts 
Tower  of  Gad,  at  first  sight  presumably  Hebrew,  would  seem  rather  to  be  a 
bungled  translation x  from  tfie  Arabic,  and  in  no  way  connected  with  the 
Jewish  tribe.    Riccioli  had  Elgedi,  Elgendi,  and  Gadio. 

Very  frequent  mention  was  made  of  this  constellation  in  early  days,  for 
the  Platonists  held  that  the  souls  of  men,  when  released  from  corporeity, 
ascended  to  heaven  through  its  stars,  whence  it  was  called  the  Gate  of  the 
Gods ;  their  road  of  descent  having  been  through  Cancer.  But  some  of  the 
Orientals  knew  it  as  the  Southern  Gate  of  the  Ban,  as  did  the  Latins  in 
their  altera  Solii  Porta.  Berossos  is  reported  by  Seneca  to  have  learned 
from  the  old  books  of  Sargon 2  that  the  world  would  be  destroyed  by  a 
great  conflagration  when  all  the  planets  met  in  this  sign. 

Numa  Pompilius,  the  second  mythical  king  of  Rome,  whose  date  has 
been  asserted  as  from  715  to  673  b.  c,  began  the  year  when  the  sun  was  in 
the  middle  of  Capricorn,  and  when  the  day  had  lengthened  by  half  an  hour 
after  the  winter  solstice. 

In  astrology,  with  Taurus  and  Virgo,  it  was  the  Earthly  Trigon,  and 
black,  russet,  or  a  swarthy  brown,  was  the  color  assigned  to  it;  while, 
with  Aquarius,  it  was  the  Home  of  Saturn,  as  that  planet  was  created  in 
this  constellation,  and  whenever  here  had  great  influence  over  human 
affairs ;  as  Alchabitus  asserted,  in  the  Ysagogicus  of  1485,  caput  et  pedis 
habct;  and  it  always  governed  the  thighs  and  knees.  It  also  was  regarded 
as  under  the  care  of  the  goddess  Vesta,  and  hence  Vestae  Sidua.  Ampelius 
singularly  associated  it  with  the  burning  south  wind  Auster,  and  Manilius 
said  that  it  reigned  over  France,  Germany,  and  Spain ;  in  later  times  it 
ruled  Greece,  India,  Macedonia,  and  Thrace,  Brandenburg  and  Mecklen- 

1  The  Arabic  word  Burj  signifies  both  Constellation  and  Tower,  or  Fortress. 

2  This  Sargon  has  been  considered  the  almost  mythical  founder  of  the  first  Semitic  empire. 
3850  B.  C,  but  inscriptions  recently  unearthed  at  Nuffar,  and  only  deciphered  in  1896  at  Con- 
stantinople by  Professor  Herman  V.  Hilprecht  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  make  it 
evident  that  Babylonia  was  an  important  kingdom  at  least  three  or  four  millenniums  before 
him.  Sargon's  astronomical  work,  the  Illumination  of  Bel,  in  72  books,  was  compiled  by  the 
priests  of  that  god,  and  translated  into  Greek  by  Berossos  about  260  B.  c.  Fragments  of  this  | 
last  work  still  remain  to  us. 


The  Constellations  137 

burg,  Saxony  and  Wilna,  Mexico  and  Oxford.     Manilius  also  wrote  of  it  as 
in  our  motto,  and 

at  Caesar's  Birth  Serene  he  shone. 

The  almanac  of  1386  has :  "  Whoso  is  borne  in  Capcorn  schal  be  ryche 
and  wel  lufyd  " ;  in  1542  the  Doctor,  as  Arcandum  was  called,  showed  that 
a  man  born  under  it  would  be  a  great  gallant,  would  have  eight  special 
illnesses,  and  would  die  at  sixty ;  and  according  to  Smyth  it  was  "  the  very 
pet  of  all  constellations  with  astrologers,  having  been  the  fortunate  sign  un- 
der which  Augustus  and  Vespasian  were  born,"  although  elsewhere,  in 
somewhat  uncourtly  style,  he  quotes:  "prosperous  in  dull  and  heavy 
leasts."  It  also  appears  to  have  been  much  and  favorably  regarded  by  the 
Arabians,  as  may  be  seen  in  their  names  for  its  chiet  stars,  and  in  the  char- 
acter assigned  by  them  to  its  lunar  mansions.  But  these  benign  qualities 
were  only  occasional,  caused  probably  by  some  lucky  combination  with  a 
fortunate  sign,  as  is  known  only  to  the  initiated,  for  its  general  reputation 
was  the  reverse ;  and,  in  classical  days,  when  coincident  with  the  sun,  it 
was  thought  a  harbinger  of  storms  and  so  ruler  of  the  waters, — Horace's 

tyrannus  Hesperiae  Capricornus  undae. 

Aratos  had  clearly  showed  this  long  before : 

Then  grievous  blasts 
Break  southward  on  the  sea,  when  coincide 
The  Goat  and  sun;  and  then  a  heaven-sent  cold. 

Ovid  expressed  much  the  same  opinion  in  connection  with  the  story  of 
Acaetes ;  but  ages  before  them  this  seems  to  have  been  said  of  it  on  Eu- 
pbratean  tablets. 

Caesius  and  Postellus  are  authority  for  its  being  Azazel,  the  Scapegoat 
of  Leviticus  ;  although  Caesius  also  mentioned  it  as  Simon  Zelotes,  the 
Aposde.  Suetonius  in  his  Life  of  Augustus ,  and  Spanheim  in  his  De  Num- 
mis,  said  that  Capricorn  was  shown  on  silver  coins  of  that  emperor,  com- 
memorating the  fact  that  it  was  his  natal  sign;  and  it  always  has  been 
regarded  in  astrology  as  the  Mansion  of  Kings.  It  is  seen,  too,  on  a  coin 
found  in  Kent,  struck  by  the  British  prince  Amminius,  and  was  the  most 
frequent  of  the  zodiacal  figures  on  uranographic  amulets  of  the  14th  and 
15th  centuries,  "  worn  as  a  kind  of  astral  defensive  armor." 

Its  figuring  generally  has  been  consistent,  and  as  we  now  see  it,  with  the 
head  and  body  of  a  goat,  or  ibex,  ending  in  a  fish's  tail.  Manuscripts  from 
the  2d  to  the  15th  century  show  it  thus;  a  Syrian  seal  of  187  b.  c.  has  it  in 
the  same  way  ;  as  also  an  early  Babylonian  gem,  surmounted,  not  inap- 


138  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

propriately,  by  the  crescent  moon, for  Capricorn  was  a  nocturnal  sign;  and 
the  same  figure  is  on  a  fragment  of  a  Babylonian  planisphere,  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  supposed  to  be  of  the  12th  century  b.  c.  So  that  this 
may  be  considered  its  original  form,  in  full  agreement  with  its  amphibious 
character,  and  with  some  resemblance,  in  the  grouping  of  the  chief  stars, 
to  a  goat's  horns  and  a  fish's  tail.  From  this  figuring  Cam5es,  in  Os  Lusia- 
das  of  1572,  called  it  the  Semi-Capran  Fiah,  as  it  now  is  with  us  the  Goat- 
Fiah  and  the  Sea  Goat  Still  at  times  it  has  been  a  complete  goat-like 
animal,  and  was  so  considered  by  Aratos,  Eratosthenes,  and  Ptolemy,  as  by 
the  more  modern  Albumasar,  Kazwini,  Ulug  Beg,  and  in  occasional  mediae- 
val manuscripts.  It  was  thus  shown  on  some  Egyptian  zodiacs ;  although 
on  that  of  Denderah  it  appears  in  its  double  form,  where  "  an  ibis-headed 
man  rides  on  Capricorn  us,  under  which  sign  Sirius  rose  anti-heliacally"; 
the  ibis  being  sacred  to  Isis,  with  which  Sirius  was  identified.  Still  differ- 
ently, a  silver  bowl  from  Burmah  engraved  with  the  Brahmin  zodiac, 
probably  copied  from  original  sources,  makes  the  Fish  entire  in  Capri- 
corn, and  omits  the  Goat ;  while  Jensen  says  that  in  Babylonia  the  Goat 
and  Fish,  both  complete,  were  occasionally  used  together  for  the  con- 
stellation. 

Jewish  Rabbis  asserted  that  the  tribe  of  Naphtali  adopted  this  sign  as 
their  banner  emblem, — "  Naphtali  is  a  hind  let  loose," — as  if  Capricorn 
were  a  deer,  or  antelope ;  others  ascribed  it  to  Benjamin,  or  to  Reuben : 
but  Aquarius  more  fitly  represented  the  latter. 

Some  connect  the  sign  in  Egyptian  astronomy  with  Chuum,  Chnemu, 
Gnoum,  or  Knum,  the  God  of  the  Waters,  associated  with  the  rising  of  the 
Nile  and  worshiped  in  Elephantine  at  the  Cataracts,  this  divinity  bearing 
goat's,  not  ram's,  horns.  Others  have  said  that  it  was  the  goat-god 
Mendes ;  and  La  Lande  cited  the  strange  title  (bririnque  from  the  Greek 
adjective  descriptive  of  a  Swordfish,  our  constellation  sometimes  being  thus 
shown,  when  it  was  considered  the  cause  of  the  inundation.  In  Coptic 
Egypt  it  was  'Oirevrvs,  Brachium  Sacrificii ;  and  Miss  Clerke  says  that  it 
was  figured  in  that  country  as  a  Mirror,  emblematic  of  life. 

Earlier  Hindu  names  were  Hriga  and  Makara, — the  Cingalese  Makra 
and  the  Tamil  Makaram,  an  Antelope;  but  occasionally  it  was  shown  with 
a  goat's  head  upon  the  body  of  a  hippopotamus,  signifying  some  amphib- 
ious creature,  and  a  later  term  was  Shl-shu-mara  or  Sim-shu-marm,  the 
Crocodile,  although  this  originally  was  marked  by  stars  of  Draco.  Varaha 
Mihira  took  his  title  for  it,  Akokera,  from  the  Greeks;  and  it  was  the  last 
in  order  of  the  zodiacal  signs  of  India,  as  on  the  Euphrates.  In  the  Aztec 
calendar  it  appeared  as  Cipactli,  with  a  figure  like  that  of  the  narwhal. 


The  Constellations  139 

It  was  the  zodiacal  Bally  or  Ox,  of  Chinese  astronomy,  that  later  became 
Mo  Ki,  the  Goat- Fish.  Williams  says  that,  with  stars  of  Sagittarius,  it  was 
Sing  Xi,  the  Starry  Record,  and  with  a  part  of  Aquarius  Hiuen  hiau ; 
while  in  very  early  days,  with  Aquarius  and  Sagittarius,  it  was  the  Dark 
Warrior,  etc.,  the  so-called  Northern  one  of  the  four  large  divisions  of  the 
zodiac.  Flammarion  asserts  that  Chinese  astronomers  located  among  its 
stars  a  conjunction  of  the  five  planets  2449  b.  c. 

Sayce,  Bosanquet,  and  others  think  that  they  have  without  doubt  identi- 
fied it  with  the  Assyrian  Mnna^a,  the  Goat- Fish;  and  we  see  other  probable 
names  in  Shall  or  Shahn,  the  Ibex,  and  in  Nirn,  the  Yoke,  this  last  perhaps 
a  popular  one.  Brown  gives  for  it  the  Akkadian  8u-tul  of  the  same  mean- 
ing; and  another  possible  title,  resembling  the  early  Hindu,  was  Makhar, 
claimed  also  for  Delphinus.  It  seems  likewise  to  have  been  known  as  the 
Double  Ship.  Jensen  says  that  "  the  amphibious  la  Oannes  of  the  Persian 
Gulf  was  connected  with  the  constellation  Capricornus " ;  Sayce,  that  a 
cuneiform  inscription  designates  it  as  the  Father  of  Light, — a  title  which, 
astronomically  considered,  could  not  have  been  correct  except  about  1 5000 
years  ago,  when  the  sun  was  here  at  the  summer  solstice ;  that  "  the  goat 
was  sacred  and  exalted  into  this  sign  " ;  and  that  a  robe  of  goatskins  was 
the  sacred  dress  of  the  Babylonian  priests.  So  that,  although  we  do  not 
know  when  Capricornus  came  into  the  zodiac,  we  may  be  confident  that  it 
was  millenniums  ago,  perhaps  in  prehistoric  days.  It  was  identified  with 
the  10th  Assyrian  month  Dhabitu,  corresponding  to  December-January. 

Its  symbol,  V3,  usually  is  thought  to  be  rp,  the  initial  letters  of  Tpayoc, 
Goat,  but  La  Lande  said  that  it  represents  the  twisted  tail  of  the  creature ; 
and  Brown  similarly  calls  it  "  a  conventional  representation  of  a  fish-tailed 
goat"  Indeed  it  is  not  unlike  the  outline  of  these  stars  on  a  celestial  globe. 

The  sun  is  in  the  constellation  from  the  18th  of  January  to  the  14th  of 
February,  when,  as  Dante  wrote  in  the  JParadisoy 

The  horn  of  the  celestial  goat  doth  touch  the  sun ; 
and  Milton  mentions  the  tatter's  low  elevation  during  this  time, 

Thence  down  amain 
As  deep  as  Capricorn. 

The  title  Tropic  of  Capricorn,  originating  from  the  fact  that  when  first 
observed  the  point  of  the  winter  solstice  was  located  here,  now  refers  to  the 
sign  and  not  to  the  constellation,  this  solstice  at  present  being  330  to  the 
westward,  in  the  figure  of  Sagittarius,  near  its  star  p. 


140  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Capricorn  is,  after  Cancer,  the  most  inconspicuous  in  the  zodiac,  and 
chiefly  noticeable  for  the  duplicity  of  its  lucida. 

Argelander  charted  45  naked-eye  stars  within  its  borders ;  and  Heis  63. 

Ct ,  Double,    3.2  and  4.2,    yellow. 
Ct ,  Triple,    3,  1 1.5,  and  11.5,  pale  yellow,  ash,  and  lilac. 

These  are  the  Prima  and  Second*  Giedi,  or  plain  Algedi,  from  the 
Arabian  constellation  title  Al  Jady. 

Other  titles,  Dalrih  and  the  degenerated  Dtchftbbe  and  Dehabeh,  applied 
to  them,  but  more  commonly  to  0,  have  been  traced  by  some  to  Al  Jabbah, 
the  Forehead,  although  the  stars  are  nearer  the  tip  of  the  horn ;  but  the 
names  undoubtedly  come  from  Al  Sad  al  Dhabi^L,  the  Lucky  One  of  the 
Slaughterers,  the  title  of  the  20th  manzil  (of  which  these  alphas  and  3 
were  the  determinant  point),  manifestly  referring  to  the  sacrifice  celebrated 
by  the  heathen  Arabs  at  the  heliacal  rising  of  Capricorn.  And  of  similar 
signification  was  the  Euphratean  Shak-thadi  and  the  Coptic  Eupentoi,  or 
Opeutus,  for  the  same  lunar  asterism  of  those  peoples. 

Brown  thinks  that  a,  then  seen  only  as  a  single  star,  with  0  and  v  was 
known  by  the  Akkadians  as  Us,  the  Goat;  and  as  Sua  in  the  astronomy 
of  their  descendants ;  while  Epping  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  this. 
or  perhaps  0,  marked  the  26th  ecliptic  asterism  of  the  Babylonians, 
Qarnn  Shah*,  the  Horn  of  the  Goat.  Brown  also  says  that  a  represented 
the  8th  antediluvian  king  Amar  Sin, —  'Afiefii/Hvog. 

In  Hipparchos*  time  the  two  alphas  were  but  4/  apart,  and  it  was  not 
till  towards  Bayer's  day  that  they  had  drifted  sufficiently  away  from  each 
other  to  be  readily  separated  by  the  naked  eye.  Their  distance  in  1880  was 
6j^',  and  this  is  increasing  by  7"  in  every  hundred  years. 

They  culminate  on  the  9th  of  September. 

Smyth  described  a  minute  blue  companion  of  a2  which  he  caught  "in 
little  evanescent  flashes,  so  transient  as  again  to  recall  Burns's  snow-flakes 
on  a  stream  " ;  and  mentioned  Sir  John  HerscheFs  suggestion  that  this 
might  shine  by  reflected  light.  Alvan  G.  Clark  doubled  this  in  1862,  the 
distance  being  i".2,  and  the  position  angle  2390. 

p1,  and  p2,  2.5  and  6,  each  double,  orange  yellow  and  sky  blue. 

Dabih  Major  and  Dabih  Minor  are  the  names  of  this  so-called  double, 
but  telescopically  multiple,  star,  taken  from  the  title  of  the  manzil  of  which, 
with  a,  it  formed  part. 


The  Constellations  141 

These  betas,  with  a,  v,  o,  tt,  and  p  farther  to  the  south,  were  the  20th  sieu  of 
China,  Hieu,  or  Keen  Nieu,  the  Ox,  anciently  Hgu,  or  On,  themselves  being 
the  determinants.  The  lunar  asterism  was  in  some  way  intimately  con- 
nected in  religious  worship  with  the  rearing  of  the  silkworm  in  that  country. 

The  two  stars  mark  the  head  of  the  Goat,  the  components  205"  distant 
from  each  other,  and  each  very  closely  double.  The  duplicity  of /31  was  first 
recognized  in  1883  by  Barnard  from  its  behavior  at  an  occultation  by  the 
moon,  this  discovery  being  soon  verified  and  measured  by  Professor  Young, 
Hough,  and  other  observers. 

r>  3.8. 

Kashira  is  from  Al  Sa'd  al  Naahirah,  the  Fortunate  One,  or  the  Bringer 
of  Good  Tidings,  which  the  early  Arabs  applied  to  this  when  taken  with  6. 
Smyth  gave  it  as  Sadubn&ahirah ;  and  the  Standard  Dictionary  repeats 
this  as  Saib'  Nasch-ru-ah! 

Bayer  had  the  later  Deneb  Algedi,  the  Tail  of  the  Goat,  that  is  more 
proper  for  J;  the  Al/onsine  Tables  of  152 1,  Denebalchedi,  which  has  degen- 
erated to  Beheddi;  and  the  fine  wall  star-map  of  Doctor  Ferdn.  Reuter, 
Deneb  Algethi;  but  this  is  erroneous,  and  a  confusion  with  the  Arabian 
title  for  the  constellation  Hercules. 

y  marked  the  27th  Babylonian  ecliptic  asterism,  Mahar  aha  hi-na  ShahfL, 
the  Western  One  in  the  Tail  of  the  Goat. 

With  6,  f,  k  and  stars  in  Aquarius  and  Pisces  it  was  the  Chinese  Luy  Pei 
Chen,  the  Intrenched  Camp. 

5,     3.1. 

Deneb  Algedi  is  the  transcription  by  Ulug  Beg's  translator  of  Al  Dhanab 
al  Jady,  the  Tail  of  the  Goat ;  changed  to  Soheddi  in  some  lists, —  a  name 
also  found  for  y. 

Ideler  said  that  these  stars  were  Al  Muhibbain,  the  Two  Friends,  an 
Arabic  allegorical  title  for  any  two  closely  associated  objects ;  but  Beigel 
differed  with  him  as  to  this,  and  wrote  it  Al  Muhanaim,  the  Two  Bending 
Stars, —  in  the  flexure  of  the  tail, —  for  "  moral  beings  are  foreign  to  the 
nomad  sky." 

It  marked  the  28th  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia,  Arkat  aha  hi-na 
Shahfi,  the  Eastern  One  in  the  Tail  of  the  Goat. 

5°  to  the  eastward  is  the  point  announced  by  Le  Verrier1  as  the  position 

1  Flammarion,  who  was  intimate  with  Le  Verrier,  thinks  that  the  latter  never  had  the 
curiosity  to  observe  his  planet  through  the  telescope,  strangely  content  with  his  mathematical 
achievement !  And  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  Doctor  Galle,  in  his  85th  year,  in  1896 
received  the  congratulations  of  the  astronomical  world  upon  the  50th  anniversary  of  the 
finding  of  Neptune. 


142  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  his  predicted  new  planet, —  Neptune, —  where  Galle,  first  assistant  of  the 
celebrated  Encke  at  the  Berlin  Observatory,  under  Le  Verrier's  direction, 
visually  discovered  it  on  the  23d  of  September,  1846.  It  had  been  sus- 
pected by  Bouvard  in  1821,  and  seen  six  times  from  France  and  England 
just  previous  to  its  discovery,  but  without  knowledge  of  its  character. 

f,  ?/,  0,  and  t,  4th-  and  5th-magnitude  stars  on  the  body,  were  respectively 
Yen,  Chow,  Ton,  and  Tae,  names  of  old  feudal  states  in  China. 

A,  5.4,  with  f  Aquarii  and  others  near  by,  was  Ken  Luy  Ching,  the  Heav- 
enly Walled  Castle;  and  p,  5.24,  was  Kuh,  Weeping,  k  and  ji  mark  the 
extreme  end  of  the  tail. 

v,  4.7,  was  Kazwini's  Al  Shat,  the  Sheep  that  was  to  be  slaughtered  by 
the  adjacent  Dhabih,  the  stars  0. 

The  following  also  seem  to  be  named  only  in  China :  v,  5.3,  marked 
Loo  Sieu,  the  Lace-like  asterism ;  0,  5.3,  and  x>  5«3>  taken  together  were 
Wei,  the  name  of  one  of  the  old  feudal  states;  1^,4.3,  was  Yne,  a  Battle-ax; 
while  the  5th-magnitudes  A,  b,  and  m  also  bore  titles  from  feudal  times  of 
the  states  Tsoo,  Tain,  and  ChaoiL 

Bayer  gave  A,  b,  and  c  as  Tres  ultimae  Deneb  Algedi ;  but  Heis  puts  A  in 
the  right  fore  arm,  b  in  the  belly,  and  c  —  Flamsteed's  46  —  outside  of  and 
beyond  the  tail,  in  the  ribs  of  Aquarius,  thus  showing  a  change  of  figuring 
in  the  past  three  centuries. 


A  place  where  Cassiopea  sits  within 
Inferior  light,  for  all  her  daughter's  sake. 

Mrs,  Browning's  Paraphrases  on  Nonnut. 


Casmopeta,  or  Casefope, 

more  correctly  Cassiopeia,  although  variously  written,  is  one  of  the  oldest 
and  popularly  best  known  of  our  constellations,  and  her  throne, "  the  shinie 
Casseiopeia's  chair"  of  Spenser's  Faerie  Queent  is  a  familiar  object  to  the 
most  youthful  observer.  It  also  is  known  as  the  Celestial  W  when  below 
the  pole,  and  the  Celestial  M  when  above  it. 

Hyginus,  writing  the  word  Cassiepia,  described  the  figure  as  bound  to  her 
seat,  and  thus  secured  from  falling  out  of  it  in  going  around  the  pole  head 
downward, —  this  particular  spot  in  the  sky  having  been  selected  by  the 


The  Constellations  143 

queen's  enemies,  the  sea-nymphs,  to  give  her  an  effectual  lesson  in  humility, 
for  a  location  nearer  the  equator  would  have  kept  her  nearly  upright. 
Aratos  said  of  this : 

She  head  foremost  like  a  tumbler  sits. 

Her  outstretched  legs  also,  for  a  woman  accustomed  to  the  fashions  of  the 
East,  must  have  added  to  her  discomfort. 

Euripides  and  Sophocles,  of  the  fifth  century  before  our  era,  wrote  of 
her,  while  all  the  Greeks  made  much  of  the  constellation,  knowing  it  as 
Kaooie-rreia  and  'H  rov  Opovov,  She  of  the  Throne.  But  at  one  time  in 
Greece  it  was  the  Laconian  Key,  from  its  resemblance  to  that  instrument, 
the  invention  of  which  was  attributed  in  classical  times  to  that  people;1 
although  Pliny  claimed  this  for  Theodorus  of  Samos  in  Caria,  730  b.  c, 
whence  came  another  title  for  our  stars,  Carion.  The  learned  Huetius  (Huet, 
bishop  of  Avranches  and  tutor  of  the  dauphin  Louis  XV)  more  definitely 
said  that  this  stellar  key  represented  that  described  by  Homer  as  sickle- 
shaped  in  the  wardrobe  door  of  Penelope : 

A  brazen  key  she  held,  the  handle  turn'd, 
With  steel  and  polish'd  elephant  adorned ; 

and  Aratos  wrote  of  the  constellation : 

E'en  as  a  folding  door,  fitted  within 

With  key,  is  thrown  back  when  the  bolts  are  drawn. 

But  even  Ideler  did  not  understand  this  simile,  although  the  outline  of  the 
chief  stars  well  shows  the  form  of  this  early  key. 

The  Romans  transliterated  the  Greek  proper  name  as  we  still  have  it,  but 
also  knew  Cassiopeia  as  Mulier  Sedis,  the  Woman  of  the  Chair;  or  simply  as 
Sedes,  qualified  by  regalis  or  regia ;  and  as  Sella  and  Solium.  Bayer's 
statement  that  Juvenal  called  it  Cathedra  mollis  was  an  error  from  a  mis- 
reading of  the  original  text.  Hyde's  title  Inthronata  has  been  repeated  by 
subsequent  authors;  and  Cassiopeia's  Chair  is  the  children's  name  for  it 
now. 

The*  Arabians  called  it  Al  Dhat  al  Kursiyy,  the  Lady  in  the  Chair, — 
Chilmead's  Dhath  Alenrsi, — the  Greek  proper  name  having  no  signification 
to  them ;  but  the  early  Arabs  had  a  very  different  figure  here,  in  no  way 
connected  with  the  Lady  as  generally  is  supposed, — their  Kaff  al  Hadib, 

1  Locks  and  keys,  however,  were  used  at  the  siege  of  Troy  ;  have  been  found  in  Egyptian 
atacombs  and  sculptured  on  the  walls  of  the  Great  Temple  of  Karnak ;  disinterred  from  the 
places  of  Khorsabad  near  Nineveh ;  and  twice  mentioned  in  our  Old  Testament,  as  early  as 
Ehud's  time  in  the  Book  of  Judges,  iii,  24  and  95. 


144  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

the  large  Hand  Stained  with  Henna,  the  bright  stars  marking  the  finger- 
tips ;  although  in  this  they  included  the  nebulous  group  in  the  left  hand  of 
Perseus.  Chrysococca  gave  it  thus  in  the  Low  Greek  Xeip  pef3apevTj ;  and 
it  sometimes  was  the  Hand  of,  i.  e.  next  to,  the  Pleiades,  while  Smyth  said 
that  in  Arabia  it  even  bore  the  title  of  that  group,  Al  Thurayya,  from  its 
comparatively  condensed  figure. 

The  early  Arabs  additionally  made  Two  Dogs  out  of  Cassiopeia  and  Ce- 
pheus,  from  which  may  have  come  Bayer's  Canis ;  but  bis  Cerva,  a  Roe,  is  not 
explained,  although  La  Lande  asserted  that  the  Egyptian  sphere  of  Petosiris 
had  shown  a  Deer  to  the  north  of  the  Fishes.  Al  Tizini  imagined  a  Kneel- 
ing Camel  from  some  of  its  larger  stars,  whence  the  constellation's  name 
Shnter  found  with  Al  Nasr  al  Din,  and  common  for  that  animal  in  Persia. 

The  Alfonsine  Tables  and  Arabo-Latin  Almagest  described  the  figure  as 
ha  bens  pal  mam  delibutam^  Holding  the  Consecrated  Palm,  from  some  early 
drawing  that  is  still  continued ;  but  how  the  palm,  the  classic  symbol  of 
victory  and  Christian  sign  of  martyrdom,  became  associated  with  this  heathen 
queen  does  not  appear.  Similarly  La  Lande  cited  SUiquastnun,  the  name 
for  a  tree  of  Judaea,  referring  to  the  branch  in  the  queen's  hand. 

Bayer's  Hebrew  title  for  it,  Aben  Ezra,  was  by  a  misreading  of  Scaliger's 
notes. 

La  Lande  quoted  Harnaoaff  from  the  Metamorphoses  of  Vishnu,  but  the 
later  Hindus  said  Casyapi,  evidently  from  the  classical  word. 

Grimm  gives  the  Lithuanian  Jostandis,  from  Josta,  a  Girdle,  although 
without  explanation. 

As  the  figure  almost  wholly  lies  in  the  Milky  Way,  the  Celts  fixed  upon 
it  as  their  Llys  Don,  the  Home  of  Don,  their  king  of  the  fairies  and  father 
of  the  mythical  character  G wydyon,1  who  gave  name  to  that  great  circle. 

Schiller's  Wallensteiny  as  versified  by  Coleridge,  has 

That  one 
White  stain  of  light,  that  single  glimmering  yonder, 
Is  from  Cassiopeia,  and  therein 
Is  Jupiter — 

a  blunder  on  the  part  of  the  translator  that  has  puzzled  many,  as  "  therein  " 
should  be  "  beyond  "  or  "  in  that  direction,"  but  even  then  what  did  the  poet 
have  in  mind  ? 

In  early  Chinese  astronomy  our  constellation  was  Ko  Taou  according  to 
Williams,  although  Reeves  limited  that  title  to  the  smaller  v,  f,  o,  and  tt,  with 

1  Gwydyon  has  been  identified  with  the  classical  Hermes-Mercury,  the  reputed  inventor  of 
writing,  a  practitioner  in  magic  and  builder  of  the  rainbow. 


The  Constellations  145 

the  definition  of  a  Porch- way ;  but  later  on  its  prominent  stars  were  Wang 
Liang,  a  celebrated  charioteer  of  the  Tsin  Kingdom  about  470  b.  c. 

As  a  stellar  figure  in  Egypt  Renouf  identified  it  with  the  Leg,  thus  men- 
tioned in  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  the  Bible  of  Egypt,  that  most  ancient  ritual, 
4000  years  old  or  more  : 

Hail,  leg  of  the  northern  sky  in  the  large  visible  basin. 

And  in  some  constellated  form  its  stars  unquestionably  were  well  known  on 
the  Euphrates  with  the  rest  of  the  Royal  Family,  and  shown  there  on  seals. 
The  earthly  Cassiopeia  ought  to  have  been  black,  and  is  so  described  by 
Milton  in  his  verses  of  //  Penseroso  on 

That  starr'd  Ethiop  Queen  that  strove 
To  set  her  beauty's  praise  above 
The  Sea- nymphs  ; 

while  Landseer  with  the  same  idea  called  her  Cnshiopeia,  the  Queen  of 
Cush,  or  Kush,  but  the  Ley  den  Manuscript  makes  her  of  fair  complexion, 
lightly  clad,  upright  and  unbound  in  a  very  uncomfortable  chair ;  and  such 
is  the  genera]  representation.  But  in  the  17th-century  reconstruction  of  sky 
figures  in  the  interests  of  religion,  our  Cassiopeia  became  Mary  Magdalene; 
or  Deborah  sitting  in  judgment  under  her  palm  tree  in  Mount  Ephraim  ;* 
or  Bathaheba,  the  mother  of  Solomon,  worthy  to  sit  on  the  royal  throne. 

The  astrologers  said  that  it  partook  of  the  nature  of  Saturn  and  Venus. 

Professor  Young  gives  the  word  Bagdei  as  a  help  to  memorizing  the 
order  of  the  chief  components  from  their  letters  0,  a,  y,  d,  e,  1 ;  the  last  being 
the  uppermost  when  the  figure  is  on  the  horizon,  hanging  head  downwards. 

Cassiopeia  lies  between  Cepheus,  Andromeda,  and  Perseus,  Argelander 
cataloguing  68  stars  here,  but  Heis,  126;  and  the  constellation  is  rich  in 
clusters. 


OL,  Multiple  and  slightly  variable,     2.2  to  2.8,     pale  rose. 

8ehedar  is  first  found  in  the  Al/onsine  Tables,  and  was  Sehedir  with  Heve- 
lius;  Shadar,  Schedar,  Shedar,  Sheder,  Seder,  Shedis,  Zedaron,  etc.,  else- 
where; and  all  supposed  to  be  from  Al  Sadr,  the  Breast,  which  the  star 
marks  in  the  figure.  Some,  however,  have  asserted  that  they  are  from  the 
Persian  Shuter  for  the  constellation. 

Ulug  Beg  called  it  Al  Dhat  al  Kursiyy  from  the  whole,  which  Riccioli 
changed  to  Bath  Elkarti 
10 


146  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Smyth  said  that  it  was  known  as  Luoida  Caasiopea, —  a  matter-of-fact 
statement,  as  the  brightest  star  in  any  sky  figure  is  the  lucida. 

Birt  noticed  its  variability  in  1831,  which  is  now  determined  as  in  a  period 
of  about  79  days,  although  irregular. 

It  culminates  on  the  18th  of  November. 

Burnham  has  discovered  two  additional  faint  companions,  the  nearest 
i7;/.5  away:  the  companion  first  known,  a  smalt  blue  star,  having  been 
found  by  Sir  William  Herschel,  in  1781,  63"  away. 

a,  0, 97,  and  k  were  the  Chinese  Yuh  Lang,  or  Wang  Leang. 


[3,     2.4,     white. 

Caph,  Chaph,  or  Kaff,  on  the  upper  right-hand  corner  of  the  chair,  are 
from  the  Arabic  title  of  the  constellation ;  but  Al  Tizini  designated  the  star 
as  Al  Sanam  al  Nakah,  the  Camel's  Hump,  referring  to  the  contempora- 
neous Persian  figure. 

With  a  Andromedae  and  y  Pegasi,  as  the  Three  Guides,  it  marks  the 
equinoctial  colure,  itself  exceedingly  close  to  that  great  circle;  and,  being 
located  on  the  same  side  of  the  pole  as  is  Polaris,  it  always  affords  an  ap- 
proximate indication  of  the  latter's  position  with  respect  to  that  point. 
This  same  location,  320  from  the  pole,  and  very  near  to  the  prime  meridian, 
has  rendered  it  useful  for  marking  sidereal  time.  When  above  Polaris  and 
nearest  the  zenith  the  astronomical  day  begins  at  o  hours,  o  minutes,  and  o 
seconds;  when  due  west  the  sidereal  time  is  6  hours;  when  south  and 
nearest  the  horizon,  12  hours,  and  when  east,  18  hours;  this  celestial  clock- 
hand  thus  moving  on  the  heavenly  dial  contrary  to  the  motion  of  the 
hands  of  our  terrestrial  clocks,  and  at  but  one  half  the  speed. 

Beta's  parallax,  o".i6,  indicates  a  distance  of  20  light  years. 

Just  north  of  it  is  an  especially  bright  patch  in  the  Milky  Way. 

When  first  Al  Aaraf  knew  her  course  to  be 
Headlong  thitherward  o'er  the  starry  sea. 

Edgar  Allan  Poc's  Al  Aaraf. 

About  50  to  the  west-northwest  of  Caph,  ij4°  distant  from  «,  and  form- 
ing a  parallelogram  with  Caph,  y  and  a,  appeared,  in  1572,  a  famous  nova 
visible  in  full  daylight  and  brighter  than  Venus  at  perigee. 

Poe's  name  for  it  is  from  the  Arabians'  Al  Orf, — in  the  plural  Al  Araf, — 
their  temporary  abode  of  spirits  midway  between  Heaven  and  Hell,  and  so 
applicable  to  this  temporary  star.     This  object  was  known  for  two  centuries 


The  Constellations  147 

after  its  appearance  as  the  Stranger,  or  the  Pilgrim,  Star,  and  the  Star  in 
the  Chayre,  but  by  us  as  Tycho's  Star,  although  it  was  first  noticed  by 
Schuler  at  Wittenberg  in  Prussia,  on  the  6th  of  August ;  again  at  Augsburg 
by  Hainzel,  and  at  Winterthur,  Switzerland,  by  Lindauer,  on  the  7th  of 
November;  and  on  the  9th  by  Cornelius  Gemma,  who  called  it  the  New 
Venn*.  Maurolycus  began  its  systematic  study  at  Messina  on  the  8th, 
while  Tycho  did  not  see  it  till  the  nth,  at  the  time  of  its  greatest  brilliancy; 
but  his  published  account  of  it  in  1602,  in  his  Astronomiae  Instauratae  Proe- 
gymnasmata,  has  caused  his  name  to  be  identified  with  it.  Its  lustre  began 
to  wane  in  the  following  December,  and  it  was  inserted  in  the  Rudolphine 
Tables  as  "  Nova  anni  1572  "  of  the  6th  magnitude,  to  which  it  had  at  that 
time  decreased.  It  disappeared  entirely  in  March,  1574,  so  far  as  could 
then  be  known. 

This  nova  is  said  to  have  incited  Tycho  to  the  compilation  of  his  star- 
catalogue,  as  that  of  seventeen  centuries  earlier  may  have  been  the  occasion 
of  the  catalogue  of  Hipparchos.  At  all  events,  it  created  a  great  commotion 
in  its  time,  and  induced  Beza's  celebrated  prediction  of  the  second  coming  of 
Christ,1  as  it  was  considered  a  reappearance  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem.  The 
statement  that  this  star  appeared  in  945  and  1264  rests  upon  the  very 
doubtful  authority  of  the  Bohemian  astrologer  Cyprian  Leowitz,  and  is 
not  credited  by  our  modern  astronomers;  although  Williams  asserts  that 
a  large  comet  was  seen  in  the  latter  year  near  Cassiopeia.  The  reddish 
10^ -magnitude,  known  as  B  Cassiopeiae,  singularly  variable  in  its  light,  is 
now  to  be  seen  o'.8  from  the  spot  assigned  by  Argelander  to  the  star  of 
1572,  and  is  thought  possibly  to  be  identical  with  it. 

The  Chinese  recorded  Tycho's  nova  as  Ko  Sing,  the  Guest  Star. 


Y>  Binary,    2  and  11,    brilliant  white, 

in  Cassiopeia's  girdle,  was  the  Chinese  Trih,  a  Whip. 

This  was  the  first  star  discovered  to  contain  bright  lines  in  its  spectrum, 
—by  Secchi  in  1886, — and  so  is  of  much  interest  to  astronomers.  The 
spectrum  is  peculiarly  variable,  as  also  is  its  light. 

The  components  are  2".i  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  255°.2,  and  there 
has  been  no  change  in  angle  or  distance  since  measured  by  Burnham  in 
1888.     A  telescope  of  high  power  shows  several  minute  companions. 

1  In  the  same  way  the  comet  of  1843  confirmed  the  Millerites  in  their  belief  in 
the  immediate  destruction  of  the  world. 


148  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

is  Buohtah,  sometimes  Buoba  and  Bucbar,  from  Al  Rukbah,  the  Knee. 

It  was  utilized  by  Picard  in  France,  in  1669,  in  determining  latitudes 
during  his  measure  of  an  arc  of  the  meridian, —  the  first  use  of  the  telescope 
for  geodetic  purposes. 

e,  of  3.6  magnitude,  nearer  the  foot,  also  has  borne  the  title  Bnohbah. 

£  of  the  4th,  and  A,  of  the  5th  magnitude,  marking  the  face,  were  the 
Chinese  Foo  Loo,  a  By-path. 

Tfy  Binary,    4  and  7.5,    orange  and  violet, 

very  near  o,  is  one  of  the  finest  objects  in  the  sky  for  a  moderate-sized  tele- 
scope; and,  although  unnamed,  it  is  worth  noting  that  the  components  were 
5"  apart  in  1892,  at  a  position  angle  of  1930,  their  period  being  about  200 
years.  The  parallax  is  o".i5  according  to  Strove;  or  ©".45  according  to 
Davis*  measures  of  Rutherfurd's  photographs.  It  is  certainly  a  neighbor, 
and  probably  the  nearest  to  us  of  all  the  stars  in  this  constellation. 

9?  4.4,  and  /i,  Triple,  5.1,  10.5,  and  11,  deep  yellow,  blue,  and  ruddy. 

The  Arabians  knew  these  as  Al  Maifi^,  the  Elbow,  where  they  lie ;  and 
the  Century  Cyclopedia  gives  Mar&k  as  a  present  title  for  either  star. 

fi  has  the  great  proper  motion  of  3".8  annually,  a  rate  that  will  carry  it 
around  the  heavens  in  300,000  years. 


The  ramping  Centaur ! 

The  Centaur's  arrow  ready  seems  to  pierce 
Some  enemy ;  far  forth  his  bow  is  bent 
Into  the  blue  of  heaven. 

John  Keats'  Endymum. 

Cenfaurus,  t$e  Centaur, 

is  from  the  Ktvravpos  that  Aratos  used,  probably  from  earlier  times,  for  it 
was  a  universal  title  with  the  Greeks;  but  he  also  called  it  Imrord  *jyp,  the 
Horseman  Beast,  the  customary  term  for  a  centaur  in  the  Epic  and  Aeoltc 
dialects.  This,  too,  was  the  special  designation  of  the  classical  Pholos,  son 
of  Silenus  and  Melia,and  the  hospitable  one  of  the  family,  who  died  in  con- 


The  Constellations  149 

sequence  of  exercising  this  virtue  toward  Hercules.  Apollodorus  tells  us 
that  the  latter's  gratitude  caused  this  centaur's  transformation  to  the  sky  as 
our  constellation,  with  the  fitting  designation  'Evuevrjg,  Well-disposed. 

Eratosthenes  asserted  that  the  stellar  figure  represented  Xeipuv,  a  title 
that,  in  its  transcribed  forms  Chiron  and  Chyron,  was  in  frequent  poetical 
use  in  classical  times,  and  is  seen  in  astronomical  works  even  to  Ideler's  day. 
This  has  appropriately  been  translated  the  Handy  One,  a  rendering  that 
well  agrees  with  this  Centaur's  reputation.  He  was  the  son  of  Chronos 
and  the  ocean  nymph  Philyra,  who  was  changed  after  his  birth  into  a  Linden 
tree,  whence  Philyrides  occasionally  was  applied  to  the  constellation; 
although  a  variant  story  made  him  Phililyrides,  the  son  of  Phililyra,  the 
Lyre-loving,  from  whom  he  inherited  his  skill  in  music.  He  was  imagined 
as  of  mild  and  noble  look,  very  different  from  the  threatening  aspect  of  the 
centaur  Sagittarius;  and  Saint  Clement  of  Alexandria  wrote  of  him  that  he 
first  led  mortals  to  righteousness.  His  story  has  been  thought  in  some  de- 
gree historic,  even  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  As  the  wisest  and  most  just  of 
his  generally  lawless  race  he  was  beloved  by  Apollo  and  Diana,  and  from 
their  teaching  became  proficient  in  botany  and  music,  astronomy,  divination, 
and  medicine,  and  instructor  of  the  most  noted  heroes  in  Grecian  legend. 
Matthew  Arnold  wrote  of  him  in  Empcdocks  on  Etna: 

On  Pelion,  on  the  grassy  ground, 
Chiron,  the  aged  Centaur  lay, 
The  young  Achilles  standing  by. 
The  Centaur  taught  him  to  explore 
The  mountains  where  the  glens  are  dry 
And  the  tired  Centaurs  come  to  rest, 
And  where  the  soaking  springs  abound. 

He  told  him  of  the  Gods,  the  stars, 
The  tides. 

Indeed   he  was    the  legendary  inventor  of  the  constellations,  as  we  see  in 

Dyer's  poem   77i<r  Fleece: 

Led  by  the  golden  stars  as  Chiron's  art 
Had  marked  the  sphere  celestial ; 

and  the  father  of  Hippo,  mentioned  by  Euripides  as  foretelling  events  from 

the  stars. 

The  story  of  Pholos  is  repeated  for  Chiron :  that,  being  accidentally 
wounded  by  one  of  the  poisoned  arrows  of  his  pupil  Hercules,  the  Centaur 
renounced  his  immortality  on  earth  in  favor  of  the  Titan  Prometheus,  and 
ias  raised  to   the  sky  by  Jove.     His  name  and  profession  are  yet  seen  in 

10* 


i$o  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

the  mediaeval  medicinal  plants  Centaurea,  the  Centaury,  and  the  still  earlier 
Chironeion. 

Prometheus  evidently  inherited  Chiron's  astronomical  attainments,  as  well 
as  his  immortality,  for  Aeschylus,  who  thought  him  the  founder  of  civiliza- 
tion and  "  full  of  the  most  devoted  love  for  the  human  race,"  made  him 
say  in  Prometheus  Bound: 

I  instructed  them  to  mark  the  stars, 
Their  rising,  and,  a  harder  science  yet, 
Their  setting. 

The  conception  of  a  centaur's  figure  with  Homer,  Hesiod,  and  even  with 
Berossos,  probably  was  of  a  perfect  human  form,  Pindar  being  the  first  to 
describe  it  as  semi-ferine,  and  since  his  day  the  human  portion  of  the  Cen- 
taur has  been  terminated  at  the  waist  and  the  hind  quarters  of  a  horse 
added.     William  Morris  thus  pictured  him  in  his  Life  and  Death  of  Jason: 

at  last  in  sight  the  Centaur  drew, 
A  mighty  grey  horse  trotting  down  the  glade, 
Over  whose  back  the  long  grey  locks  were  laid, 
That  from  his  reverend  head  abroad  did  flow ; 
For  to  the  waist  was  man,  but  all  below 
A  mighty  horse,  once  roan,  but  now  well-nigh  white 
With  lapse  of  years ;  with  oak-wreaths  was  he  dight 
Where  man  joined  unto  horse,  and  on  his  head 
He  wore  a  gold  crown,  set  with  rubies  red, 
And  in  his  hand  he  bare  a  mighty  bow, 
No  man  could  bend  of  those  that  battle  now. 

Some  ancient  artists  and  mythologists  changed  these  hind  quarters  to 
those  of  a  bull,  thus  showing  the  Minotaur,  and  on  the  Euphrates  it  was 
considered  a  complete  BnlL  The  Arabians  drew  the  stellar  figure  with  the 
hind  parts  of  a  Bear,  but  adopted  the  Greek  title  in  their  Al  Kentaurw, 
that  has  been  considered  as  the  original  of  the  otherwise  inexplicable 
Taraapoz,  used  in  Reduan's  Commentary  for  our  constellation. 

Some  of  the  Centaur's  stars,  with  those  of  Lupus,  were  known  to  the 
early  Arabs  as  Al  Kadb  al  Kara,  the  Vine  Branch ;  and  again  as  Al 
Shamarifi,  the  broken-off  Palm  Branches  loaded  with  dates  which  Kazwini 
described  as  held  out  in  the  Centaur's  hands.  This  degenerated  into 
Asemarik,  and  perhaps  was  the  origin  of  Bayer's  word  Asmeat  He  also 
had  Albeze;  and  Riccioli,  Albezze  and  Albizze, —  unintelligible  unless  from 
the  Arabic  Al  Wazn,  Weight,  that  was  sometimes  applied  to  a  and  0. 

Hyde  is  our  authority  for  another  title  (from  Albumasar),  Birdun,  the 
Pack-horse. 


The  Constellations  151 

Ptolemy  described  the  figure  with  Lupus  in  one  hand,  and  the  Thyrsus 
in  the  other,  marked  by  four  4th-magnitude  stars,  of  which  only  two  can  now 
be  found ;  this  Thyrsus  being  formed,  Geminos  said,  into  a  separate  con- 
stellation by  Hipparchos  as  OvpoohoyKog, —  in  the  Manitius  text  as  Ovpoo$, — 
and  Pliny  wrote  of  it  in  the  same  way,  but  their  selection  of  such  small 
stars  seems  remarkable. 

The  Centaur  faces  the  east,  and  the  Farnese  globe  shows  him  pointing 
with  left  hand  to  the  Beast  and  the  adjacent  circular  Altar;  but  in  the 
Hyginus  of  1488  the  Beast  is  in  his  outstretched  hands,  the  Hare  on  the 
spear,  and  a  canteen  at  his  waist ;  the  Alfonsine  Tables  have  the  Thyrsus 
in  his  right  hand  and  Lupus  held  by  the  fore  foot  in  his  left,  which  was  the 
Arabian  idea.  The  Leyden  Manuscript  gives  a  striking  delineation  of  him 
with  shaven  face,  but  with  heavy  mustache  (!),  bearing  the  spear  with  the 
Hare  dangling  from  the  head,  and  a  Kid,  instead  of  the  Beast,  held  out  in 
his  hands  towards  the  Altar,  the  usual  libation  carried  in  the  canteen. 
Bayer  shows  the  Centaur  with  Lupus;  Burritt  has  him  in  a  position  of 
attack,  with  the  spear  in  his  right  hand  and  the  shield  on  his  left  arm,  the 
Thyrsus  and  vase  of  libation  depicted  on  it ;  Grotius  calling  this  portion 
of  the  constellation  Anna.  The  Century  Dictionary  illustrates  a  Bacchic 
wand  with  the  spear. 

In  Rome  the  constellation  was  Centaurus,  the  duplici  Centaurus  imagine 
of  Manilius,  and  the  Geminus  bifbrmis  of  Germanicus;  Minotaurus;  Semi 
Vir,  the  Half  Man,  and  Semi  Fer,  the  Half  Beast;  Pelenor  and  Pelethronius 
from  the  mountain  home  of  the  centaurs  in  Thessaly;  Acris  Venator,  the 
Fierce  Hunter  j  and  Vergil  had  Sonipes,  the  Noisy-footed.  The  Alfonsine 
Tables  designated  it  as  Sagittarius  tenens  pateram  seu  crateram  to  distin- 
guish it  from  the  other  Sagittarius  with  the  more  appropriate  bow. 

Robert  Recorde,  in  1551,  had  the  Centanre  Chiron,  but  Milton,  in  1667, 
wrote  Centaur  for  the  zodiac  figure,  as  so  many  others  have  done  before 
and  since  his  day ;  in  fact,  Sagittarius  undoubtedly  was  the  original  Centaur 
and  from  the  Euphrates,  the  Centaur  of  the  South  probably  being  of  Greek 
conception.  But  in  the  classical  age  confusion  had  arisen  among  the 
unscientific  in  the  nomenclature  of  the  two  figures,  this  continuing  till  now; 
much  that  we  find  said  by  one  author  for  the  one  appearing  with  another 
author  for  the  other.  During  the  17th  century,  however,  distinction  was 
made  by  English  authors  in  calling  this  the  Great  Centanre. 

In  some  mediaeval  Christian  astronomy  it  typified  Noah,  but  Julius 
Schiller  changed  the  figure  to  Abraham  with  Isaac ;  and  Caesius  likened  it 
to  ffetraohadrezzar  when  "  he  did  eat  grass  as  oxen." 

This  is  one  of  the  largest  constellations,  more  than  6o°  in  length,  its 


152  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

centre  about  500  south  of  the  star  Spica  below  Hydra's  tail;  but  Aratos 
located  it  entirely  under  the  Scorpion  and  the  Claws,  an  error  that  Hip- 
parchos  criticized.  It  shows  in  the  latitude  of  New  York  City  only  a  few 
of  its  components  in  the  bust,  of  which  0,  a  variable  2(i-magnitude  on  the 
right  shoulder,  is  visible  in  June  about  120  above  the  horizon  when  on  the 
meridian,  and  270  southeast  from  Spica,  with  no  other  star  of  similar 
brightness  in  its  vicinity.  It  was  this  that  Professor  Klinkerfues  of  Got- 
tingen  mentioned  in  his  telegram  to  the  Madras  Observatory,  on  the  30th 
of  November,  1872,  in  reference  to  the  lost  Biela  comet  which  he  thought 
had  touched  the  earth  three  days  previously  and  might  be  found  in  the 
direction  of  this  star. 

1  on  the  left  shoulder,  a  2]4 -magnitude,  is  about  n°  west  of  to. 

Gould's  list  contains  389  naked-eye  stars  in  this  constellation. 

One  of  the  remarkable  nebulae  of  the  heavens,  N.  G.  C,  3918,  was  dis- 
covered here  by  Sir  John  Herschel,  who  called  it  the  Bine  Planetary, "  very 
like  Uranus,  only  half  as  large  again." 

A  7th-magnitude  nova  that  appeared  in  Centaurus  between  the  14th  of 
June  and  the  8th  of  July,  1895,  has  changed  since  its  discovery  to  a  gaseous 
nebula,  as  has  been  the  case  with  recent  novae  in  Auriga,  Cygnus,  and 
Norma. 


%  Binary,     0.2  and  1.5,     white  and  yellowish. 

Baily's  edition  of  Ulug  Beg's  catalogue  gives  this  as  Rigil  Kentaurus, 
from  Al  Kijl  al  Kentaurus,  the  Centaur's  Foot ;  describing  it  as  on  the  toe 
of  the  right  front  hoof,  and  Bayer  so  illustrated  it.  Chrysococca  had  the 
synonymous  ttovc  Kovrovpo?;  and  our  Century  Dictionary  retains  Rigel, 
although  this  is  better  known  for  the  bright  star  in  Orion.  Burritt  located 
on  the  left  fore  hoof  a  4th-magnitude  star  that  he  wrongly  lettered  a;  and 
above  the  pastern  our  ist-magnitude,  also  lettered  a,  with  the  title  Bungulft, 
which  I  find  only  with  him  and  the  Standard  Dictionary.  He  gives  no 
explanation  of  this,  nor  can  I  trace  it  further;  it  may  be  a  word  specially 
coined  by  Burritt  from  j3  and  ungula,  the  hoof,  although  even  in  this  the 
letter  is  wrong. 

Ideler  said  that  a  and  0  also  have  been  the  Arabic  Hadar,  Ground,  and 
Wazn,  Weight,  as  is  explained  at  the  star  0;  but  he  seemed  at  a  loss  as  to 
the  proper  assignment  of  these  words,  although  inclining  to  Hadar  for  j3. 

These  two  stars  were  among  the  much  discussed  Al  Muhlifain  described 
at  y  Argus  and  6  Canis  Majoris. 

Alpha's  splendor  naturally  made  it  an  object  of  worship  on  the  Nile,  and 


The  Constellations  153 

its  first  visible  emergence  from  the  sun's  rays,  in  the  morning  at  the  au- 
tumnal equinox,  has  been  connected  by  Lockyer  with  the  orientation  of  at 
least  nine  temples  in  northern  Egypt  dating  from  3800  to  2575  b.  c,  and 
of  several  in  southern  Egypt  from  3700  b.  c.  onward.  As  such  object  of 
worship  it  seems  to  have  been  known  as  Serk-t. 

It  bore  an  important  part,  too,  in  southern  China  as  the  determinant  of 
the  stellar  division  Han  Mun,  the  South  Gate. 

a  lies  in  the  Milky  Way,  6o°  south  of  the  celestial  equator,  culminating 
with  Arcturus,  but  is  invisible  from  north  of  the  29th  parallel.  It  is  of  the 
greatest  interest  to  astronomers,  being,  so  far  as  is  now  known,  the  nearest 
to  our  system  of  all  the  stars,  although  more  than  275,000  times  the  dis- 
tance of  the  earth  from  the  sun, —  92,892,000  miles, —  and  100  millions  of 
times  the  distance  from  the  earth  to  the  moon, —  238,840  miles.  Its  parallax, 
first  taken  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  by  Henderson  in  1839,  and  later  by 
Gill  and  Elkin,  and  now  fixed  at  o".7S,  shows  a  distance  equal  to  that 
traveled  by  light  in  4^  years. 

We  can  better  realize  the  immensity  of  this  distance  from  Professor 
Young's  statement  that  if  the  line  from  the  earth  to  the  sun's  centre  be 
represented  as  215  feet  long,  one  to  this  star  would  be  8000  miles;  and 
from  Sir  John  Herschel's  illustration  : 

to  drop  a  pea  at  the  end  of  every  mile  of  a  voyage  on  a  limitless  ocean  to  the  nearest 
fixed  star,  would  require  a  fleet  of  10,000  ships  of  600  tons  burthen,  each  starting  with  a 
fall  cargo  of  peas. 

The  nicety  of  parallactic  observation,  too,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
"an  angle  of  2"  is  that  in  which  a  circle  of -ft-  of  an  inch  in  diameter  would 
be  seen  at  the  distance  of  a  mile." 

Were  our  sun  removed  to  the  distance  of  a  Centauri,  its  diameter  of 
866,400  miles  would  subtend  an  angle  of  only  ,-J-s  of  a  second  of  arc,  of 
course  utterly  inappreciable  with  the  largest  telescope;  and  if  seen  from 
that  star,  would  appear  as  a  2d-magnitude  near  the  chair  of  Cassiopeia. 

o  was  first  discovered  to  be  double  by  Richaud  at  Pondicherry,  India,  in 
1689;  DUt  there  seems  discrepancy  in  the  magnitudes  respectively  attributed 
to  the  components.  Early  astronomers  thought  the  lesser  star,  a1,  a  4th- 
magnitude;  even  recently  Gould  has  estimated  it  as  3^  ;  yet  Miss  Gierke 
writes,  "  the  lesser,  though  emitting  only  £  as  much  light  as  its  neighbour, 
is  still  fully  entitled  to  rank  as  of  the  1st  magnitude";  all  of  which  may 
indicate  an  increase  of  brilliancy  since  its  observation  began.  Together 
they  give  nearly  four  times  as  much  light  as  the  sun,  while  their  mass  is 
double  that  of  the  latter. 


154  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  period  of  orbital  revolution  is  about  eighty-one  years ;  the  position 
angle  in  1897,  2080;  and  they  now  are  21".  5  apart, —  about  2700  millions 
of  miles, —  and  yet  connected !    This  distance  is  increasing. 

Their  proper  motion,  3;/.7  annually,  or  about  446  millions  of  miles  across 
the  line  of  vision,  will  carry  them  to  the  Southern  Cross  in  12,000  years. 

The  spectrum  of  a2,  the  larger  star,  is  midway  between  the  Sirian  and 
Solar. 

%     1.2. 

Burritt  located  this  near  the  right  fore  leg,  calling  it  Agena,  but  gave  no 
meaning  or  derivation  of  the  word,  and  I  have  not  found  it  elsewhere; 
Bayer  placed  it  on  the  left  hind  quarter. 

Hadar  and  Wazn,  Ground  and  Weight,  seem  to  have  been  applied  with- 
out much  definiteness  to  a  and  j3  of  this  constellation,  and  to  stars  in  Argo. 
Columba,  and  Canis  Major,  probably  on  account  of  their  proximity  to  the 
horizon;  the  meridian  altitude  of  j3,  1000  years  ago  at  Cairo,  in  300  o( 
north  latitude,  being  only  40.  Hyde,  however,  said  that  a  and  y  were  the 
stars  referred  to  by  these  Arabic  titles. 

The  Chinese  call  j3  Mah  Fuh,  the  Horse's  Belly. 

This  and  a  are  the  Southern  Pointers,  i.  c.  towards  the  Southern  Cross, 
often  regarded  as  the  Cynosure  of  the  southern  hemisphere. 

The  Bushmen  of  South  Africa  knew  them  as  Two  Men  that  once  were 
Lions ;  and  the  Australian  natives  as  Two  Brothers  who  speared  Tchingal 
to  death,  the  eastern  stars  of  the  Cross  being  the  spear  points  that  pierced 
his  body. 

y,  2.4,  that  Bayer  placed  on  the  right  fore  foot,  with  r,  4.4,  were  the 
early  Chinese  Koo  Low,  an  Arsenal  Tower;  and  6,  2.8,  was  the  later  Xft 
Wei,  the  Horse's  Tail. 

The  early  e,  £,  v,  and  £2,  the  four  Dictis  a  nautis  Croziers  of  H alley's  cata- 
logue, are  the  Southern  Cross ;  f  probably  being  Al  Tizini's  Al  Hair  al 
Batn  al  Kentaurus,  the  Bright  One  in  the  Centaur's  Belly. 


9,  Double  and  variable,     2.2  to  2.7  and  14.3,     red  and  bluish, 

appears  in  the  Century  Cyclopedia  as  Chort,  an  error  from  the  editor's  writ- 
ing Centauri  for  Leonis,  this  letter  and  title  really  belonging  to  6  Leonis,  on 
the   hind  quarter  of  the   Lion  near  the  Ribs,  that  the  Arabic  H-ilitan 
signifies.     6  in  this  constellation  marks  the  left  shoulder  of  the  figure. 
Harvard  observers  at  Arequipa  have  reported  an  8th-magnitude  com- 


The  Constellations  155 

panion  3"  away,  at  a  position  angle  of  1800.  See  does  not  find  this  at  the 
Lowell  observatories;  but  in  1897  discovered  the  companion  noted  in  the 
heading,  about  70"  away,  at  a  position  angle  of  i28°.6. 

In  China  k.  was  Ke  Xwan,  a  Cavalry  Officer ;  p,  v,  and  <p  were  Wei,  the 
Balance;  i,  g,  A,  \f),  and  A,  with  another  adjacent,  were  Choo,  a  Pillar;  and 
some  small  stars  near  the  foot  of  the  Cross  were  Hae  Shan,  the  Sea  and  the 
Mountain. 

The  letter  u>  was  applied  by  Bayer  to  a  hazy  4th-magnitude  star  in  into 
dorso  of  the  human  part  of  the  figure,  which  Halley,  in  1677,  inserted  in  his 
catalogue  as  a  nebula ;  but  at  Feldhausen,  on  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the 
better  telescope  of  Sir  John  Herschel  showed  it  as  "  a  noble  globular  cluster, 
beyond  all  comparison  the  richest  and  largest  in  the  heavens."  This 
appears  absolutely  round,  20'  in  diameter,  and  contains  many  thousands 
of  13th-  to  i5th-magnitude  stars;  while  its  uniform  structure  indicates  that 
it  may  be  among  the  youngest  of  its  class.  It  is  the  N.  G.  C.  5139,  and 
has  been  splendidly  photographed  by  Bailey  at  Arequipa,  showing  6336 
stars,  among  which  he  finds  122  variables. 

It  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  1st  of  June,  about  360  south  of  Spica, 
but  is  invisible  from  north  of  the  34th  parallel. 


Kepheus  is  like  one  who  stretches  forth  both  hands. 

Brown'*  Aratos. 


Ce$eu0, 

the  French  C6ph6e  and  the  Italian  Cefeo,  is  shown  in  royal  robes,  with  one 
foot  on  the  pole,  the  other  on  the  solstitial  colure,  his  head  marked  by  a 
triangle,  the  4th-magnitudes  6,  e,  and  £;  y  and  k,  near  the  knees,  forming  an 
equilateral  triangle  with  Polaris ;  and  almost  universally  has  been  drawn  as 
Aratos  described  in  the  motto.  Some  see  in  his  stars  a  large  K  open 
towards  Cassiopeia, — e,  f,  f ,  j3,  and  /c,  with  v  and  y.  Achilles  Tatios,  prob- 
ably of  our  5th  century,  claimed  that  the  constellation  was  known  in  Chal- 
daea  twenty-three  centuries  before  our  era,  when  the  earthly  King  was 
recognized  in  that  country's  myths  as  the  son  of  Belos,  of  whom  Pliny 
wrote,  Inventor  hie  fuit  sideralis  scientiae. 


156  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

In  Greek  story,  like  so  many  other  stellar  personages,  Cepheus  was  con- 
nected with  the  Argonautic  expedition. 

The  figure  bore  our  title  among  all  early  astronomers  and  classic  authors, 
but  Germanicus  added  Iaiides  from  the  'laotdao  of  Aratos;  Nonnus  had 
'Avfjp  fiaaikTfibg  from  his  royal  station,  which  became  Vir  regini  and  even 
Regnlus.  Others  said  that  he  was  the  aged  Nereui  and  thus  also  Benex 
aeqnoreiu,  and  others  strangely  called  it  Jnvenis  aequoieus. 

Cantans,  Sonans,  and  Vociferans  show  early  confusion  with  the  not  far 
distant  Bootes;  while  Dominui  solis,  Flammiger,  Inflammatus,  and  Incenms 
are  fiery  epithets  that  do  not  seem  appropriate  for  so  faint  a  figure,  unless 
originating  from  the  fable  that  the  tables  of  the  Sun  were  spread  in  Aethio- 
pia,  the  land  where  Cepheus  reigned  when  on  earth.  Some  one,  however, 
has  suggested  that  they  are  from  the  fact  that  his  head  is  surrounded  and 
illuminated  by  the  Milky  Way,  although  itself  in  an  entirely  bare  spot  in 
that  great  circle  of  light.     This  appeared  in  Horace's  lines: 

Clarus  occultum  Andromedae  pater 
Ostendit  ignem. 

Cepheus  is  an  inconspicuous  constellation,  but  evidently  was  highly  re- 
garded in  early  times  as  the  father  of  the  Royal  Family,  and  his  story  well 
known  in  Greek  literature  of  the  5th  century  before  Christ.  The  name 
Krjfavc,  compared  by  Brown  to  Khufu  of  Great  Pyramid  fame,  was  the 
source  of  many  queer  titles  from  errors  in  Arabic  transcription  —  first  into 
Kifaui,  Kikaufi,  Kankans ;  later  into  Fikaui,  Fifaui,  and  Ficares,  or  Phictret, 
its  usual  designation  in  Persia,  and  Phicarus.  Chilmead  suggested  that 
Phicares  was  a  Phoenician  title  equivalent  to  Flammiger,  and  identical  with 
IlvpicaEvg,  the  Fire-kindler,  which,  transliterated  as  Pirchaeus,  has  been 
used  for  these  stars.  Later  on  in  astronomical  literature  we  find  Caieani, 
Ceginufl,  Ceiohins,  Chegnins,  Chegninus,  Cheguinns,  and  Chiphus,  some  of 
which  also  are  seen  for  Bootes. 

The  later  Hindus  knew  Cepheus  as  Capuja,  adopted  from  Greece ;  but 
Hewitt  claims  that  with  their  prehistoric  ancestors  it  represented  Kapi,  the 
Ape-God,  when  its  stars  a  and  y  were  the  respective  pole-stars  of  21000 
and  19000  b.  c. 

Dunkin  derives  our  title  from  the  Aethiopic  Hyk,  a  King,  but  the  con- 
nection with  Aethiopia  probably  can  only  be  allowed  by  considering  that 
country  the  Asian  Aethiopia,  for  our  Cepheus  is  unquestionably  of  Euphratean 
origin.     Still  Bayer's  illustration  of  it  is  that  of  a  typical  African. 

In  China,  somewhere  within  this  constellation's  boundaries,  was  the  Lffitf 
Throne  of  the  Five  Emperors. 


The  Constellations  157 

Arabian  astronomers  translated  Inflammatus  into  Al  Multahab;  but 
the  nomads  knew  Cepheus,  or  at  least  some  of  its  stars,  as  Al  Aghnam,  the 
Sheep,  and  thus  associated  with  the  supposed  Fold,  a  large  figure  around  the 
pole  very  visible  traces  of  which  appear  in  the  nomenclature  of  components 
of  this  and  other  circumpolar  constellations.  Bayer  specified  certain  of 
these, — ri,  0,  y,  *,  77,  and  p, — as  the  Shepherd,  his  Dog,  and  the  Sheep ;  but 
Smyth  alluded  to  the  whole  of  Cepheus  as  the  Dog,  Cassiopeia  being  his 
mate.  Riccioli  quoted  from  Kircher,  as  to  these,  the  Arabic  "Eaar, 
Kelds  &  San :  nempe  Pastorem,  Canem,  Oves"  more  correctly  transcribed 
Rai\  Kalb,  and  Sham. 

A  translator  of  Al  Ferghani's l  Elements  of  Astronomy  called  the  con- 
stellation Al  Eadif,  the  Follower,  which  may  have  come  by  some  misun- 
derstanding from  the  near-by  Al  Ridf  in  the  tail  of  the  Swan,  for  Cepheus 
does  not  seem  ever  to  have  been  known  by  any  such  title.  The  early 
Arabs'  Kidr,  the  Pot,  was  formed  by  the  circle  of  small  stars  from  f  and  r\ 
on  the  hand  of  our  figure  extending  to  the  wing  of  the  Swan. 

In  the  place  of  Cepheus,  Caesius  wished  to  substitute  King  Solomon,  or 
Zerah,  the  Aethiopian,  whom  King  Asa  overthrew,  as  told  in  the  2d  Book 
of  the  Chronicles,  xiv,  9-12;  but  Julius  Schiller  said  that  it  should  be  Saint 


Argelander  gives  88  naked-eye  components;  Heis,  159. 


ft,     2.5,     white. 

Alderamin,  from  Al  Deraimin  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1,  originally 
was  Al  Dhira  al  Yamin,  the  Right  Arm,  but  it  now  marks  that  shoulder. 
Bayer  wrote  it "  Aderaimin  corrupte  Alderamin  " ;  Schickard,  Adderoiaminon; 
Assemani,  Alderal  jemin ;  while  elsewhere  we  find  Al  Derab,  Al  Deraf,  Al- 
reda£  and  Alredat  Kazwini  mentioned  it  as  Al  Firk,  but,  although  thus 
found  on  the  Borgian  globe,  Ideler  thinks  it  a  mistake  of  that  author,  as  a 
single  star  cannot  represent  a  Flock,  which  Al  Firk  signifies.  Ulug  Beg  more 
appropriately  called  a,  0,  and  r\  Al  Kawakib  al  Firk,  the  Stars  of  the  Flock, 
although  by  this  last  word  a  Herd  of  Antelopes  may  be  intended. 

a  culminates  on  the  27th  of  September. 

It  will  be  the  Polaris  of  the  year  7500;  while  midway  between  it  and  a 
Cygni  lies  the  north  polar  point  of  the  planet  Mars. 

1  This  author  was  Aben  al  Khethir  of  Fergana  in  Sogdiana,  prominent  in  gth-century  as- 
tronomy and  much  quoted  from  the  16th  to  the  z8th  centuries  as  Alfergan,  Alferganus,  Alfra- 
gani,  and  Alfraganus.  His  work,  a  valuable  one  for  its  day,  was  translated  with  notes  by 
Golius  (the  Dutch  Jakob  Gohl),  and  published  after  the  latter's  death  in  1669. 


158  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

p9  Double,    3.$  and  8,    white  and  blue. 

Alfirk  is  now  current  for  this  star,  although  originally  given  to  a;  and 
Ficares  is  occasionally  seen,  from  one  of  the  degenerated  names  for  the 
whole  constellation  that  also  may  have  been  applied  by  the  Arabs  to  others 
of  its  brighter  stars. 

The  components  are  about  14"  apart,  and  the  position  angle  is  25 1°. 

T>     3-5>    yellow. 

Errai  of  the  Palermo  and  Er  Rai  of  other  catalogues,  but  sometimes 
Ami,  is  from  Al  Eai,  the  Shepherd,  a  title  indigenous  to  Arabia. 

In  China  it  was  Shaou  Wei,  a  Minor  Guard. 

y  now  marks  the  left  knee  of  the  King,  and  will  be  the  pole-star  of  2600 
years  hence. 

cJ,  e,  v,  and  f,  of  about  the  4th  magnitude,  were  the  Chinese  Tsaon  Foo, 
a  charioteer  of  Mu  Wang,  the  5th  emperor  of  the  Chow  dynasty,  536  b.  c 

6  is  a  noted  double,  the  yellow  and  blue  components  41"  apart,  at  a  po- 
sition angle  of  1920.  The  smaller  is  of  the  7th  magnitude,  but  the  larger 
varies  from  3.7  to  4.9  in  a  period  of  iof  days.  This  was  discovered  by 
Goodricke  1  in  1784;  and  Belopolsky  thinks  it  a  spectroscopic  binary,  the 
period  of  revolution  equaling  the  period  of  variation. 

From  its  neighborhood  radiate  the  Cepheid  meteors,  visible  from  the  10th 
to  the  28th  of  June. 

Surrounding  rf,  e,  f,  and  A,  which  mark  the  King's  head,  is  a  vacant  space 
within  the  southern  edge  of  the  Milky  Way  similar  to  the  Coal-sacks  of  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Cross. 

r\  and  0, 4th-magnitude  stars  on  and  near  the  right  wrist,  mark  Al  Kidr. 

*,  a  double  star,  4.4  and  8.5,  is  the  Chinese  Shang  Wei,  the  Higher 
Guard.  The  components  are  yellow  and  blue,  7". 5  apart,  at  a  position 
angle  of  1240. 

|A,  Irregularly  variable,     4  (?)  to  5  (?),      garnet, 

about  50  east  of  the  head  of  Cepheus,  is  Sir  William  Herschel's  celebrated 
Garnet  Star,  and  so  entered  by  Piazzi  in  the  Palermo  Catalogue,  yet  strangely 
omitted  from  Flamsteed's  list,  perhaps  owing  to  its  variability.  This, 
suspected  by  Hind  in  1848,  was  confirmed  by  Argelander. 

1  John  Goodricke  of  York,  England,  is  still  remembered  in  the  astronomy  of  the  lastcentun 
as  a  diligent  and  successful  observer  of  variable  stars,  although  he  was  a  deaf-mute  and  died  at 
the  early  age  of  22  years. 


The  Constellations  159 

It  is  one  of  the  deepest-colored  stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  and  com- 
parison with  the  near-by  a  will  show  its  peculiar  tint,  which,  however, 
sometimes  changes  to  orange. 

s?  Binary,     4.5  and  7,     blue. 

Kazwini  called  this  Al  Kurhah,  an  Arabic  word  that  Ideler  translated 
as  a  white  spot,  or  blaze,  in  the  face  of  a  horse ;  but  thinking  this  not  a 
proper  stellar  name,  suggested  Al  Eirdah,  the  Ape.  He  seems  here,  how- 
ever, to  have  forgotten  Al  Hik'ah  of  Orion,  of  the  same  meaning  as  that  to 
which  he  objected. 

The  components  are  7"  apart,  and  their  position  angle  is  2850. 

p,  a  5th-magnitude,  was  Al  Kalb  al  Rai,  the  Shepherd's  Dog,  guarding 
the  Klock  shown  by  a,  0,  and  tj;  &,  A,  and  v,  with  others  between  the  feet 
and  Polaris,  were  Al  Aghnam,  the  Sheep,  apparently  separated  from  the 
Flock. 

v1  and  v2,  5th-magnitude  stars,  are  given  by  Bayer,  under  the  title  Oastula, 
as  from  Nonius,  equivalent  to  Taivia,  the  Front  of  the  Garment,  which  they 
mark. 

Sundry  small  members  of  this  constellation  and  Camelopardalis  were  the 
Chinese  Hwa  Kae,  the  State  Umbrella. 


To  Cerberus  too  a  place  is  given  — 
His  home  of  old  was  far  from  heaven. 

Quoted  in  Smyth's  Bedford  Catalogue. 

CttlktUB 

is  the   Italian  Cerbero,  Secchi  associating  it  with  Eamo,  the  Branch,  and 
the  French  combining  both  in  the  title  Ramean  et  Cerbere. 

This  sub-constellation,  a  former  adjunct  of  Hercules,  but  now  entirely 
disregarded  by  astronomers,  is  supposed  to  have  originated  with  Hevelius 
in  his  Firmamentum  Sobiescianum,  although  Flammarion  asserts  that  it  was 
on  the  sphere  of  Eudoxos  with  the  Branch.  The  4th-  to  5th-magnitude 
stars  that  Hevelius  assigned  to  it  are  Flamsteed's  93,  95,  96,  and  109,  lying 
half-way  between  the  head  of  Hercules  and  the  head  of  the  Swan. 


160  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  royal  poet  James  I  designated  the  infernal  Cerberus  as  "the 
thrie  headed  porter  of  hell,"  and  the  heavenly  one  has  been  so  figured, 
although  with  serpents'  darting  tongues ;  but  the  abode  and  task  of  the 
creature  would  seem  to  render  very  inappropriate  his  transfer  to  the  sky,  so 
that  it  probably  was  only  made  for  the  purpose  of  mythological  complete- 
ness, as  the  death  of  this  watch- dog  of  Hades  fitly  rounded  out  the  circle  of 
Hercules'  twelve  labors. 

Others  have  said  that  the  figure  typified  the  serpent  destroyed  by  the 
Hero  while  it  was  infesting  the  country  around  Taenarum,  the  Metuttov  of 
Greece,  the  modern  Cape  Matapan. 

Some  of  the  stars  of  Cerberus  were  known  in  China  as  Too  Sie,  the 
Butcher's  Shop ;  and  others  as  Meen  Too,  a  Cloth  Measure. 


The  south  wind  brings  her  foe 
The  Ocean  beast. 

Brown's  A  rates. 


Cetue,  iS>t  TEfldfe,  or  £fca  (tttonef  er, 

is  the  French  Baleine,  the  Italian  Balaena,  and  the  German  WallflwL 

This  constellation  has  been  identified,  at  least  since  Aratos'  day,  with  the 
fabled  creature  sent  to  devour  Andromeda,  but  turned  to  stone  at  the  sight 
of  the  Medusa's  head  in  the  hand  of  Perseus.  Equally  veracious  additions 
to  the  story,  from  Pliny  and  Solinus,  are  that  the  monster's  bones  were 
brought  to  Rome  by  Scaurus,  the  skeleton  measuring  forty  feet  in  length 
and  the  vertebrae  six  feet  in  circumference ;  from  Saint  Jerome,  who  wrote 
that  he  had  seen  them  at  Tyre ;  and  from  Pausanias,  who  described  a  near- 
by spring  that  was  red  with  the  monster's  blood.  But  the  legend  in  which 
Cetus  figured  seems  to  have  been  current  on  the  Euphrates  long  before  our 
era ;  and,  descending  to  Euripides  and  Sophocles,  appeared  in  their  dramas, 
as  also  in  much  subsequent  literature. 

For  its  stellar  title  the  Greeks  usually  followed  Aratos  and  Eratosthene> 
in  KrjTog ,  but  they  also  had  'Op<f>ig,  'OpQog,  and  'Op^wf,  some  species  of 


i 


The  Constellations  161 

cetacean ;  and  the  equivalent  npfjartg  and  Upiartg,1  from  nprjdetv,  to  blow 
or  spout,  the  common  habit  of  the  animal.  The  last  word,  variously  trans- 
literated, was  common  for  the  constellation  with  Roman  authors,  appearing 
as  Pristis,  Pristix,  and  Putrix,  qualified  by  the  adjectives  ausUr,  Nereia> 
Jera^  Neptunia,  aequorta,  and  squammigera.  Cetus,  however,  has  been  the 
usual  title  from  the  days  of  Vitruvius,  varied  by  Cete  with  the  17th-century 
astronomical  writers,  although  the  stellar  figure  is  unlike  any  whale  known 
to  zoology. 

The  Harleian 2  and  Leyden  Manuscripts  show  it  with  greyhound  head, 
ears,  and  fore  legs,  but  with  a  long,  trident  tail ;  the  whole,  perhaps,  modeled 
after  the  ancient  bas-relief  of  Perseus  and  Andromeda  in  the  Naples  Mu- 
seum. It  is  found  thus  on  the  Farnese  globe,  and  this  figuring  may  have 
given  rise  to,  or  originated  from,  the  early  title  that  La  Lande  cited,  Canis 
Tritonis,  his  own  Chien  de  Mer.  But  the  Hyginus  of  1488  has  a  dolphin- 
like creature  with  proboscis  and  tusks,  all  imitated  in  the  edition  of  1535 
by  Micyllus ;  and  Diirer  still  further  varied  the  shape  of  the  head  and  front 
parts. 

Thus  in  these,  as,  in  fact,  in  all  delineations,  it  has  been  a  strange  and 
ferocious  marine  creature,  in  later  times  associated  with  the  story  of 
Andromeda,  and  at  first,  perhaps,  was  the  Euphratean  Tiamat,  of  which 
other  forms  were  Draco,  Hydra,  and  Serpens ;  indeed,  some  have  thought 
that  our  Draco  was  Andromeda's  foe  because  of  its  proximity  to  the  other 
characters  of  the  legend.  But  as  an  alternative  signification  of  the  word 
Kr/roc  is  Tunny,3  also  a  signification  of  XeAtdovtac,  applied  to  the  Northern 
Fish  of  the  zodiac,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  latter  figure  should  be  substi- 
tuted in  the  story  for  the  time-honored  Whale. 

Cetus  is  sometimes  represented  swimming  in  the  River  Eridanus,  although 
usually  as  resting  on  the  bank  with  fore  paws  in  the  water ;  its  head,  directly 
under  Aries,  marked  by  an  irregular  pentagon  of  stars,  and  its  body  stretch- 
ing from  the  bend  in  Eridanus  to  that  in  the  Stream  from  the  Urn.  It  oc- 
cupies a  space  of  500  in  length  by  200  in  breadth,  and  so  is  one  of  the  most 
extended  of  the  sky  figures ;  yet  it  shows  no  star  larger  than  of  the  2d 
magnitude,  and  only  one  of  that  lustre. 

lThis  word  is  seen  in  more  modem  days  in  the  Physetere  that  Rabelais  used. 

2  This  is  the  famous  No.  647  of  the  Harleian  Collection  of  manuscripts  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum, from  Robert  Harley,  the  first  earl  of  Oxford.  It  is  an  illuminated  copy  of  Cicero's 
translation  of  the  Phainomena,  and  has  been  reproduced  and  annotated  by  Ottley  in  the  26th 
volume  of  Archaeologia  for  1834,  its  editor  supposing  it  to  be  from  the  ad  or  3d  century. 
Verses  from  M anil i us  are  inscribed  within  the  figure  outlines. 

3  This  tunny,  the  horse-mackerel  of  our  American  coast  and  the  Albacora  thynnus  of  ich- 
thyology, is  found  in  the  Mediterranean  up  to  1000  pounds'  weight. 

II 


162  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Argelander  enumerates  98  stars  in  the  constellation,  and  Heis  162. 

The  1515  Almagest  and  the  Alfonsine  Tables  called  it  Balaena,  but  Fir- 
micus  said  Belua,  the  Beast  or  Monster,  a  more  appropriate  name  than  ours. 
Bayer  mentioned  it  as  Draco,  and  drew  it  so,  but  without  wings ;  he  also 
cited  for  it  Leo,  Monstram  marinum,  Unui  marinus,  Oiphas,  and  Orphui; 
and  Grotius  quoted  Gibbus,  Humped,  from  anonymous  writers. 

The  Arabian  astronomers  of  course  knew  the  Greek  constellation  and 
called  it  Al  Ketus,  from  which  have  come  Elketos,  Elkaitos,  and  Elkaitos; 
but  their  predecessors,  who  had  not  heard  of  the  Royal  Family  and  its  foe, 
separated  these  stars  into  three  very  different  asterisms.  Those  in  the  head, 
a,  y,  6,  X,  j»,  £*,  and  f2,  were  Al  Kaff  al  Jidhmah,  the  Part  of  a  Hand,  from  a 
fancied  resemblance  to  their  Stained  Hand,  our  Cassiopeia ;  17, 0,  t,  f,  and  t , 
in  the  body  of  our  Cetus,  were  Al  Na'amat,  the  Hen  Ostriches ;  and  the  four  in 
a  straight  line  of  30  length  across  the  tail,  all  lettered  <f>,  were  Al  Hithim, 
the  Necklace. 

The  biblical  school  of  the  17th  century  of  course  saw  here  the  Whale  that 
swallowed  Jonah;  and  commentators  on  that  great  astronomical  poem,  the 
Book  of  Job,  have  said  that  it  typified  the  Leviathan  of  which  the  Lord 
spoke  to  the  patriarch.    Julius  Schiller  thought  it "  SS.  Joachim  and  Anna." 

The  Easy  Chair  has  popularly  been  applied  to  it  from  the  arrangement  of 
its  chief  stars,  the  back  of  the  chair  leaning  towards  Orion. 

Although  an  old  constellation,  Cetus  is  by  no  means  of  special  interest, 
except  as  possessing  the  south  pole  of  the  Milky  Way  and  the  Wonderful 
Star,  the  variable  Mira ;  and  from  the  fact  that  it  is  a  condensation  point  of 
nebulae  directly  across  the  sphere  from  Virgo,  also  noted  in  this  respect. 

Ct,     2.9,    bright  orange. 

Menkar  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1,  Scaliger's  Monkar,  and  now 
sometimes  Menkab,  from  Al  MinKar,  the  Nose,  still  is  the  popular,  but  in- 
appropriate name,  for  it  marks  the  Monster's  open  jaws.  It  is  the  prominent 
star  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  constellation,  and  culminates  on  the  21st 
of  December. 

Al  Kaff  al  Jidhmah,  found  on  the  Borgian  globe,  is  Ulug  Beg's  and  Al 
Tizini's  designation  for  it,  taken  from  that  for  all  the  stars  in  the  head;  but 
modern  lists  apply  this  solely  to  y. 

In  astrological  days  it  portended  danger  from  great  beasts,  disgrace,  ill 
fortune,  and  illness  to  those  born  under  its  influence. 

In  China  a,  y,  d,  X,  p,  v,  o,  ? *,  and  f2,  were  Tseen  Kwan,  Heaven's  Round 
Granary. 


The  Constellations  163 

The  other  'neath  the  dusky  Monster's  tail. 

Brown's  A  ratct. 

p,     2.4,     yellow. 

Deneb  Kaitos  is  from  the  Arabian  Al  Dhanab  al  Kaitos  al  Jantlblyy,  the 

Tail  of  the  Whale  towards  the  South,  1.  e.  the  Southern  Branch  of  the  Tail. 
Chrysococca  synonymously  had  9Ovpa  tov  Ka/Vot;,  arbitrarily  formed  from 
the  Arabic;  and  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1  called  it  Denebcaiton. 

Very  differently  it  was  the  Arabs1  Al  Difdi4  al  Thani,  the  Second  Frog,  that 
we  see  in  the  present  Difda,  Latinized  as  Eana  Seonnda ;  the  star  Fomalhaut 
being  Al  Difdi'  al  Awwal,  the  First  Frog. 

In  China  it  was  Too  Sze  Kung,  Superintendent  of  Earthworks. 

Although  below  it  in  lettering,  this  star  is  now  brighter  than  a,  yet  both 
were  registered  y — 1.  e.  of  the  3d  magnitude — by  Ptolemy;  and  Miss  Clerke 
asserts  that  this  inversion  of  brilliancy  took  place  during  the  last  century. 
It  is  nearly  400  southwest  from  a,  culminating  on  the  21st  of  November. 

One  third  of  the  way  towards  j3  Andromedae  is  a  group  of  unnamed  stars 
from  which  Smyth  said  that  a  new  asterism,  Testudo,  was  proposed. 

Y,   Double,    3.5  and  7,    pale  yellow  and  blue. 

Al  Kaff  al  Jidhmah  is  the  Arabs'  name  for  the  whole  group  marking  the 
Whale's  head,  but  in  modern  lists  is  exclusively  applied  to  this  star. 

The  components  are  2".  5  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  2900. 

f,  of  the  5th  magnitude,  with  77,  was  a  part  of  the  Ostrich's  Host  that 
mainly  lay  in  Eridanus;  and,  with  tt,  p,  and  o,  also  was  Al  Sufi's  Al  Sadr  al 
Kaitos,  the  Whale's  Breast. 

Notwithstanding  its  lettering,  it  is  the  faintest  of  these  four  stars. 

e ,  p,  and  a  were  the  Chinese  Tsow  Kaon,  Hay  and  Straw. 

C,     3.9,     topaz  yellow, 

is  Baton  Kaitos,  the  Arabian  Al  Batn  al  Kaitos,  the  Whale's  Belly,  although 
the  star  is  higher  up  in  the  body.  The  Alfonsine  Tables  had  Batonkaiton 
and  Batenel  Kaitos;  and  Chilmead,  Boton. 

In  astrology  it  portended  falls  and  blows. 

It  forms,  with  the  5th-magnitude  x>  a  very  coarse  naked-eye  double ;  and 
itself  has  a  7  ^£ -magnitude  companion  3'  6"  distant. 

1),     3.6,    yellow. 

Deneb  and  Dbeneb  are  names  for  this  star,  especially  in  English  lists, 
maps,  and  globes ;  but  incorrectly,  as  1/,  on  the  Heis  Alias ,  lies  at  the  base 


164  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  the  tail,  and  in  Bayer's  and  Argelander's  on  the  Monster's  flank,  while 
there  are  two  others,  0  and  1,  so  named  in  the  proper  location.  Still,  al- 
though a  misnomer,  the  title  seems  to  be  generally  recognized.  The  Cen- 
tury Cyclopedia  extends  it  as  Deneb  AlgenubL  This  error  in  name  has 
led  to  another,  for  the  star  has  been  mistaken  for  the  Rana  Secunda  of  the 
Arabs,  the  Second  Frog,  the  Arabs'  Al  Difdi'  al  Tham, —  0  Ceti. 

t,     3.6,    bright  yellow, 

is  another  Deneb  Kaitos  to  which  the  Arabians  added  Al  Shamiliyy  as 
being  in  the  Northern  branch  of  the  tail,  although  Heis  places  it  in  the 
Southern.  From  this  Arabic  adjective  the  Standard  Dictionary  very  un- 
satisfactorily gives  Schemali  simply  as  the  star's  title.  With  17,  0,  v,  r,  and 
stars  in  the  modern  Fornax,  it  made  up  the  Chinese  asterism  Tien  Yuen, 
Heaven's  Temporary  Granary. 

A,  of  about  4^  magnitude,  is  occasionally  called  Menkar,  and,  as  it 
exactly  marks  the  Nose  of  Cetus,  the  title  would  seem  more  appropriate 
than  it  is  to  a ;  but  it  was  applied  by  the  Arabs  to  both. 

0,   Variable,    1.7  to  9.5,    flushed  yellow. 

Mira,  Stella  Mira,  and  Collnm  Ceti  are  all  titles  for  this  Wonderful  Star 
in  the  Whale's  neck,  the  show  object  in  the  heavens  as  a  variable  of  long 
period  and  typical  of  its  class. 

It  was  first  noticed  as  a  3d-magnitude  on  the  13th  of  August,  1596,  and 
again  on  the  15  th  of  February,  1609,  by  David  Fabricius,  an  amateur 
astronomer  and  disciple  of  Tycho  Brahe;  but  its  true  character  was  not 
ascertained  till  1638  by  Phocylides  Holwarda  of  Holland, —  the  first  estab- 
lished record  of  a  variable  star. 

Bayer  lettered  it  in  1603  as  of  the  4th  magnitude,  evidently  at  a  time  of 
its  diminished  brilliancy  and  without  knowledge  of  its  variability ;  Hevelius, 
having  observed  it  from  1659  to  1682,  inserted  it  in  his  Prodromus  as  the 
Nova  in  Collo  Ceti ;  and  Flamsteed,  numbering  it  68,  described  it  as  w 
pectorc  nova  and  of  the  6th  magnitude  on  the  18th  of  October,  1 691,  and 
again  on  the  28th  of  September,  1692. 

"  This  was  singular  in  its  kind  till  that  in  Collo  Cygni  was  discovered: 
and  the  attention  it  excited  among  astronomers  is  detailed  in  the  Hislorioh 
Mirae  Stcllac"  of  Hevelius  in  1662;  thus  virtually  naming  it  and  "com- 
memorating the  amazement  excited  by  the  detection  of  stellar  periodicity.' 

Its  period,  fixed  by  Bouillaud  in  1667  as  333  days,  is  now  given  as  tfl< 


The  Constellations  165 

but  this  is  subject  to  extreme  irregularities, —  at  various  times  it  has  not 
been  seen  at  all  with  the  naked  eye  for  several  years  consecutively, —  and 
its  maxima  and  minima  are  even  more  irregular.  While  it  has  been  known 
almost  to  equal  Aldebaran  in  its  light,  as  it  did  under  HerscheFs  observa- 
tions on  the  6th  of  November,  1779,  Chandler  gives  its  maximum  as  from 
1.7  to  5,  and  its  minimum  from  8  to  9.5.  It  thus  sometimes  sends  out  at 
its  maximum  fifteen  hundredfold  more  light  than  at  its  minimum,  and 
''after  three  centuries  of  notified  activity  gives  no  sign  of  relaxation."  It 
is  generally  at  its  brightest  for  about  a  fortnight;  the  increase  occupying 
about  seven  weeks  and  the  decrease  about  three  months.  The  maxi- 
mum of  1897  occurred  about  the  1st  of  December,  when  it  was  a  little 
below  the  3d  magnitude. 

Sir  William  Herschel  wrote  of  it  in  1783  as  being  of  a  deep  garnet  color 
like  (i  Cephei. 

The  spectrum  is  of  Secchi's  3d  type,  with  extremely  brilliant  hydrogen 
lines  at  the  time  of  maximum. 

Mira  lies  almost  exactly  on  the  line  joining  y  and  f,  a  little  nearer  the 
former  star. 

^i^2*  ft*  and  <f>At  5th-  to  6th-magnitude  stars,  were  the  Arabs'  Al  Hith&m. 
In  China  they  were  Tien  Hwan,  Heaven's  Sewer.  It  was  near  these  that 
Harding  of  Lilienthal  discovered  the  minor  planet  Juno,  on  the  2d  of 
September,  1804,  the  3d  of  these  objects  found. 

c  and  y,  small  stars  near  t,  were  the  Chinese  Poo  Chih,  the  Ax  and 
Skewer. 


Cfcmae&on, 

the  German  Chamaleon,  the  French  Cam£Mon,  and  the  Italian  Camaleonte, 
is  a  small  and  unimportant  constellation  below  Carina,  Octans  separating 
it  from  the  south  pole.  It  was  first  published  and  figured  by  Bayer  among 
his  new  constellations  from  observations  by  navigators  of  the  preceding 
century.  Pontanus,  in  Chilmead's  Treatise,  included  it  with  Musca  as  "  the 
Chamaeleon  with  the  flie  " ;  but  Julius  Schiller  entirely  changed  its  charac- 
ter by  combining  it  with  Apus  and  Musca  in  his  biblical  Eve. 

None  of  its  stars  seem  to  be  named  except  in  China,  where  some  of  the 
iarger  were  Seaou  Tow,  a  small  Measure  or  Dipper,  that  our  a,  0t  97,  it  e,  /x2, 
and  fil  well  show. 

Gould  gives  50  naked-eye  components  from  4.2  to  the  7th  magnitude. 
The  constellation  culminates  about  the  1st  of  May. 


166  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Ctrctmis,  f$e  (pair  of  Compam*, 

formed  by  La  Caille,  lies  close  to  the  front  feet  of  the  Centaur,  south  from 
Lupus  and  Norma,  its  inventor  appropriately  associating  it  with  the  latter. 

It  is  the  German  Zirkel,  the  French  Compas,  and  the  Italian  Compaaw. 

Gould  catalogues  in  it  48  stars  down  to  the  7th  magnitude;  a,  its  lucida, 
being  of  only  3.5. 

The  constellation  culminates  about  the  middle  of  June. 


Others  underneath  the  hunted  Hart, 
All  very  dim  and  nameless  roll  along. 

Brown's  A  rata*. 

CofumBd  (TXode,  QXocfi'*  <£)ot>e, 

now  known  simply  as  Columba,  is  the  Colombo  de  Noe"  of  the  French, 
Colomba  of  the  Italians,  and  Tanbe  of  the  Germans,  lying  south  of  the 
Hare,  and  on  the  meridian  with  Orion's  Belt. 

Although  first  formally  published  by  Royer  in  1679,  and  so  generally  con- 
sidered one  of  his  constellations,  it  had  appeared  seventy- six  years  before 
correctly  located  on  Bayer's  plate  of  Canis  Major,  and  in  his  text  as  rectntw- 
ribus  Columba;  one  of  these  "more  recent "  being  Petrus  Plancius,  the  Dutch 
cosmographer  and  map-maker  of  the  16th  century,  and  instructor  of  Pieter 
Theodor.  While  these  are  the  first  allusions  to  Columba  in  modern  times, 
yet  the  following  from  Caesius  may  indicate  knowledge  of  its  stars,1  and 
certainly  of  the  present  title,  seventeen  centuries  ago.  Translating  from  the 
Paedagogus  of  Saint  Clement  of  Alexandria,  he  wrote : 

Signa  sive  insignia  vestra  sint  Columba,  sive  Navis  coelestis  cursu  in  coelum  tendens 
sive  Lyra  Musica,  in  recordationem  Apostoli  Piscatoris. 

Still  it  was  not  recognized  by  Bartschius  twenty-one  years  after  Bayer,  nor 
by  Tycho,  Hevelius,  or  Flamsteed ;  but  Halley  gave  it,  in  the  same  year 
as  Royer,  with  ten  stars ;  and  our  Gould,  two  centuries  later  in  Argentina, 
increased  the  number  to  seventeen.    It  was  made  up  from  the  southwestern 

l  But  the  faintness  of  this  constellation  is  against  the  probability  of  such  use,  and  would 
imply  that  some  other,  and  more  noticeable,  sky-group  was  known  as  a  Dove,  possibly  Conia 
Berenices. 


The  Constellations  167 

outliers  of  Canis  Major,  near  to  the  Ship, —  Noah's  Ark, — and  so  was  re- 
garded as  the  attendant  Dove. 

Smyth  wrote  of  its  modern  formation,  and  of  its  nomenclature  in  Arab 
astronomy : 

Royer  cut  away  a  portion  of  Canis  Major,  and  constructed  Columba  Noachi  therewith 
in  1679.  The  part  thus  usurped  was  called  Muliphein,  from  al-muhlifein%  the  two  stars 
sworn  by,  because  they  were  often  mistaken  for  Sohefl,  or  Canopus,  before  which  they 
rise :  these  two  stars  are  now  a  and  ft  Columbae.  Muliphein  is  recognized  as  compre- 
hending the  two  stars  called  Hafdrt  ground,  and  al-wezn,  weight. 

Reference  already  has  been  made  to  Al  Muhlifain  at  the  stars  y,  ?,  and  X 
Argus,  6  Canis  Majoris,  and  a  Centauri. 


a,     2.5. 

Phaet,  Phact,  and  Phad  are  all  modern  names  for  this,  perhaps  of  uncer- 
tain derivation,  but  said  to  be  from  the  Hadar  already  noted  under  the 
constellation. 

The  Chinese  call  it  Chang  Jin,  the  Old  Folks. 

Although  inconspicuous,  Lockyer  thinks  that  it  was  of  importance  in 
Egyptian  temple  worship,  and  observed  from  Edfu  and  Philae  as  far  back 
as  6400  b.  c. ;  but  that  it  was  succeeded  by  Sirius  about  3000  b.  c,  as 
a  Ursae  Majoris  was  by  y  Draconis  in  the  north.  And  he  has  found  three 
temples  at  Medinet  Habu,  adjacent  to  each  other,  yet  differently  oriented, 
apparently  toward  a,  2525,  1250,  and  900  years  before  our  era:  ail  these  to 
the  god  Amen.  He  thinks  that  as  many  as  twelve  different  temples  were 
oriented  to  this  star;  but  the  selection  of  so  faint  an  object  for  so  important 
a  purpose  would  seem  doubtful. 

Phaet  is  330  south  of  e  Orionis,  the  central  star  in  the  Belt,  and  culmi- 
nates on  the  26th  of  January. 


P. 


2.9. 


Wezn,  or  Wazn,  is  from  Al  Wazn,  Weight. 

With  a  it  was  among  the  disputed  Al  Mnhlifain ;  and  Al  Tizini  addition- 
ally called  both  stars  Al  Aghribah,  the  Ravens,  a  title  that  Hyde  assigned 
to  a  group  in  Canis  Major. 

Chilmead's  Ireatise  has  this  brief  description  of  Columba : 

ii  Starres:  of  which  there  are  two  in  the  backe  of  it  of  the  second  magni- 
tude, which  they  call  the  Good  messengers,  or  bringers  of  good  newes:  and 


168  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

those  in  the  right  wing  are  consecrated  to  the  Appeased  Deity,  and  those  in 
'the  left,  to  the  Retiring  of  the  waters  in  the  time  of  the  Deluge. 

Heis  locates  a  and  /3  in  the  back ;  v2  in  the  right  wing,  and  e  in  the  left 
0  and  *  were  included  by  Kazwini  in  the  Arabic  figure  AlKnrod,  the  Apes. 

In  China  they  were  Sun,  the  Child ;  A  being  Tue,  a  Son ;  and  the  near- 
by small  stars,  She,  the  Secretions. 


The  streaming  tresses  of  the  Egyptian  queen. 

William  Cullen  Bryant's  The  C*nst*U*tums. 


Not  Berenice's  locks  first  rose  so  bright, 

The  heavens  bespangling  with  dishevell'd  light. 

Pope's  Rap*  t/Vu  Lack. 


Coma  (geremces,  (gtremce's  fjfixt, 

the  Cherelnre  of  the  French,  Chioma  of  the  Italians,  and  the  Hanpthtar 
of  the  Germans,  lies  southwest  from  Cor  Caroli. 

It  seems  to  have  been  first  alluded  to  by  Eratosthenes  as  Ariadne'i  Hair 
in  his  description  of  Ariadne's  Crown ;  although  subsequently,  in  his  account 
of  Leo,  he  mentioned  the  group  as  IlAoKa/ioc  BepeviKtft  ,Evepy£r*ooc.  But 
for  nearly  2000  years  its  right  to  a  place  among  the  constellations  was  un- 
settled, for  it  has  been  the  d^iop^roi  behind  the  Lion's  tail,  or  connected 
with  Virgo,  or  partly  recognized  as  an  asterism  by  itself.  Tycho,  however, 
set  the  question  at  rest  in  1602  by  cataloguing  it  separately,  adopting  the 
early  title  as  we  have  it  now. 

Aratos,  perhaps,  alluded  to  it,  although  indefinitely,  in  the  146th  line  of 
the  Phainomena: 

Each  after  each,  ungronped,  unnamed,  revolve ; 

but,  of  course,  did  not  give  its  name,  for  he  wrote  under  the  2d  Ptolemy 
(Philadelphus),  whereas  it  was  not  known  till  about  243  b.  c,  in  the  reign 
of  the  3d  (Euergetes),  the  brother  and  husband  of  Berenice,  whose  amber 


The  Constellations  169 

hair  we  now  see  in  the  sky  figure.  It  was  the  happy  invention  of  this  con- 
stellation by  Conon  that  consoled  the  royal  pair  after  the  theft  of  the  tresses 
from  the  temple  of  Arsinoe  Aphrodite  at  Zephyrium.  Some  versions  of  the 
story  turned  the  lady's  hair  into  a  hair-star,  or  comet. 

The  scholiast  on  Aratos,  however,  referred  to  it,  as  did  Callimachus,  the 
latter  calling  it  BdarpvKog  BepevUrjf ; l  and  his  poem  on  it,  now  lost,  was 
imitated  200  years  later  by  Catullus,  in  one  of  his  most  beautiful  odes,  de- 
scribing it  as 

the  consecrated  spoils  of  Berenice's  yellow  head,  which  the  divine  Venus  placed,  a  new 
constellation,  among  the  ancient  ones,  preceding  the  slow  Bodtes,  who  sinks  late  and  re- 
luctantly into  the  deep  ocean. 

The  beautiful  and  touching  legend  of  the  Sudarium  of  Veronica,  with  its 
vera  icon,  has  been  associated  with  our  constellation  from  the  similarity  in 
words,  some  supposing  the  saint  to  have  been  the  Herodian  Bernice, —  in 
Latin  Beronica, — converted  to  Christianity  through  her  sympathy  for  the 
Saviour's  sufferings.  Lady  Eastlake  has  fully  told  this  story  in  her  continu- 
ation of  Mrs.  Jameson's  History  of  our  Lord. 

Hyginus  had  BepevUris  nk6icafto<; ;  and  Ptolemy,  simple  trA6«afioc  for 
three  of  its  stars  among  the  apopQurot  of  Leo,  calling  it  ve<peXoeidris  ova- 
-potprj,  a  cloudy  condensation.  This  was  rendered  Al  Atha  by  Reduan, 
or,  as  Golius  printed  it,  Al  Ultha,  literally  a  Mixture. 

Manilius  did  not  mention  Coma,  although  he  wrote  250  years  after  Conon; 
nor  of  course  did  the  versifiers  of  Aratos,  at  least  by  name,  as  the  figure  is 
not  distinctly  specified  in  the  Phainomena. 

Crinei  and  Crines  Berenices  are  found  in  classical  times ;  Flam  steed  has 
the  plural  Comae  Berenices,  and  La  Lande  Capilli.  Cincinnns  appears  on 
Mercator's  globe  of  155 1,  but  there  consists  of  only  one  star  and  two  neb- 
ulae ;  and  the  Latin  Almagest  of  the  same  year  wrote  Convolutio  nubilosa 
quae  cincinnns  vocatnr,  with  this  marginal  note,  all  for  Coma's  stars  as 
informes  of  Leo :  Plocamos  graece,  latini  vero  cincinnns,  hoc  est,  caesaries 
&  coma  virginis,  Berenices  fortasse  crinis  qni  a  Pbeta  Calimacho  in  astra 
rclatus  est,  Sed  cincinnnm  barbari  tricam  vocant.  The  Almagest  of  1 5 1 5 
already  had  Trioa,  describing  it  as  nubilosa  and  luminosa ;    but  Bayer 

)  The  word  Berenice,  sometimes  Beronice,  is  from  BsqivIxtj,  the  Macedonian  form  of  the 
purer  Greek  4>*QtvUi\,  Victory-bearing ;  and  is  the  BiqiIxtj,  or  Bernice,  of  the  New  Testament, 
the  name  of  the  notorious  daughter  and  wife  of  the  Agrippas.  From  it  some  philologists  de- 
rive the  Italian  Vernke,  the  French  Vernis,  the  Spanish  Barmn,  and  our  Varnish,  all  from  the 
similar  amber  color  of  the  lady's  hair;  BtQtvlxrj  having  later  become  the  Ix>w  Greek  word  for 
amber. 


170  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

changed  this  to  Trioas,  Terioas,  and  Triquetral,  taking  these  probably  from 
the  Low  Greek  Tpi^ec,  which  doubtless  is  the  origin  of  our  word  "  tresses." 

Pliny  wrote  in  the  Historia  Naturalise  nee  [cernit]  Canopum  Italia  et 
quern  vacant  Berenices  crinem,  which  Bostock  and  Riley  correctly  translated, 
in  1855,  "nor  can  we,  in  Italy,  see  the  star  Canopus,  or  Berenice's  Hair"; 
but  Holland  had  rendered  this,  in  1 601,  "neither  hath  Italy  a  sight  of 
Canopus,  named  also  Berenices  Hair,"  from  which  mistranslation  it  was 
long  inferred  that  the  southern  heavens  contained  another  sky  group  bear- 
ing this  same  title.  And  this  blunder  has  been  perpetuated,  even  in 
Doctor  Murray's  New  English  Dictionary,  which  defines  the  word  as  the 
name  "  formerly  of  the  southern  star  Canopus,"  citing  as  authority  the 
foregoing  passage  from  Holland.  Pliny's  statement  as  to  the  invisibility  of 
Coma  from  Italy  of  course  was  incorrect  then  as  now. 

Julius  Schiller  asserted  that  the  constellation  represented  the  Flagdlum 
Christi. 

Thompson  writes  in  his  Glossary,  p.  134,  that 

It  has  been  suggested  by  Landseer,  Sabaean  Researches,  p.  186,  from  the  study  of  an 
Assyrian  symbolic  monument,  that  the  stars  which  Conon  converted  into  the  Coma 
Berenice*  (Hygin.  P.  A.  ii,  24,  cf.  Ideler,  Sternnamen,  p.  295)  and  which  lie  in  Leo  oppo- 
site to  the  Pleiades  in  Taurus,  were  originally  constellated  as  a  Pove ;  and  that  this  con- 
stellation, whose  first  stars  rise  with  the  latest  of  those  of  Argo,  and  whose  last  rise 
simultaneously  with  the  hand  of  the  Husbandman,  links  better  than  the  Pleiad  into  the 
astronomical  Deluge-myth.  The  case  rests  on  very  little  evidence,  and  indeed  is  an  illu>- 
tration  of  the  conflicting  difficulties  of  such  hypotheses :  but  it  is  deserving  of  investigation. 
were  it  only  for  the  reason  that  the  Coma  Berenices  contains  seven  visible  stars  (Hygin.). 
and  the  Pleiad  six,  a  faint  hint  at  a  possible  explanation  of  the  lost  Pleiad. 

Serviss,  who  has  some  beautiful  stellar  similes,  says  that  it  is  a 

curious  twinkling,  as  if  gossamers  spangled  with  dewdrops  were  entangled  there.  One 
might  think  the  old  woman  of  the  nursery  rhyme  who  went  to  sweep  the  cobwebs  out  of 
the  sky  had  skipped  this  corner,  or  else  that  its  delicate  beauty  had  preserved  it  even  from 
her  housewifely  instinct. 

In  Hudibras  the  constellation  was  Berenice's  periwig;  while  another 
old-fashioned  name  has  been  Berenice's  Bush,  found  in  Thomas  Hill's 
Schoole  o/Skil  of  1599,  but  even  then  rendered  classic  in  its  use  by  Chaucer 
and  Spenser ;  and  Smyth  says  that  there  has  been  a  name  still  homelier. 

Bayer  also  mentioned  Rosa,  a  Rose,  or  a  Rose  Wreath ;  but  he  figured 
it  on  his  plate  of  Bootes  as  a  Sheaf  of  Wheat,  in  reference  to  the  Virgo 
Ceres  close  by;  indeed,  Karsten  Niebuhr,  at  Cairo  in  1762,  heard  it  called 
Al  Hnzmat,  the  Arabic  term  for  that  object,  or  for  a  Pile  of  Fruit,  Grain. 


The  Constellations  171 

or  Wood.  The  Dresden  globe  has  it  as  an  Ivy  Wreath,  or,  just  as  proba- 
bly, a  Distaff  held  in  the  Virgin's  hand,  which  has  been  designated  Fusus 
vel  Co/us,  Ft/a  et  Stamina,  the  Distaff,  Thread,  and  Woof;  or  perhaps  the 
Caduoeui  of  Mercury,  placed  here  when  Coma  was  a  part  of  Virgo  and  this 
latter  constellation  the  astrological  house  of  that  planet. 

But  very  differently  in  early  Arabia  it  was  Al  Hauf*  the  Pond,  into  which 
the  Gazelle,  our  Leo  Minor,  sprang  when  frightened  at  the  lashing  of  the 
Lion's  tail;  although  some  of  the  Desert  observers  claimed  that  this  Pond 
lay  among  the  stars  of  the  neck,  breast,  and  knees  of  the  Greater  Bear;  and 
Lach  substituted  it  for  the  Gazelle  in  our  location  of  Leo  Minor.  The  Arabian 
astronomers  knew  Coma  as  Al  Halbah,  or  Al  Daf  irah,  the  Coarse  Hair,  or 
Tuft,  in  the  tail  of  the  Lion  of  the  zodiac,  thus  extending  that  figure  beyond 
its  present  termination  at  ihe  star  Denebola. 

Coma  probably  was  known  in  early  Egypt  as  the  Many  Stan. 

The  Chinese  had  several  names  here;  the  lucida  being  Hing  Chin ;  u  and 
w  in  the  Reeves  list,  Chow  Ting,  the  Imperial  Caldron  of  the  Chow  dynasty; 
a  small  group  toward  Virgo,  Woo  Choo  How;  a>  b,  c,  d9  e,  and/,  Lang  Wei, 
Official  Rank;/,  Lang  Tseang,  a  General,  and  v,  Shang  Tseang,  a  Higher 
General;1  while  Tsae  Ching,  the  Favorite  Vassal,  was  the  title  for  Bode's 
2629.  This  abundant  nomenclature,  in  so  faint  a  figure,  shows  great  in- 
terest on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  in  this  beautiful  little  group. 

Argelander  numbers  thirty-six  stars  here,  Heis  extending  this  to  seventy ; 
and  Chase,  of  the  Yale  Observatory,  has  taken  measures  of  thirty-two  of 
these.    The  constellation  culminates  about  the  middle  of  May. 

Although  it  is  not  easy  for  the  casual  observer  to  locate  any  of  the  indi- 
vidual stars  except  the  lucida,  three  have  been  lettered  —  a,  j3,  y  —  that 
Baily  claimed  for  Flamsteed's  7,  15,  and  23.  Of  these  Fl.  15,  an  orange 
star,  is  generally  supposed  to  be  the  Arabian  Al  Dafirah,  from  Ulug  Beg's 
name  for  the  whole  that  he  located  among  the  informes  of  Leo.  Hyde 
cited  some  ancient  codices  as  applying  to  Fl.  21,  toward  the  south,  the 
title  Kissin,  a  species  of  Ivy,  Convolvulus,  or  perhaps  the  climbing  Dog- 
rose.  This  appeared  with  Ulug  Beg,  evidently  from  Ptolemy's  Kiootvoq, 
but  Ideler  said  that  it  was  intended  to  mark  c,  g,  and  h,  and  Baily,  that  it 
was  for  Fl.  21  or  23. 

There  evidently  is  much  uncertainty  as  to  the  lettering  and  numbering 
of  Coma's  stars ;  and  it  seems  remarkable  that  such  minute  objects  should 
bear  individual  names. 

1  Some  of  these  letters  may  be  from  Flamsteed,  as  he  applied  a ,  b,  c,  d,  e,  /,  g%  and  h  to  a 
''mall  portion  —  the  centre  — of  the  constellation  ;  but  Baily,  his  editor,  has  rejected  them  as 
being  only  a  temporary  arrangement. 


172  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Near  Fl.  6  is  the  Pin-wheel  Nebula,  N.  G.  C.  4254,  99  M.,  one  of  the 
pyrotechnics  of  the  sky;  while  Fl.  31  closely  marks  the  pole  of  the  Milky 
Way,  more  exactly  in  right  ascension  120  40'  and  north  polar  distance  280; 
the  southern  pole  lying  in  Cetus. 


.  .  .  other  few, 
Below  the  Archer  under  his  forefeet, 
Led  round  in  circle  roll  without  a  name. 

Brown's  A  raios. 


Corona  &uef  rafts,  f$e  £fouf$ern  Crottm, 

often  qualified  by  other  synonymous  adjectives,  austrina,  meridiana, 
meridionalis,  or  no/ia,  is  an  inconspicuous  constellation,  although  accepted  in 
Ptolemy's  time  as  one  of  the  ancient  forty-eight.  On  modern  maps  its 
location  is  close  to  the  waist  of  Sagittarius,  on  the  edge  of  the  Milky  Way. 

The  Germans  know  it  as  the  Sndliche  Krone;  the  French,  as  the 
Couronne  Australe;   and  the  Italians,  as  the  Corona  Australe. 

Aratos  did  not  mention  it  by  name  unless  in  his  use  of  the  plural  Dre^c- 
voi  for  both  of  the  Crowns;  yet  doubtless  had  it  in  mind  when  he  wrote 
of  the  bivoroi  KvkXcj  in  our  motto.  His  scholiast  and  Geminos  had 
'Ovpavioicogj  the  Canopy;  Aevrepoc,  the  Second;  and  Aevrepa  KucAo, 
the  Second  Circle.  Hipparchos  is  said  to  have  known  it  as  Ktfpvmovy  the 
Caduceus,  or  Herald's  Wand  of  Peace,  but  this  is  not  found  in  his  Com- 
mentary.     Ptolemy  called  it  ^re<f>dvoq  votio$,  the  Southern  Wreath. 

Germanicus  rendered  the  supposed  reference  in  the  Phainomena  as 
Corona  sine  honore— i.e.  without  any  such  noteworthy  tradition  as  is  con- 
nected with  the  Northern  Crown ;  commenting  upon '  which,  Grotius 
said  that  this  author,  as  well  as  Cicero  and  Avienus,  understood  Aratos  to 
refer  to  the  southern  figure;  and  added  that  this  was  the  Centaur's  Crown, 
those  personages  frequently  being  represented  as  wearing  such.  This  idea 
doubtless  originated  from  the  outspreading  sun-rays,  in  crown-like  form, 
around  the  heads  of  the  Gandharvas,  the  Aryan  celestial  horses  that  proba- 
bly were  the  forerunners  of  the  Centaurs.  It  was  thus  appropriately  asso- 
ciated with  the  centaur  Sagittarius  and  took  the  title  Corona  Sagittarii. 


The  Constellations  173 

Manilius  did  not  allude  to  it ;  but  others  of  the  classical  poets  thought 
it  the  Crown  that  Bacchus  placed  in  the  sky  in  honor  of  his  mother 
Semele;  or  one  in  commemoration  of  the  fivefold  victory  of  Corinna  over 
Pindar  in  their  poetical  contest;  and  some  considered  it  the  early  Bunch 
of  Arrows  radiating  from  the  hand  of  the  Archer,  often  imagined  as  a 
wheel.  This  idea  was  expressed  in  its  titles  Tpo#6c  'Ifiovoc  and  Rota 
Ixionif,  the  Wheel  of  Ixion,  perhaps  from  the  latter's  relationship  to  the 
centaur  Pholos. 

Albumasar  called  it  Coelum,  while  Coelulum  and  parvum  Coelum,  the 
Little  Sky,  /.  e.  Canopy,  are  from  the  Satyricon,1  the  encyclopaedic  writings 
of  the  Carthaginian  Martianus  Mineus  Felix  Capella  of  the  5th  century, 
in  the  8th  book  of  which  he  treats  of  astronomy. 

La  Lande  cited  Sertnm  australe,  the  Southern  Garland,  and  Orbiculus 
Capitis  ;  Proctor,  Brown,  and  Gore  of  the  present  day  have  Corolla,  the 
Little  Crown,  but  this  was  used  250  years  ago  by  Caesius,  who  also  gave 
Spira  australifi,  the  Southern  Coil,  and  said  that  its  stars  represented  the 
Crown  of  Sternal  Life  promised  in  the  New  Testament.  Julius  Schiller, 
however,  went  back  a  millennium  before  our  era  to  the  Diadem  of  Solomon. 

AJ  Sufi  is  our  authority  for  the  Arabs'  Al  Kabbah,  literally  the  Tortoise, 
but  secondarily  the  Woman's  Tent,  or  traveling  apartment,  from  its  form ; 
and  it  was  Al  ftiba',  the  Tent,  and  Kazwini's  Al  Udha  al  Naam,  the 
Ostrich's  Nest,  for  the  same  reason ;  the  birds  themselves  being  close  by 
in  what  now  are  the  Archer  and  the  Eagle.  Al  Fakkah,  the  Dish,  was 
borrowed  from  the  Northern  Crown,  but  among  the  later  Arabians  it 
was  Al  Iklfl  al  Janubiyyah,  their  equivalent  for  our  title ;  Chilmead  giving 
this  as  Alachil  Algenubi;  Riccioli,  Elkleil  Elgenubi;  and  Caesius,  Aladil 
Algennbi 

The  Chinese  knew  it  by  the  figure  current  in  early  Arabia — Pee,  the 
Tortoise. 

Bayer  illustrated  Corona  as  a  typical  wreath,  but  without  the  streaming 
ribbons  of  its  northern  namesake,  and  the  original  Aljonsine  Tables  show  a 
plain  heart-shaped  object  with  no  semblance  to  the  name.  Gould  assigns 
to  it  forty-nine  stars,  many  more  than  even  Heis  does  to  its  much  more 
celebrated  and  noticeable  counterpart  in  the  north.  Its  lucida,  the  4th- 
magnitude  a,  at  the  eastern  edge  of  the  constellation,  is  Alfeeea  meridiana 
in  the  Latin  translation  of  Reduan's  Commentary.  It  culminates  on  the 
13th  of  August. 

1  This  was  a  popular  text-book  centuries  ago,  and  noticeable  even  by  us,  as  it  contains  a 
very  clear  statement  of  the  heliocentric  system,  probably  from  Hicetas  of  Syracuse,  344  B.C.  ; 
and  may  have  led  Copernicus,  who  quoted  him  in  1543,  to  his  own  conclusions  on  the  subject. 


174  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 


Looke !  how  the  crowne  which  Ariadne  wore 

Upon  her  yvory  forehead,    .     .     . 

Being  now  placed  in  the  firmament, 

Through  the  bright  heavens  doth  her  beams  display, 

And  is  unto  the  starres  an  ornament, 

Which  round  about  her  move  in  order  excellent. 

Spenser's  Faerie  Quttn. 


Corona  (goteafis,  f$e  (Jtortfcrn  Crotw, 

is  the  French  Conronne  Bortale,  the  German  Nordliche  Krone,  and  the 
Italian  ancestral  Corona. 

It  was  the  only  stellar  crown  known  to  Eratosthenes  and  the  early  Greeks, 
but  they  called  it  2Tt-0ai>oc,  a  Wreath ;  and  their  successors,  who  had  begun 
to  locate  the  Southern  Crown,  added  to  this  title  of  the  original  the  dis- 
tinguishing Trpoiroc  and  06peiog  to  show  its  priority  and  its  northern  posi- 
tion. The  Latins  adopted  the  Greek  name  and  adjectives  in  Corona  boroa, 
borealif,  and  septentrionalis ;  and  further  knew  it  as  the  Crown  of  Vnlcan 
fashioned  ex  auro  et  indicts  gemmis ;  or  of  Amphitrite,  probably  from  its 
proximity  in  the  sky  to  the  Dolphin  associated  with  that  goddess.  But 
generally  it  was  Ariadnaea  Corona,  Corona  Ariadnae,  Corona  Ariadne*, 
Creua  Corona,  Corona  Gnonda,  Corona  Cretioa  and  Gnouis,  varied  by 
Minoia  Corona  and  Minoia  Virgo  found  with  Valerius  Flaccus  and  Ger- 
manicus,  and  Ariadnaea  Sidns  with  Ovid ;  these  classical  designations  re- 
ferring to  Ariadne,  or  to  her  father  Minos,  king  of  Crete,  and  to  her  birth- 
place in  that  island,  at  Gnosos,  where  Theseus  married  her.  When  deserted 
by  him  she  became  the  wife  of  Liber  Bacchus, and  so  took  his  name  Libera; 
while  the  crown  that  Theseus  —  or,  as  some  said,  the  goddess  Venus— had 
given  her  was  transferred  to  the  sky,  where  it  became  our  Corona;  and,  as 
early  as  the  3d  century  b.  c,  Apollonius  Rhodius  wrote  in  his  Argonautkat . 

Still  her  sign  is  seen  in  heaven. 
And  midst  the  glittering  symbols  of  the  sky 
The  starry  crown  of  Ariadne  glides. 

Keats  changed  this  in  his  Lamia  to  Ariadne's  tiar;  and  others  made  it  the 
Coiled  Hair  of  Ariadne  as  companion  to  the  Streaming  Tresses  of  Berenice. 
Some  authors,  however, —  Ovid  among  them  in  his  Fasti, —  said  that  Ariadne 
herself  became  the  constellation;  and  Mrs.  Browning, in  her  Paraphrases 
from  Nonnus  of  How  Bacchus  comforts  Ariadne : 


The  Constellations  175 

Or  wilt  thou  choose 
A  still  surpassing  glory?  —  take  it  all  — 
A  heavenly  house,  Kronion's  self  for  kin. 

This  legend  of  Ariadne  and  her  Crown  seems  to  have  been  first  recorded 
by  Pherecydes  early  in  the  5th  century  before  Christ. 

Dante,  referring  to  Ariadne's  descent,  called  these  stars  la  Figlinola  di 
Minoi,  the  poet  giving  much  prominence  to  her  father,1  who  "  was  so  re- 
nowned for  justice  as  to  be  called  the  Favorite  of  the  Gods,  and  after  death 
made  Supreme  Judge  in  the  Infernal  Regions." 

In  all  ages  Corona  has  been  a  favorite,  popularly  as  well  as  in  literature, 
and  few  of  our  stellar  groups  have  had  as  many  titles,  although  the  English  of 
the  Middle  Ages  usually  wrote  its  wearer's  name  "  Adrian  "  and  "  Adriane." 

Chaucer  had  this  strange  passage  on  the  constellation  : 

And  in  the  sygne  of  Taurus  men  may  se 
The  stonys  of  hire  coroune  shyne  clere ; 

but  this  seems  unintelligible,  unless  from  some  confusion  in  the  poet's  mind 
with  the  location  of  Koronis  of  the  Hyades.  These,  however,  lie  in  the 
heavens  just  opposite  the  Crown,  and  Skeat  ingeniously  suggests  that 
Chaucer  may  have  meant  that  when  the  Sun  was  in  Taurus  the  Crown  was 
specially  noticeable  in  the  midnight  sky,  as  is  exactly  the  case. 

"  England's  Arch  Poet,"  Edmund  Spenser,  wrote  in  the  ShepheariTs 
KaUndar*  of  1579: 

And  now  the  Sunne  hath  reared  up  his  fierie  footed  teme, 
Making  his  way  between  the  Cuppe  and  golden  Diademe; 

one  of  the  early  titles  of  Corona  being  Diadema  Coeli. 

The  Wreath  of  Flowers,  occasionally  seen  for  it,  is  merely  the  early  sig- 
nification of  the  words  2r£<pavos  and  Corona. 

Oculas  was  another  name  of  the  constellation  —  a  term  common  in  poetry 
and  post- Augustan  prose  for  any  celestial  luminary ;  and  Prudens 3  called 
it  Kaera,  the  Shining  One. 

As  the  ardens  corona  of  the  Georgics,  Vergil  included  it  with  the  Pleiades 
as  a  calendar  sign,  May  translating  the  passage : 

1  Dante  furnished  him  "with  a  tail  (colla  coda),  thus  converting  him,  after  the  mediaeval 
fashion,  into  a  Christian  demon."     It  was  a  long  tail,  too,  for  we  read : 

Who  bore  me  unto  Minos,  who  entwined  eight  times  his  tail  about  his  stubborn  back. 

2  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  this  was  first  published  as  the  Twelve  Aeglogues,  Pro- 
portionable to  the  Twelve  monethes. 

*  Aurelius  Clemens  Prudentius,  the  Latin  Christian  poet  of  our  4th  century. 


176  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Bat  if  thou  plow  to  sowe  more  solid  grain e, 

A  wheat  or  barley  harvest  to  obtain e : 

First  let  the  morning  Pleiades  be  set, 

And  Ariadne's  shining  Coronet, 

Ere  thou  commit  thy  seed  to  ground,  and  there 

Dare  trust  the  hope  of  all  the  following  yeare. 

Columella,  in  a  similar  connection,  called  it  Onosia  Ardor  Baoehi,  and 
Vaxras  Ardor,  from  Naxos,  where  Ariadne  had  been  deserted  by  Theseus; 
and  specially  designated  its  lucida  as  clara  stdla. 

Its  stars  were  favored  also  by  the  astrologers,  Manilius  expressing  this  in: 

Births  influenc'd  then  shall  raise  fine  Beds  of  Flowers, 

And  twine  their  creeping  Jasmine  round  their  Bowers ; 

The  Lillies,  Violets  in  Banks  dispose, 

The  Purple  Poppy,  and  the  blushing  Rose : 

For  Pleasure  shades  their  rising  Mounts  shall  yield, 

And  real  Figures  paint  the  gawdy  Field  : 

Or  they  shall  wreath  their  Flowers,  their  Sweets  entwine, 

To  grace  their  Mistress,  or  to  Crown  their  Wine. 

Bayer  said  of  it  Azophi  Parma,  by  which  he  meant  that  Al  Sufi  called  it 
a  Shield ;  but  the  majority  of  Arabian  astronomers  rendered  the  classical 
title  by  Al  Drill  al  Shamaliyyah,  which  degenerated  into  Acliluichemali 
and  Aclushemali,  and  appeared  with  Ulug  Beg  as  plain  DcHL 

But  in  early  Arabia  there  was  a  different  figure  here,  Al  Fakkah,  the 
Dish,  which  Ulug  Beg's  translator  gave  as  Phecca,  and  others  as  Alpbscs, 
Alfeoca,  Alfacca,  Foca,  Alfeta,  and  Alfelta ;  while  Riccioli  said  Alphena 
Syrochaldaeis  ;  and  Schickard,  Alphakhaco. 

Hyde  quoted  Kasat  al  8alik,  and  Kasat  al  Masakin,  the  Pauper's  Bowl; 
and  the  Persians  had  the  same  in  their  Kasah  Darwishan,  the  DervishV 
Platter,  or  Kasah  Shekesteh,  the  Broken  Platter,  because  the  circle  is  in- 
complete. Bullialdus  Latinized  some  of  these  tides  in  his  Discus  panu* 
oonfractus,  evidently  taken  from  Chrysococca's  Uivdniv  KeicXaOfih'ov,  a 
Small  Broken  Dish,  which,  however,  should  read  Uivokiov. 

The  Alfonsine  Tables  have  Malfeloarre,  "  of  the  Chaldaeans,"  Ricciolis 
Malphelcane,  considered  by  Ideler  a  degenerate  form  of  the  Arabic  Al 
Munir  al  Fakkah,  the  Bright  One  of  the  Dish ;  though  Buttmann  derived 
it  from  Al  Half  al  Khatar,  the  Loop  of  the  Wreath,  or  the  Junction  of  the 
Crown ;  and  Scaliger  suggested  Al  Malif  al  Knrra,  of  somewhat  similar 
meaning,  more  correctly  written  Al  Milaff  al  KurralL  Bayer  said  W* 
phelcarre  quod  est  sertum  pupiliae,  the  Circle  of  the  Pupil  of  the  Eye ;  and. 
although  he  did  not  explain  this,  may  have  written  better  than  he  knew. 


The  Constellations  177 

for  Pupilla  is  the  Latin  equivalent  of  Koprj,  which,  as  a  proper  name,  was  a 
title  for  Persephone.  In  La  Landed  Astronomie  Dupuis  devoted  much 
space  to  his  identification  of  this  goddess,  the  Latin  Proserpina,  with  the 
Chaldaean  Phersephon,  taking  the  title  from  Phe'er,  Crown,  and  Serphon, 
Northern.  Thus,  if  Dupuis  be  correct,  the  origin  of  the  figure,  as  well  as 
of  the  name,  may  lie  far  back  of  Cretan  days. 

The  Hebrews  are  said  to  have  called  it  Atardth,  the  Crown, —  perhaps 
of  the  Semitic  queen  Cushiopeia;  and  the  Syrians,  Ashtaroth,  their  Astarte, 
the  'A^podtT^  of  the  Greeks  and  the  Venus  of  the  Latins ;  but  all  this  seems 
doubtful,  as  also  is  Ewald's  conjecture  that  it  was  the  biblical  Mazzaroth. 

Blake  quotes  from  Flammarion,  Viehaca,  but  without  explanation. 

Reeves  catalogued  it  as  the  Chinese  Kwan  Soo,  a  Cord. 

In  Celtic  story  Corona  was  Caer  Arianrod,  the  House  of  Arianrod  or 
Ethlenn,  the  sister  of  Gwydyon  and  daughter  of  Don,  the  Fairy  King,  this 
name  bearing  a  singular  resemblance  to  that  of  the  classical  owner  of  the 
Crown. 

The  Shawnee  Indians  knew  it  as  the  Celestial  Sisters,  the  fairest  of  them 
being  the  wife  of  the  hunter  White  Hawk,  our  Arcturus. 

Caesius  said  that  it  represented  the  Crown  that  Ahasuerus  placed  upon 
Esther's  head,  or  the  golden  one  of  the  Ammonite  King  of  a  talent's  weight, 
or  the  Crown  of  Thorns  worn  by  the  Christ. 

The  Ley  den  Manuscript  shows  it  as  a  laurel  wreath,  and  thus,  or  as  a 
typical  crown,  it  appears  on  the  maps.  In  the  Firmamentum  Firmianum, 
a  work  of  1 731,  in  honor  of  the  persecuting  bishop  of  Salzburg,  of  the 
Firmian  family,  the  figuring  is  that  of  the  Corona  Finniana,  with  a  stag's 
antlers  from  the  coat  of  arms  of  that  family.  But  an  exception  to  the  rule 
may  be  noted  in  an  illustration,  in  the  original  Alfonsine  Tables,  of  a  plain 
three-quarter  circle,  entirely  unlike  either  crown  or  wreath.  Proctor  sug- 
gested that  in  the  earliest  astronomy  it  may  have  formed  the  right  arm  of 
Bootes. 

It  is  interesting  to  the  astronomer  from  its  many  close  binaries,  and  is  a 
favorite  object  with  youthful  observers,  who  generally  know  it  as  Ariadne's 
Crown.  It  certainly  is  much  more  like  that  for  which  it  is  named  than 
usually  is  the  case  with  our  sky  figures ;  and  it  is  equally  suggestive  to  the 
Australian  native  of  the  Woomera,  our  Boomerang,  his  idea  of  Corona's 
stars. 

Here  appeared  very  suddenly,  58'  south  of  e,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1866, 
the  celebrated  Blaze  Star  as  a  2d-magnitude  visible  to  the  naked  eye  for 
only  eight  days,  declining,  with  some  fluctuations,  to  the  10th  magnitude  at 
the  rate  of  half  a  magnitude  a  day,  but  rising  again  to  the  8th,  where  it 

12 


178  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

still  remains  as  T  Coronae,  a  pale  yellow,  slightly  variable  star.  Although 
called  a  nova,  Argelander  had  already  mapped  it  on  the  18th  of  May,  1855, 
and  again  noted  it  on  the  31st  of  March,  1856,  probably  at  its  normal  mag- 
nitude. It  was  the  first  temporary  star  to  be  "studied  by  the  universal 
chemical  method  " —  the  spectroscope. 

Near  its  place  the  Variabilis  Coronae,  now  lettered  R,  was  discovered  by 
Pigott  in  1795,  still  varying  from  5.8  to  13,  but  with  much  irregularity. 

Professor  Young  repeats  the  Paydst  of  Cassiopeia  as  a  help  to  the  mem- 
ory in  locating  the  stars  of  this  constellation.  The  extreme  northern  one  is 
0,  but  then  follow  in  order  0,  a,  y,  d,  e,  1.  They  form  an  almost  perfect  semi- 
circle 200  northeast  of  Arcturus. 

Argelander  gives  a  total  of  27  stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye ;  and  Heis,  31. 


One  plac'd  i'  th*  front  above  the  rest  displays 
A  vigorous  light,  and  darts  surprizing  rays  — 
The  Monument  of  the  forsaken  Mai'l. 

Creech's  ManiUus. 

ft,    2.4,     brilliant  white. 

Alpheoca,  the  Alphaca  of  Burritt's  Atlas  of  1835,  was  Ulug  Beg's  Al  Fft'ir 
al  Fakkah,  the  Bright  One  of  the  Dish,  this  Na  ir  being  equivalent  to  the 
Latin  word  lucid  a. 

Bayer  asserted  that  the  Arabs  knew  this  star  as  Papilla,  which  also 
appears  in  the  nomenclature  of  the  constellation,  with  a  possible  clue  to  its 
derivation ;  but  as  the  word  belongs  to  Lyra,  and  is  certainly  not  Arabic 
we  may  have  to  recur  to  first  principles  for  its  origin  in  the  classical  Papilla. 

Munir,  found  with  Bayer  as  of  the  "  Babylonians," —  by  whom  he  prob- 
ably intended  those  gifted  in  astrology, —  is  from  the  Arabs,  and  synony- 
mous with  their  Nair.    Chilmead  gave  this  as  Munic. 

In  Vergil's  Georgics  it  was  Gnosia  Stella  Coronae. 

Gemma  and  Gemma  Coronae  were  not  used  in  classical  times,  but  are 
later  titles,  perhaps  from  Ovid's  gemmasque  novem  that  Vulcan  combined 
with  his  auro  to  make  Ariadne's  Crown;  but  Spence  said,  in  his  Polymetis% 
that  the  word  should  be  taken  in  its  original  meaning  of  a  Bud,  referring  to 
the  unopened  blossoms  and  leaves  of  the  floral  crown,  thus  agreeing  with 
the  early  idea  of  the  figure.  The  Gema  occasionally  seen  unquestionably 
is  from  an  early  type  omission. 

Alphecca  is  the  central  one  of  the  seven  brightest  members  of  the  group, 
and  in  modern  times  has  been  Margarita  Cortmae,  the  Pearl  of  the  Crown, 


The  Constellations  179 

occasionally  transformed  into  Saint  Marguerite.  It  marks  the  loop,  or 
knot,  of  the  ribbon  along  which  are  fastened  the  buds,  flowers,  or  leaves  of 
the  wreath  shown  in  early  drawings  with  two  long  out-streaming  ends. 

The  spectrum  is  of  Secchi's  Solar  type ;  and  the  star  is  receding  from  our 
system  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty  miles  a  second.  It  has  a  distant  8th- 
magnitude  companion,  and  culminates  on  the  28th  of  June. 

It  marks  the  radiant  point  of  the  Coronidfl,  the  meteor  shower  visible 
from  the  1 2th  of  April  to  the  30th  of  June. 

f3,  a  4th-magnitude  northwest  from  Alphecca,  is  Vnsakan  in  the  2d  edition 
of  the  Palermo  Catalogue,  derived  from  the  Masakin  of  the  constellation. 

y,  rj9  and  o>  although  unnamed,  are  all  interesting  binary  stars. 


Till,  rising  on  my  wings,  I  was  preferrM 
To  be  the  chaste  Minerva's  virgin  bird. 

Joseph  Addison's  translation  of  Ovid's  Metamorphose*. 


Corfms 


was  the  Raven  in  Chaucer's  time,  and  the  Germans  still  have  Babe ;  but 
the  French  follow  the  Latins  in  Corbean,  as  the  Italians  do  in  Corvo,  and 
we  in  the  Crow. 

Although  now  traversed  by  the  20th  degree  of  south  declination,  2000 
years  ago  it  lay  equally  on  each  side  of  the  celestial  equator.  It  contains 
only  15  naked-eye  stars  according  to  Argelander, —  26  according  to  Heis, — 
vet  was  a  noted  constellation  with  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  always 
more  or  less  associated  with  the  Cup  and  with  the  Hydra,  on  whose  body  it 
rests.      Ovid  said  of  this  combination  in  his  Fasti; 

Continuata  loco  tria  sidera,  Corvus  et  Anguis, 
Et  medius  Crater  inter  utrumquejacet; 

but  while  always  so  drawn,  the  three  constellations  for  a  long  time  have 
been  catalogued  separately. 

The  Greeks  called  it  Kopaf ,  Raven ;  and  the  Romans,  Corvus.  Manil- 
ius  designating  it  as  Phoebo  Sacer  Ales,  and  Ovid  as  Phoebelns  Ales,  my- 
thology having  made  the  bird  sacred  to  Phoebus  Apollo  in  connection  with 
his  prophetic  functions,  and  because  he  assumed  its  shape  during  the  con- 
flict of  the  gods  with  the  giants. 


180  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Ovid,  narrating  in  the  Metamorphoses  the  story  of  Coronis,  and  of  her  un- 
faithfulness to  Apollo,1  said  that  when  the  bird  reported  to  his  master  this 
unwelcome  news  he  was  changed  from  his  former  silver  hue  to  the  present 
black,  as  Saxe  concludes  the  story : 

Then  he  turned  upon  the  Raven, 
"  Wanton  babbler !  see  thy  fate ! 
Messenger  of  mine  no  longer, 
Go  to  Hades  with  thy  prate ! 

"  Weary  Pluto  with  thy  tattle ! 

Hither,  monster,  come  not  back ; 
And  —  to  match  thy  disposition  — 
Henceforth  be  thy  plumage  black  !  " 

< 

This  story  gave  rise  to  the  stellar  title  Garralus  Proditor. 

Another  version  of  the  legend  appears  in  the  Fasti — viz.,  that  the  bird, 
being  sent  with  a  cup  for  water,  loitered  at  a  fig-tree  till  the  fruit  became  ripe, 
and  then  returned  to  the  god  with  a  water-snake  in  his  claws  and  a  lie  in  his 
mouth,  alleging  the  snake  to  have  been  the  cause  of  his  delay.  In  punish- 
ment he  was  forever  fixed  in  the  sky  with  the  Cup  and  the  Snake;  and,  we 
may  infer,  doomed  to  everlasting  thirst  by  the  guardianship  of  the  Hydra 
over  the  Cup  and  its  contents.  From  all  this  came  other  poetical  names  for 
our  Corvus  — Avis  Ficarius,  the  Fig  Bird ;  and  Emansor,  one  who  stays 
beyond  his  time;  and  a  belief,  in  early  folk-lore,  that  this  alone  among 
birds  did  not  carry  water  to  its  young. 

Florus  called  it  Avis  Satyra,  the  Bird  of  the  Satyrs,  and  Pomptina,  from 
the  victory  of  Valerius  when  aided  by  a  raven  on  the  Pontine  Marsh. 

This  bird  and  an  ass  appear  together  on  a  coin  of  Mindaon,  which  is  inter- 
preted as  a  reference  to  the  almost  simultaneous  setting  of  the  constellations 
Corvus  and  Cancer,  for  the  ass  always  has  been  associated  with  the  latter 
in  the  "Ovoit  or  Asini,  of  its  stars. 

The  Raven  of  Rome  and  Greece  became  Al  Ghurab  in  Arabia ;  but  in 
earlier  days  four  of  its  stars  were  Al  Arsh  al  Simak  al  Azal,  the  Throne 
of  the  Unarmed  One,  referring  to  the  star  Spica.  These  naturally  have 
been  considered  j3,  y,  $,  and  r\ ;  but  Firuzabadi,  as  interpreted  by  Lach,  said 
that  they  were  0,  k,  xp,  and  g ;  and  the  same  stars  were  Al  fAj«  al  Afad,  the 
Rump  of  the  ancient  Lion.     Other  early  titles  for  the  whole  were  Al  Ajmil, 

1  It  may  be  noted  here  that  Apollo  and  Coronis  were  even  still  more  closely  connected  with 
astronomy  in  being  the  parents  of  Aesculapius,  who  afterwards  became  the  Serpent-holder 
Ophiuchus. 


The  Constellations  181 

the  Camel,  and  Al  ftiba,  the  Tent;  this  last  generally  qualified  by  Yama- 
niyyah,  the  Southern,  to  distinguish  it  from  that  in  Auriga.  Instead  of 
Ajmal,  Hyde  quoted,  from  the  Mudjizaty  Ahmal,  or  Hamal,  the  Ram,  but 
this  does  not  seem  probable  here. 

As  these  stars  were  utilized  by  the  Arabs  in  forming  their  exaggerated 
Asad,  so  also  were  they  by  the  Hindus  in  the  immense  Praja-pati,  of  which 
they  marked  the  hand, — this  title  being  duplicated  for  Orion,  and  much 
better  known  for  that  constellation.  The  head  of  the  figure  was  marked  by 
Citra,  our  Spica,  and  the  thighs  by  the  two  Vicakhas,  a  and  j3  Librae; 
while  the  Anuradhas,  j3,  (5,  and  n  Scorpii,  formed  Praja-pati's  standing-place. 
Incongruously  enough,  they  considered  Nishtya,  or  Svati, —  our  star  Arctu- 
rus, —  as  the  heart ;  but  as  this  was  far  out  of  the  proper  place  for  that  organ, 
Professor  Whitney  substituted  i,  k,  and  A  Virginis  of  the  ma  mil  and  sieu. 

The  Avesta  mentions  a  stellar  Raven,  Eorosch ;  but  how,  if  at  all,  this 
coincided  with  ours  is  unknown ;  although  Hewitt  thinks  that  our  Corvus, 
under  the  title  Vanant,  marked  the  western  quarter  of  the  earliest  Persian 
heavens. 

Nor  is  the  reason  for  the  association  of  Corvus  with  Hydra  evident,  al- 
though there  is  a  Euphratean  myth,  from  far  back  of  classical  days,  making 
it  one  of  the  monster  ravens  of  the  brood  of  Tiamat  that  Hydra  repre- 
sented; and  upon  a  tablet  appears  a  title  that  may  be  for  Corvus  as  the 
Great  Storm  Bird,  or  Bird  of  the  Desert,  to  which  Tiamat  gave  sustenance, 
just  as  Aratos  described  Kopaij  pecking  the  folds  of  the  Hydra.  The  promi- 
nent stars  of  Corvus  have  otherwise  been  identified  with  the  Akkadian 
Knrra,  the  Horse. 

The  Hebrews  knew  it  as  'Drebh,  or  Orev,  the  Raven;  and  the  Chinese, 
as  a  portion  of  their  great  stellar  division  the  Bed  Bird,  while  its  individual 
stars  were  an  Imperial  Chariot  ruling,  or  riding  upon,  the  wind. 

In  later  days  it  has  been  likened  to  Voah's  Raven  flying  over  the  Deluge, 
or  alighting  on  Hydra,  as  there  was  no  dry  land  for  a  resting-place ;  or  one 
of  those  that  fed  the  prophet  Elijah  ;  but  Julius  Schiller  combined  its  stars 
with  those  of  Crater  in  his  Ark  of  the  Covenant. 

a,     4.3,     orange. 

Al  Chiba  is  from  the  Desert  title  for  the  whole  Arabic  figure ;  but  Ulug 
Beg  and  the  Arabian  astronomers  designated  it  as  Al  Minfiar  al  Ghnrab, 
the  Raven's  Beak. 

Reeves  said  that  it  was  the  Chinese  Yew  Hea,  the  Right-hand  Linch-pin. 

Although  lettered  first,  it  now  is  so  much  less  brilliant  than  the  four  fol- 

I2» 


182  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

lowing  stars  that  some  consider  it  as  having  decreased  since  Bayer's  day, 
and  perhaps  changed  in  color,  for  Al  Sufi  called  it  red. 

0f  a  ruddy  yellow  3d-magnitude  star,  seems  unnamed  except  in  China, 
where  it  is  Tso  Hea,  the  Left-hand  Linch-pin ;  but  under  this  title  were  in- 
cluded y,  6,  and  rj. 

r>  2.3. 

Gienah  is  from  Ulug  Beg's  Al  Janah  al  Ghurffb  al  Aiman,  the  Right 
Wing  of  the  Raven,  although  on  modern  charts  it  marks  the  left.  Algorab, 
given  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  to  this  star,  is  now  usually  applied  to  6. 

y  is  the  brightest  member  of  the  constellation,  and  some  Chinese  authori- 
ties said  that  it  alone  marked  their  nth  sieu.  It  culminates  on  the  10th 
of  May. 

8,  Double,    3.1  and  8.5,    pale  yellow  and  purple. 

Algorab,  the  generally  received  modern  title,  is  from  the  Palermo  Cata- 
logue;  Proctor  has  Algores.  It  is  on  the  right  wing,  and  at  the  upper  left 
corner  of  the  square.  The  components  are  24"  apart ;  but,  owing  to  its 
color,  the  smaller  is  not  readily  distinguishable.    The  position  angle  is  210°. 

All  the  foregoing  stars,  e  being  added,  constituted  the  nth  nakshatra, 
Hasta,  the  Hand,  with  Savitar,  the  Sun,  as  its  presiding  divinity ;  6  marking 
the  junction  with  Citra,  the  next  lunar  station. 

The  nth  sieu,  Tehin,  the  Cross-piece  of  a  chariot,  anciently  Kujam,  con- 
tained j3,  y,  6,  and  e ;  but,  according  to  some  authorities,  only  y.  This, 
however,  always  was  the  determining  star. 

f,  a  6th-magnitude  double,  almost  on  the  limit  of  invisibility,  strangely 
seems  to  have  borne  a  name  in  China, —  Chang  Sha,  a  Long  Sand-bank. 

Al  Biruni  said  that  with  j3,  y,  and  6  it  marked  the  hind  quarters  of  the 
monstrous  early  Lion. 


.     .     .    the  generous  Bowl 
Of  Bacchus  flows,  and  chears  the  thirsty  Pole. 

Creech's  Manilius. 

Crater,  #e  Cup, 

is  the  French  Coupe,  the  German  Becher,  and  the  Italian  Tazza,  formed  by 
several  4th-  and  5th-magnitude  stars  above  the  Hydra's  back,  just  west- 
ward from  Corvus,  and  300  south  of  Denebola,  in  a  partly  annular  form 


The  Constellations  183 

opening  to  the  northwest.  This  was  long  considered  a  part  of  the  threefold 
constellation  Hydra  et  Corvus  et  Crater ;  but  modern  astronomers  catalogue 
it  separately,  Argelander  assigning  to  it  14  stars,  and  Heis  extending  the 
number  to  35. 

In  early  Greek  days  it  represented  the  Kdvdapo$,  or  Goblet,  of  Apollo, 
but  universally  was  called  Kpa-r^p,  which  in  our  transliterated  title  obtained 
with  all  Latins,  Cicero  writing  it  Cratera ;  while  Manilius  described  it  as 
grataa  Iaceho  Crater,  so  using  the  mystic,  poetical  name  often  applied  to 
Bacchus.  In  ancient  manuscripts  it  appears  as  Creter.  The  Greeks  also 
called  it  Ktf  Att^,  a  Cinerary  Urn ;  'Apyelov,  'Ydpeiov,  and  'Ydpla,  a  Water- 
bucket 

The  Romans  additionally  knew  it  as  Urna,  Calix,  or  Seyphus,  and,  poeti- 
cally, as  Poculum,  the  Cup,  variously,  of  Apollo,  Bacchus,  Hercules,  Achilles, 
Dido,  Demophoon,  and  Medea;  its  association  with  this  last  bringing  it 
into  the  long  list  of  Argonautic  constellations. 

Hewitt  connected  it  with  the  Soma-oup  of  prehistoric  India ;  and  Brown 
with  the  Mixing-bowl  in  the  Euphratean  myth  of  Istar-Kirke,  referring  to 
the  words  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  : 

Babylon  hath  been  a  golden  cop  in  the  Lord's  hand. 

But  any  connection  here  would  seem  doubtful,  although  the  Jews  knew  it 
as  Cdt,  a  Cup.  Hewitt  also  identifies  it  with  "  the  Akkadians1  Mummu  Tia- 
mut,  the  chaos  of  the  sea,  the  mother  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  child  of 
Tiamut,  the  mother  (mut)  of  living  things  (tia) " ;  but  all  this  better  suits 
Corvus. 

It  was  known  in  England  two  or  three  centuries  ago  as  the  Two-handed 
Pot;  and  Smyth  tells  us  of  a  small  ancient  vase  in  the  Warwick  collection 
bearing  an  inscription  thus  translated : 

Wise  ancients  knew  when  Crater  rose  to  sight, 
Nile's  fertile  deluge  had  attained  its  height ; 

although  Egyptian  remains  thus  far  show  no  allusion  to  the  constellation. 
In  early  Arabia  it  was  Al  Malaf,  the  Stall, — a  later  title  there  for  the 
Praesaepe  of  Cancer;  but  when  the  astronomy  of  the  Desert  came  under 
Greek  influence  it  was  Al  Batiyah,  the  Persian  Badiye,  and  the  Al  Batinah 
of  Al  Achsasi,  all  signifying  an  earthen  vessel  for  storing  wine.  Another 
title,  Al  X&b,  a  Shallow  Basin, — Alhas  in  the  Alfonsine  lists, — has  since  been 
turned  into  Alker  and  Elkis ;  but  Scaliger's  suggestion  of  Alkes  generally 
has  been  adopted,  although  now  applied  to  the  star  a.  These  same  Tables 
Latinized  it  as  Patera,  and  as  Vaa,  or  Vas  aquarium. 


184  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Riccioli's  strange  Elvarad  and  Phannaz  I  cannot  trace  to  their  origin. 

Its  more  conspicuous  stars,  with  %  and  others  in  Hydra,  twenty-two  in  all, 
formed  the  10th  sieu,  Th,  Tih,  or  Ten,  Wings  or  Flanks;  and  the  whole 
constellation  may  have  been  the  Chinese  Heavenly  Dog  shot  at  by  Chang, 
the  divinity  of  the  9th  sieu  in  Leo,  which  also  bore  that  god's  name. 

Caesius  said  that  Crater  represented  the  Cup  of  Joseph  found  in  Benja- 
min's sack,  or  one  of  the  stone  Water-pots  of  Cana,  or  the  Cup  of  Christ's 
Passion ;  others  called  it  the  Wine-cap  of  Hoah,  but  Julius  Schiller  com- 
bined some  of  its  stars  with  a  part  of  Corvus  as  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant 

Astrological ly  it  portended  eminence  to  those  born  under  its  influence. 

ft,     4.1,     orange. 

Alkes  is  our  title  from  Scaliger,  but  it  also  has  been  Alker,  and  in  the 
Alfonsine  Tables  Allies :  all  from  Al  Kas  of  the  constellation. 

The  Latin  designation  for  it  —  Fundus  vasis — well  describes  its  position 
at  the  base  of  the  Cup. 

Since  it  is  the  only  named  star  in  the  figure,  and  the  first  lettered,  it 
may  have  been  brighter  300  years  ago ;  but  6,  a  3.9-magnitude,  is  now 
the  lucida. 

a  has  several  optical  companions,  and  culminates  on  the  20th  of  April, 
about  3 20  nearly  due  south  from  j3  Leonis. 

0,  of  4.4  magnitude,  at  the  southern  edge  of  the  base,  was  one  of  Al 
Tizini's  Al  Sharasif,  the  Ribs,—  i.  e.  of  the  Hydra,—  and  the  first  of  the  set. 


The  four  that  glorify  the  night ! 

Ah  !  how  forget  when  to  my  ravish'd  sight 

The  Cross  shone  forth  in  everlasting  light ! 

Samuel  Rogers'  The  Voyage  of  Col*mbus} 

Crur,  i%t  Ctobb, 

is  the  German  Kreuz,  the  Italian  Croce,  the  French  Croix  and,  in  the  1776 
edition  of  Flamsteed's  Atlas,  Croisade.     With  us  it  is  the  Southern  Crow. 

It  was  unknown  to  the  ancients  by  its  present  title,  its  four  chief  stars 
being  noted  by  Ptolemy  as  a  part  of  the  Centaur,  which  now  surrounds  it  on 
three  sides.     As  such  Bayer  outlined  it  over  the  hind  feet,  lettering  it  e,  f,  h 

1  In  this  poem  Rogers  makes  the  great  discoverer  bring  the  telescope  into  use  a  centurj 

before  its  invention ! 


The  Constellations  185 

and  f  Centauri  ;  but  these  now  are  a,  0,  y,  and  d  Crucis, —  the  1.3-magnitude 
lutida  at  the  foot,  the  2d-magnitude  y  at  the  top,  with  j3  and  d,  the  early  f 
and  v,as  the  transverse:  these  last,  respectively,  of  1.7  and  3.4  magnitudes. 
A  fifth  star,  e,  of  the  4th  magnitude,  between  o  and  d,  somewhat  interferes 
with  the  regularity  of  the  figure ;  and  there  are  forty-nine  others  visible  to 
the  naked  eye  within  the  constellation  boundaries. 

The  statement  that  it  was  mentioned  by  Hipparchos  probably  is  erro- 
neous, although  he  distinctly  alluded  to  its  0  as  of  the  Centaur ;  but  Pliny 
may  have  known  it  as  Thronoa  Caesaris  in  honor  of  the  emperor  Augustus; 
yet  it  was  then  invisible  from  Italy,  though  plainly  visible  from  Alexandria, 
where  it  may  have  been  thus  named  by  some  courtly  astronomer.  And  Al 
Biruni  wrote  that  a  star  could  be  seen  from  Multan  in  India,  in  300  12'  of 
north  latitude,  "  which  they  call  Sola,"  the  Beam  of  Crucifixion.  This,  if  a 
reference  to  the  Cross,  is  a  striking  anticipation  of  the  modern  figure. 
Hewitt,  repeating  this  title  as  Shula,  claimed  it  for  the  south  pole  of  Hindu 
astronomers. 

Whittier  said,  in  his  Cry  of  a  Lost  Soul : 

The  Cross  of  pardon  lights  the  tropic  skies  ; 

which  is  correct  for  our  day,  as  it  is  not  now  entirely  visible  above  270  30' 
of  north  latitude.  It  was  last  seen  on  the  horizon  of  Jerusalem  —  3 1  °  46'  45" 
— about  the  time  that  Christ  was  crucified.  But  3000  years  previously  all 
its  stars  were  70  above  the  horizon  of  the  savages  along  the  shores  of  the 
Baltic  Sea,  in  latitude  52°  30'. 

Its  invention  as  a  constellation  is  often  attributed  to  Royer  as  of  1679, 
but  it  had  been  the  theme  of  much  description  for  nearly  two  centuries  before 
him,  and  we  know  that  it  was  illustrated  by  Mollineux  of  England,  in  1592, 
on  his  celestial  globe,  with  others  of  the  new  southern  figures ;  and  Bayer 
drew  it  over  the  hind  legs  of  the  Centaur,  giving  it  in  his  text  as  modernis 
cruxy  Ptolemaeo  pedes  Centauru  Bartschius  had  it  separately  in  1624,  and 
Caesius  catalogued  it  in  1662  as  though  well  known;  hence  it  seems  re- 
markable that  it  was  only  outlined  over  the  Centaur  in  the  Flamsteed  Atlas, 

Crux  lies  in  the  Milky  Way, — here  a  brilliant  but  narrow  stream  three  or 
four  degrees  wide, —  and  is  noticeable  from  its  compression  as  well  as  its 
form,  being  only  6°  in  extent  from  north  to  south,  and  less  in  width,  the 
upper  star  a  clear  orange  in  color,  and  the  rest  white ;  the  general  effect 
being  that  of  a  badly  made  kite  rather  than  of  a  cross.  So  that,  notwith- 
standing all  the  poetry  and  romance  associated  with  it, —  perhaps  owing  to 
these, — it  usually  disappoints  those  from  northern  latitudes  who  see  it  for 
the  first  time. 


186  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

For  twelve  centuries,  from  Pliny  to  Dante,  we  find  no  allusion  to  its  stars 
till  that  great  poet,  turning  from  his  contemplation,  in  the  fttrgatorio,  of 
Venus  "  veiling  the  Fishes," 

posi  mente 
Al  altro  polo  e  vidi  quatro  stelle 
Non  viste  mai  fuor  chc  alia  prima  gente, 

in  which  Baron  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  in  his  Examen  Critieum,  insists 
that  he  refers  to  the  Cross ;  while  Longfellow,  translating  the  passage 

and  fixed  my  mind 
Upon  the  other  pole  and  saw  four  stars 
Ne'er  seen  before  save  by  the  primal  people, 

calls  it  an  acknowledged  reference  to  the  same,  figuring,  as  it  were,  the  car- 
dinal virtues,  Justice,  Prudence,  Fortitude,  and  Temperance,  attributes  of 
Cato  as  the  Guardian  of  Purgatory,  claiming  that 

We  here  are  Nymphs  and  in  the  Heaven  are  Stars. 

Later  on  in  the  same  canto  we  read  again  of  Cato : 

The  rays  of  the  four  consecrated  stars 
Did  so  adorn  his  countenance  with  light. 

But  this  reference  to  the  "  primal  people  "  is  not,  Barlow  says  in  his  Study 
of  Dante  ^  to  our  first  parents,  as  Cary's  translation  has  it,  but  to  the  early 
races  of  mankind,  who  5000  years  ago  could  see  the  Cross  from  latitudes 
very  much  higher  even  than  that  of  Italy.  In  the  same  passage  Dante 
alludes  to  its  local  invisibility  in  his  apostrophe  to  the  northern  heavens : 

O !  thou  septentrional  and  widowed  site 
Because  thou  art  deprived  of  seeing  these! 

and  in  the  8th  canto  calls  them  Le  quatro  chiare  stelle. 

Whence  Dante  learned  all  this  we  do  not  know,  for  it  was  not  till  200 
,  years  later  that  we  have  any  published  account  of  the  constellation ;  but 
that  he  paid  great  attention  to  the  heavens  is  evident  from  his  frequent  and 
intelligent  allusions  to  them  throughout  the  Divine  Comedy.  He  was,  too, 
a  man  of  erudition  as  well  as  of  imagination  and  poetical  genius, —  Carlyle 
called  him  the  spokesman  of  ten  silent  centuries, —  and  may  have  seen 
some  of  the  Arabic  celestial  globes,  on  at  least  one  of  which  —  probably  the 
Borgian  of  1225  —  we  know  that  the  stars  of  the  Centaur  were  represented ; 
and  he  doubtless  had  frequent  opportunities  of  intercourse  with  learned 


The  Constellations  187 

travelers,1  or  some  of  the  many  returned  voyagers  among  his  own  adven- 
turous countrymen,  worthy  successors  to  their  ancient  neighbors  the  Phoe- 
nicians. This  should  be  sufficient  to  account  for  these  allusions  without 
attributing  them  to  prophetic  inspiration.  And  here,  although  in  no  way 
connected  with  the  Cross,  I  would  call  attention  to  a  fact  pleasing  to  star- 
lovers  —  viz.,  "  the  beautiful  and  endless  aspiration,  so  artistically  and  si- 
lently suggested  by  Dante,  in  closing  each  part  of  his  poem  with  the  word 

The  Inferno  ends  with : 

Thence  we  came  forth  to  rebehold  the  stars ; 

the  Jhtrgatorio: 

Pare  and  disposed  to  mount  unto  the  stars ; 

and  the  Faradiso: 

The  love  which  moves  the  sun  and  the  other  stars. 

Note,  too,  the  poet's  perhaps  unconscious  advance  in  astronomical  know- 
ledge beyond  his  contemporaries  in  associating  the  sun  with  the  stars. 

Vespucci,  on  his  third  voyage  in  1501,  called  to  mind  the  passages  from 
Dante,  insisting  that  he  himself  was  the  first  of  Europeans  to  see  the  Four 
Stars,  but  did  not  use  the  title  of  the  Cross,  and  called  them  Mandorla.2 
Vasco  da  Gama  said  of  it  in  the  Lusiadas: 

A  group  quite  new  in  the  new  hemisphere, 
Not  seen  by  others  yet ; 

while  nearly  four  centuries  after  him,  in  our  day,  Lord  Lytton   (Owen 
Meredith)  has  something  similar  in  his  Queen  Guenevere: 

Then  did  I  feel  as  one  who,  much  perplext, 
Led  by  strange  legends  and  the  light  of  stars 
Over  long  regions  of  the  midnight  sand 
Beyond  the  red  tract  of  the  Pyramids, 
Is  suddenly  drawn  to  look  upon  the  sky, 
From  sense  of  unfamiliar  light,  and  sees, 
Reveal 'd  against  the  constellated  cope, 
The  great  cross  of  the  South. 

Writers  of  the  16th  century  made  frequent  mention  of  it  in  their  accounts 
of  southern  navigation;  Corsali  saying  in  1517,  as  translated  by  Eden: 

1  Marco  Polo  was  his  contemporary. 

1  This,  literally  "  an  Almond,"  is  the  word  used  in  Italian  art  for  the  vescica  piscis,  the  ob- 
long glory,  surrounding  the  bodies  of  saints  ascending  to  heaven. 


i88 


Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 


Above  these  [the  Magellanic  Cluuds]  appeareth  a  marveylous  crosse  in  the  myddest 
of  fy ve  notable  starres  which  compasse  it  abowt  (as  doth  Charles  Wayne  the  northe  pole) 
with  other  starres  whiche  move  with  them  abowt  .xxx.  degrees  distant  from  the  pole,  and 
make  their  course  in  .xxiiii.  houres.  This  crosse  is  so  fayre  and  beutiful,  that  none  other 
hevenly  sygne  may  be  compared  to  it  as  may  appear  by  this  fygure.1 


^*%  if 


% 


%  aftt  pou  mmiuu     #♦***  Goto* 

Subsequently,  in  1520,  Pigafetta,  the  companion  of  Magellan,  mentioned  it 
as  El  Crucero,  and  una  croce  maravigliosa  used  for  the  determination  of  al- 
titudes, saying  that  Dante  first  described  it;  Pedro  Sarmiento  de  Gamboa 
called  it  the  Star  Crucero  and  the  Stan  of  Cruoero;  Blundevill,  in  1574* 

1 1  use  this  "  fygure  "  not  for  its  artistic  excellence,  but  as  illustrating  the  early  ignorance  of 
locations  and  magnitudes  of  southern  stars.  The  Clouds  here  especially  are  misplaced  with 
respect  to  the  pole. 


The  Constellations  189 

Crotier  and,  very  differently,  the  South  Triangle,  but  this  was  twenty-nine 
years  before  Bayer  gave  this  title  to  other  stars.  Eden  also  cited  the 
Crosaiers  and  Crone  Stan;  Chilmead,  Crosero  and  Crosiers;  Sir  John 
Narborough,  Closers;  and  Halley,  in  1679,  Crosiers. 

A  century  before  Halley,  the  Portuguese  naturalist  Cristoval  d'Acosta, 
writing  the  title  Crnzero, —  the  old  Spanish  Craciero, —  termed  the  Cross  the 
Southern  Celestial  Clock ;  and  as  such  it  has  served  a  useful  purpose  for 
nearly  400  years.  Von  Humboldt,  in  his  Voyage  to  the  Equinoctial  Regions 
of  the  New  Continent,  alluding  to  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards,  wrote : 

A  religious  sentiment  attaches  them  to  a  constellation  the  form  of  which  recalls  the 
sign  of  the  faith  planted  by  their  ancestors  in  the  deserts  of  the  New  World ;  — 

a  thought  which  Mrs.  Hemans  beautifully  expressed  in  her  Cross  of  the 
South  where  the  Spanish  traveler  says : 

But  to  thee,  as  thy  lode-stars  resplendently  burn 
In  their  clear  depths  of  blue,  with  devotion  1  turn, 
Bright  Cross  of  the  South !  and  beholding  thee  shine, 
Scarce  regret  the  loved  land  of  the  olive  and  vine. 
Thou  recallest  the  ages  when  first  o'er  the  main 
My  fathers  unfolded  the  ensign  of  Spain, 
And  planted  their  faith  in  the  regions  that  see 
Its  imperishing  symbol  ever  blazoned  in  thee. 

Von  Humboldt  adds : 

The  two  great  stars,  which  mark  the  summit  and  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  having  nearly 
the  same  right  ascension,  it  follows  that  the  constellation  is  almost  perpendicular  at  the 
moment  when  it  passes  the  meridian.  This  circumstance  is  known  to  the  people  of  every 
nation  situated  beyond  the  Tropics  or  in  the  southern  hemisphere. 

It  has  been  observed  at  what  hour  of  the  night,  in  different  seasons,  the  Cross  is  erect 
or  inclined. 

It  is  a  time  piece,  which  advances  very  regularly  nearly  four  minutes  a  day,  and  no 
other  group  of  stars  affords  to  the  naked  eye  an  observation  of  time  so  easily  made. 

How  often  have  we  heard  our  guides  exclaim  in  the  savannahs  of  Venezuela  and  in  the 
desert  extending  from  Lima  to  Truxillo,  "Midnight  is  past,  the  Cross  begins  to  bend." 
How  often  these  words  reminded  us  of  that  affecting  scene  when  Paul  and  Virginia,  seated 
near  the  source  of  the  river  of  I^ataniers,  conversed  together  for  the  last  time,  and  when 
the  old  man,  at  the  sight  of  the  Cross,  warns  them  that  it  is  time  to  separate,  saying, 
"  la  Croix  du  Sud  est  droile  sur  P  horizon. " 

Von  Humboldt  thought  it  remarkable  that  these  so  striking  and  well-defined 
stars  should  not  have  been  earlier  separated  from  the  large  ancient  con- 
stellation of  the  Centaur,  especially  since  Kazwini  and  other  Muhammadan 
astronomers  took  pains  to  discover  crosses  elsewhere  in  the  sky ;  and  he 


190  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

said  that  the  ancient  Persians,  who  knew  the  Cross  well,  celebrated  a  feast 
by  its  name,  their  descendants,  to  whom  it  was  lost  by  precession,  finding 
its  successor  in  the  Dolphin. 

The  Pareni  Indians  of  his  day  made  much  of  the  stars  of  the  Cross,  call- 
ing them  Bahumehi,  after  one  of  their  principal  fishes. 

Lockyer  alludes  to  it  as  the  Pole  star  of  the  South,  which  it  may  be 
when  on  the  meridian,  as  the  most  prominent  constellation  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  pole,  although  its  base  star  is  nearly  2 8°  from  that  point,  about  four 
and  one  half  times  the  length  of  the  Cross.  But  this  idea  is  an  old  one; 
Minsheu's  Guide  having,  at  the  word  "  Cruzero,"  Quatuor  stella  poliy  Foure 
starres  crossing ;  and  Sarmiento,  even  earlier,  had  much  the  same,  but 
asserted  that,  "  with  God's  help,"  he  was  enabled  to  select  another  pole- 
star  nearer  the  true  point. 

In  modern  China  it  has  been  Shih  Tue  Kea,  the  equivalent  of  our  word. 

The  five  stars  are  shown  on  postage  stamps  of  Brazil, —  CamSes'  Realms 
of  the  Holy  Cross, — surrounded  by  twenty-one  stars  symbolizing  the  twenty- 
one  states,  and  some  of  the  coins  bear  the  same.  But  this  name  for  that 
country  was  not  new  with  the  poet,  for  it  was  given  by  the  discoverer 
Cabral,  on  the  1st  of  May,  1500;  and  the  fine  Ptolemaeus  printed  at  Rome 
in  1508,  with  the  first  engraved  map  of  the  new  continent,  carries  as  its 
title  for  South  America,  Terra  sancte  crucis. 

Partly  within  the  constellation's  boundaries,  and  at  the  point  of  the 
nearest  approach  of  the  Milky  Way  to  the  south  pole,  is  the  pear-shaped 
Coal-sack,  or  Soot-bag,  8°  in  length  by  5°  in  breadth,  containing  only  one 
star  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  and  that  very  small,  although  it  has  many  that 
are  telescopic,  and  a  photograph  taken  at  Sydney  in  1890  shows  about  as 
many  in  proportion  as  in  the  surrounding  region.  This  singular  vacancy 
was  first  formally  described  by  Peter  Martyr,  although  observed  in  1499  by 
Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon,  and  designated  by  Vespucci  as  il  Ganopo  fbeoo,  and 
perhaps  alluded  to  by  CamSes.  Narborough  wrote  of  it  in  1671  as  "a 
small  black  cloud  which  the  foot  of  the  Cross  is  in  " ;  but  before  him  it  was 
Macula  Magellani,  Magellan's  Spot,  and  fifty  years  ago  Smyth  mentioned 
it  as  the  Black  Magellanic  Cloud.  Froude  described  it  in  his  Oceana  as 
"  the  inky  spot — an  opening  into  the  awful  solitude  of  unoccupied  space.' 
A  native  Australian  legend,  which  "  reads  almost  like  a  Christian  parable/" 
says  that  it  was  "  the  embodiment  of  evil  in  the  shape  of  an  Emu,  who  lies 
in  wait  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  represented  by  the  stars  of  the  Cross,  for  an 
opossum  driven  by  his  persecutions  to  take  refuge  among  its  branches." 

The  Peruvians  imagined  it  a  heavenly  Doe  suckling  its  fawn. 

Although  this  is  the  most  remarkable  of  those  "  curious  vacancies  through 


The  Constellations  191 

which  we  seem  to  gaze  out  into  an  uninterrupted  infinity,"  there  are  many 
other  such  in  the  heavens;  an  extended  list  of  forty-nine  being  given  by 
Sir  John  Herschel  in  his  Obsemations  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  an 
abbreviated  one  by  Espin  in  Webb's  Celestial  Objects. 

Ct,  Triple,     1,  2,  and  6. 

Acrux,  in  Burritt's  Atlas,  probably  is  a  word  of  his  own  coining  from 
a  Crucis.  Al  Tizini  defined  its  position  as  near  the  ankle-bone  of  the  right 
hind  foot  of  the  Centaur,  in  which  Bayer's  plate  agrees,  lettering  it  £ 

It  was  discovered  to  be  double  by  some  Jesuit  missionaries  sent  by  King 
Louis  XIV  to  Siam  in  1685;  and  another  companion,  of  the  6th  mag- 
nitude, is  60"  away.  The  two  larger  stars  are  5"  apart,  with  a  position 
angle  of  1200. 

a  lies  20  east  of  the  equinoctial  colure,  and,  at  its  culmination,  touches 
the  horizon  in  latitude  270  30'  on  the  13th  of  May,  due  south  from  Corvus. 

y,  the  uppermost  star,  is  on  the  horizon  of  the  Lowe  Observatory,  at  an 
elevation  of  3700  feet,  in  latitude  340  20'.  Gould  thinks  it  variable,  for  it 
has  been  variously  estimated,  even  by  the  same  observer,  as  from  1.8  to  2.4. 

Around  the  6 ^-magnitude  a  is  the  celebrated  cluster  of  colored  stars, 
N.  G.  C.  4755,  occupying  one  forty-eighth  of  a  square  degree  of  space; 
the  central  and  principal  one  being  of  a  deep  red,  surrounded  by  about  130 
others,  green,  blue,  and  of  various  shades ;  but  Miss  Clerke  writes : 

It  must  be  confessed  that,  with  moderate  telescopic  apertures*  it  fails  to  realize  the  effect 
of  colour  implied  by  Sir  John  Herschers  [its  discoverer)  comparison  to  "a  gorgeous  piece 
of  fancy  jewellery."  A  few  reddish  stars  catch  the  eye  at  once ;  but  the  blues,  greens  and 
yellows  belonging  to  their  companions  are  pale  tints,  more  than  half  drowned  in  white 
light. 

Gould,  however,  called  it  exquisitel)  beautiful. 


CustoB  (gteBBtum,  t$t  JfyCLtu&Utptt, 

is  the  German  Erndtehfiter,  and  the  Italian  Mietitore.  La  Lande  published 
this  on  his  globe  of  1775,  forming  it  from  some  inconspicuous  stars  not 
far  from  the  pole,  between  the  Camelopard,  Cassiopeia,  and  Cepheus. 

His  alternative  title,  Le  Messier,  Smyth  said  was  "  in  poorish  punning 
compliment    to   his  friend,  the  *  Comet  ferret,1 "  as  King  Louis  XV  had 


192  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

called  him,  who  for  thirty  years  had  been  the  gatherer  and  keeper  of  the 
harvest  of  comets,  and  the  discoverer  of  twelve  between  the  years  of  1794 
and  1798.  This  title  also  may  have  been  induced  by  the  fact  that  the 
two  neighboring  royal  personages  were  rulers  of  an  agricultural  people,  and 
the  Giraffe  an  animal  destructive  to  the  grain-fields ;  all  perhaps  selected 
because  the  Phoenicians  are  said  to  have  imagined  a  large  Wheat  Field  in 
this  part  of  the  sky. 

Its  inventor  was  the  enthusiastic  astronomer  who  would  spend  nights  on 
the  Pont  Neuf  over  the  Seine,  explaining  the  wonders  of  the  variable  Algol 
to  all  whom  he  could  interest  in  the  subject,  and  whose  seclusion  in  his 
observatory,  amid  the  turmoil  of  the  French  Revolution,  enabled  him  to 
"  thank  his  stars"  that  he  had  escaped  the  fate  of  so  many  of  his  friends. 

Custos  has  now  passed  out  of  the  recognition  of  astronomers. 


Those  deathless  odalisques  of  heaven's  hareem, 

The  Stars,  unveil ;  a  lonely  cloud  is  roll'd 
Past  by  the  wind,  as  bears  an  azure  stream 

A  sleeping  swan's  white  plumage  fringed  with  gold. 

Adam  Mickiewicz'  Polish  Evening  Hymn. 


that  modern  criticism  says  should  be  Cycnufl,  lies  between  Draco  and 
Pegasus.  The  French  know  it  as  Cygne;  the  Italians  as  Cigno;  the 
Spaniards  as  Cisne ;  and  the  Germans  as  Schwan. 

It  was  Kvkvoc  with  Eratosthenes,  but  usually  'Opvcc  with  other  Greeks, 
by  which  was  simply  intended  a  Bird  of  some  kind,  more  particularly  a 
Hen ;  although  the  atoXog  of  Aratos  may  indicate  that  he  had  in  view  the 
"  quickly  flying  swan" ;  but,  as  this  Greek  adjective  also  signifies  "  varied," 
it  is  possible  that  reference  was  here  made  to  the  Bird's  position  in  the  Milky 
Way,  in  the  light  and  shade  of  that  great  circle.  With  this  idea,  Brown 
renders  it "  spangled."  Aratos  also  described  it  as  i)po«c, "  dark,"  especially 
as  to  its  wings,  an  error  which  Hipparchos  corrected. 

When  the  Romans  adopted  the  title  that  we  now  have,  our  constellation 
became  the  mythical  swan  identified  with  Cycnus,  the  son  of  Mars,  or  of 
the  Ligurian  Sthenelus;  or  the  brother  of  Phaethon,  transformed  at  the  river 


The  Constellations  193 

Padus  and  transported  to  the  sky.1  Associated,  too,  with  Leda,  the  friend 
of  Jupiter  and  mother  of  Castor,  Pollux,  and  Helena,  it  was  classed  among 
the  Argonautic  constellations,  and  Helenae  Oenitor,  with  other  names  de- 
rived from  the  well-known  legend,  was  applied  to  it. 

Popularly  the  constellation  was  Ales,  Avis,  and  Volucrifl,  a  Bird,—  Ales 
Jovis,  Ales  Ledaeus,  and  Avis  Veneris, —  while  Olor,  another  word  for  the 
Swan,  both  ornithological  and  stellar,  has  been  current  even  to  modern 
times.  Phoebi  Assessor  is  cited  by  La  Lande,  the  bird  being  sacred  to  that 
deity;  and  Vnltur  cadens  is  found  for  it,  but  this  was  properly  Lyra's  title. 
As  the  bird  of  Venus  it  also  has  been  known  as  Myrtilus,  from  the  myrtle 
sacred  to  that  goddess ;  and  it  was  considered  to  be  Orpheus,  placed  after 
death  in  the  heavens,  near  to  his  favorite  Lyre. 

Our  Cygnus  may  have  originated  on  the  Euphrates,  for  the  tablets  show 
a  stellar  bird  of  some  kind,  perhaps  Urakhga,  the  original  of  the  Arabs' 
Rukh,  the  Roc,  that  Sindbad  the  Sailor  knew.  At  all  events,  its  present 
figuring  did  not  originate  with  the  Greeks,  for  the  history  of  the  constella- 
tion had  been  entirely  lost  to  them,  as  had  that  of  the  mysterious  Engonasin, 
—  an  evident  proof  that  they  were  not  the  inventors  of  at  least  some  of  the 
star-groups  attributed  to  them. 

In  Arabia,  although  occasionally  known  as  Al  Ta'ir  al  Arduf,  the  Flying 
Eagle,  Chilmead's  Altayr,  or  as  Al  Radif,  it  usually  was  Al  Dajajah,  the 
Hen,  and  appears  as  such  even  with  the  Egyptian  priest  Manetho,  about 
300  b.  c,  this  degenerating  into  the  Adige,  Adigege,  Aldigaga,  Addigagato, 
Degige,  Edegiagith,  Eldigiagich,  etc.,  of  early  lists,  some  of  these  even  now 
.ipplied  to  its  brightest  star. 

Scaliger's  Al  Bidhadh,  for  the  constellation,  which  degenerated  to  El  Sided, 
perhaps  is  the  origin  of  our  Arided  for  the  lucida,  but  its  signification  is  un- 
certain, although  the  word  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  an  old  Latin- 
Spanish- Arabic  dictionary  for  some  sweet-scented  flower. 

Hyde  gives  Katha  for  it,  the  Arabic  Al  Katat,  a  bird  in  form  and  size 
like  a  pigeon ;  indeed,  Al  Sufi's  translator,  Schjellerup,  defined  the  latter's 
title  for  it,  Al  Ta'ir,  as  le  pigeon  de  poste ;  but  Al  Katat  is  now  the  Arabs' 
word  for  a  common  gallinaceous  game-bird  of  the  desert,  perhaps  the 
mottled  partridge. 

The  Alfonsine  Tables,  in  the  recent  Madrid  edition,  supposed  to  be  a 
reproduction  of  the  original,  illustrate  their  Galina  by  a  forlorn  Hen  instead 

1  While  Cygnus  was  thus  prominent  in  myth  and  the  sky,  the  swan  was  especially  so  in 
indent  ornithology,  and  the  subject  of  many  fables,  where  its  "hostility  "  to  other  birds  and  to 
tjsrs  was  made  much  of;  but  in  these  Thompson  sees  astronomical  symbolism,  as  already 
r-as  been  alluded  to  under  Aquila. 

'3 


194  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  a  Swan,  with  the  bungled  Arabic  title  altayr  aldigeya,  although  elsewhere 
they  say  Olor:  Hypareus  Cygtium  vocal;  the  Arabo-Latin  Almagest  oi  1515 
had  Eurisim:  el  esl  volans:  el  jam  voealur  gallina.  el  dicilur  eurisim  quasi 
redolens  ut  lilium  ab  ireo ;  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1  have  Hyresym;  et 
dieitur  quasi  redolens  tit  lilium:  el  esl  volans:  el  jam  vocatur  gallina;  Bayer 
wrote  of  it,  quasi  Rosa  redolens  Lilium;  Riccioli,  quasi  Galli  rosa;  and 
contemporaries  of  this  last  author  wrote  Hirezym  and  Hierizim.  Ideler's 
comments  on  all  this  well  show  the  roundabout  process  by  which  some  of 
our  star-names  have  originated,  and  are  worthy  quotation  entire : 

They  have,  moreover,  made  use  of  the  translated  Greek  *0pwc,  as  is  shown  by  the 
Borgian  Globe,  on  which  is  written  Lurnifl,  or  Urnia  (for  the  first  letter  is  not  connected 
with  the  second,  so  that  we  have  both  readings).  It  is  most  probable  that  from  thi> 
Urnis  originated  the  Eurisim  in  the  foregoing  rare  title.  Probably  the  translator  found 
in  the  Arabic  original  the,  to  him,  foreign  word  Urnis,  He  naturally  surmised  that  it 
was  Greek,  only  he  did  not  know  its  proper  signification.  On  the  other  hand,  the  plant 
'^pvaifiov  {Erysimum  officinale,  Linn.)  occurred  to  him,  which  the  Romans  called  Ireo 
(see  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.  xviii,  10,  xxii,  25),  and  this  recalled  the  richly  scented  Iris  or  Sword 
Lily  (Iris  florentina,  Linn.),  and  so,  as  it  seems  to  me,  he  traced  the  thought  through  a 
perfectly  natural  association  of  ideas  to  his  beautiful  Eurisim,  quasi  redolens,  ut  lilium  ab 
ireo.  At  the  same  time  I  believe  I  have  here  struck  the  trail  of  the  title  Albireo,  which 
has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  explained.  This  is  given  to  the  star  on  the  beak,— *?,— 
by  Bayer  and  in  our  charts.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  nothing  more  than  the  above  ab  irtt>, 
which  came  to  be  turned  into  an  Arabic  star-name  by  means  of  an  interpolated  /. 

The  early  Gallina  continued  in  use  by  astronomers  even  to  the  last 
century. 

Cygnus  usually  is  shown  in  full  flight  down  the  Milky  Way,  the  Stream 
of  Heaven,  "  uppoised  on  gleaming  wings  " ;  but  old  drawings  have  it  appar- 
ently just  springing  from  the  ground. 

Caesius  thought  that  the  constellation  represented  the  Swan  in  the 
Authorized  Version  of  Leviticus  xi,  18,  the  Timshemath  of  the  Hebrews; 
but  this  is  a  Horned  Owl  in  the  Revision,  or  may  have  been  an  Ibis. 
Other  Christians  of  his  time  saw  here  the  Cross  of  Calvary,  Chrirti  Cm, 
as  Schickard  had  it,  Schiller's  Crux  cum  S.  Helena ;  these  descending  to  our 
day  as  the  Horthern  Cross,  well  known  to  all,  and  to  beginners  in  stellar 
observations  probably  better  than  by  the  stars'  true  title.  Lowell  was 
familiar  with  it,  and  thus  brings  it  into  his  New  Year's  Eve,  1844  : 

Orion  kneeling  in  his  starry  niche, 
The  Lyre  whose  strings  give  music  audible 
To  holy  ears,  and  countless  splendors  more, 
Crowned  by  the  blazing  Cross  high-hung  o'er  all ; 

and  Smith,  in  Come  Learn  of  the  Stars: 


The  Constellations  195 

Yonder  goes  Cygnus,  the  Swan,  flying  southward, — 
Sign  of  the  Cross  and  of  Christ  unto  me. 

This  Cross  is  formed  by  a,  y,  ?y,  and  0,  marking  the  upright  along  the 
Galaxy,  more  than  200  in  length,  f,  e,  y,  and  6  being  the  transverse. 

These  last  also  were  an  Arab  asterism,  Al  Fawaris,  the  Riders;  a  and  k 
sometimes  being  added  to  the  group. 

The  Chinese  story  of  the  Herdsman,  or  Shepherd,  generally  told  for  our 
Aquila,  and  of  his  love  for  the  skilful  Spinster,  our  Lyra,  occasionally  in- 
cludes stars  in  Cygnus. 

While  interesting  in  many  respects,  it  is  especially  so  in  possessing  an  un- 
usual number  of  deeply  colored  stars,  Birmingham  writing  of  this  : 

A  space  of  the  heavens  including  the  Milky  Way,  between  Aquila,  Lyra,  and  Cygnus, 
seems  so  peculiarly  favored  by  red  and  orange  stars  that  it  might  not  inaptly  be  called  the 
Red  Region,  or  the  Red  Region  of  Cygnus. 

Argelander  locates  146  naked-eye  members  of  the  constellation,  and  Heis 
197,  its  situation  in  the  Galaxy  accounting  for  this  density.  Of  these  stars 
Espin  gives  a  list  of  one  hundred  that  are  double,  triple,  or  multiple.  The 
Laoe-work  Hebula,  N.  G.  C.  6960,  also  lies  within  its  borders. 

We  find  among  classical  authors  'Ikt/voc,  Miluus,  Milvus,  and  Mylvius, 
taken  from  the  Farapegmata,  and,  even  to  modern  days,  supposed  to  be 
titles  for  our  Cygnus,  Aquila,  or  some  unidentified  sky  figure ;  but  Ideler 
showed  that  by  these  words  reference  probably  was  made  to  the  Kite,  the 
predaceous  bird  of  passage  annually  appearing  in  spring,  and  not  to  any 
stellar  object. 

Ct,     1.4,     brilliant  white. 

Deneb  is  from  Al  Dhanab  al  Dajajah,  the  Hen's  Tail,  which  has  become 
Denebadigege,  Denebedigege,  Deneb  Adige,  etc. 

In  the  Alfonsine  Tables  Arided  appears,  and  is  still  frequently  seen  for 
this  star,  as  Al  Eidhadh  and  El  Bided  formerly  were  for  the  constellation. 
Referring  to  this  last  title,  Caesius  termed  a  Os  rosae,  the  German  Rosa- 
mund, although  he  also  designated  it  as  Uropygium,  the  Pope's  Nose  of 
our  Thanksgiving  dinner-tables. 

a  also,  and  correctly  enough,  is  Aridif,  from  Al  Ridf,  the  Hindmost;  but 
Bayer  changed  it  to  Arrioph,  and  Cary  to  Arion. 

Bayer  gave  Gallina  as  an  individual  title. 

Mr.  Royal  Hill  says  that  this  and  the  three  adjacent  bright  stars  in  the 
figure  are  known  as  the  Triangles. 


196  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Deneb  has  no  sensible  proper  motion,  and  hence  has  been  considered  as 
deserving  the  term,  generally  inappropriate,  of  a  "  fixed  star  " ;  but  spectro- 
scopic investigations  made  at  Greenwich  seemed  to  show  motion  at  the  rate 
of  thirty -six  miles  a  second  toward  the  earth,  and  so  only  apparently 
stationary.  Such  motion,  Newcomb  saysr  would  eventually  carry  it  at  some 
time, —  probably  between  100,000  and  300,000  years  hence, —  past  our  sys- 
tem at  about  jfoy  part  of  its  present  distance,  making  it  the  nearest  and  the 
brightest  of  the  earth's  neighbors.  But  Vogel's  recent  and  more  trust- 
worthy measures  at  Potsdam  give  its  rate  as  about  five  miles  a  second. 

Elkin  estimated  its  parallax  in  1892  as  o".047, — practically  insensible 
Its  spectrum  is  Sirian. 

Photographs  by  Doctor  Max  Wolf,  of  Heidelberg,  in  June,  1 891,  show 
that  it  and  y  are  involved  in  one  vastly  extended  nebula. 

It  rises  in  the  latitude  of  New  York  City  at  sunset  on  the  12th  of  May. 
culminating  on  the  16th  of  September,  and  lies  so  far  to  the  north  that  it  i> 
visible  at  some  hour  of  every  clear  night  throughout  the  year. 

p,  Double, —  perhaps  binary,    3.5  and  7,    topaz  yellow  and  sapphire  blue. 

Albireo,  the  now  universal  title,  is  in  no  way  associated  with  Arabia,  but 
apparently  was  first  applied  to  the  star  from  a  misunderstanding  as  to  the 
words  ab  ireo  in  the  description  of  the  constellation  in  the  15 15  Almagrt. 
Albireo  in  the  Standard  Dictionary  undoubtedly  is  from  a  type  error,  as  also 
may  be  Abbireo,  Alberio,  and  Albeiro,  which  occasionally  are  used. 

The  Arabians  designated  P  as  Al  Minfiar  al  Dajajah,  the  Hen's  Beak, 
where  it  is  still  located  on  our  maps.  Riccioli  wrote  this  Menkar  Eldigia- 
gioh ;  and  also  had  Hierizim. 

0  is  one  of  the  show  objects  of  the  sky,  and  Miss  Clerke,  calling  its  colore 
golden  and  azure,  says  that  it  presents  "  perhaps  the  most  lovely  effect  o* 
colour  in  the  heavens."  Being  35"  apart,  the  components  can  readily  !* 
resolved  by  a  field-glass.  The  system,  if  binary,  has  a  very  long  period  ot 
revolution,  as  yet  undetermined,  the  present  position  angle  being  560. 

Close  to  0  appeared  a  nova  on  the  20th  of  June,  1670,  described  by  the 
Carthusian  monk  Anthelmus  of  Dijon.  This  disappeared  after  two  years  oi 
varying  brilliancy,  but  may  still  exist  as  a  10th-  to  nth-magnitude  variable, 
discovered,  in  the  supposed  location,  by  Hind  in  1852. 

In  the  neck  of  the  Swan,  not  far  from  P,  is  the  variable  #2,  ranging  from 
4.5  to  13.5  in  406  days.  Sometimes,  at  its  maximum,  it  is  of  only  the  6th 
magnitude. 


The  Constellations  197 

y,  2.7,  is  Sadr, — incorrectly  Sudr, — from  Al  Sadr  al  Dajajah,  the  Hen's 
Breast,  and  one  of  the  Fawaru  of  the  Arabs. 

Reeves  said  that  in  China  it  was  Tien  Tain,  the  name  of  a  city ;  but  this 
generally  was  given  to  the  group  of  four  stars,  a,  0,  y,  and  6. 

y  is  in  the  midst  of  beautiful  streams  of  small  stars,  itself  being  involved 
in  a  diffused  nebulosity  extending  to  a ;  while  the  space  from  it  to  0  perhaps 
is  richer  than  any  of  similar  extent  in  the  heavens.  Espin  asserts  that  around 
y  and  the  horns  of  Taurus  seem  to  centre  the  stars  showing  spectra  of  the 
fourth  type.  Its  own  spectrum  is  Solar.  According  to  observations  at 
Potsdam,  it  is  in  motion  toward  us  at  the  rate  of  about  four  miles  a  second. 


£,     2.6,     yellow, 

on  the  right  wing,  is  Gienah,  from  the  Arabic  Al  Janah,  the  Wing. 

Between  a,  y,  and  this  star  is  the  northern  Coal-sack,  an  almost  vacant 
space  in  the  Milky  Way;  another,  still  more  noticeable  and  celebrated, 
coincidently  being  located  in  the  Southern  Cross. 

6°  to  the  northeast  from  e  is  61  Cygni,  with  a  parallax  of  o".5,  and  thus, 
so  far  as  we  now  know,  the  nearest  star  to  us  in  the  northern  heavens,  with 
the  exception  of  La  Lande  21 185  Ursae  Majoris.  If  the  distance  from  the 
earth  to  the  sun  be  considered  as  one  inch,  that  to  this  star  would  be  about 
seven  and  one  half  miles.  It  also  is  remarkable  for  its  great  proper  motion 
toward  the  star  <x, —  5".  16  annually, —  near  to  which  it  probably  will  be  in 
1 5,000  years.     4000  years  ago  it  was  near  e . 

It  is  a  double  6th-magnitude,  and  may  be  binary,  the  components  20" 
apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  12 1°  in  1890.  It  was  the  first  star  success- 
fully observed  for  parallax, —  by  Bessel  between  the  years  1837  and  1840. 

;  and  p,  with  two  other  adjacent  small  stars,  were  the  Chinese  Chay  Foo, 
a  Storehouse  for  Carts. 

*\     4.8, 

is  Aielffcfitge,  possibly  a  corrupted  form  of  AdelfUferes,  from  Al  ?Ulf  al 
Faras,  the  Horse's  Foot  or  Track ;  and,  to  quote  Ideler, 

[(follows  either  that  the  foot  of  Pegasus  [now  marked  by  *  Pegasi]  extended  to  this  star,  or 
that  in  this  region  was  supposed  to  be  located  the  feet  of  the  Stallion  which,  as  we  shall 
*ec  farther  on,  some  Arab  astronomer  introduced  between  Pegasus  and  the  Swan. 

Or  the  title  may  be,  as  seems  more  probable,  from  Al  'Azal  al  Dajajah,  the 
Tail  of  the  Hen,  which  it  exactly  marks.     It  is  sometimes  Azelfafge;  but 
13- 


198  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Bayer,  with  whom  the  word  apparently  first  occurs,  had  "Aidlfcge  id  est 
Tareuta."  1 

7T1,  with  about  twenty  other  stars  in  Cygnus,  Andromeda,  and  Lacerta, 
was  comprised  in  the  early  Chinese  Tang  Shay,  the  Dragon. 

P,  or  Fl.  34,  a  sth-magnitude,  located  at  the  base  of  the  Swan's  neck,  is 
one  of  the  few  so-called  gaseous  stars  having  bright  lines  in  their  spectra. 
It  was  discovered  by  Janson,  as  a  nova  of  the  2d  magnitude,  on  the  18th 
of  August,  1600;  was  numbered  27  in  Tycho's  catalogue,  with  the  desig- 
nation oinova  anni  1600  in  pectore  Cygni ;  and  Kepler  thought  it  worthy 
of  a  monograph  in  1606.  Christian  Huygens,  the  Dutch  astronomer  of  the 
17th  century,  called  it  the  Revenante  of  the  Swan,  from  its  extraordinary 
light  changes ;  but  these  now  seem  to  have  ceased. 

Q 

CO  ,  Double,    $}4  and  io,    pale  red, 

is  Buehba from  Al  Bnkbah  al  Dajajah,  the  Hen's  Knee;  but  the  three  stars 
<m>  now  mark  the  tertiaries  of  the  left  wing. 

The  components  of  w3  are  $6".$  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  86°.3 ;  and 
other  minute  stars  are  in  the  same  field. 


...  the  Delphienus  heit 
Up  in  the  aire. 

King  James  I,  in  An*  sckori  Po*me  o/Tyme 

is  Dauphin  in  France,  Belflno  in  Italy,  and  Dolphin  in  Germany :  all  from 
the  Greek  AeXQig  and  betytv,  transcribed  by  the  Latins  as  Delphil  and 
Dolphin.  This  last  continued  current  through  the  17th  century,  and  in 
our  day  was  resumed  by  Proctor  for  his  reformed  list.  Chaucer,  in  the 
Hous  of  Fame •,  had  Delphyn,  and  later  than  he  it  was  Dolphyne. 

It  now  is  one  of  the  smallest  constellations,  but  originally  may  have 
included  the  stars  that  Hipparchos  set  off  to  form  the  new  Equuleus;  and 
in  all  astronomical  literature  has  borne  its  present  title  and  shape,  with 
many  and  varied  stories  attached,  for  its  namesake  was  always  regarded  as 
the  most  remarkable  of  marine  creatures. 

l  What  is  this  last  ?    It  seems  to  have  escaped  comment  by  all  of  the  authorities. 


The  Constellations  199 

In  Greece  it  also  was  "lepoq  'lx&v$,  the  Sacred  Fish,  the  creature  being 
of  as  much  religious  significance  there  as  a  fish  afterwards  became  among 
the  early  Christians ;  and  it  was  the  sky  emblem  of  philanthropy,  not  only 
from  the  classical  stories  connected  with  its  prototype,  but  also  from  the 
latter's  devotion  to  its  young.  It  should  be  remembered  that  our  stellar 
Dolphin  is  figured  as  the  common  cetacean,  Delphinus  delphis,  of  Atlantic  and 
Mediterranean  waters,  not  the  tropical  Coryphaena  that  Dorado  represents. 
Ovid,  designating  it  as  clarum  sidus,  personified  it  as  Amphitrite,  the 
goddess  of  the  sea,  because  the  dolphin  induced  her  to  become  the  wife  of 
Neptune,  and  for  this  service,  Manilius  said,  was  "  rais'd  from  Seas  "  to  be 

The  Glory  of  the  Floud  and  of  the  Stars. 

From  this  story  the  constellation  was  known  as  Persuasor  Amphitrites,  as 
well  as  Heptunus  and  Triton. 

With  Cicero  it  appeared  as  Cnrvufl,  an  adjective  that  appropriately  has 
been  applied  to  the  creature's  apparent  form  in  all  ages1  down  to  the 
**  bended  dolphins "  in  Milton's  picture  of  the  Creation.  Bayer's  Cnrros 
merely  is  Cicero's  word  with  a  typographical  error,  for  he  explained  it, 
Citer-oni  ob  gibbum  in  dorso ;  but  he  also  had  Smon  nautis,  and  Riccioli 
Smon  barbaris,  which  seems  to  be  the  Simon,  Flat-nosed,  of  old-time 
mariners,  quoted  by  Pliny  for  the  animal. 

Another  favorite  title  was  Vector  Arionis,  from  the  Greek  fable  that 
attributed  to  the  dolphin  the  rescue  of  Arion  on  his  voyage  from  Tarentum 
to  Corinth  —  a  variation  of  the  very  much  earlier  myth  of  the  sun-god  Baal 
Hamon.     Hence  comes  Henry  Kirke  White's 

lock'd  in  silence  o'er  Arion's  star, 
The  slumbering  night  rolls  on  her  velvet  car. 

In  continuation  of  the  Greek  story  of  Arion  and  his  Lyre  appears 
\lovmtc6v  %u>dtov,  the  Mnrionm  dgnnm  of  the  Latins;  or  this  may  come 
from  the  fact  mentioned  in  Ovid's  Fasti  that  the  constellation  was  supposed 
to  contain  nine  stars,  the  number  of  the  Muses,  although  Ptolemy  prosai- 
cally catalogued  10;  Argelander,  20;  and  Heis,  31. 

Riccioli  and  La  Lande  cited  Hermippus  for  Delphinus,  and  Acetes  after 
the  pirate-pilot  who  protected  Bacchus  on  his  voyage  to  Naxos  and 
Ariadne;  while  to  others  it  represented  Apollo  returning  to  Crissa  or 
piloting  Castalius  from  Crete. 

•n    bis    notes  on  Manilius,  quoted  many  examples  of  the  use  of  this  term  by  the 
1  Haet,  1  Latins,  and  said  Perpctuam  hoc  Delphinum  Efitheton. 


200  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  Hindus,  from  whom  the  Greeks  are  said  to  have  borrowed  it, — 
although  the  reverse  of  this  may  have  been  the  case,—  knew  it  as  Shi-ihu- 
mara,  or  Sim-shn-mara,  changed  in  later  days  to  Zizumara,  a  Porpoise,  also 
ascribed  to  Draco.  And  they  located  here  the  2 2d  aa&Aa/ra,  QraTOhtha, 
Most  Favorable,  also  called  Dhaniaht.hft,  Richest;  the  Vasus,  Bright  or 
Good  Ones,  being  the  regents  of  this  asterism,  which  was  figured  as  a  Drum 
or  Tabor;  (3  marking  the  junction  with  Catabishaj. 

Brown  thinks  that  it  may  have  been  the  Euphratean  Makhar,  although 
Capricorn  also  claimed  this. 

Al  Biruni,  giving  the  Arabic  title  Al  Kalid,  the  Riding  Camel,  said  that 
the  early  Christians  —  the  Melkite1  and  Nestorian  sects  —  considered  it 
the  Cross  of  Jesus  transferred  to  the  skies  after  his  crucifixion;  but  in 
Kazwini's  day  the  learned  of  Arabia  called  o,  0,  y,  and  6  Al  'TJknd,  the 
Pearls  or  Precious  Stones  adorning  Al  Salib,  by  which  title  the  common 
people  knew  this  Cross ;  the  stare,  towards  the  tail,  being  Al  'Anrad  al  Salib, 
the  Pillar  of  the  Cross.  But  the  Arabian  astronomers  adopted  the  Greek 
figure  as  their  Dnlfim,  which  one  of  their  chroniclers  described  as  "a  marine 
animal  friendly  to  man,  attendant  upon  ships  to  save  the  drowning  sailors." 

The  Alfonsine  lables  of  1545  said  of  Delphinus,  Quae  habet  Stellas  quae 
sapiunt  naturam,  a  generally  puzzling  expression,  but  common  in  the  1551 
translation  of  the  Tetrabiblos,  where  it  signifies  stars  supposed  to  be  cognizant 
of  human  births  and  influential  over  human  character, —  naturam.  Ptolemy, 
as  is  shown  in  these  Four  Books,  was  a  believer  in  the  genethliacal  influence 
of  certain  stars  and  constellations,  of  which  this  seems  to  have  been  one 
specially  noted  in  that  respect. 

Delphinus  lies  east  of  Aquila,  on  the  edge  of  the  Milky  Way,  occupying, 
with  the  adjoining  aqueous  figures,  the  portion  of  the  sky  that  Aratos 
called  the  Water.     It  culminates  about  the  15th  of  September. 

Caesius  placed  here  the  Leviathan  of  the  104th  Psalm;  Novidius,  the 
Great  Pish  that  swallowed  Jonah ;  but  Julius  Schiller  knew  some  of  its  stars 
as  the  Water-pots  of  Cana.  Popularly  it  now  is  Job's  Coffin,  although  the 
date  and  name  of  the  inventor  of  this  title  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn. 

The  Chinese  called  the  four  chief  stars  and  £  Kwa  Chaou,  a  Gourd. 

C£,     4,     pale  yellow ;     fi9  Binary,     4  and  6,     greenish  and  dusky. 

The  strange  names  Sualocin  and  Eotanev  first  appeared  for  these  stars 
in  the  Palermo  Catalogue  of  1814,  and  long  were  a  mystery  to  all,  and 

1  These  Melkites,  or  Royalists  as  the  name  indicates,  were  of  the  Greek  Church,  whose  spiritual 
head  now  is  the  Czar,  the  royal  head  of  Russia,  and  successor  of  the  Byzantine  Patriarch. 


The  Constellations  201 

seemingly  a  great  puzzle  to  Smyth,  which  he  perhaps  never  solved,  although 
he  was  very  intimate  with  the  staff  of  the  Palermo  Observatory.  Webb, 
however,  discovered  their  origin  by  reversing  the  component  letters,  and  so 
reading  Nicolaus  Venator ■,  the  Latinized  form  of  Niccolo  Cacciatore,  the 
name  of  the  assistant  and  successor  of  Piazzi.  But  Miss  Rolleston,  in  her 
singular  book  Mazzaroth,  considered  in  some  quarters  as  of  authority, 
wrote  that  they  are  derived,  a  from  the 

Arabic  Scalooin,  swift  (as  the  flow  of  water) ; 

and  fi  from  the 

Syriac  and  Chaldee  Rotaneb,  or  Kotaneu,  swiftly  running  (as  water  in  the  trough). 

For  no  part  of  this  scholarly  (!)  statement  does  there  seem  to  be  the  least 
foundation.     Burritt  gave  these  titles  as  Soalovin  and  Botanen. 

a  may  be  variable  to  the  extent  of  half  a  magnitude  in  fourteen  days. 

i  is  a  very  close  pair,  o".68  apart  in  1897,  at  a  position  angle  of  35  70,  with 
the  rapid  orbital  period  of  about  twenty -six  years.  Another  companion, 
purple  in  color  and  of  the  nth  magnitude,  6"  away,  has  lately  been  dis- 
covered by  See,  and  so  j3  may  be  ternary ;  while  two  other  stars  of  the 
10th  and  13th  magnitudes  are  about  30"  away. 

y  is  a  beautiful  double  of  4th  and  5th  magnitudes,  it"  apart,  with  a  po- 
rtion angle  of  2700;  but,  if  binary,  their  motion  is  extremely  slow.  The 
components  are  golden  and  bluish  green,  and  a  fine  object  for  small  glasses. 

f,  a  4th-magnitude,  although  lying  near  the  dorsal  fin  of  our  present 
figure,  bears  the  very  common  name  Deneb,  from  Al  Dhanab  al  Dulflm,  the 
Dolphin's  Tail.  But  in  Arabia  it  also  was  Al  Amud  al  Salib,  as  marking 
the  Pillar  of  the  Cross.     In  China  it  was  Pae  Chaou,  the  Rotten  Melon. 

The  comparative  brilliancy  of  j3,  y,  d,  and  e  has  been  variously  estimated 
—  a  fact  which  the  observations  of  Gould  at  Albany  in  1858,  and  at  Cordoba 
in  1871-74,  prove  to  be  occasioned  by  variability,  within  moderate  limits, 
of  all  four. 


©orabo,  tfc  (BofbM 

first  published  by  Bayer  among  his  new  southern  figures,  is  still  thus  known 
in  Germany  and  Italy,  but  the  French  say  Dorado ;  and  Flammarion  has 
DoraduB,  perhaps  from  confusion  with  its  supposed  genitive  case.  The  word 
is  from  the  Spanish,  and  refers  not  to  our  little  exotic  cyprinoid,  but  to  the 
large  coryphaena  of  the  tropical  seas,  of  changing  colors  at  death.  On  the 
planisphere  in  Gore's  translation  of  VAstronomie  Populaire  it  is  strangely  ren- 


202  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

dered  Gold  Field;  and  Craver,  in  the  Colas'  list  of  the  Celestial  Handbook 
of  1892,  is  equally  erroneous.  Chilmead  mentions  it  as  the  Oilthead  fish, 
but  this,  in  ichthyology,  was  a  very  different  fish,  the  Crenilabrus  melops  of 
British  coasts. 

Caesius  combined  its  stars  with  the  Greater  Cloud  and  the  Flying  Fish 
to  form  his  Old  Testament  figure  of  Abel  the  Just 

The  alternative  title  Xiphiaa,  the  Swordfish,  I  first  find  in  the  Rudolphxne 
lables  of  1627  ;  Halley  used  it,  in  addition  to  Dorado,  in  his  catalogue  of 
1679;  Flamsteed  gave  both  names  in  his  edition  of  Sharp's  catalogue;  and 
the  modern  Stieler's  planisphere  still  has  Schwerdtflgch.  Xiphias,  however, 
had  appeared  in  astronomy  in  the  first  century  of  our  era,  for  Pliny  applied 
it  to  sword-shaped  comets,  as  Josephus  did  to  that  "which  for  ayear(!) 
had  hung  over  Jerusalem  in  the  form  of  a  sword," — possibly  H alley's  comet 
of  a.  d.  66. 

The  Rudolphine  Tables  and  Riccioli  catalogued  here  6  stars  of  4th  and 
5th  magnitudes,  but  Gould  42  from  3.1  to  7. 

The  head  of  Dorado  marks  the  south  pole  of  the  ecliptic,  so  that,  accord- 
ing to  Caesius,  the  constellation  gave  its  name  to  that  point  as  the  Polus 
Doradinalis.  Within  30  of  this  pole  is  the  very  remarkable  nebula  30 
Doradus,  that  Smyth  called  the  True  Lover's  Knot,  although  now  known 
as  the  Great  Looped  Nebula,  N.  G.  C.  2070,  described  by  Sir  John  Herschel 
as  an  assemblage  of  loops  and  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  objects  in  the 
heavens, —  "  the  centre  of  a  great  spiral." 

e  appears  in  Reeves'  list  as  Kin  Yu,  but  this  star  being  only  a  5th-magni- 
tude,  and  these  words  signifying  a  Goldfish,  they  doubtless  were  designed 
for  the  whole  figure  introduced  into  China  by  the  Jesuits. 

£,  a  5th-magnitude,  bears  the  Chinese  title  Kaon  Pih. 


With  vast  convolutions  Draco  holds 

Th'  ecliptic  axis  in  his  scaly  folds. 

O'er  half  the  skies  his  neck  enormous  rears, 

And  with  immense  meanders  parts  the  Bears. 

Erasmus  Darwin's  Economy  of  Vegetation. 

©roco,  $e  ©ragon, 

the  German  Drache,  the  Italian  Dragone,  and  the  French  Dragon,  was 

&pdicG)v  with  the  Greeks  —  indeed  this  has  been  the  universal  title  in  the 
transcribed  forms  of  the  word.  Classic  writers,  astronomers,  and  the  people 
have  known  it  thus,  although  Eratosthenes  and  Hipparchos  called  it  '0<pic> 


The  Constellations  203 

and  in  the  Latin  Tables,  as  with  some  of  the  poets,  it  occasionally  appeared, 
with  the  other  starry  snakes,  as  Anguifl,  Coluber,  Python,  and  Serpens. 
From  the  latter  came  Aesculapius,  and  perhaps  Audax. 

It  was  described  in  the  Shield  of  Hercules,  with  the  two  Dogs,  the  Hare, 
Orion,  and  Perseus,  as 

The  scaly  horror  of  a  dragon,  coiled 
Full  in  the  central  field  ; 

and  mycologists  said  that  it  was  the  Snake  snatched  by  Minerva  from  the 
giants  and  whirled  to  the  sky,  where  it  became  Sidus  Minervae  et  Baeehi 
or  the  monster  killed  by  Cadmus  at  the  fount  of  Mars,  whose  teeth  he  sowed 
for  a  crop  of  armed  men. 

Julius  Schiller,  without  thought  of  its  previous  character,  said  that  its 
stars  represented  the  Holy  Innocents  of  Bethlehem ;  others,  more  consis- 
tently, that  it  was  the  Old  Serpent,  the  tempter  of  Eve  in  the  Garden; 
Caesius  likened  it  to  the  Great  Dragon  that  the  Babylonians  worshiped  with 
Bel;  and  Olaus  Rudbeck,1  the  Swedish  naturalist  of  about  1700,  said  that 
his  countrymen  considered  it  the  ancient  symbol  of  the  Baltio  Sea ;  but  he 
also  sought  to  show  that  Paradise  was  located  in  Sweden ! 

Delitzsch  asserted  that  a  Hebrew  conception  for  its  stars  was  a  Quiver; 
but  this  must  have  been  exceptional,  for  the  normal  figure  with  that  people 
was  the  familiar  Dragon,  or  a  sea  monster  of  some  kind.  Renan  thought 
that  the  allusion  of  Job  to  "  the  crooked  serpent "  in  our  Authorized  Version 
is  to  this,  or  possibly  to  that  of  Ophiuchus;  but  the  Dragon  would  seem  to 
be  the  most  probable  as  the  ancient  possessor  of  the  pole-star,  then,  as 
ours  now  is,  the  most  important  in  the  heavens;  while  this  translation 
of  the  original  is  specially  appropriate  for  such  a  winding  figure.  The 
Reverend  Doctor  Albert  Barnes  renders  it  "  fleeing,"  and  Delitzsch,  "  fugi- 
tive"; but  the  Revised  Version  has  "swift,"  a  very  unsuitable  epithet  for 
Draco's  slow  motion,  yet  applicable  enough  to  the  more  southern  Hydra. 

Referring  to  Draco's  change  of  position  in  respect  to  the  pole  from  the 
effect  of  precession,  Proctor  wrote  in  his  Myths  and  Marvels  of  Astronomy ; 

One  might  almost,  if  fancifully  disposed,  recognize  the  gradual  displacement  of  the 
Dragon  from  his  old  place  of  honour,  in  certain  traditions  of  the  downfall  of  the  great 
Dragon  whose  "  tail  drew  the  third  part  of  the  stars  of  heaven,"  alluded  to  in  The  Revela- 
tion x\yt  4; 

and  the  conclusion  of  that  verse,  "  did  cast  them  to  the  earth,"  would  show 
a  possible  reference  to  meteors. 

1  Rudbeck  perhaps  was  "  the  sagacious  Swede  "  of  whom  the  Pope  speaks  in  Browning's 
The  Ring  and  the  Book. 


204  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

In  Persia  Draco  was  Azhdeha,  the  Man-eating  Serpent,  occasionally 
transcribed  Haahteher;  and,  in  very  early  Hindu  worship,  Shi-ahu-mara, 
the  Alligator,  or  Porpoise,  which  also  has  been  identified  with  our 
Delphinus. 

Babylonian  records  allude  to  some  constellation  near  the  pole  as  a  Snail 
drawn  along  on  the  tail  of  a  Dragon  that  may  have  been  our  constellation ; 
while  among  the  inscriptions  we  find  Sir,  a  Snake,  but  to  which  of  the  sky 
serpents  this  applied  is  uncertain.  And  some  see  here  the  dragon  Tiamat,1 
overcome  by  the  kneeling  sun-god  Izhdubar  or  Gizdhubar,  our  Hercules, 
whose  foot  is  upon  it.  Rawlinson,  however,  said  that  Draco  represented 
Hea  or  Hoa,  the  third  god  in  the  Assyrian  triad,  also  known  as  Kim-mut 

As  a  Chaldaean  figure  it  probably  bore  the  horns  and  claws  of  the  early 
typical  dragon,  and  the  wings  that  Thales  utilized  to  form  the  Lesser  Bear; 
hence  these  are  never  shown  on  our  maps.  But  with  that  people  it  was  a 
much  longer  constellation  than  with  us,  winding  downwards  and  in  front  of 
Ursa  Major,  and,  even  into  later  times,  clasped  both  of  the  Bears  in  its  folds: 
this  is  shown  in  manuscripts  and  books  as  late  as  the  17th  century,  with 
the  combined  title  Arotoe  et  Draco.  It  still  almost  incloses  Ursa  Minor. 
The  usual  figuring  is  a  combination  of  bird  and  reptile,  magnus  ft  tortus 
a  Monstnun  mirabile  and  Monatrum  audax,  or  plain  Monatrum  with 
Germanicus.    Vergil  had  Haximua  Angnia,  which, 

after  the  manner  of  a  river,  glides  away  with  tortuous  windings,  around  and  through  be- 
tween the  Bears ;  — 

a  simile  that  may  have  given  rise  to  another  figure  and  title,  found  in  the 
Argonauticae, —  Ladon,  from  the  prominent  river  of  Arcadia,  or,  more  prob- 
ably, the  estuary  bounding  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides,  which,  in  the 
ordinary  version  of  the  story,  Draco  guarded,  a  the  emblem  of  eternal  vigi- 
lance in  that  it  never  set."  Here  he  was  Coluber  arborem  conscendens,  and 
Gnatoa  Hesperidnm,  the  Watcher  over  the  golden  fruit ;  this  fruit  and  the  tree 
bearing  it  being  themselves  stellar  emblems,  for  Sir  William  Drummond 
wrote : 

a  fruit  tree  was  certainly  a  symbol  of  the  starry  heavens,  and  the  fruit  typified  the  cnr. 
stellations ; 

and  George  Eliot,  in  her  Spanish  Gypsy  : 

1  This  notable  creation  of  Euphratean  mythology  was  the  personification  of  primeval  chios 
hostile  to  the  gods  and  opposed  to  law  and  order ;  but  Izhdubar  conquered  the  monster  in  a 
struggle  by  driving  a  wind  into  its  opened  jaws  and  so  splitting  it  in  twain.  Cetus,  Hydra 
and  the  Serpent  of  Ophiuchus  also  have  been  thought  its  symbols.  Its  representation  is 
found  on  cylinder  seals  recently  unearthed. 


The  Constellations  205 

The  stars  are  golden  fruit  upon  a  tree 
All  out  of  reach. 

Draco's  stars  were  circumpolar  about  5000  b.  c,  and,  like  all  those  simi- 
larly situated, —  of  course  few  in  number  owing  to  the  low  latitude  of  the 
Nile  country, —  were  much  observed  in  early  Egypt,  although  differently 
figured  than  as  with  us.  Some  of  them  were  a  part  of  the  Hippopotamus, 
or  of  its  variant  the  Crocodile,  and  thus  shown  on  the  planisphere  of  Den- 
derah  and  the  walls  of  the  Ramesseum  at  Thebes.  As  such  Delitzsch  says 
that  it  was  Hes-nmt,  perhaps  meaning  the  Raging  Mother.  An  object  re- 
sembling a  ploughshare  held  in  the  creature's  paws  has  fancifully  been  said 
to  have  given  name  to  the  adjacent  Plough. 

The  hieroglyph  for  this  Hippopotamus  was  used  for  the  heavens  in  gen- 
eral; while  the  constellation  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  symbol  of  Ins 
Hathor,  Athor,  or  Athyr,  the  Egyptian  Venus ;  and  Lockyer  asserts  that 
the  myth  of  Horus  which  deals  with  the  Hor-she-shu,  an  almost  prehistoric 
people  even  in  Egyptian  records,  makes  undoubted  reference  to  stars  here ; 
although  subsequently  this  myth  was  transferred  to  the  Thigh,  our  Ursa 
Major.  It  is  said  that  at  one  time  the  Egyptians  called  Draco  Tanem,  not 
unlike  the  Hebrew  Tannim,  or  Aramaic  Tannin,  and  perhaps  of  the  same 
signification  and  derived  from  them. 

The  Egyptian  Neeht  was  close  to,  or  among,  the  stars  of  Draco ;  but  its 
exact  location  and  boundaries,  how  it  was  figured,  and  what  it  represented, 
are  not  known. 

Among  Arabian  astronomers  Al  Tinnin  and  Al  Thuban  were  translations 
of  Ptolemy's  \pdni*)v ;  and  on  the  Borgian  globe,  inscribed  over  /3  and  y, 
are  the  words  Alghavil  Altannin  in  Assemani's  transcription,  the  Poisonous 
L>ragon  in  his  translation,  assumed  by  him  as  referring  to  the  whole  con- 
stellation. That  there  was  some  foundation  for  this  may  be  inferred  from 
the  traditionary  belief  of  early  astrologers  that  when  a  comet  was  here 
l>oison  was  scattered  over  the  world.  Bayer  cited  from  Turkish  maps 
Etanin,  and  from  others  Aben,  Taben,  and  Etabin ;  Riccioli,  Abeen  vel 
Taeben;  Postellus,  Daban;  Chilmead,  Alanin;  and  Schickard,  Attanino. 
Al  Shnja',  the  Snake,  also  was  applied  to  Draco  by  the  Arabians,  as  it 
« as  to  Hydra ;  and  Al  Hayyah,  the  Snake,  appeared  for  it,  though  more 
<  ommon  for  our  Serpens,  with  which  word  it  was  synonymous. 

Bayer  had  Palmes  emeritus,  the  Exhausted  Vine  Branch,  that  I  do  not 
find  elsewhere ;  but  the  original  is  probably  from  the  Arabs  for  some  minor 
uroup  of  the  constellation. 

Williams  mentions  a  great  comet,  seen  from  China  in  1337,  which  passed 
through  Yuen  Wei,  apparently  some  unidentified  stars  in  Draco.     The 


206  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

creature  itself  was  the  national  emblem  of  that  country,  but  the  Dragon  of 
the  Chinese  zodiac  was  among  the  stars  now  our  Libra.  Edkins  writes 
that  Draco  was  Tsl  Kong,  the  Palace  of  the  Heavenly  Emperor,  adding, 
although  not  very  clearly,  that  this  palace 

is  bounded  by  the  stars  of  Draco,  fifteen  in  number,  which  stretch  themselves  in  an  onl 
shape  round  the  pole-star.  They  include  the  star  Tai  yi,  f ,  o,  a,  s,  of  Draco,  which  is  dis- 
tant about  ten  degrees  from  the  tail  of  the  Bear  and  twenty-two  from  the  present  pole. 
It  was  itself  the  pole  in  the  Epoch  of  the  commencement  of  Chinese  astronomy. 

Draco  extends  over  twelve  hours  of  right  ascension,  and  contains  130 
naked-eye  components  according  to  Argelander;  220,  according  to  Heis: 
but  both  of  these  authorities  extend  the  tail  of  the  figure,  far  beyond  its 
star  A,  to  a  4th-magnitude  under  the  jaws  of  Camelopardalis, —  much  farther 
than  is  frequently  seen  on  the  maps. 


tt,     3.6,     pale  yellow. 

Thuban  and  Al  Tinnin  are  from  the  Arabic  title  for  the  whole  of  Draco, 
and  Azfadeha  from  the  Persian. 

It  is  also  Adib,  Addib,  Eddib,  Adid,  Adive,  and  El  Drib,  all  from  Al 
Dhi'bah,  the  Hyaenas,  that  also  appears  for  the  stars  f,  iy,  and  i,  as  well  as 
for  others  in  Bootes  and  Ursa  Major.  Al  Tizini  called  it  Al  Dhili,  the 
Male  Hyaena. 

Among  seamen  it  has  been  the  Dragon's  Tail,  a  title  explained  under  y. 

In  China  it  was  Yu  Choo,  the  Right-hand  Pivot ;  the  space  towards  1 
being  Chung  Ho  Hun. 

Sayce  says  that  the  great  astrological  and  astronomical  work  compiled 
for  the  first  Sargon,  king  of  Agade,  or  Akkad,  devoted  much  attention  to 
this  star,  then  marking  the  pole,  as  Tir-An-na,  the  Life  of  Heaven ;  Dayan 
Same,  the  Judge  of  Heaven;  and  Dayan  Sidi,  the  Favorable  Judge,— all 
representing  the  god  Gaga  Gilgati,  whose  name  it  also  bore.  Brown  applies" 
these  titles  to  Wega  of  the  Lyre,  the  far  more  ancient  pole-star, —  but  this 
was  14,000  years  ago ! — and  cited  for  a  Draconis  Dayan  Erirn,  the  Prosper- 
ing Judge,  or  the  Crown  of  Heaven,  and  Dayan  Shisha,  the  Judge  Directing. 
as  having  the  highest  seat  amongst  the  heavenly  host.  About  2750  b.  c  it 
was  less  than  10'  from  the  exact  pole,  although  now  more  than  260;  and 
as  it  lies  nearly  at  the  centre  of  the  figure,  the  whole  constellation  then 
visibly  swung  around  it,  as  on  a  pivot,  like  the  hands  of  a  clock,  but  in  the 
reverse  direction. 

The  star  could  be  seen,  both  by  day  and  night,  from  the  bottom  of  the 


The  Constellations  207 

central  passage1  of  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Cheops  (Knum  Khufu)  at 
Ghizeh,  in  300  of  north  latitude,  as  also  from  the  similar  points  in  five  other 
like  structures ;  and  the  same  fact  is  asserted  by  Sir  John  Herschel  as  to 
the  two  pyramids  at  Abousseir. 

Herschel  considered  that  there  is  distinct  evidence  of  Thuban  formerly 
being  brighter  than  now,  as  its  title  from  its  constellation,  and  its  lettering, 
would  indicate ;  for  with  Bayer  it  was  a  2d-magnitude, —  in  fact  the  only  one 
of  that  brilliancy  in  his  list  of  Draco, —  and  generally  so  in  star-catalogues 
previous  to  two  centuries  ago.     It  culminates  on  the  7th  of  June. 

J3,  probably  Binary,     3  and  14,     yellow. 

Baitaban  and  Bastaben  are  from  Al  Baa  al  Thu'ban,  the  Dragon's 
Head, — Schickard's  Raso  tabbani 

In  early  Arab  astronomy  it  was  one  of  Al'Awild,  the  Mother  Camels, 
>',  //,  vy  and  f  completing  the  figure,  which  was  later  known  as  the  flninqne 
Dromedarii.  From  the  Arabic  word  comes  another  modern  name,  Alwaid, 
unless  it  may  be  from  a  different  conception  of  the  group  as  Al  'Awwad, 
the  Lute-player.  Still  other  Desert  titles  were  Al  Rakifi,  the  Dancer,  or 
Trotting  Camel,  now  given  to  \l\  and  it  formed  part  of  Al  Salib  al  WRki*, 
the  Falling  Cross,  0  and  f  forming  the  perpendicular,  y,  ji,  and  v  the 
transverse;  and  thus  designated  as  if  slanting  away  from  the  observer  to 
account  for  the  paucity  of  stars  in  the  upright. 

Araia»  current  in  the  Middle  Ages  and  since,  was  from  Al  Shuja ,  and 
often  has  been  written  Aflvia,  the  letter  u  being  mistakenly  considered  the 
early  v.  The  companion,  4"  away,  at  a  position  angle  of  i3°.4,  was  dis- 
covered by  Burnham. 

Q  and  y,  40  apart,  near  the  solstitial  colure,  have  been  known  as  the 
Dragon's  Eyes,  incorrect  now,  although  Proctor  thought  them  so  located  in 
the  original  figuring  of  a  front  view  of  Draco.  Modern  drawings  place 
them  on  the  top  of  the  head. 

In  China  they  were  Men  Kae. 

Y?  Double,     2.4  and  13.2,    orange. 

Ettanin,  also  written  Ettanin,  Etannin,  Etanim,  Etamin,  etc.,  is  from 
Ulug  Beg's  Al  Has  al  Tinnin,  the  Dragon's  Head,  applied  to  this,  as  it  also 

1  This  passage.  4  feet  by  3^  feet  in  diameter  and  380  feet  long,  was  directed  northward  to 
ni*  star,  doubtless  by  design  of  the  builder,  from  a  point  deep  below  the  present  base,  at  an 
inclination  of  260  17'  to  the  horizon.  At  the  time  of  its  building,  perhaps  four  millenniums 
before  our  era,  the  Southern  Cross  was  entirely  visible  to  the  savage  Britons. 


208  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

is  to  a ;  Riccioli  wrote  it  Has  m*ftim»-  The  word  Tinnin  is  nearly  synom  - 
mous  with  Thu'ban,  and  Bayer  mentioned  Baftaben  as  one  of  its  titles,  the 
Alfonsine  Rasaben,  and  now  Rastaban  in4he  Century  Cyclopedia  ;  but  in 
early  Arabic  astronomy  it  was  one  of  the  Herd  of  Camels  alluded  to  at  J. 

Firuzabadi  referred  to  a  Ras  al  Tinnin  and  Dhanab  al  Tinnin  in  the  heavens, 
the  Dragon's  Head,  and  Tail ;  but  these  have  no  connection  with  our  Draco, 
reference  being  there  made  solely  to  the  ascending  and  descending  nodes  in 
the  orbits  of  the  moon  and  planets  known  to  Arabian  astronomers  under 
these  titles.  Primarily,  however,  these  were  from  India,  and  known  as 
Rahu  and  Kitu.  This  idea  seems  to  have  originated  from  the  fact  that  the 
moon's  undulating  course  was  symbolized  by  that  of  the  stellar  Hydra :  ami 
had  the  latter  word  been  used  instead  of  "  Dragon,"  the  expression  would 
now  be  better  understood.  But  it  was  familiar  to  seamen  as  late  as  the  16th 
century,  for  "the  head  and  tayle  of  the  Dragon"1  appears  in  Eden's 
Dedication,  of  1574,  to  Sir  VVyllyam  Wynter;  and  even  now  the  symbols,  ^ 
for  the  ascending  node  and  ?3  for  the  descending,  are  used  in  text-book* 
and  almanacs. 

y  has  been  a  notable  object  in  all  ages.  It  was  observed  with  a  telescoyx 
by  Doctor  Robert  Hooke  in  the  daytime  in  1669  while  endeavoring  n> 
determine  its  parallax,  but  his  result  afterwards  was  found  to  be  due  to  the 
effect  of  aberration.  Subsequently  this  star  was  used  by  Bradley  tor  the 
same  purpose,  although  unsuccessfully;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  gau- 
him  his  great  discovery  of  the  aberration  of  light,2  of  which  Hooke  of  course 
was  ignorant. 

Millenniums  before  this,  however,  it  was  of  importance  on  the  Nile,  as  1: 
ceased  to  be  circumpolar  about  5000  b.  c,  and  a  few  centuries  thereafter 
became  the  natural  successor  of  Dubhe  (a  Ursae  Majoris),  which  up  to 
that  date  had  been  the  prominent  object  of  Egyptian  temple  worship  in  the 
north,  y  was  known  there  as  Ins,  or  Taurt  Ins, —  the  former  name  ap- 
plied at  one  time  to  Sirius, — and  it  marked  the  head  of  the  Hippopotamus 
that  was  part  of  our  Draco.  Its  rising  was  visible  about  3500  b.  1. 
through  the  central  passages  of  the  temples  of  Hathor  at  Denderah  and  <-! 
Mut  at  Thebes ;  Canopus  being  seen  through  other  openings  toward  the 
south  at  the  same  date.  And  Lockyer  says  that  thirteen  centuries  latent 
became  the  orientation  point  of  the  great  Karnak  temples  of  Rameses  and 
Khons  at  Thebes,  the  passage  in  the  former,  through  which  the  star  *a- 

1  The  nodical  month  also  is  called  the  Dracontic,  or  Draconitic. 

2  The  date  of  this  discovery  has  been  variously  given  as  from  1726  to  1729,  although  it  «a- 
first  called  to  Bradley's  attention  on  the  21st  of  December.  1725,  by  an  unexplained  diwur 
dance  in  his  observations ;  but  it  took  some  time  for  him  to  complete  this  explanation. 


The  Constellations  209 

observed,  being  1500  feet  in  length;  and  that  at  least  seven  different 
temples  were  oriented  toward  it.  When  precession  had  put  an  end  to  this 
use  of  these  temples,  others  are  thought  to  have  been  built  with  the  same 
purpose  in  view ;  so  that  there  are  now  found  three  different  sets  of  struc- 
tures close  together,  and  so  oriented  that  the  dates  of  all,  hitherto  not  cer- 
tainly known,  may  be  determinable  by  this  knowledge  of  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  designed.  Such  being  the  case,  Lockyer  concludes  that 
Hipparchos  was  not  the  discoverer  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  as  is 
generally  supposed,  but  merely  the  publisher  of  that  discovery  made  by  the 
Egyptians,  or  perhaps  adopted  by  them  from  Chaldaea. 

He  also  states  that  Apet,  Bast,  Hut,  Sekhet,  and  Taurt  were  all  titles 
of  one  goddess  in  the  Nile  worship,  symbolized  by  y  Draconis. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  Boeotian  Thebes,  the  City  of  the 
Dragon,  from  the  story  of  its  founder,  Cadmus,  shared  with  its  Egyptian 
namesake  the  worship  of  this  star  in  a  temple  dedicated,  so  far  as  its  orien- 
tation shows,  about  1130  b.  c. :  a  cult  doubtless  drawn  from  the  parent 
city  in  Egypt,  and  adopted  elsewhere  in  Greece,  as  also  in  Italy  in  the 
little  temple  to  Isis  in  Pompeii.  Here,  however,  the  city  authorities  inter- 
fered with  this  star-worship  in  one  of  their  numerous  raids  on  the  astrologers, 
and  bricked  up  the  opening  whence  the  star  was  observed. 

y  lies  almost  exactly  in  the  zenith  of  Greenwich,  in  fact,  has  there  been 
called  the  Zenith-star;  and,  being  circumpolar,  descends  toward  the  hori- 
zon, but,  without  disappearing,  rises  easterly,  and  thus  explains  the  poet's 

line: 

the  East  and  the  West  meet  together. 

It  was  nearer  the  pole  than  any  other  bright  star  about  4000  years  ago. 
Its  minute  companion,  21"  distant,  at  a  position  angle  of  15a0,  was  dis- 
covered by  Burnham. 

$,     3.1,    deep  yellow, 

is  the  Bodns  secundut  of  several  catalogues,  as  marking  the  2d  of  the  four 
Knots,  or  convolutions,  in  the  figure  of  the  Dragon. 

Al  Tizini  called  it  Al  Tais,  the  Goat,  as  the  prominent  one  of  the  quad- 
rangle, 6, 7r,  p,  and  e,  which  bore  this  title  at  a  late  period  in  Arabic  indi- 
genous astronomy ;  although  that  people  generally  gave  animal  names  only 
to  single  stars.  The  Jais,  which  is  found  in  various  lists,  maps,  and  globes, 
would  seem  to  be  a  typographical  error,  or  an  erroneous  transliteration  of 
the  original  Arabic.  6  also  may  have  been  one  of  Firuzabadi's  two  un- 
determined stars  Al  Tayyasin,  the  Two  Goatherds. 
14 


210  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

d,  e,  rr,  pt  and  a  were  the  Chinese  Tien  Choo,  Heaven's  Kitchen. 

?,  a  3d-magnitude,  was  Al  Dhi'bah,  that  we  have  also  seen  for  a. 

The  Chinese  knew  it  as  Shang  Pih,  the  Higher  Minister. 

Half-way  between  it  and  d,  within  7'  of  the  planetary  nebula  N.  G.  C. 
6543,  is  the  north  pole  of  the  ecliptic ;  the  south  pole  being  in  the  head 
of  Dorado.  Denning  considers  £  the  radiant  point  of  the  meteor  streams 
of  the  19th  of  January  and  of  the  28th  of  March. 

1],  a  double  2d-  and  8th-magnitude,  deep  yellow  and  bluish  star,  was 
known  in  China  as  Bhang  Tiae,  the  Minor  Steward. 

The  components  are  about  5"  apart,  and  the  position  angle  is  i43°.i. 

<  and  r\  together  were  Al  DhTbain,  the  Duo  Lupi  of  early  works,  the  Two 
Hyaenas  or  Wolves,  lying  in  wait  for  the  Camel's  Foal,  the  little  star  Al 
Buba',  protected  by  the  Mother  Camels,  the  larger  stars  in  our  Draco's 
head.  They  also  were  Al  'Auhakin,  the  Two  Black  Bulls,  or  Ravens,  the 
Arabic  signifying  either  of  these  creatures;  but  this  last  word  likewise 
appears  for  o>  and/,  and  for  %  and  Vs  a^  °f  these  titles  being  from  Arabia's 
earliest  days. 

0,  a  4.3-magnitude,  is  Hea  Tiae,  the  Lowest  Steward ;  while  the  smaller 
stars  near  it  were  Tien  Chwang. 

t,     $.6,    orange. 

Smyth  mentioned  this  as  Al  phiba'  of  the  Dresden  globe  and  of  Ulug 
Beg,  but  Kazwini  had  called  it  Al  DhiK,  the  Male  Hyaena,  from  which 
comes  Ed  Atich,  its  usual  title  now,  the  EUbrieh  of  the  Century  Cyclopedia. 

In  China  it  was  Tso  Choo,  the  Left  Pivot. 

It  marks  the  radiant  point  of  the  Quadrantid  meteors  of  the  2d  and  3d 
of  January,  so  called  from  the  adjacent  Mural  Quadrant. 

A  Qth-magnitude  pale  yellow  companion  is  21  distant. 


K 


4.1,    orange. 


Giansar  and  Giauzar  are  variously  derived  :  either  from  Al  Jauza',  the 
Twins, —  a  little  star  is  in  close  proximity, —  or  from  Al  Jauzah,  the  Central 
One,  as  it  is  nearly  midway  between  the  Pointers  and  Polaris ;  or,  and  still 
better,  from  the  Persian  Ghauzar, —  Al  Biruni's  Jauzahar  of  Sasanian  origin,— 
the  Poison  Place,  referring  to  the  notion  that  the  nodes,  or  points  where 
the  moon  crosses  the  ecliptic,  were  poisonous  because  they  "  happened  to 
be  called  the  Head  and  Tail  of  the  Dragon."  This  singular  idea  descended 
into*  comparatively  modern  times,  and,  although  these  points  are  far  re- 


The  Constellations  211 

moved  from  Draco,  still  obtains  in  the  name  for  A.  Juza  is  another  popular 
title. 

It  also  has  been  known  as  Nodus  lecundnj,  the  Second  Knot,  possibly  be- 
cause thus  located  on  some  drawings ;  yet  it  is  far  removed  from  d,  which 
usually  bears  that  name. 

In  China  it  was  Shang  Poo,  or  Shaon  Poo. 

Although  the  last  lettered  star  in  the  figure,  it  lies  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  end,  as  figured  on  the  atlases  of  Heis  and  Argelander. 

(A,  Binary,     5  and  5.1,     brilliant  white  and  pale  white. 

Al  Bakis,  from  Ulug  Beg's  catalogue,  turned  into  Arrakis  and  Errakis, 

generally  has  been  thought  to  signify  the  Dancer,  perhaps  to  the  neighbor- 
ing Lute-player,  the  star  0 ;  but  here  probably  the  Trotting  Camel,  one 
of  the  group  of  those  animals  located  in  this  spot.  Ideler  added  for  it  Al 
Baftd,  the  Camel  Pasturing  Freely,  that  the  original,  differently  pointed, 
may  mean.  The  little  star  in  the  centre  of  the  group  of  Camels,  3,  y,  f*,  v, 
and  £  is  named  Al  Bnba*  on  the  Borgian  globe,  although  almost  invisible ; 
but  did  not  appear  in  the  catalogues  till  Piazzi's  time,  except  with  Julius 
Schiller  in  his  Coelum  Stellatum  Christianum  of  1627,  where  it  is  the  37th 
star  in  his  constellation  of  the  Holy  Innocents. 

Assemani  mentioned  ft  as  Al  Ca'ab,  the  Little  Shield  or  Salver,  but  gave 
no  reason  for  this,  and  its  inappropriateness  renders  the  claim  very 
doubtful. 

In  modern  drawings  it  marks  the  nose  or  tongue  of  Draco. 

The  components  are  2".5  apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  1650;  and  their 
period  is  long,  although  not  yet  accurately  determined. 

»',  on  the  Dragon's  head,  already  mentioned  in  connection  with  j3,  y,  p, 
and  £,  is  an  interesting  double  for  a  small  telescope.  The  components  are 
each  of  4.6  magnitude,  about  62"  apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  3130. 

According  to  Wagner's  determination  of  the  parallax, —  not  yet,  how- 
ever, confirmed, —  they  are  near  neighbors  to  us,  at  a  distance  of  about 
eleven  light  years. 

€»    3.8,     yellow, 

was  one  of  the  Herd  of  Camels;  but  its  modern  individual  name,  Grumium, 
is  the  barbarism  found  for  it  in  the  Almagest  of  15 15,  an  equivalent  of  yevvg 
used  by  Ptolemy  for  the  Dragon's  under  jaw.     The  word  is  now  seen  in 
toe  Italian  grugno  and  the  French  groin. 
Bayer  followed  Ptolemy  in  calling  the  star  Genam. 


212  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Proctor  thought  that  it  marked  Draco's  darted  tongue  in  the  earliest 
representations  of  the  figure, —  unless  i  Herculis  were  such  star;  while  Den- 
ning considers  it  the  radiant  point  of  the  meteor  stream  seen  about  the 
29th  of  May, —  the  Draoonidi. 

<7f  6.5,  in  the  second  coil  northeast  from  d,  is  Alsafi,  corrupted  from 
Athafi,  erroneously  transcribed  from  the  Arabic  plural  Athafiyy,  by  which 
the  nomads  designated  the  tripods  of  their  open-air  kitchens;  one  of  these 
being  imagined  in  a,  t,  and  v.  Uthfiyyah  is  the  singular  form.  It  proba- 
bly is  one  of  the  nearest  stars  to  our  system, —  about  thirteen  light  years 
away  according  to  Brunowski's  unconfirmed  determination. 

0,  a  4th-magnitude  double,  was  the  Chinese  Shaou  Pih,  the  Minor  Min- 
ister ;  and  x>  °f  slightly  greater  brilliancy,  was  Kwei  She. 

<|>  and  <|> ,    4.3  and  5.2,    pearly  white  and  yellow. 

Duban,  from  Al  Dhibain  (the  Arabs'  title  for  f  and  17),  has  been  given  by 
some  to  this  pair,  and  Lach  thought  that  with  %  lt  a^so  was  Al  Anha^n, 
which  we  similarly  find  for  f  and  rj. 

In  China  it  was  Bin  She,  the  Palace  Governess,  or  a  Literary  Woman. 

The  components  of  i/)1  are  about  30"  apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  150. 

0),    4.9,    and  /,    5.1. 

These  dim  stars,  between  £  and  the  group  0,  #,  and  ip,  were  Al  Athftral 
Dhib,  the  Hyaena's  claws,  stretched  out  to  clutch  the  Camel's  Foal.  They 
thus  appear  with  Ulug  Beg  and  on  the  Dresden  globe ;  but  elsewhere  occa- 
sionally were  known  as  Al  Auhakan,  a  designation  shared  with  £  and  q, 
and  with  <f>  and  x-    They  also  sometimes  were  Al  Dhd,  the  Wolf. 

There  seems  to  be  confusion,  and  some  duplication,  in  the  nomenclature 
of  Draco's  stars,  but  their  many  titles  show  the  great  attention  paid  to  the 
constellation  in  early  days. 


...  the  flaming  shoulders  of  the  Foal  of  Heav'n. 

Omar  Khayyam's  XuUtydL 

&)uufeu0,  t$e  Sbdf, 

that  modern  Latin  critics  would  turn  into  Eenleua,  lies  half-way  between 
the  head  of  Pegasus  and  the  Dolphin,  marked  by  the  trapezium  of  4th-  to 
5th-magnitude  stars, —  a,  0,  y,  and  d, —  although  Argelander  catalogues  nine 
others,  and  Heis  twelve  down  to  6.7  magnitude.    Thus  "the  flaming 


The  Constellations  213 

shoulders"  of  our  motto  are  lacking  here,  and  the  reference  may  be  to 
Pegasus,  to  which  the  characterization  certainly  is  more  appropriate. 

The  Germans  call  it  Fiillen,  the  Filly,  and  Eeine  Pferd,  which  with  us 
is  the  Little  Hone,  the  French  Petit  Cheval,  and  the  Italian  Cavallino. 

Hood  wrote  of  it  about  1590 : 

This  constellation  was  named  of  almost  no  writer,  saving  Ptolomee  and  Al/onsus  who 
followith  Ptolomee,  and  therefore  no  certain  tail  or  historie  is  delivered  thereof,  by  what 
means  it  came  into  heaven ; 

but  we  know  that  Geminos  mentioned  it  as  having  been  formed  by  Hip- 
parchos,  its  stars  till  then  lying  in  the  early  Dolphin.  Still  Hipparchos  did 
not  allude  to  it  in  his  Commentary,  nor  did  Hyginus,  Manilius,  or  Vitruvius, 
a  century  after  him. 

Ptolemy  catalogued  it  as  "Imrov  npoTopfi,  this  last  word  equivalent  to  our 
Bust  for  the  upper  part  of  an  animal  figure ;  but  with  later  astronomers  it 
was  Equus  primus  and  prior,  as  preceding  Pegasus  in  rising ;  while  from 
its  inferior  size  come  our  own  title  and  Equulus,  Equiculus,  and  Equus 
Minor.  Gore's  translation  of  VAstronomie  Fopulaire,  following  Proctor,  has 
Equus,  the  larger  Horse  being  Pegasus. 

Ptolemy's  idea  of  the  incompleteness  of  the  figure  was  repeated  in  the 
Equi  8ectio,  Eqni  Praeseetio,  Sectio  equina,  Sectio  Equi  minoris,  Semi-per- 
fectus,  and  Praesegmen  of  various  authors  and  Latin  versions  of  the  Syntaxis 
and  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables;  the  Almagest  of  1551  gave  Praeciaio  Equi 

Chrysococca's  Tables  had  Ke^aXtj  "Innov,  the  Equi  Caput  of  some  Latin 
writers,  and  the  Horse's  Head  of  our  day. 

The  Arabians  followed  Ptolemy  in  calling  it  Al  Kit  ah  al  Faras,  Part  of 
a  Horse,  Chilmead's  Kataat  Alfaras ;  Al  Faras  al  Than!,  the  Second  Horse, 
alluding  either  to  its  inferior  size,  or  to  the  time  of  its  adoption  as  a  con- 
stellation; and  Al  Faras  al  Awwal,  the  First  Horse,  in  reference  to  its  rising 
before  Pegasus.  From  the  first  of  these  comes  the  modern  Kitalpha,  some- 
times applied  to  the  constellation,  and  generally  to  the  brightest  star.  Ric- 
cioli's  Elmae  Alcheras  certainly  is  a  barbarism, —  not  unusual,  however, 
with  him ;  but  La  Lande's  rarely  used  Hinnulus,  a  Young  Mule,  has  more 
to  commend  it. 

With  the  Hindus  it  was  another  of  their  A{vini,  the  Horsemen,  although 
their  figuring  resembled  ours. 

Some  of  the  mythologists  said  that  the  constellation  represented  Celeris, 

the  brother  of  Pegasus,  given  by  Mercury  to  Castor;  or  Cyllarus,  given  to 

Pollux  by  Juno ;  or  the  creature  struck  by  Neptune's  trident  from  the  earth 

when  contesting  with  Minerva  for  superiority ;  but  it  also  was  connected 

14* 


214  Star-Names  and  their   Meanings 

with  the  story  of  Philyra  and  Saturn.     Caesius,  in  modern  times,  associated 
it  with  the  King's  Horse  that  Haman  hoped  for,  as  is  told  in  the  Book  of 
Esther;  and  Julius  Schiller,  with  the  Bote  mystica. 
The  constellation  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  24th  of  September. 


a,    3.8, 

is  Kitalpha,  from  the  Arabian  name  for  the  whole  figure,  strangely  turned 
by  Burritt  into  Kitel  Phard.    Stieler  has  Kitalphar. 
With  0  it  was  the  Chinese  See  WeL 

0,  Triple  and  binary,      5,  5,  and  10,      topaz  yellow  and  pale  sapphire. 

The  two  largest  stars  form  a  system  noted  as  the  quickest  in  orbital  revo- 
lution of  all  known  binaries  except  *  Pegasi,  and  perhaps  the  7th-magni- 
tude  LI.  9091  in  Orion,  on  the  border  of  Taurus.  Its  period  is  about  n}i 
years,  and  the  components  are  so  close  that  they  can  be  separated  only  by 
the  largest  telescopes ;  their  maximum  distance  apart  every  seven  years  is 
but  o".44,  this  occurring  in  1897,  their  position  angle  being  2080. 

e  is  another  triple,  much  resembling  6  in  character;  the  component  stars, 
5.7,  6.2,  and  7.1  in  magnitude,  are  i".3,  and  io".4  apart,  the  colors 
of  the  first  two  yellowish,  the  last  ashy  white. 


&)uufeu6  Qpicforo,  $e  (painter's  (goeef, 

was  formed,  and  thus  named,  by  La  Caille,  but  also  has  been  called  Flutewn 
Piotoris ;  astronomers  know  it  as  Piotor.  It  is  the  Chevalet  du  Printre,  or 
the  Palette,  of  the  French ;  the  Pittore  of  the  Italians ;  and  the  Malentaffelei 
of  the  Germans. 

The  constellation  lies  just  south  of  Columba,  between  Canopus  and  the 
south  pole  of  the  ecliptic  in  Dorado,  La  Caille  assigning  to  it  14  stars,  of 
from  3 y2  to  5^  magnitudes;  but  Gould  catalogued  67  down  to  the  7th. 

Near  its  e,  and  close  to  Columba,  Kapteyn  recently  has  discovered  an  8.2- 
magnitude  orange-yellow  star  having  a  proper  motion  of  8".7  annually, 
thus  much  exceeding  that  of  Goombridge's  1830  Ursae  Majoris,  hitherto 
the  Flying  Star. 


The  Constellations  215 


.    .     .     amnis,  quod  de  coelo  cxoritur  sub  solio  Jovis. 

Plautus*  Trinummus. 

.     .     .     the  starry  Stream. 
For  this  a  remnant  of  Eridanos, 
That  stream  of  tears,  'neath  the  gods'  feet  is  borne. 

Brown's  A  ratos. 

£0e  (gtttr  teribdnue, 

the  French  Eridan,  the  Italian  Eridano,  and  the  German  FIubi  Eridanw,  is 
divided  into  the  Northern  and  the  Southern  Stream ;  the  former  winding 
from  the  star  Rigel  of  Orion  to  the  paws  of  Cetus ;  the  latter  extending 
thence  southwards,  southeast,  and  finally  southwest  below  the  horizon  of 
New  York  City,  20  beyond  the  lucida  Achernar,  near  the  junction  of  Phoenix, 
Tucana,  Hydrus,  and  Horologium.  Excepting  Achernar,  however,  it  has 
no  star  larger  than  a  3d- magnitude,  although  it  is  the  longest  constellation 
in  the  sky,  and  Gould  catalogues  in  it  293  naked-eye  components. 

Although  the  ancients  popularly  regarded  it  as  of  indefinite  extent,  in 
classical  astronomy  the  further  termination  was  at  the  star  0  in  400  47' 
of  south  declination ;  but  modern  astronomers  have  carried  it  to  about  6o°. 

With  the  Greeks  it  usually  was  6  Uorafiog,  the  River,  adopted  by  the 
Latins  as  Amnii,  Flumen,  Fluviuf ,  and  specially  as  Padua  and  Eridanus ; 
this  last,  as  'EpiSavoc,  having  appeared  for  it  with  Aratos  and  Eratosthenes. 
Geographically  the  word  is  first  found  in  Hesiod's  Qeoyovia  for  the 
Phasis1  in  Asia,  celebrated  in   classic  history  and  mythology, 

That  rises  deep  and  stately  rowls  along 

into  the  Euxine  Sea  near  the  spot  where  the  Argonauts  secured  the  golden 
fleece. 

Other  authors  identified  our  Eridanus  with  the  fabled  stream  flowing  into 
the  ocean  from  northwestern  Europe, — a  stream  that  always  has  been  a 
matter  of  discussion  and  speculation  (indeed,  Strabo  called  it  "  the  no- 
where existing  "), —  or  with  Homer's  Ocean  Stream  flowing  around  the  earth, 
whence  the  early  titles  for  these  stars,  Oeeanns  and  the  River  of  Ocean. 
They  also  have  been  associated  with  the  famous  little  brook  under  the 
Acropolis;  with  the  Ligurian  Bodencus  —  the  Padus  of  ancient,  and  the  Po 

1This  is  the  modern  Ripn,  or  Rioni,  the  Fasch  of  the  Turks ;  this  last  title  being  a  general 
appellation  in  early  Oriental  geography  for  all  rivers,  perhaps  from  the  Sanskrit  Phas,  Water, 
°r  Was,  still  seen  in  the  German  Wasser. 


216  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  modern,  Italy, — famous  in  all  classical  times  as  the  largest  of  that  coun- 
try's rivers,  Vergil's  Rex  fluviorum;  with  the  Ebro  of  Spain;  with  the 
Granicus  of  Alexander  the  Great;  with  the  Rhenus  and  the  Rhodanus,— 
our  Rhine  and  Rhone;  and  with  the  modern  Radaune,  flowing  into  the 
Vistula  at  Danzig. 

Some  of  these  originals  of  our  River,  especially  the  Padus,  were  seats  of 
the  early  amber  trade,  thus  recalling  the  story  of  the  Heliades,  whose  tears, 
shed  at  the  death  of  their  brother  Phaethon,  turned  into  amber  as  they  fell 
into  "  that  stream  of  tears  "  on  which  that  unfortunate  was  hurled  by  Jove 
after  his  disastrous  attempt  to  drive  the  chariot  of  the  sun.  This  was  a  favorite 
theme  with  poets,  from  Ovid,, in  the  Metamorphoses,  to  Dean  Milman,  in 
Samor,  and  the  foundation  of  the  story  that  the  river  was  transferred  to  the 
sky  to  console  Apollo  for  the  loss  of  his  son. 

But  none  of  these  comparatively  northern  streams  suit  the  stellar  position 
of  our  Eridanus,  for  it  is  a  southern  constellation,  and  it  would  seem  that 
its  earthly  counterpart  ought  to  be  found  in  a  corresponding  quarter.  In 
harmony  with  this,  we  know  that  Eratosthenes  and  the  scholiasts  on  Ger- 
manicus  and  Hyginus  said  that  it  represented  the  Nile,  the  only  noteworthy 
river  that  flows  from  the  south  to  the  north,  as  this  is  said  to  do  when  rising 
above  the  horizon.  Thus  it  was  Hilus  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  the  edition 
of  1 52 1  saying,  Stellatio  fluvii  id  est  Eridanus  sive  Gyon  sire  Nilus;  Gyon1 
coming  from  the  statement  in  Genesis  ii,  13  : 

the  name  of  the  second  river  is  Gihon :  the  same  is  it  that  corapasseth  the  whole  land  of 
Cush ; 

this  latter  being  misunderstood  for  the  Nile  country  instead  of  the  Asiatic 
Kush  that  was  unquestionably  intended  by  the  sacred  writer.  La  Lande 
cited  Mnlda,  equivalent  to  another  title  for  the  stellar  Eridanus, —  MfAac, 
Black, —  and  so  again  connected  with  Egypt,  whose  native  name,  Khem,  has 
this  same  meaning,  well  describing  the  color  of  the  fertile  deposit  that  the 
Nile  waters  leave  on  the  land.  This  became  the  Latin  Melo,  an  early 
name  for  the  Nile,  as  it  also  was  for  the  constellation. 

This  allusion  to  the  Nile  recalls  the  ancient  wide-spread  belief  that  it  and 
the  Euphrates  were  but  different  portions  of  the  same  stream  ;  and  Brown, in 
his  monograph  The  Eridanus,  argues  that  we  should  identify  the  Euphrates 
with  the  sky  figure.  He  finds  his  reasons  in  the  fact  that  both  are  fre- 
quently alluded  to,  from  very  early  days  to  the  classical  age,  as  The  River, 

1  The  word  Sihor  for  the  Nile,  in  our  Authorized  Version  of  Jeremiah  ii,  18,  is  Tijiur  in  the 
Septuagint,  Josephus  also  using  it  in  his  7ordaix»j  ''^/atoAoy/a,  or  Jewish  Anhquities,  in 
referring  to  the  Nile  as  one  of  the  four  great  branches  of  the  River  of  Paradise. 


The  Constellations  217 

the  Euphrates  originally  being  Pura  or  Purat,  the  Water,  as  the  Nile  was, 
and  even  now  is,  Ioma  or  Iauma,  the  Sea;  that  they  resemble  each  other 
as  long  and  winding  streams  with  two  great  branches;  that  each  is  con- 
nected with  a  Paradise  —  Eden  and  Heaven ;  that  the  adjoining  constella- 
tions seem  to  be  Euphratean  in  origin ;  and  that  each  is  in  some  way  asso- 
ciated with  the  Nile,  and  each  with  the  overthrow  of  the  sun-god. 

There  is  much  in  the  Euphratean  records  alluding  to  a  stellar  stream  that 
may  be  our  Eridanus, —  possibly  the  Milky  Way,  another  sky  river;  yet  it 
is  to  the  former  that  the  passage  translated  by  Fox  Talbot  possibly  refers  : 

Like  the  stars  of  heaven  he  shall  shine ;  like  the  River  of  Night  he  shall  flow ; 

and  its  title  has  been  derived  from  the  Akkadian  Aria-dan,  the  Strong 
River.  George  Smith  thinks  that  the  heavenly  Eridanus  may  have  been 
the  Euphratean  Erib-me-gali. 

Its  hither  termination  at  the  star  Rigel  gave  it  the  title  Eiver  of  Orion, 
used  by  Hipparchos,  Proclus,  and  others ;  and  Landseer  wrote : 

ihe  stars  now  constellated  as  Erydanus  were  originally  known  in  different  countries  by 
the  names  of  Wile,  Nerval,  and  Ocean,  or  Neptune. 

Riccioli  cited  for  it  Vardi,  and  a  Moorish  title,  according  to  Bayer,  was 
Goad, —  the  1720  edition  of  the  Uranotnetria  has  Guagi, —  all  these  from 
the  Arabic  wadi,  and  reminding  us  of  the  Wadi  al  Kabir,  the  Great  River, 
the  Spaniards'  Guadalquivir ;  but  the  common  designation  among  the  Ara- 
bians was  Al  Nahr,  the  River,  transcribed  Har  and  Nahar, —  Chilmead's 
Alvahar;  this  Semitic  word,  occasionally  written  Nahal,  also  having  been 
adduced  as  a  derivation  of  the  word  Nile. 

Assemani  quoted  Al  Kaff  Algeria  from  the  Borgian  globe  for  stars  in  the 
bend  of  the  stream ;  but  Ideler  claimed  these  for  Al  Kaff  al  Jidhmah  of  Cetus. 

Caesius  thought  our  Eridanus  the  sky  representative  of  the  Jordan,  or 
of  the  Bed  Sea,  which  the  Israelites  passed  over  as  on  dry  land. 

Old  illuminated  manuscripts  added  a  venerable  river-god  lying  on  the 
surface  of  the  stream,  with  urn,  aquatic  plants,  and  rows  of  stars;  for  all 
of  which  the  Hyginus  of  1488  substitutes  the  figure  of  a  nude  woman,  with 
stars  lining  the  lower  bank.  Bayer's  illustration  is  quite  artistic,  with  reeds 
and  sedge  on  the  margins.  The  monster  Cetus  often  is  depicted  with  his 
fore  paws,  or  flippers,  in  the  River. 

CC,     0.4,     white- 

Achernar  is  from  Al  AKir  al  Nahr,  the  End  of  the  River,  nearly  its  pres- 
ent position  in  the  constellation,  about  320  from  the  south  pole;  but  the 


218  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

title  was  first  given  to  the  star  now  lettered  0,  the  farthest  in  the  Stream 
known  by  Arabian  astronomers.  For  a  Bayer  had  Achamar  pro  Aehtf- 
nahar  vel  Aeharnarim,  and  Enar;  Caesius,Acamar;  Riccioli,  Acarnaharim 
and  Acharnaar;  Scaliger,  Achamarin;  Schick ard,  Achironnahri;  while 
Achenar  and  Archaraar  are  still  occasionally  used. 

This  star  is  supposed  to  be  one  of  Dante's  Tre  Facelle,  notwithstanding 
its  invisibility  from  Italy. 

Chinese  astronomers  knew  it  as  Shwuy  Wei 

Ptolemy  did  not  mention  it,  although  he  could  have  seen  it  from  the 
latitude  of  Alexandria,  310  1 1', —  a  fact,  among  others,  which  argues  that  his 
catalogue  was  not  based  upon  original  observations,  but  drawn  from  the 
now  lost  catalogue  of  Hipparchos,  compiled  at  Rhodes,  more  than  5: 
further  north,  from  which  place  Achernar  was  not  visible. 

It  culminates  on  the  4th  of  December,  due  south  of  Baten  Kaitos. 

p,     2.9,     topaz  yellow. 

Cnrsa,  30  to  the  northwest  of  Rigel  in  Orion,  is  the  principal  star  in  this 
constellation,  seen  from  the  latitude  of  New  York  City. 

The  word  is  from  Al  Kursiyy  al  Jauzah,  the  Chair,  or  Footstool,  of  the 
Central  One,  #".  <r.  Orion,  formed  by  /3,  A,  and  i/>  Eridani  with  7  Ononis, 
and  regarded  as  the  support  of  his  left  foot ;  but  in  the  earlier  astronomy 
of  the  nomads  it  was  one  of  Al  Udha  al  Va'ain,  the  Ostrich's  Nest,  that 
some  extended  to  o1  and  o2. 

The  Century  Cyclopedia  gives  DhaUm  as  an  alternative  title,  undoubtedly 
from  Al  ?halim,  the  Ostrich ;  but,  although  used  for  0  by  several  writers, 
this  better  belongs  to  0. 

The  Chinese  called  0  Yuh  Tung,  the  Golden  Well. 

T1?     3>    yellow. 

Zaurao  and  Zaurak  are  from  the  Arabic  Al  Na'ir  al  Zaura£,  the  Bright 
Star  of  the  Boat;  but  Ideler  applied  this  early  designation  to  the  star  that 
now  is  a  of  our  Phoenix. 

With  d,  e,  77,  and  others  near,  it  made  up  the  Chinese  Men  Yuen,  the 
Heavenly  Park. 

'fy     3-7>    Pale  yellow. 

Azha  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  Az^a  of  Al  Sufi,  and  the  equivalent 
Aflhiyane  of  the  Persians,  and  was  known  by  Kazwini  as  Al  Udhiyy,  being 


The  Constellations  219 

chief  among  the  stars  of  the  Ostrich's  Nest,  which  the  word  signifies.  The 
other  components  were  ?,  p,  and  a ;  but  this  last,  the  1 7th  of  Ptolemy,  is 
not  now  to  be  identified  in  the  sky,  although  it  may  be  one  of  the  three 
stars  p  displaced  by  proper  motion  since  Ptolemy's  time. 

Near  tj,  towards  t,  are  some  other  stars  —  e  and  n  Ceti  among  them  — 
which  in  early  days  were  included  in  the  Nest,  but  later  were  set  apart  by 
Al  Sufi  as  Al  Sadr  al  Ketus,  the  Breast  of  the  Whale. 

6,  Double,    3  and  5.25. 

Acheraar  was  the  early  name  for  this  at  the  then  recognized  end  of  the 
stream,  Halley  saying  of  it,  ultima  fluminis  in  veteri  catalogo,  referring  to 
Tycho's  work,  of  which  his  own  was  a  supplement.  Various  forms  of  its  title 
are  given  under  a,  but  Acamar,  from  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  is  peculiar  to  0. 

Ulug  Beg  called  it  Al  Thalim,  the  Ostrich,  but  Hyde  rendered  this  the 
Dam,  as  if  blocking  the  flow  of  the  stream  to  the  south. 

Bullialdus,  in  his  edition  of  Chrysococca's  work,  had  it  'AvAaf,  the  Fur- 
row, equivalent  to  the  sulcus  used  by  Vergil  to  denote  the  track  of  a  vessel, 
appropriate  enough  to  a  star  situated  in  the  Stream  of  Ocean ;  and  Riccioli 
distinctly  gave  Sulcus  for  it  in  his  Astronomic,  Reformata. 

It  is  the  solitary  star  visible  from  the  latitude  of  New  York  City  in  early 
winter  evenings,  low  down  in  the  south,  on  the  meridian  with  Menkar  of 
the  Whale ;  but  Baily  said  that  its  brilliancy  has  probably  lessened  since 
Ptolemy's  time,  for  the  latter  designated  it  by  a — *'.  <?.  of  the  1st  magnitude. 

Between  it  and  Fomalhaut  lie  many  small  stars,  not  mentioned  by 
Ptolemy,  that  Hyde  said  were  Al  Zibal ;  but  tAl  Sufi  had  already  called 
them  Al  Ri'al,  the  Little  Ostriches. 

1,  k,  0,  and  x>  °*  about  the  4th  magnitude,  were  another  Tien  Yuen  of  the 
Chinese,  different  from  that  marked  by  y;  1  and  tt  are  the  lowest  in  the 
constellation  visible  from  the  latitude  of  New  York. 

p  and  w,  4th-magnitude  stars  lying  westward  of  0,  were  Kew  Tew  in 
China;  Reeves  including  under  this  title  b  and  the  stars  of  the  Sceptre. 

0  ,     4.1,    clear  white. 

In  early  Arabia  this  was  Al  Baft},  the  Egg,  from  its  peculiarly  white 
color,  as  well  as  from  its  position  near  the  Ostrich's  Nest.  Modern  lists 
generally  write  it  Beid. 

Stasia,  the  Urn,  also  has  been  used  for  it,  although  there  is  no  apparent 
applicability  here,  and  the  title  is  universally  recognized  for  k  Aquarii. 


220  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

0  ,  Triple,    4,  9.1,  and  10.8,    orange  and  sky  blue, 

is  the  Keid  of  modern  lists,  Burritt's  Kied,  from  Al  Kaid,  the  Egg-shells, 
thrown  out  from  the  nest  close  by. 

The  Abbe  Hell  used  it  in  the  construction  of  his  constellation  Psalterium. 

Its  duplicity  was  discovered  by  Sir  William  Herschel  in  1783,  and  in 
1851  Otto  Stfuve  found  the  smaller  star  itself  double  and  a  binary  of  short 
period.  The  system  is  remarkable  from  its  great  proper  motion  ofV'.i 
annually.  The  two  larger  stars  are  83"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  1080, 
and  the  smaller  4"  apart,  at  an  angle  of  1 1 1°.  The  parallax  by  Elkin  indi- 
cates a  distance  of  twenty  light  years. 

X  ,     4,    yellow. 

Angetenar  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  now  the  common  title,  the  Argentenir 
of  Riccioli  and  Anchenetonar  of  Scaliger,  is  from  Al  Hinayat  al  Nahr,  the 
Bend  in  the  River,  near  which  it  lies  ;  Ideler  transcribing  this  as  Al  Anchftt 
al  Nahr.  This  is  one  of  Bayer's  nine  stars  of  the  same  letter  lying  just 
above  Fornax ;  he  said  of  them,  sibi  mutuo  succedcnUs  novem* 

See  found,  in  1897,  a  14. 9 -magnitude  bluish  star,  about  52"  away,  at  a 
position  angle  of  i28°.3. 

mark  another  series  of  seven  stars  called  in  Bayer's  text  Beemim  and 
Theemim.  This  last,  used  by  Bode  and  now  in  current  use,  is  perhaps  the 
Arabic  Al  Tau'aman  and  the  Jews'  Teomim,  the  Twins,  from  the  paiis 
v1,  v2,  and  v3,  v4.  Grotius  thought  it  derived  either  from  the  foregoing  or 
from  an  Arabic  term  for  two  medicinal  roots ;  but  Ideler's  suggestion  that 
it  is  from  the  Hebrew  Bamma'yim,  In  the  Water,  would  seem  more  reason- 
able, although  we  have  but  few  star-names  from  Judaea,  and  he  intimated 
that  it  might  be  a  distorted  form  of  Al  Thalim,  the  Ostrich.  The  Almagest 
of  1 5 15  has  Beemim;  and  the  Standard  Dictionary ,  The.eej 


fefte,  $e  t&t, 

a  word  which  Latin  lexicographers  now  write  Faelifl,  was  formed  by  La 
Lande  from  stars  between  Antlia  and  Hydra,  and  first  published  in  his 
Bibliographic  Astronomique  of  1805.     Its  inventor  said  of  it : 


The  Constellations  221 

I  am  very  fond  of  cats.  I  will  let  this  figure  scratch  on  the  chart.  The  starry  sky  has 
worried  me  quite  enough  in  my  life,  so  that  now  I  can  have  my  joke  with  it. 

In  Die  Gtstirne>  the  2d  edition  of  Bode's  maps,  it  appears  as  Katze,  with 
twenty  stars ;  but,  except  with  Secchi,  who  included  it  as  Oatto  in  his  plani- 
sphere of  1878,  it  has  long  been  discontinued  in  the  catalogues  and  charts. 

Proctor  assigned  this  title  to  Canis  Minor,  but  no  one  has.  followed  him 
in  this  change. 


Sorter  Claimed,  or  Sotn^r  Cifcmtae,  t$e  Cfcmicaf 
Jumce, 

was  formed  by  La  Caille  from  stars  within  the  southern  bend  of  the  River ; 
but  modern  astronomers,  by  whom  it  is  still  recognized,  have  abbreviated 
the  tide  to  Fornax. 

The  Chinese  know  it  as  Tien  Yn,  Heaven's  Temporary  Granary. 

Bode  changed  the  early  name  in  1782  to  Apparatus  chemieus,  and  trans- 
lated it  as  the  Chemisohe  Apparat,  Chymische  Ofen,  and  1' Apparat  Chi- 
mique,  an  alteration  in  honor  of  the  celebrated  chemist  Antoine  Laurent 
Lavoisier.    These  titles,  however,  have  fallen  into  disuse. 

Gould  assigns  to  it  no  stars,  from  3.6  to  7th  magnitudes. 

a,  the  lucida,  is  a  double  of  4th  and  7th  magnitudes,  3"  apart,  with  a 
position  angle  of  3200,  and  may  be  binary.  It  comes  to  the  meridian  on 
the  19th  of  December. 


Sreberici  JEfcnottt. 


In  1787  Bode  formed,  and  in  1790  published  in  the  Jahrbuch,  this  minor 
constellation  as  Friedrioh's  Ehre, — Frederick's  Glory,  Burritt's  Gloria  Pre- 
teica,  and  Miss  Clerke's  Gloria  Frederick — in  honor  of  the  great  Frederick 
II  of  Prussia,  who  had  died  in  1786. 

It  was  made  up  from  thirty-four  stars  in  the  space  between  Cepheus,  An- 
dromeda, Cassiopeia,  and  the  Swan,  where  Royer,  in  1679,  had  attempted 
to  replace  the  earlier  Lacerta  of  Hevelius  by  his  Sceptre  and  Hand  of  Jus- 
tice. But  he  borrowed  for  his  new  creation  from  the  northern  hand  of 
Andromeda,  which  he  moved  to  a  more  easterly  position,  entirely  indifferent 


222  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

to  the  fact  that  it  had  been  "  stretched  out  there  for  3000  years."    Bode's 
figure  was  thus  described : 

Below  a  Nimbus,  the  sign  of  royal  dignity,  hang,  wreathed  with  the  imperishable 
Laurel  of  fame,  a  Sword,  Pen  and  an  Olive  Branch,  to  distinguish  this  ever  to  be  remem- 
bered monarch,  as  hero,  sage  and  peacemaker. 

It  is  now  seldom  mentioned,  and   has  been  discarded  from  the  charts, 
while  Lacerta  maintains  its  position  in  this  much  occupied  spot. 


Then  both  were  cleans'd  from  blood  and  dust 

To  make  a  heavenly  sign ; 
The  lads  were,  like  their  armour,  scour'd, 

And  then  hung  up  to  shine ; 
Such  were  the  heavenly  double-Dicks, 

The  sons  of  Jove  and  Tyndar. 

John  Grubb,  in  Percy's  Retiques  of  Ancient  English  Potiry. 

(Bemtnt,  f#e  £ttrin& 

The  conception  of  a  sky  couple  for  these  stars  has  been  universal  from 
remote  antiquity,  but  our  Latin  title  dates  only  from  classical  times,  varied 
by  Gemelli,  which  still  is  the  Italian  name.  The  Anglo-Saxons  knew  them  as 
ge  Twisan,  and  the  Anglo-Normans  as  Frere ;  the  modern  French  as  G£ 
meaux,  and  the  Germans  as  Zwillinge,  Bayer's  Zwilling. 

While  on  earth  these  Twins  were  sons  of  Leda,  becoming,  after  their 
transfer  to  the  sky,  Geminum  Astrum,  Ledaei  Fratres,  Ledaei  Juvene*,  and 
Ledaeum  Sidus ;  Dante  calling  their  location  Nido  di  Leda,  the  Nest  of 
Leda.  Cowley,  the  contemporary  of  Milton,  wrote  of  them  as  the  LedsMii 
Stan,  and  Owen  Meredith  of  our  day  as 

The  lone  Ledaean  lights  from  yon  enchanted  air. 

They  also  were  Gemini  Laeones, —  Milton's  Spartan  Twins  and  William 
Morris*  Twin  Laconian  Stan ;  Spartana  Suboles  from  their  mother's  home, 
and  Cycno  generati  from  her  story ;  Pneri  Tyndarii,  Tyndarides,  Tyndarids* 

and  Horace's  olarnm  Tyndaridae  Sidus,  from  Tyndarus,  their  supposed 
father;  while  the  Oebalii  and  Oebalidae  of  Ovid,  Statius,  and  Valerius 
Flaccus  are  from  their  grandfather,  Oebalus,  king  of  Sparta.  Mamlius 
called  them  Phoebi  Sidus  as  being  under  Apollo's  protection. 


The  Constellations  223 

Individually  they  were  Castor  and  Pollux,—  Dante's  and  the  Italians' 
Cwtore  e  Polluce ;  Apollo  and  Hercules,  Triptolemus  and  Iasion,  Theseus 
and  Pirithous.  Horace  wrote  Castor  fraterqne  magni  Oastoris;  Pliny, 
Castores;  and  Statius  had  alter  Castor  from  their  alternate  life  and  death 
that  the  modern  James  Thomson  repeated  in  the  Summer  of  his  Seasons: 

Th'  alternate  Twins  are  fix'd. 

But  VVelcke  gave  an  astronomical  turn  to  these  titles  by  seeing  in  the  first 
Astor,  the  Starry  One,  and  in  Pollux  Polylenkes,  the  Lightful. 

With  the  Greeks  they  were  A/dv^ot,  the  Twins, —  Riccioli's  Didymi, — 
originally  representing  two  of  the  Pelasgian  Kdfieipoi,  but  subsequently  the 
Boeotian  biooKvpoi, — Dioscuri  in  Rome, — the  Sons  of  Zeus;  as  also  Am- 
phion  and  Zethus,  Antiope's  sons,  who,  as  Homer  wrote,  were 

Founders  of  Thebes,  and  men  of  mighty  name, 

strikingly  shown  on  the  walls  of  the  Spada  Palace  in  Rome,  and  with  the 
Farnese  Bull  now  in  the  Naples  Museum.  Plutarch  called  them  *Ava*ec, 
Lords, — Cicero's  Anaoes, —  and  2*w,  the  Two  Gods  of  Sparta;  Theodore- 
tus,  'EQioTioi,  the  Familiar  Gods ;  others,  Dii  Samothraces,  from  the  an- 
cient seat  of  worship  of  the  Cabeiri ;  and  Dii  Germani,  the  Brother  Gods. 

In  India  they  always  were  prominent  as  Agvini,  the  Ashwins,  or  Horse- 
men, a  name  also  found  in  other  parts  of  the  sky  for  other  Hindu  twin 
deities ;  but,  popularly,  they  were  Mithuna,  the  Boy  and  Girl,  the  Tamil 
Midhnnam,  afterwards  changed  to  Jitnma,  or  Tituma,  from  the  Greek  title. 

A  Buddhist  zodiac  had  in  their  place  a  Woman  holding  a  golden  cord. 

Some  of  the  Jews  ascribed  them  to  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  although  others 
more  fitly  claimed  them  for  Simeon  and  Levi  jointly,  the  Brethren. 
They  called  them  Tedmlm;  the  Tynans,  Tome;  and  the  Arabian  as- 
tronomers, Al  Tan'aman,  the  Twins;  but  in  early  Desert  astronomy  their 
two  bright  stars  formed  one  of  the  fore  paws  of  the  great  ancient  Lion ; 
although  they  also  were  Al  Buij  al  Jauza',  the  Constellation  of  the  Twins. 
From  this  came  Bayer's  Algenze,  which,  however,  he  said  was  unrecht,  thus 
making  Riccioli's  Elgeuzi  and  Gienz  equally  wrong.  Hyde  adopted  an- 
other form  of  the  word, —  Jauzah,  the  Centre, —  as  designating  these 
stars'  position  in  medio  coeli,  or  in  a  region  long  viewed  as  the  centre  of  the 
heavens;  either  because  they  were  a  zenith  constellation,  or  from  the 
brilliancy  of  this  portion  of  the  sky.  Julius  Pollux,  the  Egypto-Greek 
writer  of  our  second  century,  derived  the  title  from  Jauz,  a  Walnut,  as 
mentioned  in  his  Onomasticon.     But  there  is  much  uncertainty  as  to  the 


224  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

stellar  signification  and  history  of  this  name,  as  will  be  further  noticed  under 
Orion. 

The  1515  Almagest  has  the  inexplicable  Aliodft,  said  to  be  from  some 
early  edition  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables. 

The  Persians  called  the  Twins  Du  Paikar,  or  Do  Patkar,  the  Two  Figures : 
the  Khorasmians,  Adhnpakarik,  of  similar  meaning ;  and  Riccioli  wrote 
that  they  were  the  "  Chaldaean  "  TammeclL 

Kircher  said  that  they  were  the  Kkvoog,  or  Claustrum  Hori^  of  the 
Egyptians;  and  others,  that  they  represented  the  two  intimately  associated 
gods,  Horns  the  Elder,  and  Horns  the  Younger,  or  Harpeehrnti, —  the 
Harpocrates  of  Greece. 

The  Twins  were  placed  in  the  sky  by  Jove,  in  reward  for  their  brotherly 
love  so  strongly  manifested  while  on  earth,  as  in  the  verses  of  Manilius : 

Tender  Gemini  in  strict  embrace 

Stand  clos'd  and  smiling  in  each  other's  Face  ; 

and  were  figured  as  Two  Boys,  or  Young  Men,  drawn  exactly  alike : 

So  like  they  were,  no  mortal 
Might  one  from  other  know ; 

or  as  Two  Infants,  Duo  Corpuscula.  But  Paulus  Venetus  and  other  illus- 
trators of  Hyginus  showed  Two  Angels,  and  the  Venetian  edition  of 
Albumasar  of  1489  has  two  nude  seated  figures,  a  Boy  and  a  Girl,  with 
arms  outstretched  upon  each  other's  shoulders. 

The  Leyden  Manuscript  shows  two  unclad  boys  with  Phrygian  caps,  each 
surmounted  by  a  star  and  Maltese  cross;  one  with  club  and  spear, the  other 
with  a  stringed  instrument.  Bayer  had  something  similar,  Pollux,  however, 
bearing  a  peaceful  sickle. 

Caesius  saw  here  the  Twin  Sons  of  Rebecca,  or  David  and  Jonathan ; 
while  other  Christians  said  that  the  stars  together  represented  Saint  James 
the  Greater;  or,  to  go  back  to  the  beginning  of  things,  Adam  and  Eve,  who 
probably  were  intended  by  the  nude  male  and  female  figures  walking  hand 
in  hand  in  the  original  illustration  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables.  A  similar  shov- 
ing appears,  however,  on  the  Denderah  planisphere  of  1300  years  previous. 

The  Arabians  drew  them  as  Peacocks,  from  which  came  a  mediaeval  title, 
Duo  Pavones ;  some  of  the  Chaldaeans  and  Phoenicians,  as  a  Pair  of  Kidi 
following  Auriga  and  the  Goat,  or  as  Two  Gazelles ;  the  Egyptians,  as  Two 
Sprouting  Plants;  and  Brown  reproduces  a  Euphratean  representation  of  a 
couple  of 


The  Constellations  225 

small,  naked,  male  child-figures,  one  standing  upon  its  head  and  the  other  standing  upon 
the  former,  feet  to  feet;  the  original  Twins  being  the  sun  and  moon,  when  the  one  is  up 
the  other  Is  generally  down ; 

a  variant  representation  showing  the  positions  reversed  and  the  figures 
clothed. 

Another  symbol  was  a  Pile  of  Bricks,  referring  to  the  building  of  the  first 
city  and  the  fratricidal  brothers  —  the  Romulus  and  Remus  of  Roman 
legend ;  although  thus  with  a  very  different  character  from  that  generally 
assigned  to  our  Heavenly  Twins.  Similarly  Sayce  says  that  the  Sumerian 
name  for  the  month  May-June,  when  the  sun  was  in  Gemini,  signified 
"  Bricks  "(?). 

In  classical  days  the  constellation  was  often  symbolized  by  two  stars  over 
a  ship;  and  having  been  appointed  by  Jove  as  guardians  of  Rome,  they 
naturally  appeared  on  all  the  early  silver  coinage  of  the  republic  from  about 
269  b.  c,  generally  figured  as  two  young  men  on  horseback,  with  oval  caps, 
surmounted  by  stars,  showing  the  halves  of  the  egg-shell  from  which  they 
issued  at  birth.  On  the  denarii,  the  "  pence  "  of  the  good  Samaritan,  they 
are  in  full  speed  as  if  charging  in  the  battle  of  Lake  Regillus,  and  the 
sestertii  and  quinarii  have  the  same ;  but  even  before  this,  about  300  b.  c, 
coins  were  struck  by  the  Bruttii  of  Magna  Graecia,  in  Lower  Italy,  that 
bore  the  heads  of  the  Twins  on  one  side  with  their  mounted  figures  on  the 
other.    The  coins  of  Rhegium  had  similar  designs,  as  had  those  of  Bactria. 

For  their  efficient  aid  in  protecting  their  fellow  Argonauts  in  the  storm 
that  had  nearly  overwhelmed  the  Argo,  the  Gemini  were  considered  by  the 
Greeks,  and  even  more  by  the  Romans,  as  propitious  to  mariners,  Ovid 
writing  in  the  Fasti: 

Utile  sollicitare  sidus  utmmque  rati, 

which  moral  John  Gower,  the  friend  of  Chaucer,  rendered : 

A  welcome  couple  to  a  vexed  barge ; 

and  Horace,  in  his  Odes,  as  translated  by  Mr.  Gladstone : 

So  Leda's  twins,  bright-shining,  at  their  beck 
Oft  have  delivered  stricken  barks  from  wreck. 

In  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  xxviii,  n,  we  read  that  the  Twin  Brothers 
were  the  "  sign,"  or  figurehead,  of  the  ship  in  which  Saint  Paul  and  his 
companions  embarked  after  the  eventful  voyage  that  had  ended  in  ship- 
wreck on  Malta;  or,  as  Tindale  rendered  it  in  1526: 

a  ship  of  Alexandry,  which  had  wyntred  in  the  Yle,  whose  badge  was  Castor  and  Pollux, — 


226  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

the  Greek  Alexandria,  and  Ostia,  the  harbor  of  Rome,  specially  being 
under  the  tutelage  of  the  Twins,  who  were  often  represented  on  either  side 
of  the  bows  of  vessels  owned  in  those  ports. 

The  incident  of  the  storm  in  the  history  of  the  Twins  seems  to  have  asso- 
ciated them  with  the  electrical  phenomenon  common  in  heavy  weather  at 
sea,  and  well  known  in  ancient  times,  as  it  is  now.  Pliny  described  it  at 
length  in  the  Historia  Naturalis,  and  allusions  to  it  are  frequent  in  all  liter- 
ature; the  idea  being  that  a  double  light,  called  Castor  and  Pollux,  was 
favorable  to  the  mariner.  Horace  designated  this  as  Fralres  Helenat, 
lucida  sidera,  rendered  by  Mr.  Gladstone  "  Helen's  Brethren,  Starry  Lights"; 
Rabelais  wrote : 

He  had  seen  Castor  at  the  main  yard  arm ; 

and  our  Bryant : 

resplendent  cressets  which  the  Twins 
Uplifted  in  their  ever-youthful  hands. 

A  single  light  was  "  that  dreadfull,  cursed,  and  threatening  meteor  called 
Helena,"  —  the  sister  of  the  Twins  that  brought  such  ill  luck  to  Troy. 

In  modern  times  these  lights  are  known  as  Composant,  Corposant,  and 
Corpusant,  from  the  Italian  Corpo  Santo ;  Pigafetta  ending  one  of  his 
descriptions  of  a  dangerous  storm  at  sea  with  "  God  and  the  Corpi  Santi 
came  to  our  aid  " ;  and  as  the  Fire  of  Saint  Helen,  Saint  Helmes,  or  Telmes 
—  San  Telmo  of  Spain ;  or  of  San  Anselmo,  Ermo,  Hermo,  and  Eremo, 
from  Anselmus,  or  Erasmus,  bishop  of  Naples,  martyred  in  Diocletian's 
reign.  Ariosto  wrote  of  it,  la  disiata  luce  di  Santo  Ermo  y  and  in  Long- 
fellow's Golden  Legend  the  Padrone  exclaims : 

Last  night  I  saw  Saint  Elmo's  stars, 

With  their  glittering  lanterns  all  at  play 
On  the  tops  of  the  masts  and  the  tips  of  the  spars, 

And  I  knew  we  should  have  foul  weather  to-day. 

The  phenomenon  also  has  been  called  Saint  Anne's  Light;  and  some  one 
has  dubbed  it  Saint  Electricity.  In  recent  centuries,  with  seamen  of  the 
Latin  races,  it  has  been  Saint  Peter  and  Saint  Nicholas;  the  former  from 
his  walking  on  the  water,  and  the  latter  from  the  miracles  attributed  to  him 
of  stilling  the  storm  on  his  voyage  to  the  Holy  Land  when  he  restored  to 
life  the  drowned  sailor,  and  again  on  the  Aegean  Sea.  These  miracles  have 
made  Nicholas  the  patron  saint  of  all  Christian  maritime  nations  of  the 
south  of  Europe,  and  famous  everywhere.  In  England  alone  376  churches 
are  dedicated  to  him, — more  than  to  that  country's  Saint  George. 


The  Constellations  227 

In  Eden's  translation  from  Pigafetta's  account  of  his  voyage  with  Magel- 
lan, 1519-1522,  we  read  that  when  off  the  coast  of  Patagonia  the  navigators 

were  in  great  daungiour  by  tempest.  But  as  soon  as  the  three  fyefs  cauled  saynte  Helen, 
saynte  Nycolas,  and  saynt  Clare,  appered  uppon  the  cabels  of  the  shyppes,  suddeynely  the 
tempest  and  furye  of  the  wyndes  ceased  .  .  .  the  which  was  of  such  comfort  to  us  that 
we  wept  for  joy. 

This  Saint  Clare  is  from  Clara  d'Assisi,  the  foundress  of  the  order  of  Poor 
Clares  in  the  13th  century,  by  whose  rebuke  the  infidel  Saracens  were  put 
to  flight  when  ravaging  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic.  Von  Humboldt  men- 
tioned in  Cosmos  another  title,  San  Pedro  Gonzalez,  probably  Saint  Peter 
of  Alcantara,  another  patron  saint  of  sailors, "  walking  on  the  water  through 
trust  in  God." 

A  few  words  as  to  Pigafetta  may  be  not  uninteresting.  His  work  is 
described  in  Eden's  Decades  as 

A  briefe  declaration  of  the  vyage  or  navigation  made  abowte  the  worlde.  Gathered  owt 
of  a  large  booke  wrytten  hereof  by  Master  Antonie  Pygafetta  Vincentine  [*.  e.  from  Vin- 
cenza],  Knyght  of  the  Rhodes  and  one  of  the  coompanye  of  that  vyage  in  the  which,  Fer- 
dinando  Magalianes  a  Portugale  (whom  sum  caule  Magellanus)  was  generall  Capitayne 
of  the  navie. 

Pigafetta  was  knighted  after  his  return  to  Seville  in  the  ship  Victoria  that 
Transilvanus  wrote  was  "  more  woorthye  to  bee  placed  amonge  the  starres 
then  that  owlde  Argo."  And  it  was  from  Eden's  translation  of  this  "  large 
booke "  that  Shakespeare  is  supposed  to  have  taken  his  Caliban  of  the 
Tempest,  whose  "  dam's  god,  Setebos,"  was  worshiped  by  the  Patagonians. 
Indeed  Caliban  himself  seems  to  have  been  somewhat  of  an  astronomer,  for 
he  alludes  to  Prospero  as  having  taught  him  how 

To  name  the  bigger  light,  and  how  the  less, 
That  burn  by  day  and  night. 

The  Gemini  were  invoked  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans  in  war  as  well  as 
in  storm.  Lord  Macaulay's  well-known  lines  on  the  battle  of  Lake  Regillus, 
498  b.  c,  one  of  his  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome,  have  stirred  many  a  school- 
boy's heart,  as  Homer's  Hymn  to  Castor  and  JFbllux  did  those  of  the  seamen 
of  earliest  classical  days.     Shelley  has  translated  this  last : 

Ye  wild-eyed  muses !  sing  the  Twins  of  Jove, 

mild  Pollux,  void  of  blame, 
And  steed-subduing  Castor,  heirs  of  fame. 
These  are  the  Powers  who  earth-born  mortals  save 


228  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

And  ships,  whose  flight  is  swift  along  the  wave. 

When  wintry  tempests  o'er  the  savage  sea 

Are  raging,  and  the  sailors  tremblingly 

Call  on  the  Twins  of  Jove  with  prayer  and  vow, 

Gathered  in  fear  upon  the  lofty  prow, 

And  sacrifice  with  snow-white  lambs,  the  wind 

And  the  huge  billow  bursting  close  behind, 

Even  then  beneath  the  weltering  waters  bear 

The  staggering  ship — they  suddenly  appear, 

On  yellow  wings  rushing  athwart  the  sky, 

And  lull  the  blasts  in  mute  tranquillity, 

And  strew  the  waves  on  the  white  ocean's  bed. 

Fair  omen  of  the  voyage ;  from  toil  and  dread, 

The  sailors  rest  rejoicing  in  the  sight, 

And  plough  the  quiet  sea  in  safe  delight. 

They  seem  to  have  been  a  common  object  of  adjuration  among  the  Ro- 
mans, and,  indeed,  as  such  have  descended  to  the  present  time  in  the  boys' 
"  By  Jiminy ! "  while  the  caricature  of  1 665,  Homer  A  la  Mode,  had,  as  a  com- 
mon expression  of  that  day, "  O  Gemony ! "  And  theatre-goers  will  recall  the 
"  O  Gemini ! "  of  Lucy  in  Sheridan's  Rivals. 

Astrologers  assigned  to  this  constellation  guardianship  over  human 
hands,  arms,  and  shoulders ;  while  Albumasar  held  that  it  portended  intense 
devotion,  genius,  largeness  of  mind,  goodness,  and  liberality.  With  Virgo 
it  was  considered  the  House  of  Heronry,  and  thus  the  Cyleniu*  tour  of 
Chaucer;  and  a  fortunate  sign,  ruling  over  America,  Flanders,  Lorabardy, 
Sardinia,  Armenia,  Lower  Egypt,  Brabant,  and  Marseilles ;  and,  in  ancient 
days,  over  the  Euxine  Sea  and  the  river  Ganges.  High  regard,  too,  was 
paid  to  it  in  the  17th  century  as  being  peculiarly  connected  with  the  fortunes 
of  the  south  of  England  and  the  city  of  London ;  for  the  Great  Plague  and 
Fire  of  1665  and  1666  occurred  when  this  sign  was  in  the  ascendant,  while 
the  building  of  London  Bridge  and  other  events  of  importance  to  the  city 
were  begun  when  special  planets  were  here.  But  two  centuries  previously 
it  was  thought  that  whoever  happened  to  be  born  under  the  Twins  would 
be  "  ryght  pore  and  wayke  and  lyf  in  mykul  tribulacion."  Chinese  astrolo- 
gers asserted  that  if  this  constellation  were  invaded  by  Mars,  war  and  a  poor 
harvest  would  ensue. 

Ampelius  assigned  to  it  the  care  of  Aquilo,  the  North  Wind,  the  Greek 
Boreas  that  came  from  the  north  one  third  east. 

Its  colors  were  white  and  red  like  those  of  Aries,  and  it  was  the  natal 
sign  of  Dante,  who  was  born  on  the  14th  of  May,  1265,  when  the  sun 
entered  it  for  the  first  time  in  that  year.  He  made  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment of  this  in  the  Puradiso  : 


The  Constellations  229 

O  glorious  stars,  O  light  impregnated 

With  mighty  virtue,  from  which  I  acknowledge 

All  of  my  genius,  whatsoe'er  it  be ; 

and  called  them  gli  EUrni  GemellL     How  like  this  is  to  Hesiod's  reference 
to  the  Muses ! 

To  them  I  owe,  to  them  alone  I  owe, 

What  of  the  seas,  or  of  the  stars,  I  know. 

The  sign's  symbol,  J,  has  generally  been  considered  the  Etrusco-Roman 
numeral,  but  Seyffert  thinks  it  a  copy  of  the  Spartans'  emblem  of  their  Twin 
Gods  carried  with  them  into  battle.  Brown  derives  it  from  the  cuneiform 
7T,  the  ideograph  of  the  Akkad  month  Kas,  the  Twins,  the  Assyrian  Simanu, 
corresponding  to  parts  of  our  May  and  June  when  the  sun  passed  through 
it.  The  constellation  was  certainly  prominent  on  the  Euphrates,  for  five 
of  its  stars  marked  as  many  of  the  ecliptic  divisions  of  that  astronomy. 

The  Gemini  were  the  Ape  of  the  early  Chinese  solar  zodiac,  and  were 
known  as  Shin  Chin;  Edkins,  calling  it  Shi  Ch'en,  says  that  this  title  was 
transferred  to  it  from  Orion.  Later  on  the  constellation  was  known 
as  Tin  Yang,  the  Two  Principles ;  and  as  Jidim,  an  important  object  of 
worship. 

The  Reverend  Mr.  William  Ellis  wrote,  in  his  Polynesian  Researches, 
that  the  natives  of  those  islands  knew  the  two  stars  as  Twins,  Castor  being 
Pipiri  and  Pollux  Senna;  and  the  whole  figure  Ha  Ainann,  the  Two 
Ainanus,  one  Above,  the  other  Below,  with  a  lengthy  legend  attached ;  but 
the  Reverend  Mr.  W.  W.  Gill  tells  the  same  story,  in  his  Myths  and  Songs 
of  the  South  Pacific,  as  belonging  to  stars  in  Scorpio.  The  Australian 
aborigines  gave  them  a  name  signifying  Young  Men,  while  the  Pleiades 
were  Young  Girls;  the  former  also  being  Tnrree  and  Wanjil,  pursuing 
Purra,  whom  they  annually  kill  at  the  beginning  of  the  intense  heat,  roast- 
ing him  by  the  fire  the  smoke  of  which  is  marked  by  Coonar  Tuning,  the 
Great  Mirage.  The  Bushmen  of  South  Africa  know  them  as  Young  Wo- 
men, the  wives  of  the  eland,  their  great  antelope. 

Aristotle  has  left  an  interesting  record  of  the  occultation,  at  two  different 
times,  of  some  one  of  the  stars  of  Gemini  by  the  planet  Jupiter,  the  earliest 
observation  of  this  nature  of  which  we  have  knowledge,  and  made  probably 
about  the  middle  of  the  4th  century  b.  c. 

The  southern  half  of  the  constellation  lies  within  the  Milky  Way,  a  and 
3,  on  the  north,  marking  the  heads  of  the  Twins  between  Cancer  and  Auriga, 
and  noticeably  conspicuous  over  setting  Orion  in  the  April  sky. 

Argelander  enumerates  53  naked-eye  stars,  and  Heis  106. 
'5* 


230  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Starry  Gemini  hang  like  glorious  crowns 
Over  Orion's  grave  low  down  in  the  west. 

Tennyson's  Maud. 

Ct,   Binary,     2.7  and  3.7,    bright  white  and  pale  white. 

Castor,  Ovid's  Eques,  the  Horseman  of  the  Twins,  and  the  mortal  one 
as  being  the  son  of  Tyndarus,  is  the  well-known  name  for  this  star,  current 
for  centuries;  but  in  later  Greek  days  it  was  'AnokXuv,  and  Apollo  with  the 
astronomers  even  through  Flamsteed's  time. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  till  toward  the  Christian  era  this  name  for  the 
god  of  day  was  the  title  of  the  planet  Mercury  when  morning  star,1  its 
rapid  orbital  movement  and  nearness  to  the  sun  preventing  its  earlier  iden- 
tification with  the  evening  star,1  which  was  designated,  as  now,  after  the  god 
of  thieves  and  darkness.  In  Percy's  Rcliques  Mercury  is  described  as  "the 
nimble  post  of  heaven";. Goad,  in  1686,  called  it 

a  squirting  lacquey  of  the  sun,  who  seldom  shows  his  face  in  these  parts,  as  if  he  were  in 
debt; 

while  this  same  quick  motion  induced  the  alternative  word  of  the  chemists 
for  quicksilver,  as  well  as  for  the  very  uncomfortable  human  temperament 

that  Byron  described : 

a  mercurial  man 
Who  fluttered  over  all  things  like  a  fan. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  supposed  difficulty  of  seeing  Mercury,— 
Copernicus  died  regretting  that  he  had  never  observed  it,  although  this  was 
doubtless  partly  due  to  his  high  latitude  and  the  mists  arising  from  the 
Vistula  at  Thorn, —  the  canon  Gallet,  whom  La  Lande  styled  Hermophile, 
saw  it  100  times,  and  Baily  said  that  Hevelius  observed  it  1100  times! 
Indeed,  it  is  easily  visible  in  the  latitude  of  New  York  City  for  several 
days,  at  its  elongation,  if  one  knows  where  to  look  for  it. 

But  to  return  to  our  star  Castor. 

It  was  'AtteaXw  in  the  Doric  dialect,  which  degenerated  into  Afelar» 
Aphelion,  Aphellan,  Apullum,  Aphellar,  and  Avellar ;  the  Avelax  of  Apian  • 
of  the  1 6th  century  subsequently  appearing  as  Anelar,  the  Alfonsine  Anlid*** 

lAs  morning  and  evening  star  in  Egypt  it  was  Set  and  Horns;  in  India,  Buddha  and 
Rauhinya ;  and  in  Greece  *Eq6tift  the  Lovely  One,  and  Ztllftojv,  the  Sparkling  One.  Its  ear- 
liest observation,  reported  by  Ptolemy  as  from  Chaldaea,  was  on  the  15th  of  November,  265 
B.  C,  the  planet  then  being  between  ft  and  d  Scorpii. 

2  This  Apian  was  Pieter  Bienewitz,  whose  surname  was  Latinized,  after  the  fashion  of  his 
day,  into  Apianus ;  apis,  our  word  bee,  taking  the  place  of  the  German  bient. 


The  Constellations  231 

Caesius  had  the  synonymous  Phoebm,  and  also  cited  Theseus,  but  this 
should  rather  be  applied  to  0  as  another  title  of  the  original  Hercules. 
Bayer  gave  Basalgenze ;  and  Riccioli,  Algueze  vel  potius  Elgiautzi,  but 
these  also  better  belong  to  0. 

The  Babylonians  used  Castor  to  mark  their  nth  ecliptic  constellation, 
Majh-mashu-Mahrti,  the  Western  One  of  the  Twins ;  while  with  Pollux  the 
two  constituted  Mas-tab-ba-gal-gal,  the  Great  Twins.  In  Assyria  they  were 
Mas-mas  and  Tuamu,  the  Twins,  although  that  country  knew  other  twin 
stars  here  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  the  sky.  As  an  object  of  veneration 
Castor  was  Turos-mal-max,  the  Son  of  the  Supreme  Temple ;  but  in 
astrology,  everywhere,  it  has  been  a  portent  of  mischief  and  violence. 

When  the  Arabians  adopted  the  Greek  figures  they  designated  this  star 
as  Al  Bis  al  Taum  al  Mukaddim,  the  Head  of  the  Foremost  Twin ;  but, 
according  to  Al  Tizini,  the  early  and  indigenous  term  was  Al  Awwal  al 
Dhira',  the  First  in  the  Paw  or  Forearm.  Reference  was  made  by  this  to 
the  supposed  figure  of  the  enormous  early  Lion,  the  nomads'  Asad,  the 
Outstretched  Forearm  of  which  a  and  (3  marked  as  Al  Dhira*  al  Mabsutat 
This  extended  still  further  over  Gemini,  the  other,  the  Contracted  one,  Al 
Makbudah,  running  into  Canis  Minor.  The  rest  of  this  monstrosity  in- 
cluded Cancer,  part  of  our  Leo,  Bootes,  Virgo,  and  Corvus,  as  was  men- 
tioned by  Kazwini,  and  commented  on  by  Ideler,  who  sharply  criticized 
mistakes  in  its  construction.  Al  Biruni  also  described  this  ancient  figure, 
especially  complaining  of  the  many  errors  and  much  confusion  in  the  Arab 
mind  as  to  the  nomenclature  of  the  two  stars,  although  he  himself  used  titles 
for  them  generally  applied  only  to  Sirius  and  Procyon.  Ideler  and  Beigel 
attributed  this  exaggerated  and  incongruous  formation  to  blunders  of  mis- 
understanding and  transcription  by  early  writers  and  copyists.  Indeed,  the 
former  asserted  that  the  whole  was  the  creation  of  grammarians  who  knew 
nothing  of  the  heavens,  and  arbitrarily  misrepresented  older  star-names. 

The  two  bright  stars  were  the  5th  manzil,  Al  Dhira',  and  the  5th  nak- 
*ta/ra,Puiiarvarsu,  the  Two  Good  Again;  Aditi,  the  sky  goddess,  mother  of 
the  Adityas,  being  the  presiding  divinity,  and  0  marking  the  junction  with 
Pushya,  the  next  nakshatra.  They  also  constituted  the  5th  situ,  Tsing,  a 
Well,  or  Pit,  anciently  Tiam,  although  this  was  extended  to  include  e,  //,  f, 
A,  f,  y,  v,  and  (*,  Biot  making  the  last  the  determinant  star. 

a  and  0  also  were  a  distinct  Chinese  asterism,  Ho  Choo,  and  with  y  and 
<5  were  Pih  Ha 

As  marking  lunar  stations,  Brown  thinks  them  the  Akkadian  Supa, 
Lustrous;  the  Coptic  Pimafl,  the  Forearm;  the  Persian  Taraha,  the  Sog- 
dian  Ghamb,  and  the  Khorasmian  Jiray, —  these  last  three  titles  signifying  the 


232  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Two  Stars.   Hyde  wrote  that  the  Copts  knew  it.as  Uifidi,  or  UifidivreuQ\\ 
the  Forearm  of  the  Nile;  hew  being  for  Gihon,  a  name  for  that  river. 

Castor  is  70  north  of  the  ecliptic,  but,  although  literally  heading  the  con- 
stellation, is  now  fainter  than  its  companion,  and  astronomers  generally  are 
agreed  that  there  has  been  inversion  of  their  brilliancy  during  the  last  three 
centuries.     It  culminates  on  the  23d  of  February. 
It  is  among 

those  double  stars 
Whereof  the  one  more  bright 
Is  circled  by  the  other, 

viewed  by  the  Self-indulgent  Soul  of  Tennyson's  Palace  of  Art ;  and  Sir 
John  Herschel  called  it  the  largest  and  finest  of  all  the  double  stars  in  our 
hemisphere ;  while  the  rapid  revolution  of  its  two  components  first  con- 
vinced his  father  of  the  existence  of  binary  systems.  But  Bradley  had 
already  noticed  a  change  of  about  300  in  their  angle  of  position  between 
1718  and  1759,  and  "  was  thus  within  a  hair's  breadth  of  the  discovery  of 
their  physical  connection,"  afterwards  predicted,  in  1767,  by  the  Reverend 
John  Michell,  and  positively  made  in  1802  by  Sir  William  Heischel,  who 
coined  the  word  "  binary  "  now  applied  to  this  class  of  stars.  Burnham  wrote 
in  1896  that  we  have  only  36  pairs  whose  orbits  can  be  said  to  be  well 
determined,  and  about  230  other  pairs  probably  binary  systems;  and  there 
are  1501  other  pairs,  within  2"  of  space  between  the  components,  from 
which  the  foregoing  number  may  be  increased ;  as  well  as  other  pairs  now 
known  only  as  having  a  common  proper  motion.1  Of  course  the  stars  ob- 
served till  now  have  been  almost  entirely  in  the  northern  heavens, —  within 
1200  of  the  pole, — so  that  these  numbers  may  be  largely  added  to  as  astrono- 
mers turn  their  attention  to  the  southern  skies  with  this  object  in  view. 

The  orbit  of  Castor  is  such,  however,  that  the  observations  of  even  a 
century  do  not  enable  us  to  calculate  its  size  or  period  with  any  certainty; 
but  the  period  certainly  is  long, —  probably  between  250  and  1000  years. 
The  components  at  present  are  about  5".7  apart,  equal  to  the  angle  sul>- 
tended  by  a  line  an  inch  long  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile.  Their  position 
angle  is  about  2270. 

The  spectrum  is  of  the  Sirian  type,  and,  according  to  the  Potsdam  ob- 
servers, the  star  is  approaching  us  at  the  rate  of  18.5  miles  a  second.  In 
1895  Belopolsky  announced  that  the  larger  star,  like  Spica,  is  a  spectro- 

l  In  a  note  from  Professor  Burnham,  of  the  19th  of  July,  1898,  in  regard  to  these  figures,  he 
says:  "The  statements  I  made  a  couple  of  years  ago  about  binary  systems  will  hold  good 
generally  at  this  time.  ...  So  far  as  well-determined  orbits  are  concerned,  I  do  not  think 
anything  could  be  added  to  the  estimate  I  made." 


The  Constellations  233 

scopic  binary,  completing  its  revolution  in  less  than  three  days  around  the 
centre  of  gravity  between  it  and  an  invisible  companion,  with  a  velocity 
of  about  15^  miles  a  second. 

Burnham  thinks  that  the  9.5-magnitude  star,  73"  distant,  forms,  with  the 
two  larger,  one  vast  physical  system. 

In  1888  Barnard  found  five  new  nebulae  within  i°  of  Castor. 


& 


1.1,    orange, 


is  Pollux,  formerly  Polluces,  the  Greek  lioXvdevKTJg ;  Ovid's  Pngil,  the 
Pugilist  of  the  Two  Brothers,  and  the  immortal  one  as  being  son  of  Zeus. 

As  companion  of  'AttoAAwv,  this  was  'HpaitXjjc  and  HpaKXtrjg,  descending 
to  Flamsteed's  day  as  Hercules,  and  degenerating,  in  early  catalogues,  into 
Abrachaleus,  that  Caesius  derived  from  the  Arabic  Ab,  Father,  and  the 
Greek  word;  this  being  contracted  by  some  to  Aracaleus,  by  Grotius  to 
Iracleus,  by  Hyde  to  Heraclus,  and  by  Riccioli  to  Garaoles.  All  these  are 
queer  enough,  as  are  some  of  Castor's  titles ;  but  what  shall  be  said  of 
Riccioli's  Elhakaae,  that  he  attributes  to  the  Arabs  for  a  and  /3  jointly,  and 
Ketpholtsoman  for  0  alone,  and  with  no  clue  to  their  origin ! 

It  was  the  early  Arabs'  Al  Than!  al  Dhira,  the  Second  in  the  Forearm  ; 
but  the  later  termed  it  Al  Bis  al  Taum  al  Mu'ah  har,  the  Head  of  the 
Hindmost  Twin,  and  Al  Baa  al  Jauza',  the  Head  of  the  Twin, —  the  Al- 
fonsine  Basalgense  and  Rasalgeuze,  that  elsewhere  is  Rasalgauze.  Riccioli 
cited  Elhenaat,  but  this  he  also  more  properly  gave  to  y. 

3  was  the  determinant  of  the  12th  Babylonian  ecliptic  asterism  Mash- 
nuhn-arku,  the  Eastern  One  of  the  Twins;  and  individually  Mu-sir-kes-da, 
the  Yoke  of  the  Inclosure. 

It  lies  120  north  of  the  ecliptic,  the  zodiac's  boundary  line  running  be- 
tween it  and  Castor;  and  Burnham  has  found  five  faint  companions  down 
to  13.5  magnitude. 

Elkin  gives  its  parallax  as  o".o57 ;  and  Scheiner,  its  spectrum  as  Solar;  its 
rate  of  recession  from  us  being  about  one  mile  a  second. 

It  is  one  of  the  lunar  stars  made  use  of  in  navigation ;  and,  in  astrology, 
differed  from  its  companion  in  portending  eminence  and  renown. 

Ptolemy  characterized  /3  as  vnoKippog,  a  favorite  word  with  him  for  this 
star-tint,  and  generally  supposed  to  signify  "  yellowish  "  or  "  reddish,"  Bayer 
correctly  following  the  former  in  his  subflava;  but  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of 
1521  translated  it  quae  trahit  ad  aerem,  et  est  cerea.  Miss  Clerke,  somewhat 
strongly,  says  "  fiery  red." 

The  two  lueidae  probably  bore  the  present  title  of  the  constellation  long 


234  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

antecedent  to  the  latter's  formation ;  they  certainly  were  the  Mat-mas,  or 
Twins,  of  the  Assyrians,  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  figure. 

As  a  convenient  measuring-rod  it  may  be  noted  that  a  and  )3  stand  \lx 
apart;  and  this  recalls  an  early  signification  of  their  manzil title,  Al  Dhira, 
the  Arabs'  Ell  measure  of  length  that  the  stars  were  said  to  indicate.  This 
naturally  became  the  dual  Al  Dhira'an  that  also  was  used  on  the  Desert  for 
other  similar  pairs  of  stars. 

Y,     2.2,    brilliant  white. 

Almeiaan,  Almi— .«,  AItwajmmi,  and  Almisam  are  from  Al  Maiian,  the 
Proudly  Marching  One,  its  early  Arabic  name,  which  Al  Firuzabadi,  however, 
said  was  equally  applicable  to  any  bright  star. 

Riccioli  called  it  Elhenaat,  but  Alhena  is  now  generally  given  to  it,  from 
Al  Han  ah,  the  4th  manzil,  y,  //,  v,  77,  and  f ,  in  the  feet  of  the  Twins.  This 
word,  usually  translated  a  Brand,  or  Mark,  on  the  right  side  of  a  earner*, 
or  horse's,  neck,  was  denned  by  Al  Biriini  as  Winding,  as  though  the  stars 
of  this  station  were  winding  around  each  other,  or  curving  from  tbe  central 
star;  and  they  were  Al  Knhatai,  the  dual  form  of  Al  Nuhat,  a  Camel's 
Hump,  itself  a  curved  line.  Some  Arabic  authority  found  in  them,  withj1 
and  x2  of  Orion,  the  Bow  with  which  the  Hunter  is  shooting  at  the  Lion. 

In  Babylonia  y  marked  the  10th  ecliptic  constellation,  Maah-mashMbv 
Biso,  the  Twins  of  the  Shepherd  (?),  and,  with  */,  probably  was  Ma*t*b" 
ba-tur-tur,  the  Little  Twins ;  and,  with  7j,  /u,  r,  and  £  all  in  the  Milky  Way. 
may  have  been  the  Babylonian  lunar  mansion  Khigalla,  the  Canal,  and  the 
equivalent  Persian  Bakhvad,  the  Sogdian  Ghathaf,  and  the  Khorasmian 
Gawthaf. 

0,  Double,    3.8  and  8,    pale  white  and  purple. 

Wasat  and  Wesat  are  from  Al  Wasat,  the  Middle,  i.  e.  of  the  constella- 
tion ;  but  some  have  referred  this  to  the  position  of  the  star  very  near  to  the 
ecliptic,  the  central  circle. 

In  China  it  was  Ta  Tsnn,  the  Great  Wine-jar. 

The  components  are  7"  apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  2030,  and  may 
form  a  binary  system. 

Just  north  of  d  lies  the  radiant  point  of  the  Geminid*,  visible  early  in 
October;  another  stream  of  meteors  bearing  the  same  title  appearing  from 
the  northeastern  border  of  the  constellation  and  at  its  maximum  on  the  7th 
of  December.  • 


The  Constellations  235 

S,  Double,     3.4  and  9.5,    brilliant  white  and  cerulean  blue. 

Mebffata  is  from  Al  Mabsutat,  the  Outstretched,  from  its  marking  the 
extended  paw  of  the  early  Arabic  Lion,  but  now  it  is  on  the  hem  of  Castor's 
tunic.  Burritt  had  it  Meluota  in  his  Geography  y  and  Mebusta  in  his  Atlas; 
Professor  Young,  following  English  globes,  has  Meboula;  and  elsewhere 
we  find  Menita,  Mesoula,  and  Mibwala. 

e,  d,  X,  and  others  near  by,  were  the  Chinese  Tung  Tsing. 

C?  Variable,    3.7  to  4.5,    pale  topaz. 

Kekbuda  is  from  Al  Makbugah,  Contracted,  the  Arabic  designation  for 
the  drawn-in  paw  of  the  ancient  Asad ;  but  some,  with  less  probability,  de- 
rive it  from  Al  Mutakabbidah,  a  Culminating  Star. 

Its  variations,  discovered  by  J.  F.  Julius  Schmidt  at  Athens  in  1847,  have 
a  period  of  about  ten  days,  but  Chandler  says  that  definitive  investigations 
are  not  completed.     Lockyer  thinks  it  also  a  spectroscopic  binary. 


TJ,  Binary  and  variable,    3.2  to  3.7,  and  9. 

Propus  is  from  the  Uponovg  of  Hipparchos  and  Ptolemy,  indicating  its  po- 
sition in  front  of  Castor's  left  foot,  and  is  its  universal  title,  with  the  equivalent 
Praepes.  Riccioli  wrote  it  IIpoTToc,  and  Flamsteed  gave  both  lipdnovg  and 
Propus;  but  Tycho  had  applied  this  last  to  the  star  Fl.  1  among  the  extras 
of  Gemini.     This  position  of  rj  similarly  made  it  the  Pub  Pai  of  the  Persians. 

Bassus  and  Hyginus  said  Tropus,  Turn,  referring  to  the  apparent  turning- 
point  of  the  sun's  course  at  the  summer  solstice,  which  now  is  more  precisely 
marked  by  the  starj'  just  eastward  from  rj;  and  Flamsteed  also  had  TpoTroc. 

Flammarion's  assertion  that  Hipparchos  knew  rj  as  a  distinct  constella- 
tion, Propus,  does  not  seem  well  founded. 

Tejat  prior  is  from  Al  Tahayi,  an  anatomical  term  of  Arabia  by  which  it 
was  known  in  early  days ;  a  name  also  applied  to  stars  in  the  head  of  Orion. 
The  Arabs  included  it  with  y  and  p.  in  their  Huhatai ;  the  Chinese  knew  it 
as  YuS,  a  Battle-ax;  and  in  Babylonia  it  marked  the  8th  ecliptic  constella- 
tion, Maru-«ha-pu-u-nia«h-maahu,  the  Front  of  the  Mouth  of  the  Twins. 

It  portended  lives  of  eminence  to  all  born  under  its  influence. 

The  variability  of  r\  was  discovered  by  Schmidt  in  1865,  and  its  period  is 
now  considered  as  229-231  days;  in  1881  Burnham  found  it  double,  the 
components  i".o8  apart,  and  likely  to  prove  an  interesting  binary  system. 


236  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Near  this  star  Sir  William  Herschel  discovered  the  planet  Uranus  on  the 
13th  of  March,  1781.  He  thought  it  a  comet,  and  its  discovery  as  such 
was  communicated  to  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  on  the  26th  of  ApriL 
Its  true  nature,  however,  first  suspected  by  Maskelyne,  was  announced  in 
the  succeeding  year  by  Lexell  of  Saint  Petersburg  and  by  La  Place ;  and 
Herschel  then  published  it  on  the  7th  of  November,  1782,  as  the  Georgium 
Sidus,  thus  following  Galileo,  who,  till  he  knew  their  true  nature,  had  named 
Jupiter's  satellites  Sidera  Cosmiana  and  Sidera  Medicea,  after  his  patron 
the  2d  Cosmo  di  Medici,  and  Tard6,  who  had  called  the  sun-spots  Bor- 
bonica  Sidera.  Continental  astronomers  designated  the  planet  as  Herschel, 
and  this  in  a  much  varied  orthography,  strangely  erroneous  considering 
the  fame  of  its  discoverer.  We  find  it  thus  with  La  Lande  in  1792 ;  indeed, 
Herschel  appeared  as  an  alternative  title  in  our  text-books  as  late  as  fifty 
years  ago;  but  Bode  suggested  the  present  Uranus  to  conform  to  the 
mythological  nomenclature  of  the  other  planets,  and  because  the  name  of 
the  oldest  god  was  specially  applicable  to  the  oldest  —  as  the  most  distant— 
body  then  known  in  our  system. 

Uranus,  however,  had  been  observed  and  noted  as  a  star  twenty-two  times 
previously  by  various  observers;  these  are  called  "  the  ancient  observations"; 
and  Miss  Clerke  writes :  "  There  is,  indeed,  some  reason  to  suppose  that  he 
had  been  detected  as  a  wandering  orb  by  savage  '  watchers  of  the  skies' 
on  the  Pacific  long  before  he  swam  into  Herschers  ken."  1 

The  4th-magnitude  0,  and  1,  v,  r,  and  0,  collectively  were  Woo  Chow 
Shih,  or  Woo  Choo  How,  the  Seven  Feudal  Princes  of  China. 

1  is  Propus  in  the  Standard  Dictionary,  although  it  lies  between  the 
shoulders  of  the  Twins. 


|A,  Double,    3.2  and  11,     crocus  yellow  and  blue, 

occasionally  has  been  known  as  Tejat  posterior,  and  sometimes  as  Huhatoi, 
from  the  manzil  of  that  title  of  which  it  formed  a  part. 

The  Century  Dictionary  and  Cyclopedia  apply  to  it  the  Pish  Pai  seen  for 
77,  yet  appropriate  enough  for  this  similarly  situated  star;  but  in  FJamsteed's 
edition  of  Tycho's  catalogue  we  distinctly  read  of  it,  dicta  Calx,  the  Heel. 

It  marked  the  9th  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia  as  Arkt-sht-pM* 
mash-mashn,  the  Back  of  the  Mouth  of  the  Twins. 

iThe  Burmans,  too,  thought  that  there  was  an  8th  planet,  Rahu,  but  invisible;  and  (he 
Hindus  named  other  imaginary  planets  Kethu,  Rethu,  and  Kulican ;  and  figured  Sani,  their 
god  Saturn,  with  a  circle  around  him  of  intertwined  serpents  ages  before  Galileo's  day;  al- 
though this  has  had  a  very  different  explanation. 


The  Constellations  237 

In  China  it  was  included  with  Castor  and  others  in  the  sieu  Tung. 
The  components  are  80"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  790. 
f,  a  4th-magnitude,  was  Al  Biruni's  Al  Zirr,  the  Button. 
X,  a  5th-magnitude,  with  fx  Cancri,  was  the  Chinese  Tseih  Tsing,  Piled- 
up  Fuel. 


<Bfo6u6  (^eroetdftcuB,  nt  Qdfymw,  ifc  QBaffoon, 

was  formed  by  La  Lande  in  1798,  but,  like  most  of  his  stellar  creations, 
seems  to  have  passed  out  of  the  recognition  of  science. 

It  lay  east  of  the  Microscope,  between  the  tail  of  the  Southern  Fish  and 
the  body  of  Capricorn. 

Bode  published  it  in  his  Die  Gestirne  as  the  Luft  Ballon,  Ideler's  Lnft 
Ball,  with  twenty-two  stars;  and  Father  Secchi  still  had  it  in  his  maps 
as  the  Italian  Aerostito.    With  the  French  it  was  the  Ballon  Aerostatique. 


Proxima  sideribus  numinibusque  feror. 

Flavius  Avianus'  J5th  Fable. 

<Bru0,  ffle  Crane, 

is  one  of  the  so-called  Bayer  groups,  la  Grne  of  the  French  and  Italians, 
der  Kranieh  of  the  Germans;  and  the  title  is  appropriate,  for  Horapollo, 
the  grammarian  of  Alexandria,  about  a.  d.  400,  tells  us  that  the  crane  was 
the  symbol  of  a  star-observer  in  Egypt,  presumably  from  its  high  flight  as 
described  in  our  motto. 

Caesius,  who  carried  his  biblical  symbols  even  to  the  new  constellations, 
imagined  this  to  be  the  Stork  in  the  Heaven  of  Jeremiah  viii,  7,  although 
the  Crane  occurs  in  the  same  verse ;  but  Julius  Schiller  combined  it  with 
Phoenix  in  a  representation  of  Aaron  the  High  Priest 

The  Arabians  included  its  stars  in  the  Southern  Fish,  Al  Sufi  giving  its 
0,  3,  6,  0,  1,  and  X  as  unformed  members  of  that  constellation. 

The  components,  with  the  exception  of  the  lucida,  form  a  gentle  curve 
southwest  from  this  Fish,  and  among  them  are  stars  noted  in  astronomy. 


238  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

One  hundred  and  seven  are  catalogued  by  Gould  as  being  visible  to  the 
naked  eye. 

a,  marking  the  body  of  the  bird,  is  the  conspicuous  2d-magnitude  south- 
west from  Fomalhaut  when  the  latter  culminates  in  autumn  evenings,  itself 
coming  to  the  meridian  on  the  nth  of  October.  It  was  Al  Tizini's  Al 
Ha'ir,  the  Bright  One,  1.  e.  of  the  Fish's  tail,  when  that  constellation  ex- 
tended over  the  stars  of  our  Grus.    The  Chinese  knew  it  as  Ke. 

/3,  a  2.2-magnitude  red  star,  was  Al  Tizini's  Rear  One  at  the  end  of  the 
tail  of  his  Fish,  thirty-five  minutes  of  arc  to  the  eastward  from  o.  It  is  in 
the  left  wing  of  the  Crane. 

y,  a  3d-magnitude,was  the  same  author's  Al  Dhanab,  the  Tail  itself,  but 
now  marks  the  eye  in  the  bird's  figure. 

7T1,  a  6.7-magnitude  deep  crimson  star,  and  its  somewhat  brighter  white 
companion,  tt2,  are  like  "  little  burnished  discs  of  copper  and  silver,  seen 
under  strong  illumination." 

The  alternative  title  for  the  stars  of  Grus, 

gftoenicojrf tvu*,  *0e  Sfammgo, 

is  now  seldom,  if  ever,  used,  nor  can  I  find  any  record  of  its  inventor,  or 
date  of  its  adoption  as  a  constellation  name.  Chilmead's  Treatise  contains 
this  reference  to  it : 

The  Phoenicopter  we  may  call  the  Bittour  [the  old  English  word  for  Bittern]. 

The  Spaniards  call  it  Flamengo :  and  it  is  described  with  the  wings  spread  abroad,  am 
as  it  were  striking  with  his  bill  at  the  South  Fish,  in  that  part  where  he  boweth  himsdfi. 
This  Asterisme  consistith  of  ij  Starres:  of  which,  that  of  the  second  magnitude  in  his  head 
is  called,  the  Phoenicopters  Eye :  and  it  hath  two  other  Stars  also  of  the  same  magnitude, 
one  in  his  backe,  and  the  other  in  his  left  wing.  And  those  two  which  are  in  the  middU 
of  his  necke,  Paulus  Merula  in  his  first  booke  of  his  Cosmography,  calleth  his  Collar* 
Chaine. 

The  absence  of  our  titles  in  the  foregoing  description  would  show  that 
the  Bittern,  or  Flamingo,  was  the  popular  English  figuring  and  title  in  the 
early  part  of  the  17th  century. 


Hercules  with  flashing  mace. 

Bryant's  The  Cotutetlatiens. 

gercufee, 

stretching  from  just  west  of  the  head  of  Ophiuchus  to  Draco,  its  eastern 
border  on  the  Milky  Way,  is  one  of  the  oldest  sky  figures,  although  not 


The  Constellations  239 

known  to  the  first  Greek  astronomers  under  that  name, —  for  Eudoxos  had 
'Evyovvaoi;  Hipparchos,  'Evydvaoi,  i.  e.  6  iv  ydvaai  icadrifievog,  Bending 
on  his  Knees;  and  Ptolemy,  kv  ydvaoiv.  Aratos  added  to  these  designa- 
tions '0*ao£g>v,  the  Kneeling  One,  and  'EiduXov,  the  Phantom,  while  his 
description  in  the  Phainomena  well  showed  the  ideas  of  that  early  time  as 
to  its  character : 

.     .     .     like  a  toiling  man,  revolves 

A  form.     Of  it  can  no  one  clearly  speak, 

Nor  to  what  toil  he  is  attached ;  but,  simply, 

Kneeler  they  call  him.     Labouring  on  his  knees, 

Like  one  who  sinks  he  seems ;     .     .     . 

.     .     .     And  his  right  foot 

Is  planted  on  the  twisting  Serpent's  head. 

But  all  tradition  even  as  to 

Whoe'er  this  stranger  of  the  heavenly  forms  may  be, 

seems  to  have  been  lost  to  the  Greeks,  for  none  of  them,  save  Eratosthenes, 
attempted  to  explain  its  origin,  which  in  early  classical  days  remained  in- 
volved in  mystery.  He  wrote  of  it,  6vt6$,  <l>aolv9  'HpaKATfc  eoriv,  standing 
upon  the  *0<f>ic?,  our  Draco;  and  some  modern  students  of  Euphratean 
mythology,  associating  the  stars  of  Hercules  and  Draco  with  the  sun-god 
Izhdubar1  and  the  dragon  Tiamat,  slain  by  him,  think  this  Chaldaean  myth 
the  foundation  of  that  of  the  classical  Hercules  and  the  Lernaean  Hydra. 
Izhdubar  is  shown  on  a  cylinder  seal  of  3000  to  3500  b.  c,  and  described 
in  that  country's  records  as  resting  upon  one  knee,  with  his  foot  upon  the 
Dragon's  head,  just  as  Aratos  says  of  his  'Evyovaat,  and  as  we  have  it  now. 
His  well-known  adventures  are  supposed  to  refer  to  the  sun's  passage 
through  the  twelve  zodiacal  signs,  appearing  thus  on  tablets  of  the  7th  cen- 
tury before  Christ.  This  myth  of  several  thousand  years'  antiquity  may 
have  been  adopted  by  Greece,  and  the^  solar  hero  changed  into  Hercules 
with  his  twelve  familiar  labors. 

This  constellation  is  said  to  have  been  an  object  of  worship  in  Phoenicia's 
most  ancient  days  as  the  sky  representative  of  the  great  sea-god  Helkartb. 
Indeed,  it  has  everywhere  been  considered  of  importance,  judging  from  its 
abundant  nomenclature  and  illustration,  for  no  other  sky  group  seems  to 
have  borne  so  many  titles. 

The  usual  Greek  name  was  transliterated  Engonaai,  EngonauB,  and  En- 
gonuin  down  to  the  days  of  Bullialdus,  with  whom  it  appeared  in  the  queer 

1  Izhdubar  was  identified  with  Nimrod,  and  known,  too,  as  Gizdhubar,  Gilgamesh,  or  Gi-il- 
games,  the  niyapog  of  Aelian.  He  was  aided  in  his  exploits  by  his  servant-companion,  the 
fcrat  Centaur,  Ea-bani,  or  Hea-bani,  the  Creation  of  Ea. 


240  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

combination  of  Greek  and  Roman  letters  O  en  Tonacfn ;  but  the  poets  trans- 
lated it  as  Genuflexus,  Genunixus,  and  Geniculatus ;  Ingeniculatus  with 
Vitruvius;  Ingeniolus  and  Ingenioulus  with  Firmicus;  while  Ingenicfc 
Imago  and  Ignota  Fades  appear  in  Manilius, —  his  familiar  line, 

Nixa  venit  species  genibus,  sibi  conscia  causae, 

being  liberally  translated  by  Creech, 

Conscious  of  his  shame 
A  constellation  kneels  without  a  name. 

We  see  with  other  authors  the  synonymous  Incurvatus  in  genu,  Proddem, 
Proeiduus,  Prooumbens  in  genua,  and  Ineumbens  in  genibus ;  Defectum 
Sidus  and  Effigies  defecta  labore;  and  the  TctraHblos  of  155 1  had  Qui  in 
-  genibus  est 

It  also  was  Saltator,  the  Leaper;  XdpMijj,  the  Keen-eyed  One ;  Kopvwjn/c 
and  Kopvv7]<t>6po^j  the  equivalents  of  Clavator  and  Claviger,  the  Club-bearer 
of  the  Latins :  all  applied  to  the  constellation  in  early  days,  from  classical 
designations  of  the  hero  Hercules,  whose  own  name  has  now  become  uni- 
versal for  it.  Although  we  first  find  this  in  the  Catasterisms,  Avienus  as- 
serted that  it  was  used  by  Panyasis,  the  epic  poet  of  500  b.  a,  and  uncle 
of  Herodotus,  perhaps  to  introduce  into  the  heavens  another  Argonaut. 
The  Hessus  of  Vitruvius  came  from  the  story  of  Deianira,  the  innocent 
cause  of  Hercules'  death,  when,  as  in  the  Death  of  WalUnstein, 

Soared  he  upward  to  celestial  brightness  ; 

Hisus,  from  the  city  of  Nisa ;  Halica,  Melica,  Melioartus,  and  Kelioerta,from 

the  name  of  its  king,  known  later  as  Palaemon, —  although  some  refer  these 
to  the  title  of  the  great  god  of  Phoenicia,  Melkarth,  the  King  of  the 
City ;  and  Aper,  from  the  Wild  Boar  slain  at  Elis.  It  was  Cernuator,  the 
Wrestler,  from  the  hero's  skill;  Caeteus,  Ceteus,  and  Cetheus,  as  son  of 
Lycaon,  and  so  uncle  or  brother  of  Kallisto,  who,  as  Ursa  Major,  adjoined 
this  constellation ;  indeed,  it  was  even  known  as  Lycaon  himself,  weeping 
over  Kallisto's  transformation.  Ovid's  Aloides  was  a  common  poetical 
title,  either  from  'A  A**},  Strength,  or  from  Alcaeus,  Hercules*  grandfather; 
while  Almannus  and  Celtious  came  from  the  fact  that  a  similar  hero  was 
worshiped  by  the  Germans  and  Celts,  themselves  noted  for  strength  and 
daring  deeds,  and  said  to  have  been  descended  from  Hercules.  The  un- 
explained Pataeous  and  Epipataecus  are  from  Egypt ;  Haeeris,  from  Libya; 
while  Desanaus,  Desanes,  and  Dosanes,  or  Dorsanes,  are  said  to  be  of  Hindu 
origin. 


The  Constellations  241 

Other  titles  are  Ixion,  laboring  at  his  wheel,  perhaps  because  Hercules 
also  labored ;  or  from  the  radiated  object  shown  on  Euphratean  gems,  a 
supposed  representation  of  the  solar  prototype  of  Hercules,  which  in  later 
times  may  easily  have  been  regarded  as  a  wheel ;  Prometheus,  bending  in 
chains  on  Caucasus ;  Thamjhris,  sad  at  the  loss  of  his  lyre ;  Amphitryoni- 
ades,  from  the  supposed  sire  of  Hercules ;  Heros  Tirynthius,  from  the  place 
where  he  was  reared ;  and  Oetaeus,  from  the  mountain  range  of  Thessaly 
whence  he  ascended  the  funeral  pyre.  The  Sanctus  that  has  appeared  as  a 
title  is  properly  Sanous,  the  Semo  Sancus,  of  Sabine-Umbrian-Roman  my- 
thology, identified  with  Hercules.  Theseus  was  a  name  for  this  constella- 
tion, from  the  similar  adventures  of  the  originals ;  Melius  and  Ovillus  trace 
back  to  the  Malum  and  Ovis  in  the  myth  of  the  Apples,  or  Sheep,  of  the 
Hesperides,  with  which  the  story  of  Hercules  is  connected, —  different  ideas, 
but  both  from  pijXov  with  this  double  signification ;  although  La  Lande 
thought  that  reference  was  made  to  the  skin  of  the  lion  thrown  over  the 
hero's  shoulder.  We  also  occasionally  see  Diodas,  Hanilius,  Orpheus,  and 
Trapezius,  the  exact  connection  of  which  with  our  sky  figure  is  not 
certain. 

The  4th  edition  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables  singularly  adds  Basaben,  from  the 
neighboring  Draco's  Al  Ras  al  Thu'ban. 

Bayer  erroneously  quoted  IVvf  epin&v,  on  Bended  Knee,  as  if  from 
Homer;  and  gave  "EiduXov  anevdo?,  the  Unknown  Image,  and  Imago 
laboranti  similis.  He  also  cited  the  Persians'  Ternuelles,  which  Beigel 
suggested  might  be  from  their  mistaken  orthography  of  the  word  Hercules ; 
and  Hyde  added  another  term,  from  that  people,  in  Ber  zanu  nisheste,  Rest- 
ing on  his  Knees,  a  repetition  of  the  earliest  idea  as  to  the  figure. 

Flammarion  states  that  he  found  our  modern  title  first  mentioned  in  an 
edition  of  Hyginus  of  1485, —  but  he  had  not  read  Eratosthenes;  and  some 
say  that  even  this  Hercules  of  Hyginus  was  really  designed  for  the  adjacent 
Ophiuchus. 

The  modern  Italians'  Eroole  is  like  their  Roman  predecessors'  abbre- 
viated name  for  the  deity,  who  was  one  of  their  most  frequent  objects  of 
adjuration. 

Our  stellar  figure  generally  has  been  drawn  with  club  and  lion-skin,  the 
left  foot  on  Draco  and  the  right  near  Bootes,  the  reversal  of  these  by  Aratos 
being  criticized  by  Hipparchos ;  but  the  Farnese  globe  shows  a  young  man, 
nude  and  kneeling ;  while  the  Leyden  Manuscript  very  inappropriately  drew 
it  as  a  young  boy,  erect,  with  a  short  star-tipped  shepherd's  crook,  bearing  a 
lion's  skin  and  head.  Bayer  shows  the  strong  man  kneeling,  clothed  in  the 
lion's  skin,  with  his  "  all  brazen  "  club  and  the  Apple  Branch, 
16 


242  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

This  last  he  called  Ramus  pomifer,  the  German  Zweig,  placing  it  in  the 
right  hand  of  Hercules,  on  the  edge  of  the  Milky  Way ;  but  this  even  then 
was  an  old  idea,  for  the  Venetian  illustrator  of  Hyginus  in  1488  showed, 
in  the  constellation  figure,  an  Apple  Tree  with  a  serpent  twisted  around  its 
trunk.  Argelander  followed  Bayer's  drawing,  but  Heis  transfers  the  Branch 
to  the  left  hand,  with  two  vipers  as  a  reminder  of  the  now  almost  forgotten 
stellar  Cerberus  with  serpents'  tongues,  which  Bayer  did  not  know.  The 
French  and  Italians,  who  give  more  prominence  to  these  adjuncts  of  Her- 
cules than  do  we,  have  combined  them  in  a  sub-constellation  Balneal  et 
Cerbere  and  Eamo  e  Cerbero.  In  all  this,  as  well  as  in  some  of  the  titles  of 
the  Hercules  constellation  and  of  Draco,  reappears  the  story  of  the  Golden 
Fruits  of  the  Hesperides  with  their  guardian  dragon. 

It  may  have  been  the  serpent  and  apples  in  our  picturing  of  the  con- 
stellation that  aided  Miss  Rolleston  to  her  substitution  of  the  biblical  Adam 
for  the  mythological  Hercules.  Others,  however,  changed  the  latter  to 
Samson  with  the  jawbone  of  an  ass;  and  Julius  Schiller  multiplied  him 
into  the  Three  MagL 

The  Arabians  turned  the  classical  Saltator,  or  Leaper,  into  Al  Bakls,  the 
Dancer; l  as  also  "Kvyovaai  into  Al  Jathiyy  a  la  Rukbataihi,  the  One  who 
Kneels  on  both  Knees ;  this  subsequently  degenerating  into  Elgeiiale  mix- 
baohei,  Aloheti  hale  rechabatih,  Eliegeziale,  and  Elhathi  It  also  has 
often  appeared  as  Alohete  and  Aloheti;  as  Algethi,  and,  in  the  15 15  Alma- 
gest and  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1,  as  Algiethi  incurvati  super  genu  ipsius. 

Argelander  catalogues  155  naked-eye  stars  in  Hercules,  and  Heis  227. 

Between  f  and  77,  two  thirds  of  the  way  from  £,  is  N.  G.  C.  6205, 13  M.,the 
finest  cluster  in  the  northern  heavens.  Halley  discovered  this  in  17 14  and 
thought  it  a  nebula,  whence  its  early  title,  the  Halley  Hebula;  but  it  is  re- 
markable that  it  was  not  sooner  seen,  for  it  is  visible  by  the  unaided  eye, 
although  only  8'  in  diameter.  HerschelTs  estimate  that  it  contains  14,000 
stars  is  so  high  that  some  regard  it  as  a  typographical  error  for  4000;  the 
number  counted  by  Harvard  observers  is  724,  outside  of  the  nucleus.  Miss 
Clerke  records  an  opinion  that  it  may  be  558,000  millions  of  miles  in  diam- 
eter, and  distant  from  us  sixty-five  light  years;  but  we  have  as  yet  no  certain 
determination  of  either  size  or  distance.  Burn  ham  notes  one  of  its  central 
stars  as  double,  an  infrequent  occurrence  in  compressed  clusters;  and 
Campbell  of  the  Lick  Observatory  writes: 

1  The  foregoing  Dancer,  Beigel  said,  was  in  the  East  merely  a  posture-maker,  which  the 
configuration  of  these  stars  plainly  shows,  and  hence  this  title  is  appropriate.  It  seems  to  hare 
wandered  to  the  near-by  Draco  for  the  faint  ft,  although  with  a  different  signification,— to 
Trotting  Camel, 


The  Constellations  243 

In  the  Hercules  cluster  the  stars  are  perhaps  very  little  denser  than  the  streams  of 
nebulous  matter  in  which  they  are  situated,  and  hence  their  density  is  [*'.  e,  may  be]  only 
something  a  thousand  millionth  part  of  that  of  the  sun. 

Bailey  finds  no  variables  in  it. 

In  the  early  days  of  Arab  astronomy  a  space  in  the  heavens,  coinciding 
with  parts  of  Hercules,  Ophiuchus,  and  Serpens,  was  the  Raudah,  or  Pas- 
ture, the  Northern  Boundary  of  which,  the  Nasak  Shamiyy,  was  marked  by 
the  stars  3  and  y  Herculis,  the  Syrians'  Row  of  Pearls,  with  0  and  y  Ser- 
pentis  in  continuation  of  the  Pasture  line;  while  6*,  a,  and  e  Serpentis,  with 
d,  c,  f,  and  rj  Ophiuchi,  formed  the  Southern  Boundary,  the  Vasak  Yama- 
niyyalL  The  group  of  stars  now  known  as  the  Club  of  Hercules  was  the 
Sheep  within  the  Pasture. 

Ct,  Double  and  both  irregularly  variable,  3.1  to  3.9  and  5  to  7, 
orange  red  and  bluish  green. 

£as  Algethi,  also  Has  Algathi,  on  Malby's  globe  Ras  Algothi,  is  from  Al 
Ras  al  Jathiyy,  the  Kneeler's  Head ;  but  it  often  is  Bas  Algeti,  sometimes 
Ras  Algiatha,  and  the  Standard  Dictionary  has  Ras  Algetta,  It  was 
Rasaeheti  with  Chilmead.  Riccioli's  Bas  Elhhathi  and  Ras  Alhathi  proba- 
bly came  from  Ras  Alheti  of  the  first  three  editions  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables  ; 
but  in  the  4th  edition  very  incorrectly  appeared  Rasahen  for  both  the  star 
and  the  constellation,  probably  taken  from  the  neighboring  Al  Ras  al 
Thu'ban  of  Draco; — all  Arabian  translations  of  the  Greek  names. 

The  nomads'  title  for  it  was  Al  Kalb  al  Ra'i,  the  Shepherd's  Dog,  that 
our  a  shared  with  the  adjoining  lucida  of  Ophiuchus,  50  distant. 

The  Chinese  called  it  Ti  Tso,  the  Emperor's  Seat ;  and  Tsin. 

Some  small  stars  in  Hercules,  near  a,  were  included  with  1  and  *  Ophiu- 
chi in  the  asterism  Ho,  one  of  the  measures  of  China. 

This  is  a  beautiful  pair,  but  apparently  not  binary,  for  there  has  been  no 
certain  change  in  the  last  century.  The  components  are  4".8  apart,  at  a 
position  angle  of  1190.  Its  variability,  discovered  by  Sir  William  Herschel 
in  1795,  *s  now  described  by  Chandler  as  shown  by  "  very  irregular  oscil- 
lations in  periods  of  two  to  four  months."  It  is  one  of  the  most  noted 
of  Secchi's  3d  type  with  banded  spectra. 

a  culminates  on  the  23d  of  July. 

P,     2.8,    pale  yellow. 

Korneforos  and  Kornephoros  are  from  the  Kopwrftyopoq  which  we  have 
seen  applied,  to  the  whole  figure.    Burritt  has  Kornephorus  vel  Rutilicns, 


244  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

perhaps  the  diminutive  of  rutilus, "  golden  red,"  or  "  glittering,"  an  adjective 
applied  to  Arcturus ;  but  this  term  is  by  no  means  appropriate  for  0.  The 
Arabo- Latin  Almagest  of  15 15  reads  rutillico,  adding  propinque  cillitko,  this 
last  unintelligible  unless  explained  by  the  Basel  edition  of  1551  as  prnes 
axillam  seu  scapulam ;  so  that  we  may  perhaps  consider  the  alternative 
title  to  be  from  the  barbarism  used  to  show  the  star's  position  on  the 
shoulder  of  the  figure.  Indeed,  Bayer  said  of  it,  Rutilicum  barbari  duunt. 
Ideler,  however,  asserted  his  belief  that  it  was  from  ruttllum,  the  diminutive 
of  rutrum,  a  sharp  instrument  of  husbandry  or  war,  in  Roman  times,  that 
Hercules  in  some  early  representations,  especially  on  the  Arabic  globes,  is 
carrying.     The  Century  Cyclopedia  gives  Butilioo  as  a  rarely  used  name. 

0  was  the  Chinese  Ho  Chung,  In  the  River,  while  the  4th-magnitude  y 
was  Ho  Keen,  Between  the  River. 

Its  spectrum  is  like  that  of  the  sun,  and  the  star  is  approaching  our  sys- 
tem at  the  rate  of  about  22  miles  a  second. 

£,  3.1  and  6.5,  is  a  remarkable  binary  with  a  period  of  only  34^  years, 
the  distance  between  the  stars  ranging  from  o".6  to  i".7.  According  to 
Belopolsky,  it  is  approaching  us  at  the  rate  of  nearly  forty-four  miles  a 
second, —  the  greatest  velocity  of  approach  or  recession  so  far  ascertained. 

0,  4.1,  with  adjacent  small  stars,  was  Tien  Ke,  Heaven's  Record. 

*,  Double,    4.8  and  7,    light  yellow  and  pale  garnet. 

Marfak,  Mirfak,  Mania,  Marfle,  and  Manic  are  all  found  for  this  star,— 
as  for  k  Ophiuchi;  but  it  properly  is  Marflk,  from  Al  Marfi^,  the  Elbow; 
the  titles  written  with  the  letter  s  probably  coming  from  early  confusion 
with  the  letter/.    The  Dorians  similarly  called  it  KvPitov,  the  Elbow. 

In  China,  with  two  other  stars  near  by,  it  was  Trang  Tung,  an  Ancestral 
Star. 

Ptolemy  and  the  Arabian  astronomers  located  it  on  the  right  elbow,  but 
Smyth  on  the  left;  Heis  places  it  in  the  right  hand, as  did  Bayer;  while 
Burritt  has  Marsic  in  the  proper  place,  but  letters  it  %. 

/>,    4.8,    deep  yellow. 

Masym,  Maasym,  Maanm,  Mazym,  Mazim,  and  Maaini  are  from  the 
Arabic  Mi  Bam,  the  Wrist,  although  Ptolemy  as  well  as  most  of  the  stellar 
map-makers  located  o  on  that  part  of  the  figure;  but  Bayer,  probably  by 
an  oversight,  gave  the  title  .to  A,  not  far  from  the  left  shoulder,  and  hence 
the  mistake  which  still  survives.     Burritt  applied  Masym  to  this  lettered 


The  Constellations  245 

star  at  the  elbow,  and  duplicated  it  at  the  one  on  the  hand,  omitting  the 
letter;  but  this  title  had  appeared  in  the  Latin  Almagest  of  1515  and  the 
Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1,  not  as  a  proper  name,  but  simply  indicative  of  the 
position  of  the  star  o,  which,  though  now  unnamed,  should  bear  that  title 
instead  of  A.  The  same  word  is  used  in  those  works  to  describe  the  posi- 
tions of  6  and  r\  Aurigae  in  the  similar  location,  but  is  there  written  Maha- 
rim.  The  Century  Cyclopedia,  by  a  misprint  for  A,  uses  Masym  for  %  Her- 
culis  in  the  left  hand  of  the  giant. 
X  also  was  Chaou,  one  of  the  early  feudal  states  of  China. 

The  Sun  flies  forward  to  his  brother  Sun ; 
The  dark  Earth  follows  wheel'd  in  her  ellipse. 

Tennyson's  The  Golden  Year. 

Although  Johann  Tobias  Mayer  of  Gottingen  seems  to  have  been  the 
pioneer,  in  1760,  in  the  efforts  to  ascertain  the  direction  of  the  sun's  motion 
among  the  stars,  yet  Sir  William  Herschel  was  the  first  successful  investi- 
gator as  to  this,  about  1806,  and  he  settled  upon  the  vicinity  of /.  as  the 
objective  point  of  our  solar  system,  the  Apex  of  the  Sun's  Way ;  and  his 
determination  was,  in  a  great  measure,  confirmed  by  later  astronomers. 

Some  recent  observations,  however,  change  this :  either  to  v  of  this  con- 
stellation, to  the  group  of  small  stars  four  or  five  degrees  north  of  west  from  v, 
to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Wega  in  the  Lyre,  or  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Arided,  near  the  tail  of  the  Swan, —  yet  all  in  the  same  general  quarter  of  the 
heavens.  Thirty-five  separate  determinations  of  this  Apex,  made  from  1783 
to  1892,  locate  it  variously  between  2270  18'  and  2890  of  right  ascension,  and 
between  140  26'  and  53°  42'  in  north  declination;  the  weight  of  authority 
being  in  favor  of  some  point1  in  Hercules  near  the  boundary  between  it 
and  Lyra.  The  velocity  of  the  sun's  motion  is  found  by  Potsdam  com- 
puters of  spectroscopic  observations  to  be  from  7^  to  n^(  miles  a  sec- 
ond; this  is  more  reliable  than  the  value  deduced  by  other  methods. 

The  Sun's  Quit,  the  point  in  the  heavens  opposite  to  the  Apex,  accord- 
ing to  Todd,  lies  about  midway  between  the  stars  Sirius  and  Canopus. 

f*1,  a  4th-magnitude  triple,  half-way  between  Wega  of  the  Lyre  and  a  Her- 
culis,  was  the  Chinese  Kew  Ho,  the  Nine  Rivers. 

The  distance  between  the  large  star  and  its  9th-magnitude  companion  is 

1  Professor  Young  thinks  the  Apex  in  about  2670  of  right  ascension  and  310  of  declination, 
but  that  the  data  are  not  yet  sufficient  to  give  a  very  close  determination  of  either  the  sun's 
speed  or  direction,  since  the  problem  is  embarrassed  by  the  probability  of  systematic  motions 
among  the  stars  themselves.  Results  so  far  obtained  are  tp  be  regarded  only  as  rather  rough 
approximations. 

i6» 


246  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

31";  while  the  companion  itself  is  a  close  binary  with  a  period  of  about  45 
years,  the  distance  seldom  exceeding  1". 

v  and  f,  of  the  4th  magnitude,  with  the  small  b,  were  the  Chinese  Chung 
Shan,  the  Middle  Mountain.  Some  recent  investigations  place  here  the 
Apex  of  the  Sun's  Way. 

a),  a  4th-magnitude  double,  by  some  early  transcriber's  error,  is  now  given 
as  Cnjam,  from  Caiam,  the  accusative  of  Caia,  the  word  used  by  Horace  for 
the  Club  of  Hercules,  which  is  marked  by  this  star.  Gaiam,  Guiam,  and 
Guyam,  frequently  seen,  are  erroneous.  In  Burritt's  Atlas  the  star  is  wrongly 
placed  within  the  uplifted  right  arm. 

The  Club  of  Hercules  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  separate  constellation 
with  Pliny. 


fEprofogium  Oectffaforium,  f$e  Qpenbufum  Cfocft, 

lies  to  the  eastward  of  Achernar, —  a  of  Eridanus, —  and  north  of  Hydros. 

In  France  it  is  Orloge;  in  Italy,  Orologio;  and  in  Germany,  Pendetohr. 

Although  shown  on  the  maps,  it  is  rarely  mentioned;  and  the  only  object 
in  it  known  to  be  of  special  interest  is  a  variable  star,  detected  by  Harvard 
observers  in  Peru,  changing  in  light  from  9.7  to  12.7  in  a  period  of  about 
three  hundred  days.  Gould  catalogues  68  stars  down  to  the  7th  magni- 
tude ;  a,  the  lucida^  being  3.8. 

Whitall  had  on  his  planisphere  a  figure,  which  he  entitled  Horoscope, 
between  "  Chemica  Fornar  "  and  "  Caela  Sculptoris,"  but  no  Horologium. 
His  title  is  undoubtedly  for  our  constellation,  as  it  occupies  Horologium's 
place. 


Close  by  the  Serpent  spreads  ;  whose  winding  Spires 
With  order'd  stars  resemble  scaly  Fires. 

Creech's  Manilius. 

is  the  French  Hydre,  the  German  Grosse  Wasserschlange,  and  the  Italian 
Idra,  and  may  be  classed  among  the  Argonautic  constellations,  as  it  was 
said  to  represent  the  Dragon  of  Aetes. 


The  Constellations  247 

Its  stars  are  now  well  defined  under  this  single  title,  but  anciently  were 
described,  with  their  riders  Corvus  and  Crater,  as  Ovid  wrote : 

Anguis,  Avis,  Crater,  sidera  juncta  micant. 

This  continued  to  the  18th  century,  Flamsteed  and  other  early  astronomers 
making  of  them  even  four  divisions,  Hydra,  Hydra  et  Crater,  Hydra  et 
Corvus,  and  Continnatio  Hydrae.  Vepa  and  Nepas,  originally  African 
words  for  the  terrestrial  crab  and  scorpion,  seem  also  to  have  been  used  for 
this  constellation  in  classic  times. 

Aratos  called  it  "Tdprj ;  Eratosthenes,  Hipparchos,  and  Geminos,  "Tfyoc, 
the  Hydros  of  Germanicus,  while  others  wrote  it  "Tdpa ;  but  Eratosthenes 
again  had  it  all  under  Kopaf,  and  Hipparchos  also  used  kpdtcwv. 

In  Low  Latin  it  has  been  Hidra,  Idra,  and  Tdra ;  and,  in  the  Almagest 
of  1 55 1,  Hydros  in  the  masculine,  which,  correct  enough  before  Bayer's 
day,  would  now  confound  it  with  the  new  southern  figure.  Riccioli,  and 
Hyde  in  his  translation  of  Ulug  Beg's  catalogue,  had  it  thus,  showing  its 
continuance  till  then  as  a  common  title,  although  often  written  Idros  and 
Idrus  aquations,  as  well  as  changed  to  Serpens  aquations. 

Other  names,  also  used  for  the  northern  Dragon,  have  been  Draeo,  Asiua, 
and  Asuia,  or  Asvia,  which  Bayer  referred  to  as  aaovyia  non  do(3la  •  but  these 
are  not  Greek  words,  and  doubtless  are  from  Al  Shnja',  the  Snake,  transformed, 
as  only  the  late  mediaeval  astronomical  writers  and  their  immediate  successors 
could  transform  classical  and  Arabic  terms  into  their  Low  Latin  and  Greek ; 
Chilmead  wrote  it  Alsugahh.  Still  another  conception  and  title  may  be 
seen  in  the  Arabo-Latin  Almagest's  Stellatio  Ydre :  et  est  species  serpen- 
tium ;  et  jam  nominator  Asiua.  secur9;  where  the  last  word,  if  an  abbre- 
viation for  securis,  "  ax,"  seems  not  inappropriate  when  taking  the  western 
half  of  Hydra  for  a  somewhat  crooked  handle,  and  Corvus  for  the  ax-head. 
The  Asiua,  or  She  Ass,  which  La  Lande  mentioned,  is  probably  a  contin- 
uation of  some  early  type  error  in  the  barbarous  Asiua. 

Coluber,  the  Snake,  and  Echidna,  the  Viper,  also  obtain  for  Hydra,  with 
the  adjectives  Furiosus,  Magnanimus,  and  Sublimatus,  here  used  as  proper 
nouns,  as  they  were  for  Orion.  The  Arabians  similarly  called  it  Al  Hayyah, 
another  of  their  words  for  a  snake, —  El  Havic  in  Riccioli's  New  Almagest. 

Its  representation  has  generally  been  as  we  have  it,  but  the  Hyginus  of 
1488  added  a  tree  in  whose  branches  the  Hydra's  head  is  resting; 
probably  a  recollection  of  the  dragon  that  guarded  the  apple-trees  of  the 
Hesperides,  although  this  duty  really  belonged  to  our  Draco ;  and  at  times 
it  has  been  shown  as  three-headed.  Map-makers  have  always  figured  it  in 
its  present  form,  the  Cup  resting  midway  on  its  back,  with  the  Raven  peck- 


248  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

ing  at  one  of  its  folds ;  Hydra  preventing  the  latter^  access  to  the  Cup  in 
punishment  for  its  tattling  about  Coronis,  or  for  its  delay  in  Apollo's  service. 
The  minor  constellation  Tnrdus,  or  Noctna,  only  recently  has  been  added 
to  it. 

Those  who  saw  biblical  symbols  among  the  stars  called  Hydra  the 
Flood ;  Corvus,  Voah'g  Raven ;  and  Crater,  the  Cup  "  out  of  which  the  pa- 
triarch sinned  " ;  but  Julius  Schiller  said  that  the  whole  represented  the 
River  Jordan. 

The  7th  sieu,  Lien,  a  Willow  Branch,  or  Lin,  a  Circular  Garland,— was 
the  creature's  head,  150  south  of  Praesaepe,  6  being  the  determinant,  and 
formed  the  beak  of  the  Red  Bird ;  it  governed  the  planets  and  was  wor- 
shiped at  festivals  of  the  summer  solstice  as  an  emblem  of  immortality. 

Here,  too,  was  the  7th  nakshatra,  Aglesha,  or  Agresha,  the  Embracer,  fig- 
ured as  a  Wheel,  with  Sarpas,  the  Serpents,  as  presiding  divinities ;  c  marking 
the  junction  with  the  nakshatra  Magna. 

The  8th  sieu,  Sing,  a  Star,  anciently  Tah,  was  formed  by  a,  a,  and  t,  with 
others  smaller  lying  near  them,  a  being  the  determinant.  This  asterism 
constituted  the  heck  of  the  Red  Bird,  and,  Edkins  asserts,  was  also  known 
as  the  Seven  Stan. 

The  9th  situ  consisted  of  k,  v1,  v2,  A,  \iy  0,  and  another  unascertained,  and 
was  called  Chang,  or  Tehang,  a  Drawn  Bow, —  Brown  says  "  anciently 
l^nng,  the  Archer," —  v1  being  the  determinant ;  the  god  Chang  using  this 
bow  to  slay  the  Sky  Dog,  our  Crater.  The  stars  between  Corvus  and  Crater 
were  KLen  Mnn,  and  those  between  y  Hydrae  and  Spica  of  the  Virgin  were 
Tien  Mnn,  Heaven's  Gate.  These  lie  beyond  the  oudines  of  the  Virgin's  robe 
on  the  Heis  map,  but  on  Burritt's  are  included  in  the  tip  of  her  left 
wing. 

Hydra  is  supposed  to  be  the  snake  shown  on  a  uranographic  stone  from 
the  Euphrates,  of  1200  b.  c,  "identified  with  the  source  of  the  fountains  cf 
the  great  deep,"  and  one  of  the  several  sky  symbols  of  the  great  dragon 
Tiamat.  Certain  stars  near,  or  perhaps  in  the  tip  of  Hydra's  tail  and  in 
Libra,  seem  to  have  been  the  Akkadian  En-te-na-mas-lnv,  or  En-te-na-ma* 
mnr,  the  Assyrian  Etsen-Uiri,  the  Tail-tip. 

Theon  said  that  the  Egyptians  considered  it  the  sky  representative  of  the 
Nile,  and  gave  it  their  name  for  that  river. 

After  Al  Sufi's  day,  in  our  icth  century,  the  figure  was  much  lengthened, 
and  now  stretches  for  nearly  95°  in  a  winding  course  from  Cancer  to  Scor- 
pio; this  well  agreeing  with  the  fable  of  its  immense  marine  prototype,  the 
Scandinavian  Kraken.  Conrad  Gesner,  the  16th-century  naturalist,  gave 
an  illustration  of  this  in  its  apparently  successful  attack  upon  the  ship  Argo. 


The  Constellations  249 

The  constellation  cannot  be  seen  in  its  entirety  till  Crater  is  on  the  meridian. 
Argelander  enumerates  in  it  75  stars;  Heis,  153. 

For  an  unknown  period  its  winding  course  symbolized  that  of  the  moon; 
hence  the  latter's  nodes  are  called  the  Dragon's  Head  and  Tail.  When  a 
comet  was  in  them  poison  was  thought  to  be  scattered  by  it  over  the  world  ; 
but  these  fanciful  ideas  are  now  associated  with  Draco. 

Al  Sufi  mentioned  an  early  Arab  figure,  Al  H'ail,  the  Horse,  formed  from 
stars  some  of  which  now  belong  to  our  Hydra,  but  more  to  Leo  and  Sex- 
tans. 

The  Water-serpent's  gleaming  bend. 

Brown's  A  ratos. 

CL,     2,     orange. 

Alphard,  Alfard,  and  Alpherd, — Alphart  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  and 
Pherd  with  Hyde, —  are  from  Al  Fard  al  Shuja',  the  Solitary  One  in  the  Ser- 
pent, well  describing  its  position  in  the  sky.  Caesius  gave  Alpharad,  which 
on  the  Reuter  wall-map  was  Alphrad ;  and  a  still  more  changed  title  is 
Alphora.  The  Arabs  also  knew  a  as  Al  Fakir  al  Shuja ,  the  Backbone  of 
the  Serpent ;  but  Ulug  Beg  changed  this  to  Al  Unk  al  Shuja',  the  Serpent's 
Neck;  and  it  shared  the  Suhel  of  other  bright  stars  as  Suhel  al  Fard,  and 
Suhel  al  Sham,  the  Solitary,  and  the  Northern,  Suhail. 

Tycho  first  called  it  Cor  Hydrae,  the  Hydra's  Heart,—  Riccioli's  Kalb 
Elhavich  and  Kalbelaphard, —  which,  with  the  alternative  Collum  Hydrae, 
the  Hydra's  Neck,  is  current  even  now. 

In  China  it  determined  the  8th  sieu,  and  was  the  prominent  star  of  the  Red 
Bird  that  combined  the  seven  lunar  divisions  of  the  southern  quarter  of  the 
heavens.  Its  longitude  is  said  to  have  been  ascertained  there  in  the  19th 
century  before  our  era,  but  the  statement  may  be  questionable ;  as  also  that 
it  was  observed  passing  the  meridian  at  sunset  on  the  day  of  the  vernal 
equinox  during  the  time  of  the  emperor  Yao,  about  2350  b.  c.  It  culmi- 
nates on  the  26th  of  March. 

0  and  £  were  the  Chinese  Tsing  Kew,  the  Green  Hill. 

**>  €j  it  *7>  p,  and  a,  3d  to  5th  magnitudes,  on  the  head,  were  Ulug  Beg's  M in 
al  Azal,  Belonging  to  the  Uninhabited  Spot. 

£  is  a  remarkable  triple, —  an  8th-magnitude  3^"  from  a  3.8-magnitude, 
the  latter  divided  by  Schiaparelli,  in  1892,  into  two  of  nearly  equal  brightness 
o".2  apart, —  which  probably  form  a  rapid  ternary  system. 

*,  a  4th-magnitude,  was  the  Chinese  Ping  Sing,  a  Tranquil  Star. 

*,  a  5th-magnitude,  and  the  stars  of  about  the  same  brilliancy  extending 
from  it  to  /3,  with  &  Crateris,  were  Al  Sufi's  Al  Sharaslf,  the  Ribs. 


250  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

<j,  4.6,  was  Ulug  Beg's  Al  Minfiar  al  Shujac,  the  Snake's  Nose. 

t1,  4.9,  flushed  white,  and  t2,  4.6,  lilac,  with  1  and  the  5th-magnitude  A, 
form  the  curve  in  the  neck,  Ptolemy's  KapnTj ;  but  Kazwini  knew  them  as 
TJkdah,  the  Knot. 


first  published  by  Bayer,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  ancient  Hydra. 
It  lies  between  Horologium  and  Tucana;  the  head  adjoining  the  polar 
Octans,  the  tail  almost  reaching  the  magnificent  star  Achernar  of  Eridanus. 

The  French  know  the  figure  as  l'Hydre  Mfile ;  and  the  Germans  as 
der  Kleine  Wauenchlange. 

Out  of  this,  with  Tucana  and  the  Lesser  Cloud,  Julius  Schiller  made  his 
biblical  constellation  Raphael. 

The  Chinese  formed  from  the  stars  of  Hydrus,  with  others  surrounding 
it,  four  of  their  later  asterisms  :  Shay  Show,  the  Serpent's  Head,  marked  by 
e  and  £;  Shay  Fuh,  the  Serpent's  Belly,  towards  Tucana;  Shay  We,  the  Ser- 
pent's Tail,  entirely  within  the  boundaries  of  Hydrus;  and  Poo  Pih,  of  un- 
known signification,  marked  by  y,  a  red  3.2-magnitude,  specially  mentioned 
by  Corsali  in  his  account  of  the  Magellanic  Clouds. 

In  it  Gould  catalogues  64  stars  from  2.7  to  7th  magnitudes. 

The  2.7-magnitude  lucida  0,  in  the  tail,  is  of  a  remarkably  clear  yellow 
hue,  and  the  nearest  conspicuous  star  to  the  south  pole,  although  120  distant 


3nfcu5,  f$e  3nbfan, 

is  the  German  Indianer,  the  Italian  Indiano,  and  the  French  Indian;  La 
Lande  giving  the  alternative  Triangle  Indien,  probably  from  the  general 
outline  of  its  chief  stars. 

It  is  one  of  Bayer's  new  constellations,  south  of  the  Microscope,  between 
Grus  and  Pavo,  and,  although  generally  supposed  to  represent  a  typical 
American  Indian,  its  publisher  drew  it  as  a  far  more  civilized  character, 
yet  nude,  with  arrows  in  both  hands,  but  no  bow.     Flamsteed's  Atlas  has 


The  Constellations  251 

a  similar  figuring.  Julius  Schiller,  however,  went  much  further  back  in 
point  of  time  and  joined  it  with  Pavo  as  the  patriarch  Job. 

Indus,  or  its  lucida  a,  was  Pe  Sie  in  China,  where  it  also  was  known  as 
the  Persian,  a  title  from  the  Jesuit  missionaries. 

Gould  assigned  to  it  84  naked-eye  stars,  from  3.1  to  7th  magnitudes; 
but  none  of  these  are  specially  noticeable  except  the  6.3  y,  which  may  be  a 
variable,  and  e,  with  the  unusually  large  proper  motion  of  4".6  annually,  a 
rate  of  speed  that  will  carry  it  to  the  south  pole  in  50,000  years. 


is  the  French  Lizard,  the  Italian  Lncertola,  and  the  German  Eidechse, — 
Bode's  Eidexe, —  extending  from  the  head  of  Cepheus  to  the  star  n  at  the 
left  foot  of  Pegasus,  its  northern  half  lying  in  the  Milky  Way. 

This  inconspicuous  constellation  was  formed  by  Hevelius  from  outlying 
stars  between  Cygnus  and  Andromeda,  this  special  figure  having  been  se- 
lected because  there  was  not  space  for  any  of  a  different  shape.  But  he 
drew  "  a  strange  weasel-built  creature  with  a  curly  tail,"  heading  the  proces- 
sion of  his  offerings  to  Urania  illustrated  in  his  Firmamentum  Sobicscianum 
of  1687.  Flamsteed's  picture  is  more  like  a  greyhound,  but  equally  un- 
couth ;  that  by  Heis  is  typically  correct. 

Its  inventor  gave  it  the  alternative  title  of  Stellio,  the  Stellion,  a  newt  with 
star-like  dorsal  spots  found  along  the  Mediterranean  coast.  Somewhat 
coincidently  its  stars,  with  those  in  the  eastern  portion  of  Cygnus,  were 
combined  by  the  early  Chinese  in  their  Flying  Serpent 

Hevelius  catalogued  10  components;  Argelander,  31;  and  Heis,  48. 
They  come  to  the  meridian  about  the  middle  of  April.  It  has  no  named 
star,  and  its  lucida,  a,  is  only  of  3.9  magnitude. 

P,  4-5*  marks  the  radiant  point  of  the  Lacertids,  a  minor  meteor  stream 
visible  through  August  and  September. 

Before  the  Lizard  was  formed,  Royer  introduced  here,  in  1679,  the 

JJcepf  re  anb  %anb  of  Surftce, 

commemorating  his  king,  Louis  XIV;  and  a  century  later  Bode  substituted 
the  Frederici  Honores,  in  honor  of  his  sovereign  Frederick  the  Great; 
but  Lacerta  has  held  its  place,  while  Royer's  figure  has  been  entirely  for- 
gotten, and  Bode's  nearly  so. 


252  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 


In  pride  the  Lion  lifts  his  mane 
To  see  his  British  brothers  reign 
As  stars  below. 

Edward  Young's  Imperium  Pelagi. 

&eo,  ffc  Eton, 

is  Lion  in  France,  Lowe  in  Germany,  and  Leone  in  Italy.  In  Anglo-Nor- 
man times  it  was  Lean.  It  lies  between  Cancer  and  Virgo,  the  bright 
Denebola  50  north  of  the  faint  stars  that  mark  the  head  of  the  latter  con- 
stellation ;  but  Ptolemy  extended  it  to  include  among  its  dfMOfxt^roi  the 
group  now  Coma  Berenices. 

In  Greek  and  Roman  myth  this  was  respectively  Aewv  and  Leo,  repre- 
senting the  Kemean  Lion,  originally  from  the  moon,  and,  after  his  earthly  stay. 
carried  back  to  the  heavens  with  his  slayer  Hercules,  where  he  became  the 
poet's  Nemeaeus;  Vemeas  Alumnus;  Nemees  Tenor;  tfemeaeum  Ion- 
strum  ;  and,  in  later  times,  Ho  Animal  Kemaeo  truoulento  of  Cam5es.  It 
also  was  Cleonaeum  Sidus,  from  Cleonae,  the  Argolic  town  near  the  Ne- 
mean  forest  where  Hercules  slew  the  creature ;  Herculeus ;  and  Henmlenm 
Astrum.  But  the  Romans  commonly  knew  it  as  Leo,  Ovid  writing  Herca- 
lens  Leo  and  Violentus  Leo. 

Baochi  Sidus  was  another  of  its  titles,  that  god  always  being  identified 
with  this  animal,  and  its  shape  the  one  usually  adopted  by  him  in  his  nu- 
merous transformations;  while  a  lion's  skin  was  his  frequent  dress.  But 
Manilius  had  it  Jovis  et  Junonis  Sidus,  as  being  under  the  guardianship  ot 
these  deities ;  and  appropriately  so,  considering  its  regal  character,  and  espe- 
cially that  of  its  lucida. 

The  Egyptian  king  Necepsos,  and  his  philosopher  Petosiris,  taught  that 
at  the  Creation  the  sun  rose  here  near  Denebola;  and  hence  Leo  was 
Domicilium  Solis,  the  emblem  of  fire  and  heat,  and,  in  astrology,  the  Hon* 
of  the  Sun,  governing  the  human  heart,  and  reigning  in  modern  days  over 
Bohemia,  France,  Italy,  and  the  cities  of  Bath,  Bristol,  and  Taunton  in  Eng- 
land, and  our  Philadelphia.  In  ancient  times  Manilius  wrote  of  it  as  ruling 
over  Armenia,  Bithynia,  Cappadocia,  Macedon,  and  Phrygia.  It  was  a  for- 
tunate sign,  with  red  and  green  as  its  colors;  and,  according  to  Ampehus. 
was  in  charge  of  the  wind  Thrascias  mentioned  by  Pliny,  Seneca,  and 
Vitruvius  as  coming  from  the  north  by  a  third  northwest.  Ancient  physi- 
cians thought  that  when  the  sun  was  in  this  sign  medicine  was  a  poison, 
and  even  a  bath  equally  harmful  (!) ;  while  the  weather-wise  said  that  thunder 


The  Constellations  253 

foretold  sedition  and  deaths  of  great  men.  The  adoption  of  this  animal's 
form  for  a  zodiac  sign  has  fancifully  been  attributed  to  the  fact  that  when 
the  sun  was  among  its  stars  in  midsummer  the  lions  of  the  desert  left  their 
accustomed  haunts  for  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  where  they  could  find  relief 
from  the  heat  in  the  waters  of  the  inundation ;  and  Pliny  is  authority  for 
the  statement  that  the  Egyptians  worshiped  the  stars  of  Leo  because  the 
rise  of  their  great  river  was  coincident  with  the  sun's  entrance  among 
them.  For  the  same  reason  the  great  Androsphinx  is  said  to  have  been 
sculptured  with  Leo's  body  and  the  head  of  the  adjacent  Virgo ;  although 
Egyptologists  maintain  that  this  head  represented  one  of  the  early  kings, 
or  the  god  Harmachis.  Distinct  reference  is  made  to  Leo  in  an  inscription 
on  the  walls  of  the  Ramesseum  at  Thebes,  which,  like  the  Nile  temples 
generally,  was  adorned  with  the  animal's  bristles;  while  on  the  planisphere 
of  Denderah  its  figure  is  shown  standing  on  an  outstretched  serpent.  The 
Egyptian  stellar  Lion,  however,  comprised  only  a  part  jof  ours,  and  in  the 
earliest  records  some  of  its  stars  were  shown  as  a  Knife,  as  they  now  are  as 
a  Siekle.     Kircher  gave  its  title  there  as  nifievreiciuv,  Cubitus  Nili. 

The  Persians  called  it  Ser  or  Shir;  the  Turks,  Artan;  the  Syrians,  Aryo; 
the  Jews,  Aryfl ;  and  the  Babylonians,  Arfi, — all  meaning  a  Lion ;  the  last  title 
frequently  being  contracted  to  their  letter  equivalent  to  our  A. 

It  was  the  tribal  sign  of  Judah,  allotted  to  him  by  his  father  Jacob  as  re- 
corded in  Genesis  xlix,  9,  and  confirmed  by  Saint  John  in  The  Revelation 
v,  5;  Landseer  suggesting  that  this  association  was  from  the  fact  that 
Leo  was  the  natal  sign  of  Judah  and  so  borne  on  his  signet-ring  given  to 
Tamar. 

Christians  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  subsequently,  who  figured  biblical 
characters  throughout  the  heavens  in  place  of  the  old  mythology,  called  it 
one  of  Daniel's  lions ;  and  the  apostolic  school,  doubting  Thomas. 

On  Ninevite  cylinders  Leo  is  depicted  as  in  fatal  conflict  with  a  bull, 
typifying  the  victory  of  light  over  darkness ;  and  in  Euphratean  astronomy 
it  was  additionally  known  as  (Hsbar-namrn-ea-pan,  variously  translated,  but 
by  Bertin  as  the  Shining  Disc  which  precedes  Bel;  the  latter  being  our 
Ursa  Major,  or  in  some  way  intimately  connected  therewith.  Hewitt  says 
that  it  was  the  Akkadian  Pa-pil-sak,  the  Sceptre,  or  the  Great  Fire;  and 
Sayce  identifies  it  with  the  Assyrian  month  Abu,  our  July-August,  the  Fiery 
Hot;  Minsheu  assigning  as  the  reason  for  this  universal  fiery  character  of 
the  constellation, "  because  the  sunne  being  in  that  signe  is  most  raging  and 
hot  like  a  lion." 

Thus  throughout  antiquity  the  animal  and  the  constellation  always  have 
been  identified  with  the  sun,— indeed  in  all  historic  ages  till  it  finally  appears 


254  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

on  the  royal  arms  of  England,  as  well  as  on  those  of  many  of  the  early 
noble  families  of  that  country.  During  the  12th  century  it  was  the  only 
animal  shown  on  Anglo-Norman  shields. 

As  a  zodiacal  figure  it  was  of  course  entirely  different  from  the  ancient 
Asad  of  Arabia,  that  somewhat  mythical  Lion  extending  from  Gemini  over 
our  Cancer,  Leo,  Virgo,  Libra,  and  parts  of  other  constellations,  both 
north  and  south  of  the  zodiac ;  but  the  later  Arabians  also  adopted  Ptol- 
emy's Leo  and  transferred  to  it  the  Asad  of  the  early  constellation.  This 
appeared  in  the  various  corrupted  forms  cited  by  Bayer, —  Alaaid,  Aleser, 
Asia,  Aflsid,  and  others  similar,  of  which  Assemani  gives  a  long  list;  Schickard 
adding  Alasado  and  Asedaton;  and  Riccioli,  specially  mentioning  laid 
and  EUesed,  cautioned  his  readers  against  the  erroneous  Alatid  and  Aleat 

Early  Hindu  astronomers  knew  it  as  Asleha,  and  as  Sinha,  the  Tamil  Sim- 
ham  ;  but  the  later,  influenced  by  Greece  and  Rome,  as  Leya,  or  Leyaya, 
from  the  word  Leo.  It  contained  the  8th  nakshatra,  Magna,  Mighty,  or 
Generous;  as  also  the  9th  and  10th,  Pnrra,  and  Uttara,  Phalgnnf,  the 
Former,  and  the  Latter,  Phalguni,  a  word  of  uncertain  meaning, — perhaps 
the  Bad  One, —  the  single  station  being  represented  by  a  Fig-tree,  and  the 
combined  by  a  Bed  or  Couch. 

Nearly  the  same  stars  were  included  in  the  8th,  9th,  and  10th  manaziloi 
Arabia  as  AUabhah,  the  Forehead ;  Al  Zubrah,  the  Mane;  and  Al  Sar&h, 
the  Turn. 

Of  the  situ,  however,  none  appear  in  Leo,  the  Chinese  having  adopted, 
instead,  stations  among  the  stars  of  Hydra  and  Crater,  so  that  many  infer 
that  their  lunar  asterisms  were  original  with  themselves.  In  the  later  native 
solar  zodiac  of  China  the  Lion's  stars  were  the  Horse,  and  in  the  earlier  a  part 
of  the  Red  Bird;  while  Williams  says  that  they  also  were  Shun  Ho,  the 
Quail's  Fire;  but  in  the  16th  century  the  Chinese  formally  adopted  our 
Leo,  translating  it  as  Sze  Tsae.  The  space  between  it  and  Virgo  was  Tae 
Wei,  or  Shaou  Wei,  and  the  western  half  of  Leo,  with  Leo  Minor,  was  re- 
garded as  a  Yellow  Dragon  mounting  upwards,  marked  by  the  line  of  ten 
stars  from  Regulus  through  the  Sickle.  It  also  was  another  of  the  Heavenly 
Chariots  of  imperial  China. 

Its  symbol,  ft ,  has  been  supposed  to  portray  the  animal's  mane,  but 
seems  more  appropriate  to  the  other  extremity;  the  Hyginus  of  1488  and 
the  Albumasar  of  1489  showing  this  latter  member  of  extraordinary  length, 
twisting  between  the  hind  legs  and  over  the  back,  the  Hyginus  properly 
locating  the  star  Denebola  in  the  end ;  but  the  International  Dictionary,  in 
a  more  scholarly  way,  says  that  this  symbol  is  a  corruption  of  the  initial 
letter  of  Aeo>v.     Lajard's  Culte  de  Mithra  mentions  the  hieroglyph  of  Leo 


The  Constellations  255 

as  among  the  symbols  of  Mithraic  worship,  but  how  their  Lion  agreed,  if 
at  all,  with  ours  is  not  known. 

One  of  the  sultans  of  Koniyeh,  ancient  Iconium,  put  the  stellar  figure  on 
his  coins. 

Its  drawing  has  generally  been  in  a  standing  position,  but,  in  the  Leyden 
Manuscript,  in  a  springing  attitude,  with  the  characteristic  Sickle  fairly 
represented.  Young  astronomers  know  the  constellation  by  this  last  feature 
in  the  fore  parts  of  the  figure,  the  bright  Regulus  marking  the  handle ;  its 
other  stars  successively  being  77,  y,  f,  /i,  and  e.  Nor  is  this  a  recent  idea,  for 
Pliny  is  thought  to  have  given  it  separately  from  Leo  in  his  list  of  the  con- 
stellations ;  but  not  much  could  have  been  left  of  the  Lion  after  this  sub- 
traction except  his  tail. 

These  same  Sickle  stars  were  a  lunar  asterism  with  the  Akkadians  as 
(Hfl-mes,  the  Curved  Weapon;  with  the  Khorasmians  and  Sogdians  as 
Khamnhish,  the  Scimetar;  but  with  the  Copts  as  Titefai,  the  Forehead. 

The  sun  passes  through  Leo  from  the  7th  of  August  to  the  14th  of  Sep- 
tember.    Argelander  catalogues  in  it  76  stars,  and  Heis  161. 

In  Leo  and  Virgo  lay  the  now  long  forgotten  asterism  Fahne,  of  which 
Ideler  wrote : 

The  Flag  is  a  constellation  of  the  heavens,  one  part  in  Leo  and  one  part  in  Virgo.  Has 
many  stars.  On  the  iron  [the  arrowhead  of  the  staff]  in  front  one,  on  the  flag  two,  on 
every  fold  of  the  flag  one. 

This  is  illustrated  in  the  47th  volume  of  Archaeobgia,  and  it  appeared 
as  a  distinct  constellation  in  a  15th-century  German  manuscript,  perhaps 
the  original  of  the  work  of  1564  from  which  Ideler  quoted.  Brown 
repeats  a  Euphratean  inscription,  "  The  constellation  of  the  Yoke  like  a 
flag  floated,"  although  he  claims  no  connection  here,  and  associates  the 
Yoke  with  Capricorn. 

II  Petto  del  lione  ardente. 

Dante's  Paraduo. 

<X,  Triple,     1.7,  8.5,  and  13,    flushed  white  and  ultramarine. 

Regains  was  so  called  by  Copernicus,  not  after  the  celebrated  consul  of 
the  1st  Punic  war,  as  Burritt  and  others  have  asserted,  but  as  a  diminutive 
of  the  earlier  Rex,  equivalent  to  the  $aoi7daKo<;  of  Ptolemy.  This  was 
from  the  belief  that  it  ruled  the  affairs  of  the  heavens, —  a  belief  current,  till 
three  centuries  ago,  from  at  least  3000  years  before  our  era.  Thus,  as 
Sharrn,  the  King,  it  marked  the  15th  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia;  in 
India  it  was  Magna,  the  Mighty ;  in  Sogdiana,  Magh,  the  Great ;  in  Persia, 


256  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Miyan^  the  Centre;  among  the  Turanian  races,  Maori,  the  Hero;  and  in 
Akkadia  it  was  associated  with  the  5th  antediluvian  King-of-the-celestial- 
sphere,  Amil-gal-ur,  'Apeydkapog.    A  Ninevite  tablet  has : 

If  the  star  of  the  great  lion  is  gloomy  the  heart  of  the  people  will  not  rejoice. 

In  Arabia  it  was  Malikiyy,  Kingly;  in  Greece,  Paaikiaxog  aorrip;  in 
Rome,  Basilica  Stella;  with  Pliny,  Begia;  in  the  revival  of  European 
astronomy,  Rex;  and  with  Tycho,  BasUuens. 

So,  too,  it  was  the  leader  of  the  Four  Royal  Stan  of  the  ancient  Persian 
monarchy,  the  Four  Guardians  of  Heaven,  Dupuis,  referring  to  this  Per- 
sian character,  said  that  the  four  stars  marked  the  cardinal  points,  assigning 
Hastorang,  as  he  termed  it,  to  the  North ;  Venant  to  the  South ;  Tkscheter 
to  the  East ;  and  Satevis  to  the  West :  but  did  not  identify  these  titles  with 
the  individual  stars.  Flammarion  does  so,  however,  with  Fomalhaut, 
Regulus,  and  Aldebaran  for  the  first  three  respectively,  so  that  we  may 
consider  Satevis  as  An  tares.  This  same  scheme  appeared  in  India,  although 
the  authorities  are  not  agreed  as  to  these  assignments  and  identifications: 
but,  as  the  right  ascensions  are  about  six  hours  apart,  they  everywhere 
probably  were  used  to  mark  the  early  equinoctial  and  solstitial  colures,  four 
great  circles  in  the  sky,  or  generally  the  four  quarters  of  the  heavens.  At 
the  time  that  these  probably  were  first  thought  of,  Regulus  lay  very  near  to 
the  summer  solstice,  and  so  indicated  the  solstitial  colure. 

Early  English  astrologers  made  it  a  portent  of  glory,  riches,  and  power 
to  all  born  under  its  influence;  Wyllyam  Salysbury,  of  1552,  writing,  but 
perhaps  from  Proclus : 

The  Lyon's  herte  is  called  of  some  men,  the  Royall  Starre,  for  they  that  are  borne  un- 
der it,  are  thought  to  have  a  royall  nativitie. 

And  this  title,  the  Lion's  Heart,  has  been  a  popular  one  from  early  classical 
times,  seen  in  the  Kapdia  keovrog  of  Greece  and  the  Cor  Leonis  of  Rome, 
and  adopted  by  the  Arabians  as  Al  Kalb  al  Asad,  this  degenerating  into 
Kalbelasit,  Kalbeleoed,  Kalbeleceid,  Kalbol  asadi,  Calb-elei-id,  Calb-elesit, 
Calb-alexet,  and  Kale  Alased  of  various  bygone  lists.  Al  Blrunl  called  it 
the  Heart  of  the  Royal  Lion,  which  "  rises  when  Suhail  rises  in  Al  Hijaz."1 
Bayer  and  others  have  quoted,  as  titles  for  Regulus,  the  strange  Tybenme 
and  Tuberoni  Eegia;  but  these  are  entirely  wrong,  and  arose  from  a  mis- 
conception of  Pliny's  Stella  Regia  appellata  Tuberoni  in  pectore  Leonis, 

IThe  province  containing  Mecca,  Medina,  and  Jiddah,  and  reaching  to  Tehama,  the  low 
land  bordering  on  the  Red  Sea. 


The  Constellations  257 

rendered  "  the  star  called  by  Tubero  the  Royal  One  in  the  Lion's  breast " ; 
Holland's  translation  reading : 

The  cleare  and  bright  star,  called  the  Star  Boyal,  appearing  in  the  breast  of  the  signe 
I>eo,  Tubero  l  mine  author  saith. 

Naturally  sharing  the  character  of  its  constellation  as  the  Domicilium 
Solis,  in  Euphratean  astronomy  it  was  Gus-ba-ra,  the  Flame,  or  the  Red 
Fire,  of  the  House  of  the  East;  in  Khorasmia,  Adhir,  Possessing  Luminous 
Rays ;  and  throughout  classical  days  the  supposed  cause  of  the  summer's 
heat,  a  reputation  that  it  shared  with  the  Dog-star.  Horace  expressed  this 
in  his  Stella  vesani  Leonis. 

It  was  of  course  prominent  among  the  lunar-mansion  stars,  and  chief  in 
the  8th  nakshatra  that  bore  its  name,  Magna,  made  up  by  all  the  components 
of  the  Sickle;  and  it  marked  the  junction  with  the  adjoining  station  Purva 
Phalguni;  the  Pitares,  Fathers,  being  the  regents  of  the  asterism,  which  was 
figured  as  a  House.  In  Arabia,  with  -y,  f,  and  t]  of  the  Sickle,  it  was  the 
8th  manzil,  Al  Jabhah,  the  Forehead.  In  China,  however,  the  8th  sieu  lay 
in  Hydra ;  but  the  astronomers  of  that  country  referred  to  Regulus  as  the 
Great  Star  in  Heen  Yuen,  a  constellation  called  after  the  imperial  family, 
comprising  a,  y,  e,  tj,  A,  £,  #,  v,  o,  p,  and  others  adjacent  and  smaller  reach- 
ing into  Leo  Minor.  Individually  it  was  tfiau,  the  Bird,  and  so  represen- 
tative of  the  whole  quadripartite  zodiacal  group. 

In  addition  to  the  evidence,  from  its  nomenclature,  of  the  ancient  im- 
portance of  this  star  is  the  record,  although  perhaps  questionable,  of  an 
observation  of  its  longitude  1985  years  before  the  time  of  Ptolemy ;  and  of 
a  still  earlier  one  in  Babylonia,  2120  b.  c,  Regulus  then  being  in  longitude 
920  30',  but  now  over  1480.  Its  position,  and  that  of  Spica,  observed  by 
Hipparchos,  when  compared  with  the  earlier  records  are  said  to  have  re- 
vealed to  him  the  phenomenon  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes.  It  was 
then  in  longitude  1190  50'.     Smyth  wrote  of  it: 

The  longitude  of  Regulus  has,  through  successive  ages,  been  made  a  datum-step  by  the 
best  astronomers  of  all  nations. 

This  is  the  faintest  of  the  so-called  ist-magnitude  stars,  with  but  -fc  of 
the  brightness  of  Sirius.  It  has  a  spectrum  of  the  Sirian  type,  and  is  ap- 
proaching the  earth  at  the  rate  of  $}4  miles  a  second.  Elkin  has  deter- 
mined its  parallax  as  o".o89.  It  lies  very  close  to  the  ecliptic,  almost  cov- 
ered by  the  sun  on  the  20th  of  August;  and,  as  one  of  the  lunar  stars,  is 
much  observed  in  navigation.  It  culminates  on  the  6th  of  April. 
1  This  was  Lucius  Tubero,  the  intimate  literary  friend  of  Cicero. 
17 


258  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  companion,  about  3'  away,  described  "  as  if  steeped  in  indigo,"  was 
discovered  by  Winlock  to  be  itself  closely  double,  3".3  apart,  at  a  position 
angle  of  880.5. 

(3,     2.3,    blue. 

Denebola — sometimes  Deneb  —  is  the  modern  name  for  this  star,  abbre- 
viated from  Al  Dhanab  al  Asad,  the  Lion's  Tail,  the  Greek  'AXicaia;  Bayer 
gave  it  as  Denebalecid  and  Denebaleced;  Chilmead,  as  Deneb  Alaaed;  and 
Schickard,  as  Dhanbol-asadi.  Riccioli  omitted  the  first  syllable  of  the  origi- 
nal, and  called  the  star  Hebolelleeed,  Hebollassid  "  of  the  Nubian  astrolo- 
gers," and  Alazet  apud  Azophi,  his  title  for  Al  Sufi.  Elsewhere  it  is  Helm- 
lasit  and  Alesit;  the  Alfonsine  Tables  have  Denebalezeth  and  the  very 
appropriate  Daflra,  from  the  similar  Arabic  term  for  the  tuft  of  coarse  hair 
at  the  end  of  the  tail  in  which  the  star  lies.  Proctor  called  it  Deneb  Aleet, 
and  there  may  be  other  degenerated  forms  of  the  original.  Kazwini  cited 
Al  Aktab  al  Asad,  the  Viscera  of  the  Lion,  or  Al  Katab,  a  Small  Saddle: 
inappropriate  names,  Ideler  said,  and  inferred  that  they  should  be  Al  Kalb, 
which  in  the  course  of  time  might  have  wandered  here  from  Regulus,  the 
genuine  Kalb,  or  Heart,  of  the  Lion. 

It  marked  the  10th  manzil,  Al  Sarfah,  the  Changer,  1.  e.  of  the  weather, 
given  by  Ulug  Beg  as  the  star's  individual  title;  and  Al  Birun!  wrote  of  it: 
"  The  heat  turns  away  when  it  rises,  and  the  cold  turns  away  when  it  dis- 
appears." Chilmead  cited  Asumpha,  which  he  attributed  to  Alfraganus; 
Baily  called  this  Serpha ;  and  Hyde  changed  it  to  Mutatrix. 

With  the  4th-magnitude  Fl.  93,  it  constituted  the  10th  nakshatra,  Uttara 
Phalgnni,  and  was  the  junction  star  with  the  adjacent  Hasta ;  the  regents 
of  this  and  the  next  asterism,  the  Purva  Phalguni,  being  the  Adityas, 
Aryaman  and  Bagha.  Al  Blrunl,  however,  said  that  Hindu  astronomers 
pointed  out  to  him  a  star  in  Coma  Berenices  as  forming  the  lunar  station 
with  Denebola;  and  they  claimed  that  the  great  scientific  attainments  of 
Varaha  Mihira  were  due  to  his  birthday  having  coincided  with  the  entrance 
of  the  moon  into  Uttara  Phalguni. 

The  Chinese  knew  it,  with  four  small  neighboring  stars,  as  Woo  Ti  Tto, 
the  Seat  of  the  Five  Emperors,  surrounded  by  twelve  other  groups,  variously 
named  after  officers  and  nobles  of  the  empire. 

In  Babylonian  astronomy  it  marked  the  17th  ecliptic  constellation,  Zibbat 
A.,  the  Tail  of  the  Lion,  although  Epping  gives  this  with  considerable  doubt 
as  to  its  correctness.  Other  Euphratean  titles  are  said  to  have  been 
Lamash,  the  Colossus;  8a,  Blue,  the  Assyrian  Sarnu;  and  Mikid-isati,  the 


The  Constellations  259 

Burning  of  Fire,  which  may  be  a  reference  to  the  hot  season  of  the  year 
when  the  sun  is  near  it. 

The  Sogdians  and  Khorasmians  had  a  similar  conception  of  it,  as 
shown  in  their  titles  Widhu  and  Widhayu,  the  Burning  One;  but  the 
Persians  called  it  Avdem,  the  One  in  the  Tail.  Hewitt  writes  of  it  as,  in 
India,  the  Star  of  the  Goddess  Bahn,  the  Creating  Mother. 

With  0,  it  was  the  Coptic  Aflphulia,  perhaps  the  Tail ;  but  Kircher  had  a 
similar  'Aonokta,  in  Virgo,  as  from  Coptic  Egypt. 

Denebola  was  of  unlucky  influence  in  astrology,  portending  misfortune 
and  disgrace,  and  thus  opposed  to  Regulus  in  character  as  in  position  in 
the  figure. 

Its  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  it  is  approaching  our  system  at  the  rate  of 
about  twelve  miles  a  second.  It  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  3d  of  May, 
and,  with  Arcturus  and  Spica,  forms  a  large  equilateral  triangle,  as  also  an- 
other similar  with  Arcturus  and  Cor  Caroli,  these,  united  at  their  bases, 
constituting  the  celebrated  Diamond  of  Virgo. 

Several  small  stars,  some  telescopic,  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  are  the 
Companions  of  Denebola. 


Y,  Double  and  perhaps  binary,    2.2  and  3.5,    bright  orange 
and  greenish  yellow. 
Smyth  wrote  of  this  that  it 

has  been  improperly  called  Algieba,  from  Aljeb-bah,  the  forehead ;  for  no  representation 
of  the  Lion,  which  I  have  examined,  will  justify  that  position, — 

a  well-founded  criticism,  although  as,  after  Regulus,  it  is  the  brightest 
member  of  the  manzil  Al  Jabbah,  it  may  have  taken  the  latter's  title.  The 
star,  however,  is  on  the  Lion's  mane,  the  Latin  word  for  which,  Juba,  dis- 
tinctly appeared  for  y  with  Bayer,  Riccioli,  and  Flamsteed.  Hence  it  is 
not  at  all  unlikely  that  Algieba, —  also  written  Algeiba, —  is  from  the  Latin, 
Arabicized  either  by  error  in  transcription  or  by  design. 

Sir  William  Herschel  discovered  its  duplicity  in  1782,  and  Kitchiner 
asserted  that  this  and  a  Lyrae  are  the  only  stars  upon  which  he  ventured  to 
use  his  high  telescopic  power  of  6450.  In  1784  he  saw  both  components 
of  y  white,  and  in  1803  he  announced  their  binary  (?)  character.  They 
now  are  3".  7  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  1140;  and  according  to  Doberck 
have  a  period  of  revolution  of  about  402.62  years,  although  this  is  very  un- 
certain, for  "  since  the  first  reliable  measures  of  distance  the  change  to  this 
time  is  only  120." 


260  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

y  is  in  approach  toward  us  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty-four  miles  a  second, 
the  greatest  velocity  toward  our  system  of  any  star  noted  by  the  Potsdam 
observers,  yet  only  half  that  of  f  Herculis  as  determined  at  Poulkowa.  Its 
spectrum  is  Solar. 

0,  Coarsely  triple,    2.7,  13,  and  9,    pale  yellow,  blue,  and  violet 

Zosma  and  Zozma  are  from  Z&opa,  an  occasional  form  of  fw/xo,  the  Girdle, 
found  in  the  Persian  Tables;  but  its  propriety  as  a  stellar  title  is  doubtful, 
for  the  star  is  on  the  Lion's  rump,  near  the  tail. 

Ulug  Beg  very  correctly  termed  it  Al  ^hahr  al  Asad,  the  Lion's  Back, 
which  has  become  Duhr  and  Dhur  of  modern  catalogues. 

With  0,  on  the  hind  quarter,  it  constituted  the  9th  manzt/,  Al  Zubrth,  the 
Mane,  and  itself  bears  this  name  as  Zubra, —  strange  titles  for  star  and  sta- 
tion so  far  away  from  that  feature  of  the  animal.  6  and  6  also  were  Al 
Kahil  al  Asad,  the  Space  between  the  Shoulders  of  the  Lion ;  and  Al 
H*arat&n,  sometimes  transcribed  Chortan,  and  translated  the  Two  Little 
Ribs,  or  the  two  Khurt,  or  Holes,  penetrating  into  the  interior  of  the  Lion; 
but  all  these  seem  as  inapplicable  as  are  the  other  tides. 

In  India  they  marked  the  corresponding  nakshatra,  Purva  Phalguni,  6 
being  the  junction  star  between  the  two  Phalguni  asterisms. 

On  the  Euphrates  they  were  Eakkab  Zua,  the  constellation  of  the  god 
Kua,  the  Oracle;  and  in  Egypt,  according  to  Hewitt,  Mes-su,  the  Heart 
of  Su.  In  Sogdiana  they  were  Wadha,  the  Wise ;  in  Khorasmia,  Armagh, 
the  Great;  and  with  the  Copts  Pikhorion,  the  Shoulder. 

In  China  d  was  Shang  Seang,  the  Higher  Minister  of  State. 

Its  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  the  star  is  approaching  our  system  at  the  rate 
of  about  nine  miles  a  second. 

Flamsteed  observed  it  and  6  Virginis  on  the  13th  of  December,  1690, 
with  the  object  which  nearly  a  century  later  proved  to  be  the  planet 
Uranus.  He  made  record  of  the  observation,  but  without  any  thought 
of  having  seen  a  hitherto  unknown  member  of  our  system. 

£>    3-3»    yellow. 

The  Arabians  designated  this  as  Al  Ras  al  Asad  al  Janubiyyab,  the 
Southern  Star  in  the  Lion's  Head ;  but  by  us  it  is  practically  unnamed, 
although  the  Century  Cyclopedia  says  "  rather  rarely  AlgenubL"  With  p, it 
was  Al  Ashfar,  the  Eyebrows,  near  to  which  they  lie. 

It  marked  the  14th  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia,  Riahu  A,  the 
Head  of  the  Lion. 


The  Constellations  261 

The  Chinese  knew  these  two  stars  as  Tue  Fe ;  while  e,  individually,  was 
Ta  Toe,  the  Crown  Prince. 

C>  Double,    3.7  and  6, 

is  Burritt's  Adhafera,  Aldhafara,  and  Aldhafera,  by  some  confusion  perhaps 
with  Al  Ashfar  of  the  near-by  c  and  p.  It  is  on  the  crest  of  the  mane,  and 
was  one  of  the  manzil  Al  Jabhah ;  sometimes  taking  the  latter's  name,  as  in 
Baily's  edition  of  Ulug  Beg. 

From  a  point  a  little  to  the  west  of  £,  and  not  much  farther  from  y,1  issue 
the  Leonids,  the  meteor  stream  of  November  9th  to  17th,  its  maximum  now 
occurring  on  the  i3th-i4th,  which  about  every  thirty-three  years  has  fur- 
nished such  wonderful  displays,  the  last  in  1866  and  the  next  due  in  1899. 

Their  first  noticed  appearance  may  have  been  in  the  year  137,  since 
which  date  the  stream  has  completed  fifty-two  revolutions.  According  to 
Theophanes  of  Byzantium,  the  shower  was  seen  from  there  in  November, 
472 ;  but  the  late  Professor  Newton,  our  deservedly  great  authority  on  the 
whole  subject  of  meteors,  commenced  his  list  of  the  Leonids  with  their 
appearance  on  the  13th  of  October,  902,  the  Arabian  Year  of  the  Stars, 
during  the  night  of  the  death  of  King  Ibrahim  ben  Ahmad,  and  added: 

It  will  be  seen  that  all  these  showers  are  at  intervals  of  a  third  of  a  century,  that  they 
are  at  a  fixed  day  of  the  year,  and  that  the  day  has  moved  steadily  and  uniformly  along  the 
calendar  at  the  rate  of  about  a  month  in  a  thousand  years. 

Oppolzer's  and  Leverrier's  observations  showed  the  identity  of  their  orbit 
with  that  of  Tempers  comet,  I  of  1866;  and  they  are  supposed  to  have 
entered  our  system  by  some  comparatively  recent  action,  as  they  still  come 
in  shoals  and  are  not  lengthened  out  in  a  continuous  line.  It  was  sug- 
gested by  Leverrier,  and  confirmed  by  Adams,  that  Uranus  may  have  pro- 
duced this  effect  early  in  the  year  126  of  our  era. 

Apparently  the  most  remarkable  showers  in  the  long  Leonid  history  were 
the  one  observed  by  Von  Humboldt  and  his  companion  Bonpland  on  the 
1 2th  of  November,  1799,  from  Venezuela,  and  by  various  other  observers 
throughout  the  western  hemisphere;  and  that  of  November  13, 1833, splen- 
didly seen  from  this  country.  The  lesser  one  of  the  i3th-i4th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1866,  was  more  especially  noticeable  from  the  Old  World,  and  others, 
remarkable  yet  gradually  declining,  were  annually  seen  from  1867  to  1869. 

These  meteors  appear  at  an  elevation  of  from  sixty-one  to  ninety- six 
miles,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  night,  at  a  speed  of  forty-four  miles  a 

1  When  first  observed  the  radiant  point  was  in  Cancer. 


262  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

second,1  and  generally  are  characterized  by  a  greenish,  or  bluish,  tint, 
with  vivid  and  persistent  trains.     It  probably  was  to  them  that  Milton 

alluded  in  his 

Swift  as  a  shooting  star 

In  Autumn  thwarts  the  night. 

The  stream  seems  to  be  lengthening,  and  consequently  thinning  out,  so 
that  the  great  displays  of  long  period  may  eventually  cease,  while  the  annual 
may  become  more  brilliant  than  now. 

Many  other  meteor  streams  are  visible  about  the  same  time  as  the 
Leonids,  Mr.  W.  F.  Denning  having  given  a  list  of  sixty-eight;  the  bright- 
est of  these,  the  Ursidfl,  being  often  mistaken  by  the  casual  observer  for  the 
Leonids,  as  their  radiant,  near  /*  Ursae  Majoris,  is  less  than  200  distant  from 
the  radiant  in  Leo. 


6, 


3-5, 


in  the  manzil  Al  Zubrah,  shares  with  6  the  title  Al  H*ar£tan,  Al  Biruni  saying 
that  "  when  they  rise  Suhail  is  seen  in  Al  Izak," —  wherever  this  may  be. 
The  Century  Cyclopedia  gives  Chort  as  the  individual  name,  from  the  com- 
bined title.  Ulug  Beg  substituted  the  5th-magnitude  Fl.  72  for  6  as  the 
second  member  of  the  manzil,  his  translator  placing  them  in  coxis^  "  in  the 
hips,"  as  does  the  Heis  Atlas, 

In  China  it  was  Tsze  Seang,  the  Second  Minister  of  State. 

t,  Binary  and  perhaps  variable,    4.6  and  7.4,    yellowish  —  possibly 

varying. 

Reeves  mentioned  this  as  Tsze  Tseang,  the  Second  General. 

The  lesser  star  is  suspected  of  change  in  color  and  in  brilliancy  down  to 
the  9th  magnitude.  The  components  now  are  about  2". 6  apart,  at  a  posi- 
tion angle  of  570. 

X,  Double,    4.8  and  10.5,    yellow  and  blue. 

This  was  designated  by  Ulug  Beg  as  Al  Minfiar  al  Asad,  the  Lion's 
Nose,  still  correct  for  it  as  laid  down  on  the  Heis  Atlas,  although  now  never 
used  as  a  star-title. 

The  components  are  3"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  203°.8. 

1  It  is  owing  to  this  great  velocity  that  no  Leonid  has  ever  been  known  to  reach  the  earth's 
surface,  its  substance  being  dissipated  by  the  intense  heat  occasioned  by  the  resistance  of  the 
atmosphere. 


The  Constellations  263 

A>,    4.8,    red. 

Alterf  is  from  Al  Tarf,  the  name  for  the  7th  manzil,  which  it  formed  with 
g  Cancri.  The  word  has  generally  been  rendered  the  Glance,  1.  e.  of  the 
Lion's  eye,  although  on  modern  maps  the  star  lies  in  the  open  mouth, 
where  Ptolemy  located  it.  But  it  also  had  the  secondary  meaning  of  the 
Extremity,  still  more  appropriate  here,  and  so  understood  by  Ideler. 

|l,    4-3»    orange, 

and  e  were  Al  Adifir,  the  Eyebrows ;  but,  singly,  the  Arabians  designated 
ft  as  Al  Has  al  Asad  al  Shamiliyy,  the  Lion's  Head  towards  the  South, 
which,  by  abbreviation,  has  become  Rasalaa  in  modern  lists;  and  some- 
times, but  very  insufficiently,  plain  AlshemalL  Al  Nasr  al  Din  mentioned 
e  and  ft  as  "a  whip's  length  apart,"  a  common  expression  for  measurement 
among  the  Arabs,  here  indicating  a  little  more  than  20. 

tt,  a  sth-magnitude  red  star,  was  the  Chinese  Yu  Heu,  the  Honorable 
Lady. 

p9  a  4.th-magnitude,  marked  the  16th  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia, 
M^uru-ahA-arkat-Sharni,  that  Epping  translated  the  Fourth  Son  (or  the 
Four- Year-Old  Son)  behind  the  King. 

<y,  4. 1 ,  is  the  Chinese  Shang  Tseang,  the  Higher  General. 

X*  a  Sth-magnitude,  with  c  and  d,  was  Ling  Tae,  a  Wonderful  Tower, 
and  rp,  a  double  of  the  6th  and  10th  magnitudes,  bright  orange  and  bluish 
white  in  color,  was  Tsew  Ke,  a  Wine-flagon,  but  this  included  £  and  w 
Leonis  with  *  and  f  Cancri. 


Each  after  each,  ungrouped,  unnamed,  revolve. 

Brown's  A  rates. 

&eo  ©Knot,  f  fle  feewer  Eton, 

is  the  French  Petit  lion,  the  German  Heine  Lowe,  and  the  Italian  Leoneino. 
Proctor  arbitrarily  changed  the  title  to  Leaena,  the  Lioness. 

It  was  formed  by  Hevelius  from  eighteen  stars  between  the  greater  Lion 
and  Bear,  in  a  l°ng  triangle  with  a  fainter  line  to  the  south,  and  thus 
named  because  he  said  it  was  "  of  the  same  nature  "  as  these  adjoining  con- 

iiations.      Argelander  assigned  to  it  21  components,  and  Heis  40, 


264  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Aratos  is  supposed  to  have  alluded  to  these  u  un grouped,  unnamed  "  stare 
under  the  hind  paws  of  Ursa  Major ;  and  Ptolemy  had  some  of  them  among 
the  dfioptfxoroi  of  bis  Aewv.  Ideler  surmised  that  they  were  the  Arabs'  Al 
Tbib&'  wa-Aul&duha,  the  Gazelle  with  her  Young,  shown  in  this  location 
on  the  Borgian  globe;  but  Lach,  that  they  were  Al  ^jfald,  the  Pond,  into 
which  the  Gazelle  sprang,  as  noted  under  Coma  Berenices. 

The  Chinese  made  two  asterisms  of  it, —  Hay  Ping,  an  Inner  Screen,  and 
Seaou  Wei ;  but  also  included  our  Lesser  Lion  with  the  Greater  in  their 
still  greater  Dragon  mounting  to  the  highest  heavens,  and  in  yet  another 
figure,  the  State  Chariot 

The  Denderah  planisphere  located  here  the  zodiacal  Crab,  but  whether 
by  design,  or  in  error,  is  unknown ;  although  some  see  in  the  Lesser  Lion's 
stars,  with  others  from  the  Bear's  feet,  a  well-marked  Scarab  that  was 
Egypt's  idea  of  Cancer.  This  was  in  a  part  of  the  sky  thought  to  have 
been  sacred  to  the  great  god  Ptah. 

Fl.  46,    4. 

To  the  lucida  Hevelius  applied  the  adjective  Praeripua,  Chief,  which  Piazzi 
inserted  as  a  proper  name  in  the  Palermo  Catalogue.  Burritt  mentioned 
it,  under  the  letter  /,  as  the  Little  lion,  from  its  being  the  principal  star  in 
the  figure. 

It  culminates  on  the  14th  of  April. 

In  Smyth's  Bedford  Catalogue  we  read  that  Praecipua  has  three  distant 
companions, —  7J4,  pale  gray;  13,  reddish;  and  12,  of  violet  tint 


Behind  him  Sirius  ever  speeds  as  in  pursuit,  and  rises  after, 
And  eyes  him  as  he  sets. 

Poste's  A  ratat. 

feejme,  f  fle  f)are, 

the  German  Hase,  the  Portuguese  Lobre,  the  Italian  Lepre,  and  the  French 
Lidvre,  is  located  just  below  Orion  and  westward  from  his  Hound. 

It  was  Aoywc  among  the  Greeks  —  Aaywoc  in  the  Epic  dialect,— Aratos 
characterizing  its  few  and  faint  stars  by  the  adjective  yAav*6c.  With  the 
Greeks  of  Sicily,  the  country  noted  in  early  days  for  the  great  devasta- 
tions by  hares,  the  constellation  was  AtTropxc,  whence  came  the  fanciful  story 


The  Constellations  265 

that  our  Hare  was  placed  in  the  heavens  to  be  close  to  its  hunter,  Orion. 
Riccioli  enlarged  upon  this  in  his  A  Images  turn  Novum ; 

Quia  Orion  in  gratiam  Dianae,  quae  leporino  sanguine  gaudebat,  plurimum  venatu  lep- 
oris  gauderet. 

Among  the  Romans  itVas  simply  LopuB,  often  qualified  by  the  descrip- 
tive auritus,  "  eared  " ;  d&sypus,  "  rough-footed  " ;  levipes,  "  light-footed  " ; 
and  vclox, "  swift." 

The  Arabians  adopted  the  classical  title  in  their  Al  Arn&b,  which  degen- 
erated into  Alarnebet,  Elarneb,  and  Harneb ;  and  the  Hebrews  are  said  to 
have  known  it  as  Arnebeth ;  but  the  early  Arabs  designated  the  principal 
stars—  a,  0,  y,  and  6 — as  Al  Kursiyy  al  Jabbar  and  Al  'Arab  al  Janzah, 
the  Chair  of  the  Giant  and  the  Throne  of  the  Jauzah.  Kazwini,  repeating 
this,  added,  in  Ideler's  rendering,  Gott  weiss  wie  sons/  nochy  which  Smyth 
assumed  to  be  Ideler's  comment  thereon  ;  but  it  was  merely  his  translation 
of  Kazwini's  Arabic  formula,  God  is  the  Omniscient,  used  when  a  writer  did 
not  wish  to  come  to  a  decision.     Smyth  further  wrote  of  it : 

'Abdr  rahman  Sufi  designates  the  throne — one  of  the  many  which  the  Arabs  had  in 
their  heavens,  although  a  squatting  rather  than  a  sitting  people — al-mnakhkherah,  the 
succeeding,  as  following  that  formed  by  \  /?,  ^  Eridani  and  r  Ononis. 

Al  Sufi  also  cited  the  occasional  Al  Nihal,  the  Thirst-slaking  Camels,  for  the 
four  bright  stars,  in  reference  to  the  near-by  celestial  river,  the  Milky  Way. 

It  is  in  the  space  occupied  by  Lepus,  or  perhaps  by  Monoceros,  that 
Hommel  locates  the  Euphratean  TJdkagaba,  the  Smiting  Sun  Face,  although 
Brown  assigns  this  to  Sagittarius,  "the  original  Sagittary  being  the  sun." 

Hewitt  says  that  in  earliest  Egyptian  astronomy  Lepus  was  the  Boat  of 
Oniis,  the  great  god  of  that  country,  identified  with  Orion.  The  Chinese 
knew  it  as  Tnh,  a  Shed. 

Caesius  made  the  constellation  represent  one  of  the  hares  prohibited  to 
the  Jews;  but  Julius  Schiller  substituted  for  it  Gideon's  Fleece.  The  Den- 
derah  planisphere  has  in  its  place  a  Serpent  apparently  attacked  by  some 
bird  of  prey ;  and  Persian  zodiacs  imitated  this. 

Gould  catalogues  in  Lepus  103  stars  down  to  the  7th  magnitude. 

Aelian,  of  our  2d  century,  in  his  Uepi  fauv  tdtoTTirot;,  referred  to  the 
early  belief  that  the  hare  detested  the  voice  of  the  raven, — a  belief  that  has 
generally  been  put  among  the  zoological  fables  of  antiquity ;  but  Thomp- 
son suggests  for  it  an  astronomical  explanation,  as  "  the  constellation  Lepus 
sets  soon  after  the  rising  of  Corvus  " ;  and  something  similar  may  be  said 
of  Lepus  in  connection  with  Aquila,  for  the 


266  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

eagle  in  combat  with  the  hare  is  frequent  on  gems,  and  on  coins  of  Agrigentum,  Messana, 
Elis,  etc.  .  .  .  the  wide  occurrence  of  this  subject  .  .  .  indicates  a  lost  mythological  sig- 
nificance, in  which  one  is  tempted  to  recognize  a  Solar  or  Stellar  symbol. 

Brown  writes  of  the  often  discussed  comparative  location  of  Lepus  and 
Orion: 

The  problem  which  perplexed  the  ancients,  why  the  Mighty-hunter  and  his  Dog  should 
pursue  the  most  timid  of  creatures,  is  solved  when  we  recognize  that  Orion  was  originally 
a  solar  type,  and  that  the  Hare  is  almost  universally  a  lunar  type ; 

and  mentions  the  very  singular  connection  between  this  creature  and  the 
moon  shown  on  Euphratean  cylinders,  Syrian  agate  seals,  Chinese  coins, 
the  Moon-cakes  of  Central  Asia,  and  in  the  legends  of  widely  separated  na- 
tions and  savage  tribes.  Astronomical  folk-lore  has  many  allusions  to  this 
interesting  association  of  animal  with  satellite,  and  indirectly  with  our  con- 
stellation. The  common  idea  that  it  is  because  all  are  nocturnal  does  not 
seem  satisfactory ;  and  there  are  others  still  less  so,  some  being  mentioned 
by  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  in  the  Faithful  Shepherd. 

A  brief  digression  to  some  of  these  allusions  may  be  allowed  here.  The 
Hindus  called  the  moon  £acin,  or  Sasanka,  Marked  with  the  Hare,  from 
the  story  told  of  Sakya  muni  (Buddha).  This  holy  man,  in  an  early  stage 
of  his  existence,  was  a  hare,  and,  when  in  company  with  an  ape  and  a  fox, 
was  applied  to  by  the  god  Indra,  disguised  as  a  beggar,  who,  wishing  to 
test  their  hospitality,  asked  for  food.  All  went  in  search  of  it,  the  hare 
alone  returning  unsuccessful ;  but,  that  he  might  not  fall  short  in  duty  to 
his  guest,  had  a  fire  built  and  cast  himself  into  it  for  the  latter's  supper.  In 
return,  Indra  rewarded  him  by  a  place  in  the  moon  where  we  now  see  him. 
Other  Sanskrit  and  Cingalese  tales  mention  the  palace  of  the  king  of  the 
hares  on  the  face  of  the  moon ;  the  Aztecs  saw  there  the  rabbit  thrown  by 
one  of  their  gods ;  and  the  Japanese,  the  Jeweled  Hare  pounding  omochi, 
their  rice  dough,  in  a  mortar.  Even  the  Khoikhoin,  the  Hottentots  of  South 
Africa,  and  the  Bantus  associated  the  hare  and  moon  in  their  worship,  and 
connected  them  in  story,  asserting  that  the  hare,  ill  treated  by  the  moon, 
scratched  her  face  and  we  still  see  the  scratches.  Eskimos  think  the  moon 
a  girl  fleeing  from  her  brother,  the  sun,  because  he  had  disfigured  her  face  by 
ashes  thrown  at  her ;  but  in  Greenland  the  sex  of  these  luminaries  is  inter- 
changed, and  the  moon  pursues  his  sister,  the  sun,  who  daubs  her  sooty 
hands  over  his  face.  The  Khasias  of  the  Himalayas  say  that  every  month 
the  moon  falls  in  love  with  his  mother-in-law,  who  very  properly  repulses 
his  affection  by  throwing  ashes  at  him. 

Other  ideas  to  account  for  the  lunar  marks  are  current  among  many  na- 


The  Constellations  267 

tions.    One  from  our  North  American  Indians  appears  in  Longfellow's 

Hiawatha  : 

Once  a  warrior  very  angry, 

Seized  his  grandmother,  and  threw  her 

Up  into  the  sky  at  midnight ; 

Right  against  the  moon  he  threw  her; 

*Tis  her  body  that  you  see  there. 

The  Incas  knew  them  as  a  beautiful  maiden  who  fell  in  love  with  the  moon 
and  joined  herself  forever  to  him;  the  New  Zealanders,  as  a  woman  pulling 
gnatuh  ;  the  Hervey  Islanders,  as  the  lovely  Ina,  an  earthly  maiden  carried 
away  to  be  our  satellite's  wife,  and  still  visible  with  her  pile  of  taro  leaves 
and  tongs  of  a  split  cocoanut  branch;  and  the  Samoans,  as  a  woman  with 
her  child  and  the  mallet  with  which  she  is  pounding  out  sheets  of  the  native 
paper  cloth.  So  that  all  these  people  long  ago  anticipated  pretty  Selene,1 
of  whom  Serviss  tells  us. 

In  southern  Sweden  a  brewing-kettle  is  imagined  on  the  moon's  face ;  in 
northern  Germany  and  Iceland,  Hjuki  and  Bil  with  their  mead  burden,  the 
originals  of  our  Jack  and  Jill  with  their  pail  of  water,  the  contents  scattered 
or  retained  according  to  the  lunar  phases.  In  Frisia  the  marks  were  a  man  , 
who  had  stolen  cabbages,  and  whom,  when  discovered,  his  suffering  neigh- 
bors wished  in  the  moon,  and  so  it  turned  out ;  or  a  sheep-stealer,  with  his 
dog,  who  enticed  the  animals  to  him  by  cabbages,  and,  when  detected,  was 
transported  to  the  moon,  where  he  is  now  seen,  cabbages  and  all.  But 
others  said  that  he  was  caught  with  a  bundle  of  osier  willows  that  did  not 
belong  to  him,  and  there  he  is  on  the  moon's  face  with  his  plunder. 

Danish  folk-lore  makes  the  moon  a  cheese  formed  from  the  milk  that 
has  run  together  out  of  the  Milky  Way ;  which  recalls  Rabelais'  now  familiar 
remark  that  some  thought  the  moon  made  of  green  cheese. 

Those  biblically  inclined  saw  here  the  Magdalen  in  tears ;  or  Judas  I§- 
oariot ;  and,  in  the  earlier  record,  the  patriarch  Jacob ;  Isaac  with  the  wood 
for  the  sacrifice ;  the  Hebrew  sinner  gathering  sticks  on  the  Sabbath ;  or  Cain 
driven  from  the  face  of  the  earth  to  the  face  of  the  moon.  This  ap- 
peared even  with  Dante,  Chaucer,  and  Shakespeare,  for  the  first  had  in  the 

Paradiso  : 

But  tell  me  what  k the  dusky  spots  may  be 
Upon  this  body,  which  below  on  earth 
Make  people  tell  that  fabulous  tale  of  Cain ; 

1  This  may  be  seen  on  the  western  half  of  the  moon  after  the  ninth  day  of  lunation,  the  face 
slightly  upturned  toward  the  east.  It  seems  to  have  been  first  described  some  years  ago  by 
Doctor  James  Thompson  ;  and  an  opera-glass  of  low  power  makes  the  phenomenon  very 
distinct. 


268  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

and  in  the  Inferno  : 

Touches  the  ocean  wave  Cain  and  the  thorns. 

In  A  Midsummer  Nighfs  Dream  Quince  says : 

Or  else  one  must  come  in  with  a  bush  of  thorns  and  a  lanthorn  and  say,  he  comes  to 
disfigure,  or  to  present  the  person  of  moonshine ; 

and  Chaucer  described  the  figure  as 

Bearing  a  bush  of  thorns  on  his  back 

Whiche  for  his  theft  might  clime  so  ner  the  heaven ; 

although  Milton,  from  a  higher  plane  of  thought,  wrote  that  the  sinful  wan- 
dered 

Not  in  the  neighbouring  moon  as  some  have  dreamed. 

The  Salish  Indians  of  our  northwest  coast  tell  of  a  toad  which,  pursued 
by  a  wolf,  jumped  to  the  moon  to  escape  his  unwelcome  attentions. 

At  the  present  day  the  handsome  face  of  Selene  shows  itself  in  profile 
to  the  favored  few ;  while  the  Old  Man  in  the  Moon  is  seen  by  all.  It  would 
be  interesting  to  know  who  originated  this,  or,  as  in  Hudibras, 

Who  first  found  out  the  Man  i'  th'  Moon, 
That  to  the  ancients  was  unknown. 

Yet  Shakespeare  knew  him  well,  for  we  find  in  The  Tempest: 

The  man  i1  th'  moon's  too  slow. 

Ages  before  all  this,  however,  the  Egyptians  had  similar  ideas ;  the  Hindus 
called  the  moon  Mriga,  an  Antelope ;  the  Aethiopians  saw  that  creature  in 
it ;  while  the  Greeks  knew  it  as  the  Gorgon's  head,  and  Plutarch  thought 
the  phenomenon  worthy  a  special  treatise  in  his  De  Facie  in  Orbe  Luw> 
But  perhaps  too  much  attention  has  been  paid  to  a  probably  very  dead  star ; 
—  let  us  return  to  those  certainly  alive,  our  more  legitimate  subject. 


tt,  Double,     2.7  and  9.5,    pale  yellow  and  gray. 

Arneb  is  from  the  Arabian  name  for  the  whole,  but  the  Century  Du- 
tionary  substitutes  the  early  Arsh. 

Other  near-by  stars,  presumably  in  Lepus,  were  the  Chinese  Kuen  Tri»t 
an  Army  Well,  and  Ping  Sing,  the  Star  Screen. 


The  Constellations  269 

Arneb  culminates  on  the  24th  of  January. 

The  components  are  35".4  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  1560;  and  6' 
away  is  Sir  John  Herschel's  3780,  a  sextuple  star. 

(3,  Double,    3.5  and  11,    deep  yellow  and  blue. ' 

Nihal  is  from  the  collective  title  of  a,  0,  y,  and  d, —  Hibal  with  Burritt. 

Holden  says  that  the  companion,  nearly  3"  away,  at  a  position  angle  of 
2920,  is  suspected  to  be  a  planet ;  and  Buraham  has  discovered  other  faint 
companions. 

The  variable  R,  6th  to  8.5  magnitudes,  is  Hind's  Crimson  Star,  discovered 
by  Mr.  J.  R.  Hind  in  1845,— "like  a  droP  of  blood  on  a  black  field."  It 
lies  in  front  of  the  Hare's  head,  on  the  border  of  Eridanus,  but  its  discoverer 
announced  it  as  in  Orion.  Its  variability,  in  a  very  irregular  period  of 
about  438  days,  was  first  recorded  by  Schmidt  in  1855,  but  accurate  ob- 
servations of  maxima  and  minima  are  difficult  in  high  latitudes. 


the  scale  of  night 
Silently  with  the  stars  ascended. 

Longfellow's  Occmltation  of  Orion, 

EiBra,  ifyt  Qtfefonce  or  £c*fe6, 

is  the  Italian  Libra  and  Bilaneia,  the  French  Balanoe,  the  German  Wage, — 
Bayer's  Wag  and  Bode's  Waage, —  but  the  Anglo-Saxons  said  Wage  and 
Pund,  and  the  Anglo-Normans,  Poise,  all  meaning  the  Scales,  or  a  Weight. 
The  early  Greeks  did  not  associate  its  stars  with  a  Balance,  so  that  many 
have  thought  it  substituted  in  comparatively  recent  times  for  the  Chelae, 
the  Claws  of  the  Soorpion,  that  previously  had  been  known  as  a  distinct 
portion  of  the  double  sign ;  Hyginus  characterizing  it  as  dimidia  pars  Scor- 
pionis,  and  Ptolemy  counting  eight  components  in  the  two  divisions  of  his 
X77W, —  (36peio$  and  vdnoq, —  with  nine  apopfpuToi.  Aratos  also  knew  it 
under  that  title,  writing  of  it  as  a  dim  sign, —  <f>aeu)v  emdvief, —  though  a 
great  one, —  fieydXag  ^Aac.  Eratosthenes  included  the  stars  of  the  Claws 
with  those  of  our  Scorpio,  and  called  the  whole  iKopm'og,  but  alluded  to  the 
XrjXai;  as  did  Hipparchos,  although  with  him  the  latter  also  were  Zvyov, 
or  Zvyoc,  these  words  becoming  common  for  our  Libra,  and  turned  by 


270  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

codices  of  the  9th  century  into  Ziohos.  They  were  the  equivalents  of  the 
Latin  Jugum,  the  Yoke,  or  Beam,  of  the  Balance,  first  used  as  a  stellar  title 
by  Geminos,  who,  with  Varro,  mentioned  it  as  the  sign  of  the  autumnal 
equinox.  Ptolemy  wrote  these  two  Greek  titles  indiscriminately,  and  so 
did  the  Latin  poets  the  three, —  Chelae,  Jugum,  Libra, —  although  the  sci- 
entific writers  of  Rome  all  adhered  to  Libra,  and  such  has  been  its  usual 
title  from  their  day.  The  ancient  name  was  persistent,  however,  for  the 
Latin  Almagest  of  155 1  gave  a  star  as  injugo  sive  ehelis,  and  Flamsteed 
used  it  in  his  description  of  Libra's  stars. 

The  statement,  often  seen,  that  the  constellation  was  invented  when  on 
the  equinox,  and  so  represented  the  equality  of  day  and  night,  was  current 
even  with  Manilius, — 

Then  Day  and  Night  are  weigh 'd  in  Libra's  Scales 
Equal  a  while, — 

repeated  by  James  Thomson  in  the  Autumn  of  his  Seasons, — 

Libra  weighs  in  equal  scales  the  year, — 
by  Edward  Young  in  his  Imperium  Pelagi,  apostrophizing  his  king, — 

The  Balance  George !  from  thine 

Which  weighs  the  nations,  learns  to  weigh 

More  accurate  the  night  and  day, — 

and  by  Longfellow  in  his  Poefs  Calendar  for  September, — 

I  bear  the  Scales,  when  hang  in  equipoise 
The  night  and  day. 

This  idea  gave  rise  to  the  occasional  title  Hootipares ;  yet  Libra  is  rarely 
figured  on  an  even  balance,  but  as  described  by  Milton  where 

The  fiend  look'd  up,  and  knew 
His  mounted  scale  aloft. 

The  Romans  claimed  that  it  was  added  by  them  to  the  original  eleven 
signs,  which  is  doubtless  correct  in  so  far  as  they  were  concerned  in  its 
modern  revival  as  a  distinct  constellation,  for  it  first  appears  as  Libra  in 
classical  times  in  the  Julian  calendar 1  which  Caesar  as  pontifex  maximus 

1  The  much-vaunted  Julian  calendar  was  substantially  the  same  in  its  method  of  intercala- 
tion as  that  formed  238  b.  c.  under  Ptolemy  III  (Euergetes),— a  fact  discovered  by  Lepsius, 
in  1866,  when  he  found  the  Decree  o/Canopus  at  Sanor  Tanis. 


The  Constellations  271 

took  upon  himself  to  form,  46  b.  c,  aided  by  Flavius,  the  Roman  scribe, 
and  Sosigenes,  the  astronomer  from  Alexandria. 
Some  have  associated  Andrew  Marvell's  line, 

Outshining  Virgo  or  the  Julian  star, 

with  Libra,  but  this  unquestionably  referred  to  the  comet  of  43  b.  c.  that 
appeared  soon  after,  and,  as  Augustus  asserted,  in  consequence  of,  Caesar's 
assassination  in  September  of  that  year,  being  utilized  by  the  emperor  and 
Caesar's  friends  to  carry  his  soul  to  heaven.  This  comet,  perhaps,  was  the 
same  that  has  since  appeared  in  531,  1106,  and  1680,  and  that  may  return 
in  2255. 

Medals  still  in  existence  show  Libra  held  by  a  figure  that  Spence  thought 
represented  Augustus  as  the  dispenser  of  justice;  thus  recalling  Vergil's 
beautiful  allusion,  in  his  1st  Georgic,  to  the  constellation's  place  in  the  sky. 
Addressing  the  emperor,  whose  birthday  coincided  with  the  sun's  entrance 
among  the  stars  of  the  Claws,  he  suggested  them  as  a  proper  resting-place 
for  his  soul  when,  after  death,  he  should  be  inscribed  on  the  roll  of  the 
gods  : 

Anne  novum  tardis  sidus  te  mensibus  addas, 
Qua  locus  Erigonen  inter  Cbelasque  sequentes 
Panditur ;  ipse  tibi  jam  bracbia  contrabit  ardens 
Scorpius,  et  coeli  justa  plus  parte  relinquit ; 

so  intimating  that  the  place  was  then  vacant,  the  Scorpion  having  con- 
tracted his  claws  to  make  room  for  his  neighbor.     But  subsequently  he 

wrote: 

Libra  die  somnique  pares  ubi  fecerit  boras ; 

and  a  few  lines  further  on  tells  of  twelve  constellations, —  duodena  astra. 
Milton  has  a  reference  in  Paradise  Lost  to  Libra's  origin,  where 

TV  Eternal,  to  prevent  such  horrid  fray, 
Hung  forth  in  heav'n  his  golden  scales,  yet  seen 
Betwixt  Astraea  and  the  Scorpion  sign ; 


and  Homer's 


TV  Eternal  Father  hung 
His  golden  scales  aloft, 


is  similar ;  but,  although  doubtless  the  original  of  Milton's  verse,  probably  is 
not  a  reference  to  our  Libra ;  for  the  Greek  poet  very  likely  antedated  the 
knowledge  of  it  in  his  country,  and  is  supposed  to  have  known  but  few  of 


272  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

our  stellar  figures, — at  all  events,  has  alluded  to  but  few  in  either  the  7&&/or 
the  Odyssey. 

Bayer  said  that  the  Greeks  called  it  Sradiios,  a  Weigh-beam,  and  lTdnfp, 
a  Weight;  while  Theon  used  for  it  the  old  Sicilian  Airpa  and  Alrpai^  which, 
originally  signifying  a  Weight,  became  the  Roman  Libra.  Ampelius  called 
it  Mochos,  after  the  inventor  of  the  instrument ;  and  Virgo's  tide,  Aftriea, 
the  Starry  Goddess,  the  Greek  Mktj,  has  sometimes  been  applied  to  these 
stars  as  the  impersonation  of  Justice,  whose  symbol  was  the  Scales.  Addi- 
son devoted  the  100th  number  of  the  Tatler — that  of  the  29th  of  November, 
1709  —  to  "that  sign  in  the  heavens  which  is  called  by  the  name  of  the 
Balance,"  and  to  his  dream  thereof  in  which  he  saw  the  Goddess  of  Justice 
descending  from  the  constellation  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  men;  the  whole 
a  very  beautiful  rendering  of  the  ancient  thought  connecting  the  Virgin 
Astraea  with  Libra.  He  may  have  been  thus  inspired  by  recollections 
of  his  student  days  at  Oxford,  where  he  must  often  have  seen  this  sign,  as  a 
Judge  in  full  robes,  sculptured  on  the  front  of  Merton  College. 

Manilius,  using  the  combined  title,  wrote  of  it  in  much  the  same  way  as 
of  influence  over  the  legal  profession : 

This  RuPd  at  Servius*  Birth,  who  first  did  give 
Our  Laws  a  Being, — 

a  reference  to  Servius  Sulpicius  Rufus  Lemonia,  the  great  Roman 
lawyer,  pupil,  and  friend  of  Cicero. 

Cicero  himself  used  Jugum  as  though  it  were  well  known ;  and,  with  evi- 
dent intention  of  upsetting  Caesar's  claim  to  its  invention,  wrote : 

Romam  in  Jugo 
Cum  esset  Luna,  natam  esse  dicebaL 

The  sacred  books  of  India  mention  it  as  Tula,  the  Tamil  Tnlam  orTota, 
a  Balance ;  and  on  the  zodiac  of  that  country  it  is  a  man  bending  on  one 
knee  and  holding  a  pair  of  scales ;  but  Varaha  Mihira  gave  it  as  Jug*  or 
Juka»  from  fvydV,  and  so  a  reflex  of  Greek  astrqnomy,  which  we  know  came 
into  India  early  in  our  era ;  but  he  also  called  it  Fire,  perhaps  a  recollection 
of  its  early  Altar  form,  mentioned  further  on. 

In  China  it  was  Show  Sing,  the  Star  of  Longevity,  but  later,  copying  our 
figure,  it  was  Tien  Ching,  the  Celestial  Balance;  and  that  country  had  a 
law  for  the  annual  regulation  of  weights  supposed  to  have  been  enacted 
with  some  reference  to  this  sign.  In  the  early  solar  zodiac  it  was  the 
Crocodile,  or  Dragon,  the  national  emblem. 


The  Constellations  273 

Manetho  and  Achilles  Tatios  said  that  Libra  originated  in  Egypt;  it 
plainly  appears  on  the  Denderah  planisphere  and  elsewhere  simply  as  a 
Scale-beam,  a  symbol  of  the  Nilometer.  Kircher  gave  its  Coptic- Egyptian 
title  as  AafiPadia,  Statio  PropiHationis. 

The  Hebrews  are  said  to  have  known  it  as  Moznayim,  a  Scale-beam, 
Riccioli's  Mignaim,  inscribing  it,  some  thought,  on  the  banners  of  Asher, 
although  others  claimed  Sagittarius  for  this  tribe,  asserting  that  Libra  was 
unknown  to  the  Jews  and  that  its  place  was  indicated  by  their  letter  Tan, 
while  still  others  claimed  Virgo  for  Asher,  and  Sagittarius  for  Joseph. 

The  Syrians  called  it  If  asatha,  which  Riccioli  gave  as  Masathre ;  and  the 
Persians,  Terazfi  or  Tarazuk,  all  signifying  Libra ;  the  Persian  sphere  show- 
ing a  human  figure  lifting  the  Scales  in  one  hand  and  grasping  a  lamb  in 
the  other,  this  being  the  usual  form  of  a  weight  for  a  balance  in  the  early 
East. 

Arabian  astronomers,  following  Ptolemy,  knew  these  stars  as  Al  Znbana, 
the  Claws,  or,  in  the  dual,  Al  Znbanatain,  degenerating  in  Western  use  to 
the  Azubene  of  the  1 5 1 5  Almagest;  but  later  on,  when  influenced  by  Rome, 
they  became  Al  KifEatan,  the  Trays  of  the  Balance,  and  Al  Miz&n,  the 
Scale-beam,  Bayer  attributing  the  latter  to  the  Hebrews.  This  appeared 
in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  and  elsewhere  as  Almisan,  Almizen,  Minn ;  Schick- 
ard  writing  it  Midsanon.  Kircher,  however,  said  that  Warn,  Weight,  is  the 
word  that  should  be  used  instead  of  Zubana;  Riccioli  adopting  this  in  his 
Vazneschemali  and  Vaznegannbi,  or  Vaznegenubi,  respectively  applied  to 
the  Northern  and  Southern  Scale  as  well  as  to  their  lucidae. 

Libra  is  stamped  on  the  coins  of  Palmyra,  as  also  on  those  of  Pythodoris, 
queen  of  Pontus. 

While  it  seems  impossible  to  trace  with  any  certainty  the  date  of  forma- 
tion of  our  present  figure  and  its  place  of  origin,  yet  there  was  probably 
some  figure  here  earlier  than  the  Claws,  and  formed  in  Chaldaea  in  more 
shapes  than  one;  indeed,  Ptolemy  asserted  that  it  was  from  that  country, 
while  Ideler  and  modern  critics  say  the  same. 

Brown  thinks  that  its  present  symbol,  *±,  generally  considered  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  beam  of  the  Balance,  shows  the  top  of  the  archaic  Euphra- 
tean  Altar,  located  in  the  zodiac  next  preceding  Scorpio,  and  figured  on 
gems,  tablets,  and  boundary  stones,  alone  or  in  a  pair.  Miss  Clerke  recalls 
the  association  of  the  7th  month,  Tashrltu,  with  this  7th  sign  and  with  the 
Holy  Mound,  Tul  Ku,  designating  the  biblical  Tower  of  Babel,  surmounted 
by  an  altar, —  the  stars  in  this  constellation,  a,  ju,  f,  6,  (3,  x>  ?>  and  v,  well 
showing  a  circular  altar.  Sometimes  this  Euphratean  figure  was  varied  to 
that  of  a  Censer,  and  frequently  to  a  Lamp ;  Strassmaier  confirming  this  by 
18 


274  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

his  translation  of  an  inscription  as  die  Lampe  als  Buru,  the  Solar  Lamp, 
synonymous  with  Bir,  the  Light,  also  found  for  the  sky  figure.  In  this 
connection  it  will  be  remembered  that  another  of  the  names  for  our  Ara,  a 
reduplication  of  the  zodiacal  Altar,  was  Pharus,  or  Pharos,  the  Great  Lamp, 
or  Lighthouse,  of  Alexandria,  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world. 
This  Lamp  also  has  been  found  shown  on  boundary  stones  as  held  in  the 
Scorpion's  claws,  and  we  see  the  same  idea  even  as  late  as  the  Farnese 
globe  and  the  Hyginus  of  1488,  where  the  Scales  have  taken  the  place  of 
the  Lamp.  When  the  Altar,  Censer,  and  Lamp  were  in  the  course  of  time 
forgotten,  or  removed  to  the  South,  the  Claws  were  left  behind,  and  perhaps 
extended,  till  they  in  turn  were  replaced  by  Libra.  Miss  Clerke  addition- 
ally writes : 

The  8th  sign  is  frequently  doubled,  and  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  seeing  in  the  pair  of  zo- 
diacal scorpions,  carved  on  Assyrian  cylinders,  the  prototype  of  the  Greek  Scorpion  ar.d 
Claws.  Both  Libra  and  the  sign  it  eventually  superseded  thus  owned  a  Chaldaean  birth- 
place. 

Brown  also  says  that  the  Euphratean  Sngi,  the  Chariot  Yoke,  which  he 
identifies . with  a  and  /3  of  this  constellation,  remind  us  by  sound  and  signi- 
fication of  the  7jvy6v  and  Jugum  of  Greece  and  Rome  respectively,  and 
that  astrology  adds  evidence  in  favor  of  a  Chaldaean  origin,  for  it  has 
always  claimed  Libra  —  the  Northern  Scale  at  least  —  as  a  fruitful  sign, 
taking  this  from  the  very  foundations  of  astrology  in  the  Chaldaean  belief 
that "  when  the  Sugi  stars  were  clear  the  crops  were  good"  In  modern 
astrology,  however,  the  reverse  of  this  held  in  the  case  of  the  Southern 
Scale. 

It  seems  not  unreasonable  to  conclude  that  in  Chaldaea  the  7th  sign 
had  origin  in  all  its  forms. 

In  classical  astrology  the  whole  constituted  the  ancient  House  of  Venus, 
for,  according  to  Macrobius,  this  planet  appeared  here  at  the  Creation;  and, 
moreover,  the  goddess  bound  together  human  couples  under  the  yoke  of 
matrimony.  From  this  came  the  title  Veneris  Sidus,  although  others 
asserted  that  Mars  was  its  guardian;  astrologers  of  the  14th  century 
insisting  that 

Whoso  es  born  in  yat  syne  sal  be  an  ille  doar  and  a  traytor. 

It  was  of  influence,  too,  over  commerce,  as  witness  Ben  Jonson  in  The 

Alchemist: 

His  house  of  Life  being  Libra:   which  foreshow'd 

He  should  be  a  merchant,  and  should  trade  with  balance ; 


The  Constellations  275 

and  governed  the  lumbar  region  of  the  human  body.  Its  modern  reign 
has  been  over  Alsace,  Antwerp,  Austria,  Aethiopia,  Frankfurt,  India,  Lisbon, 
Livonia,  Portugal,  Savoy,  Vienna,  and  our  Charleston;  but  in  classical 
times  over  Italy  and,  naturally  enough  from  its  history,  especially  over 
Rome,  with  Vulcan  as  its  guardian.     It  thus  became  Vulcani  Sidufl. 

To  it  was  assigned  control  of  the  gentle  west  wind,  Zephyrus,1  personified 
as  the  son  of  Astraeus  and  Aurora. 

Pious  heathen  called  it  Pluto's  Chariot,  in  which  that  god  carried  off 
Proserpina,  the  adjacent  Virgo ;  but  early  Christians  said  that  it  represented 
the  Apostle  Philip ;  and  Caesius  identified  it  with  the  Balances  of  the  Book 
of  Daniel,  v,  27,  in  which  Belshazzar  had  been  weighed  and  "found 
wanting." 

Argelander  enumerated  in  it  28  stars  down  to  5.8  magnitude;  and  Heis, 
53  down  to  6.5 ;  but  its  boundaries  often  have  been  confused  with  those  of 
Scorpio.  The  central  portion  of  the  figure  is  marked  by  the  trapezoid  of 
stars  a,  t9  y,  and  /3. 

The  sun  is  in  the  constellation  from  the  29th  of  October  to  the  21st  of 
November. 

2  1 

#  and  Ct  ,  Widely  double,    3  and  6,    pale  yellow  and  light  gray. 

In  Greek  astronomy  these  were  Xtj^tj  vonog,  the  Southern  Claw,  from 
the  name  of  the  whole  division  now  our  Southern  Scale. 

Our  Znbenelgennbi  is  from  Al  Znban  al  Janubiyyah,  the  exact  Arabian 
equivalent  of  Ptolemy's  term ;  but  Znbenelgnbi  and  Janib  are  both  wrong, 
and  Znbenesehamali  is  worse,  for  it  plainly  belongs  to  0. 

Chilmead's  Misan  Aliemin  is  from  an  Arabian  title  for  the  constellation; 
yet  that  people  also  knew  it  as  Al  Kiflah  al  Janubiyyah,  the  Southern 
Tray  of  the  Scale,  from  which  came  the  Arabo- Latin  Kifla  australifl  of 
modern  lists ;  and  as  Al  Wazn  al  Janubiyyah,  the  Southern  Weight,  dis- 
torted by  Riccioli  into  Vazneganubi.  The  Lanx  meridionalis  of  two  cen- 
turies ago  is  synonymous  with  the  first  of  these  Arabian  designations. 

The  alphas  and  j3  constituted  the  14th  manzil,  Al  Znbana,  although  Al 
Biruni  said  that  this  title  should  be  Zaban,  "to  push,"  as  though  one  of  the 
stars  were"  pushing  away  the  other  (!);  while  a  marked  the  nakshatra  Vi$akha, 
Branched,  under  the  rule  of  Indragni,  the  dual  tutelar  divinity  Indra  and 
Agni.  This  lunar  station  was  figured  as  a  decorated  Gateway,  and  in 
later  Hindu  astronomy  its  borders  were  extended  to  include  y  and  t,  thus 

1  This  was  the  same  as  Favonius, —  Homer's  Zttpvnng,  at  first  regarded  as  strongly  blowing, 
but  later  as  the  genial  Zu)^(f6^og,  the  Life-bearing. 


276  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

completing  the  resemblance  to  the  object  for  which  the  asterism  was  named; 
1  was  the  junction  star  with  Anuradha. 

These  same  stars  marked  the  sieu  Ti,  Bottom,  anciently  D«i,  and  still 
earlier  I  shi,  some  Chinese  authorities  adding  6,  p,  and  v. 

The  two  alphas  were  the  determinants  of  the  21st  Babylonian  ecliptic  con- 
stellation Uuru-sha-Shutu,  the  Southern  Light;  and  some  have  included 
j3  and  y  with  them  in  the  Euphratean  Entena-mas-lnv,  the  Star  of  the  Tail- 
tip,  as  though  they  marked  that  part  of  the  enormous,  but  undetermined, 
ancient  Hydra  of  Chaldaea,  the  very  early  Afr  of  Arabia.  Oppert  con- 
siders them  the  Id^u  that  others  apply  to  the  star  Altair. 

They  lie  io°  southwest  of  /3,  close  to  the  ecliptic  and  almost  covered  by 
the  sun  on  the  5th  of  November,  the  components  230"  apart ;  but  Bayer's 
map  and  text  illustrate  and  mention  only  one  star.  They  culminate  on  the 
17th  of  June. 

p,     2.7,    pale  emerald. 

Znbeneschamali,  sometimes  Znben  el  Chamali,  is  from  Al  Zubin  al 
Shamaliyyah,  the  equivalent  of  XtjXti  j3dp«oc,  the  Northern  Claw ;  Efi 
borealifl  is  Arabic  and  Latin  for  the  Northern  Scale  Tray ;  Bayer's  Lanx 
septentrionalis  signifies  the  same  thing ;  and  Vazneschemali,  the  Southern 
Weight,  was  used  by  Riccioli.  So  that  /3,  as  well  as  a,  seems  always  to  have 
borne  the  name  of  that  half  of  the  constellation  figure  which  it  marked. 

Miss  Bouvier's  and  Burritt's  Zubenelgemabi  is  entirely  wrong,  both  in 
orthography  and  in  application  to  this  star. 

Epping  says  that  it  marked  the  2 2d  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia, 
Burn  sha-Dtanu,  the  Northern  Light;  while  Jensen  assigns  it  and  a  to  that 
country's  lunar  asterism  Zibanitu,  connecting  this  word  with  the  similar 
Arabic  Zubana ;  but  this  is  not  generally  accepted.  Brown  considers  that, 
under  the  name  of  the  Sugi  Stars,  they  were  associated  with  Bilat,  the  Lady, 
or  Beltis;  and  that  the  Persians  knew  them  as  Qrob,  the  Horned;  the  Sog- 
dians,  as  Ghanwand,  the  Claw-possessing,  equivalent  to  the  Khorasmian 
Ighnuna,  and  the  Coptic  Pritithi,  the  Two  Claws, —  all  these  being  lunar 
stations.  According  to  Ptolemy,  an  observation  was  made  at  Babylon  on 
the  17th  of  January,  272  b.  c, —  in  the  476th  year  of  Nabonassar,  or 
Nabu-nazir, —  of  the  very  near  approach  of  Mars '  to  0,  one  of  the  earliest 
records  that  we  have  of  this  planet.  Hind,  however,  mentioned  this  approach 
as  in  connection  with  (3  of  Scorpio. 

lThe  Greeks  knew  it  as  *Aqhs  and  as  livyoug,  the  Fiery  One;  the  Latins,  as  HsnulMi 
in  addition  to  its  present  title. 


The  Constellations  277 

Professor  Young  states  the  opinion  that  fi  Librae  formerly  was  brighter 
than  Antares,  now  more  than  a  full  magnitude  higher,  for  Eratosthenes 
distinctly  called  0  "  the  brightest  of  all "  in  the  combined  Scorpion  and 
Claws;  and  Ptolemy,  350  years  later,  gave  to  it  and  Antares  the  same  bril- 
liancy.   Yet  Antares  may  be  the  one  that  has  increased. 

The  color  is  very  unusual,  perhaps  unique,  in  conspicuous  stars,  for 
Webb  says  that  in  the  heavens  "  deep  green,  like  deep  blue,  is  unknown  to 
the  naked  eye." 

Its  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  the  star  is  approaching  our  system  at  the  rate 
of  six  miles  a  second. 

The  globular  cluster  N.  G.  C.  5904,  5  M.,  discovered  by  Kirch  in  1702, 
lies  in  Libra,  above  the  beam  of  the  Balance,  not  far  from  j3  and  toward  the 
5th-magnitude  5  Serpentis.  Messier  could  not  resolve  this,  but  Sir  William 
Herschel,  with  his  forty-foot  reflector,  counted  in  it  more  than  two  hundred 
nth-  to  1 5th-magnitude  stars,  besides  those  unresolved  in  the  compressed 
nucleus.  But  it  is  chiefly  noticeable  from  the  recent  photographic  discovery 
by  Bailey,  at  Arequipa,  of  at  least  forty-six,  perhaps  sixty,  variables  in  the 
cluster, —  a  remarkable  fact  paralleled,  so  far  as  yet  known,  only  in  the 
cluster  N.  G.  C.  5272,  3  M.,  of  Canes  Venatici.  In  1890  Parker  already 
had  discovered  two  variables  in  5994  by  visual  observation. 

§    Variable,     5  to  6.2,    white, 

seems  to  have  been  associated  with  ju  Virginis  in  the  Akkadian  lunar 
asterism  Xuln-izi,  the  Man  of  Fire,  connected  with  the  star-god  Laterak ; 
and  in  the  Sogdian  Fasariva  and  the  Khorasmian  Sara-fasariva,  both  titles 
signifying  the  One  next  to  the  Leader,  1.  e.  the  preceding  moon  station, *,  *, 
and  A  Virginis. 

It  is  a  variable  of  the  Algol  type,  discovered  by  Schmidt  in  1859,  with 
a  period  of  nearly  two  days  and  eight  hours,  the  light  oscillation  occupying 
twelve  hours. 

ty     5-5. 

lies  between  the  Northern  Scale  and  the  northern  arm  of  Scorpio. 

Burritt  called  it  Znbenhakrabi,  a  title  properly  belonging  to  y  Scorpii.  His 
errors,  however,  as  to  the  nomenclature  of  these  stars  in  Libra  have  caused 
much  confusion  in  our  popular  lists,  sometimes  none  too  clear  at  their  best; 
yet  the  Standard  Dictionary  seems  to  have  adopted  all  his  titles,  even  to 
Zutanelgubi  for  y  Librae,  which  really  is  unnamed,  as  this  word  is  merely  a 
degenerate  form  of  the  name  for  the  star  a. 
i8» 


278  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  Chinese  asterism  Se  Han,  named  for  a  district  of  that  country, 
lay  around  %  and  included  it  with  c,  £,  0,  f,  and  e. 

k  and  A,  5th-magnitude  stars,  bore  the  pretentious  title  Jih,  the  Sun. 

?  erroneously  was  called  Graffias  in  Burritt's  Atlas  of  1835,  DUt  ^  l^e 
belongs  to  0  Scorpii. 

a  is  the  letter  attached  by  Gould  to  the  disputed  y  Scorpii,  as  is  more 
particularly  noted  at  that  star. 


.     .     .     another  form 
That  men  of  other  days  have  called  the  beast. 

Poste's  A  rata*. 

feujniB,  ffle  TEoff , 

is  the  Lonp  of  the  French,  Lupo  with  the  Italians,  and  Wolff  in  Germany, 
an  idea  for  the  figure  said  to  be  from  the  astrologers'  erroneous  translation 
of  Al  Fahd,  the  Arabian  title  for  this  constellation,  their  Leopard,  or  Pan- 
ther; although  Suidas,  the  Greek  lexicographer  of  970,  is  reported  to  have 
called  it  KvrjKiag,  a  word  for  the  wolf  found  in  the  fables  of  Babrias  of  the 
century  before  our  era.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  did  not  specially  desig- 
nate these  stars,  and  thought  of  them  merely  as  a  Wild  Animal,  the  9i^moi' 
of  Aratos,  Hipparchos,  and  Ptolemy ;  the  Bestia  of  Vitruvius;  Pent  of  Ger- 
manicus;  Quadrupes  vasta  of  Cicero;  Hostia,  the  Victim,  of  Hyginus; 
Hostiola,  cited  by  Bayer ;  Bestia  Centauri,  by  Riccioli ;  and  Victima  Centauri. 

The  Wolf  reappeared  as  Lupus  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  and  as  Fers 
Lupus  in  the  Latin  Almagcsts,  while  Grotius  said  that  Panthers  was 
Capella's  name  for  it. 

Bayer  also  had  Equus  masculus  and  Leaena;  and  La  Lande,  Leo 
marinus,  Deferens  leonem,  Canis  ululans,  Leopardus,  Lnpa,  Martin*,— the 
wolf  being  sacred  to  Mars, —  and  Lyoisca,  the  Hybrid  of  the  Wolf.  Bdus, 
the  Monster,  is  found  in  early  works. 

The  Arabians  also  called  it  Al  Asadah,  the  Lioness, —  found  by  Scaliger 
repeated  on  a  Turkish  planisphere  and  cited  by  Bayer  as  Asida,— -  and  Al 
Saba',  the  Wild  Beast,  Chilmead's  Al  Snbahh,  But  the  Desert  astronomer* 
seem  to  have  mixed  some  of  its  smaller  stars  with  a  part  of  the  Centaur  as 
Al  Shamarifi,  the  Palm  Branches,  and  Kadb  al  Kara,  the  Vine  Branch. 

Zibn,  the  Beast,  of  Euphratean  cylinders,  may  be  for  this  constellation; 
and  Urbat,  the  Beast  of  Death,  or  the  Star  of  the  Dead  Fathers,  is  a  title 
for  it  attributed  to  the  Akkadians. 

Caesius  said  that  in  Persia  it  was  Bridemif,  but  Hyde,  commenting  on 


The  Constellations  279 

this  from  Albumasar,  asserted  that  the  word  should  be  Birdun,  the  Pack- 
horse,  and  was  really  intended  for  the  Centaur. 

Aratos  wrote  of  it,  "  another  creature  very  firmly  clutched,"  and  "  the 
Wild-beast  which  the  Centaur's  right  hand  holds  "  as  an  offering  to  the 
gods  upon  the  Altar,  and  so  virtually  a  part  of  the  Centaur;  but  Eratos- 
thenes described  it  as  a  Wine-skin  from  which  the  Centaur  was  about  to 
pour  a  libation ;  while  others  imagined  both  the  Beast  and  the  Wine-skin  in 
the  Centaur's  grasp. 

Mycologists  thought  it  the  animal  into  which  Lycaon  was  changed; 
Caesius,  that  it  was  the  Wolf  to  which  Jacob  likened  Benjamin ;  but  Julius 
Schiller  saw  in  its  stars  Benjamin  himself. 

Although  very  ancient,  Lupus  is  inconspicuous,  lying  partly  in  the  Milky 
Way,  south  of  Libra  and  Scorpio,  east  of  the  Centaur,  with  no  star  larger 
than  2.6  magnitude,  while  the  few  visible  in  the  latitude  of  New  York 
City  —  y,  3,  Z ,  and  ft  —  are  even  smaller  than  this. 

Gould  enumerates  159  naked-eye  stars,  among  which  is  an  unusual  pro- 
portion of  doubles. 

a,  2.6,  seems  to  be  unnamed  except  in  China,  where  it  was  Yang  Mun 
or  Men,  the  South  Gate. 

On  the  Euphrates  it  probably  was  Kakkab  Sn-gub  Gnd-Elim,  the  Star  Left 
Hand  of  the  Horned  Bull,  said  to  have  been  a  reference  to  the  Centaur 
that  was  thus  figured  in  that  valley. 

It  culminates  on  the  14th  of  June,  nearly  due  south  from  Arcturus  and 
north  of  a  Centauri. 

j3  is  the  Ke  Kwan,  of  the  Reeves  list  of  Chinese  titles,  a  Cavalry  Officer. 
This  is  a  very  close  binary,  of  3  and  3.5  magnitudes,  both  yellow,  o".25 
apart,  the  position  angle  being  900. 

a  and  0  are  below  the  horizon  of  New  York  City. 

Other  Chinese  asterisms  appear  within  the  boundaries  of  Lupus,  all  bear- 
ing titles  pertaining  to  military  affairs,  and  so  of  the  second  period  of  their 
star-naming. 


Each  after  each,  ungrouped,  unnamed,  revolve. 

Brown's  A  rates. 

fegnr  bxh  £tgri*,  tfle  fegnr  or  £icjer, 

is  the  Italian  Lince,  the  German  Luchs  and  Linx,  the  French  Lynx. 
Its  stars  may  have  been  those  intended  by  Aratos  where  he  mentioned, 


280  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

in  our  motto,  some  in  front  of  the  Greater  Bear;  but  for  the  modern  figure 
we  are  indebted  to  Hevelius.  He  used  in  it  nineteen  stars,  and  in  explain- 
ing the  title  said  that  those  who  would  examine  the  Lynx  ought  to  be  lynx- 
eyed,  in  which  he  acknowledged  the  insignificance  of  the  components.  Of 
these  Argelander  has  catalogued  42,  and  Heis  87;  but  the  boundaries  are 
not  accurately  determined. 

The  alternative  name,  now  in  disuse,  came  from  the  fancied  resemblance 
of  the  many  little  stars  to  spots  on  the  tiger;  and  the  same  word  was  ap- 
plied by  Bartschius  in  1624,  although  as  the  river  Tigris,  to  some  stars  that 
subsequently  were  made  into  the  Polish  Bull  and  the  Little  Fox  with  the 
Goose. 

In  the  Lynx  appeared  in  July,  1893,  the  much-discovered  comet  b  of  that 
year,  the  Rordame-Quenisset. 

The  constellation  seems  chiefly  noticeable  for  the  beauty  of  its  numerous 
doubles,  of  which  Espin  mentions  fifty  in  his  edition  of  Webb's  Celestial 
Objects.     Of  one  of  these  Professor  Young  writes  in  his  Uranography  ; 

38,  or  p  Lyncis;  Mags.  4,  7.5;  Pos.  2400;  Dist.  2". 9;  white  and  lilac.  This  is  the 
northern  one  of  a  pair  of  stars  which  closely  resembles  the  three  pairs  that  mark  the  paws 
of  Ursa  Major.  This  pair  makes  nearly  an  isosceles  triangle  with  the  two  pairs  ?  fi  and 
1  k  Ursae  Majoris. 

It  might  well  have  been  utilized  by  the  modern  constructor,  whoever  he 
was,  of  our  Ursa  Major  to  complete  the  quartette  of  feet. 

Baily  thought  Fl.  44  Lyncis  the  original  18th  of  Ursa  Major  in  early 
catalogues. 

Fl.  31  Lyncis,  of  4.4  magnitude,  the  8th  of  Ptolemy's  d^6p<p(DToi  of  Ursa 
Major,  is  given  by  Assemani  as  the  Arabic  Alflciaukat,  a  Thorn  (Al- 
Shaukah),  and  Mabsnthat  (Mabsutah),  Expanded. 

The  constellation  comes  to  the  meridian  in  February,  due  north  from 
the  star  Castor. 


Ariones  harpe  fyn. 

Chaucer's  Hous  of  Fame. 

fegra,  tfle  fegre  or  fyx? , 

is  the  Leier  of  Germany,  Lira  of  Italy,  and  Lyre  of  France,  and  anciently 
represented  the  fabled  instrument  invented  by  Hermes  and  given  to  his 
half-brother  Apollo,  who  in  turn  transferred  it  to  his  son  Orpheus,  the  musi- 
cian of  the  Argonauts,  of  whom  Shakespeare  wrote : 


The  Constellations  •     281 

Everything  that  heard  him  play, 
Even  the  billows  of  the  sea, 
Hung  their  heads,  and  then  lay  by. 

While  Manilius  said  that  its  service  in  its  last  owner's  hands,  in  the  release 
of  Eurydice  from  Hades, 

Gain'd  it  Heaven,  and  still  its  force  appears, 
As  then  the  Rocks  it  now  draws  on  the  Stars. 

From  its  ownership  by  these  divinities  came  various  adjectival  titles: 
Epfxa/77  and  KvXXevaif},  referring  to  Hermes  and  his  birthplace;  Cicero's 
Clara  Fides  Cyllenea  and  X ereurialis,  that  Varro  also  used ;  and  the  Cithara, 
or  Lyra,  Apollinis,  Orphei,  Orphica,  and  Mercnrii  It  also  was  Lyra 
Arionis  and  Amphionis,  from  those  skilful  players;  but  usually  it  was  plain 
Lyra  and,  later  on,  Cithara ;  Fides, —  the  Fidis  of  Columella,  who,  with  Pliny, 
also  used  Fidicnla;  Decachordum;  and  Tympanum.  In  this  same  connec- 
tion we  see  Pidicen,  the  Lyrist ;  Deferens  Psalterinm;  and  Canticum,  a  Song. 

The  occasional  early  title  Aquilaris  was  from  the  fact  that  the  instrument 
was  often  shown  hanging  from  the  claws  of  the  Eagle  also  imagined  in  its 
stars. 

In  Greece  it  was  KiOdpa;  the  ancient  Qopfiiyi-,  the  first  stringed  instrument 
of  the  Greek  bards;  and  Avpa  or  Avprj,  and  Avpa  KarotpepTJf,  the  Pendent 
Lyre. 

Ovid  mentioned  its  seven  strings  as  equaling  the  number  of  the  Pleiades ; 
Longfellow  confirming  this  number  in  his  Occultation  of  Orion : 

with  its  celestial  keys, 
Its  chords  of  air,  its  frets  of  fire, 
The  Samian's  great  Aeolian  Lyre, 
Rising  through  all  its  sevenfold  bars, 
From  earth  unto  the  fix£d  stars. 

Still  it  has  been  shown  with  but  six,  and  a  vacant  space  for  the  seventh,  which 
Spence,  in  the  Pblymttis^  referred  to  the  Lost  Pleiad. 

Manilius  seems  to  have  made  two  distinct  constellations  of  this, —  Lyra 
and  Fides, —  although  we  do  not  know  their  boundaries,  and  the  subject  is 
somewhat  confused  in  his  allusions  to  it. 

The  Persian  Hafiz  called  it  the  Lyre  of  Zurah,  and  his  countrymen  trans- 
lated KiOdpa  by  $anj  Bnmi ;  the  Arabians  turning  this  into  Al  Sanj,  from 
which  Hyde  and  others  derived  Asange,  Asenger,Asanges,  Asangue,Sangue, 
and  Meeanguo,  all  titles  for  Lyra  in  Europe  centuries  ago.  But  Assemani 
thought  that  these  were  from  Schickard's  Azzango,  a  Cymbal.    The  repro- 


282  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

duced  Alfonsine  Tables  of  1863-67  give  Alsanja;  while  Sanj  was  again 
turned  into  Arnig  and  Aznig  in  the  translation  of  Reduan's  Commentary, 
and  into  the  still  more  unlikely  Brinek,  as  has  been  explained  by  Ideler. 

In  Bohemia  our  Lyra  was  Hauriicky  na  Bebi,  the  Fiddle  in  the  Sky; 
but  the  Teutons  knew  it  as  Harapha,  and  the  Anglo-Saxons  as  Heaipe, 
which  Fortunatus  of  the  6th  century,  the  poet-bishop  of  Poitiers,  called  the 
barbarians'  Harpa.  With  the  early  Britons  it  was  Talyn  Arthur,  that  hero's 
Harp.  Novidius  said  that  it  was  King  David's  Harp ;  but  Julius  Schiller, 
that  it  was  the  Manger  of  the  Infant  Saviour,  Praeaepe  Salvatorii. 

Jugum  has  been  wrongly  applied  to  it,  from  the  Zvyov  of  Homer,  but  this 
was  for  the  Yoke,  or  Cross-bar,  of  the  instrument,  with  no  reference  to  the 
constellation,  which  Homer  probably  did  not  know ;  still  the  equivalent 
Zvyo>fia  was  in  frequent  use  for  it  by  Hipparchos. 

Sundry  other  fancied  figures  have  been  current  for  these  stars. 

Acosta  mentioned  them  as  Urcnohillay,  the  parti-colored  Ram  in  charge 
of  the  heavenly  flocks  of  the  ancient  Peruvians ;  Albegala  and  Albegalo 
occur  with  Bayer  and  Riccioli,  like  the  Arabic  AI  Baghl,  a  Mule,  although 
their  appropriateness  is  not  obvious;  and  Nasr  al  Din  wrote  of  a,  f,  and 
f  collectively  as  Dik  Paye  among  the  common  people  of  Persia ;  this  was 
the  Xvrpd-rrovc,  or  Greek  tripod,  and  the  Uthflyyah  of  the  nomad  Arabs. 

Chirka,  also  attributed  to  Nasr  al  Din,  was,  by  some  scribe's  error  for 
fiazaf,  figured  in  this  location  on  the  Dresden  globe  as  a  circular  vessel 
with  a  flat  bottom  and  two  handles;  but  on  the  Borgian  it  is  a  Scroll,  com- 
monly known,  according  to  Assemani,  as  Rabesoo. 

The  association  of  Lyra's  stars  with  a  bird  perhaps  originated  from  a 
conception  of  the  figure  current  for  millenniums  in  ancient  India, —  that  of 
an  Eagle  or  Vulture ;  and,  in  Akkadia,  of  the  great  storm-bird  Urakhga 
before  this  was  there  identified  with  Corvus.  But  the  Arabs'  title,  Al  Hair 
al  WakiV  —  Chilmead's  Alvaka, —  referring  to  the  swooping  Stone  Eagle  of 
the  Desert,  generally  has  been  attributed  to  the  configuration  of  the  group 
o,  e,  £  which  shows  the  bird  with  half-closed  wings,  in  contrast  to  Al  Hur 
al  Ta'ir,1  the  Flying  Eagle,  our  Aquila,  whose  smaller  stars,  p  and  y,  on 
either  side  of  a,  indicate  the  outspread  wings.  Scaliger  cited  the  synonymous 
Al  Nasr  al  Sakit,  from  which  came  the  ffessrasakat  of  Bayer  and  Sean- 
aakito  of  Assemani. 

Al  Sufi,  alone  of  extant  Arabian  authors,  called  it  Al  Iwaiz,  the  Goose. 

Chrysococca  wrote  of  it  as  Tut/*  KaOfjuevog,  the  Sitting  Vulture,  and  it  has 
been  Aquila  marina,  the  Osprey,  and  Falco  sylvestrifl,  the  Wood  Falcon. 

1  These  are  two  of  the  few  instances  in  Arab  astronomy  where  more  than  one  star  »w 
utilized  to  represent  an  animate  object. 


The  Constellations  283 

Its  common  title  two  centuries  ago  was  Aqtrila  cadens,  or  Vultnr  cadens, 
the  Swooping  Vulture,  popularly  translated  the  Falling  Grype,  and  figured 
with  upturned  head  bearing  a  lyre  in  its  beak.  Bartsch's  map  has  the  out- 
line of  a  lyre  on  the  front  of  an  eagle  or  vulture. 

Aratos  called  it  XeXvg  dXiyrj,  the  Little  Tortoise  or  Shell,  thus  going 
back  to  the  legendary  origin  of  the  instrument  from  the  empty  covering  of 
the  creature  cast  upon  the  shore  with  the  dried  tendons  stretched  across  it. 
Lowell  thus  described  its  discovery  and  use  by  Hermes : 

So  there  it  lay  through  wet  and  dry, 

As  empty  as  the  last  new  sonnet, 
Till  by  and  by  came  Mercury, 

And,  having  mused  upon  it, 
*      "  Why,  here,"  cried  he, "  the  thing  of  things 

In  shape,  material  and  dimension ! 
Give  it  but  strings  and,  lo !  it  sings  — 

A  wonderful  invention." 

The  equivalent  Latin  word  Chelys  does  not  seem  to  have  been  often  applied 
to  the  constellation,  but  the  occasional  adjectival  titles  Lutaria,  Mud-in- 
habiting, and  Marina  were,  and  are,  appropriate,  while  Testudo  has  been 
known  from  classical  times.     Horace  thus  alluded  to  it : 

Decus  Phoebi,  et  dapibus  supremi 
Grata  testudo  Jovis ;  O  laborum 
Dulce  lenimen ; 

the  poet  doubtless  having  in  mind  the  current  story  that  the  Tortoise- 
Lyre  was  placed  in  the  sky  near  Hercules  for  the  alleviation  of  his  toil. 
The  Alfonsine  illustration  is  of  a  Turtle,  Galapago  in  the  original  Spanish, 
which  Caesius  turned  into  the  indefinite  Belua  aquatica,  and  La  Lande 
into  Mua  and  Museulus,  some  marine  creature,  not  the  little  rodent. 

Other  names  were  Testa,  the  creature's  Upper  Shell;  and  Pnpilla,  which, 
by  a  roundabout  process  of  continued  blundering  explained  by  Ideler,  was 
derived  from  Testa,  or,  as  seems  more  likely,  from  Aquila.  Bayer's  Bdaavog 
is  probably  a  mistranslation  of  Testa  that  also  signified  a  Test. 

Smyth  said  that  another  Testudo  was  at  one  time  proposed  as  a  constel- 
lation title  for  some  of  the  outside  stars  of  Cetus,  between  the  latter's  tail 
and  the  cord  of  Pisces. 

When  the  influence  of  Greek  astronomy  made  itself  felt  in  Arabia,  many 
of  the  foregoing  designations,  or  adaptations  thereof,  became  current; 
among  them  Mablon,  from  Naj3/a,  or  Hablium,  the  Phoenician  Harp;  Al 
Lnra,  which  degenerated  into  Allore,  Alloure,  Alohore,  Alchoro,  etc.,  found 


284  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  and  other  bygone  lists ;  Shalyak  and  Sulahfit,  words 
for  the  Tortoise,  Ulug  Beg's  translator  having  the  former  as  Shely&k,  which 
Piazzi  repeated  in  his  catalogue ;  Salibak,  which  heads  Kazwini's  chapter  on 
the  Lyre ;  —  Ideler  tracing  these  Arabic  words  to  XeAvc.  They  were  turned 
into  Azulafe  and  Zuliaca  in  the  original  Alfonsine  Tables,  and  Sehaliaf  in 
Chilmead's  Treatise.  The  Almagest  of  151 5  combines  all  these  figures  for 
Lyra's  stars  in  its  Allore  :  et  est  Vultur  cadens  :  et  est  lestudo ;  while  that 
of  155 1  says  Lyrae  Testndo. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  singularly  diverse  conceptions  as  to  its  char- 
acter, the  name  generally  has  been  Lyra,  and  the  figure  so  shown.  Roman 
coins  still  in  existence  bear  it  thus,  as  does  one  from  Delos,  Apollo's  birth- 
place in  the  Cyclades;  and  Cilician  money  had  this  same  design  with  the  head 
of  Aratos  on  the  obverse.  The  Leyden  Manuscript  has*  the  conventional 
instrument,  with  side  bars  of  splendid  horns  issuing  from  the  tortoise-shell 
base;  the  Venetian  Hyginus  of  1488,  with  a  similar  figure,  calls  it  Luraas 
well  as  Lyra ;  but  the  drawing  of  Hevelius  shows  "  an  instrument  which 
neither  in  ancient  nor  in  modern  times  ever  had  existence."  Durer's  illus- 
tration, as  well  as  others,  places  it  with  the  base  towards  the  north. 

Lyra  is  on  the  western  edge  of  the  Milky  Way,  next  to  Hercules,  with  the 
neck  of  Cygnus  on  the  east,  and  contains  48  stars  according  to  Argelander, 
69  according  to  Heis.  Its  location  is  noted  as  one  of  the  various  regions 
of  concentration  of  stars  with  banded  spectra,  Secchi's  3d  type,  showing 
a  stage  of  development  probably  in  advance  of  that  of  our  sun. 

From  near  its  *,  50  southwest  of  Wega,  radiate  the  swiftly  moving 
Lyraids,  the  meteors  which  are  at  their  maximum  of  appearance  on  the 
19th  and  20th  of  April,  but  visible  in  lesser  degree  from  the  5th  of  that 
month  to  the  10th  of  May.  These  have  been  identified  as  followers  of  the 
comet  1  of  1 86 1. 

.  .  .  azure  Lyra,  like  a  woman's  eye, 
Burning  with  soft  blue  lustre. 

Willis'  The  Scholar  qf  Tfubtt  ben  KhormL 

0L9     0.3,    pale  sapphire. 

Wega,  less  correctly  Vega,  originated  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  from  the 
Waki' of  the  Arabs,  Bayer  having  both  titles;  Scaliger,  Waghi;  Riccioli, 
Vnega  vel  Vagieh ;  and  Assemani,  Veka. 

The  Greeks  called  it  Avpa,  which,  in  the  16th-century  Almagests  and 
Tables,  was  turned  into  Allore,  Alahore,  and  Alohore. 

Among  Latin  writers  it  was  Lyra,  in  classical  days  as  in  later,  seen  in 


The  Constellations  285 

the  Almagest  of  1551  as  Fulgens  quae  in  testa  est  &*  vocatur  Lyra  ;  and  in 
FlamsteecTs  Testa  julgida  dicta  Lyra ;  but  Cicero  also  used  Fidis  specially 
for  the  star,  as  did  Columella  and  Pliny  Fides  and  Fidicula,  its  preeminent 
brightness  fully  accounting  for  the  usurpation  of  so  many  of  its  constellation's 
titles,  indeed  undoubtedly  originating  them.  In  Holland's  translation  of 
Pliny  it  is  the  Harp-ftar. 

The  Romans  made  much  of  it,  for  the  beginning  of  their  autumn  was  in- 
dicated by  its  morning  setting.  It  was  this  star  that,  when  the  hour  of  its 
rising  was  alluded  to,  called  forth  Cicero's  remark,  "  Yes,  if  the  edict  allows 
it," — a  contemptuous  reference  to  Caesar's  arbitrary,  yet  sensible,  inter- 
ference with  the  course  of  ancient  time  in  the  reformation  of  the  calendar, 
an  interference  that  occasioned  as  much  dissatisfaction  in  his  day  as  did 
Pope  Gregory's  reform 1  in  the  16th  century. 

Sayce  identifies  Wega,  in  Babylonian  astronomy,  with  Dilgan,  the  Mes- 
senger of  Light,  a  name  also  applied  to  other  stars;  and  Brown  writes 
of  it: 

At  one  time  Vega  was  the  Pole-star  called  in  Akkadian  Tir-anna  ("  Life  of  Heaven  ")> 
and  in  Assyrian  Daymn-aame  ("  Judge  of  Heaven  "),  as  having  the  highest  seat  therein ; 

but  fourteen  millenniums  have  passed  since  Wega  occupied  that  position ! 

The  Chinese  included  it  with  e  and  £  in  their  Chin  Veu,  the  Spinning 
Damsel,  or  the  Weaving  Sister,  at  one  end  of  the  Magpies'  Bridge  over  the 
Milky  Way, —  Aquila,  their  Cow  Herdsman,  being  at  the  other;  but  the 
story,  although  a  popular  one  not  only  in  China,  but  also  in  Korea  and 
Japan,  is  told  with  many  variations,  parts  of  Cygnus  sometimes  being  in- 
troduced. 

These  same  three  stars  were  the  20th  nakshatra,  Abhijit,  Victorious,  the 
most  northern  of  these  stellar  divisions  and  far  out  of  the  moon's  path,  but 
apparently  utilized  to  bring  in  this  splendid  object ;  or,  as  Mueller  says, 
because  it  was  of  specially  good  omen,  for  under  its  influence  the  gods 
had  vanquished  the  Asuras;  these  last  being  the  Hindu  divinities  of  evil, 
similar  to  the  Titans  of  Greece.  It  was  the  doubtful  one  of  that  country's 
lunar  stations,  included  in  some,  but  omitted  in  others  of  their  lists  in  all 
ages  of  their  astronomy,  and  entirely  different  from  the  corresponding 
manzii  and  sieu,  which  lay  in  Capricorn.    The  Hindus  figured  it  as  a 

1  The  English  refused  to  adopt  this  reform  till  175a,  when  they  abandoned  the  Old  Style  on 
the  2d  of  September,  and  made  the  succeeding  day  September  14th,  New  Style :  a  change, 
however,  that  "  was  made  under  very  great  opposition,  and  there  were  violent  riots  in  conse- 
quence in  different  parts  of  the  country,  especially  at  Bristol,  where  several  persons  were  killed. 
The  cry  of  the  populace  was  '  Give  us  back  our  fortnight/  for  they  supposed  they  had  been 
robbed  of  eleven  days." 


286  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Triangle,  or  as  the  three-cornered  nut  of  the  aquatic  plant  Cringata,  Wega 
marking  its  junction  with  the  adjoining  £ravana. 

Hewitt  says  that  in  Egypt  it  was  Ma  at,  the  Vulture-star,  when  it  marked 
the  pole, —  this  was  12000  to  1 1000  b.  c.  (!), —  and  Lockyer,  that  it  was  the 
orientation  point  of  some  of  the  temples  at  Denderah  long  antecedent  to 
the  time  when  y  Draconis  and  a  Ursae  Majoris  were  so  used, —  probably 
7000  b.  c, —  one  of  the  oldest  dates  claimed  by  him  in  connection  with 
Egyptian  temple  worship. 

Owing  to  precession,  it  will  be  the  Polaris  of  about  11500  years  hence,  by 
far  the  brightest  in  the  whole  circle  of  successive  pole-stars,  and  then  4)2" 
from  the  exact  point,  as  it  was  about  14300  years  ago.  In  1880  it  was 
510  20'  distant  Professor  Lewis  Boss  and  Herr  Stumpe  place  near  it 
the  Apex  of  the  Sun's  Way. 

Picard  failed  in  his  efforts  to  obtain  its  parallax  in  the  17th  century,  but 
Struve  thought  that  he  had  succeeded  in  this  by  his  observations  previous 
to  1840;  still  much  discrepancy  exists  in  the  recent  determinations.  Elkin, 
in  1892,  gave  it  as  o".oo,2 ;  or,  to  put  it  in  popular  language,  if  the  distance 
from  the  earth  to  the  sun  be  regarded  as  one  foot,  that  from  Wega  would 
be  158  miles.  The  ioth-magnitude  companion,  about  48"  away,  used  for 
some  of  these  determinations,  is  entirely  independent  of  it,  although  difficult 
to  be  seen  owing  to  the  great  brilliancy  of  Wega.  At  least  two  other  still 
fainter  companions  also  have  been  found. 

This  was  the  first  star  submitted  to  the  camera,  by  the  daguerreotype 
process,  at  the  Harvard  Observatory  on  the  17th  of  July,  1850. 

It  lies  on  the  western  edge  of  the  constellation  figure,  and,  after  Sinus, 
is  the  most  prominent  of  the  stars  showing  spectra  of  the  Sirian  type; 
yet,  with  all  its  splendor,  affords  but  i  of  the  latter's  light  Still  it  is 
supposed  to  be  enormously  larger  than  our  sun,  and  proportionately  very 
much  hotter.  It  is  moving  toward  our  system  at  the  rate  of  about  9*2 
miles  a  second,  and  makes  "  the  nearest  approach  in  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere to  an  independently  blue  star  " ;  while  its  flashing  brilliancy  justifies 
its  being  called  the  Arc-light  of  the  sky.  Miss  Mitchell  strangely  called  it 
pale  yellow. 

Wega  rises  at  sunset  far  toward  the  north  on  the  1st  of  May,  and,  being 
visible  at  some  hour  of  every  clear  night  throughout  the  year,  is  an  easy 
and  favorite  object  of  observation.     It  culminates  on  the  12th  of  August. 

With  e  and  f  it  formed  one  of  the  Arabs'  several  Athafiyy,  this  one  being 
"  of  the  people,"  while  the  others,  fainter,  in  Aries,  Draco,  Musca,  and 
Orion,  were  "  of  the  astronomers  "  ;  for  sky  objects  are  often  very  plain  to 
them  that  are  invisible  to  the  ordinary  observer. 


The  Constellations  287 

p,  Variable  and  binary,     3.4  to  4.5,     very  white. 

Sheliak,  Shelyak,  and  Shiliak  are  from  Al  Shily&k,  one  of  the  Arabian 
names  for  Lyra.  The  star  lies  about  8°  southeast  from  Wega  and  2*4° 
west  from  y. 

With  <5  and  1  it  was  Tsan  Tae  in  China. 

The  changes  in  its  brilliancy,  detected  by  Goodricke  in  1784,  were  fully 
investigated  by  Argelander  from  1840  to  1859,  and  showed  a  regularly  in- 
creasing period  of  variability  which  now  is  12  days,  21^  hours,  with  several 
fluctuations  of  a  somewhat  complex  nature. 

Like  y  Cassiopeiae  and  other  variables  of  the  Sirian  type,  it  shows  in  its 
spectrum, —  perhaps  the  best  specimen  of  Pickering's  4th  class, —  not  only 
the  usual  dark  lines,  but  also  the  bright  lines  of  glowing  gases,  hydrogen 
and  helium  being  especially  conspicuous.  Pickering  concluded,  from  the 
singular  character  and  behavior  in  the  shifting  of  these  lines,  that  the  chief 
star  must  consist  of  at  least  two  luminous  bodies  rotating  around  a  common 
centre  of  gravity  at  a  very  great  rate  of  speed,  perhaps  three  hundred  miles 
a  second,  the  period  of  revolution  equaling  the  period  of  variability.  Scheiner 
says  of  it, "  There  is  great  probability  that  more  than  two  bodies  are  concerned 
in  the  case  of  0  Lyrae*';  and  yet  it  may  not  be  impossible,  in  view  of  the 
recent  discoveries  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  Laboratory,  that  variations  of 
pressure  may  be  concerned  in  this  remarkable  shifting  of  lines.1 

T>     3-3,    bright  yellow, 

2)4°  east  of  0  is  Sulafat,  from  another  of  the  titles  of  the  whole  con- 
stellation. 

Jugum,  formerly  seen  for  it,  may  have  come  from  a  misunderstanding  of 
Bayer's  text,  where  it  probably  is  used  merely  to  designate  the  star's  position 
on  the  frame  of  the  Lyre,  his  words  being  ad  dextrutn  cornu,  Zvyov,  lugum, 
—  a  fair  example  of  the  indefiniteness  of  much  of  his  stellar  nomenclature. 

At  a  point  }i  of  the  distance  from  0  to  y  is  the  wonderful  Ring  Hetrala, 
NT.  G.  C.  6720,  57  M.,  discovered  in  1772  by  Darquier  from  Toulouse, 
although  its  apparent  annular  form  was  not  revealed  till  later  by  Sir  William 
Herschel's  observations.  In  our  day  high-powers  show  its  oval  form  some- 
what undefined  at  the  edges,  with  a  dark  opening  in  the  centre  containing 
a  fow  very  faint  stars,  among  which,  visible  only  in  the  largest  telescopes, 
but  prominent  in  photographs,  is  a  central  condensation  of  light  like  a  star. 

1  A  full  and  interesting  discussion  of  this  appears  in  Popular  Astronomy  for  July,  1898. 


288  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  spectrum  of  nebula  and  central  "  star  "  is  purely  gaseous.  Although 
appearing  oval  to  us,  it  is  supposed  to  be  nearly  circular,  but  seen  obliquely. 
It  is  the  only  annular  nebula  visible  through  small  telescopes,  although 
there  are  six  others  now  known. 


S  ,  or  Fl.  4,  Binary,    4.6  and  6.3,    yellow  and  ruddy ; 

2 
£  ,  or  Fl.  5,  Binary,    4.9  and  5.2,    both  white. 

These  are  the  celebrated  Double  Double,  each  pair  probably  separately 
revolving  in  a  period  of  over  two  hundred  years,  and  both  pairs  perhaps 
revolving  around  their  common  centre  of  gravity;  but  if  so,  the  period  b 
to  be  reckoned  only  by  millenniums,  for  the  measures  of  the  last  fifty  years 
show  no  sensible  orbital  motion.  This  is  by  far  the  finest  object  of  the 
kind  in  all  the  heavens. 

They  are  207"  apart,  and,  to  the  ordinary  eye,  form  an  elongated  star; 
but  exceptionally  sharp  sight  will  resolve  them  without  aid.  The  pairs  are 
3". 2  and  2/;.45  apart  respectively,  and  a  good  2^-inch  glass  with  a  power 
of  140  will  separate  each  pair.  The  position  angle  of  the  components  of 
e1  is  120;  and  of  those  of  e2,  1320;  while  that  of  c1  and  t2  is  1730.  Their 
"double-double  "character  was  first  published  by  the  Jesuit  father  Christian 
Mayer  in  1779,  although  its  discovery  has  generally  been  attributed  to  Sir 
William  Herschel. 

The  distance  between  e1  and  £2,  small  as  it  is,  is  nearly  twice  that  noticed 
by  astronomers,  in  1846, — 128" — between  the  actual  and  the  computed 
positions  of  the  planet  Uranus,  a  discrepancy  which  convinced  them  of  the 
existence  of  a  still  more  remote  planet  and  led  to  the  discovery  of  Neptune. 
Such  is  the  marvelous  nicety  of  modern  astronomical  measurements ! 

Between  these  stars  lie  three  very  much  fainter,  two  of  which,  of  the 
13th  magnitude,  are  the  DebiliMima,  Excessively  Minute,  of  Sir  John 
Herschel,  discovered  by  him  in  1823. 

e  and  f  form  an  equilateral  triangle  with  Wega,  the  sides  about  20  long; 
e  being  at  the  northern  angle.  These  three  stars  were  one  of  the  Athafiyj 
of  the  early  Arabs. 

fj9  a  4.4-magnitude,  is  Aladfar  in  the  Century  Atlas,  by  some  confusion 
with  the  star  \l\  and  with  0,  of  the  same  brilliancy,  was,  in  China,  Leen 
Taou,  Paths  within  the  Palace  Grounds. 

fit  of  the  5th  magnitude,  was  Kazwini's  Al  Athfar,  the  Talons  (of  the 
Falling  Eagle),  which  he  described  as  a  fainter  star  in  front  of  the  bright 
one,  1.  e.  west  of  Wega. 


The  Constellations  289 


(gUc&ma  <&?ectt\ca, 

one  of  Bode's  constellations  of  1800,  lies  south  of  the  central  portion  of 
Cetus.  With  him  it  was  the  Elektrisir  Machine  and  Machine  Electrique ; 
the  Italians  call  it  Machina  Elettrica. 

It  is  now  generally  omitted  from  the  maps  and  catalogues. 


(Jtticrottojrium, 

formed  by  La  Caille  south  of  Capricornus  and  west  of  Piscis  Australis, 
although  small  and  unimportant,  contains  sixty-nine  stars,  varying  in  mag- 
nitude from  4.8  to  7,  the  lucida  being  01.  The  constellation  comes  to  the 
meridian  in  September,  nearly  due  south  of  0  Aquarii. 

In  its  vicinity,  perhaps  including  it,  was  an  early  figure  referred  to,  in  a 
German  astronomical  work  of  1564  from  Frankfurt,  as  Neper,  the  Auger, 
Ideler's  Bohrer,  which  he  thus  described: 

It  is  situated  at  the  tail  of  Sagittarius  and  Capricornus,  and  has  many  stars.  At  the 
head  of  the  Neper  two,  and  on  the  iron  three. 

Brown  alludes  to  it  as  an  unknown  object,  and  illustrates  it  in  the  47th 
volume  of  Archaeologia  as  from  a  German  astronomical  manuscript  of  the 
15th  century;  but  Flammarion,  in  les  £toi/es>  probably  referring  to  this 
same  manuscript,  thus  mentions  Neper,  as  the  predecessor  of  Monoceros : 

II  est  question  de  la  constellation  du  Neper  ou  Foret,  qui  n'est  autre  que  la  Licorne. 


(JttonoceroB,  t#e  (Unicom, 

das  Einhorn  in  Germany,  la  Licorne  in  France,  and  il  Unicomo  or  Lio- 
corno  in  Italy,  lies  in  the  large  but  comparatively  vacant  field  between  the 
two  Dogs,  Orion,  and  the  Hydra,  the  celestial  equator  passing  through  it 
l9 


290  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

lengthwise  from  the  Belt  of  Orion  to  the  tail  of  the  animal,  just  below  the 
head  of  Hydra.     Proctor  assigned  to  it  the  alternative  title  Cernu. 

Its  4.6-magnitude  S,  or  Fl.  15,  marks  the  head  of  the  figure,  facing  towards 
the  west. 

This  is  a  modern  constellation,  generally  supposed  to  have  been  first 
charted  by  Bartschius  as  Unioornu ;  but  Olbers  and  Ideler  say  that  it  was 
of  much  earlier  formation,  the  latter  quoting  allusions  to  it,  in  the  work  of 
1564,  as  "the  other  Horse  south  of  the  Twins  and  the  Crab  n ;  and  Scaliger 
found  it  on  a  Persian  sphere. 

Flammarion's  identification  of  it  with  the  still  earlier  Neper  has  already 
been  mentioned  under  Microscopium. 

Monoceros  seems  to  have  no  star  individually  named,  but  the  Chine* 
asterisms  Sze  Mh,  the  Four  Great  Canals;  Kwan  Kew;  and  Wae  Choo, 
the  Outer  Kitchen,  all  lay  within  its  boundaries. 

It  contains  66  naked-eye  stars  according  to  Argelander, —  Heis  says 
112, —  and  is  interesting  chiefly  from  its  many  telescopic  clusters,  and  as 
being  located  in  the  Milky  Way. 

It  comes  to  the  meridian  in  February,  due  south  from  Procyon. 

a,  the  luciday  is  Fl.  30,  of  3.6  magnitude. 


(Jtton*  (JtUenafti*, 

at  the  feet  of  Bootes,  was  formed  by  Hevelius,  and  published  in  his  Firm- 
mentum  Sobiescianum  ;  this  title  coinciding  with  those  of  neighboring  stel- 
lar groups  bearing  Arcadian  names.  It  is  sometimes,  although  incorrectly, 
given  as  Mons  Menelaus, —  perhaps,  as  Smyth  suggested,  after  the  Alex- 
andrian astronomer  referred  to  by  Ptolemy  and  Plutarch. 

The  Germans  know  it  as  the  Berg  Menalus ;  and  the  Italians,  as  Menrto. 

Landseer  has  a  striking  representation  of  the  Husbandman,  as  he  styles 
Bootes,  with  sickle  and  staff,  standing  on  this  constellation  figure.  A  pos- 
sible explanation  of  its  origin  may  be  found  in  what  Hewitt  writes  in  his 
Essays  on  the  Ruling  Races  of  Prehistoric  Times  : 

The  Sun-god  thence  climbed  up  the  mother-mountain  of  the  Kushika  race  as  the  con- 
stellation Hercules,  who  is  depicted  in  the  old  traditional  pictorial  astronomy  as  climbing 
painfully  up  the  hill  to  reach  the  constellation  of  the  Tortoise,  now  called  Lyra,  and  thu> 
attain  the  polar  star  Vega,  which  was  the  polar  star  from  10000  to  8000  B.  c. 


The  Constellations  291 

May  not  this  modern  companion  constellation,  Mons  Maenalus,  be  from 
a  recollection  of  this  early  Hindu  conception  of  our  Hercules  transferred 
to  the  adjacent  Bootes  ? 
It  culminates  in  June,  due  south  from  0  Bootis  and  north  of  P  Librae. 


(Stone  (UUneae,  f$e  £a6fe  (gtounfatn, 

now  abbreviated  by  astronomers  fto  Mensa,  is  translated  by  the  French  as 
Montagne  de  la  Table ;  by  the  Italians,  as  Monte  Tavola ;  and  by  the  Ger- 
mans, as  Tafelberg. 

La  Caille,  who  did  so  much  for  our  knowledge  of  the  southern  heavens, 
formed  the  figure  from  stars  under  the  Greater  Cloud,  between  the  poles  of 
the  equator  and  the  ecliptic,  just  north  of  the  polar  Octans ;  the  title  being 
suggested  by  the  fact  that  the  Table  Mountain,  back  of  Cape  Town, 
"  which  had  witnessed  his  nightly  vigils  and  daily  toils,"  also  was  frequently 
capped  by  a  cloud. 

Gould  found  in  the  constellation  44  naked-eye  stars,  the  brightest  being 
of  5.3  magnitude;  but  within  its  borders  is  a  portion  of  the  Nubecula 
Major. 


(Utilised  QustxatiQ  vtt  ^nbica,  f  $e  £(cuf0trn,  or  3nbidn,  SFg, 

the  French  Mouche  Australe  on  Indienne,  the  German  Sfidliehe  Fliege, 
and  the  Italian  Mosea  Australe,  lies  partly  in  the  Milky  Way,  south  of  the 
Cross,  and  east  of  the  Chamaeleon. 

This  title  generally  is  supposed  to  have  been  substituted  by  La  Caille, 
about  1752,  for  Bayer's  Apis,  the  Bee;  but  Halley,  in  1679,  had  called  it 
Mnaea  Apis ;  and  even  previous  to  him,  Riccioli  catalogued  it  as  Apis  seu 
Mosea.  Even  in  our  day  the  idea  of  a  Bee  prevails,  for  Stieler's  Plani- 
sphere of  1872  has  Biene,  and  an  alternative  title  in  France  is  Abeille. 

The  modern  Chinese  translate  Bayer's  title  as  Meih  Fung,  and  have  so 
known  it  since  the  1 6th  century. 

Julius  Schiller  united  it  with  the  Bird  of  Paradise  and  the  Chamaeleon  as 
mother  Eve. 

Gould  assigned  to  it  75  stars,  of  magnitudes  from  2.9  to  7 ;  these  culmi- 
nating, with  the  Cross,  about  the  middle  of  May. 


292  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 


QXtuecA  QjJoreafte,  tfle  (Jtortfcrn  $%, 

the  small  group  of  3^-  to  sth-magnitude  stars  over  the  back  of  the  Ram,  is 
the  Italian  Motoa,  the  French  Mouche,  and  the  German  Fliege. 

Houzeau  attributed  its  formation  to  Habrecht,  but  others  to  Bartschius, 
who  called  it  Vespa,  the  Wasp,  although  also  Apis,  the  Bee ;  and,  still  fur- 
ther changing  the  figure,  wrote  that  it  represented  Beel-sebul,  the  god  of 
flies,  the  Phoenician  Baal-zebub;  this  insect  being  the  ideograph  of  that 
heathen  divinity,  varied  at  times  by  the  Scarabaeus.  La  Lande's  Apes 
probably  is  a  typographical  error.  To  whom  we  owe  its  present  title  I  can 
not  learn;  but  it  is  thus  given  in  the  Flamsteed  Atlas  of  178 1. 

The  constellation  has  been  retained  in  some  popular  astronomical  worts 
although  not  figured  by  the  scientific  Argelander,  Heis,  nor  Klein,  nor 
recognized  in  the  British  Association  Catalogue. 

Ptolemy  included  its  stars  in  the  five  dfiop^roi  of  his  Kptdc,  the  Ram. 

Its  chief  components,  Fl.  41,  33,  35,  and  39  of  Aries,  were  common  to 
the  28th  nakshatra,  Barani,  Bearer,  or  Apha  Barani, — Yama,  the  ruler  of 
the  spirit  world,  being  the  presiding  divinity ;  Fl.  35  being  the  junction 
star  towards  the  nakshatra  Krittika.  They  also  formed  the  sie u  Oei  or  Wai, 
anciently  Vij  ;  and  the  manzil  Britain.  But  as  these  Chinese  and  Arabic 
titles,  signifying  Belly,  1.  e.  of  the  Ram,  do  not  coincide  with  the  present 
location  of  the  stars,  we  may  infer  a  change  from  the  earlier  drawings  of 
Aries.  Al  Tizini's  ffa'ir  al  Butain,  the  Bright  One  of  the  Little  Belly,  prob- 
ably was  41,  a  3.6-magnitude.  These  same  stars,  p  being  added,  were  the 
Persian  lunar  station  Pish  Parvii,  the  Sogdian  Barv,  the  Khorasmian  Fa- 
rankhand,  the  Forerunners,  and  the  Coptic  Koleon,  the  Belly,  or  Scabbard. 
Flamsteed's  41,  35,  and  39  formed  another  of  the  Arabs'  Athaflyy. 

Musca  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  17th  of  December. 

Instead  of  the  Fly,  Royer  figured  here,  in  1679,  the  Lily,  le  Lil  orle 
Fleur  de  Lis,  with  the  French  coat  of  arms,  but  this  has  entirely  passed  out 
of  the  books  and  maps. 


(TtorfuA,  f&  (Ttt$f  0*f, 

has  been  added  by  some  modern  to  the  already  overweighted  Hydra.  I1 
is  shown  by  Burritt  perched  upon  the  extreme  tail-tip  of  that  figure,  but 
encroaching  on  the  boundary  of  the  Southern  Scale. 


The  Constellations  293 

Its  location  formerly  was  occupied  by  Le  Monnier's  Solitaire,  but  neither 
of  these  asterisms  is  now  recognized. 


(Itormd  et  (Regufa,  tfye  &mf  dnb  Square, 

originally  was  composed  of  some  unformed  stars  of  Ara  and  Lupus,  within 
the  branches  of  the  Milky  Way,  just  north  of  Apus ;  but  later  it  be- 
came the  Southern  Triangle  of  Theodor  and  Bayer.  According  to  Ideler, 
it  was  altered  by  La  Caille  to  its  present  form,  and  associated  with  a  Pair 
of  Compasses,  the  constellation  Circinus,  next  to  it  on  the  north,  adjoining 
the  fore  feet  of  the  Centaur.  Modern  astronomers,  however,  call  it  simply 
Norma,  and  locate  it  as  an  entirely  distinct  constellation  to  the  north  of 
and  adjoining  the  Triangle. 

It  is  sometimes  given  as  Quadra  Euclidis,  Euclid's  Square,  not  Quadrant 
as  it  often  is  incorrectly  translated. 

The  French  edition  of  Flamsteed's  Atlas  of  1776  has  it  as  Niveau,  the 
Level;  and  Houzeau  cites  Libella  of  the  same  meaning;  but  in  France  it 
now  is  l'£querre  et  la  Bftgle;  in  Italy,  Riga  e  Squadra;  and  in  Germany, 
Lineal  or  Winkelmass. 

Norma  contains  64  naked-eye  stars,  from  4.6  to  7th  magnitudes,  but 
none  seem  to  be  named.  They  culminate  about  the  4th  of  July,  their 
northern  limit  15°  south  from  the  star  Antares,  and  so  are  visible  only  in 
low  latitudes. 

La  Caille's  a  Normae  lies  within  the  present  limits  of  our  Scorpio. 

In  Norma  appeared  in  1893  a  7th-magnitude  nova  detected  by  Mrs. 
Margaret  Fleming  on  a  photograph  taken  on  the  1st  of  July  at  the  Harvard 
Observatory's  station  near  Arequipa,  although  it  never  was  visually  observed. 
Special  interest  attaches  to  it  from  the  identity  of  its  spectrum  with  that 
of  the  nova  Aurigae  of  the  preceding  year,  the  first  two  of  their  kind  dis- 
covered. 

The  appearance  of  two  new  stars  at  such  a  short  interval  is  also  no- 
ticeable, as  Miss  Clerke  says  that  only  about  eighteen  had  been  recorded 
since  the  days  of  Hipparchos ;  Professor  Young  reducing  this  to  eleven  as 
certainly  known  down  to  1892  ;  but  observers  have  greatly  increased  in  re- 
cent years,  the  heavens  are  better  known  than  formerly,  and  the  camera 

i9» 


294  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

shows  what  the  eye,  aided  even  by  the  best  telescope,  cannot, —  all  factors 
in  the  problem  of  the  detection  of  these  strangers.  The  photographs  retain 
impressions  of  thousands  of  stars,  while  the  visual  observer  practically  is 
limited  to  a  few  hundred. 


(ftuBecufae  (SUgeffani,  f$e  (JlUgdfamc  Cfouta, 

were  the  Cape  Clouds  of  the  earliest  navigators,  being  the  prominent  heav- 
enly objects  seen  as  they  neared  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  but  after 
Magellan  became  noted  and  fully  described  them,  they  took  and  have  re- 
tained his  name.  The  Latin  word  is  the  diminutive  of  nudes,  and  literally 
signifies  "  the  Little  Clouds." 

Miss  Mitchell  alluded  to  them  as  the  Magellan  Patches ;  and  Smyth,  as 
the  Sacks  of  Coals  of  English  navigators;  but  the  latter  term  generally  has 
been  applied  to  the  darkly  vacant  spaces  in  the  Milky  Way  near  the 
Northern  and  the  Southern  Cross,  and  to  one  near  the  Robur  Carolinum. 

Although  Bayer  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  figure  them,  they  were 
thus  mentioned  by  Peter  Martyr  in  Eden's  Decades  : 

Coompasinge  abowte  the  poynt  thereof,  they  myght  see  throughowte  al  the  heaven  about 
the  same,  certeyne  shynynge  whyte  cloudes  here  and  there  amonge  the  starres,  like  unto 
theym  whiche  are  seene  in  the  tracte  of  heaven  cauled  Lactea  via,  that  is  the  mylke  whyte 
waye: 

and  by  Corsali : 

[We]  sawe  manifestly  twoo  clowdes  of  reasonable  bygnesse  movynge  abowt  the  place 
of  the  pole  continually  now  rysynge  and  now  faulynge,  so  keepynge  theyr  continuall  course 
in  circular  movynge,  with  a  starre  ever  in  the  myddest  which  is  turned  abowt  with  them 
abowte  .xi.  degrees  frome  the  pole. 

This  star  is  y  Hydri,  a  3.2-magnitude  red,  now  15°  from  the  pole. 

According  to  Ellis,  the  Polynesian  Islanders  called  the  clouds  lUhn, 
Mist,  distinguishing  them  as  Upper  and  Lower;  and  Gill,  in  his  stories  oi 
the  natives  of  the  Hervey  group,  cited  their  somewhat  similar  Hga  MafL 

Russell's  photographs,  taken  at  Sydney  in  1890,  show  them  to  be  spiral 
in  formation,  each  with  two  centres  of  condensation,  and,  as  Doctor  William 
Whewell  wrote  in  his  Plurality  of  Worlds,  composed  of  "  masses  of  stars, 
clusters  of  stars,  nebulae  regular  and  irregular,  and  nebulous  streaks  and 


The  Constellations  295 

patches."  The  space  around  them  is  very  blank,  especially  in  the  case  of 
the  Minor,  "  as  if  the  cosmical  material  in  the  neighborhood  had  been  swept 
up  and  garnered  in  these  mighty  groups." 

Together  they  serve  to  show  the  location  of  the  pole,  marking  two  angles 
of  a  nearly  equilateral  triangle,  of  which  the  polar  point  is  the  third. 


Q}u6ecufa  Qgiajor,  1 0e  greater  Cfoud, 

Hubes  Major  with  Royer,  is  the  Italian  tfube  Maggiore,  the  French  Grand 
Vuage,  and  the  German  Gtomo  Wolke. 

It  lies  in  the  constellations  Dorado  and  Mons  Mensae,  200  from  the 
south  pole,  covering  an  irregular  space  in  the  sky  of  about  forty-two 
square  degrees ;  but  the  intensity  of  its  light  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  Lesser 
Cloud  and  is  obliterated  by  the  full  moon.  According  to  Flammarion,  it 
contains  291  distinct  nebulae,  46  clusters,  and  582  stars. 

Al  Sufi  mentioned  it  as  Al  Bakr,  the  White  Ox,  of  the  southern  Arabs, 
and  invisible  from  Baghdad,  or  northern  Arabia,  but  visible  from  the  parallel 
of  the  Strait  of  Babd  al  Mandab,  in  120  15'  of  north  latitude.  Ideler  trans- 
lated this  as  the  Oxen  of  Tehama, —  Tehama  being  a  province  on  the  Red 
Sea ;  this  title  probably  includes  the  companion  cloud. 

Julius  Schiller  combined  it  with  Dorado  and  Piscis  Volans  in  his  biblical 
figure  Abel  the  Just 


©uBecufa  (gttnor,  i 0e  feeeeer  £foud, 

Babes  Minor  with  Royer,  is  the  Vube  Minore  of  the  Italians,  the  Petit 
Huage  of  the  French,  and  the  KLeine  Wolke  of  the  Germans.  It  lies 
within  the  borders  of  Hydrus  and  Tucana,  with  which  Julius  Schiller  fash- 
ioned it  into  the  archangel  Raphael. 

According  to  Flammarion,  it  contains  37  nebulae,  7  clusters,  and  200 
stars,  and  covers  about  ten  square  degrees,  the  immediately  surrounding 
space  being  almost  devoid  of  stars,  or,  as  Sir  John  Herschel  wrote,  "  most 
oppressively  desolate,"  and  access  to  it  on  all  sides  "  is  through  a  desert." 

Close  to  it,  between  r\  Hydri  and  k  Tucanae,  is  the  centre  of  the  con- 
stellational  vacancy  of  2400  to  2000  b.  c,  marking  the  place  of  the  south 
pole  of  that  date. 


296  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 


Hie  vertex  nobis  semper  sublimis;  at  ilium 
Sub  pedibus  Styx  atra  videt,  Manesque  profundi. 

Vergil's  1st  Ckorgk. 


Octane  £)abfeianu0, 


now  known  simply  as  Octant,  was  formed  and  published  by  La  Caille  in 
1752  in  recognition  of  the  octant  invented  in  1730  by  John  Hadley.  It 
is  the  French  Octant,  the  German  Oktant,  and  the  Italian  Ottante.  The 
French  edition  of  Flamsteed's  Atlas  has  it  as  l'Octans  Inflexion. 

Gould  assigns  to  it  88  naked-eye  stars  down  to  the  7th  magnitude;  the 
brightest,  v,  being  only  of  3.8 ;  but  the  constellation  is  noteworthy  as 
marking  the  south  pole,  its  5.8-magnitude  a  being  about  }£  of  a  degree 
away.  A  straight  line  from  a  Crucis  to  0  Hydri  almost  touches  the  pole 
at  yi  of  the  distance  from  the  latter  star. 

Ancient  references  to  a  south  pole  are  of  course  infrequent;  Ovid,  how- 
ever, makes  Phoebus  allude  to  it  in  his  instructions  to  Phaethon ;  Vergil 
mentions  it  as  in  our  motto ;  Creech  thus  renders  from  Manilius : 

the  lower  pole  resemblance  bears 
To  this  above,  and  shines  with  equal  Stars ; 

and  Pliny  tells  us  that  the  Hindus  had  given  it  a  name,  Dramasa, — 
Austrinum  Polum  Indi  Dramasa  vocant. 

The  heathen  Arabs,  too,  seem  to  have  had  some  knowledge  of  it,  for  they 
imagined  that,  like  its  northern  counterpart,  it  exercised  a  healing  power  on 
all  afflicted  persons  who  would  attentively  observe  it. 

The  early  navigators  commented  more  or  less  correctly  on  the  blankness 
of  the  heavens  in  this  region,  and  Peter  Martyr  wrote : 

They  knewe  no  starre  there  lyke  unto  this  pole,  that  myght  be  decerned  aboate  the 
poynte ; 

Pigafetta,  in  his  description  of  the  Magellanic  Clouds : 

Betweene  these,  are  two  starres  not  very  bigge,  nor  much  shyninge,  which  move  a  little: 
and  these  two  are  the  pole  Antartike, — 

probably  the  colored  stars  /3  and  y  Hydri  of  about  the  3d  magnitude: 

and  Camoes: 

Vimos  a  parte  menos  rutilante, 
E  por  falta  d'estrellas  menos  bella 
Do  polo  fixo, 


The  Constellations  297 

which  probably  refers  to  the  same  thing,  but  which  his  translator  Aubertin 
claims  as  an  allusion  to  the  Coal-sack,  or  Soot-bag.  Vespucci,  on  the  other 
hand,  strangely  stated,  in  his  Lettera  of  1505,  that  "  the  stars  of  the  pole  of 
the  south  .  .  .  are  numerous,  and  much  larger  and  more  brilliant  than 
those  of  our  pole";  and  that  he  saw  in  the  southern  sky  about  twenty 
stars  as  bright  as  Venus  and  Jupiter.  Ideler's  comment  on  Vespucci,  in 
this  connection,  is  "  the  greater  part  of  his  news  is  of  this  reliable  char- 
acter ! "  Even  now  it  is  the  popular  opinion  that  the  South  is  richer  in 
stars  than  is  the  North;  Tennyson  expressing  this  in  Locksley  Hall: 

Larger  constellations  burning. 


Officind  £gpogrdj>#icd,  tfle  (print ing  Office, 

was  formed  by  Bode  —  at  all  events,  first  published  by  him  —  from  stars 
immediately  east  of  Sirius;  but  it  is  seldom  found  on  the  maps  of  our  day, 
nor  recognized  by  astronomers,  although  Father  Secchi  inserted  it  on  his 
planisphere  of  1878. 

Italian  lists  have  it  as  Tipografia,  and  the  German  as  Buchdmoker  Presse, 
or  Bnchdrucker  Werkatadt. 


.     .     .     the  length  of  Ophiuchus  huge 

In  th'  arctic  sky. 

Milton's  Paradise  Lost. 

Qpfyucfyu*  t>ef  ^etpenfdriuB,  t$e  Serpent  *0ofber, 

not  Ophiuohnfl  Serpentarius,  is  Ofiuco  with  the  Italians,  Sohlangentrager 
with  the  Germans,  and  Serpentaire  with  the  French. 

It  stretches  from  just  east  of  the  head  of  Hercules  to  Scorpio,  partly  in 
the  Milky  Way,  divided  nearly  equally  by  the  celestial  equator;  but,  al- 
though always  shown  with  the  Serpent,  the  catalogues  have  its  stars  entirely 
distinct  from  the  latter.  The  classical  Hyginus,  however,  united  the  two 
figures  into  a  single  constellation,  and  some  early  nations,  especially  the 
Sogdians  and  Khorasmians,  did  the  same,  the  stars  being  intermingled  in 
their  nomenclature. 


298  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  original  title,  'O0tov#o£,  appeared  in  the  earliest  Greek  astronomy ; 
ftoyepds,  "  toiling,"  being  an  adjectival  appellation  in  the  Phainonuna. 

Transliterated  as  in  our  title  it  was  best  known  to  the  Latins,  but  also  as 
Ophiulchus,  Ophiulons,  Ophiultns,  and,  in  the  diminutive,  Ophiuculn*  and 
Ophiulculiu ;  while  the  classical  word  plainly  shows  itself  in  the  Afeichm, 
Afeichius,  and  Alpheiohiufl  of  the  16th  and  17th  centuries. 

Serpen tarius  first  appeared  with  the  scholiast  on  Germanicus,  while  Ser- 
pentiger,  Serpentia  Lator,  Serpentis  Praeses,  and  Serpentinarius  are  seen 
for  it;  as  also  the  Anguifer  of  Columella,  which  was  Angniger  elsewhere. 
Cicero  and  Manilius  had  the  peculiar  Anguitenens.  Golius  insisted  that 
this  sky  figure  represents  a  Serpent-charmer,  one  of  the  Psylli  of  Libya, 
noted  for  their  skill  in  curing  the  bites  of  poisonous  serpents;  and  this 
would  seem  to  be  confirmed  by  the  constellation's  title  le  Psylle  in  Schjei 
lerup's  edition  of  Al  Sufi's  work. 

But  the  Serpent-holder  generally  was  identified  with  'AcKktfmd^,1  Aaclepioe, 
or  Aesoulapiua,  whom  King  James  I  described  as  "  a  mediciner  after  made 
a  god,"  with  whose  worship  serpents  were  always  associated  as  symbols  of 
prudence,  renovation,  wisdom,  and  the  power  of  discovering  healing  herbs. 
Educated  by  his  father  Apollo,  or  by  the  Centaur  Chiron,  Aesculapius  was 
the  earliest  of  his  profession  and  the  ship's  surgeon  of  the  Argo.  When  the 
famous  voyage  was  over  he  became  so  skilled  in  practice  that  he  even  re- 
stored the  dead  to  life,  among  these  being  Hippolytus,  of  whom  King 
James  wrote : 

Hippolyte.  After  his  members  were  drawin  in  sunder  by  foure  horses,  Esculapius  a: 
Neptun's  request  glewed  them  together  and  revived  him. 

But  several  such  successful  operations  and  numerous  remarkable  cures, 
and  especially  the  attempt  to  revive  the  dead  Orion,  led  Pluto,  who  feared 
for  the  continuance  of  his  kingdom,  to  induce  Jove  to  strike  Aesculapius 
with  a  thunderbolt  and  put  him  among  the  constellations. 

The  figure  also  was  associated  with  Caecius,  the  Blinding  One,  slain  by 
Hercules  and  celebrated  by  Dante  in  the  Inferno  ;  indeed,  it  is  said  that  the 

1  According  to  Greek  tradition,  he  was  a  lineal  ancestor  of  the  great  physician  Hippocrates; 
and  Doctor  Francis  Adams,  in  his  Genuine  Works  of  Hippocrates,  writes: 

A  genealogical  table,  professing  to  give  a  list  of  names  of  bis  forefathers,  up  to  Aesculapius,  has  been  tnw 
mitted  to  us  from  remote  antiquity . 

This  list,  from  the  Chiliads  of  Tretzes  of  our  iath  century,  makes  Hippocrates  the  15*  in 
descent  from  Aesculapius  through  his  son  Pod  al  in  us,  who,  with  his  brother  Machaon.  vis 
an  army  surgeon,  as  well  as  a  valiant  fighter  before  the  walls  of  Troy. 

The  name  and  the  profession  were  continued  in  the  Asclepiadae,  an  order  of  priest-physi- 
cians long  noted  in  Greece. 


The  Constellations  299 

Hero  himself  was  assigned  to  these  stars  by  Hyginus,  and  gave  them  his 
name :  a  confusion  that  may  have  arisen  because  the  boundaries  between 
the  two  stellar  groups  were  at  first  ill  defined,  or  from  the  similarity  of  their 
original  myths  to  that  of  Izhdubar  and  the  dragon  Tiamat.  It  also  repre- 
sented Triopas,  king  of  the  Perrhaebians ;  Carnabon,  Carnabas,  and  Canta- 
tas, the  slayer  of  Triopas;  Phorbas,  his  Thessalian  son,  who  freed  Rhodes 
from  snakes ;  Cadmus  changed  to  a  serpent ;  Jason  pursuing  the  golden- 
fleeced  Aries ;  Aeneas,  from  the  story  of  Hesperia ;  Aristaens,  from  the 
story  of  Eurydice ;  Laocoftn  struggling  with  the  serpent ;  and  Caesius,  or 
Qlaueus,  the  sea-god,  although  this  latter  title,  identified  by  some  with  that 
of  Androgens,  may  have  come  from  that  namesake  who  was  restored  to  life 
by  Aesculapius. 

The  Arabians  translated  the  Greek  name  into  Al  9aww&,  which  Asse- 
mani  repeated  as  Alhava,  Collector  serpentum ;  but  it  appeared  on  the 
globes  as  Al  Haur,  turned  by  the  Moors  into  Al  Hague,  and  by  early  astro- 
nomical writers  into  Alangne,  Hasalangue,  and  Alange ;  the  Turks  having 
the  similar  Yilange.  It  has  been  suggested,  however,  that  these  may  have 
come  from  the  Latin  Anguis,  a  word  that  the  astronomical  Arabians  and 
Moors  well  knew. 

Euphratean  astronomers  knew  it,  or  a  part  of  it  with  Serpens,  as  Hu- 
tsir-da;  and  Brown  associates  it  with  8a-gi-mu,  the  God  of  Invocation. 

Pliny  said  that  these  stars  were  dangerous  to  mankind,  occasioning  much 
mortality  by  poisoning;  while  Milton  compared  Satan  to  the  burning 
comet  that  "  fires  "  this  constellation, —  a  comparison  perhaps  suggested  by 
the  fact  that  noticeable  comets  appeared  here  in  the  years  1495, 1523,  1537, 
and  1569,  which  might  well  have  been  known  to  Milton,  for  Lord  Bacon 
wrote  in  his  Astronomy  : 

Comets  have  more  than  once  appeared  in  our  time ;  first  in  Cassiopeia,  and  again  in 
Ophiuchus. 

Novidius  changed  the  figure  to  that  of  Saint  Paul  with  the  Maltese 
Viper ;  Caesius  gave  it  as  Aaron,  whose  staff  became  a  serpent,  or  as  Hoses, 
who  lifted  up  the  Brazen  Serpent  in  the  Wilderness;  but  Julius  Schiller, 
far  more  appropriately,  made  of  it  Saint  Benedict  in  the  midst  of  the  thorns, 
for  it  was  this  founder  of  the  order  of  the  Benedictine  monks  who,  with  his 
followers  in  the  6th  century,  inspired  and  carried  on  all  the  learning  of  the 
times,  as  Aesculapius-Ophiuchus  had  done  in  his  day. 

The  constellation  generally  has  been  shown  as  an  elderly  man,  probably 
copied  from  the  celebrated  statue  at  Epidaurus ;  but  the  Leyden  Manuscript 
and  the  planisphere  of  the  monk  Geruvigus  represent  it  as  an  unclad  boy 


300  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

standing  on  the  Scorpion  and  holding  the  Serpent  in  his  hands;  and  the 
Hyginus  of  1488  has  a  somewhat  similar  representation. 

Bayer  added  to  his  titles  for  Ophiuchus  Grus  aut  Ciconia  SerpenA  cum 
inscription* ,  Elhagut,  insistens,  which  he  said  was  from  the  Moors,  but 
Ideler  asserted  was  from  a  drawing  of  a  Crane,  or  Stork,  on  a  Turkish 
planisphere  instead  of  the  customary  figure;  and  the  Almagest  of  1551 
alludes  to  Ciconia  as  if  it  were  a  well-known  title.  All  this,  perhaps,  may 
be  traced  to  ancient  India,  whose  mythology  was  largely  astronomical,  and 
the  Adjutant-bird,  Ciconia  arga/a,  prominent  in  worship  as  typifying  the 
moon-god  Soma,  so  that  its  devotees  would  only  be  following  custom  in 
locating  it  among  the  stars. 

Although  this  is  not  one  of  the  zodiac  twelve,  Mr.  Royal  Hill  writes: 

Out  of  the  twenty-five  days,  from  the  21st  of  November  to  the  16th  of  December,  which 
the  sun  spends  in  passing  from  Libra  to  Sagittarius,  only  nine  are  spent  in  the  Scorpion. 
the  other  sixteen  being  occupied  in  passing  through  Ophiuchus. 

Thus,  according  to  his  idea  of  the  boundaries,  this  actually  is  more  of  a 
zodiacal  constellation  than  is  the  Scorpion.  But  the  boundaries  are  very 
variously  given  by  uranographers. 

Argelander  enumerates  in  it  73  naked-eye  stars,  and  Heis  113. 

It  was  in  Ophiuchus  that  appeared,  a.  d.  123,  the  second  nova  of  which 
we  have  reliable  record,  the  first  having  been  that  of  Hipparchos,  134  b.  c, 
in  Scorpio.  At  least  three  other  such  have  appeared  in  Ophiuchus:  one 
in  1230 ;  another,  the  so-called  Kepler's  Star,  discovered  by  Kepler's  pupil 
Brunowski,  on  the  10th  of  October,  1604,  in  the  eastern  foot  near  0,  which 
gave  Galileo  opportunity  for  his  "  onslaught  upon  the  Aristotelian  axiom 
of  the  incorruptibility  of  the  heavens  " ;  and  a  third,  discovered  on  the  28th  of 
April,  1848,  by  Hind  as  of  the  4th  magnitude,  and  still  visible  as  of  the 
nth  or  1 2th. 

Citing  Firmicus  as  authority,  La  Lande  wrote : 

II  met  le  Bernard  au  nord  du  Scorpion  avec  Ophiuchus ; 
but  I  do  not  find  this  Fox  elsewhere  alluded  to. 


tt,     2.2,     sapphire. 

Has  alhague,  or  Rasalague,  is  from  Has  al  Hawwa ,  the  Head  of  the 
Serpent-charmer,  the  Moorish  El  Hauwe,  the  first  being  its  only  title  with 
Bayer.     The  Alfonsine  Tables  of  15  21  have  Rasalauge,  and  the  original  has 


The  Constellations  301 

been  variously  altered  into  Ras  Alhagas,  Has  Alhagus,  Rasalange,  Ras  al 
Hangue,  Rasalangne,  Ras  Alaghne,  Rasalhagh,  Alhague,  and  Alangue. 
The  occasional  Azalange  has  been  traced  to  the  Turkish  title  for  the  con- 
stellation ;  but  "  a  universal  star-name  from  that  nation  does  not  seem  proba- 
ble," and  it  is  more  likely  that  the  Turks  adopted  and  altered  the  Arabic. 
Has  al  HayTO  also  has  been  seen  for  the  star;  and  the  Century  Cyclopedia 
mentions  Hawwa  as  rarely  used. 

Kazwini  cited  Al  Rai,  the  Shepherd,  from  the  early  Arabs,  which,  al- 
though now  a  title  for  y  Cephei,  may  have  come  here  from  the  adjacent 
Raudah,  or  Pasture;  the  near-by  a  Herculis,  6°  to  the  west,  being  Kalb 
al  Rai,  the  Shepherd's  Dog;  while  neighboring  stars,  the  present  Club  of 
Hercules,  marked  the  Flock. 

In  China  a  was  How,  the  Duke ;  and  the  small  surrounding  stars,  Hwan 
Chay,  a  title  duplicated  at  those  in  the  hand. 

Its  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  the  star  is  receding  from  us  about  twelve  miles 
a  second.     It  culminates  on  the  28th  of  July. 


P>     3-3>    yellow. 

Cebalrai,  Celbalrai,  and  Cheleb  are  from  Kalb  al  Ra'L  "  The  Heart 
of  the  Shepherd,"  which  Brown  gives  as  the  meaning  of  his  Celabrai,  is  erro- 
neous, doubtless  from  confusion  of  the  Arabic  Kalb,  Heart,  and  Kalb,  Dog. 

The  star  is  90  southeast  of  a,  and  50  west  of  Taurus  Poniatovii,  the 
Polish  Bull,  now  included  in  Ophiuchus. 


T>     4.3, 

has  been  called  Muliphen,  but  I  cannot  trace  it  here,  although  this  title  is 
famous  in  other  parts  of  the  sky. 

0  and  y  were  Taring  Ching  in  China. 

70  Ophiuchi,  east  of  0  and  y  in  the  stars  of  the  Polish  Bull,  now  dis- 
carded, is  a  most  interesting  binary  system,  with  a  period  of  about  eighty- 
eight  years.  The  component  stars  are  of  4.1  and  6.1  magnitudes,  yellow 
and  purple  in  color,  their  distance  varying  from  i/;.7  to  6".  7;  in  1898  it  was 
2//.o5,  and  the  position  angle  2800.  Its  parallax,  o".  16,  indicates  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty  light  years,  and  certain  irregularities  in  motion  show  that 
there  may  be  an  invisible  companion. 


302  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

5,     2.8,    deep  yellow, 

is  Ted  Prior,  the  Former  of  the  two  stars  in  the  Hand, —  the  Arabic  Tad, — 
originating  with  Bayer,  adopted  by  Flamsteed,  and  now  common.  It  is 
sometimes  written  Jed. 

It  was  Leang,  a  Mast,  in  China. 

S,     3.8,    red. 

Ted  Posterior,  the  star  Behind,  or  Following,  <?,  is  found  on  our  modem 
lists,  but  was  not  given  by  Bayer. 

In  China  it  was  Tsoo,  the  name  of  one  of  the  feudal  states ;  and,  with  1 
and  some  other  stars,  is  said  to  have  formed  Hwan  Chay. 

The  two  stars  Yed,  with  f  and  rj  Ophiuchi  and  a,  <J,  and  e  of  Serpens,  con- 
stituted the  Vasak  al  Yamaniyy,  the  Southern  Boundary  Line  of  the 
Raudah,  or  Pasture,  which  here  occupied  a  large  portion  of  the  heavens ; 
other  stars  in  Ophiuchus  and  Hercules  forming  the  Vasak  al  Shiiniyyah, 
or  Northern  Boundary.  The  stars  between  these  two  Nasak  marked  the 
Raudah  itself  and  Al  Aghnam,  the  Sheep  within  it,  now  the  Club  of  Her- 
cules. These  sheep  were  guarded  by  the  Shepherd  and  his  Dog,  the  two 
lucidae  marking  the  heads  of  Ophiuchus  and  Hercules. 

c  was  the  Euphratean  Hita^-bat,  the  Man  of  Death.  Coincidently,  u  in 
modern  astrology,  which  contains  some  singular  survivals,  the  Hand  of 
Ophiuchus  is  said  to  be  a  star  '  of  evil  influence.' " 

6  and  e  point  out  the  left  hand  grasping  the  body  of  the  Serpent ;  r  and 
v,  the  other  hand,  holding  the  tail. 

£,  2.8,  near  the  left  knee,  was  the  Chinese  Han,  an  old  feudal  state. 

It  sometimes  shared  with  tj  the  title  Sabik,  or  Preceding  One,  attached 
to  the  latter  star  in  Al  Tizini's  catalogue. 

Brown  thinks  that,  with  e,  it  marked  the  Akkadian  lunar  asterism  Mulu- 
bat,  the  Man  of  Death ;  with  77,  0,  and  f ,  the  Persian  Garafsa,  or  Serpent- 
tamer;  with  rj,  the  Sogdian  Bastham,  Bound,  "/.  e.  Ophiuchus  enveloped  in 
the  coils  of  Ophis";  and  the  Khorasmian  Sardhiwa,  the  Head  of  the  Evil 
One. 

T^     2.6,     pale  yellow, 

is  Sabik  with  Al  Tizini,  f  often  being  included ;  but  Beigel  thought  that  the 
name  should  be  Saik,  the  Driver. 

Brown  combines  rj,  6,  and  f  in  the  Akkadian  Tsir,  or  Sir,  the  Snake. 

In  China  it  was  Sung,  another  of  the  early  feudal  states. 


The  Constellations  303 


% 


34, 


lies  on  the  right  foot,  only  a  little  to  the  southwest  of  the  place  of  the  noted 
Kepler's  Star,  the  nova  of  1604. 

Epping  says  that  the  25th  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia  was  marked 
by  it  as  Kaah-fhnd  8ha-ka-tar-pa,  of  undetermined  signification. 

With  f  it  was  the  Sogdian  Wajrik,  the  Magician;  the  Khorasmian 
Markhanhik,  the  Serpent-bitten;  and  the  Coptic  Tshio,  the  Snake,  and 
Aggia,  the  Magician ;  i\  being  included  in  the  last  two. 

With  adjacent  stars  it  was  the  Chinese  Tien  Kiang,  the  Heavenly  River. 

l>  a  4^-magnitude,  was  Ho,  one  of  the  dry  measures  of  China,  but  this 
title  included  *  and  two  other  near-by  stars  of  Hercules. 

Gould  thinks  that  it  may  be  variable. 

/*,    Binary,    4  and  6,    yellowish  white  and  smalt  blue. 

Marfic,  or  Marflk,  is  from  the  similar  Arabic  Al  Marfik,  the  Elbow,  which 
it  marks.  Bayer,  Burritt,  and  probably  others  have  it  Manic,  doubtless 
from  confounding  the  antique  forms  of  the  letters/  and  s.  This  same  title 
appears  for  k  Herculis. 

With  neighboring  stars  the  Chinese  knew  it  as  Lee  Sze,  a  Series  of  Shops. 

The  components  are  i".6  apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  530  in  1897, 
and  an  estimated  period  of  revolution  of  234  years. 

vj  a  4^4 -magnitude,  was  She  Low,  a  Market  Tower;  and  the  5th-magni- 
tudes  0,  Xj  V%  anc*  w  were  Tung  Han,  the  name  of  a  district  in  China. 


While  far  Orion  o'er  the  waves  did  walk 
That  flow  among  the  isles. 

Shelley's  Tfu  Revolt  of  Islam. 

Orion  with  his  glittering  belt  and  sword 
Gilded  since  time  has  been,  while  time  shall  be. 

Thou  splendid  soulless  warrior  !     What  to  thee, 
Marching  along  the  bloodless  fields,  are  we ! 

Lucy  Larcom's  Orion. 

4>rion,  tfle  <Bfonf ,  punter,  anb  Warrior, 

admired  in  all  historic  ages  as  the  most  strikingly  brilliant  of  the  stellar 
groups,  lies  partly  within  the  Milky  Way,  extending  on  both  sides  of  the 


304  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

celestial  equator  entirely  south  of  the  ecliptic,  and  so  is  visible  from  every 
part  of  the  globe. 

With  Theban  Greeks  of  Corinna's  time,  about  the  year  490  before  our 
era,  it  was  'Qapio>v,  the  initial  letter  having  taken  the  place  of  the  ancient 
digamraa,  f,  which,  pronounced  somewhat  like  the  letter  IV,  rendered  the 
early  word  akin  to  our  Warrior.  Corinna's  pupil  Pindar  followed  in  'Qapi- 
utveiog,  but  by  the  time  of  Euripides  the  present  fQpiu>v  prevailed,  and  we 
see  it  thus  in  Polymestor's  words  in  the  'Effa/fy  of  425  b.c.  : 

through  the  ether  to  the  lofty  ceiling, 
Where  Orion  and  Seirios  dart  from  their  eyes 
The  flaming  rays  of  fire. 

Catullus  transcribed  Oarion  from  Pindar,  shortened  to  Arion,  and  some- 
times changed  to  Aorion ;  but  the  much  later  Argion,  attributed  to  Finnicus, 
was  for  Procyon,  probably  from  'Apyoc,  the  faithful  dog  of  Ulixes. 

The  derivation  of  the  word  has  been  in  doubt,  but  Brown  refers  it  to  the 
Akkadian  Urn-anna,1  the  Light  of  Heaven,  originally  applied  to  the  sun,  as 
Uru-ki,  the  Light  of  Earth,  was  to  the  moon ;  so  that  our  title  may  have 
come  into  Greek  mythology  and  astronomy  from  the  Euphrates.  The 
Ovpiov,  Ovpov,  or  'Tpi&v  of  the  Hyriean,  or  Byrsaean,  story,  the  TTxion  of 
the  original  Alfonsine  Tables ',  graphically  explained  by  Minsheu,  is  in  no 
sense  an  acceptable  title,  although  Hyginus  and  Ovid  vouched  for  it,  thus 
showing  its  currency  in  their  day.  Caesius*  derivation  from  *£2pa,  as  it" 
marking  the  Seasons,  seems  fanciful. 

At  one  time  it  was  'AkerpoTrodiov,  found  in  the  Uranologia  of  Petavius  of 
the  1 6th  century,  which  Idelersaid  should  be  'AkeicTpom'tdiov,  Cock's  Foot, 
likening  the  constellation  to  a  Strutting  Cock ;  but  Brown  goes  back  to 
'A At/,  Roaming,  and  so  reads  it  'AAr/rpoTro&ov,  the  Foot-turning  Wanderer, 
mythologically  recorded  as  roaming  in  his  blindness  till  miraculously  re- 
stored to  sight  by  viewing  the  rising  sun. 

The  Boeotians,  according  to  Strabo,  fellow-countrymen  of  the  earthly 
Orion,  called  his  stars  Kavdduv,  their  alternative  title  for  "Apijc,  the  god  of  war. 
well  agreeing  with,  perhaps  originating,  the  Greek  conception  of  the  Warrior. 

Ovid  said  that  the  constellation  was  Comeoqne  Bootae;  and  some  au- 
thors asserted  that  Orion  never  set,  an  idea  possibly  coming  from  the  early 
confusion  in  name  with  Bootes  already  alluded  to;  although  even  as  to  that 
constellation  the  assertion  would  not  have  been  strictly  correct.  Matthew 
Arnold  similarly  wrote  in  his  Sohrab  and  Rustutn  : 

l  This  divinity  was  the  later  Chaldaeo-Assyrian  sun-god  Dumu-zi,  the  Son  of  Life,  or  Tarn- 
muz,  widely  known  in  classical  times  as  Adonis.    Aries  also  represented  him  in  the  sky. 


The  Constellations  305 

the  northern  Bear, 
Who  from  her  frozen  height  with  jealous  eye 
Confronts  the  Dog  and  Hunter  in  the  South. 

IManjae  Comes,  and  Amasius,  Companion,  and  Lover,  of  Diana,  were  other 
titles,  the  Hero,  after  his  death  from  the  Scorpion's  sting  inflicted  for  his 
boastfulness,  having  been  located  by  Jove  in  his  present  position,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  goddess,  that  he  might  escape  in  the  west  when  his  slayer,  the 
Scorpion,  rose  in  the  east, —  as  Aratos  said : 

When  the  Scorpion  comes 
Orion  flies  to  utmost  end  of  earth. 

Thompson  sees  in  this  alternate  rising  and  setting  of  these  two  sky  fig- 
ures an  astronomic  explanation  of  the  symbolism  in  classic  ornithology  of 
the  mutual  pursuit  and  flight  of  Haliaetos  and  Keiris,  the  Sea  Eagle  and 
Kingfisher,  compared  in  the  poem  Oris  to  these  opposed  constellations. 

In  Horace's  Odes  the  constellation  is  termed pronus;  and  Tennyson  had 

Great  Orion  sloping  slowly  to  the  west, 

which,  with  the  rest  of  the  beautiful  opening  passage,  adds  much  to  the 
charm  of  his  Locksley  HalL 

Homer,  who  made  but  a  single  allusion  in  the  Iliad  to  this  constellation, 
followed  by  a  parallel  passage  in  the  Odyssey,  wrote  of  "  the  might  of  huge 
Orion,**  and  described  the  earthly  hero  as  the  "  Illustrious  Orion,  the  tallest 
and  most  beautiful  of  men, — even  than  the  Aloidae,"  adjectives  all  well  ap- 
plied to  our  stellar  figure;  Hesiod  said: 

When  strong  Orion  chaces  to  the  deep  the  Virgin  stars  ; 

Pindar,  that  he  was  of  monstrous  size;  as  did  Manilius  in  his  Magna  pars 
rruzjci/na  coeli  ;  and  nearly  all  authors,  as  well  as  illustrators,  have  thus  de- 
scribed Orion,  and  as  an  armed  warrior.     In  the  End^rf  we  read : 

with  his  glittering  sword  Orion  arm'd; 

in  Ovid's  works,  of  ensiger  Orion;  in  Lucan^of  ensifer ;  and  Vergil  has 
a  fine  passage  in  the  Aeneid  quaintly  translated  in  15 13  by  the  "Scottis" 
Oavin  Douglas,  where  Palinurus 

Of  every  sterne  the  twynkling  notis  he 
That  in  the  still  hevin  move  cours  we  se, 
Arthurys  house,  and,  Hyades  betaikning  rane, 
Watling  strete,  the  Home  and  the  Charlewane, 
The  tiers  Orion  with  his  goldin  glave ; 

20 


306  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

these  last  a  very  liberal  translation  of  the  much  quoted  armatumque  auro. 
But  later  on  in  the  voyage,  when  the  fleet  was  off  Capreae,  the  old  pilot,  in 
his  astronomical  enthusiasm  dum  sidera  servat,  lost  his  balance,  and 
tumbled  overboard. 

The  constellation's  stormy  character  appeared  in  early  Hindu,  and  per- 
haps even  in  earlier  Euphratean  days,  and  is  seen  everywhere  among  classi- 
cal writers  with  allusions  to  its  direful  influence.  Vergil  termed  it  aqwsus, 
nimbosus,  and  saevus ;  Horace,  trisHs  and  nautis  infestus;  Pliny,  horndus 
sideribus;  and  the  Latin  sailors  had  a  favorite  saying,  Fallit  saepisdm 
nautas  Orion,  Polybios,  the  Greek  historian  of  the  second  century  before 
Christ,  attributed  the  loss  of  the  Roman  squadron  in  the  first  Punic  war  to 
its  having  sailed  just  after  "  the  rising  of  Orion  " ;  Hesibd  long  before  wrote 
of  this  same  rising : 

then  the  winds  war  aloud, 
And  veil  the  ocean  with  a  sable  cloud : 
Then  round  the  bark,  already  haul'd  on  shore, 
Lay  stones,  to  fix  her  when  the  tempests  roar ; 

and  Milton,  in  Paradise  Lost: 

when  with  fierce  winds  Orion  arm'd 
Hath  vex'd  the  Red-sea  coast,  whose  waves  o'erthrew 
Busiris  and  his  Memphian  chivalry. 

Many  classical  authors  variously  alluded  to  it  as  a  calendar  sign,  for  its 
morning  rising  indicated  the  beginning  of  summer,  when,  as  we  find  in  the 
Works  and  Days,  the  husbandman  was  instructed  to 

Forget  not,  when  Orion  first  appears, 

To  make  your  servants  thresh  the  sacred  ears; 

his  midnight  rising  marked  the  season  of  grape-gathering ;  and  his  evening 
appearance  the  approach  of  winter  and  its  attendant  storms :  an  opinion 
that  prevailed  as  late  as  the  17th  century,  for  in  the  Geneva  Bibb,  famil- 
iarly known  as  the  Breeches  Bible,  the  marginal  reading  in  the  Book  o/M 
xxxviii,  31,  is  "  which  starre  bringeth  in  winter."  Plautus,  Varro,  and  others 
called  the  constellation  Jngnla  and  Jugulae,  the  Joined,  referring  to  the 
umeri,  the  two  bright  stars  in  the  shoulders,  as  if  connected  by  the/itf* 
/um,  or  collar-bone.  Such,  at  least,  is  the  generally  received  derivation,  but 
Buttmann  claimed  it  as  from  jugulare,  and  hence  the  Slayer,  a  fitting  title 
for  the  Warrior. 

The  Syrians  knew  it  as  Gabbara ;  the  Arabians,  as  Al  Jabbar,  both  signify- 
ing "  the  Giant,"  IVyae  with  Ptolemy, —  and  in  Latin  days  occasionally  Giga*; 


The  Constellations  307 

the  Arabian  word  gradually  being  turned  into  Algebra,  Algebaro,  and,  es- 
pecially in  poetry,  Algebar,  which  Chilmead  gave  as  Algibbar. 

In  early  Arabia  Orion  was  Al  Jauzah,  a  word  also  used  for  stars  in  Gem- 
ini, and  much,  but  not  very  satisfactorily,  discussed  as  to  its  derivation  and 
meaning  in  its  stellar  connection.  It  is  often  translated  Giant,  but  errone- 
ously, for  it,  at  first,  had  no  personal  signification.  Originally  it  was  the 
term  used  for  a  black  sheep  with  a  white  spot  on  the  middle  of  the  body, 
and  thus  may  have  become  the  designation  for  the  middle  figure  of  the 
heavens,  which  from  its  preeminent  brilliancy  always  has  been  a  centre  of 
attraction.  Some  think  that  the  Belt  stars,  69  e,  £,  known  to  the  Arabs  as 
the  Golden  Huts,  first  bore  the  name  Jauzah,  either  from  another  meaning  of 
that  word, —  Walnut, —  or  because  they  lay  in  the  centre  of  the  splendid 
quadrangle  formed  by  a,  )3,  y,  and  * ;  or  from  their  position  on  the  equator, 
the  great  central  circle ;  the  title  subsequently  passing  to  the  whole  figure. 
Grotius  adopted  the  first  of  these  derivations,  quoting  from  Festus  the  pas- 
sage quasi  nuxjuglans,  that  a  lesser  light,  Robert  Hues,  thus  enlarged  upon : 

Now  Geuze  signifieth  a  Wall-nut ;  and  perhaps  they  allude  herein  to  the  Latine  word 
Jugula,  by  which  name  Festus  calleth  Orion  ;  because  he  is  greater  than  any  of  the  other 
Constellations,  as  a  Wall-nut  is  bigger  then  any  other  kinde  of  nut 

In  mediaeval  as  well  as  in  later  astronomy,  the  original  appears  in  degen- 
erate forms,  such  as  Elgeuze,  Geuze,  Jeuze,  and  the  Geuzazguar  of  Grotius. 

Al  Sufi's  story  of  the  feminine  Jauzah  has  been  noticed  at  the  star  Cano- 
pus  and  under  Canis  Minor. 

Hyde  quoted  from  an  Arabian  astronomer,  Al  Bahadur,  the  Strong  One, 
as  a  popular  term  for  the  constellation.  Sugia  and  Asugia  were  thought  by 
Scaliger  to  be  corruptions  of  the  Arabs'  Al  Shuja',  the  Snake,  applied  to 
Orion  in  the  sense  of  Audax,  Bellator  and  Bellatriz,  Fortis  and  Fortuumus, 
Foriosus  and  Sublimatui,  and  all  proper  names  for  it  in  Bayer's  and  other 
early  astronomical  works,  Chilmead  translating  Asugia  as  "the  Madman." 
Similar  titles  at  one  time  obtained  for  Hydra. 

Al  Firuzabadi'SsAl  Husuk  may  be  equivalent  to  the  Nasak,  a  Line,  or 
Row,  applied  to  the  Belt  stars,  but  there  signifying  a  String  of  Pearls. 

Hiphla,  attributed  to  Chaldaea,has  not  been  confirmed  by  modem  scholars. 

In  Egypt,  as  everywhere,  Orion  was  of  course  prominent,  especially  so 
in  the  square  zodiac  of  Denderah,  as  Horns  in  a  boat  surmounted  by  stars, 
followed  by  Sirius,  shown  as  a  cow,  also  in  a  boat ;  and  nearly  three  thou- 
sand years  previously  had  been  sculptured  on  the  walls  of  the  recently  dis- 
covered step-temple  of  Sakkara,  and  in  the  great  Ramesseum  of  Thebes 
about  3285  b.  c.  as  Sahu.     This  twice  appears  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead: 


308  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  shoulders  of  the  constellation  Saho  ; 
and: 

I  see  the  motion  of  the  holy  constellation  Sahu. 

A  similar  title,  but  of  Akkad  origin,  appeared  for  Capricornus.  Egyptian 
mythology  laid  to  rest  in  this  constellation  the  soul  of  Oriris,  as  it  did  in 
the  star  Sinus  that  of  Isis;  and,  again,  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead  we  read: 

The  Osiris  N  is  the  constellation  Orion  ; 

in  this  connection,  Orion  was  known  as  Smati-Osiris,  the  Barley  God. 

The  Giant  generally  has  been  represented  with  back  turned  toward  us 
and  face  in  profile,  armed  with  club,  or  sword,  and  protected  by  his  shield, 
or,  as  Longfellow  wrote, 

on  his  arm  the  lion's  hide 
Scatters  across  the  midnight  air 
The  golden  radiance  of  its  hair. 

Diirer  drew  him  facing  the  Bull,  whose  attack  he  is  warding  off;  but  the 
Ley  den  Manuscript  has  a  lightly  clad  youth  with  a  short,  curved  staff  in  the 
right  hand,  and  the  Hare  in  the  background. 

The  head  is  marked  by  A,  01,  and  <p>2,  the  stars  a  and  y  pointing  out  the 
shoulders,  j9  and  tc  the  left  foot  and  right  knee.  But  Sir  John  Herschel 
observed  from  southern  latitudes  that  the  inverted  view  of  the  constellation 
well  represents  a  human  figure ;  the  stars  that  we  imagine  the  shoulders  ap- 
pearing for  the  knees,  Rigel  forming  the  head,  and  Cursa  of  Eridanus,  one 
of  the  shoulders. 

In  astrology  the  constellation  was  Hyreides,  Bayer's  Hyriades,  from 
Ovid's  allusion  to  it  as  Hyriea  proles,  thus  recalling  the  fabled  origin  from 
the  bull's  hide  still  marked  out  in  the  sky.  This,  formerly  depicted  as  a 
shield  of  rawhide,  is  now  figured  as  a  lion's  skin  ;  and  it  perhaps  was  this 
Hyriean  story  that  gave  the  stellar  Orion  the  astrological  reputation,  re 
corded  by  Thomas  Hood,  of  being  "  the  verie  cutthrote  of  cattle  " ;  at  all 
events,  it  certainly  gave  rise  to  the  TprraTpoc  and  Tripater,  applied  to  him- 

Saturnus  has  been  another  title,  but  its  connection  here  I  cannot  learn, 
although  I  hazard  the  guess  that  as  this  divinity  was  the  sun-god  of  the 
Phoenicians,  his  name  might  naturally  be  used  for  Uruanna- Orion,  the  sun- 
god  of  the  Akkadians. 

Anterior  to  much  of  this,  we  find  in  the  various  versions  of  the  Book  of 
Job  and  Amos  the  word  Orion  for  the  original  Hebrew  word  X'fll,  liter- 
ally signifying  "  Foolish,"  "  Impious,"  "  Inconstant,"  or  "  Self-confident." 


The  Constellations  309 

This  perhaps  is  etymological ly  connected  with  Kislev,  the  name  for  the  ninth 
month  of  the  Hebrew  calendar,  the  tempestuous  November-December. 
Julius  Fiirst  considered  this  Kislev  an  early  title  for  Orion.  The  epithet 
"  Inconstant "  has  fancifully  been  referred  to  the  storms  usual  at  his  rising. 

The  K/silim  of  Isaiah  xiii,  10,  rendered  "constellations"  in  some  ver- 
sions, is  also  thought  to  refer  to  it  and  other  prominent  sky  figures;  in  fact, 
Cheyne  translates  the  word  as  "the  Orions"  in  the  Polychrome  Bible; 
while  Rahab,  in  the  Revised  Version  of  the  Book  of  Job ,  ix,  13, —  the  "proud 
helpers"  in  the  Authorized, —  is  referred  by  Ewald,  Renan,  and  others  to 
this, —  possibly  to  some  other  group  of  stars, —  with  the  same  significations 
as  those  of  K*sil,  or  perhaps  "  Arrogance,"  "  Rebellion,"  "  Strength,"  or 
"  Violence." 

Later  on  the  Jews  called  Orion  Gibbor,  the  Giant,  considered  as  Nimrod 
bound  to  the  sky  for  rebellion  against  Jehovah,  whence  perhaps  came  the 
Bands,  or  Bonds,  of  Orion,  which  some  say  should  be  Cords,  or  a  Girdle ; 
but  the  conception  of  Nimrod  as  "  the  mighty  Hunter  before  the  Lord,"  at 
least  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  word,  is  erroneous,  for  the  original, 
according  to  universal  Eastern  tradition,  signifies  a  Lurking  Enemy,  or  a 
Hunter  of  men  rather  than  of  beasts.  This  idea  may  have  led  to  a  Latin 
title,  Venator,  for  the  stellar  Orion, 

But,  relative  to  the  renderings  of  biblical  words  supposed  to  refer  to  sky 
groups,  the  Reverend  Doctor  Adam  Clarke  wrote  in  his  Commentary 

that  Wish  has  been  generally  understood  to  signify  the  Great  Bear;  Kesil  Orion;  and 
Kiraah  the  Pleiades,  may  be  seen  everywhere ;  but  that  they  do  signify  these  constella- 
tions is  perfectly  uncertain.     We  have  only  conjectures  concerning  their  meaning. 

As  to  the  Hebrew  words,  they  might  as  well  have  been  applied  to  any  of  the  other  con 
stellations  of  heaven;  indeed,  it  does  not  appear  that  constellations  at  all  are  meant. 

The  discordance  between  the  various  renderings  would  indicate  the  proba- 
ble correctness  of  these  comments,  and  that  we  are  in  no  respect  assured  as 
to  the  identification  of  Bible  star-names.  Yet  it  is  worth  noting  that  the 
three  constellations  adopted  by  the  translators  of  the  Book  of  Job  and  of 
Amos  in  the  Revised  Version  fitly  represent  the  cardinal  points  of  the  sky : 
the  Bear  in  the  north,  Orion  in  the  south,  and  the  Pleiades  rising  and 
setting  in  the  east  and  west. 

In  the  Hindu  Brahma nas  Orion  is  personified  as  Praja-pati,1  under  the 
form  of  a  stag,  Mriga,  in  pursuit  of  his  own  daughter,  the  beautiful  roe 
Rohini,  our  Aldebaran.     In  his  unnatural  chase  he  was  transfixed  by  the 

1  He  was  also,  and  differently,  represented  in  the  sky  by  Hindu  astronomers  as  an  immense 
figure  stretching  from  Bootes  through  Virgo,  Corvus,  and  Libra  into  Scorpio. 
20* 


3 10  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

three-jointed  arrow  —  the  Belt  stars — shot  by  the  avenging  Hunter,  Srius, 
which  even  now  is  seen  sticking  in  his  body.  This  hero  was  the  father  of 
twenty-seven  daughters,  the  wives  of  King  Soma,  the  Moon,  with  whom  the 
latter  equally  divided  his  time,  thus  referring  to  the  nakshatras. 

The  Chinese  made  up  their  4th  sieii  from  the  seven  conspicuous  stars  in 
the  shoulders,  belt,  and  knees  of  Orion,  with  the  title  Shan,  or  Tits,  Three 
Side  by  Side,  anciently  Sal,  which  may  have  originated  from  the  Belt  hav- 
ing at  first  alone  formed  the  situ.  Indeed,  the  lunar  asterism  was  men- 
tioned in  the  She  King  as  the  Three  Stars.  6  was  its  determinant;  but  it 
overlapped  the  corresponding  nakshatra,  although  entirely  distinct  from 
the  4th  manzil  in  the  feet  of  the  Twins.  Orion  was  worshiped  in  China 
during  the  thousand  years  before  our  era  as  Shell,  or  Shi  Ch'en,  from  the 
moon  station ;  but  it  also  was  known  as  the  White  Tiger,  a  title  taken  from 
the  adjacent  Taurus. 

The  Khorasmians  adopted  Orion's  stars  as  a  figure  of  their  zodiac  in 
place  of  Gemini. 

The  early  Irish  called  it  Caomai,  the  Armed  King;  the  Norsemen, 
Orwandil ;  and  the  Old  Saxons,  EbuSrung,  or  Ebioring, —  words  that  Grimm 
thought  connected  with  Iringe,  or  Iuwaring,  of  the  Milky  Way. 

Caesius  cited  the  singular  title  Bagulon,  perhaps  from  Al  Rijl,  the  Arabic 
designation  for  the  star  0,  but  he  made  this  the  equivalent  of  the  Latin  Vvr, 
the  Man  par  excellence,  the  Hero ;  and  suggested  that  Orion  represented 
Jacob  wrestling  with  the  angel;  or  Joshua,  the  Hebrew  warrior;  but  Julius 
Schiller,  that  it  was  Saint  Joseph,  the  husband  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
Weigel  figured  it  as  the  Roman  Two-headed  Eagle;  and  De  Rheita, of 
1643,  found  somewhere  among  its  stars  Christ's  Seamless  Coat  and  a 
Chalice ;  but  he  was  addicted  to  such  discoveries. 

Argelander  has  115  stars  here;  Heis,  136;  and  Gould,  186;  while  the 
whole  is  as  rich  in  wonderful  telescopic  objects  as  it  is  glorious  to  the  casual 
observer.    Flammarion  calls  it  the  California  of  the  sky. 

tt,   Irregularly  variable,    0.7,    orange. 

Betelgenze  is  from  Ibt  al  Jauzah,  the  Armpit  of  the  Central  One ;  de- 
generated into  Bed  Elgueze,  Beit  Algueze,  Bet  El-geuze,  Beteigeue,  etc, 
down  to  the  present  title,  which  itself  also  is  written  Betelgeuse,  Betdguie, 
Betelgueze,  Betelgeux,  etc.  The  Alfonsine  Tables  had  Beldengenxe,  and 
Riccioli,  Beotelgense  and  Bedalgenze. 

The  star  also  was  designated  by  various  Arabian  authors  as  Al  Mankft 
the  Shoulder;  Al  Dhira,  the  Arm ;  and  Al  Yad  al  Yamna\  the  Right  Hand, 


The  Constellations  311 

—all  of  the  Giant;  but  Chilmead  wrote  "led  Algeuze, —  that  is,  Orion's 
Hand,"  quoted  from  Christmannus. 

The  title  Kirzam,  from  Al  Murnm,  the  Roarer,  or  perhaps  the  Announcer, 
originally  used  for  y,  also  is  applied  to  this  as  heralding  the  rising  of  its 
companions.  La  Lande,  borrowing  the  full  name  of  that  star  for  this, 
quoted  it  as  Almerzamo  nnagied. 

Sayce  and  Bosanquet  identify  a  with  the  Euphratean  Gula,  other  stars 
possibly  being  included  under  this  title;  and  Brown  says  that  Xakkab  Sar, 
the  Constellation  of  the  King,  or  Ungal,  refers  to  o  with  y  and  A.  We  can 
see  in  this  signification  the  origin  of  the  astrologer's  idea  that  Betelgeuze 
portended  fortune,  martial  honors,  wealth,  and  other  kingly  attributes. 

a  alone  constituted  the  4th  nakshatra,  Ardra,  Moist,  depicted  as  a  Gem, 
with  Rudra,  the  storm-god,  for  its  presiding  divinity,  and  so,  perhaps,  the 
origin  of  the  long  established  stormy  character  of  Orion.  This  lunar  sta- 
tion, therefore,  formed  but  a  part  of  the  4th  situ,  and  differed  entirely  from 
the  4th  manziL  Individually  the  star  was  the  Sanskrit  Bahu,  Arm,  prob- 
ably from  the  Hindu  conception  of  the  whole  figure  as  a  running  Stag,  or 
Antelope,  of  which  a,  j3,  y,  and  k  marked  the  legs  and  feet,  with  a  on  the 
left  forearm;  the  adjacent  Sirius  being  the  hunter  Mrigavyadha. 

Brown  mentions  its  equivalent  Persian  title,  Besn,  the  Arm,  and  the 
Coptic  Klaria,  an  Armlet. 

Bayer  quoted  ykrjvea  from  Aratos,  but  it  is  not  in  the  original;  and 
Chrysococca  had  "Q/ioc  diSvfiow,  the  Shoulder  of — i.e.  next  to — the  Twins. 

Among  the  many  queerly  worded  descriptions  in  the  15 15  Almagest, 
perhaps  none  is  more  so  than  that  of  this  star,  reading  in  part  thus:  ipsa 
tendit  ad  rapinam  quae  appropinquat  ad  terram.  This  tendit  ad  rapinam, 
also  used  for  the  star  Antares,  apparently  has  been  an  unsolved  puzzle ;  and 
as  I  have  never  seen  any  explanation,  my  own  suggestion  may  not  be  amiss. 
The  151 5  Almagest  followed  Ulug  Beg's  Tables,  and  these  followed  Ptol- 
emy, who  characterized  the  color  of  a  as  vnoKippo^,  which  Ulug  Beg's  transla- 
tor turned  into  rubedinem, "  ruddiness,"  and  the  Almagest  into  the  not  very 
different  word  of  the  quotation,  expressing  ideas  of  war  and  carnage,  as- 
trology's attributes  of  red  stars.  The  appropinquat  ad  terram  doubtless  re- 
fers to  the  comparatively  low  elevation  of  the  star  above  the  horizon. 

Professor  Young  says  that  at  times,  when  near  a  minimum,  it  closely 
matches  Aldebaran  in  color  and  brightness,  and  Lassell  described  it  as  a 
rich  topaz.  Secchi  makes  it  the  typical  star  of  his  third  class  with  a  banded 
spectrum,  suggesting  that  it  may  be  approaching  the  point  of  extinction. 
Elkin  finds  its  parallax  insensible;  according  to  Vogel,  it  is  receding  from 
the  earth  at  the  rate  of  10}^  miles  a  second. 


1 


3t2  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

It  was  first  seen  to  be  variable  by  Sir  John  Herschel  in  1836,  from  which 
time  till  1840  "its  variations  were  most  marked  and  striking."  A  similar 
period  began  in  1849,  and  on  the  5th  of  December,  1852,  "  it  was  actually  the 
largest  star  in  the  northern  hemisphere."  It  was  especially  brilliant  in  1894. 
Argelander  found  a  period  of  196  days,  but  Schoenfeld  thought  periodicity 
questionable. 

Its  position  is  less  than  30  west  of  the  solstitial  colure ;  it  rises  at  sunset 
on  the  30th  of  December,  and  culminates  on  the  29th  of  January.  It  has 
an  8th-magnitude  companion  20'  away,  first  observed  by  Wilhelm  Struve  as 
double,  1 8". 5  apart,  and  the  great  glasses  of  the  present  day  reveal  other 
members  in  the  combination  still  nearer  and  smaller  than  the  original  com- 
panion ;  while  Barnard  has  discovered  about  it  large  and  diffused  nebulosity. 


fa  Double,     0.3  and  8,     both  bluish  white. 

Algebar  and  Elgebar  are  seen  in  poetry  for  this  star,  but  it  universally  is 
known  as  Rigel,  from  Rijl  Jauzah  al  Yusrfc ,  the  Left  Leg  of  the  Jauzah. 
by  which  extended  title  the  Arabians  knew  it  after  the  word  Jauzah  had 
become  a  personal  title;  the  modern  name  first  appearing  in  the  Alfansine 
Tables  of  152 1.     These  say  of  it,  in  connection  with  Eridanus : 

Lucida  que  est  in  pede  sinistro  :  et  est  communis  ei  et  aquae :  et  dicitur  Algebar  nomi- 
nator etiam  Rigel. 

Riccioli  had  Kegel;  Schickard,  Riglon;  and  Chilmead,  Bigel  Algeuze, or 
Algibbar. 

Al  Sufi  gave  the  earlier  popular  name  Rai  al  Jauzah,  the  Herds- 
man of  the  Jauzah,  whose  camels  were  the  stars  a,  y,  6,  and  if ;  and  Al 
Najid,  the  Conqueror,  which  also  was  given  to  a  and  y. 

Chrysococca  termed  it  Ilotr  didvpwv,  the  Foot  of — i.e.  next  to  — the 
Twins;  and  Bayer,  the  Hebrew  Xesil,  of  the  constellation. 

Smyth  wrote  that 

independent  of  the  •'  nautis  infestus  Orion  "  character  of  the  constellation,  Rigel  had  one 
of  his  own;  for  it  was  to^the  astronomical  rising  of  this  "  marinus  aster"  in  March,  that 
St.  Marinus  and  St.  Aster  owe  their  births  in  the  Romish  calendar. 

He  gave,  however,  no  explanation  of  this,  and  these  saints  certainly  are 
not  familiar  in  any  stellar  connection.  Possibly  its  "marine"  character 
came  from  its  location  at  the  end  of  the  River,  and  from  its  being  given  in 
the  various  editions  of  the  Syntaxis  and  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  as  common 


The  Constellations  313 

to  both  constellations;  although  the  supposed  stormy  character  of  the 
whole  group  in  affecting  navigation  may  have  induced  the  epithet  for 
Orion's  greatest  star. 

Astrologers  said  that  splendor  and  honors  fell  to  the  lot  of  those  who 
were  born  under  it. 

In  the  Norsemen's  astronomy  Rigel  marked  one  of  the  great  toes  of 
Orwandil,  the  other  toe  having  been  broken  off  by  the  god  Thor  when 
frost-bitten,  and  thrown  to  the  northern  sky,  where  it  became  the  little 
Alcor  of  the  Greater  Bear. 

Although  lettered  below  Betelgeuze,  it  is  usually  superior  to  it  in  bright- 
ness, being  estimated  in  the  Harvard  Photometry  as  exactly  equal  to  Arctu- 
rus,  Capella,  and  Wega.  Its  spectrum  is  like  that  of  Sirius,  and  it  is  receding 
from  our  system  about  ioj^  miles  a  second. 

The  smaller  star,  at  a  position  angle  of  2000,  is  o/'.i  away,  but  not  easily 
seen  owing  to  the  brightness  of  the  principal.  It  is  strongly  suspected  that 
this  smaller  star  itself  is  closely  double. 

Another  minute  companion  is  44". 5  away. 


Y?  Slightly  variable,     2,     pale  yellow. 

Bellatrix,  the  Female  Warrior,  the  Amazon  Star,  is  from  the  translation, 
rather  freely  made  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  of  its  Arabic  title,  Al  Najld,  the 
Conqueror.  Kazwini  had  this  last,  but  Ulug  Beg  said  Al  Murzim  al  Najid, 
the  Roaring  Conqueror,  or,  according  to  Hyde,  the  Conquering  Lion 
heralding  his  presence  by  his  roar,  as  if  this  star  were  announcing  the  im- 
mediate rising  of  the  still  more  brilliant  Rigel,  or  of  the  whole  constellation. 
This  Murzim  occasionally  appears  in  our  day  as  Mirzam,  which  is  also  ap- 
plied to  both  of  the  stars  (3  in  the  two  Dogs  as  heralds  of  Sirius  and  Procyon. 

Al  Sufi  had  Al  Ruzam,  which  Hyde  said  was  another  of  the  very  many 
Arabic  words  for  the  lion,  but  Beigel  thought  it  also  a  reference  to  the 
camel,  another  roarer.  Still  it  is  well  to  remember  in  this  connection 
Meier's  remark  that  "  etymology  has  full  play  with  a  word  which  has  not 
traveled  beyond  astronomical  language," — a  statement  equally  applicable  to 
very  many  other  star-names. 

Caesius  cited  Alganza  from  the  name  for  the  whole. 

y  marks  the  left  shoulder  of  Orion,  and  naturally  shared  the  Arabs' 
Mankib,  and  the  Hindus'  Bahu,  titles  of  the  star  a  on  the  right  shoulder  of 
Orion  and  forearm  of  the  Stag. 

In  Amazon  River  myth  Bellatrix  is  a  Young  Boy  in  a  Canoe  with  an  old 


314  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

man,  the  star  Betelgeuze,  chasing  the  Peixie  Boi,  a  dark  spot  in  the  sky 
near  Orion. 

In  astrology  it  was  the  natal  star  of  all  destined  to  great  civil  or  military 
honors,  and  rendered  all  women  born  under  its  influence  lucky  and  loqua- 
cious; or,  as  old  Thomas  Hood  said,"  women  born  under  this  constellation 
shall  have  mighty  tongues." 

Its  spectrum  is  Sirian  in  character,  and  indicates  that  it  is  receding  from 
our  system  at  the  rate  of  about  5^  rniles  a  second. 

0,  Double  and  slightly  variable,   2.4  and  6.8,  brilliant  white  and  pale  violet. 

Mintaka,  from  Al  Mintakah,  the  Belt,  is  the  first  star  seen  in  that  portion 
of  the  rising  constellation.     Burritt  has  it  Mintika. 

Astrologers  considered  it  of  importance  as  portending  good  fortune. 

It  is  about  23'  of  arc  south  of  the  celestial  equator,  the  components  53" 
apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  o°.  The  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  the  star 
seems  to  have  very  little  motion  either  of  approach  or  recession. 

Burnham  has  discovered  still  another  companion  of  the  13th  to  14th 
magnitudes,  one  of  the  faintest  ever  seen  near  a  brilliant  star. 

S,     1.8,    bright  white. 

AlwiUm,  Anilam,  Ainilam,  and  Alnihan  are  from  Al  Hithim,  or  Al 
Vathm,  the  String  of  Pearls,  or,  as  Recorde  said,  the  Bullions  set  in  the 
middle  of  Orion's  Belt. 

It  portended  fleeting  public  honors  to  those  born  under  its  influence. 

The  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  the  star  recedes  from  us  at  the  rate  of  about 
i6yi  miles  a  second. 

It  is  the  central  one  of  the  Belt,  culminating  on  the  25th  of  January. 

C?  Triple,     2.5, 6.5,  and  9,    topaz  yellow,  light  purple,  and  gray. 

Alnitak,  or  Alnitah,  for  this,  the  lowest  star  in  the  Belt,  is  from  Al  Rtfc 
the  Girdle. 

The  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  the  star  recedes  from  us  about  nine  miles  a 
second. 

One  of  its  components,  2".4  distant  from  the  largest,  at  a  position  angle 
of  *SS°i  was  singularly  missed  by  Sir  William  Herschel,  but  discovered  by 
Kunowski  in  1819,  and  seems  of  some  nondescript  hue  about  which  ob- 


The  Constellations  315 

servers  do  not  agree.    The  elder  Struve  called  it,  in  one  specially  manu- 
factured word,  olivaccasubrubicunda,  "slightly  reddish  olive." 

Orion's  studded  belt. 

Scott's  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel 

These  Arabian  tides  of  d,  e,  and  £,  although  now  applied  to  them  individ- 
ually, were  at  first  indiscriminately  used  for  the  three  together;  but  they  had 
other  names  also,— Al  Hijad,  the  Belt;  Al  Vaaak,  the  Line;  Al  Alkat,  the 
Golden  Grains,  Nuts,  or  Spangles;  and  Fakar  al  Jauzah,  the  Vertebrae 
in  the  Jauzah's  back.  Niebuhr  cited  the  modern  Arabic  Al  Kzan  al 
H*akk,  the  Accurate  Scale-beam,  so  distinguishing  them  from  the  curved 
line  of  the  fainter  c,  6,  i,  d,  and  «,  Al  Mizan  al  Batil,  the  False  Scale-beam. 
The  Chinese  similarly  knew  them  as  a  Weighing-beam,  with  the  stars  of  the 
sword  as  a  weight  at  one  end. 

They  were  the  Jugula  and  Jugulae  of  Plautus,  Varro,  and  others  in  Ro- 
man literature;  the  Battens,  or  Belt,  and  the  Vagina,  or  Scabbard,  of  Ger- 
raanicus.   The  Zona  of  Ovid  may  have  been  taken  from  the  Zutvrj  of  Aristotle. 

The  early  Hindus  called  them  Ifus  Trikindft,  the  Three-jointed  Arrow ; 
but  the  later  transferred  to  it  the  nakshatra  title,  Mrigagiras. 

The  Sogdian  Baahnawand  and  the  Khorasmian  Khawiya  have  significa- 
tions akin  to  our  word  "  Rectitude,"  which  this  straight  line  of  stars  personi- 
fied. The  Rabbi  Isaac  Israel  said  that  it  was  the  Mazz&rdth,  Mazzaloth, 
or  Mailfctha  that  most  of  his  nation  applied  to  the  zodiac. 

Riccioli  cited  Bacillus  Jaoobi,  which  became  in  popular  English  speech 
Jacob's  Bod  or  Staff; — the  German  Jakob  Stab, —  from  the  tradition  given 
by  Eusebius  that  Israel  was  an  astrologer,  as,  indeed,  he  doubtless  was ;  and 
some  had  it  Peter's  8tafE  Similarly,  it  was  the  Norse  Fiakikallar,  or  Staff; 
the  Scandinavian  Frigge  Bok,  Frigg's,or  Freya's,  Distaff, —  in  West  Gothland 
Frigge  Rakkrni, —  and  Maria  Bok,  Mary's  Distaff;  in  Schleswig,  Peri-pik. 
In  Lapland  it  was  altered  to  Kalevan  Miekka,  Kaleva's  Sword,  or  still 
more  changed  to  Hiallar,  a  Tavern ;  while  the  Greenlanders  had  a  very 
different  figure  here, —  Siktnt,  the  Seal-hunters,  bewildered  when  lost  at  sea, 
and  transferred  together  to  the  sky. 

The  native  Australians  knew  the  stars  as  Young  Men  dancing  a  cor- 
roboree,  the  Pleiades  being  the  Maidens  playing  for  them ;  and  the  Poignave 
Indians  of  the  Orinoco,  according  to  Von  Humboldt,  as  Fuebot,  a  word 
that  he  said  resembled  the  Phoenician. 

The  University  of  Leipsic,  in  1807,  gave  to  the  Belt  and  the  stars  in  the 
Sword  the  new  title  Hapoleon,  which  a  retaliating  Englishman  offset  by 
Helton ;  but  neither  of  these  has  been  recognized  on  star-maps  or  -globes. 


316  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Seamen  have  called  it  the  Golden  Yard-arm;  tradesmen,  the  L*or  ED, 
the  £11  and  Yard,  the  Yard-stick,  and  the  Yard-wand,  as  occupying  3°  be- 
tween the  outer  stars, —  the  Elwand  of  Gavin  Douglas;  Catholics,  Our 
Lady's  Wand;  and  the  husbandmen  of  France  and  along  the  Rhine,  Bateau, 
the  Rake.  In  Upper  Germany  it  has  been  the  Three  Mowers;  and  it  is 
often  the  Magi,  the  Three  Kings,  the  Three  Marys,  or  simply  the  Three 
Stars,  that  Tennyson  had  in  his  Primess, — 

those  three  stars  of  the  airy  Giants'  zone 
That  glitter  burnished  by  the  frosty  dark. 

The  celestial  equator  now  passes  through  the  Belt,  but  was  120  below  it 
4000  years  ago. 

Yj,  Triple,    3.5,  5,  and  5, 

occasionally  and  very  appropriately  has  been  designated  Saiph,  from  Saif 
al  Jabbar,  the  Sword  of  the  Giant ;  but  this  title  included  other  adjacent 
stars  in  the  same  line  of  sight, —  the  Ensis  of  Cicero, —  and  all  supposed  to 
have  been  a  separate  constellation  with  Pliny. 

Al  Sufi  called  them  Al  Alkat,  which  we  have  seen  applied  to  the  Belt; 
and  Burritt,  the  EU,  because  this  line  of  stars  "  is  once  and  a  quarter  the 
length  of  the  yard." 

0  ?     4.6,     pale  white, 

although  not  individually  named,  marks  the  Fish-mouth  of  the  Great 
Hebnla,  N.  G.  C.  1976,  42  M.,  in  the  sword  scabbard  of  the  figure,  with  the 
celebrated  Trapezium  in  its  midst.  De  Quincey  gave  a  characteristic  de- 
scription of  it  in  one  of  his  Essays  in  Philosophy. 

This  nebula,  faintly  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  was  not  even  mentioned  by 
Galileo,  and  is  generally  thought  to  have  been  accidentally  discovered  bv 
Christian  Huygens  in  1656,  and  described  in  his  Sy sterna  Saturnium  half  a 
century  after  Galileo's  adaptation  of  the  principle  of  the  telescope  to  astro- 
nomical use;  but  Cysatus  of  Lucerne  had  already  known  it  in  1618.  Thi> 
was  the  first1  object  to  which  Sir  William  Herschel  directed,  on  the  4th  ot 
March,  1774,  the  first  serviceable  telescope  of  his  own  construction  after 
two  hundred  failures ;  and  the  first  nebula  to  be  successfully  photographed, 
as  it  was  by  Professor  Henry  Draper,  at  Hastings- upon- Hudson,  on  the 
30th  of  September,  1880. 

1  Similarly,  too,   it  was  the  last  object  viewed   by    Sir  William    through  his  forty-fi** 
reflector,  on  the  19th  of  January,  1811,  when  the  great  glass  was  laid  aside  forever 


The  Constellations  317 

Its  spectrum  is  purely  gaseous,  and  spectroscopic  investigations  by  Sir 
William  and  Lady  Huggins  seem  to  show  "  a  unity  of  composition  of  the 
[trapezium]  stars  and  nebulae  which  surround  them  and  link  them  together." 
Keeler  finds  from  spectroscopic  observations  that  it  and  our  system  are 
separating  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles  a  second.  Holden  thinks  it  of  fluctuating 
brightness. 

The  nebula  proper  covers  a  space  equal  to  the  apparent  size  of  the  moon, 
but  nebulosity  extends  over  a  very  much  larger  area,  for  recent  observations 
by  Swift,  by  William  H.  Pickering  in  1889  from  Wilson's  Peak,  and  by 
Barnard  with  the  camera  on  Mount  Hamilton  in  October,  1894,  reveal 
nebulous  matter,  140  to  150  in  diameter,  that  includes  the  Belt  and  much 
of  the  body  of  Orion.  Barnard  says  of  it:  "  Compared  with  this  enormous 
nebula,  the  old  0,  or  so-called  Great  Nebula,  is  but  a  pigmy."  A  million  of 
globes,  each  equal  in  diameter  to  that  of  the  earth's  orbit,  would  not  equal 
this  in  extent.  One  of  the  Harvard  photographs  of  1889  showed  a  certain 
amount  of  spiral  structure  in  the  Great  Nebula. 

The  adjacent  nebula,  N.  G.  C.  1982,  catalogued  separately  by  Messier  as 
43,  is  shown  on  a  photograph  of  the  30th  of  November,  1886,  by  Roberts, 
to  be  connected  with  it  by  threads  of  nebulosity. 

At  least  six  stars  are  found  in  the  Trapezium,  the  four  largest  being  ot 
the  5th,  6th,  7th,  and  8th  magnitudes,  easily  visible  in  a  2  J^ -inch  glass  with 
a  power  of  140.  They  may  form  a  system.  Huygens  noted  the  triplicity  of 
ttl  when  he  discovered  the  nebula ;  the  4th  component  was  first  seen  in 
1684;  the  5th  was  "  discovered  by  Robert  Hooke  in  1664,  but  forgotten 
and  rediscovered  by  Strove  in  1826";  and  the  6th  was  first  seen  by  Sir 
John  Herschel,on  the  13th  of  February,  1830.  More  are  claimed  by  some 
recent  observers,  but  Burnham  disputes  their  existence. 

In  3.36  square  degrees  of  the  01  nebula  Bond  catalogued  nearly  1000 
stars. 


t,  Triple  and  nebulous,   3.5,  8.5,  and  11,     white,  pale  blue,  and  grape  red. 

Al  Tizini  designated  this  as  Na'ir  al  Saif,  the  Bright  One  in  the  Sword, 
but  it  is  practically  unnamed  with  us,  although  far  more  deserving  of  the 
tide  Saiph  than  is  the  succeeding  star  k. 

In  China  it  was  Fa,  a  Middle-man,  v  and  intermediate  stars  being  in- 
cluded under  this  name ;  but  Edkins  translates  the  word  "  Punishment,"  and 
gives  another  title  for  it, — Tui,  or  Jui,  the  Sharp  Edge,  analogous  to  the 
Arabian  Saif  and  perhaps  taken  from  it. 


318  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

It  lies  just  south  of  0,  inclosed  in  faint  nebulosity.  The  two  larger  stars 
are  ii".5  apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  1420;  the  1  ith -magnitude  com- 
panion is  49"  away,  at  a  position  angle  of  1030. 


located  near  the  right  knee,  was  appropriately  described  by  the  Arabic  as- 
tronomers as  Rijl  Jauzah  al  Yamna',  the  Right  Leg  of  the  Jauzah,  but  we 
now  know  it  as  Saiph,  from  Al  Saif,  the  Sword,  although  it  is  at  some  dis- 
tance from  that  weapon,  and  the  name  really  belongs  to  tf,  1,  and  stars 
near  by. 

In  his  vast  Head  immerst  in  boundless  spheres 
Three  Stars  less  bright,  but  yet  as  great,  he  bears. 
But  further  off  removed,  their  Splendor's  lost. 

Creech's  Manilius. 

A,  Double,     3.8  and  6,     pale  white  and  violet. 

Al  Kaisan,  the  title  of  y  Geminorum,  by  some  error  of  Firuzabadi  was 
applied  to  this  star  as  Meiasa,  and  is  now  common  for  it.  Al  Sufi  called  it 
Al  Tahayi ;  but  Al  Ferghani  and  Al  Tizini  knew  it  as  Bis  al  Janxah, 
the  Head  of  the  Jauzah,  which  it  marks. 

The  original  Arabic  name,  Al  Hak  ah,  a  White  Spot,  was  from  the  added 
faint  light  of  the  smaller  01  and  02  in  the  background,  and  has  descended 
to  us  as  Heka  and  Hika.  These  three  stars  were  another  of  the  A th&fiyy  of  the 
Arabs;  and  everywhere  in  early  astrology  were  thought,  like  all  similar 
groups,  to  be  of  unfortunate  influence  in  human  affairs. 

They  constituted  the  Euphratean  lunar  station  Mas-tab-ba-tur-tur,  the 
Little  Twins,  a  title  also  found  for  y  and  rj  Geminorum ;  and  individually 
were  important  stars  among  the  Babylonians,  rising  to  them  with  the  sun 
at  the  summer  solstice,  and,  with  a  and  y,  were  known  as  Kakkab  Sar,  the 
Constellation  of  the  King.  In  other  lunar  zodiacs  they  were  the  Sogdian 
Marez&nfc, and  the  Khorasmian  Ikhma,  the  Twins;  the  Persian  Avep,  the 
Coronet ;  and  the  Coptic  Klusos,  Watery.  They  also  were  the  3d  mansii, 
Al  Hak  ah ;  the  sieu  Tsee,  or  Troy  He,  the  Beak,  or  Pouting  Lips,  anciently 
Taok,  which  Reeves  gave  as  Keo ;  and  the  nakshatra  KrigaQiraa,  or  Krigi- 
Qiraha,  the  Head  of  the  Stag, —  Soma,  the  Moon,  being  its  presiding  divinity, 
and  X  the  junction  star  towards  Ardra,  and  its  determinant.  As  to  this 
lunar  station  Professor  Whitney  very  reasonably  wrote : 

It  is  not  a  little  strange  that  the  framers  of  the  system  should  have  chosen  for  marking 
the  3d  station  this  faint  group,  to  the  neglect  of  the  brilliant  and  conspicuous  pair  3  and 


The  Constellations  319 

C  Tauri,the  tips  of  the  Bull's  horns.  There  is  hardly  another  case  where  we  have  so  much 
reason  to  find  fault  with  their  selection. 

But  they  were  possibly  influenced  by  recollection  of  the  fact  that  the  ver- 
nal equinox  lay  here  4500  B.C.  In  addition  to  the  customary  Hindu 
title,  Weber  mentioned  Andhaka,  Blind,  apparently  from  its  dimness; 
Aryika,  Honorable,  or  Worthy;  and  Invaka,  of  doubtful  meaning,  some- 
times read  Invala. 

In  China  these  stars  were  SI  ma  ts'ien,  the  Head  of  the  Tiger. 

Ulug  Beg,  as  well  as  Nasral  Din,  likened  the  group  to  the  letter  of  the 
Persian  alphabet  that  was  similar  in  form  to  the  Greek  A.  La  Lande  wrote 
of  them : 

qui  ressemblent  a  un  jeu  de  trois  noix,  ce  qui  a  fait  appeller  cette  constellation  Nux,  ou 
Juglans,  Stella  jugula. 

Hipparchos  did  not  allude  to  them,  but  Ptolemy  called  them  6  vetpeXoei- 
<%,  the  Nebulous  One,  for  such  is  their  appearance  to  the  casual  observer, 
and  has  been  their  designation  in  all  early  catalogues,  even  to  Flamsteed's 
in  his  in  capite  Orionis  nebulosa. 

Although  called  double,  k  has  a  second  faint  companion  149"  above  it, 
visible  by  a  3^-inch  glass;  and  another,  of  the  12th  magnitude,  27"  dis- 
tant.   The  two  largest  stars  are  4".  2  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  4o°.3. 

A  and  the  two  stars  phi  furnish  an  easy  refutation  of  the  popular  error  as  to 
the  apparent  magnitude  of  the  moon's  disc,  Colas  writing  of  this  in  the  Celes- 
tial Handbook  of  1892 : 

In  looking  at  this  triangle  nobody  would  think  that  the  moon  could  be  inserted  in  it ;  but 
as  the  distance  from  X  to  (p1  is  27',  and  the  distance  from  0l  to  ^2  is  33',  it  is  a  positive  fact ; 

the  moon's  mean  apparent  diameter  being  31'  7".  This  illusion,  prevalent 
in  all  ages,  has  attracted  the  attention  of  many  great  men;  Ptolemy,  Roger 
Bacon,  Kepler,  and  others  having  treated  of  it.  The  lunar  disc,  seen  by 
the  naked  eye  of  an  uninstructed  observer,  appears,  as  it  is  frequently  ex- 
pressed, "  about  the  size  of  a  dinner-plate,"  but  should  be  seen  as  only 
equal  to  a  peppercorn,  or  as  a  circle  a  half-inch  in  diameter  fifty-seven 
inches  away;  or,  to  write  it  astronomically,  equal  to  the  planet  Jupiter 
viewed  at  opposition  through  a  telescope  magnifying  forty  diameters;  or 
equal  to  Mars  magnified  seventy-four  times  when  at  his  nearest  approach 
to  the  earth  and  distant  thirty-four  millions  of  miles.  To  still  better  illus- 
trate this,  Professor  Young  tells  us  that  the  planet  Venus, 

when  about  midway  between  greatest  elongation  and  inferior  conjunction,  has  an  apparent 
diameter  of  40",  so  that,  with  a  magnifying  power  of  only  45,  she  looks  exactly  like  the 
moon  four  days  old,  and  of  precisely  the  same  apparent  size. 


320  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

V,     4.7,    and    £,     4.6, 

were  the  Chinese  Shwuy  Poo,  a  Water-depot. 

They  mark  Orion's  right  hand,  f  being  the  radiant  point  of  the  fine 
meteor  stream,  the  Orionids,  of  the  18th  of  October. 

01,  02,  1C1,  7T ,  IT,  1C  ,  7t  ,  7C  ,     and     ^, 

all  of  the  4th  to  the  5th  magnitudes,  in  a  vertical  line  at  the  right  of  the 
figure,  indicate  the  lion's  skin ;  but  Al  Tizini  said  that  they  were  the  Per- 
sians' Al  Taj,  the  Crown,  or  Tiara,  of  their  kings;  and  the  Arabians'  Al 
Kumm,  the  Sleeve  of  the  garment  in  which  they  dressed  the  Giant,  the  skin 
being  omitted. 

Ulug  Beg  called  them  Al  Dhawaib,  Anything  Pendent ;  and  the  Borgian 
globe  had  the  same,  perhaps  originated  it ;  but  Al  Sufi's  title  was  Hanics, 
a  Latin  term  for  a  protecting  Gauntlet;  and  Grotius  gave  a  lengthy  disserta- 
tion on  the  Mantile  which  some  anonymous  person  applied  to  them,  figured 
as  a  cloth  thrown  over  the  Giant's  arm. 

With  Pliny  these  stars  in  the  lion's  skin  are  supposed  to  have  been  a  sep- 
arate constellation  known  as  the  Shield,  made  from  the  bull's  hide  of  the 
Hyriean  legend. 

They  were  the  Chinese  Tsan  Ke,  the  Three  Flags. 

r,  3.6,  lies  just  north  of  Rigel,  and  was  known  in  China  as  Yuh  Tiffig, 
the  Golden  Well. 

u.    4.7. 

Thabit  is  Burritt's  name  for  an  unlettered  star  on  his  Atlas,  the  v  of  Heis. 

It  lies  on  the  lower  edge  of  the  tunic,  but  I  cannot  learn  the  derivation  or 

history  of  the  title,  although  the  Arabic  Al  Thabit  signifies  the  "  Endurer." 


Junonis  volucrem,  quae  cauda  sidera  portat. 

Ovid's  Metamorphoses. 


(pat*,  f$e  (peacoclt, 


lying  south  of  Sagittarius  and  the  Southern  Crown,  is  one  of  Bayer's 
twelve  constellations,  and  the  Italian  Pavone,  the  French  Paon,  the  Ger- 
man Pfau. 


The  Constellations  321 

The  title  is  an  appropriate  one  for  enduring  stars,  as  this  bird  has  long 
been  a  symbol  of  immortality,  fancifully  said  to  be  from  the  annual  renew- 
ing of  its  feathers;  but  this  is  common  to  all  birds,  and  the  symbolism 
probably  is  from  the  fact  that,  its  starry  tail  rendered  the  peacock  sacred  to 
Juno,  the  immortal  queen  of  the  heavens,  and  thus  in  classical  times,  as  in 
the  days  of  chivalry,  an  object  of  adjuration.  This  bird  was  still  further  as- 
tronomical in  originally  having  been  Argos,  the  builder  of  the  ship  Argo, 
who  was  changed  by  Juno  to  a  peacock  when  his  vessel  was  transferred  to 
the  sky,  where  he  has  since  rejoined  her. 

In  China  the  constellation  was  Joo  Tseo,  their  translation  of  our  word. 

Julius  Schiller  united  it  with  Indus  in  his  biblical  figure  "  S.  Job." 

Gould  catalogued  129  component  stars,  from  the  2d  to  the  7th  magni- 
tudes, but  none  seem  to  be  individually  named,  as  is  the  case  among  all  the 
new  southern  figures. 


That  poetic  steed, 
With  beamy  mane,  whose  hoof  struck  oat  from  earth 
The  fount  of  Hippocrene. 

Bryant's  Tkt  ConsUUaiicns. 


(pe£46U0, 


called  thus  in  Germany,  but  P6gase  in  France  and  Pegaso  in  Italy,  lies 
north  of  the  Urn  of  Aquarius  and  the  easternmost  Fish,  the  stars  of  the 
Great  Square  inclosing  the  body  of  the  Horse. 

Mythologically  he  was  the  son  of  Neptune  and  Medusa,  sprung  by  his 
father's  command  from  the  blood  of  the  latter  which  dropped  into  the  sea 
after  her  head  had  been  severed  by  Perseus;  and  he  was  named  either 
from  ntjyai,  the  Springs  of  the  Ocean,  the  place  of  his  birth,  or  from  Ili/ydc, 
Strong.  He  was  snowy  white  in  color,  and  the  favorite  of  the  Muses,  for 
he  had  caused  to  flow  their  fountain  Pirene  on  Helicon, —  or  Hippocrene  on 
the  Acrocorinthus, —  whence  came  one  of  the  constellation  titles,  Fontis 
Mnsanun  Inventor.  Longfellow  prettily  reproduced  in  modern  dress  this 
portion  of  the  story,  in  his  Pegasus  in  Pound,  where  "this  wondrous 
winged  steed  with  mane  of  gold,"  straying  into  a  quiet  country  village,  was 
put  in  pound ;  but,  finding  his  quarters  uncomfortable,  made  his  escape,  and 
21 


322  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

To  those  stars  he  soared  again. 

But  they  found  upon  the  greensward 
Where  his  struggling  hoofs  had  trod, 
Pure  and  bright  a  fountain  flowing 
From  the  hoofmarks  in  the  sod. 

He  seems,  however,  to  have  come  back  to  earth  again,  for  he  was  subse- 
quently caught  by  Bellerophon  at  the  waters  of  his  fountain,  and  ridden  by 
him  when  he  slew  the  Chimaera,  helping  in  the  latter's  destruction.  By 
this  time  classical  legend  had  given  him  wings,  and  Bellerophon  sought  by 
their  aid  to  ascend  to  heaven  ;  but  Jupiter,  incensed  by  his  boldness, 
caused  an  insect  to  sting  the  steed,  which  threw  his  rider,  and,  as  Wordsworth 

wrote : 

Bold  Bellerophon  (so  Jove  decreed 

In  wrath)  fell  headlong  from  the  fields  of  air. 

Pegasus  then  rose  alone  to  his  permanent  place  among  the  stars,  becoming 
the  Thundering  Horse  of  Jove  that  carried  the  divine  lightning. 

Ptolemy  mentioned  the  wings  as  well  recognized  in  his  day ;  and  this 
has  •  continued  till  ours,  for  the  sky  figure  is  now  known  as  the  Winged 
Hone, —  a  recurrence  to  Etruscan,  Euphratean,  and  Hittite  ideas,  for  the 
wings  are  clearly  represented  on  a  horse's  figure  on  tablets,  vases,  etc,  of 
those  countries,  where  this  constellation  may  have  been  known  in  pre- 
classical  times.  Indeed,  it  is  said  to  have  been  placed  in  the  heavens  by 
the  early  Aryans  to  represent  Asva,  the  Sun. 

Early  classical  mythology  did  not  associate  the  Horse  with  Perseus,  al- 
though artists  and  authors  do  not  seem  to  have  remembered  this,  for  the 
celebrated  picture  by  Rubens  in  the  Berlin  Gallery  shows  the  winged  Peg- 
asus held  by  a  Cupid,  while  Perseus  in  full  armor  is  unbinding  Andromeda 
from  the  rocks,  Cetus  raging  in  the  waters  close  by;  and  the  late  Lord 
Leighton  left  unfinished  his  Perseus  on  Pegasus  at  the  cliffs  of  Joppa,  with 
the  Gorgoneion  in  his  hand ;  while  in  Troilus  and  Cressida  Shakespeare 
mentioned  "  Perseus'  horse." 

The  Greeks  called  the  constellation  simply  'I^ttoc,  although  Aratos 
added  iep<5c,  "  divine,"  and  Eratosthenes  alluded  to  it  as  Ilf/yoaoc,  but  dis- 
tinctly asserted  that  it  was  without  wings,  and  until  after  middle  classical 
times  it  generally  was  so  drawn,  although  loose  plumes  at  the  shoulders 
occasionally  were  added.  The  figure  was  considered  incomplete,  a  possible 
reason  for  this  being  given  under  Aries.  Thus  it  was  characterized  as 
TjutreX fa  and  ^/itro/ioc,  "cut  in  two,"  or  as  if  partly  hidden  in  the  clouds: 
while  Nonnus  had  'KfiKpav^  AlQvg  lix^oq%  the  Half-visible  Libyan  Horse. 


The  Constellations  323 

Thus  the  Equi  Sectio  used  by  Tycho  and  others  for  Equuleus  would  seem 
equally  appropriate  for  this. 

Euripides  is  said  to  have  called  it  Kelanippe,  after  a  daughter  of  Chiron, 
also  known  as  Euippe,  changed  by  the  goddess  Artemis  into  a  Black 
Mare  and  placed  in  the  sky;  but  Bayer  quoted  from  some  later  writer 
Menalippe.  The  Qeiava,  or  Theano,  of  Nonnus  does  not  seem  intel- 
ligible. 

Translated  from  Greece  by  the  Romans,  it  was  Equus,  and  later  on  Equus 
Ales,  qualified  at  times  by  the  adjectives  alter y  major,  Gorgoneus,  and  Medu- 
saeus;  but  Isidorus  and  Lampridius  degraded  it  to  Sagmarius  Caballus, 
a  Pack-horse;  La  Lande  cited  Ephippiatus,  Caparisoned ;  and  elsewhere 
it  was  Cornipes,  Horn-footed;  Sonipes,  Noisy- footed;  and  Sonipes  Ales. 
Germanicus  was  apparently  the  first  of  Latin  authors  to  style  it  Pegasus. 

In  the  Alfonsine  Tables  it  was  Alatus,  Winged,  Secundus  sometimes 
being  added  to  distinguish  it  from  Equuleus,  which  preceded  it  on  the  sphere ; 
Hat  Almagest  of  155 1  had  Equus  Pegasus,  which  the  17th-century  as- 
tronomers extended  to  Pegasus  Equus  alatus.  Caesius  cited  Pegasides, 
and  Bayer  quoted  Equus  posterior,  volans,  aereus,  and  dimidiatus,  Bellero- 
phon,and  Bellerophontes. 

Jewish  legends  made  it  the  mighty  Nimrod's  Horse;  Caesius,  one  of 
those  of  Jeremiah  iv,  13,  that  "are  swifter  than  eagles";  other  pious  peo- 
ple, the  Ass  on  which  Christ  made  his  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem;  but 
Julius  Schiller  exalted  it  into  the  Archangel  Gabriel.  Weigel  drew  it  as 
the  heraldic  Luneburg  Horse. 

Pegasus  appears  on  coins  of  Corinth  from  500  to  430  b.  c,  and  from 
35°  t0  338  b.  c,  and  200  years  thereafter,  on  the  dccadrachma,  complete 
and  with  wings ;  as  well  as  on  coins  of  Lampsacus,  Scepsis,  and  Carthage, — 
on  these  last  with  the  asterisk  of  the  sun,  or  with  the  winged  disc,  and  the 
hooded  snakes  over  its  back.  It  is  also  shown  on  a  coin  of  Narbonne  as 
a  sectional  winged  figure,  and  as  a  winged  horse  on  a  Euphratean  gem, 
with  a  bull's  head,  a  crescent  moon,  and  three  stars  in  the  field.  A  coin  of 
Panormus,  the  modern  Palermo,  has  the  Horse's  head  with  what  was  proba- 
bly intended  for  a  dorsal  plume. 

Bochart  said  that  the  word  is  a  compound  of  the  Phoenician  Pag,  or 
Pega,and  Sus,the  Bridled  Horse,  used  for  the  figurehead  on  a  ship,  which 
would  account  for  the  constellation  being  shown  with  only  the  head  and 
fore  quarters;  but  others  have  considered  it  of  Egyptian  origin, from  Pag, 
"  to  cease,"  and  Sus, "  a  vessel,"  thus  symbolizing  the  cessation  of  navigation 
at  the  change  of  the  Nile  flow.  From  this,  Pegasus  seems  to  have  been  re- 
garded, in  those  countries  at  least,  as  the  sky  emblem  of  a  ship.     In  the 


324  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

old  work  the  Destruction  of  Troye,  we  read  of  "  a  ship  built  by  Perseus,  and 
named  Pegasus,  which  was  likened  to  a  flying  horse." 

Brugsch  mentions  as  in  its  location  an  Egyptian  constellation,  the  Ser- 
vant; and  some  of  its  stars  would  seem  to  be  shown  on  the  Denderah 
planisphere  as  a  Jaokal. 

The  Arabs  knew  the  familiar  quadrangle  as  Al  Dalw,  the  Water-bucket, 
the  Amphora  of  some  Latin  imitator,  which  generally  was  used  for  the  Urn 
in  Aquarius ;  and  the  Arabian  astronomers  followed  Ptolemy  in  Al  Farai 
al  Th&niy  the  Second  Horse,  which  Bayer  turned  into  Alpheras ;  Chilmead, 
into  Alffcras  Alathem ;  and  La  Lande,  into  Alpharta. 

Argelander  catalogued  108  stars  here,  down  to  the  6th  magnitude;  and 
Heis,  178,  to  the  6^. 

The  starless  region  toward  Pisces  was  Al  Biruni's  Al  Baldah,  the  Fox's 
Kennel,  a  term  for  whose  stellar  connection  I  find  no  explanation. 

Before  leaving  this  constellation,  it  is  worth  while  to  note  that  an  aster- 
ism,  now  virtually  lost  to  us  and  seldom  mentioned  except  in  the  lists  of  Al 
Sufi,  Al  Amasch,  and  Kazwini,  is  described  by  the  last-named  under  the  title 
Al  Faras  al  Tamm,  the  Complete  Horse.  Although  somewhat  indefinitely 
marked  out,  it  is  said  to  have  occupied  the  space  between  the  eastern  wing 
of  the  Swan,  the  chest  of  Pegasus,  Equuleus,  and  the  tail  of  Lacerta,  drawing 
for  its  components  from  the  last  three ;  but  Beigel  held  that  it  could  have 
existed  only  with  the  grammarians, —  the  Tamm  in  its  title  being  easily 
confused,  in  transcription,  with  the  Than!  in  the  Arabians'  name  for  Peg- 
asus. Ideler's  Sternnamen  is  the  sole  modern  work  in  which  I  find  any 
reference  to  this  Complete  Horse,  and  even  that  author,  in  one  passage, 
seems  to  regard  Monoceros  as  the  modern  representative  of  this  somewhat 
mythical  constellation;  but  this  is  impossible  if  Kazwini's  description  be 
accepted.  Indeed,  Ideler  himself,  later  on  in  his  book,  changed  his  opinion 
to  agree  with  that  of  Beigel. 

Ct,     2.5,    white. 

Markab  —  Flamsteed's  Marchab  —  is  the  Arabs'  word  for  a  Saddle, 
Ship,  or  Vehicle, —  anything  ridden  upon, —  that  was  early  applied  to  this 
star;  but  they  also  designated  it  as  Matn  al  Faras,  the  Horse's  Withers 
or  Shoulder,  and  Bayer  cited  Ted  Alpheras,  the  Horse's  Hand,  or,  more 
properly,  Forearm, —  the  Arabian  Tad.  Kazwini  knew  it  and  0  as  Al  fArki- 
wah,  the  Cross-bar  of  the  well  in  which  Al  Dalw,  the  Bucket,  was  used. 

In  India  it  was  noted  as  the  junction  star  of  the  Bhadra-pada  nakshatros, 
detailed  under  j3. 


The  Constellations  325 

In  China  it  was  Shih,  a  title  borrowed  from  the  sieu  that  it  marked. 

Brown  thinks  that,  with  y  and  f,  it  was  the  Euphratean  asterism  Idk- 
bax-ra,  the  Hyaena, — perhaps  Ur-bar-ra. 

Among  astrologers  it  portended  danger  to  life  from  cuts,  or  stabs,  and  fire. 
It  culminates  on  the  3d  of  November,  and  when  on  the  meridian  forms, 
with  y,  the  southern  side  of  the  Great  Square,  0  and  d  forming  the  northern, 
and  all  150  to  180  apart. 

Markab's  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  it  is  receding  from  us  at  the  rate  of 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  a  second. 

It  is  one  of  the  so-called  lunar  stars,  much  observed  in  navigation. 


p,   Irregularly  variable,    2.2  to  2.7,    deep  yellow. 

This  is  the  Bcheat  of  Tycho,  the  Palermo  Catalogue,  and  modern  lists 
generally,  either  from  Al  Said,  the  Upper  Part  of  the  Arm,  or,  as  Hyde 
suggested,  from  the  early  Sad,  appearing  in  the  subsequent  three  pairs  of 
stars.  Bayer  had  Seat  Alpheras ;  Chilmead,  Seat  Alfaras ;  Riccioli,  Bcheat 
Alpheraz ;  and  Schickard,  Saidol-pharazL 

Arabian  astronomers  knew  it  as  Manlrib  al  Faras,  the  Horse's  Shoul- 
der, mentioned  by  Ulug  Beg  and  still  occasionally  seen  as  Menkib.  Chil- 
mead had  Almenkeb. 

The  Great  Square,  of  which  0  formed  one  corner,  constituted  the  double 
asterism,  the  24th  and  25th  nakshatras,  Purva,  Former,  and  Uttara,  Latter, 
Bhadra-pada,  Beautiful,  Auspicious,  or  Happy  Feet,  sometimes  also  called 
Proahtha-pada,  Proshtha  meaning  a  Carp  or  Ox ;  but  Professor  Whitney 
translated  it "  Footstool  Feet,"  and  said  that  the  authorities  do  not  agree  as 
to  the  figures  by  which  they  are  represented,  for  by  some  the  one,  by  others 
the  other,  is  called  a  Couch  or  Bed,  the  alternate  one,  in  either  case,  being 
pronounced  a  Bifaced  Figure,  or  Twins.  This  Couch  is  a  not  inapt  repre- 
sentation of  the  group  if  both  asterisms  are  taken  together,  the  four  stars 
well  marking  the  feet.  Weber  calls  them  Pratishthana,  a  Stand  or  Sup- 
port, as  Whitney  wrote, 

an  evident  allusion  to  the  disposition  of  the  four  bright  stars  which  compose  it,  like  the  four 
feet  of  a  stand,  table,  bedstead,  or  the  like ; 

the  regents  of  these  nakshatras  being  Aja  Ekapat,  the  One-footed  Goat, 
and  Ahi  Budhya,  the  Bottom  Snake,  "  two  mythical  figures,  of  obscure 
significance,  from  the  Vedic  Pantheon."  The  24th  manzil,  formed  by  a  and 
0,  was  Al  Fargh  al  Ku^dim,  the  Fore  Spout,  1.  e.  of  the  water-bucket, — Al 


326  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

BirQni's  Al  Fargh  al  Awwal,  the  First,  or  the  Upper,  Spout;  and  the  24th 
situ  was  these  same  stars  known  as  Ting  She,  or  Shih,  a  House,  anciently 
Sal  and  Shat ;  but  it  also  comprised  parts  of  Aquarius  and  Capricornus. 
They  also  were  the  Persian  Vaht,  the  Sogdian  and  Khorasmian  Eanhftt 
Bath,  and  the  Coptic  Artulos,  all  signifying  something  pertaining  to  Water ; 
while  in  astrology  0  indicated  danger  to  mankind  from  that  element. 

Within  the  area  of  this  Square  Argelander  counted  only  about  30 
naked-eye  stars,  but  in  the  clearer  sky  of  Athens  Schmidt  saw  102. 

It  was  in  the  24th  situ  that  the  Chinese  record  a  conjunction  of  the 
planets  Mercury,  Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Saturn,  on  the  28th  of  February,  2449 
b.  c,  according  to  Bailly's  computations ;  but  we  sometimes  see  this  state- 
ment made  as  to  five  planets,  Venus  being  added,  and  as  having  taken 
place  on  the  29th  of  February,  that  year  being  bissextile.  Smyth  indefi- 
nitely mentions  this  conjunction  as  at  some  point  between  a  Arietis  and  the 
Pleiades;  Flammarion  states  that  it  was  in  Capricorn;  and  Steele  alludes 
to  it  as  of  2246  b.  c,  and  between  the  tenth  and  eighteenth  degrees  of 
Pisces.    At  that  date  the  signs  and  constellations  were  about  coincident. 

The  variability  of /3  was  discovered  by  Schmidt  in  1847,  and  Argelander 
found  a  period  of  forty-one  days;  but  Schoenfeld  thinks  that  irregular 
oscillations,  in  a  period  of  thirty  to  fifty  days,  are  more  probable. 

The  spectrum  of  Scheat  is  of  the  third  type  of  Secchi's  classification, 
which  includes  the  red  and  orange  stars  and  most  of  the  variables:  "a 
Ononis,  o  Herculis,  Antares,  and  0  Ceti  (Mira)  are  good  examples." 

The  star  is  receding  from  us  about  four  miles  a  second. 


Y,     3,    white, 

erroneously  placed  by  Tycho  in  Pisces,  marks  the  extreme  tip  of  the  Horse's 
wing,  so  that  its  name  Algenib  has  been  considered  as  derived  from  Al 
Janafe,  the  Wing,  but  it  probably  is  from  Al  Janb,  the  Side.  It  has  some- 
times been  written  Algemo.  Al  Biruni  quoted  it,  with  6  (a  Andromedae),  as 
Al  Fargh  al  Thani,  the  Second,  or  Lower,  Spout,  1.  t.  of  the  Bucket.  This 
also  is  the  title  of  the  25th  manzil,  but  appears  in  Professor  Whitney's  list 
as  Al  Fargh  al  Ku'Kir,  the  Rear  Spout,  and  in  Smyth's  as  Al  FargTL 

Chrysococca  called  it  nfjyaoog  from  the  constellation. 

Reeves  said  that  it  is  the  Chinese  Peih,  a  Wall  or  Partition,  thus  taking 
the  title  of  the  25th  situ,  which  it  marked  and,  with  6,  constituted.  It  lies 
at  the  junction  of  the  nakshatras  Bhadrapada  and  Revati;  and,  with  d,  was 
included  in  the  corresponding  lunar  station  of  several  other  nations. 


The  Constellations  327 

With  the  same  star  and  0  Cassiopeiae  it  makes  up  the  Three  Guides,  all 
these  being  almost  exactly  on  the  prime  meridian,  the  vernal  equinox  lying 
in  a  starless  region  of  Pisces  about  150  south  of  y  Pegasi.  Two  uth-mag- 
nitude  stars  are  close  by. 

0,     2.2,    white. 

This,  as  already  noted,  is  the  same  as  Alpheratz  (a  Andromedae),  and 
recognized  by  astronomers  of  every  age  as  in  either  constellation ;  or,  as 
Aratos  wrote,  £vvoc  aorfip, "  a  common  star."  It  seems  to  be  unnamed  as  a 
member  of  Pegasus. 

Al  Achsasi  included  it  with  y  in  the  Fargh  al  Mu'fiir. 


S,  Triple,    2.5, 1 1.5,  and  8.8,    yellow, ,  and  blue. 

Enif,  Enf,  and  Enir,  all  titles  for  this,  are  from  Al  Anf,  the  Nose,  by  which 
the  Arabians  designated  it.  Scaliger  had  Enf  Alpheras,  and  Schickard 
Aniphol  PharanL  It  was  also  Fnm  al  Farai,  the  Horse's  Mouth ;  and  Al 
Jafrfalah,  the  Lip,  this  last  being  found  on  one  of  their  globes. 

Bayer  quoted  from  "  the  interpreters  of  the  Almagest"  Chromium  and 
Muscida,  respectively  Jaw  and  Muzzle,  so  describing  its  position ;  but  these 
have  become  proper  names  for  f  Draconis  and  tx  Ursae  Majoris.  Flamsteed 
knew  it  as  Oi  Pegaii. 

With  0,  and  the  star  a  Aquarii,  it  was  the  23d  sieu,  Goei,  or  Wei,  Steep  or 
Danger,  anciently  Gui 

Enif  s  spectrum  is  Solar,  and  it  is  receding  from  us  about  five  miles  a 
second.     Gould  thinks  it  probably  variable. 


C,    3-7>    Ught  yellow. 

Homam  seems  to  have  been  first  given  to  this  in  the  Ihlermo  Catalogue, 
from  Sad1  al  Hum&m,  the  Lucky  Star  of  the  Hero,  in  which  Ulug  Beg 
included  f ;  other  lists  have  Homan.  But  Hyde  said  that  the  original 
was  Al  Hammam,  the  Whisperer.    Al  Tizini  mentioned  it  as  Sad  al 

1  This  Arabic  Sa'd  is  our  "  Good  Luck  "  and  a  component  word  of  many  titles  in  the  Desert 
sky,  all  of  which  seem  to  have  been  applied  to  stars  rising  in  the  morning  twilight  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  pleasant  season  of  spring.  Al  Sa'dain,  the  dual  form,  was  the  title  for  Jupiter 
and  Venus,  the  Two  Fortunate  Planets ;  Al  Hfthiftn,  the  Unlucky,  referring  to  Mars  and  Saturn. 


328  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Ha'ainah,  the  Lucky  Star  of  the  Ostriches ;  and  Al  Achsasi,  as  Ha'ir  Sad 
al  Bahaim,  the  Bright  Fortunate  One  of  the  Two  Beasts,  which  Al  Sufi 
had  said  were  0  and  v.  Thus  f  was  one  of  the  general  group  Al  SuM  al 
tfujum,  the  Fortunate  Stars. 

The  Chinese  called  it  Luy  Tien,  Thunder. 

70  to  the  north  of  f  is  the  point  assigned  by  Denning  as  the  radiant  of 
the  first  stream  ofPegauda,  the  meteors  visible  about  the  28th  of  June; 
although  Espin  locates  it  near  d  Cygni. 


?),  Double,    3.2, 

on  the  left  forearm,  is  the  Matar  of  Whitall's  Planisphere,  from  Al  Sad  al 
Matar,  the  Fortunate  Rain;  as  such,  however,  0  was  included  with  it. 

6,    3.8,    and    v,    4.8, 

were  Al  Sufi's  Sad  al  Bahaim,  the  Good  Luck  of  the  Two  Beasts;  Al 
Achsasi  adding  to  the  group  the  still  brighter  £    0  alone  is  Baham  in  some 
modern  lists;  but  Ulug  Beg  had  Biham,  the  Young  of  domestic  animals. 
It  appears  on  the  Dresden  globe  as  Al  Hawa'im,  the  Thirsty  Camels. 

%,  Triple  and  binary,    4.8,  5.3,  and  10.8,    yellowish  and  orange, 

marking  the  right  forearm,  is  unnamed  except  in  China,  where  it  is  Jih,  the 
Sun,  a  title  also  for  «  and  X  Librae. 

The  two  largest  stars  were  divided  by  Burnham  in  1880  and  found  to  be 
o/7.2  apart,  this  decreasing  to  o".i  in  1891.  Their  orbital  period  of  revolu- 
tion is  \iyi  years,  and,  with  that  of  6  Equulei,  the  most  rapid  known  to 
astronomers  until  See  discovered  the  binary  character  of  LI.  9091  in  Orion. 
The  first  and  third  stars  are  1 1"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  30805. 

\    4.1,    and    n,    3.4, 

were  Sad  al  Bbf,  the  Good  Luck  of  the  Excelling  One;  but  Kazwim 
designated  it  as  Sad  al  HazT,  the  Good  Luck  of  the  Camel  Striving  to 
Get  to  Pasture. 


The  Constellations  329 

v  was  Fum  al  Paras  and  Al  Jafrfalah,  but  both  titles  are  more  cor- 
rectly applied  to  e. 
-n  was  the  Chinese  Woo,  a  Pestle. 


with  v,  was  Al  Sufi's  Sad  al  Ha'amah,  which  Knobel  thinks  should  be  Al 
Ha  aim,  the  Cross-bars  over  a  well;  but  they  also  were  known  as  Al  Karab, 
the  Bucket-rope. 

The  usual  titles  for  r — Markab  and  Sagma  or  Salma  —  are  from  Bayer, 
but  the  last  two  should  be  Salm,  a  Leathern  Bucket. 

\  H,7]  o,  and  v  t,  forming  a  group  of  three  pairs,  were  a  noted  asterism  in 
China,  under  the  title  Li  Kung. 

This  long  list  of  names  for  rather  inconspicuous  stars  shows  unusual  early 
interest  in  the  constellation. 


There  was  the  knight  of  fair-hair'd  Danae  born, 

Perseus. 

Elton's  translation  of  the  Shield  of  Hercules. 

Perseus,  even  amid  the  stars,  must  take 
Andromeda  in  chains  aetherial ! 

Mrs.  Browning's  Paraphrases  on  Nohhhs. 


(ptrtm&,  #e  Cfyxmpion, 


the  French  Pers6e,  the  Italian  Perseo,  and  the  German  Perseus,  formerly 
was  catalogued  as  Perseus  et  Caput  Medusae. 

He  is  shown  in  early  illustrations  *  as  a  nude  youth  wearing  the  /a/aria, 
or  winged  sandals,  with  a  light  scarf  thrown  around  his  body,  holding  in 
his  left  hand  the  Gorgoneion,  or  head  of  Medusa-Guberna,  the  mortal  one  of 
the  Gorgons,  and  in  his  right  the  &pn7jt  or/a/x,  which  he  had  received  from 
Mercury.  Diirer  drew  him  thus,  but  added  a  flowing  robe,  a  figuring  that 
Bayer,  Argelander,  and  Heis  have  followed,  as  they  have,  in  the  main,  all  of 
that  great  artist's  constellation  figures. 

A  title  popular  at  one  time,  and  still  seen,  was  the  Resener,  for,  according 
to  the  story,  Perseus,  when  under  obligations  to  furnish  a  Gorgon's  head  to 
Polydectes,  found  the  Sisters  asleep  at  the  Ocean ;  and,  using  the  shield  of 

1  Tintoretto's  celebrated  painting  of  the  hero's  exploit  now  hangs  in  the  Hermitage  Gallery 

of  Saint  Petersburg. 


330  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Minerva  as  a  mirror,  that  he  might  not  be  petrified  by  Medusa's  glance,  cut 
off  her  head,  which  he  then  utilized  in  the  rescue  of  Andromeda.  Some  one 
has  written  about  this : 

In  the  mirror  of  his  polished  shield 
Reflected,  saw  Medusa  slumbers  take, 
And  not  one  serpent  by  good  chance  awake  ; 
Then  backward  an  unerring  blow  he  sped, 
And  from  her  body  lopped  at  once  her  head. 

Aratos  characterized  the  stellar  hero  as  "  stirring  up  a  dust  in  heaven," 
either  from  the  fact  that  his  feet  are  in  the  celestial  road,  the  Milky  Way,  or 
from  the  haste  with  which  he  is  going  to  the  rescue  of  Andromeda ;  and 
Manilius,  describing  his  place  in  the  sky,  wrote  : 

Her  Perseus  joyns,  her  Foot  his  Shoulder  bears 
Proud  of  the  weight,  and  mixes  with  her  Stars. 

His  story  probably  was  well  known  in  Greece  anterior  to  the  5th  century 
b.  c,  for  Euripides  and  Sophocles  each  wrote  a  drama  based  on  Androme- 
da's history ;  and  with  them,  as  with  the  subsequent  Greeks,  he  was  Ueporis, 
a  word  that  may  be  derived  from  the  Hebrew  Parash,  a  Horseman, 
although  Ctesias,  in  his  Tlzpoind  of  about  400  B.  c,  had  Panond&s  as  a 
stellar  name  from  Babylonia  that  may  be  this.  Para&iea,  current  in  late 
Indian  astronomy,  is  only  another  form  of  the  Greek  original. 

'Inno-iys,  the  Horseman,  and  Profogus,  the  Flying  One,  also  are  titles  for 
these  stars. 

Classical  poets  called  it  Pinnipes,  referring  to  the  Maria/  Cylleniui,  the 
Hero  having  been  aided  by  Mercury;  Abantiadet  and  Acrisioniades,  from 
his  grandfather  and  father ;  Inaohides,  from  a  still  earlier  ancestor,  the  first 
king  of  Argos;  and  Deferens  caput  Algol,  Viotor  Gorgonei  monstri,  Got- 
gonifer,  Gorgonisue,  and  Deferens  cathenam,  from  the  association  of  Perseus 
with  Medusa  and  the  chain  of  Andromeda. 

Alove  probably  came,  by  some  error  in  transcription,  from  Al  Ghul,  more 
correctly  applied  to  the  star  0 ;  while  Bershawish,  Fersaus,  and  Siaush  are 
plainly  the  Arabians'  orthography  of  the  Greek  title,  the  letter  P  not  being 
found  in  their  alphabet.  They,  however,  commonly  called  it  Hindi  Mi 
al  Ghul,  the  Bearer  of  the  Demon's  Head,  which  became  Alminugual  in 
Moorish  Spain,  and  was  translated  from  Ulug  Beg  as  Portans  caput  larvae, 
the  same  being  still  seen  in  the  German  Trager  des  Kedusen  Kop£ 

The  Celeub,  Cheleub,  and  Chelub  of  the  1515  Almagest \  Al/onsine  Tabks, 
and  Bayer's  Uranometria  probably  are  from  the  Arabic  Kullab,  the  Hero's 
weapon,  although  Grotius  and  others  have  referred  them  to  Kalb,  a  Dog, 
which  would  render  intelligible  the  occasional  title  Canifl. 


The  Constellations  331 

La  Lande  identified  the  figure  with  the  Egyptian  Khem,  and  with  Mithras 
of  Persia,  Herodotus  having  asserted  that  Perseus,  through  his  and  Androm- 
eda's son  Perses,  gave  name  to  that  country  and  her  people,  who  pre- 
viously were  the  Chephenes,  as  descended  from  Chepheus,  the  son  of  Belus, 
identified  by  some  with  the  Cepheus  of  the  sky.  The  kings  of  Cappado- 
cia  and  of  Pontus,  similarly  descended,  represented  the  Hero  on  their  coins. 

Cacodaemon  was  the  astrologers1  name  for  this  constellation,  with  special 
reference  to  Algol  as  marking  the  demon's  head ;  while  Schickard,  Novid- 
ius,  and  the  biblical  school  generally  said  that  it  was  David  with  the  head 
of  Goliath ;  but  others  of  the  same  kind  made  of  it  the  Apostle  Paul  with  his 
Sword  and  Book.  Mrs.  Jameson  thought  that  the  legend  of  Perseus  and 
Cetus  was  the  foundation  of  that  of  Saint  George  and  the  Dragon,  one 
version  making  this  saint  to  have  been  born  at  Lydda,  only  nine  miles 
from  Joppa,  the  scene  of  Perseus'  exploit. 

The  constellation  is  280  in  length, —  one  of  the  most  extended  in  the 
heavens, —  stretching  from  the  upraised  hand  of  Cassiopeia  nearly  to  the 
Pleiades,  and  well  justifying  the  epithet  Trepi^Kcroc,  "  very  tall,"  applied  to 
it  by  Aratos.  It  offers  a  field  of  especial  interest  to  possessors  of  small 
telescopes,  while  even  an  opera-glass  reveals  much  that  is  worthy  of  ob- 
servation.  Argelander  gives  a  list  of  81  naked-eye  stars,  and  Heis  136. 

The  former  has  suggested  that  within  its  boundaries  may  lie  the  possible 
central  point  of  the  universe,  which  Madler  located  in  the  Pleiades  and 
Maxwell  Hall  in  Pisces, —  all  probably  unwarranted  conclusions. 

<J,  $ ,  <r,  a,  y,  rj,  and  others  on  the  figure's  right  side,  form  a  slight  curve, 
open  towards  the  northeast,  that  has  been  called  the  Segment  of  Perseus. 

Qt,      2.1,     brilliant  lilac  and  ashy. 

Algenib,  with  the  early  variations  of  Algeneb,  Elgenab,  Gonib,  Chenib, 
and  Alehemb,  is  from  Al  Janb,  the  Side,  its  present  position  on  the  maps ; 
Chrysococca  similarly  called  it  UXevpd  Uepadovg. 

Another  name,  Marfak  or  Mirfak,  the  Elbow,  sometimes  written  Mirzao, 
comes  from  the  Arabians'  Karfik  al  Thurayya,  thus  qualified  as  being  next 
to  the  Pleiades  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other  elbow.  But  this  may 
indicate  a  different  representation  of  Perseus  in  their  day, —  a  suspicion 
stengthened  by  the  nomenclature  of  others  of  his  stars,  especially  of  f  and  0. 

Assemani  alluded  to  a  title  on  the  Borgian  globe, — Mughammid,  or  Mu- 
fiammir,  al  Thurayya,  the  Concealer  of  the  Pleiades, — which,  from  its  loca- 
tion, may  be  for  this  star. 

With  y,  d,  and  others  it  was  the  Chinese  Tien  Yuen,  the  Heavenly  En- 
closure. 


332  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Algenib  never  sets  in  the  latitude  of  New  York  City,  but  just  touches 
the  horizon  at  its  lower  culmination.  Its  spectrum  is  of  Secchi's  second,  or 
Solar,  type,  and  the  Potsdam  observations  indicate  that  the  star  is  ap- 
proaching our  system  at  the  rate  of  6j£  miles  a  second. 

the  Gorgon's  head,  a  ghastly  sight, 
Deformed  and  dreadful,  and  a  sign  of  woe. 

Bryant's  translation  of  the  Iliad. 

(3,  Spectroscopic  binary  and  variable,     2.3  to  3.5,     white. 

Algol,  the  Demon,  the  Demon  Star,  and  the  Blinking  Demon,  from  the  Ara- 
bians' Bit's  al  Ghul,  the  Demon's  Head,  is  said  to  have  been  thus  called  from 
its  rapid  and  wonderful  variations ;  but  I  find  no  evidence  of  this,  and  that 
people  probably  took  the  title  from  Ptolemy.  Al  Ghul  literally  signifies  a 
Mischief-maker,  and  the  name  still  appears  in  the  Ghoul  of  the  Arabian 
Nights  and  of  our  day.  It  degenerated  into  the  Alove  often  used  some 
centuries  ago  for  this  star. 

Ptolemy  catalogued  it  as  tgjv  tv  yopyov/w  6  Aa/irrpdc,  "  the  bright  one 
of  those  in  the  Gorgon's  head,"  which  Al  Tizini  followed  in  his  Hair,  for, 
with  7r,  p,  and  w,  it  made  up  that  well-known  group,  itself  being  the  Got- 
gonea  prima ;  the  Topyoviov  of  Chrysococca,  Gorgoneum  Caput  of  Vitruvius, 
Caput  Gorgonis  of  Hyginus,  and  the  Gorgonii  Ora  of  Manilius. 

With  astronomical  writers  of  three  centuries  ago  Algol  was  Caput  Iw 
vae,  the  Spectre's  Head. 

Hipparchos  and  Pliny  made  a  separate  constellation  of  the  Gorgon 
stars  as  the  Head  of  Medusa,  this  descending  almost  to  our  own  day,  al- 
though always  connected  with  Perseus. 

The  Hebrews  knew  Algol  as  Bosh  ha  Sfttan,  Satan's  Head,  Chilmead's 
Bosch  hassatan,  the  Divela  head ;  but  also  as  Lilith,  Adam's  legendary  first 
wife,1  the  nocturnal  vampyre  from  the  lower  world  that  reappeared  in  the 
demonology  of  the  Middle  Ages  as  the  witch  Lilis,  one  of  the  characters 
in  Goethe's  Walpurgis  Nacht. 

The  Chinese  gave  it  the  gruesome  title  Tseih  She,  the  Piled-up  Corpses. 

1  We  are  indebted  to  the  Talmudists  for  this  story,  which  probably  originated  in  Babylonia; 
and  they  added  that,  after  Adam  had  separated  from  Lffith  and  their  demon  children,  Eve  was 
created  for  him.  Our  Authorized  Version  renders  the  originalword.in/ftuoAxxxiv,  14,  by**scn*cb 
owl";  the  Revised  Version,  by  "night-monster";  Cheyne  adopts  the  Hebrew  LUith  in  the  Pofy- 
chrome  Bible;  and  Luther 's  Bible  had  Kobold,  but  this  corresponded  to  the  Scottish  Brown* 
and  the  English  "Robin  Goodfellow/'— Shakespeare's  "Puck."  Saint  Jeromes  Vvlg* 
translated  it  "  Lamia,"  the  Greek  and  Roman  title  for  the  fabled  woman,  beautiful  above,  bat 
a  serpent  below,  that  Keats  reproduced  in  his  Ijtmia. 


The  Constellations  333 

Astrologers  of  course  said  that  it  was  the  most  unfortunate,  violent,  and 
dangerous  star  in  the  heavens,  and  it  certainly  has  been  one  of  the  best  ob- 
served, as  the  most  noteworthy  variable  in  the  northern  sky.  It "  continues 
sensibly  constant  at  2.3  magnitude  during  2 y2  days,  then  decreases,  at  first 
gradually,  and  afterward  with  increasing  rapidity,  to  3.5  magnitude";  its 
light  oscillations  occupying  about  nine  hours;  its  total  period  being  stated  as 
2  days  20  hours  48  minutes  55  seconds.  Al  Sufi,  a  good  observer  for  his 
day,  yet  strangely  making  no  allusion  to  its  variability,  called  it  a  2d- 
magnitude ;  and  the  phenomenon  was  first  scientifically  noted  by  Monta- 
nari  during  several  years  preceding  1672.  This  was  confirmed  by  Ma- 
raldi's  observations  of  1694,  and,  later,  by  those  of  the  Saxon  farmer 
Palitsch,1  but  its  approximate  period  seems  to  have  been  first  announced 
by  Goodricke  in  1782,  who  even  then  advanced  the  theory  of  a  dark  com- 
panion revolving  around  it  with  immense  velocity,  which  periodically  cut 
off  its  light.  This,  reaffirmed  by  Pickering  in  1880,  was  made  certain  by 
the  spectroscope  in  the  hands  of  Vogel  of  Potsdam  in  1889.  Chandler 
thinks  that  there  must  exist  another  invisible  body  larger  than  either  Algol 
or  its  companion,  around  which  both  revolve  in  a  period  of  130  years;  but 
Tisserand  has  shown  that  the  phenomenon  on  which  Chandler  bases  this 
opinion  can  be  explained  in  a  different  and  simpler  way.  Its  name  is 
used  for  the  type  indicating  short-period  variables  whose  changes  may 
be  explained  by  this  theory  of  "  eclipses."  Of  these  seventeen  are  now 
known. 

Although  classed  among  the  white  stars  with  a  Sirian  spectrum,  Al  Sufi 
wrote  of  it  as  red,  which  Schmidt  confirmed  as  seen  by  him  at  Athens  for  a 
short  time  in  184 1.  It  seems  to  be  approaching  us  at  the  rate  of  about 
a  mile  a  second ;  and  is  estimated  as  a  little  more  than  a  million  miles  in 
diameter. 

When  on  the  meridian  Algol  is  almost  exactly  in  the  zenith  of  New  York 
City.    This  is  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  23d  of  December. 


£,   Double,    3.5  and  9,     greenish  white  and  lilac. 

In  China  this,  with  the  4th-magnitude  v  and  some  others,  was  Keuen  She. 

It  has  been  suspected  of  variation  in  color  as  well  as  in  light.  The 
components  are  about  9"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  io°,  and  form  an  in- 
teresting object  for  a  four-inch  telescope. 

1  Palitsch  also  was  famous  for  his  discovery  of  Halley's  comet  on  Christmas  night,  1758. 


334  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

y],   Double,    5  and  8.5,    orange  and  smalt  blue, 

is  unnamed  except  in  China,  where,  with  y,  it  was  Tien.  Chuen,  Heaven's  Ship. 
But  it  is  noticeable  in  having  three  small  stars  on  one  side  nearly  in  line, 
and  one  on  the  other,  forming  a  miniature  representation  of  Jupiter  and  his 
satellites.    The  components  are  28"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  3000. 

X  and  p,  4th-  to  5th-magnitude  stars,  were  Tseih  Shwuy,  Piled-up  Waters. 

J,  a  \% -magnitude,  is  the  Menkib  of  Burritt,  from  Mankib  al  Thurayya, 
the  Shoulder  of — *'.  e.  next  to — the  Pleiades  in  the  Arabian  figure,  although 
on  modern  charts  it  marks  the  left  ankle. 

o,  a  double  star  of  4th  and  9th  magnitudes,  is  Ati  and  Atik,  from  the  word 
Al  Atik  found  on  the  Borgian  globe,  at  the  space  between  the  shoulders, 
and  applied  to  it  by  Ulug  Beg;  but  it  is  now  located  near  the  left  foot 

7r,  a  $y2  -magnitude,  was  Gorgonea  secanda;  and  p,  a  variable  from  34 
to  4.2,  orange  in  color,  was  Gorgonea  tertia. 

t,  a  4j£ -magnitude,  with  others  in  the  constellation,  was  known  by  the 
Chinese  as  Ta  Ling,  the  Great  Mound. 

marking  the  tip  of  the  weapon  in  Perseus'  hand,  bears  many  titles  with 
Bayer,  all  referring  to  its  location;  but  none  of  these — indeed, no  name  at 
all  —  is  seen  in  modern  lists.     Bayer  wrote  of  them : 

In  fake  adamanthina  trium  praecedcns.  Falx  dicitur  &  curvus  Harpes,  Gladios 
falcatus,  &  incurvus,  Arab.  Nembus,  Maroni  Ensis  falcatus,  &  curvus  Saturni  dens. 

The  "  Arab"  would  seem  erroneous,  for  Nembns  is  neither  Arabic  nor 
Latin,  and  if  intended  for  Nimbus,  is  equally  wrong,  as  there  is  no  sus- 
picion of  nebulosity  about  the  star.  Curvus  Saturni  dens  was  Vergil's 
designation  in  the  Georgics  for  a  "  pruning-hook,"  and  the  equivalent  of  Falx 
and  a Ap-xi],  so  well  known  in  connection  with  Perseus. 

X,  a  multiple  star,  and  the  little  h  mark  two  clusters  noticeable  with  the 
naked  eye,  Nos.  884  and  869  of  the  New  General  Catalogue,  30'  and  15'  in 
diameter,  almost  connected,  and  apparently  a  protuberant  part  of  the 
Milky  Way.  They  were  the  Arabians'  Mi  (am  al  Thurayya,  the  Wrist  of 
—  1.  e.  next  to  —  the  Pleiades. 

Hipparchos  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  record  them,  which  he  did  as 
ve<t>eXoEi6rfgf  a  "  cloudy  spot ";  Ptolemy,  as  ovorpo^fj, a  "  dense  mass";  and 
subsequent  astronomers  down  to  Galileo's  day  similarly  considered  them 
nebulous.  The  Alfonsine  Tables  said,  revolutic  nebulosa,  and  the  Almagest 
of  iS$i,girus  ille  in  eapulo  ensis ,  this  girus  —  correcdy  gyrus  —  signifying  a 
circle.    They  seem  strangely  to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  astrologers, 


The  Constellations  335 

who,  as  a  rule,  devoted  much  attention  to  clusters  as  harmful  objects  which 
portended  accidents  to  sight  and  blindness. 

In  China  they  were  Foo  Shay. 

These  stars  and  clusters  are  now  known  as  the  Sword  Hand  of  Persons, 
'»  g>  4>j  and  v  marking  the  outstretched  sword.  In  small  telescopes  the 
twin  clusters  form  one  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  within  their  reach. 

Between  %  an^  V  ues  tne  diverging  point  of  the  Perseids,  the  prominent 
meteor  stream  visible  from  the  19th  of  July  to  the  17  th  of  August,  its 
maximum  occurring  about  the  10th  of  the  latter  month  and  continuing 
several  days.  These  appear  in  the  early  part  of  the  night,  at  an  elevation 
of  from  fifty-six  to  seventy  miles,  moving  with  moderate  speed  and  leaving 
streaks  of  yellow  light ;  the  radiant  advancing  nearly  300  eastward  during 
their  period  of  visibility.  Schiaparelli  found  their  orbit  coincident  with 
that  of  Turtle's  comet,  III  of  1862.  The  Perseids  were  recorded  as  far 
back  as  81 1,  seven  appearances  being  mentioned  down  to  841,  and  they  are 
supposed  to  have  been  members  of  the  solar  system  for  thousands  of  years, 
although  now,  perhaps,  steadily  decreasing  in  number.  Dante  may  have 
made  reference  to  them  in  the  Purgatorio  : 

Vapors  enkindled  saw  I  ne'er  so  swiftly 
At  early  nightfall  cleave  the  air  serene, 
Nor,  at  the  set  of  sun,  the  clouds  of  August ; 

and  in  the  later  Middle  Ages  they  were  known  as  the  Larmes  de  Saint 
Lament,  Saint  Laurence's l  Tears,  his  martyrdom  upon  the  red-hot  gridiron 
having  taken  place  on  the  10th  of  August,  258. 
o,  of  the  5th  magnitude,  was  Oorgonea  qnarta. 


(pfloenur, 


the  French  Phftnix,  the  Gennan  Phonix,  and  the  Italian  Fenioe,  is  one  of 
Bayer's  new  6gures,  between  Eridanus  and  Grus,  south  of  Fornax  and 
Sculptor, —  its  a,  k,  fi,  0,  v,  and  y  in  a  line  curving  toward  the  south  like  that 
of  a  primitive  Boat,  by  which  figure,  as  Al  Zauxak,  the  Arabs  knew  them. 
Al  Sufi  cited  another  name,— Al  Rial,  the  Young  Ostriches, —  which  Hyde 
wrongly  read  Al  Zibal,  perhaps  a  synonymous  title;  and  Kazwini  used  Al 
Sufi's  term  in  describing  some  stars  of  Al  Nahr,  the  River,  in  which  our 
Phoenix  was  then  included  by  Arabian  astronomers. 

1  It  is  in  the  church  of  this  Saint  Laurence  at  Upton  that  the  remains  of  Sir  William  Her- 
schel  lie  buried,  and  over  them  is  the  fitting  inscription : 

CoelorumperrupU  claustra. 


336  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Others  changed  the  figure  to  that  of  a  Griffin,  or  Eagle,  so  that  the  in- 
troduction of  a  Phoenix  into  modern  astronomy  was,  in  a  measure,  by 
adoption  rather  than  by  invention. 

But,  whether  Bayer  knew  it  or  not,  his  title  is  an  appropriate  one,  for 
with  various  early  nations  —  at  all  events,  in  China,  Egypt,  India,  and  Persia 
—  this  bird  has  been  "  an  astronomical  symbol  of  cyclic  period,"  some  ver- 
sions of  the  well-known  fable  making  its  life  coincident  with  the  Great 
Year  of  the  ancients  beginning  at  noon  of  the  day  when  the  sun  entered 
among  the  stars  of  Aries;  and,  in  Egypt,  with  the  Sothic  Period  when  the 
sun  and  Sirius  rose  together  on  the  20th  of  July.  Thompson  further  writes 
of  this : 

A  new  Phoenix-period  is  said  to  have  commenced  a.  d.  139,  in  the  reign  of  An  toning 
Pius  ;  and  a  recrudescence  of  astronomical  symbolism  associated  therewith  is  manifested 
on  the  coins  of  that  Emperor. 

Coincidently,  Ptolemy  adopted  as  the  epoch  of  his  catalogue  the  year  138, 
the  first  of  Antoninus.  With  the  Egyptians,  who  knew  this  bird  as  Bennu 
and  showed  it  on  their  coins,  it  was  an  emblem  of  immortality;  indeed  it 
generally  has  been  such  in  pagan  as  well  as  in  Christian  times. 

In  China  the  constellation  was  Ho  Neaou,  the  Fire  Bird,  showing  its 
derivation  there  from  the  Jesuits. 

Julius  Schiller  combined  it  with  Grus  in  his  Aaron  the  High  Priest 

Gould  catalogues  139  naked-eye  stars  here,  from  2.4  to  7. 

a,  of  2.2  magnitude,  was  Al  Tizini's  Na'ir  al  Zanrak,  the  Bright  One 
in  the  Boat,  rendered  in  Hyde's  translation  lucida  Cymbat.  It  culminates 
just  above  the  horizon  of  New  York  City  on  the  17th  of  November,  and  is 
quite  conspicuous  from  its  solitary  position  southeast  from  Fomalhaut 

A  i4th-magnitude  companion,  purple  in  tint,  has  recently  been  discov- 
ered by  See,  9"  away,  with  a  position  angle  of  2800. 


And  here  fantastic  fishes  duskly  float, 
Using  the  calm  for  waters,  while  their  fires 
Throb  out  quick  rhythms  along  the  shallow  air. 

Mrs.  Browning's  A  Drama,  of  ExiU. 

are  the  German  Fiache,  the  Italian  Pesci,  the  French  Poisaons,  the  Anglo- 
Norman  Peiaun,  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  Fixaa.    The  Alfonsine  Tables  of 


The  Constellations  337 

1 52 1  had  Pesoes,  and  the  Almagest  of  15 15  Echiguen,  Bayer's  Ichiguen,  a 
word  that  has  defied  commentators  unless  Caesius  has  explained  it  as  being 
a  corruption  of  Iehthues. 

The  figures  are  widely  separated  in  the  sky,  the  northeastern  one  lying 
just  south  of  /3  Andromedae,  headed  towards  it,  and  the  southwestern  one 
east  from  and  headed  towards  Aquarius  and  Pegasus,  the  lucida  marking 
the  knot  of  the  connecting  bands.  Both  are  north  of  the  ecliptic,  the  first 
culminating  on  the  28th  of  November,  and  the  second  about  three  weeks 
earlier.  In  early  days  they  were  shown  close  together,  one  above  the  other, 
but  in  reversed  directions,  although  united  as  now. 

By  reason  of  precession  this  constellation  is  now  the  first  of  the  zodiac, 
but  entirely  within  its  boundaries  lies  the  sign  Aries;  the  vernal  equinox 
being  located  in  a  comparatively  starless  region  south  of  g>  in  the  tail  of  the 
southwestern  Fish,  and  about  20  west  of  "a  line  from  a  Andromedae 
through  y  Pegasi  continued  as  far  again."  This  equinoctial  point  is  known 
as  the  First  of  Aries,  and  the  Greenwich  of  the  Sky ;  and  from  their  contain- 
ing it,  the  Fishes  are  called  the  Leaden  of  the  Celestial  Host 

The  Greeks  knew  them  as  'l#0ve  and  'lxOveg,  in  the  dual  and  plural ; 
the  Romans  as  we  do,  often  designating  them  as  Imbrifer  Duo  Puces, 
Gemini  Pisces,  and  Piscis  Gemellus.  Classic  authors  said  Aquilonius,  some- 
times Aqnilonaris;  and  very  appropriately,  for  the  Aquilo  of  the  Romans, 
perhaps  derived  from  aqua,  or  aquilus,  signified  a  rain-bringing  wind  from 
the  north,  and  well  represented  the  supposed  watery  character  of  the  con- 
stellation, as  also  its  northerly  position.  Ampelius,  however,  ascribed  Aquilo 
to  Gemini,  and  Eurus,  or  Vulturnus,  the  Southeast  Wind,  to  Pisces. 

Miss  Clerke  thinks  that  the  dual  form  of  this  constellation  recalls  the 
additional  morith  which  every  six  years  was  inserted  into  the  Babylonian 
calendar  of  360  days ;  and  Sayce,  agreeing  in  this  opinion,  translates  the 
early  title  for  these  stars  as  the  Fishes  of  Hea  or  la.  It  has  also  been 
found  on  Euphratean  remains  as  Nuni,  the  Fishes,  a  supposed  equivalent 
of  its  other  title,  Zib,  of  the  later  Graeco-Babylonian  astronomy ;  although 
this  last  word  may  mean  "  Boundary  "  as  being  at  the  end  of  the  zodiac. 
Another  signification  is  the  Water,  which  we  have  already  seen  with  Aratos 
for  this  part  of  the  sky;  this  also  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  Atl,  the 
Aztecs'  name  for  Pisces. 

It  was  the  Babylonian  Nunu,  the  Syriac  Huno,  the  Persian  Mahik,  and 
the  Turkish  Baffle,  all  translated  "  Fish  ";  while  Kircher  cited,  from  Coptic 
Egypt,  TliKOTupiuv,  Piscis  Hori,  which  Brown  translates  "  Protection,"  but 
claims  for  a  Coptic  lunar  asterism  formed  by  0  and  y  Arietis. 

In  earliest  Chinese  astronomy,  with  Aquarius,  Capricornus,  and  a  part  of 

22 


338  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Sagittarius,  it  was  the  northern  one  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  zodiac,  the 
Dark  Warrior,  or  the  residence  of  the  Dark,  or  Northern,  Emperor;  but 
later,  in  their  zodiac  of  twelve  figures,  it  was  the  Pig,  T«eu  Two ;  and,  after  the 
Jesuits,  Shwang  Yu,  the  Two  Fishes. 

With  the  Arabians  it  was  Al  Samakah, —  Chilmead's  Alaemcha,— or,  in 
the  dual,  Al  Samakatain ;  and  Al  Hilt,  the  Fish,  referring  to  the  southern 
one,  the  Vernal  Fish,  as  marking  that  equinox;  the  northern  being  con- 
founded with  Andromeda's  stars  and  so  not  associated  with  the  zodiac.  From 
these  came  Sameh,  Haut,  El  Haut,  and  Elhautine  in  Bayer's  Uranonutria. 

Dante  combined  the  two  in  his  Celeste  Laaea,  the  Celestial  Roach  or 
Mullet,  saying  that  here  and  in  Aquarius  geomancers  saw  their  Fortuna 
Major;  and  thus  described  I  Pesci : 

quivering  are  the  Fishes  on  the  horizon, 
And  the  Wain  wholly  over  Caurus  lies. 

This  was  on  a  Saturday  morning,  and  the  positions  of  the  constellations  in- 
dicate that  the  time  was  just  before  sunrise  in  the  month  of  April;  Caurus. 
or  Corns,  the  Northwest  Wind,  symbolizing  that  quarter  of  the  heavens. 

Varaha  Mihira  mentioned  the  constellation  as  Ittha,  in  which  the  Greek 
word  appears ;  but  before  his  day  it  was  Anta,  Jitu,  and  Mina  or  Hioam 
in  the  Tamil  dialect. 

The  26th  nakshatra,  Revati,  Abundant  or  Wealthy,  lay  here  in  the  thirty- 
two  stars  from  £  northwards,  figured  as  a  Brum  or  Tabor.  But  the  manziL 
Batn  al  Hut,  the  Fish's  Belly,  or  Al  Risha',  the  Cord,  and  the  corre- 
sponding situ,  Koei,  or  Kwei,  Striding  Legs,  were  formed  by  sixteen  stars  in 
a  figure  8  from  ^  Piscium  to  v  Andromedae,  and  mainly  lay  in  this  con- 
stellation, although  0  and  f  in  Andromeda  seem  to  have  been  their  deter- 
minant points.  All  of  these  stations,  however,  may  have  been  even  more 
extended,  for  there  certainly  is  "  a  perplexing  disagreement  in  detail  among 
the  three  systems." 

Al  Biruni  asserted  that  "  the  name  of  the  sign  in  all  languages  signifies 
only  one  fish,"  and  it  is  probable  that  the  original  asterism  was  such,  for. 
according  to  Eratosthenes,  it  symbolized  the  great  Syrian  goddess  Derke 
or  Derketo,  and  so,  later,  was  named  Dea  Syria,  Dercis,  Dereetis,  Dercete, 
Proles  Dercia,  and  Phacetis.  The  Greeks  called  this  'ATopyanc;1  and 
from  a  supposed  derivation  of  this  word  from  Adir  and  Dag  (Great  and 
Fish)  it  was  drawn  with  a  woman's  head  upon  a  huge  fish's  body.  In  this 
manner  it  was  connected  with  the  Syrian  Dagdn  and  the  Jews'  Dagafin,  their 

1  Allusion  was  made  to  this  Atargatis  in  the  apocryphal  2d  Book  of  Maccabees,  xii.  26;  and  gems 
now  in  the  British  Museum  show  the  fish-god  with  a  star  or  other  astronomical  symbol. 


The  Constellations  339 

title  for  the  Two  Fishes, —  Riccioli's  Dagiotho.  Avienus  called  the  con- 
stellation Bombyoii  Hierapolitani ;  Grotius  correcting  the  error  in  orthogra- 
phy to  Bambyoii,  as  Derke  was  worshiped  at  Bambyce, —  the  Mabog  of 
Mesopotamia,  or  Hierapolis, —  on  the  borders  of  Syria.  Thus,  too,  it  was 
DiiSyriL 

But  the  Greeks  confounded  this  divinity  with  another  Syrian  goddess, 
Astarte,  identified  with  'AQpodirrj  (Venus),  who  precipitated  herself,  with 
her  son  "Epwc  (Cupid),  into  the  Euphrates  when  frightened  by  the 
attack  of  the  monster  Typhon ;  these  becoming  two  fishes  that  afterwards 
were  placed  in  the  zodiac.  Latin  classical  authors,  with  the  same  ground- 
work of  the  story,  made  Pisces  the  fishes  that  carried  Venus  and  her  boy 
out  of  danger,  so  that,  as  Manilius  said, 

Venus  ow'd  her  Safety  to  their  Shape. 

The  constellation  was  thus  known  as  Venus  et  Cupido,  Venus  Syria  cum 
Cupidine,  Venus  cum  Adone,  Dione,  and  Veneris  Mater;  and  it  has  been 
Ovpavia  and  Urania,  the  Sarmatian  Aphrodite.  All  this,  perhaps,  was  the 
foundation  of  the  Syrians'  idea  that  fish  were  divine,  so  that  they  abstained 
from  them  as  an  article  of  food ;  Ovid  repeating  this  in  the  Fasti,  in  Gower's 

rendering : 

Hence  Syrians  hate  to  eat  that  kind  of  fishes ; 
Nor  is  it  fit  to  make  their  gods  their  dishes. 

But  Xenophon  limited  this  restriction  to  the  fish  of  the  river  Chalos. 

A  scholiast  on  Aratos,  commented  on  by  Grotius,  said  that  the  "  Chal- 
daeans "  called  the  northernmost  Fish  Xekidovtag  /#0i;c,  shown  with  the 
head  of  a  swallow,  a  representation  that  Scaliger  attributed  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  bird  in  the  spring,  when  the  sun  is  in  this  region  of  the  sky. 
Dupuis  had  much  to  say  about  this  changed  figure,  calling  it  l'Hirondelle, 
but  as  of  the  Arabs;  and  this  idea  has  led  to  confusion  in  the  Piscine  titles 
already  noticed  under  Apus.  The  Greek  word,  however,  was  common 
for  a  Tunny,  so  that  there  is  reason  enough  for  its  application  to  either 
of  the  Pisces  in  their  normal  shape.  This  northern  Fish  has  sometimes 
been  considered  as  representing  the  monster  sent  to  devour  Andromeda, 
and  its  proximity  to  the  latter  would  render  this  more  appropriate  than  the 
comparatively  distant  Cetus ;  in  fact,  KtJtoc  was  as  often  used  by  the  Greeks 
for  the  Tunny  as  it  was  for  the  Whale. 

Some  of  the  Jews  ascribed  the  joint  constellation  to  the  joint  tribes  of 
Simeon  and  Levi,  whose  sanguinary  character  Jacob  on  his  death-bed  so 
vividly  portrayed;  others,  to  Gad  the  Marauder.     Perhaps   it   was  from 


34°  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

this  that  Pisces  was  considered  of  such  malignant  influence  in  human 
affairs, —  "a  dull,  treacherous,  and  phlegmatic  sign";  yet  this  opinion, 
doubtless,  was  anterior  to  the  patriarch's  time,  for  the  Egyptians,  the  in- 
structors of  the  Hebrews  in  astrology,  are  said  to  have  abstained  from  eat- 
ing sea-fish  out  of  dread  and  abhorrence ;  and  when  they  would  express 
anything  odious,  represented  a  fish  in  their  hieroglyphics.  Pliny,  too, 
asserted  that  the  appearance  of  a  comet  here  indicated  great  trouble  from 
religious  differences  besides  war  and  pestilence ;  but  this  became  the  com- 
mon reputation  of  comets  wherever  they  showed  themselves. 

In  early  astrology  the  constellation  appropriately  was  under  the  care 
of  the  sea-god  Neptune,  and  so  the  Neptuni  Sidus  of  Manilius ;  and  it  was 
the  Exaltation  of  Venus,  as  Chaucer  said  in  the  Wyf  of  Bathes  Ta/ey— 

In  Pisces  where  Venus  is  exaltat, — 

which  Sir  Thomas  Browne,  the  author-physician  of  the  17th  century,  thus 
commented  upon : 

Who  will  not  commend  the  wit  of  astrology  ?  Venus,  born  out  of  the  sea,  bath  her 
exaltation  in  Pisces. 

Thus  it  naturally  ruled  the  Euphrates,  Tigris,  and  the  Red  Sea,  and  Parthia; 

but  in  later  days  was  assigned  to,  the  guardianship  of  Jupiter,  whose  Home 

it  was,  reigning  over  Egypt,  Calabria,  Galicia,  Normandy,  Portugal,  Spain, 

and  Ratisbon.     It  was  predominant  in  influence  with  mariners,  and  had 

charge  of  the  human  feet ;  the  designated  color  being  a  glistening  white,  as 

of  fish  just  out  of  the  water ;   and  it  was  fruitful,  like  its  namesakes,  for, 

according  to  Manilius : 

Pisces  fill  the  Flood. 

Ptolemy  distinguished  the  members  of  the  constellation  as  ^ropfvoc/'the 
rear  or  eastern,"  and  rjyovfisvo^, "  the  front  or  western  " ;  the  Southern  Fish 
being  his  vortoc;  a  precaution  rendered  necessary  by  the  frequent  con- 
founding of  these  three  by  classical  writers.  A  notable  instance  of  this  is 
seen  in  the  Poetkon  Astronomicon,  where  our  Pisces  are  made  to  receive 
the  water  from  the  Urn.    In  Humboldt's  Cosmos  they  are  Pisces  boreal* 

The  constellation  is  popularly  thought  to  have  taken  its  name  from  its 
coincidence  with  the  sun  during  the  rainy  season ;  and  the  symbol  for  the 
sign,  X,  to  represent  the  two  Fishes  joined;  but  Sayce  thinks  it  the  Hittite 
determinative  affix  of  plurality. 

Postellus  asserted  that  the  Fishes  represented  those  with  which  Christ 
fed  "  about  five  thousand  men,  beside  women  and  children  " ;  and  Caesius, 
that  they  were  the  IX0T2  of  'lrjoovg  Xp/<rr6c  Oeov  'Ttoc  Iwnjp,  a  fish 


The  Constellations  341 

always  being  the  symbol  of  the  early  Christians'  faith ;  but  when  the  old 
twelve  figures  were  turned  into  those  of  the  apostles,  these  became  Saint 
Matthias,  successor  to  the  traitor  Judas. 

The  Fishes  were  changed  to  a  Dolphin  in  the  zodiac  sculptured  on  the 
wall  of  Merton  College,  taken  from  the  armorial  bearings  of  Fitz  James, 
bishop  of  London,  and  warden  of  the  college  from  1482  to  1508;  a  dolphin 
being  of  as  sacred  significance  among  pagans  as  a  fish  was  among  Christians. 

Within  their  boundaries  took  place  die  three  distinct  conjunctions  of 
Jupiter  and  Saturn  in  the  year  747  of  Rome, —  the  year  to  which  for  a  long 
time  was  assigned  Christ's  birth;  these  phenomena  strikingly  agreeing  in 
some  of  their  details  with  Saint  Matthew's  account  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 
The  opinion  that  these  appearances  guided  the  Magi  in  their  visit  to  Judaea 
was  first  advanced  and  advocated  by  the  celebrated  Kepler,  and  worked 
out  in  1826  by  Ideler,  and  in  1831  by  Encke.1  It  is  noticeable  that  the 
Rabbis  held  the  tradition,  recorded  by  Abrabanel  in  the  15th  century,  that 
a  similar  conjunction  took  place  in  Pisces  three  years  previous  to  the  birth 
of  Moses,  and  they  anticipated  another  at  their  Messiah's  advent.  Thus 
the  Fishes  were  considered  the  national  constellation  of  the  Jews,  as  well 
as  a  tribal  symbol.  Jupiter  and  Saturn  were  again  together  here  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1 88 1,  Venus  being  added  to  the  group, —  a  well  remembered  and 
most  beautiful  sight. 

Here,  too,  was  the  seat  of  the  predicted  conjunction  of  three  planets  that 
Stonier  said  would  cause  another  Deluge  in  1524, —  an  announcement  that 
created  universal  consternation ;  but,  unfortunately  for  the  prophet's  reputa- 
tion, the  season  was  unusually  dry. 

It  was  in  Pisces,  on  the  2d  of  September,  1804,  that  Harding,  of  Lilien- 
thal  in  Hanover,  discovered  the  minor  planet  Juno. 

In  his  Shephear<Ts  Kalendar  for  November,  Edmund  Spenser  thus  de- 
scribed the  constellation's  place  in  the  sky : 

But  nowe  sadde  Winter  welked  hath  the  day, 

And  Phoebus,  weary  of  his  yerely  taskc, 
Vstabled  hath  his  steedes  in  lowly  laye, 

And  taken  up  his  ynne  in  Fishes  haske. 

La  Lande,  quoting  indirectly  from  Firmicus,  mentioned  as  from  the 
Egyptian  sphere  of  Petosiris : 

au  nord  des  Poissons,  il  place  le  Cerf,  &  une  autre  constellation  du  Lievre ; 

1  More  recent  determinations,  by  the  late  Reverend  Mr.  Charles  Pritchard  of  Oxford,  have 
somewhat  altered  the  previous  conclusions,  while  our  chronologists,  meanwhile,  have  changed 
the  date  of  the  Nativity,  so  that  the  time-honored  identification  of  the  Star  of  the  Magi  with 
these  planetary  conjunctions  now  seems  to  be  discarded. 
22* 


342  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

but  this  second  Hare  I  cannot  trace,  although  Bayer  had  Cerva  as  a  title 
for  Cassiopeia  "  north  of  the  Fishes." 

There  is  a  sprinkling  of  indistinct  stars  between  the  Fishes  and  the 
Whale  that  Vitruvius  called  'Epjuedov*/,  explained  by  Hesychios  as  the 
Stream  of  Faint  Stars,  but  by  some  French  commentator  as  Us  delices  dt 
MercurCy  whatever  that  may  be.  Riccioli,  calling  it  Hermidone,  said  that  it 
was  effusio  Aquarii,  the  classical  designation  for  the  Stream  from  the  Urn ; 
but  Baldus,  with  Scaliger,  said  that  the  word  was  Apnedovrj,  the  Cord,  al- 
though this  seems  equally  inapplicable  here.  These  stars  may  be  the  pro- 
posed new  Testudo  noted  under  0  Ceti. 

Argelander  gives  75  components  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  and  Heis  128; 
but  the  lucida  is  only  of  the  4th  magnitude. 


Qt,  Double  and  probably  binary,    4  and  5.5,    pale  green  and  blue. 

Al  Resoha,  or  Al  Kucha,  derived  from  the  Arabians'  Al  Risha',  the 
Cord,  is  200  south  from  the  head  of  Aries,  2°.7  north  of  the  celestial  equator, 
and  marks  the  knot  in  the  united  cords  of  the  Fishes ;  the  same  tide  being 
applied  to  j3  Andromedae.  This  word  originally  may  have  come  from  the 
Babylonian  Riksu,  Cord. 

Hipparchos  and  Ptolemy  designated  it  as  Svvdeonog  twv  ,I#0v6n>,  or  rwr 
Aivu)v,  the  Knot  of  the  Fishes,  or  of  the  Threads,  varied  by  Aratos  and 
Geminos  in  Aea/zoc;  these  words  being  transcribed  by  Germanicus  and  the 
scholiasts  as  Sundesmos  and  Desmos.  They  were  rendered  by  Cicero  and 
others  as  Nodus,  Nodus  coelestis,  and  Nodus  Piscium ;  by  Pliny  as  Com- 
missura  Piscium ;  and  in  the  15 15  Almagest  as  Nodus  duorum  fllorm 

The  Arabians  translated  these  by  'Ukd  al  Haitain,  which,  as  Okda  and 
Kaitain,  are  not  unusual  titles  now. 

The  uniting  cords,  branching  from  a  through  o,  77,  tj,  and  p  to  the  tail  of 
the  northernmost  Fish,  and  through  f,  v,  /*,/,  et  f,  e,  and  6  to  g>  that  marks  the 
tail  of  the  one  to  the  south,  were  Ptolemy's  kivov,  "thread,"  the  kivoi  of  other 
authors.  Cicero  called  them  Vincla,  the  Bonds;  and  the  scholiast  on 
Germanicus,  AUigamentum  linteum  or  luteum,  divided  by  Hevelius  into 
Linum  boreum  and  austrinum.  Some  of  these  terms  also  were  applied  to 
the  star  6  as  marking  one  of  the  cords. 

The  Arabians  knew  these  cords  as  Al  Halt  al  Kattaniyy,  the  Flaxen 
Thread;  and  Al  Asma'i,  about  the  year  800,  mentioned  them  in  his  cele- 
brated romance  Antarah  as  a  distinct  constellation ;  but  Pliny  had  done 
the  same  long  before  him. 


The  Constellations  343 

Al  Rischa,  although  lettered  first,  is  somewhat  fainter  than  y  and  q. 

It  culminates  on  the  7th  of  December. 

The  component  stars  are  3"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  3240. 

0,  a  4}4 -magnitude,  is  given  by  Al  Achsasi  as  Fnm  al  Samakah,  the 
Fish's  Mouth,  descriptive  of  its  position  near  that  feature  in  the  westernmost 
of  the  two.     With  y,  0, 1,  and  u  it  was  the  Chinese  Peih  Leih,  Lightning. 


«>     4-i. 

has  in  Bayer's  Uranometria  many  of  the  titles  already  noted  under  a,  but 
they  would  seem  to  be  words  merely  indicative  of  the  star's  position  on 
the  Cord,  although  some  have  used  them  as  proper  names.  d,  a,  c,  £,  p,  v, 
and  f  made  up  the  Chinese  figure  Wae  Ping,  a  Rolled  Screen. 

f,  a  double  5th-  and  6.3-magnitude,  apparently  unnamed,  was  prominent 
in  Hindu  astronomy  as  marking  the  initial  point  of  the  celestial  sphere  about 
the  year  572,  when  it  coincided  within  io'  of  longitude  with  the  vernal 
equinox.  It  formed  part  of  the  Khorasmian  lunar  station  Zidadh,  the 
Sogdian1  Biwand,  and  of  the  26th  nakshatra,  Eevati,  Rich,  being  the 
junction  star  between  Revati  and  A9vini.  With  e  it  was  the  Persian  lunar 
station  Kaht  and  the  Coptic  Kuton,  Cord. 


TQ,  Double,    4  and  11. 

Epping  asserts  that  this  marked  the  1st  ecliptic  constellation  of  the 
Babylonians,  Kullat  Hunu,  the  Cord  of  the  Fish,  which,  if  correct,  would 
show  the  origin  of  the  Greek  title,  and  the  probable  great  antiquity  of  the 
present  figure.     Another  signification  may  be  the  Dwelling  of  the  Fish. 

In  China,  with  o,  p,  and  #,  it  was  Yew  Kang,  the  Right-hand  Watch. 

The  components  of  77  are  1"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  i2°.9. 

k  and  Xj  4th-magnitude  stars  just  above  the  ventral  fin  of  the  western 
Fish,  were  the  Chinese  Yun  Yu,  the  Cloud  and  Rain. 

o,  4.6,  appeared  in  the  15 15  Almagest  as  Toroularis  ieptentrionalis,  a 
translation  of  Xrjvog,  erroneously  written  for  A/i>oc,  this  star  being  on  the 
Thread  northeast  from  a.     But  the  Latin  word  should  read  Toroular. 

Fl.  65,  a  6th-magnitude  double,  has  been  regarded  by  Maxwell  Hall  as 
the  Central  Sun  of  the  Universe. 

1  The  Arabs  considered  Sogdiana  one  of  the  four  fairest  lands  on  earth  ;  its  capital,  Samar- 
khand,  was  the  home  of  the  great  Tamerlane  and  of  Ulug  Beg,  his  grandson. 


344  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 


Next  swims  the  Southern  Fish  which  bears  a  Name 
From  the  South  wind,  and  spreads  a  feeble  Flame. 
To  him  the  Flouds  in  spacious  windings  turn. 

Creech's  Maniliu*. 

(pXBCXB  (&U0f T4ft6,  tfc  ^OUffcm  £l$, 

is  the  Italian  Peace  Aurtrale ;  the  French  Poisson  Anrtrale;  and  the  Ger- 
man Sudliche  Fisch.  It  lies  immediately  south  of  Capricorn  and  Aquarius, 
in  that  part  of  the  sky  early  known  as  the  Water,  Aratos  describing  the 
figure  as  "  on  his  back  the  Fish,"  and 

The  Fish  reversed  still  shows  his  belly's  stars ; 

but  modern  representations  give  it  in  a  normal  attitude.  In  either  case, 
however,  it  is  very  unnaturally  drinking  the  whole  outflow  from  the  Urn. 

This  idea  of  the  Fish  drinking  the  Stream  is  an  ancient  one,  and  may 
have  given  rise  to  the  title  Piscis  aquosus,  found  with  Ovid  and  in  the  4th 
Georgic,  which  has  commonly  been  referred  to  this  constellation ;  Vergil 
mentioning  it  in  his  directions  as  to  the  time  for  gathering  the  honey  har- 
vest ;  but  the  proper  application  of  this  adjectival  title  is  uncertain,  for  Pro- 
fessors Ridgeway  and  Wilkins,  in  their  admirable  article  on  Astronomia  in 
Doctor  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  write : 

The  Piscis  in  question  has  been  variously  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  Fishes  in  the  Zodiac 
—  the  Southern  Fish  —  Hydra —  the  Dolphin  —  or  even  the  Scorpion. 

Smyth  said  that 

In  the  early  Venetian  editions  of  Hyginus,  there  is  a  smaller  fish  close  under  it,  rtmm 
fashion,  interfering  with  the  Solitarius  by  which  that  astronomer,  from  its  insulated  posi- 
tion, designated  Piscis  Notius. 

Accordingly  the  edition  of  1488,  with  this  representation,  had  it  Piioet, 
and  the  German  manuscript  of  the  15th  century  showed  it  with  a  still 
larger  companion. 

The  figure  is  strangely  omitted  from  the  Farnese  globe,  the  stream  from 
the  Urn  of  Aquarius  ending  at  the  tail  of  Cetus. 

In  early  legend  our  australis  was  the  parent  of  the  zodiacal  two,  and  has 
always  been  known  under  this  specific  title,  varied  by  the  other  adjectives 
of  equivalent  signification,  austrinus,  meridionalis,  and  notius. 

La  Lande  asserted  that  Dupuis  had  proved  this  to  be  the  sky  symbol  of 


The  Constellations  345 

the  god  Dagon  of  the  Syrians,  the  Phagre  and  Oxyrinque  adored  in  Egypt; 
and  it  even  has  been  associated  with  the  still  greater  Oannes. 

It  also  was  T#0vc  and  T#0vc  voriog ;  'l#0vc  peyag  and  Pistil  magnufl ; 
'tyflvc  povdfav  and  Piscis  solitaries ;  PisciB  Capricomi,  from  its  position ; 
and  it  is  specially  mentioned  by  Avienus  as  the  Greater  Fish.  Longfellow, 
in  the  notes  to  his  translation  of  the  Divine  Comedy,  called  it  the  Golden 
Fish,  probably  as  being  so  much  more  conspicuous  than  those  in  the  north. 

When  the  Arabians  adopted  the  Greek  constellations  and  names  this 
became  Al  Hnt  al  Jannbiyy,  the  Large  Southern  Fish,  distorted  in  late 
mediaeval  days  into  Haut  elgenubi,  and  given  by  Chilmead  as  Ahaut  Al- 
gennbi;  but  their  figure  was  extended  further  to  the  south  than  ours,  and  so 
included  stars  of  the  modem  Grus.     Smyth  wrote  of  it : 

The  Mosaicists  held  the  asterism  to  represent  the  Barrel  of  XmI  belonging  to  Sarephtha's 
widow ;  but  Schickard  pronounces  it  to  be  the  Fiih  taken  by  St.  Peter  with  a  piece  of  money 
in  its  mouth. 

Bayer  said  that  it  partook  of  the  astrological  character  of  the  planet  Saturn. 
Gould  assigns  to  it  75  naked-eye  components. 


a,     1.3,     reddish. 

Fomalhaut,  from  the  Arabic  Fum  al  Hut,  the  Fish's  Mouth,  has  long 
been  the  common  name  for  this  star,  Smyth  saying  that  Pom  Alhout  Al- 
genubi  appears,  with  its  translation  Os  Piscis  Meridiani,  in  a  still  existing 
manuscript  almanac  of  1340. 

Aratos  distinctly  mentioned  it  as 

One  large  and  bright  by  both  the  Pourer's  feet, 

which  is  its  location  in  the  maps  of  to-day,  although  sometimes  it  has 
marked  the  eye  of  the  Fish,  and  formerly  was  still  differently  placed,  as  is 
noted  at  0. 

In  addition  to  putting  it  in  its  own  constellation,  Ptolemy  inserted  it  in 
his  Tdpo^ooc,  and  Flamsteed  followed  him  in  making  it  his  24  of  Piscis 
Australis  and  79  of  Aquarius,  calling  it  Aquae  Ultima  Fomalhaut. 

No  other  star  seems  to  have  had  so  varied  an  orthography. 

The  Al/onsine  Tables  of  152 1  locate  it  in  Aquarius  as  Fomahant  and  of 
the  1st  magnitude,  but  they  describe  it  in  Piscis  Xeridionalis  as  in  ore, 
omitting  its  title  and  calling  it  a  4th-magnitude.  The  other  editions  of 
these  Tables,  and  Kazwini,  do  not  mention  it  at  all  in  this  constellation,  but 


346  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

in  Aquarius;  nor  does  Bullialdus  in  his  edition  of  the  Rudolphine  Tables,  al- 
though in  his  reproduction  of  the  Persian  Tables  of  Chrysococca  he  calls  it 
Os  Piscis  notdi  and  Fumahand.  The  Astronomica  Danica  of  Longomon- 
tanus  includes  it  in  Aquarius  as  ultima  in  effusione  Fomahant,  giving  no 
Piscis  at  all;  Tycho's  Rudolphine  Tables ',  in  Kepler's  edition  of  1627,  have 
the  same,  and  Hevelius  also  puts  it  there  as  Fomahandt.  Bayer  cites  it,  in 
Piscis  Notius,  as  Fumahant,  Fumahant  rectius  Fumalhaut ;  Chilmead,Phom 
Ahnt;  Caesius  has  Fomahand  and  Fontabant;  Riccioli's  names  for  it  are 
Fomauth,  Phomaut,Phomault,  Phomant,  Phomaant,  Phomhant,  Phamelhant ; 
La  Cattle's,  Phomalhaut ;  La  Lande's  are  Fnmalhant,  Fomahant,  and  Phoma- 
hant ;  and  Schickard's,  Fomalcnti.  Costard  gives  it  as  Fomahont;  and  Sir 
William  Herschel  had  it  Fomalhout,  writing  to  his  sister : 

Lina, —  Last  night  I  "  popt  "  upon  a  comet  .  .  .  between  Fomalhout  and  3  Ceti. 

More  correctly  than  all  these,  Hyde  wrote  it  Pham  Al  HEt  Burritt's  Atlas 
has  the  present  form  Fomalhaut,  but  his  Planisphere,  Fomalhani  It  gen- 
erally, but  wrongly,  is  pronounced  Fomalo,  as  though  from  the  French. 

The  Harleian  Manuscript  of  Cicero's  Aratos  has  the  words  Stella  Cane- 
pus  at  the  Fish's  mouth,  which  is  either  an  erroneous  title,  or  another  use  of 
the  word  for  any  very  bright  star,  as  is  noted  under  a  Argus, — Canopus. 

Among  early  Arabs  Fomalhaut  was  Al  Difdf  al  Awwal,  the  First  Frog : 
and  in  its  location  on  the  Borgian  globe  is  the  word  Thalim,  the  Ostrich, 
evidently  another  individual  title. 

Flammarion  says  that  it  was  Hastorang  in  Persia  3000  b.  c,  when  near 
the  winter  solstice,  and  a  Royal  Star,  one  of  the  four  Guardians  of  Heaven, 
sentinels  watching  over  other  stars;  while  about  500  b.  c.  it  was  the  ob- 
ject of  sunrise  worship  in  the  temple  of  Demeter  at  Eleusis ;  and  still  later 
on,  with  astrologers,  portended  eminence,  fortune,  and  power. 

The  Chinese  knew  it  as  Pi  Lo  Sze  Xnn. 

With  Achernar  and  Canopus  it  made  up  Dante's  Tre  Facelle;  and  sixty 
years  ago,  Boguslawski  thought  that  it  might  be  the  Central  Sun  of  the 
Universe. 

It  lies  in  about  300  15'  of  south  declination,  and  so  is  the  most  southerly 
of  all  the  prominent  stars  visible  in  the  latitude  of  New  York  City,  but  it  is 
in  the  zenith  of  Chile,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  South  Australia.  To  the 
uninstructed  observer  it  seems  a  full  ist-magnitude,  perhaps  from  the  ab- 
sence of  near-by  stars.  It  culminates  on  the  25th  of  October.  As  one  o( 
the  so-called  lunar  stars  it  is  of  importance  in  navigation,  and  appears  in  the 
Ephemerides  of  all  modern  sea-going  nations. 


The  Constellations  347 

See  calls  its  color  white,  and  has  discovered  a  14.8  bluish  companion  30" 
away,  at  a  position  angle  of  36°.2. 

P,  Double,    4.3  and  8. 

Al  Tizini  knew  this,  instead  of  a,  as  Fum  al  Hilt, — evidence  either  of  a 
different  figuring  of  the  constellation  from  that  of  Ptolemy,  which  we 
follow,  or  of  its  extension  towards  the  northeast  by  the  Arabian  astron- 
omers. This  may  account  for  the  location  of  Fomalhaut  in  Aquarius  by 
some  early  authors. 

With  d  and  ?  it  was  the  Chinese  Tien  Kang,  the  Heavenly  Rope. 

Al  Tizini  mentioned  the  stars,  now  y,  a,  and  j3  of  Grus,  as  the  Tail,  the 
Bright  One,  and  the  Rear  One  of  the  Fish, —  additional  proof  that  our  lucida 
of  Piscis  Australis  was  not  his  nd'ir  of  Al  Hut  al  Janubiyy. 

ti,  6,  1,  and  /*  were  Tien  Tsien,  Heavenly  Cash. 

Bayer's  lettering  extended  only  to  (*,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  star  lettered 
k  in  the  constellation. 


(piscis  (Wane,  ffc  $Fging  $6$, 

now  known  by  astronomers  as  Volans,  is  the  Poisson  Volant  of  the  French 
and  the  Fliegende  Fiach  of  the  Germans.  The  Rudolphine  Tables  have  it 
Passer,  the  Sparrow,  and,  as  such,  it  is  translated  Fe  Yu  by  the  Chinese. 
This  is  another  of  the  new  southern  constellations  formally  introduced 
by  Bayer,  comprising  forty-six  stars  south  of  Canopus  and  Miaplacidus, — 
a  and  0  Argus. 

Julius  Schiller  included  it  with  Dorado  and  the  Nubecula  Major  in  his 
biblical  figure  of  Abel  the  Just 

The  lucida  is  0,  a  colored  3.9-magnitude,  culminating  on  the  12th  of 
March. 


fpe&tUxium  (Beorgti  or  <?eor$tanum, 

sometimes  Harpa  Georgii,  was  formed  in  1781  by  the  Abbe  Maximilian 
Hell,  and  named  in  honor  of  King  George  II  of  England.  On  the  Stieler 
Planisphere  it  is  Georg's  Harfe,  from  Bode's  Georgs  Harffe. 


348  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

It  lies  between  the  fore  feet  of  Taurus  and  the  River  Eridanus,  its  stars 
all  very  inconspicuous,  unless  it  be  the  4 ^-magnitude  o2  Eridani,  which 
was  borrowed  for  its  formation.  But  the  loan  has  been  returned,  for 
Psalterium  is  not  now  recognized  by  astronomers. 


(ftaris  QUufic4,  t$e  (gUnner's  Compass. 

Pyxis  was  formed  by  La  Caille  from  stars  in  the  Mast  of  Argo,  and  so 
associated  with  the  Ship,  although  there,  of  course,  it  is  an  anachronism. 

Baily  reannexed  it  to  Argo,  since  four  of  its  members  had  been  placed 
by  Ptolemy  where  La  Caille  found  them,  so  that  for  a  time  it  fell  into 
disuse;  but  Gould  inserted  it  in  his  Uranotnetria  Argentina  of  1879,  with 
sixty-six  stars  from  3.8  to  7th  magnitudes. 


Quabrans  (gturafts,  t$e  (gturaf  Quobranf , 

between  the  right  foot  of  Hercules,  the  left  hand  of  Bootes,  and  the  con- 
stellation Draco,  was  formed  by  La  Lande  in  1795,  as  a  souvenir  of  the 
instrument  with  which  he  and  his  nephew,  Michel  Le  Francais,  observed 
the  stars  subsequently  incorporated  under  this  title  into  the  tatter's  Histoire 
Celeste  Franfaise. 

It  is  the  Manor  Quadrant  of  Stieler's  Planisphere,  and  the  Qnadiante 
of  the  Italians,  but  is  not  figured  by  Argelander  or  Heis,  nor  recognized 
by  modern  astronomers. 

It  comes  to  the  meridian  with  (3  Ursae  Minoris  on  the  19th  of  June. 

A  rich  meteor  stream,  the  Quadrantids,  radiates  from  this  group  on  the 
2d  and  3d  of  January. 


(Reficufttm  (RfcmBottofte,  tfc  (gfcmBoifef  (lief, 

is  generally  supposed  to  be  of  La  Caille's  formation  as  a  memorial  of  the 
reticle  which  he  used  in  making  his  celebrated  southern  observations ;  but 


The  Constellations  349 

it  was  first  drawn  by  Isaak  Habrecht,  of  Strassburg,  as  the  Rhombus,  and 
so  probably  only  adopted  by  its  reputed  inventor.  It  lies  north  of  Hydras 
and  the  Greater  Cloud,  containing  thirty-four  stars  from  3.3  to  7th  mag- 
nitudes. 

It  is  the  French  Reticule  or  Rhombe,  the  German  Rhomboidische  Net*, 
and  the  Italian  Reticolo. 


(RoBut  €4rofmum,  Cfarfc*'  0a*> 

the  Quercia  of  Italy  and  the  Karlseiche  of  Germany,  was  formally  published 
by  Halley  in  1679  *n  commemoration  of  the  Royal  Oak  of  his  patron, 
Charles  II,  in  which  the  king  had  lain  hidden  for  twenty-four  hours  after 
his  defeat  by  Cromwell  in  the  battle  of  Worcester,  on  the  3d  of  September, 
1 65 1.  This  invention  secured  for  Halley  his  master's  degree  from  Oxford, 
in  1678,  by  the  king's  express  command.  But  La  Caille  complained  that 
the  construction  of  the  figure,  from  some  of  the  finest  stars  in  the  Ship, 
ruined  that  already  incomplete  constellation, "  and  the  Oak  ceases  to  flourish 
after  half  a  century  of  possession,"  although  Bode  sought  to  restore  it,  and 
Burritt  incorporated  it  into  his  maps,  assigning  to  it  twenty-five  stars. 
Halley's  2d-magnitude  a  Roburis  was  changed  to  j3  Argus,  now  in  Carina. 
Reeves'  list  of  Chinese  star-titles  has  only  one  entry  under  Robur — 

Han  Ohnen,  the  Southern  Ship,  0,  etc.,  but  doubtful,  incorrectly  laid  down. 


There  is  in  front  another  Arrow  cast 
Without  a  bow ;  and  by  it  flies  the  Bird 
Nearer  the  north. 

Brown's  A  rates. 

the  French  Flfcche,  the  German  Pfeil,  and  the  Italian  Saetta,  lies  in  the 
Milky  Way,  directly  north  of  Aquila  and  south  of  Cygnus,  pointing  east- 
ward ;  and,  although  ancient,  is  insignificant,  for  it  has  no  star  larger  than 
the  4th  magnitude,  and  none  that  is  named. 


350  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

It  has  occasionally  been  drawn  as  held  in  the  Eagle's  talons,  for  the  bird 
was  armor-bearer  to  Jove;  but  Eratosthenes  described  it  separately,  as 
Aratos  had  done,  and  as  it  now  is  on  our  maps.  The  common  belief  that 
the  latter  included  it  with  his  A/etoc  was  based,  Grotius  said,  on  an  error  in 
the  version  of  Germanicus.  And  it  has  been  regarded  as  the  traditional 
weapon  that  slew  the  eagle  of  Jove,  or  the  one  shot  by  Hercules  towards 
the  adjacent  Stymphalian  birds,  and  still  lying  between  them,  whence  the 
title  Herculea ;  but  Eratosthenes  claimed  it  as  the  arrow  with  which  Apollo 
exterminated  the  Cyclopes;  and  it  sometimes  was  the  Arrow  of  Copii 
The  Hyginus  of  1488  showed  it  overlying  a  bow;  indeed,  Eratosthenes 
called  it  Tofov,  a  Bow,  signifying  Arrows  in  its  plural  form ;  Aratos  men- 
tioned it  as  the  Feathered  Arrow  and  the  Well-shaped  Dart,  the  akkoc 
dioros  of  our  motto,  "  another  arrow,"  in  distinction  from  that  of  Sagitta- 
rius. Still,  it  has  often  been  thought  of  as  the  latter's  weapon  strayed  from 
its  owner.     Hipparchos  and  Ptolemy  had  plain  'Oiaroc. 

Latin  authors  of  classical  times  and  since  knew  it  as  Canna,  Cahurnu, 
and  Harundo,  all  signifying  the  Reed  from  which  the  arrow-shafts  were 
formed ;  and  as  Missile,  Jaoulum,  and  Telum,  the  Weapon,  Javelin,  and 
Dart ;  Telum  descending  even  to  Kepler's  day.  But  Sagitta  was  its  com- 
mon title  with  all  the  Romans  who  mentioned  its  stars;  Cicero  character- 
izing it  as  clara  and  fulgenSy  which,  however,  it  is  not. 

Bayer,  who  ascribed  to  it  the  astrological  nature  of  Mars  and  Venus, 
picked  up  several  strange  names :  Daemon,  Feluco,  and  Fossorium,  appar- 
ently unintelligible  here;  Obelus,  one  of  the  oefxeiat,  or  notae^  of  ancient 
grammarians,  or,  possibly,  an  Obelisk,  which  it  may  resemble ;  Orfercalim, 
cited  by  Riccioli  and  Beigel  from  Albumasar  for  the  Turkish  Otysys  Salon, 
a  Smooth  Arrow;  Temo  meridianns,  the  Southern  Beam;  Vectis,  a  Pole; 
Virga  and  Virgula  jacens,  a  Falling  Wand.  The  Missore  attributed  to 
Cicero  is  erroneous,  and  was  never  used  by  the  latter  as  a  star-name,  but 
for  the  one  who  shot  the  arrow ;  while  the  Mosator  of  Aben  Ezra  is  either 
a  barbarism  for  Missore,  or  may  be  from  the  Arabic  Satar,  a  Straight  Line. 

The  Hebrews  called  it  H5s  or  H8ts;  the  Armenians  and  Persians, 
Tigris ;  and  the  Arabians,  Al  Sahm,  all  meaning  an  Arrow ;  this  last,  given 
on  the  Dresden  globe,  being  turned  by  Chilmead  into  Alsoham,  by  Riccioli 
into  Schaham,  and  by  Piazzi  into  Sham. 

In  some  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables  appeared  Istusc,  repeated  in  the  Alma- 
gest of  15 15  as  Istiusc,  both  probably  disfigured  forms  of  6*«tt6c;  and  the 
Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1  had  Alahance,  perhaps  from  the  Arabic  Al  H-ans 
or  H'amsah,  the  Five  (Stars),  its  noticeable  feature.  The  same  Almagest  also 
had  Albanere,  adding  est  nun,  all  unintelligible  except  from  Scaliger's  note: 


The  Constellations  351 

legendum  Alhance,  id  est  Sagitta,  hebraicae  originis,  converso  Dages  in  Nun,  ut  saepe 
accidit  in  Arabismo  et  Syriasmo. 

Schickard  wrote  it  Alohanzato. 

Sagitta  is  not  noticed  in  the  Reeves  list  of  Chinese  asterisms. 

Caesius  imagined  it  the  Arrow  shot  by  Joash  at  Elisha's  command,  or 
one  of  those  sent  by  Jonathan  towards  David  at  the  stone  Ezel ;  and  Julius 
Schiller,  the  Spear,  or  the  Vail,  of  the  Crucifixion. 

Originally  only  40  in  length,  modern  astronomy  has  stretched  the  con- 
stellation to  more  than  io°;  Argelander  assigning  to  it  16  naked-eye  stars, 
and  Heis  18.     Eratosthenes  gave  it  only  4. 

It  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  1st  of  September. 

None  of  Sagitta's  stars  seem  to  have  been  named,  but  its  triple  f  is  an 
interesting  system.  It  has  long  been  known  as  double,  but  the  larger  star 
was  discovered  by  the  late  Alvan  G.  Clark  to  be  itself  an  extremely  close 
double  and  rapid  binary. 

The  components  are  of  6,  6,  and  9  magnitudes;  the  two  larger  o".i 
apart  in  1891,  at  a  position  angle  of  i82°.8.  The  smallest  star  is  8".5  dis- 
tant.   The  colors  are  greenish,  white,  and  blue. 


.  .  .  glorious  in  his  Cretian  Bow, 
Centaur  follows  with  an  aiming  Eye, 
His  Bow  full  drawn  and  ready  to  let  fly. 

Creech's  Manilius. 

the  French  Sagittaire,  the  Italian  Sagittario,  and  the  German  Schutze, — 
Bayer's  Schiitz, —  next  to  the  eastward  from  Scorpio,  was  Tofev-nyc,  the 
Archer,  and  Pwrwp  rogov,  the  Bow-stretcher,  with  Aratos;  Tofyvrfip  with 
other  Greeks ;  and  Toforijc  with  Eratosthenes,  Hipparchos,  Plutarch,  and 
Ptolemy.  The  BekoKpdrcjp  cited  by  Hyde,  though  not  a  lexicon  word, 
probably  signifies  the  Drawer  of  the  Arrow. 

These  were  translated  by  Lucian  and  the  Romans  into  our  title,  although 
Manilius  had  Sagittifer;  Avienus,  Sagittiger;  and  Cicero,  Sagittipotens,  a 
term  peculiar  to  him.  His  equivalent  Arquitenens,  the  ancient  form  of 
Arcitenens, —  reappearing  with  Ausonius  and  with  Al  Biruni  in  Sachau's 


352  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

translation, —  was  also  used  by  early  classic  writers  for  this  constellation : 
although  where  the  word  is  seen  with  Vergil  it  is  for  the  god  Apollo. 

Flamsteed's  Atlas  has  Sagittary,  common  for  centuries  before  him; 
Shakespeare  calling  Othello's  house  —  probably  the  Arsenal  in  Venice— 
the  Sagittary,1  /.  e.  bearing  the  zodiac  sign.  The  word  was  early  written 
Sagitary ;  and  Sagittarie  and  Saagittare  in  Chaucer's  Astrolabe,  from  bis 
Anglo-Norman  predecessor,  De  Thaun.    The  Anglo-Saxons  had  Seytta. 

Columella  called  it  Crotos,  and  Hyginus,  Croton,  the  Herdsman;  but 
how  these  names  are  applicable  does  not  appear. 

Others  have  been  'Ittttottjs,  On  Horseback;  Semivir,  the  Half  Man; 
Taurus  and  Minotauros,  from  his  fabled  early  shape,  although  now  figured 
in  equine  form ;  while  Cicero's  Antepes  and  Antepedes  may  be  for  this,  or 
for  our  Centaur.    Cornipedes,  Horn-Footed,  also  has  been  applied  to  it. 

Sometimes  the  whole  was  personified  by  its  parts,  as  with  Aratos,  where 
we  see  T6£ov,  the  Bow,  the  Arcns  of  Cicero  and  Germanicus;  and  the 
Haemonios  Areas  of  Ovid ;  in  Egypt,  where  it  is  said  to  have  been  known  as 
an  Arrow  held  in  a  human  hand;  and  with  Ovid  again  in  Thessalicse 
Sagitta,  Thessaly  being  the  birthplace  of  the  Centaurs.  This  induced 
Longfellow's  lines  in  his  Poets1  Calendar  for  November : 

With  sounding  hoofs  across  the  earth  I  fly, 
A  steed  Thessalian  with  a  human  face. 

And  it  has  been  Sagitta  aroni  applicata;  or  plain  Telum  with  Capella  of 
Carthage.  Bayer  cited  Pharetra,  the  Quiver,  and,  recurring  to  the  Bow. 
EUcansn  or  Elknsu,  Schickard's  Alkauuso,  from  the  Arabic  Al  Kans.  The 
translator  of  Ulug  Beg  added  to  its  modern  name  auem  etiam  Arcum  wcant. 
which  the  Almagest  of  151 5  confirmed  in  its  et  est  Arcus.  It  was  the 
Persian  Kaman  and  Vimasp ;  the  Turkish  Yai ;  the  Syriac  Keahta  and  the 
Hebrew  Kesheth;  Riccioli's  Kertko,  "from  the  Chaldaeans";  all  signi- 
fying a  Bow,  whence  some  early  maps  illustrated  Sagittarius  simply  as  a  Bow 
and  Arrow.     This  was  an  idea  especially  prevalent  in  Asiatic  astronomy. 

Among  the  Jews  it  was  the  tribal  symbol  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh, 
from  Jacob's  last  words  to  their  father  Joseph,  "  his  bow  abode  in  strength.'' 

Novidius  claimed  it  as  Joash,  the  King  of  Israel,  shooting  arrows  out 
of  "the  window  eastward,"  at  the  command  of  the  dying  Elisha;  but  the 

1  In  Troilus  and  Cressida,  where  Agamemnon  says : 

The  dreadful  Sagittary  appals  our  numbers, 

the  reference  is  not  a  stellar  one,  but  to  the  famous  imaginary  monster  introduced  into  tfc 
armies  of  the  Trojans  by  the  fabling  writer  Guido  delle  Colonne,  whose  work  was  translate 
and  versified  in  the  Troye  Book  by  Lydgate,  the  great  poet  of  the  15th  century. 


The  Constellations  353 

biblical  set  generally  identified  it  with  Saint  Matthew  the  Apostle,  although 
Caesius  claimed  that  Sagittarius  was  IshmaeL 

The  formation  of  this  constellation  on  the  Euphrates  undoubtedly  pre- 
ceded that  of  the  larger  figure,  the  Centaur  Chiron ;  but  the  first  recorded 
classic  figuring  was  in  Eratosthenes'  description  of  it  as  a  Satyr,  prob- 
ably derived  from  the  characteristics  of  the  original  Centaur,  Hea-bani, 
and  it  so  appeared  on  the  more  recent  Farnese  globe.  But  Manilius  men- 
tioned it,  as  in  our  modern  style,  mixtus  equoy  and  with  threatening  look, 
very  different  from  the  mild  aspect  of  the  educated  Chiron,  the  Centaur  of 
the  South ;  while  it  sometimes  is  given  in  later  manuscripts  and  maps  with 
flowing  robes;  but  his  crown  always  appears  near  his  fore  feet,  and  his 
arrow  is  always  aimed  at  the  Scorpion's  heart. 

Dupuis  said  that  it  was  shown  in  Egypt  as  an  Ibis  or  Swan ;  but  the 
Denderah  zodiac  has  the  customary  Archer  with  the  face  of  a  lion  added, 
so  making  it  bifaced.  Kircher  gave  its  title  from  the  Copts  as  nipdTjpe, 
Statu?  amoenitatis. 

The  illustrated  manuscript  partly  reproduced  in  the  47th  volume  of 
Archaeologia  has  a  centaur-like  figure,  Astronochus,  which,  perhaps,  is  our 
Archer;  but  the  title  is  of  unexplained  derivation,  unless  it  be  the  Star- 
holder,  as  Ophiuchus  is  the  Serpent-holder,  and  Heniochus,  the  Rein- 
holder. 

It  is  in  this  same  manuscript  that  is  illustrated  a  sky  group,  Jocnlator,1 
usually  rendered  the  "  Jester,"  and  representing  the  Court  Fool  of  mediae- 
val days ;  but  I  find  no  trace  of  this  elsewhere. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  confusion  in  the  myths  and  titles  of  this 
zodiacal  Centaur  with  those  of  the  southern  Centaur,  some  thinking 
Sagittarius  the  Xelpwv  of  the  Greeks, — Chiron  with  Hyginus  and  the  Ro- 
mans; although  Eratosthenes  and  others,  as  did  the  modern  Ideler,  under- 
stood this  name  to  refer  to  the  Centaur  proper.  Ovid's  Centaurus,  however, 
and  Milton's  Centaur  are  the  zodiac  figure,  as  has  been  the  case  with  some 
later  poets;  James  Thomson  writing  in  the  Winter  of  his  Seasons : 

Now  when  the  chearless  empire  of  the  sky 
To  Capricorn  the  Centaur  Archer  yields. 

Early  tradition  made  the  earthly  Chiron  the  inventor  of  the  Archer  con- 
stellation to  guide  the  Argonauts  in  their  expedition  to  Colchis ;  although, 
and  about  as  reasonably,  Pliny  said  that  Cleostratos  originated  it,  with 
Aries,  during  the  6th  or  5th  century  b.  c.     As  to  this  we  may  consider 

1  The  Latin  word,  the  equivalent  of  the  early  French  Jongleur,  is  seen  with  old  Bishop 
Thomas  Percy  for  a  Minstrel,  applied  to  King  Alfred. 

23 


354  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

that,  while  Cleostratos,  possibly,  was  the  first  to  write  on  it,  certainly  none 
of  the  Greeks  gave  it  form  or  title,  for  we  see  abundant  evidence  of  its 
much  greater  antiquity  on  the  Euphrates. 

Cuneiform  inscriptions  designate  Sagittarius  as  the  Strong  One,  the  Giant 
King  of  War,  and  as  the  Illuminator  of  the  Great  City,  personifying  the 
archer  god  of  war,  Hergal  or  Nerigal,1  or  under  his  guardianship,  as  the  Great 
Lord.  This  divinity  is  mentioned  in  the  Second  Book  of  Kings,  xvii,  30. 
An  inscription,  on  a  fragment  of  a  planisphere,  transcribed  by  Sayce  as 
Utueagaba,  the  Light  of  the  White  Face,  and  by  Pinches  as  Udgudua, 
the  Flowing  (?)  Day,  or  the  Smiting  Sun  Face,  is  supposed  to  be  an  allusion 
to  this  constellation ;  while  on  this  fragment  also  appear  the  words  Hibat 
Ann,  which  accord  with  an  astrolabe  of  Sennacherib,  and  were  considered  by 
George  Smith  as  the  name  of  its  chief  star.  Another  inscribed  tablet, 
although  somewhat  imperfect,  is  thought  to  read  Kakkab  Kastn,  the  Con- 
stellation, or  Star,  of  the  Bow, —  in  Akkadian  Ban, —  indicating  one  or  more 
of  the  bow  stars  of  the  Archer.  This  will  account  for  the  Totjov  of  Aratos 
and  the  Arcus  of  the  Latins,  Sayce  agreeing  with  this  in  his  rendering  Mill- 
ban,  the  Star  of  the  Bow.  Fa  and  #nt,  Dayspring,  also  seem  to  have  been 
titles,  the  latter  because  our  Archer  was  a  type  of  the  rising  sun.  Upon 
some  of  the  boundary  stones  of  Sippara  (Sepharvaim  of  the  Old  Testament), 
a  solar  city,  Sagittarius  "  appears  sculptured  in  full  glory."  In  Assyria  it 
always  was  associated  with  the  ninth  month,  Kislivu,  corresponding  to 
our  November-December,  with  which  we  have  already  seen  Orion  asso- 
ciated. From  all  the  foregoing  it  would  seem  safe  to  assume  the  Archer 
to  be  of  Euphratean  origin. 

India  also  claimed  Sagittarius  for  its  zodiac  of  3000  years  ago,  figured  as 
a  Hone,  Hone's  head,  or  Horseman, —  Ac.vini, —  a  word  that  appeared  in 
Hindu  stellar  nomenclature  in  different  parts  of  the  sky.  Al  Biruni  said 
that  the  constellation  was  the  Sanskrit  Dhann,  or  Dhanasn,  the  Tamil 
Dhamsn,  given  by  Professor  Whitney  as  Dhanns;  while  we  have  a  very 
early  statement  that  the  stars  of  the  bow  and  human  part  of  the  Archer 
represented  the  fan  of  lions'  tails  twirled  by  Mula,  the  wife  of  Chandra 
Gupta,  the  Sandrokottos  of  300  b.  c,  ruler  over  the  Indian  kingdom 
Maurya  and  the  Gangaridae  and  Prasii  along  the  Ganges.  But  in  later 
Indian  astronomy  it  became  Taukshika,  derived  from  the  Greek  To^otj/c- 

The  Hindus  located  here  another  of  their  double  nakshatras,  the  18th 
and  19th,  the  Former  and  the  Latter  Ashadha,  Unconquered,  which,  in  the 
main,  were  coincident  with  the  manazil  and  siett  of  the  same  numbering. 
These  were  under  the  protection  of  the  divinities  Apas,  Waters,  and  Vicve 

IThis  may  be  seen  in  the  Mandaeans'  name  to-day  —  Nerig — for  the  planet  Mars. 


The  Constellations  355 

Devas,  the  Combined  Gods ;  each  being  figured  as  an  Elephant's  Tusk,  and 
both  together  as  a  Bed. 

In  ancient  Arabia  the  two  small  groups  of  stars  now  marking  the  head 
and  the  vane  of  the  Archer's  arrow  were  of  much  note  as  relics  of  still  earlier 
asterisms,  as  well  as  a  lunar  station.  The  westernmost  of  these, —  y,  <5,  e, 
and  97, —  were  Al  tfaam  al  Warid,  the  Going  Ostriches ;  and  the  eastern- 
most,— <r,  £  4>f  Xf  and  r, — Al  Va'&m  al  Sadirah,  the  Returning  Ostriches, 
passing  to  and  from  the  celestial  river,  the  Milky  Way,  with  the  star  X 
for  their  Keeper.  Ideler  thought  it  inexplicable  that  these  non-drinking 
creatures  should  be  found  here  in  connection  with  water,  and  Al  Jauhari 
compared  the  figures  to  an  Overturned  Chair,  which  these  stars  may  repre- 
sent. But  Al  Biruni  said  that  Al  Zajjaj  had  a  word  that  signifies  the 
Beam  over  the  mouth  of  a  well  to  which  the  pulleys  are  attached; 
while  another  authority  said  that  pasturing  Camels,  or  Cattle,  were  in- 
tended. There  evidently  is  much  uncertainty  as  to  the  true  reading  and 
signification  of  this  title.  All  of  the  foregoing  stars,  with  /x1  and  /x2,  were 
included  in  the  18th  manzil,  Al  tfa'am. 

The  19th  manzil  lay  in  the  vacant  space  from  the  upper  part  of  the  figure 
toward  the  horns  of  the  Sea-Goat,  and  was  known  as  Al  Baldah,  the  City, 
or  District,  for  this  region  is  comparatively  untenanted.  It  was  marked  by 
one  scarcely  distinguishable  star,  probably  rr,  and  was  bounded  by  six 
others  in  the  form  of  a  Bow,  the  Arabs1  Kans,  which,  however,  was  not  our 
Bow  of  Sagittarius.  It  also  was  Al  Kiladah,  the  Necklace ;  and  Al  Udhiyy, 
the  Ostrich's  Nest,  marked  by  our  t,  v,  i/>,  g>,  A,  and  f ;  while  the  space 
between  this  and  the  preceding  mansions  was  designated  by  Al  Biruni  as 
"the  head  of  Sagittarius  and  his  two  locks."  In  his  discussion  of  this 
subject,  quoting,  as  he  often  did,  from  Arab  poets,  he  compared  this  19th 
manzil  to  "  the  interstice  between  the  two  eyebrows  which  are  not  connected 
with  each  other," — a  condition  described  by  the  word  'Abldd,  somewhat 
similar  to  the  Baldah  generally  applied  to  it. 

The  1 8th  siru,  Ki,  a  Sieve,  anciently  Kit,  was  the  first  of  these  groups ; 
and  the  19th,  Tew,  Tow,  or  Van  Tow,  a  Ladle  or  Measure,  anciently  Dew, 
was  the  second;  both  being  alluded  to  in  the  She  King: 

In  the  south  is  the  Sieve 
Idly  showing  its  mouth 


But  it  is  of  no  use  to  sift ; 


the  commentator  explaining  that  the  two  stars  widest  apart  were  the  Mouth, 
and  the  two  closer  together  the  Heels ;  but  he  does  not  give  the  connection 
of  these  with  the  Sieve.     And  of  the  second  group : 


356  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

In  the  north  is  the  Ladle 
Raising  its  handle  to  the  west 

But  it  lades  out  no  liquor ; 

so  that  our  Milk  Dipper,  f,  -,  a,  <p,  and  X,  in  the  same  spot,  is  not  a  modern 
conceit  after  all.  The  stars  of  this  Ladle  were  objects  of  special  worship  in 
China  for  at  least  a  thousand  years  before  our  era ;  indeed,  also  were  known 
as  a  Temple. 

The  whole  constellation  was  the  Chinese  Tiger,  Williams  giving,  as  an- 
other early  name,  Seih  Muh,  the  Cleft  Tree,  or  Branches  cut  for  fire-wood, 
and  the  later  name,  from  the  Jesuits,  Jin  Ma,  the  Man-Horse.  A  part  of  it 
was  included  with  Scorpio,  Libra,  and  some  of  Virgo's  stars  in  the  large 
zodiacal  division  the  Azure  Dragon,  The  astrologers  incorporated  it  with 
Capricornus  in  their  Sing  Ki 

Astrologically  the  constellation  was  the  House  of  Jupiter,  that  planet 
having  appeared  here  at  the  Creation,  a  manuscript  of  1386  calling  it  the 
Schoter  "  ye  principal  howce  of  Jupit  " ;  although  this  honor  was  shared  by 
Aquarius  and  Leo.  Nor  did  Jupiter  monopolize  its  possession,  for  it  also 
was  the  domicile  of  Diana,  one  of  whose  temples  was  at  Stymphalus,  the 
home  of  the  Stymphalian  birds.  These  last,  when  slain  by  Hercules,  were 
transferred  to  the  sky  as  Aquila,  Cygnus,  and  Vultur  Cadens,  and  are  all 
paranatellons  of  Sagittarius,  as  has  been  explained  under  Aquila.  Thus  the 
constellation  was  known  as  Dianae  Sidus.  It  inclined  to  fruitfulness,  a 
character  assigned  to  it  as  far  back  as  the  Babylonian  inscriptions;  and  was 
a  fortunate  sign,  reigning  over  Arabia  Felix,  Hungary,  Liguria,  Moravia, 
and  Spain,  and  the  cities  of  Avignon,  Cologne,  and  Narbonne ;  while  Ma- 
nilius  said  that  it  ruled  Crete,  Latium,  and  Trinacria.  Ampelius  associated 
it  with  the  south  wind,  Auster,  and  the  southwest  wind,  Africus;  Aries  and 
Scorpio  being  also  associated  with  the  latter.  Yellow  was  the  color 
attributed  to  it,  or  the  peculiar  green  sanguine;  and  Arcandum  in  1542 
wrote  that  a  man  born  under  this  sign  would  be  thrice  wedded,  very  fond  of 
vegetables,  would  become  a  matchless  tailor,  and  have  three  special  illnesses, 
the  last  at  eighty  years  of  age.     Such  was  much  of  the  science  of  his  day! 

Sagittarius  is  shown  on  a  coin  of  Gallienus  of  about  a.  d.  260,  with  the 
legend  Apollini  Conservatori ;  and  on  those  of  King  Stephen  emblematic 
of  his  having  landed  in  England  in  1135  when  the  sun  was  here. 

La  Caille  took  the  star  rj  out  of  this  constellation  for  the  0  of  his  new 
Telescopium.  This  was  the  25th  of  Ptolemy's  list  in  the  otivpov,  or  pas- 
tern, which  would  indicate  that  with  him  the  feet  had  a  very  different 
situation  from  that  on  the  present  maps. 


The  Constellations  357 

The  symbol  of  the  sign,  /  ,  shows  the  arrow  with  part  of  the  bow. 

Sagittarius  contains  54  naked-eye  stars  according  to  Argelander,  and  90 
according  to  Heis,  although  none  is  above  the  2d  magnitude. 

The  sun  passes  through  the  constellation  from  the  16th  of  December  to 
the  1 8th  of  January,  reaching  the  winter  solstice1  near  the  stars  fi  on  the 
21st  of  December,  but  then  of  course  in  the  sign  Capricorn. 

A  noticeable  feature  in  the  heavens  lies  within  the  boundaries  of  Sagit- 
tarius, an  almost  circular  black  void  near  the  stars  y  and  6,  showing  but  one 
faint  telescopic  star;  and  to  the  east  of  this  empty  spot  is  another  of  narrow 
crescent  form. 

An  extraordinarily  brilliant  nova  is  said  to  have  appeared  low  down  in 
the  constellation  in  ion  or  1012,  visible  for  three  months.  This  was  re- 
corded in  the  Chinese  annals  of  Ma  Touan  Lin. 


a,     4. 

This  is  Bnkbat,  but  variously  written  Bucba,  Bucbah,  Bukbah,  and 
Bucbar,  from  Ulug  Beg's  Bnkbat  al  Bami,  the  Archer's  Knee;  in  some 
early  books  it  is  Al  Bami,  the  Archer  himself.  The  Standard  Dictionary 
has  Buchbar  nr  Banioh. 

The  Euphratean  Vibat  Ann,  already  alluded  to,  may  be  for  this,  or  for 
some  other  of  the  chief  components  of  the  constellation;  perhaps  for  e  if, 
in  early  days,  that  star  was  comparatively  as  bright  as  now. 

p  ,  Double,    3.8  and  8,    and    p  ,     4.4. 

Arkab  and  Urkab  are  from  Al  'Urkub,  translated  by  Ideler  as  the  Tendon 
uniting  the  calf  of  the  leg  to  the  heel,  and  this  coincides  with  their  location 
in  the  figure  on  modern  maps,  as  well  as  with  their  Euphratean  title  Ur-ner- 
gub,  the  Sole  of  the  Left  Foot ;  but  Al  Sufi  and  the  engraver  of  the  Borgian 
globe  assigned  these  stars  to  the  rear  of  the  horse's  body. 

Kazwini  knew  a  and  the  two  betas  as  Al  Suradain,  the  two  Surad,  desert 
birds  differently  described, —  by  some  as  "  larger  than  sparrows  "  and  varie- 
gated black  and  white  (magpies?);  by  others  as  yellow  and  larger  than 
doves. 

Y>    3.1,    yellow. 

Al  Haal,  the  Point,  is  Al  Tizini's  word  designating  this  as  marking  the 
head  of  the  Arrow ;  but  Hyde  cited  Zujj  al  Nuahshabah  of  similar  meaning. 

1  The  solstices  are  first  mentioned  by  Hesiod  in  three  different  passages  of  his  Works  and  Days. 
23* 


358  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  Borgian  globe  termed  it  Al  Wazl,  the  Junction,  indicating  the  spot 
where  the  arrow,  bow,  and  hand  of  the  Archer  meet. 

This  star,  with  6  and  e  and  with  j3  of  the  Telescope,  was  the  situ  Xi,  but 
in  the  worship  of  China  the  three  were  Feng  Shi,  the  General  of  Wind 

8,  Double,    3  and  14.5,    orange  yellow  and  bluish. 

Kans  Meridionalis,  or  Media,  is  Arabic  and  Latin  for  the  Middle  (of  the) 
Bow.  It  marked  the  junction  of  the  two  Ashadha ;  and,  with  y  and  c,  was 
the  Akkadian  Sin-nun-tu,  or  Si-nn-nn-tum,  the  Swallow. 

The  companion  was  26"  away  in  1896,  at  a  position  angle  of  276°4. 


S,  Double,     2  and  14.3,    orange  and  bluish, 

is  Kans  Australia,  the  Southern  (part  of  the)  Bow. 

In  Euphratean  days  it  may  have  been  tfibat  Ann. 

e  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  8th  of  August. 

The  companion  is  32".5  away,  at  a  position  angle,  in  1896,  of  2950. 

A  comparison  of  the  magnitudes  of  a,  j3,  y,  d,  and  e  in  Sagittarius,  each 
one  being  brighter  than  the  preceding,  goes  far  to  show  that  Bayer  was  not 
guided  in  his  star-lettering  by  any  such  rule  of  alphabetical  arrangement  in 
order  of  brilliancy  as  has  been  attributed  to  him. 

C5  Binary,    3.9  and  4.4. 

The  Latin  Almagest  of  15 15  gives  this  as  Afloella,  1.  e.  Axilla,  the  Armpit 
of  the  figure,  still  its  location  on  the  maps. 

The  two  components  have  the  rapid  orbital  revolution  of  i8}£  years. 

With  a,  t,  and  0  it  formed  a  portion  of  the  18th  manzil,  Al  Na'ais,  or  Al 
Ha  aim  al  Sadirah,  and  the  whole  of  that  nakshatra;  but  the  corresponding 
sieu  included  X  and  /a,  with  </>  as  the  determinant. 

h,     3.1,    yellow. 

Kans  Borealis,  the  Northern  (part  of  the)  Bow,  was  Al  Tizini's  Eii  il 
Valim,  the  Keeper  of  the  Na'ams,  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  meaning  of 
which  has  already  been  noticed;  but  Kazwini  evidently  understood  by  it 
Ostriches,  for  in  his  list  it  is,  with  the  stars  jti,  Al  Thalimain,  plainly  meaning 
these  desert  birds. 


The  Constellations  359 

With  the  same  stars  it  may  have  been  the  Akkadian  Anu-ni-tnm,  said 
to  have  been  associated  with  the  great  goddess  Istar. 

Near  A  appeared  in  a.  d.  386  a  bright  nova,  the  fourth  on  record;  and  70 
northeasterly  the  cluster  25  M.  is  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 

1  2 

(1 ,  Triple,    3.5,  9.5,  and  10,    and  [1  ,    5.8, 

form  a  wide  naked-eye  double  on  the  upper  part  of  the  bow,  and  are  named 
in  Akkadia  and  Arabia  with  the  preceding  star. 

They  mark  the  point  of  the  winter  solstice  two  thirds  of  the  way 
southward  towards,  and  in  line  with,  the  cluster  N.  G.  C.  6523,  8  M., 
visible  to  the  naked  eye,  with  other  noticeable  clusters  and  nebulae  close 
by.  One  of  these,  N.  G.  C.  6603,  24  M.,  towards  the  northeast,  is  Secchi's 
Delle  Canstiohe,  from  its  peculiar  arrangement  of  curves,  while  the  cele- 
brated Trifid  Hebnla,  N.  G.  C.  6514,  20  M.,  lies  not  far  off  to  the  south- 
west. This  was  discovered  in  1764,  and  so  named  from  its  three  dark 
rifts;  it  is  now  specially  noted  from  a  suspected  recent  change  in  its  posi- 
tion with  regard  to  a  star  in  one  of  these  rifts.  Spectroscopic  observations 
of  this  object  show  considerable  discordance  in  their  results. 

Brown  says  that  the  stars  in  the  bow  were  the  Persian  Gail  and  the  Sog- 
dian  and  Khorasmian  Yaugh,  but  by  these  nations  were  imagined  as  a 
Bull;  the  Copts  knew  them  as  Polis,  a  Foal. 

vl  and  v2,  red  stars  of  the  5th  magnitude,  12'  apart,  and  both  double, 
were  Ain  al  'Rami,  the  Archer's  Eye.  Ptolemy  catalogued  them  as  a 
nebulous  double  star, —  veipeXoeidfjs  tcai  dnrkovs, —  among  the  first  to  be  so 
designated. 

With  f  and  o  they  were  the  Chinese  Kien  Sing,  a  Flag- staff. 

*,  a  3d-magnitude  on  the  back  of  the  head,  was  Al  Tizini's  Al  Baldah, 
from  the  19th  manzil,  which  it  marked;  Al  Achsasi  considering  it  as  Al 
Mir,  the  Bright  One,  of  that  lunar  station. 

<*9         2.3. 

This  has  been  identified  with  Vunki  of  the  Euphratean  Tablet  of  the  Thirty 
Stars,  the  Star  of  the  Proclamation  of  the  Sea,  this  Sea  being  the  quarter 
occupied  by  Aquarius,  Capricornus,  Delphinus,  Pisces,  and  Piscis  Australis. 
It  is  the  same  space  in  the  sky  that  Aratos  designated  as  the  Water;  per- 
haps another  proof  of  the  Euphratean  origin  of  much  of  Greek  astronomy. 

In  India  it  marked  the  junction  of  the  nakshatra  Ashadha  with  Abhijit. 

It  lies  on  the  vane  of  the  arrow  at  the  Archer's  hand. 


360  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

<r,  with  f  and  n,  may  have  been  the  Akkadian  Gu-sbi-rab-ba,  the  Yoke  of 
the  Sea. 

The  5th-magnitude  stars  %l>1,  %l,  and  x2  were  tne  Chinese  asterism  Xow, 
the  Dog. 

CO,    4.8;    A,     5;    by    4.7;    and    <r,    4, 

forming  a  small  quadrangle  on  the  hind  quarter  of  the  horse,  were  the 
rerpd-rrXevpov  of  Ptolemy,  which  Bayer  repeated  in  the  Low  Latin  Tew- 
bellum,  still  often  seen  for  these  stars.     The  Standard  Dictionary  gives  it 
thus,  but  mentions  the  components  as  w,  or  a\  b  and  e. 
The  Chinese  knew  this  little  figure  as  Kow  Kwo,  the  Dog's  Country. 


^ctptxum  (grdnfeenBurgicum,  t$e  (granbenBurg  §kepttt, 

was  charted  in  1688  by  Gottfried  Kirch,  the  first  astronomer  of  the  Prus- 
sian Royal  Society  of  Sciences,  and,  more  than  a  century  thereafter,  was 
published  by  Bode,  who  thus  rescued  it  for  a  time  from  the  oblivion  into 
which,  however,  it  seems  to  have  lapsed  again.  It  contains  but  four  stars, 
of  the  4th  and  5th  magnitudes,  standing  in  a  straight  line  north  and 
south,  below  the  first  bend  in  the  River,  west  from  Lepus. 

The  Chinese  here  had  an  asterism,  Kew  Tew,  the  nine  Scallops  of  a 
Pennon,  but  in  this  they  included  \iy  g>,  and  b  of  Eridanus. 

There  was,  in  the  sky,  still  another  Soeptre  held  by  the  Hand  of  Juitiee, 
introduced  by  Royer  in  1679  in  honor  of  King  Louis  XIV,  in  the  place  of 
Lacerta ;  but  this  also  has  been  forgotten. 


.  .  .  that  cold  animal 
Which  with  its  tail  doth  smite  amain  the  nations. 

Longfellow's  translation  of  Dante's  Purgattrie- 

Scorpio,  or  Jfcorpiu*,  tfc  Scorpion, 

was  the  reputed  slayer  of  the  Giant,  exalted  to  the  skies  and  now  rising 
from  the  horizon  as  Orion,  still  in  fear  of  the  Scorpion,  sinks  below  it;  al- 


The  Constellations  361 

though  the  latter  itself  was  in  danger, —  Sackville  writing  in  his  Induction  to 
the  Mirror  of  Magistrates,  about  1565  : 

Whiles  Scorpio,  dreading  Sagittarius'  dart 

Whose  bow  prest  bent  in  flight  the  string  had  slipped, 

Down  slid  into  the  ocean  flood  apart. 

Classical  authors  saw  in  it  the  monster  that  caused  the  disastrous  runaway 
of  the  steeds  of  Phoebus  Apollo  when  in  the  inexperienced  hands  of 
Phaethon. 

For  some  centuries  before  the  Christian  era  it  was  the  largest  of  the 
zodiac  figures,  forming  with  the  XrjXcu,  its  Claws, —  the  prosectae  chelae  of 
Cicero,  now  our  Libra, —  a  double  constellation,  as  Ovid  wrote: 

Porrigit  in  spatium  signorum  membra  duorura ; 

and  this  figuring  has  been  adduced  as  the  strongest  proof  of  Scorpio's 
great  antiquity,  from  the  belief  that  only  six  constellations  made  up  the 
earliest  zodiac,  of  which  this  extended  sign  was  one. 

With  the  Greeks  it  universally  was  Snop-nto?;  Aratos,  singularly  making 
but  slight  allusion  to  it,  added  MeyaQripiov,  the  Great  Beast,  changed  in 
the  1720  edition  of  Bayer  to  MeXadvpiov;  while  another  very  appropriate 
term  with  Aratos  was  Tipag  fieya,  the  Great  Sign.  This  reputed  magnitude 
perhaps  was  due  to  the  mythological  necessity  of  greater  size  for  the  slayer 
of  great  Orion,  in  reference  to  which  that  author  characterized  it  as 
TAcidrcpoc  Trpo<t>aveis,  "appearing  huger  still." 

The  Latins  occasionally  wrote  the  word  Soorpios,  but  usually  SoorpiuB, 
or  Scorpio;  while  Cicero,  Ennius,  Manilius,  and  perhaps  Columella  gave 
the  kindred  African  title  Nepa,  or  Hepas,  the  first  of  which  the  Alfonsine 
Tables  copy,  as  did  Manilius  the  Greek  adjective  'OTnoOo-Pdfiwv,  Walking 
Backward.  Astronomical  writers  and  commentators,  down  to  comparatively 
modern  times,  occasionally  mentioned  its  two  divisions  under  the  combined 
title  ScorpiuB  cum  Chelis;  while  some  representations  even  showed  the 
Scales  in  the  creature's  Claws. 

Grotius  said  that  the  Barbarians  called  the  Claws  Graffias,  and  the  Latins, 
according  to  Pliny,  Forficulae. 

In  early  China  it  was  an  important  part  of  the  figure  of  the  mighty  but 
genial  Azure  Dragon  of  the  East  and  of  spring,  in  later  days  the  residence 
of  the  heavenly  Blue  Emperor ;  but  in  the  time  of  Confucius  it  was  Ta 
Who,  the  Great  Fire,  a  primeval  name  for  its  star  Antares ;  and  Shing 
Kung,  a  Divine  Temple,  was  applied  to  the  stars  of  the  tail.    As  a  member 


362  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  the  early  zodiac  it  was  the  Hare,  for  which,  in  the  16th  century,  was 
substituted,  from  Jesuit  teaching,  Tien  He,  the  Celestial  Scorpion. 

Sir  William  Drummond  asserted  that  in  the  zodiac  which  the  patriarch 
Abraham  knew  it  was  an  Eagle;  and  some  commentators  have  located 
here  the  biblical  Chambers  of  the  South,  Scorpio  being  directly  opposite  the 
Pleiades  on  the  sphere,  both  thought  to  be  mentioned  in  the  same  passage 
of  the  Book  of  Job  with  two  other  opposed  constellations,  the  Bear  and 
Orion ;  but  the  original  usually  is  considered  a  reference  to  the  southern 
heavens  in  general.  Aben  Ezra  identified  Scorpio,  or  Antares,  with  the 
Kfsil  of  the  Hebrews ;  although  that  people  generally  considered  these 
stars  as  a  Scorpion,  their  'A^rabh,  and,  it  is  claimed,  inscribed  it  on  the 
banners  of  Dan  as  the  emblem  of  the  tribe  whose  founder  was  "  a  serpent 
by  the  way."  When  thus  shown  it  was  as  a  crowned  Snake  or  Basilisk. 
A  similar  figure  appeared  for  it  at  one  period  of  Egyptian  astronomy ;  in- 
deed it  is  thus  met  with  in  modern  times,  for  Chatterton,  that  precocious 
poet  of  the  last  century,  plainly  wrote  of  the  Scorpion  in  his  line, 

The  slimy  Serpent  swelters  in  his  course ; 
and  long  before  him  Spenser  had,  in  the  Faerie  Queen  : 

and  now  in  Ocean  deepe 
Orion  flying  fast  from  hissing  snake, 
His  flaming  head  did  hasten  for  tosteepe. 

But  the  Denderah  zodiac  shows  the  typical  form. 

Kircher  called  the  whole  constellation  lo-iac,  Statio  fsidis,  the  bright 
Antares  having  been  at  one  time  a  symbol  of  Isis. 

The  Arabians  knew  it  as  Al  'Akrab,  the  Scorpion,  from  which  have  de- 
generated Alaorab,  Alatrab,  Alatrap,  Hacrab, —  Riccioli's  Aakrab  and 
Hacerab ;  and  similarly  it  was  the  Syrians1  Akreva.  Riccioli  gave  us  Acrobo 
Chaldaeis,  which  may  be  true,  but  in  this  Latin  word  he  probably  had 
reference  to  the  astrologers. 

The  Persians  had  a  Scorpion  in  their  Ghezhdum  or  Kazhdfcro,  and  the 
Turks,  in  their  Koiroghi,  Tailed,  and  Uznn  Koirughi,  Long-tailed. 

The  Akkadians  called  it  Girtab,  the  Seizer,  or  Stinger,  and  the  Haw 
where  One  Bows  Down,  titles  indicative  of  the  creature's  dangerous  char- 
acter ;  although  some  early  translators  of  the  cuneiform  text  rendered  it 
the  Double  Sword.  With  later  dwellers  on  the  Euphrates  it  was  the  sym- 
bol of  darkness,  showing  the  decline  of  the  sun's  power  after  the  autumnal 
equinox,  then  located  in  it.  Always  prominent  in  that  astronomy,  Jensen 
thinks  that  it  was  formed  there  5000  b.  c,  and  pictured  much  as  it  now  is; 


The  Constellations  363 

perhaps  also  in  the  semi-human  form  of  two  Scorpion-men,  the  early  circu- 
lar Altar,  or  Lamp,  sometimes  being  shown  grasped  in  the  Claws,  as  the 
Scales  were  in  illustrations  of  the  15th  century.  In  Babylonia  this  calendar 
sign  was  identified  with  the  eighth  month,  Arakh  Savna,  our  October-No- 
vember. 

Early  India  knew  it  as  Ali,  ViQrika,  or  Vrouehieam, —  in  Tamil,  Vrisha- 
man;  but  later  on  Varaha  Mihira  said  Kaurpya,  and  Al  Biruni,  Kanrba, 
both  from  the  Greek  Scorpios.     On  the  Cingalese  zodiac  it  was  Ussika. 

Dante  designated  it  as  Un  Secchione, 

Formed  like  a  bucket  that  is  all  ablaze ; 

and  in  the  Purgatorio  as  II  Friddo  Animal  of  our  motto,  not  a  mistaken 
reference  to  the  creature's  nature,  but  to  its  rising  in  the  cold  hours  of  the 
dawn  when  he  was  gazing  upon  it.  Dante's  translator  Longfellow  has 
something  similar  in  his  own  Poets1  Calendar  for  October : 

On  the  frigid  Scorpion  I  ride. 

Chaucer  wrote  of  it,  in  the  Hous  of  Fame,  as  the  Scorpioun ;  his  Anglo- 
Norman  predecessors,  Escorpiun;  and  the  Anglo-Saxons,  Throwend. 

Caesius  mistakenly  considered  it  one  of  the  Scorpions  of  Eehobo&m ;  but 
Novidius  said  that  it  was 

the  scorpion  or  serpent  whereby  Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt,  was  enforced  to  let  the  children 
of  Israel  depart  out  of  his  country ; 

of  which  Hood  said  "  there  is  no  such  thing  in  history."  Other  Christians 
of  their  day  changed  its  figure  to  that  of  the  Apostle  Bartholomew;  and 
Weigel,  to  a  Cardinal's  Hat 

In  some  popular  books  of  the  present  day  it  is  the  Kite,  which  it  as  much 
resembles  as  it  does  a  Scorpion. 

Its  symbol  is  now  given  as  fll,  but  in  earlier  times  the  sting  of  the  crea- 
ture was  added,  perhaps  so  showing  the  feet,  tail,  and  dart ;  but  the  similar- 
ity in  their  symbols  may  indicate  that  there  has  been  some  intimate  connec- 
tion, now  forgotten,  between  Scorpio  and  the  formerly  adjacent  Virgo  (W). 

Ampelius  assigned  to  it  the  care  of  Africus,  the  Southwest  Wind,  a  duty 
which,  he  said,  Aries  and  Sagittarius  shared ;  and  the  weather-wise  of  an- 
tiquity thought  that  its  setting  exerted  a  malignant  influence,  and  was 
accompanied  by  storms;  but  the  alchemists  held  it  in  high  regard,  for  only 
when  the  sun  was  in  this  sign  could  the  transmutation  of  iron  into  gold  be 
performed.  Astrologers,  on  the  other  hand,  although  they  considered  it  a 
fruitful  sign,  "  active  and  eminent,"  knew  it  as  the  accursed  constellation, 


364  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

the  baleful  source  of  war  and  discord,  the  birthplace  of  the  planet  Mars,  and 
so  the  House  of  Mars,  the  Hartis  Sidnj  of  Manilius.  But  this  was  located 
in  the  sting  and  tail ;  the  claws,  as  Zvydc,  Jugum,  or  the  Yoke  of  the 
Balance,  being  devoted  to  Venus,  because  this  goddess  united  persons  un- 
der the  yoke  of  matrimony.  It  was  supposed  to  govern  the  region  of  the 
groin  in  the  human  body,  and  to  reign  over  Judaea,  Mauritania,  Catalonia, 
Norway,  West  Silesia,  Upper  Batavia,  Barbary,  Morocco,  Valencia,  and 
Messina ;  the  earlier  Manilius  claiming  it  as  the  tutelary  sign  of  Carthage, 
Libya,  Egypt,  Sardinia,  and  other  islands  of  the  Italian  coast.  Brown  was 
its  assigned  color,  and  Pliny  asserted  that  the  appearance  of  a  comet  here 
portended  a  plague  of  reptiles  and  insects,  especially  of  locusts. 

Although  nominally  in  the  zodiac,  the  sun  actually  occupies  but  nine 
days  in  passing  through  the  two  portions  that  project  upwards  into  Ophiu- 
chus,  so  far  south  of  the  ecliptic  is  it ;  indeed,  except  for  these  projections,  it 
could  not  be  claimed  as  a  member  of  the  zodiac. 

Scorpio  is  famous  as  the  region  of  the  sky  where  have  appeared  many  of 
the  brilliant  temporary  stars,  chief  among  them,  perhaps,  that  of  134  b.  c, 
the  first  in  astronomical  annals,  and  the  occasion,  Pliny  said,  of  the  cata- 
logue of  Hipparchos,  about  125  b.  c.  The  Chinese  She  Ke  confirmed  this 
appearance  by  its  record  of  "  the  strange  star  "  in  June  of  that  year,  in  the 
sieu  Fang,  marked  by  0,  (J,  n,  p,  and  others  in  Scorpio.  Serviss  thinks  it 
conceivable  that  the  strange  outbursts  of  these  novae  in  and  near  Scorpio 
may  have  had  some  effect  in  causing  this  constellation  to  be  regarded  by 
the  ancients  as  malign  in  its  influence.  But  this  character  may,  with  at 
least  equal  probability,  have  come  from  the  fiery  color  of  its  lucida,  as  well 
as  from  the  history  of  the  constellation  in  connection  with  Orion,  and  the 
poisonous  attributes  of  its  earthly  namesake. 

In  southern  latitudes  Scorpio  is  magnificently  seen  in  its  entirety, — nearly 
450, —  Gould  cataloguing  in  it  184  naked-eye  stars. 

Along  its  northern  border,  perhaps  in  Ophiuchus,  there  was,  in  very  early 
days,  a  constellation,  the  Fox,  taken  from  the  Egyptian  sphere  of  Petosiris. 
but  we  know  nothing  as  to  its  details. 

.     .     .     capricious  An  tares 
Flushing  and  paling  in  the  Southern  arch. 

Willis'  The  Scholar  of  Thebet  Ben  KkenL 

Ct,  Binary,    0.7  and  7,    fiery  red  and  emerald  green. 

Airfares,  the  well-nigh  universal  title  for  this  splendid  star,  is  transcribed 
from  Ptolemy's  dvrdprfg  in  the  Syntaxis,  and  generally  thought  to  be  from 


The  Constellations  365 

avri  'Apiyc,  "  similar  to,"  or  the  "  rival  of,"  Mars,  in  reference  to  its  color, 
—  the  Latin  Tetrabiblos  had  Marti  comparator ;  or,  in  the  Homeric  signifi- 
cation of  the  words,  the  "  equivalent  of  Mars,"  either  from  the  color-resem- 
blance of  the  star  to  the  latter,  or  because  the  astrologers  considered  the 
Scorpion  the  House  of  that  planet  and  that  god  its  guardian.  Thus  it  natu- 
rally followed  the  character  of  its  constellation, —  perhaps  originated  it, — 
and  was  always  associated  with  eminence  and  activity  in  mankind. 

Grotius,  however,  said  that  the  word  signifies  a  Bat,  which,  as  Veapertilio, 
Sophocles  perhaps  called  it;  but  Bayer  erroneously  quoted  from  Hesychios 
"AvTapT^c,  a  Rebel,  and  Tyranxras.  Caesius  appropriately  styled  the  con- 
stellation Insidiata,  the  Lurking  One. 

Others  say  that  it  was  Antar'g  Star, —  but  they  forget  Ptolemy, —  the  cele- 
brated Antar  or  Antarah  who,  just  previous  to  the  time  of  Muhammad, 
was  the  mulatto  warrior-hero  of  one  of  the  Golden  Mu'allakdt.1 

Our  word,  however,  is  sometimes  written  Antar,  which  Beigel  said  is  the 
Arabic  equivalent  of  "  Shone  " ;  but  the  Latin  translator  of  the  1 5 1 5  Almagest 
connected  it  with  JValar,  Rapine,  and  so  possibly  explaining  the  generally 
unintelligible  expression  tendit  ad  rapinam  applied  to  An  tares  in  that  work 
and  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1 ;  or  the  expression  here  may  refer  to 
the  character  of  *Ap^c,  the  god  of  war.  The  Rudolphine  lables  designated 
it  as  rutilansy  Pliny's  word  for  "  glowing  redly." 

The  Arabians'  Kalb  al  'Akrab,  the  Scorpion's  Heart,  which  probably  pre- 
ceded the  Kapdia  Znopmov  and  Cor  Soorpii  of  Greece  and  Rome  respectively, 
became,  in  early  English  and  Continental  lists,  Kelbalacrab,  Calbalacrab, 
Calbolacrabi,  Calbalatrab,  and  Cabalatrab ;  Riccioli  having  the  unique  Al- 
cantub,  although  he  generally  wrote  Kalb  Aakrab.  An  tares  alone  consti- 
tuted the  1 6th  manzil,  Al  Kalb,  the  Heart,  one  of  the  fortunate  stations; 
but  the  Chinese  included  a  and  r,  on  either  side,  for  their  sieu,  the  synony- 
mous Sin,  anciently  Sam,  a  being  the  determinant ;  although  Brown  says 
that  this  Heart  refers  to  that  of  Tsing  Lung,  the  Azure  Dragon,  one  of  the 
four  great  divisions  of  their  zodiac.  They  also  have  a  record  of  a  comet 
531  b.  c,  •'  to  the  left  of  Ta  Shin,"  which  last  Williams  identified  with 
Antares ;  while,  as  the  Fire  Star,  Who  Sing,  it  seems  to  have  been  invoked 
in  worship  centuries  before  our  era  for  protection  against  fire.  With  some 
adjacent  it  was  one  of  the  Ming  t'ang,  or  Emperor's  Council-hall ;  his  sons 
and  courtiers,  other  stars,  standing  close  by,  to  whom  Antares,  as  Ta  Who, 
announced  the  principles  of  his  government. 

1  These  were  the  famous  seven  selected  poems  of  Arabia,  said  to  have  been  inscribed  in  let- 
ters of  gold  on  silk,  or  Egyptian  linen,  and  suspended,  as  their  title  signifies,  in  the  Kabah 
at  Mecca. 


366  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  Hindus  used  a,  a,  and  t  for  their  nakshatra  Jyeotha,  Oldest,  also 
known  as  Sohini,  Ruddy,  from  the  color  of  An  tares, — Indra,  the  sky-goddess, 
being  regent  of  the  asterism  that  was  figured  as  a  pendent  Ear  JeweL 

It  was  one  of  the  four  Royal  Stars  of  Persia,  3000  b.  a,  and  probably 
the  Guardian  of  the  Heavens  that  Dupuis  mentioned  as  Safaris ;  but,  as 
their  lunar  asterism,  it  was  Gel,  the  Red ;  the  Sogdians  changing  this  to 
Maghan  sadwif,  the  Great  One  saffron-colored.  The  Khorasmians  called 
it  Dharind,  the  Seizer;  and  the  Copts,  Kharthian,  the  Heart 

It  pointed  out  to  the  Babylonians  their  24th  ecliptic  constellation,  Hum, 
of  uncertain  meaning,  itself  being  Urbat  according  to  an  astrolabe  discov- 
ered in  the  palace  of  Sennacherib  and  interpreted  by  the  late  George  Smith; 
Brown,  however,  assigns  this  title  to  stars  in  Lupus.  Other  Euphratean 
names  were  Bilu-sha-ziri,  the  Lord  of  the  Seed ;  Kak-thisa,  the  Creator  of 
Prosperity,  according  to  Jensen,  although  this  is  generally  ascribed  to  Sirius; 
and,  in  the  lunar  zodiac,  Bar  Lugal,  the  King,  identified  with  the  god  of 
lightning,  Lugal  Tudda,  the  Lusty  King.  Naturally  the  inscriptions  make 
much  of  it  in  connection  with  the  planet  Mars,  their  Ul  Suru,  showing  that 
its  Arean  association  evidently  had  very  early  origin ;  and  from  them  we 
read  Kara  (?)  Sar,  the  Hero  and  the  King,  and  Kakkab  Bir,  the  Vermilion 
Star.  Brown  identifies  it  with  the  seventh  antediluvian  king,  'Evedupavxot, 
or  Udda-an-^u,  the  Day-heaven -bird. 

From  his  Assyrian  researches  Cheyne  translates  the  36th  verse  from  the 
38th  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Job ; 

Who  hath  put  wisdom  into  the  Lance-star  ? 
Or  given  understanding  to  the  Bow-star  ? 

Jensen  referring  this  Lance-star  to  Antares.  Hommel,  however,  identifies 
it  with  Procyon  of  Canis  Minor. 

In  Egyptian  astronomy  it  represented  the  goddess  Selkit,  Selk-t,  or  SerH 
heralding  the  sunrise  through  her  temples  at  the  autumnal  equinox  about 
3700-3500  b.  c,  and  was  the  symbol  of  Ilis  in  the  pyramid  ceremonials. 
Renouf  included  it  with  Arcturus  in  the  immense  figure  Menat 

Penrose  mentions  the  following  early  Grecian  temples  as  oriented  towards 
the  rising  or  setting  of  Antares  at  the  vernal  equinox :  the  Heraeum  at 
Argos,inthe  year  1760,  perhaps  the  oldest  temple  in  the  cradle  of  Greek 
civilization;  the  first  Erechtheum  at  Athens,  1070;  one  at  Corinth,  770; 
an  early  temple  to  Apollo  at  Delphi,  rebuilt  with  this  orientation  in  630; 
and  one  of  the  same  date  to  Zeus  at  Aegina ;  —  all  of  these  before  our  era. 

It  rises  at  sunset  on  the  1st  of  June,  culminating  on  the  nth  of  July,and 
is  one  of  the  so-called  lunar  stars;  and  some  have  asserted  that  it  was  the 


The  Constellations  367 

first  star  observed  through  the  telescope  in  the  daytime,  although  Smyth 
made  this  claim  for  Arcturus.  Ptolemy  lettered  it  as  of  the  2d  magnitude, 
so  that  in  his  day  it  may  have  been  inferior  in  brilliancy  to  the  now  very 
much  fainter  0  Librae. 

Antares  belongs  to  Secchi's  third  type  of  suns,  which  Lockyer  says  are  "  in 
the  last  visible  stage  of  cooling,"  and  nearly  extinct  as  self-luminous  bodies; 
although  this  is  a  theory  by  no  means  universally  accepted. 

The  companion  is  3". 5  away,  and  suspected  of  revolution  around  its 
principal;  their  present  position  angle  is  2700. 

A  photograph  by  Barnard  in  1895  first  showed  the  vast  and  intricate 
Cloud  Nebula  stretching  to  a  great  distance  around  Antares  and  the  star  a. 
It  was  here,  two  or  three  degrees  north  of  Antares,  that  was  discovered,  on 
the  9th  of  June,  Coddington's  comet,  c  of  1898,  the  third  comet  made 
known  by  the  camera. 

p,  Triple,     2,  10,  and  4,    pale  white, ,  and  lilac. 

Graffias  generally  is  said  to  be  of  unknown  derivation;  but  since  Tpaxpalog 
signifies  "  Crab,"  it  may  be  that  here  lies  the  origin  of  the  title,  for  it  is  well 
known  that  the  ideas  and  words  for  crab  and  scorpion  were  almost  inter- 
changeable in  early  days,  from  the  belief  that  the  latter  creature  was  gen- 
erated from  the  former.1  It  was  thought  by  Grotius  to  be  a  "Barbarian" 
designation  for  the  Claws  of  the  double  constellation ;  and  Bayer  said  the 
same,  although  he  used  the  word  for  f  Scorpii  in  the  modern  northern  claw. 
In  Burritt's  Atlas  of  1835  it  appears  for  f  of  the  northern  Scale,  the  ancient 
northern  Claw;  but  in  the  edition  of  1856  he  applied  it  to  our  0  Scorpii, 
and  in  both  editions  he  has  a  second  0  at  the  base  of  the  tail,  west  of  e. 
The  Century  Dictionary  prints  it  Grassias,  probably  from  erroneously  read- 
ing the  early  type  for  the  letter/.  0  is  near  the  junction  of  the  left  claw 
with  the  body,  or  in  the  arch  of  the  Kite  bow,  8°  or  90  northwest  of  Antares. 
In  some  modern  lists  it  is  Acrab, —  Riccioli's  Aakrab  schemali 

It  was  included  in  the  15th  manzi/,  Iklil  al  Jabhah,  the  Crown  of  the 
Forehead,  just  north  of  which  feature  it  lies,  taking  in  with  this,  however, 
the  other  stars  to  6  and  n ;  some  authorities  occasionally  adding  v  and  p. 
This  was  one  of  the  fortunate  stations,  and  from  this  manzil  title  comes  the 
occasional  Jclil.  The  Hindus  knew  the  group  as  their  15th  nakshatra, 
Annridha,  Propitious  or  Successful, —  Mitra,  the  Friend,  one  of  the  Adityas, 
being  the  presiding  divinity ;  and  they  figured  it  as  a  Sow  or  Ridge,  which 

lThis  was  held  even  by  the  learned  Saints  Augustine  and  Basil  of  the  4th  century,  and  con- 
fidently expressed  by  Saint  Isidore  in  his  Origines  et  Etymologiae. 


368  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

the  line  of  component  stars  well  indicates.  The  corresponding  situ,  Ftag, 
a  Room  or  House,  anciently  Fong,  consisted  of  )3  with  6,  n,  and  p,  al- 
though Professor  Whitney  thought  it  limited  to  the  determinant  it,  the 
faintest  of  the  group  and  farthest  to  the  south.  It  shared  with  Antares  the 
title  Ta  Who,  and  was  the  central  one  of  the  seven  lunar  asterisms  making 
up  the  Azure  Dragon,  Tsing  Lung.  But  individually  0  seems  to  have  been 
known  as  Tien  Sze,  the  Four-horse  Chariot  of  Heaven,  and  was  worshiped 
by  all  horsemen.  It  probably  also  was  Fu  Kwang,  the  Basket  with  Handles, 
and  highly  regarded  as  presiding  over  the  rearing  of  silkworms,  and  as  indi- 
cating the  commencement  of  the  season  of  that  great  industry  of  China. 

Timochares  saw  0  occulted  by  the  moon  in  the  year  295  b.  a;  and 
Hind  repeats  a  statement  by  Ptolemy,  from  Chaldaean  records,  that  the 
planet  Mars  almost  occulted  it  on  the  17th  of  January,  272  b.  c;  Smyth. 
however,  substituted  j3  Librae  in  this  phenomenon  and  271  b.  c.  as  the 
date. 

The  two  largest  components  are  14"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  25°;  the 
third  being  o".g  from  the  first,  with  a  position  angle  of  890. 

Half-way  from  |3  to  Antares  lies  the  fine  cluster  N.  G.  C.  6093,80  M.,on 
the  western  edge  of  a  starless  opening  40  broad.  It  was  this  that  called 
forth  Sir  William  HerscheFs  exclamation  : 

Hier  ist  wahrhaftig  ein  Loch  im  Himmel ! 

although  powerful  telescopes  reveal  in  it  many  minute  stars.  His  son  after- 
wards described  forty- nine  such  spots  in  various  parts  of  the  sky.  This 
cluster,  that  Sir  William  thought  might  perhaps  have  been  formed  by  stars 
drawn  from  that  vacancy,  "  was  lit  up  in  i860  for  a  short  time  by  the  out- 
burst of  a  temporary  star." 

T,     3.25,     red, 

lies,  in  Bayer's  map,  on  the  tip  of  the  southern  claw,  and  is  the  same  star  as 
Flamsteed's  20  Librae;  but  Smyth  strangely  alluded  to  it  as  being  at 
the  end  of  the  sting  and  nebulous ;  and  Burritt  placed  Bayer's  letter  at  the 
object  mentioned  by  Smyth.  Indeed  for  at  least  three  hundred  years  there 
has  been  disagreement  among  astronomers  as  to  this  star ;  for  although  Ar- 
gelander  and  Heis  follow  Bayer,  Gould  writes  : 

Since  it  appears  out  of  the  question  that  it  should  ever  again  be  regarded  as  belonging 
to  Scorpius,  I  have  ventured  to  designate  it  by  the  letter  o  [Librae]. 

Bayer  cited  for  it  Brachium,  the  Arm,  as  from  Vergil,  but  this  was  errone- 
ous in  so  far  as  being  a  title  for  this  star,  the  original  brachia  in  the  Gcvrpcs 


The  Constellations  369 

simply  signifying  the  "  claws  "  that  it  marks ;  Bayer  added  Conm,  the 
Horn,  as  from  some  anonymous  writer. 

In  Arabia  it  was  Zub&n  al  'Akrab,  the  Scorpion's  Claw,  which  has  be- 
come Zuban  al  Kravi,  Zuben  Acrabi ;  and  Bayer  said  Zuben  Hakrabi  and 
Zuben  el  Genubi,  contracted  from  Al  Zub&n  al  Janftbiyyah,  the  Southern 
Claw.     Similar  titles  also  appear  for  stars  in  Libra,  the  early  Claws. 

In  China  it  was  Chin  Chay,  the  Camp  Carriage. 

Brown  included  it,  with  others  near  by  in  Hydra's  tail,  in  the  Akkadian 
Entena-mas-luv,  or  Ente-maa-mur,  the  Assyrian  Etsen-tsiri,  the  Tail-tip. 


8, 


2.5. 


Dschubba  is  found  in  the  Whitall  Planisphere,  probably  from  Al  Jabhab, 
the  Front,  or  Forehead,  where  it  lies. 

In  the  Palermo  Catalogue  the  title  Iclarkrav  is  applied  to  a  star  whose 
assigned  position  for  the  year  1800  would  indicate  our  6*.  If  this  be  the 
case,  it  may  have  been  a  specially  coined  word  from  the  Arabs'  Iklfl  al 
'Akrab,  the  Crown  of  the  Scorpion ;  and  this  conjecture  would  seem  justified 
by  our  previous  experience  of  that  catalogue's  star  nomenclature  as  seen  in 
its  remarkable  efforts  with  a  and  0  Delphini.     Riccioli  had  Aakr&b  genubi 

d  was  of  importance  in  early  times,  for  with  0  and  n,  on  either  side  in  a 
bending  line,  it  is  claimed  for  the  Euphratean  Gifl-gan-gu-sur,  the  Light  of 
the  Hero,  or  the  Tree  of  the  Garden  of  Light,  "  placed  in  the  midst  of  the 
abyss,"  and  so  reminding  us  of  that  other  tree,  the  Tree  of  Life,  in  the  midst 
of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  It  was  selected  by  the  Babylonian  astronomers, 
with  j3,  to  point  out  their  23d  ecliptic  constellation,  which  Epping  calls 
Qablu  (und  qabu)  sha  rishu  aqrabi,  the  Middle  of  the  Head  of  the  Scor- 
pion. The  earliest  record  that  we  have  of  the  planet  Mercury  is  in  connec- 
tion with  these  same  two  stars  seen  from  that  country  265  b.  c.  In  the 
lunar  zodiac  6,  0,  and  n  were  the  Persian  Nur,  Bright ;  the  Sogdian  and 
Khorasmian  Bighanwand,  Clawless ;  and  the  Coptic  Stephani,  the  Crown. 

In  China  the  2d-magnitude  e,  with  /i,  f,  rj,  0,  i,  k,  v,  and  A,  formed  the 
17th  sieu,  Wei,  the  Tail,  anciently  known  as  Mi  and  as  Vi,  pi  being  the  de- 
terminant; but,  although  this  Tail  coincided  with  that  part  of  our  Scorpion, 
Brown  thinks  that  reference  is  rather  made  to  the  tail  of  the  Azure  Dragon, 
one  of  the  quadripartite  divisions  of  the  Chinese  zodiac  which  lay  here. 

0,  a  2d-magnitude  red  star,  was  the  Euphratean  Sargas,  lying  in  the 

Milky  Way  just  south  of  A  and  v,  with  which  it  formed  one  of  the  seven 

pairs  of  Twin  Stars;  as  such  it  was  Ma-a-tnL     And  it  may  have  been,  with 

*>  *,  A,  and  v,  the  Girtab  of  the  lunar  zodiac  of  that  valley,  the  Vanant  of 

24 


370  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Persia  and  Vanand  of  Sogdiana,  all  meaning  the  "  Seizer,"  "  Smiter,"  or 
"  Stinger  " ;  but  the  Persian  and  Sogdian  words  generally  are  used  for  our 
Regulus.  In  Khorasmia  these  stars  were  Khachman,  the  Curved.  6  has  a 
i4th-magnitude  greenish  companion  that  may  be  in  revolution  around  it, 
6".77  away  in  1897,  at  a  position  angle  of  3i6°.9.     See  writes  of  this: 

a  magnificent  system  of  surpassing  interest ;  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  known  doable 
stars. 


K 


1.7. 


Shaula  probably  is  from  Al  Shaulah,  the  Sting,  where  it  lies;  but 
according  to  Al  Biruni,  from  Mnahalah,  Raised,  referring  to  the  position 
of  the  sting  ready  to  strike.  These  words  have  been  confused  with  the 
names  for  the  adjoining  v,  and  in  the  course  of  time  corrupted  to  Shanka, 
Alaioha,  Mosclek,  and  Shomlek;  Chilmead  writing  of  these  last: 

It  is  also  called  Bohomlek,  which  Scaliger  thinkes  is  read  by  transposition  of  the  letters 
for  Mosclek,  which  signifieth  the  bending  of  the  taile. 

Naturally  it  was  an  unlucky  star  with  astrologers. 

A  and  v  were  the  17th  manzil,  Al  Shaulah,  and  the  nakshatra  Vicritau, 
the  Two  Releasers,  perhaps  from  the  Vedic  opinion  that  they  brought  relief 
from  lingering  disease. 

Some  Hindu  authorities,  taking  in  all  the  stars  from  e  to  v,  called  the 
whole  Mula,  the  Root,  with  the  divine  Nirrity,  Calamity,  as  regent  of  the 
asterism,  which  was  represented  as  a  Lion's  Tail;  this  title  appearing  also 
for  stars  of  Sagittarius.  In  Coptic  Egypt  A  and  v  were  Minamrcfi  the 
Sting;  and,  on  the  Euphrates,  Saror. 

An  imaginary  line  extended  from  v  through  Shaula  serves  to  point  out 
the  near-by  clusters  6  M.  and  N.  G.  C.  6475,  7  M-»  visible  together  in  the 
field  of  an  opera-glass.  These  probably  were  the  ancient  termination  of  the 
sting  to  which  Smyth  alluded  in  his  comments  on  A  and  v,  although  he  is 
not  quite  clear  about  the  matter;  they  certainly  were  the  ve^Xaeidrfc  of 
Ptolemy,  among  his  apoptpuroi  of  2/tdp7r/oc ;  and  Girus  We  nebulosus  in  the 
Latin  Almagest  of  1551.  Ulug  Beg's  translator  had  Stella  nebuhsa  quae 
sequitur  aculeum  Scorpionis, —  Tali'  al  Shaulah,  That  which  follows  the  Sting. 

In  the  legends  of  the  Polynesian  Islanders,  notably  those  of  the  Hervey 
group,  the  stars  in  the  Scorpion,  from  the  two  lettered  \l  to  A  and  v,  were 
the  Fiflh-hook  of  Maui,  with  which  that  god  drew  up  from  the  depths 
the  great  island  Tongareva ;  and  the  names  and  legend  that  Ellis,  in  his 
Pblynesian  Researches,  applied  to  Castor  and  Pollux  in  Gemini,  the  Reverend 


The  Constellations  371 

Mr.  W.  W.  Gill  asserts,  in  his  Myths  and  Songs  of  the  South  Pacific,  belong 
here,  and  are  the  favorites  among  the  story-tellers  of  the  Hervey  Islands. 
They  make  the  star  fil  a  little  girl,  Piri-ere-na,  the  Inseparable,  with  her 
smaller  brother,  ft2,  fleeing  from  home  to  the  sky  when  ill  treated  by  their 
parents,  the  stars  A  and  v,  who  followed  them  and  are  still  in  pursuit. 

This  fi1  has  recently  been  discovered  to  be  a  spectroscopic  binary,  with  a 
period  of  about  35  hours.     It  is  a  3.3-magnitude,  and  of  Secchi's  1st  class. 

u2  is  of  3.7  magnitude. 

V,  Quadruple,    4,  5,  7.2,  and  8.3, 

is  Jabbah  in  the  Century  Cyclopedia,  perhaps  from  its  being  one  of  the 
manzil  Ddll  al  Jabhab. 

It  lies  20  east  of  0,  and  is  another  Doable  Double  like  e  Lyrae,  although 
less  readily  resolved,  the  larger  pair  being  only  ©".89  apart,  and  the  smaller 
about  1  ".9.  Espin-  Webb  says:  "  Probably  a  quadruple  system."  Burnham 
finds  it  surrounded  by  a  remarkable  winglike  nebula  some  20  in  diameter. 

€,  Triple,    5,  5.2,  and  7.5,  bright  white,  pale  yellow,  and  gray. 

Bayer  wrote  that  the  "  Barbarians  "  called  this  Graffias,  a  title  that  Bur- 
ritt  assigned  in  1835  to  f  of  Libra;  but  he  transferred  this  in  his  Atlas  of 
1856  to  0  Scorpii,  Sj4°  to  the  north,  leaving  this  star  nameless.  On  the 
Heis  map  f  is  near  the  tip  of  the  northern  claw,  so  close  to  the  northern 
scale  that  Flamsteed  made  it  the  51  Librae  of  his  catalogue. 

The  components  are  i".4  and  7".3  apart,  and  may  form  a  triple  system 
with  a  possible  period  of  about  105  years. 


O,  Double,    3  and  9,    creamy  white,    and    T,     2.9, 

were  Al  Niyat,  the  Praecordia,  or  Outworks  of  the  Heart,  on  either  side  of, 
and,  as  it  were,  protecting,  Antares,  the  Heart  of  the  Scorpion.  Knobel,  in 
his  translation  of  Al  Achsasi's  work,  explains  the  word  as  "  the  vein  which 
suspends  the  heart " ! 

0,     2.8. 

Lesath,  or  Lesuth,  is  from  Al  Las'ah,  the  Sting,  which,  with  A,  it  marks ; 
yet  Smyth,  who  treats  of  these  two  stars  at  considerable  length,  says  that 
the  word  is 


372  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

formed  by  Scaliger's  conjecture  from  Alasclia,  which  is  a  corruption  of  al-shaulai 
Lesath,  therefore,  is  not  a  term  used  by  the  Arabs,  who  designate  all  these  bumps,  which 
form  the  tail,  Al-fikraht  vertebrated  twirls ;  they  are  formed  by  e,  /i,  C,  Vt  0$ '»  *»  K  «wi  t, 
and  it  is  supposed  that  the  sting,  punctura  scarpianist  was  formerly  carried  to  the  following 
star,  y,  marked  nebulous  by  Ptolemy. 

But  this  y  is  surely  wrong ;  that  letter  really  applying  to  a  star  in  the  right 
claw  very  far  to  the  west  of  the  sting, —  as  far  as  the  make-up  of  the  creature 
will  allow.  Still  Burritt  located  it  as  Smyth  did.  Al  Biruni  wrote  that  / 
and  v  were  in  the  Harazah,  the  Joints  of  the  Vertebrae.  Riccioli  mentioned 
v  as  Lesath  vel  potius  Lessaa  Elaakrab  Morsum  Soorp.  vel  Denneb  EU* 
krab;  and  Bayer,  Lesehat  recti  Lesath,  Xosehleek,  Alaseha,  which  we  have 
seen  for  k ;  but  the  proximity  of  these  stars  renders  this  duplication  not 
unnatural. 

The  Chinese  knew  them  as  Keen  Pi,  the  Two  Parts  of  a  Lock. 

Ideler  thought  v  the  y  of  Telescopium,  but  this  does  not  agree  with 
Bode's  drawing  of  the  latter. 

0),     4.1,    and    0),    4.6,    red. 

The  Arabians  called  these  Jabhat  al  'Akrab,  the  Forehead,  or  Front,  of 
the  Scorpion ;  and  the  Chinese,  Kow  Kin,  a  Hook  and  Latch. 

They  are  an  interesting  naked-eye  pair,  14*^'  apart,  lying  just  south  of  3- 
but  Bayer  mentions  and  shows  only  a  single  star. 


as  it  is  now  generally  known,  was  formed  by  La  Caille  from  stars  between 
Cetus  and  Phoenix.  He  called  it  l'Atelier  du  Senlptenr,  the  Sculptors 
Studio  or  Workshop,  which  Burritt  and  others  have  changed  to  Officii* 
Scnlptoria,  or  occasionally  Apparatus  Seulptoris.  The  Italians  say  Scultfflt, 
and  the  Germans  Bildhauerwerkstatte,--Bode's  Bildhauer  Werkstsdt 

It  is  an  inconspicuous  figure,  but  contains  the  intensely  scarlet  variable 
R,  one  of  the  most  brilliantly  colored  stars  in  the  heavens,  with  a  period  oi 
variability  from  5.8  to  about  7.7  in  207  days. 

The  constellation  culminates  with  the  bright  star  of  the  Phoenix  on  the 
17th  of  November,  and  is  visible  from  the  latitude  of  New  York  City. 

Gould  catalogues  131  stars,  from  4.2  to  7th  magnitudes. 


The  Constellations  373 


the  French  lieu,  or  Bouchiere,  de  Sobieski,  the  Italian  Soudo  di  Sobieski, 
and  the  German  Sobieskiseher  Sehild,  was  formed  by  Hevelius  from  the  seven 
unfigured  4th-magnitude  stars  in  the  Milky  Way  west  of  the  feet  of  An- 
tinoiis,  between  the  tail  of  the  Serpent  and  the  head  of  Sagittarius.  Heis 
increased  this  number  to  eleven..  The  title  is  often  seen  as  Scutum  80- 
bieskii  or  Sobiesii,  sometimes  as  Clypens  Sobieskii,  more  correctly  written 
Clipens ;  but  our  astronomers  follow  Flamsteed  in  his  plain  Scutum. 

1 1  is  pictured  as  the  Coat  of  Arms  of  the  third  John  Sobieski,  king  of  Poland, 
who  so  distinguished  himself  in  the  defensive  wars  of  his  native  land,  as 
well  as  in  his  successful  resistance  of  the  Turks  in  their  march  on  Vienna 
when  turned  back  at  the  Kalenberg  on  the  12th  of  September,  1683.  It 
was  just  after  this,  when  he  had  made  his  triumphal  entry  into  the  city,  that 
at  the  cathedral  service  of  thanksgiving  the  officiating  priest  read  the 
passage : 

There  was  a  man  sent  from  God,  whose  name  was  John. 

Seven  years  subsequently  this  new  constellation  was  named  for  him  by 
Hewel,  with  a  glowing  tribute  to  his  merit  and  heroic  deeds;  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  for  which  he  fought  being  emblazoned  on  his  Shield  as  we  have  it 
to-day.  Some  identify  this  Cross,  however,  with  that  of  the  fighting  Fran- 
ciscan friar,  Saint  John  Capistrano,  famous  at  Belgrade  in  1456,  and  now 
honored  by  a  colossal  statue  on  the  exterior  of  the  Vienna  cathedral.  The 
four  stars  on  the  border  of  the  Shield  are  for  the  four  sons  of  the  king. 

Although  Scutum  is  a  recent  creation  with  us,  it  has  long  been  known  in 
China  as  Tien  Pian,  the  Heavenly  Casque,  but  in  this  are  included  some 
components  of  Antinoiis. 

It  comes  to  the  meridian  about  the  10th  of  August. 

It  has  no  named  star, —  indeed  the  figure  itself  does  not  appear  upon 
some  modern  maps, —  and  is  chiefly  noticeable  from  the  peculiar  brightness 
of  the  surrounding  Galaxy ;  for  within  its  boundaries,  in  five  square  degrees 
of  space,  Sir  William  Herschel  estimated  that  there  are  331,000  stars;  and 
it  is  very  rich  in  nebulae.  Of  these  the  notable  cluster  N.  G.  C.  6705, 1 1  M., 
discovered  by  Kirch  in  1681  and  likened  by  Smyth  to  a  flight  of  wild 
ducks,  lies  on  the  dexter  chief  of  the  Shield.  This  is  just  visible  to  the 
naked  eye,  and  Sir  John  Herschel  called  it  "  a  glorious  object." 

Just  below  the  constellation  is  the  celebrated  Horseshoe,  or  fl,  Nebula, 
N.  G.  C.  6618,  17  M.,  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the  heavens,  although 
*4# 


374  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

in  small  glasses  it  bears  more  resemblance  to  a  swan  seen  on  the  water, 
whence  comes  another  title,  the  Swan  Nebula. 


The  starry  Serpent 

Southward  winding  from  the  Northern  Wain, 

Shoots  to  remoter  spheres  its  glittering  train. 

Statius. 

le  Serpent  in  France,  il  Serpente  in  Italy,  and  die  Behlange  in  Germany, 
probably  is  very  ancient,  and  always  has  been  shown  as  grasped  by  the 
hands  of  Ophiuchus  at  its  pair  of  stars  d,  e,  and  at  v,  t  Ophiuchi.  The 
head  is  marked  by  the  noticeable  group  i,  «,  y,  0,  v,  p,  and  the  eight  little 
stars  all  lettered  r,  and  consecutively  numbered,  io°  south  from  the  Crown 
and  2o°  due  east  from  Arcturus ;  the  figure  line  thence  winding  southwards 
1 5°  to  Libra,  and  turning  to  the  southeast  and  northeast  along  the  western 
edge  of  the  Milky  Way,  terminating  at  its  star  0,  8°  south  of  the  tail  of  the 
Eagle  and  west  of  that  constellation's  6. 

Of  the  four  stellar  Snakes  this  preeminently  is  the  Serpent,  its  stars  orig- 
inally being  combined  with  those  of  Ophiuchus,  although  Manilius  wrote 

Serpentem  Graiis  Ophiuchus  nomine  dictus  dividit ; 

but  it  now  is  catalogued  separately,  and  occasionally  divided  into  Caput 
and  Cauda  on  either  side  of  the  Serpent-holder. 

The  Greeks  knew  it  as  *0<j>ig  'QQiovxov,  or  simply  as  *O0tc,  and  familiarly 
as  'EpneTov  and  'Ey^eAvf,  respectively  the  Serpent  and  the  Eel ;  the  Latins, 
occasionally  as  Angnilla,  Anguis,  and  Coluber;  but  universally  as  Serpeni, 
often  qualified  as  the  Serpent  of  Aesculapius,  Caesins,  Glauons,  Laoooon,  and 
of  Ophiuchus ;  and  as  Serpens  Herculeus,  Leraaeus,  and  Sagarinus.  The  1515 
Almagest  and  the  Alfonsine  Tables  of  15  21  had  Serpens  Alangne,  thus  com- 
bining their  corrupted  Latin  with  their  equally  corrupted  Arabic,  as  often  is 
the  case  with  those  works.  It  also  was  Draoo  Lesbins  and  Tiberinus,  and, 
perhaps,  Ovid's  and  Vergil's  Lncidus  Anguis. 

In  the  astronomy  of  Arabia  it  was  Al  Hayyah,  the  Snake, —  Chilmead's 
Alhaft;  but  before  that  country  was  influenced  by  Greece  there  was  a  very 
different  constellation  here,  Al  Eaugah,  the  Pasture;  the  stars  j3  and  7, 


The  Constellations  375 

with  y  and  0  Herculis,  forming  the  Naiak  Shfimiyy,  the  Northern  Boun- 
dary ;  while  d,  a,  and  c  Serpentis,  with  (J,  £,  £,  and  r\  Ophiuchi,  were  the  Naiafc 
YamSniyy,  the  Southern  Boundary.  The  enclosed  sheep  were  shown  by 
the  stars  now  in  the  Club  of  Heroules,  guarded  on  the  west  by  the  Shepherd 
and  his  Dog,  the  stars  a  in  Ophiuchus  and  Hercules. 

To  the  Hebrews,  as  to  most  nations,  this  was  a  Serpent  from  the  earliest 
times,  and,  Renan  said,  may  have  been  the  one  referred  to  in  the  Book  of 
Job,  xxvi,  13 ;  but  Delitzsch,  who  renders  the  original  words  as  the  "  Fugitive 
Dragon,"  and  others  with  him,  consider  our  Draco  to  be  the  constellation 
intended,  as  probably  more  ancient  and  widely  known  from  its  ever  visible 
circumpolar  position.  The  biblical  school  made  it  the  serpent  seducer  of 
Eve,  while  in  our  day  imaginative  observers  find  another  heavenly  Cross  in 
the  stars  of  the  head,  one  that  belongs  to  Saint  Andrew  or  Saint  Patrick. 

Serpens  shared  with  Ophiuchus  the  Euphratean  title  of  Nu-tair-da,  the 
Image  of  the  Serpent ;  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  one  of  the  representa- 
tives of  divinity  to  the  Ophites,  the-  Hivites  of  Old  Testament  times. 

The  comparatively  void  space  between  v  and  c  was  the  Chinese  Tien  Shi 
Yuen,  the  Enclosure  of  the  Heavenly  Market. 

Argelander  counts  51  stars  within  the  constellation  boundaries,  and  Heis 
82.    In  its  cluster  N.  G.  C.  5904,  5  M.,  Bailey  has  discovered  85  variables. 

a>     3,    pale  yellow. 

Unnk1  al  Hay,— or  Unnkalhai,—  is  from  'Unfc  al  Hayyah,  the  Neck  of 
the  Snake,  the  later  Arabic  name  for  this  star;  the  Unnk  al  Hay  of  the 
Standard  Dictionary  is  erroneous, —  a  type  error  perhaps  for  Unuk.  It  was 
also  Alioth,  Alyah,  and  Alyat,  often  considered  as  terms  for  the  broad  and 
fat  tail  of  the  Eastern  sheep  that  may  have  been  at  some  early  day  figured 
here  in  the  Orientals'  sky;  but  we  know  nothing  of  this,  and  these  are  not 
Arabic  words,  so  that  their  origin  in  Al  Hayyah  of  the  constellation  is 
more  probable.  Smyth  somewhat  indefinitely  states  that  Alangne  and 
Bat  Alangue  appear  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  presumably  for  this  star. 

<*  may  have  been  the  lucidus  anguis  of  Ovid  and  Vergil,  as  it  certainly  was 
the  Cor  Serpentis  of  astrology. 

With  A  it  was  known  as  Shuh,  the  title  of  certain  territory  in  China ;  and 
Edkins  rather  unsatisfactorily  writes  : 

The  twenty-two  stars  in  the  Serpent  are  named  after  the  states  into  which  China  was 
formerly  divided. 

Although  errors  in  the  adoption  of  Arabic  star-names  into  our  popular  lists  are  common, 
indeed  almost  universal,  thisTJnuk  is  peculiarly  wrong,  for 'Unuk  is  the  plural  of  'Unk. 


376  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

As  their  radiant  point  it  has  given  name  to  the  Alpha  Serpentida  of  the 
15th  of  February. 

It  is  of  Secchi's  2d  type  of  spectra,  and  receding  from  us  about  14  miles 
a  second.  It  culminates  on  the  28th  of.  July ;  and  a  i2th-magnitude  blue 
companion  is  58"  distant. 

P,  Double,    3  and  9.2,    both  pale  blue. 

This  was  Chow  with  the  Chinese,  the  title  of  one  of  their  imperial  dynas- 
ties; but  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  named  by  any  other  nation.  The 
components  are  3o,/.6  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  2650. 

Near  it  is  the  radiant  point  of  the  Beta  Serpentidfl,  a  minor  stream  of 
meteors  visible  from  the  18th  to  the  20th  of  April. 

y,  a  4th-magnitude,  was  Ching,  and  <5,  Tain,  in  Chinese  lists. 

This  last,  a  white  and  bluish  4th-  and  sth-magnitude  double,  was  first  noted 
as  a  binary  by  Sir  William  Herschel.  The  components  are  3".6  apart,  with 
a  position  angle  at  present  of  about  1850. 

e,  of  3.7  magnitude,  was  Pa,  the  name  of  a  certain  territory  in  China. 

£,  a  4^ -magnitude,  and  rj  were  Tung  Hae,  the  heavenly  Eastern  Sea  of 
that  country ;  the  latter  star  being  a  golden-yellow  3.3-magnitude  with  a 
small,  pale  lilac  companion. 

9,  Binary  and  perhaps  slightly  variable,    4  and  4.5,   pale  yellow  and 

gold  yellow. 

Alya,  of  the  Palermo  Catalogue  and  others  (sometimes,  but  erroneously, 
Alga),  probably  is  from  the  same  source  as  the  similar  title  of  the  lucida. 

The  Chinese  knew  it  as  Sen,  one  of  their  districts. 

It  is  the  terminal  star  in  the  Serpent;  and  lies  southwest  of  Aquila,  in  a 
comparatively  starless  region  between  the  two  branches  of  the  Milky  Way. 
The  components  are  21"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  1040. 

f,  3.7,  on  the  lower  part  of  the  body,  was  Han  Hae,  the  Southern  Sea; 
and  v,  5.3,  on  the  back  of  the  head,  was  Cha  Sre,  a  Carriage-shop. 


^rtane  (Urdniae 

was  formed  by  Hevelius  to  commemorate  the  Sextant  so  successfully  used 
by  him  in  stellar  measurements  at   Dantzig  from   1658  to   1679.   The 


The  Constellations  377 

original  figure  comprised  the  twelve  unclaimed  stars  between  Leo  and 
Hydra,  west  of  Crater;  and  Smyth  writes: 

With  more  zeal  than  taste,  he  fixed  the  machine  upon  the  Serpent's  back,  under  the  plea 
that  the  said  Sextant  was  not  in  the  mo9t  convenient  situation,  but  that  he  placed  it  be- 
tween Leo  and  Hydra  because  these  animals  were  of  a  fiery  nature,  to  speak  with  astrol- 
ogers, and  formed  a  sort  of  commemoration  of  the  destruction  of  his  instruments  when 
his  house  at  Dantzic  was  burnt  in  September,  1679 ;  or,  as  he  expresses  it,  when  Vulcan 
overcame  Urania. 

Its  inventor's  great  name  has  kept  it  in  the  sky  till  now,  and  it  is  still  gen- 
erally recognized  by  astronomers  as  Sextans. 

Here,  on  the  frame  of  the  instrument,  90  south  by  east  from  the  star 
Regulus,  De  Rheita  thought  that  he  had  found  a  representation  of  the 
Sudarixun  Veronicae,  the  sacred  handkerchief  of  Saint  Veronica.  Com- 
menting upon  this  discovery,  Sir  John  Herschel  said  that  "  many  strange 
things  were  seen  among  the  stars  before  the  use  of  powerful  telescopes 
became  common." 

The  lucida,  a  4th-magnitude,  is  120  south  from  Regulus. 

One  of  the  Sextant  stars,  which  Reeves  gives  as  q,  Bode's  2306,  a  6th- 
magnitude,  was  the  Chinese  Tien  Seang,  the  Heavenly  Minister  of  State. 

Argelander  catalogues  17  naked-eye  stars,  and  Heis  48. 


^ofdrtum,  f#e  £un;*tdf, 

lies  east  from  Horologium,  between  the  head  of  Hydrus  and  the  tail  of 
Dorado;  but  I  can  nowhere  find  anything  as  to  the  origin  of  the  figure, 
although  Miss  Bouvier  included  it  in  her  list,  and  Burritt  drew  it  on  his 
Atlas.  It  seems  to  be  ignored  by  our  astronomers,  its  stars  being  com- 
bined with  those  of  the  neighboring  constellations. 


Cardntoui  t>ef  Qfatngif et,  #e  QReinfceer, 

a  small  and  faint  asterism  between  Cassiopeia  and  Camelopardalis,  was 
formed  by  Pierre  Charles  Le  Monnier,  under  the  title  Eenne,  as  a  memento 


378  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

of  his  stay  in  Lapland  when  engaged  in  geodetic  work  in  1736.    The  Ger- 
mans know  it  as  Rennthier,  and  Bode  so  inserted  it  in  Die  Gestirne. 
It  has  seldom  been  figured,  and  now  is  never  mentioned. 


Ere  the  heels  of  flying  Capricorn 
Have  touched  the  western  mountain's  darkening  rim, 
I  mark,  stern  Taurus*  through  the  twilight  gray, 

The  glinting  of  thy  horn, 
And  sullen  front,  uprising  large  and  dim, 
Bent  to  the  starry  Hunter's  sword  at  bay. 

Bayard  Taylor's  Hymn  U  Tmatrus. 

tdurus,  tfc  (guff, 

le  Taureau  of  France,  il  Toro  of  Italy,  and  der  Stier  of  Germany,  every- 
where was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  noted  constellations,  perhaps  the 
first  established,  because  it  marked  the  vernal  equinox  from  about  4000  to 
1700  b.  c,  in  the  golden  age  of  archaic  astronomy;  in  all  ancient  zodiacs 
preserved  to  us  it  began  the  year.  It  is  to  this  that  Vergil  alluded  in  the 
much  quoted  lines  from  the  1st  Georgic^  which  May  rendered : 

When  with  his  golden  homes  bright  Taurus  opes, 

The  yeare ;  and  downward  the  crosse  Dog-starre  stoopes ; 

and  the  poet's  description  well  agrees  with  mythology's  idea  of  Europa's 
bull,  for  he  always  was  thus  described,  and  snowy  white  in  color.  This 
descended  to  Chaucer's  Whyte  Bole,  in  Troilus  and  Criseyde^  from  the 
candidus  Taurus  of  the  original.  The  avtrso,  "  crosse,"  in  the  second  line 
of  this  passage : 

.     .     .     averso  cedens  Canis  occidit  astro, — 

adversus  with  Ovid,  and  aversaqut  Tauri  sidera  with  Manilius,— gen- 
erally has,  however,  been  translated  "  backward,"  as  a  supposed  allusion  to 
the  constellation  rising  in  reversed  position ;  but  quite  as  probably  it  is  from 
the  mutual  hostility  of  the  earthly  animals. 

Tavpo^,  its  universal  title  in  Greek  literature,  was  more  specifically  given 
as  Tofirj  and  npoTopfj,  the  Bust,  the  Bull  generally  being  drawn  with  only 
his  forward  parts,  Cicero  following  this  in  his  prosecto  corpore  Taurus,  and 
Ovid  in  his 

Pars  prior  apparet  Posteriora  latent, 


The  Constellations  379 

which  the  mycologists  accounted  for  by  saying  that,  as  Taurus  personified 
the  animal  that  swam  away  with  Europa,  his  flanks  were  immersed  in  the 
waves.  This  association  with  Europa  led  to  the  constellation  titles  Portitor, 
or  Proditor,  Enxopae;  Agenoreus,  used  by  Ovid,  referring  to  her  father; 
and  Tyrius,  by  Martial,  to  her  country.  This  incomplete  figuring  of  Taurus 
induced  the  frequent  designation,  in  early  catalogues,  Seetio  Tauri,  which 
the  Arabians  adopted,  dividing  the  figure  at  the  star  o,  but  retaining  the  hind 
quarters  as  a  sub-constellation,  Al  fiatt,  recognized  by  Ulug  Beg,  and,  in 
its  translation,  as  Seetio,  by  Tycho,  the  line  being  marked  by  0,  £,  s,  and/. 
Ancient  drawings  generally  showed  the  figure  as  we  do,  although  some  gave 
the  entire  shape,  Pliny  and  Vitruvius  writing  of  the  Pleiades  as  cauda  Tauriy 
so  implying  a  complete  animal. 

Aratos  qualified  his  Tavpo$  by  ttcttt^c,  "crouching";  Cicero,  by  in- 
flexoqut  genu,  "  on  bended  knee  " ;  Manilius,  by  nixus,  "  striving " ;  and 
further,  in  Creech's  translation: 

The  mighty  Bull  is  lame ;  His  leg  turns  under ; 
and 

Taurus  bends  as  wearied  by  the  Plough ; 

this  crouching  position  also  being  shown  in  almost  all  Euphratean  figuring, 
as  are  the  horns  in  immense  proportions.    The  last  descended  to  Aratos, 
who  styled  the  constellation  Kepaov,  and  is  seen  in  the  Conras  of  Ovid. 
The  latter  author  wrote  again  of  the  sky  figure : 

Vacca  sit  an  taurus  non  est  cognoscere  prompt um, 

from  the  conflicting  legends  of  Io  and  Europa;  for  some  of  the  poets, 
changing  the  sex,  had  called  these  stars  Io,  the  Wanderer,  another  object 
of  Jupiter's  attentions,  whom  Juno's  jealousy  had  changed  to  a  cow.  They 
also  varied  the  title  by  the  equivalent  Juvenca  Inachia  and  Inachis,  from 
her  father  Inachus.  She  afterwards  became  the  ancestress  of  our  Cepheus 
and  Andromeda.  Still  another  version,  from  the  myth  of  early  spring, 
made  Taurus  Anurias  Pasiphaes,  the  Lover  of  Pasiphae;  but  La  Lande's 
Chironis  Filia  seems  unintelligible. 

The  story  that  the  Bull  was  one  of  the  two  with  brazen  feet  tamed 
by  the  Argonaut  Jason,  perhaps,  has  deeper  astronomical  meaning,  for 
Thompson  writes : 

The  sign  Taurus  may  have  been  the  Cretan  Bull ;  and  a  transit  through  that  sign  may 
h*ve  been  the  celestial  B&nropor  of  the  Argonautic  voyage. 


380  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

It  bore  synonymous  titles  in  various  languages :  in  Arabia,  Al  Thaur, 
which  degenerated  to  El  Taur,  Altor,  Ataur,  Altauro,  by  Schickard ;  Tor,  by 
Riccioli ;  and  even  now  Taur,  in  our  Standard  Dictionary,  In  Syria  it  was 
Tanra;  in  Persia,  Tora,  Ohav,  or  Gau;  in  Turkey,  Ughux;  and  in  Judaea, 
8h6r,  although  also  known  there  as  K''5m,  a  word  that  zoologically  appears 
in  the  Authorized  Version  of  our  Bible  as  the  "  unicorn,"  but  better  in  the 
Revised  as  the  "  wild  ox." 

Latin  writers  mentioned  it  under  its  present  name,  to  which  Germanicus 
added  Bos  from  the  country  people,  although  it  also  was  Prinoept  aimenti, 
the  Leader  of  the  herd,  and  Bubulcus,  the  peasant  Driver  of  the  Oxen,  a 
title  more  usual  and  more  correct,  however,  for  Bootes;  La  Lande  quoting 
it  as  Bubulum  Caput 

Manilius  characterized  Taurus  as  dives  pue  His  ^ "  rich  in  maidens,"  referring 
to  its  seven  Hyades  and  seven  Pleiades,  all  daughters  of  Atlas,  and  the  chief 
attraction  in  a  constellation  not  otherwise  specially  noticeable.  An  early 
Grecian  gem  shows  three  nude  figures,  hand  in  hand,  standing  on  the  head 
of  the  Bull,  one  pointing  to  seven  stars  in  line  over  the  back,  which  Land- 
seer  referred  to  the  Hyades ;  but  as  six  of  the  stars  are  strongly  cut,  and  one 
but  faintly  so,  and  the  letter  P  is  superscribed,  Doctor  Charles  Anthon  is 
undoubtedly  correct  in  claiming  them  for  the  Pleiades,  and  the  three  figures 
for  the  Graces,  or  Charites.  These  were  originally  the  Vedic  Harits,  asso- 
ciated with  the  sun,  stars,  and .  seasons ;  and  this  astronomical  character 
adhered  to  the  Charites,  for  their  symbols  in  their  ancient  temple  in  Boeotia 
were  stones  reputed  to  have  fallen  from  the  sky. 

A  coin,  struck  43  b.  c.  by  P.  Clodius  Turrinus,  bore  the  Pleiades  in  evi- 
dent allusion  to  the  consular  surname;  while  earlier  still  —  312-64  b.  a— 
the  Seleucidae  of  Syria  placed  the  humped  bull  in  a  position  of  attack  on 
their  coins  as  symbol  of  this  constellation.  The  gold  mu/irs,  or  mohurs, 
and  the  zodiacal  rupees,  attributed  to  Jehangir  Shah,  of  16 18,  show  Taurus 
as  a  complete,  although  spiritless,  creature,  with  the  gibbous  hump  peculiar 
to  Indian  cattle.  This  is  always  drawn  in  the  Euphratean  stellar  figure, 
and  was  descnbed  as  KvpToc  by  an  early  commentator  on  the  Syn/axis. 
But  the  silver  rupees  of  the  same  monarch  have  the  customary  half  animal 
in  bold,  butting  attitude  exactly  as  it  is  now,  and  as  it  was  described  by 
Manilius  in  his  flexus  and  nisus,  and  by  Lucan  in  his  curvatus.  A  very 
ancient  coin  of  Samos,  perhaps  of  the  6th  century  before  Christ,  bears  a 
half-kneeling,  sectional  figure  of  a  bull,  with  a  lion's  head  on  the  obverse; 
and  one  of  Thurii,  in  Lucania,  of  the  4th  century  b.  c,  has  the  complete 
animal  in  position  to  charge.  Another  of  this  same  city  bears  the  Bull  with 
a  bird  on  its  back,  perhaps  symbolizing  the  Peleiad  Doves. 


The  Constellations  381 

Plutarch  wrote,  in  his  De  Facie  Orbe  Lunae,  that  when  the  planet  Saturn 
was  in  Taurus,  1.  e,  every  thirty  years,  there  took  place  the  legendary  mi- 
gration from  the  external  continent  beyond  the  Cronian,  or  Saturnian,  Sea 
to  the  Homeric  Orgyia,  or  to  one  of  its  sister  islands. 

South  American  savage  tribes  held  ideas  similar  to  our  own  about  Tau- 
rus, for  La  Condamine,  the  celebrated  French  scientist  of  the  last  century, 
said  that  the  Amazon  Indians  saw  in  the  >  of  the  Hyades  the  head  of  a 
bull ;  while  Goguet  more  definitely  stated  that,  at  the  time  of  the  discovery 
of  that  river,  by  Yanez  Pinzon  in  1 500,  the  natives  along  its  banks  called 
the  group  Tapura  Bayoaba,  the  Jaw  of  an  Ox;  and  even  in  civilized 
countries  it  has  been  fancifully  thought  that  its  shape,  with  the  horns 
extending  to  0  and  £,  gave  tide  to  the  constellation. 

In  China  it  formed  part  of  the  White  Tiger,  and  also  was  known  as  Ta 
Leang,  the  Great  Bridge,  from  a  very  early  designation  of  the  Hyades  and 
Pleiades ;  but  as  a  zodiac  constellation  it  was  the  Cook,  or  Hen,  recalling 
the  modern  Hen  and  Chickens  of  the  Pleiades.  When  the  Jesuits  intro- 
duced their  Western  nomenclature  it  became  Kin  Hen,  the  Golden  Ox. 

After  Egyptian  worship  of  the  bull-god  Osiris  had  spread  to  other 
Mediterranean  countries,  our  Taurus  naturally  became  his  sky  represen- 
tative, as  also  of  his  wife  and  sister  Ins,  and  even  assumed  her  name  ;  but 
the  starry  Bull  of  the  Nile  country  was  not  ours,  at  least  till  late  in  that 
astronomy.  Still  this  constellation  is  said  to  have  begun  the  zodiacal  series 
on  the  walls  of  a  sepulchral  chamber  in  the  Ramesseum ;  and,  whatever 
may  have  been  its  title,  its  stars  certainly  were  made  much  of  throughout 
all  Egyptian  history  and  religion,  not  only  from  its  then  containing  the 
vernal  equinox,  but  from  the  belief  that  the  human  race  was  created  when 
the  sun  was  here.  In  Coptic  Egypt  it,  or  the  Pleiades,  was  'Qpia?,  the 
Good  Season,  Kircher's  Statio  /fori,  although  it  was  better  known  as 
Apia,  the  modern  form  of  the  ancient  Hapi,  whose  worship  as  god  of  the 
Nile  may  have  preceded  even  the  building  of  the  pyramids. 

As  first  in  the  early  Hebrew  zodiac  it  was  designated  by  A  or  Aleph, 
the  first  letter  of  that  alphabet,  coincidently  a  crude  figure  of  the  Bull's 
face  and  horns ;  some  of  the  Targums  assigning  it  to  the  tribes  of  Manasseh 
and  Ephraim,  from  Moses*  allusion  to  their  father  Joseph  in  the  33d  chap- 
ter of  Deuteronomy ', —  "his  horns  are  the  horns  of  the  wild  ox";  but  others 
said  that  it  appeared  only  on  the  banners  of  Ephraim ;  or  referred  it  to 
Simeon  and  Levi  jointly,  from  Jacob's  death-bed  description  of  their  char- 
acter,— "  they  houghed  an  ox  " ;  or  to  Issachar,  the  "  strong  ass  "  which 
shared  with  the  ox  the  burdens  of  toil  and  carriage. 
It  has  been  associated  with  the  animal  that  Adam  first  offered  in  sacrifice, 


382  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

or  with  the  later  victims  in  the  Jewish  temple;  and  the  Christian  school  of 
which  Novidius  was  spokesman  recognized  in  Taurus  the  Ox  that  stood 
with  the  ass  by  the  manger  at  the  blessed  Nativity.  Hood  said  of  this: 
"  But  whether  there  were  any  ox  there  or  no,  I  know  not  how  he  will  prove 
it."  In  the  "  apostolic  zodiac  "  it  became  Saint  Andrew ;  but  Caesius  said 
that  long  before  him  it  was  Joseph  the  Patriarch. 

Representations  of  the  Mithraio  Bull  on  gems  of  four  or  five  centuries 
before  Christ,  reproduced  in  Lajarde's  Cuite  de  Mithra,  prove  that  Taurus 
was  at  that  time  still  prominent  in  Persico- Babylonian  astronomy  as  well 
as  in  its  religion.  One  of  these  representations,  showing  the  front  of  the 
Bull's  head,  may  very  well  be  the  origin  of  our  present  symbol  of  this  sign, 
b  ,  although  it  also  has  been  considered  a  combination  of  the  full  and  cres- 
cent moon,  associated  with  this  constellation  as  a  nocturnal  sign ;  and  some 
assert  that  Taurus  was  drawn  as  a  demi-bull  from  his  representing  the  cres- 
cent moon.  This  appears  on  a  Babylonian  cylinder  seal  of  about  2150  b.c 
Still  earlier  in  Akkadia  it  seems  to  have  been  known  as  the  Bull  of  Light, 
its  double  title,  Te  Te,  referring  to  its  two  groups,  the  Hyades  and  Pleiades, 
which  in  every  age  have  been  of  so  much  interest  to  mankind;  and  a  cyl- 
inder has  Gut-an-na,  the  Heavenly  Bull,  mentioned  in  connection  with  rain. 
so  recalling  the  rainy  Hyades.  Epping  says  that  it  was  the  Babylonians' 
Shur,  and  that  four  of  their  ecliptic  constellations  were  marked  by  its  stars; 
while  Jensen  mentions  it  as  symbolic  of  Mardftk,  the  Spring  Sun,  son  of 
la,  whose  worship  seems  to  have  been  general  2200  b.  c, —  probably  long 
before, —  and  that  it  was  originally  complete  and  extended  as  far  as  the 
Fish  of  la,  the  northern  of  the  two  Fishes.  This  high  authority  carries  the 
formation  of  Taurus  still  farther  back,  to  about  5000  b.  c,  even  before 
the  equinox  lay  here.  The  name  of  the  second  of  the  antediluvian  Baby- 
lonian kings,  the  mythical  Alaparos,  seems  connected  with  this  constellation 
or  with  the  lucid  a,  Aldebaran ;  and  its  stars  certainly  were  associated  with 
the  second  month  of  the  Assyrian  year,  A-aru,  the  Directing  Bull,  our  April- 
May,  as  they  were  in  the  Epic  of  Creation  with  the  conquest  of  the  Centaur. 

Taurus  was  the  Cingalese  Urusaba,  the  early  Hindu  Vriaha,  Vriahan,  or 
Vrouehabam, —  in  the  Tamil  tongue,  Riahabam ;  but  subsequendy  Varaha 
Mihira  gave  it  as  Taouri,  his  rendering  of  Taurus,  and  Al  Biruni,  in  his 
India,  as  Tambiru 

With  the  Druids  it  was  an  important  object  of  worship,  their  great  re- 
ligious festival,  the  Tauric,  being  held  when  the  sun  entered  its  boundaries; 
and  it  has,  perhaps  fancifully,  been  claimed  that  the  tors  of  England  were 
the  old  sites  of  their  Taurine  cult,  as  our  cross-buns  are  the  present  repre- 
sentatives of  the  early  bull  cakes  with  the  same  stellar  association,  tracing 


The  Constellations  383 

back  through  the  ages  to  Egypt  and  Phoenicia.  And  the  Scotch  have  a 
story  that  on  New  Year's  eve  the  Candlemas  Bull  is  seen  rising  in  the 
twilight  and  sailing  across  the  sky, —  a  matter-of-fact  statement,  after  all. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  Manual  of  Astronomy  four  centuries  ago  gave  it  as 
Fearr. 

Astrologers  made  this  sign  the  lord  of  man's  neck,  throat,  and  shoulders ; 
Shakespeare  having  an  amusing  passage  in  Twelfth  Night,  in  the  dialogue 
between  Sirs  Toby  Belch  and  Andrew  Aguecheek,  when  both  blunder  as  to 
this  character  of  Taurus.  And  it  was  considered  under  the  guardianship  of 
Venus,  sharing  this  distinction  with  the  body  of  Scorpio, —  some  said  with 
Libra, —  whence  it  was  known  as  Veneris  Bidns,  Domus  Veneris  nocturaa, 
and  Gaudinm  Veneris :  an  idea  also  perhaps  influenced  by  its  containing 
the  IleXeiddes,  the  Doves,  the  favorite  birds  of  that  goddess.  It  ruled  over 
Ireland,  Greater  Poland,  part  of  Russia,  Holland,  Persia,  Asia  Minor,  the 
Archipelago,  Mantua,  and  Leipzig  in  modern  astrology,  as  it  did  over  Ara- 
bia, Asia,  and  Scythia  in  ancient ;  Ampelius  assigned  to  it  the  care  of  the 
much  dreaded  west-northwest  wind,  Pliny's  Argestes.  White  and  lemon 
were  the  colors  allotted  to  it.  On  the  whole,  it  was  an  unfortunate  constel- 
lation, although  a  manuscript  almanac  of  1386  had  "  whoso  is  born  in  yat 
syne  schal  have  grace  in  bestis " ;  and  thunder,  when  the  sun  was  here, 
"brought  a  plentiful  supply  of  victuals." 

The  extent  and  density  of  the  stars  in  Taurus  are  shown  by  the  fact  that, 
according  to  Argelander,  it  contains  121  visible  to  the  naked  eye;  188,  ac- 
cording to  Heis. 

.     .     .     go  forth  at  night, 
And  talk  with  Aldebaran,  where  he  flames 
In  the  cold  forehead  of  the  wintry  sky. 

Mrs.  Stgourney's  The  Stars. 

Ct,     1.2,    pale  rose. 

Aldebaran  is  from  Al  Dabaran,  the  Follower,  i.  c.  of  the  Pleiades,  or,  as 
Professor  Whitney  suggested,  because  it  marked  the  2d  matizil  that  followed 
the  first. 

The  name,  now  monopolized  by  this  star,  originally  was  given  to  the 
entire  group  of  the  Hyades  and  the  lunar  mansion  which,  as  N&'ir  al 
Dfcbar&n,  the  Bright  One  of  the  Follower,  our  star  marked ;  yet  there  was 
diversity  of  opinion  as  to  this,  for  the  first  edition  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables 
aPpHed  it  solely  to  a,  while  that  of  1483,  and  Al  Sufi,  did  not  recognize  a 
as  included  in  the  title.     Riccioli  usually  wrote  it  Aldebara,  occasionally 


384  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Aldebaram,  adopted  in  the  French  edition  of  Flamsteed's  Atlas  of  1776; 
Spenser,  in  the  Faerie  Queen  wrote  Aldeboran,  which  occasionally  still 
appears ;  Chaucer,  in  the  Hous  of  Fame,  and  even  the  modern  La  Lande, 
had  Aldeboran;  Schickard  gave  the  word  as  Addebiris  and  Debiron;  and 
Costard,  in  his  History  0/ Astronomy,  cited  Aldebaron. 

Al  Biruni  quoted,  as  titles  indigenous  to  Arabia,  Al  Fanik,  the  Stallion 
Camel;  Al  Fati^,  the  Fat  Camel;  and  Al  Mnjtdij,  the  Female  Camel,— the 
smaller  adjacent  stars  of  the  Hyades  being  the  Little  Camels ;  and  it  was 
Tali  al  Najm  and  Had!  al  Najm,  equivalents  of  the  Stella  Dominatrii 
of  classical  ages,  as  if  driving  the  Pleiades  before  it.  Indeed  in  the  last 
century  Niebuhr  heard  the  synonymous  Sttk  al  Thnrayya  on  the  Ara- 
bian shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  A  later  name  was  'Ain  al  Thaw,— 
which  Western  astronomers  corrupted  to  Atin  and  Hain  Alter, —  identical 
with  'Qufia  Boo?,  Ooulus  Tauri,  and  the  early  English  Bull's  Eye,  even  now 
a  common  title.  Riccioli  gave  this  more  definitely  as  Ocnlns  anitralif,  and 
Aben  Ezra  as  the  Left  Eye. 

The  Alfonsine  Tables,  however,  said  Cor  Tauri,  the  Bull's  Heart,  which 
is  far  out  of  the  way;  and  it  has  borne  the  constellation's  Arabic  title, 
changed  to  El  Tanr. 

Aldebaran  was  the  divine  star  in  the  worship  of  the  tribe  Misam,  who 
thought  that  it  brought  rain,  and  that  its  heliacal  rising  unattended  by 
showers  portended  a  barren  year. 

The  Hindu  Eohinl,  a  Red  Deer,  used  also  for  the  nakshatra  in  Scorpio 
marked  by  Antares,  was  unquestionably  from  the  star's  ruddy  hue,  Leonard 
Digges  writing,  in  his  Prognostication  for  1555,  that  it  is  "ever  a  meatc 
rodde  [red] " ;  and  the  Alfonsine  Tables  had  quae  trahit  ad  aerem  clarum 
valde  —  est  ut  cerea, 

Palilicium,1  in  various  orthography,  but  correctly  Parilioium,  used  for 
the  whole  group  of  the  Hyades,  descended  as  a  special  designation  for 
Aldebaran  through  all  the  catalogues  to  Flamsteed's,  where  it  is  exclusively 
used.  Columella  called  it  Sucula  as  chief  of  the  peasants'  Suculae.  Ptol- 
emy's Aafinadiag,  Torch-bearer,  was  Aafi-rravpag  in  Proclus'  Paraphrase. 

The  1603  and  1720  editions  of  Bayer's  Uranometria  distinctly  terminate 
their  lists  of  Aldebaran's  titles  with  the  words  Subrufla  and  Aben  Exra;  but 
Bayer's  star-names  are  often  by  no  means  clear,  and  here  incorrect.  The 
latter  of  these  is  merely  the  name  of  the  famous  Jewish  commentator  to  whom 
he  often  refers ;  and  the  former  a  designation  of  the  light  red  color  (Subrvfo) 

l  This  word  is  from  Palilia,  or  Parilia,  the  feast  of  Pales, —  the  Latin  shepherds'  divinity  and 
their  feminine  form  of  Pan, —  which  marked  the  birthday  of  Rome  the  aist  of  April,  when  thi* 
star  vanished  in  the  twilight. 


The  Constellations  385 

of  the  star  which  we  all  recognize.   Some  poet  has  written  "red  Aldebaran  * 
burns  " ;  and  William  Roscoe  Thayer,  in  his  Halid  : 

I  saw  on  a  minaret's  tip 
Aldlbaran  1  like  a  ruby  aflame,  then  leisurely  slip 
Into  the  black  horizon's  bowl. 

In  all  astrology  it  has  been  thought  eminently  fortunate,  portending 
riches  and  honor;  and  was  one  of  the  four  Royal  Stars,  or  Guardians  of 
the  Sky,  of  Persia,  5000  years  ago,  when  it  marked  the  vernal  equinox.  As 
such  Flammarion  quoted  its  title  Taschter,  which  Lenormant  said  signified 
the  Creator  Spirit  that  caused  rain  and  deluge;  but  a  different  conception 
of  these  Guardian  Stars  among  the  Hindus  is  noted  under  Argo,  and  still 
another  is  given  by  Edkins,  who  makes  Aldebaran  Sataves,  the  leader  of 
the  western  stars. 

Flammarion  has  assigned  to  it  the  Hebrew  Aleph  that  we  have  seen 
for  Taurus,  rendering  it  God's  Eye ;  and  Aben  Ezra  identified  it  with  the 
biblical  inra&hj  probably  in  connection  with  all  the  Hyades  and  as  being 
directly  opposed  on  the  sphere  to  Kfril  which  he  claimed  for  Antares. 

Sharing  everywhere  in  the  prominence  given  to  its  constellation,  this  was 
especially  the  case  in  Babylonian  astronomy,  where  it  marked  the  5th  eclip- 
tic asterism  Pidnu-sha-Shame,  the  Furrow  of  Heaven,  perhaps  representing 
the  whole  zodiac,  and  analogous  to  the  Hebrew  and  Arabic  Padan  and 
Fadan,  the  Furrow.  So  that,  before  the  Ram  had  taken  the  Bull's  place  as 
Leader  of  the  Signs,  Aldebaran  was  Ku,  I-ku,  or  I-ku-u,  the  Leading  Star 
of  Stars.  Still  more  anciently  it  was  the  Akkadian  Gift-da,  also  rendered  the 
"  Furrow  of  Heaven  " ;  and  Dil-gan,  the  Messenger  of  Light,  —  this,  as  we 
have  seen,  being  applied  to  Hamal,  Capella,  Wega,  and  perhaps  to  other 
bright  stars,  as  their  positions  changed  with  respect  to  the  equinox.  In  the 
same  way  the  Syriac  word  'Iyiltha,  which  we  have  seen  for  the  star  Capella, 
seems  to  have  been  used  also  for  Aldebaran. 

As  marking  the  lunar  station  it  was  the  Persian  Paha  and  the  Khoras- 
mian-Sogdian  Baharn,  signifying  the  Follower. 

Riccioli  cited,  from  Coptic  Egypt,  IltuptMv,  Static  Hori ;  and  Renouf 
identified  Aldebaran  with  the  indigenous  Nile  figure  Sarit 

An  old  Bohemian  title  is  Hnua. 

The  Hervey  Islanders  associated  it,  as  Aumea,  with  Sirius  in  their  legend 
of  the  Pleiades. 

Al  Biruni  quoted  strange  Arabic  titles  for  the  comparatively  vacant  space 

l  Thus  the  pronunciation  of  the  word  seems  to  be  in  doubt,  although  the  best  usage  follows 
the  original  Arabic  in  Aldebaran. 

25 


386  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

westward  towards  the  Pleiades, —  Al  Daika,  Growing  Small,  1.  e.  from  its 
rapid  setting,  and  Kalb  al  Dabaran,  the  Dog  of  Aldebaran, —  asserting  that 
it  was  considered  a  place  of  evil  omen.  But  there  seems  to  have  been 
dispute  as  to  its  location,  for  he  added  that  those  authors  were  wrong  who 
marked  this  Dog  by  the  21st  and  2  2d  stars  of  Taurus, —  k  and  v. 

Aldebaran  is  but  slightly  south  of  the  ecliptic,  and,  lying  in  the  moon's  path, 
is  frequently  occulted,  thus  often  showing  the  optical  illusion  of  projection. 
As  one  of  the  lunar  stars  it  is  much  used  in  navigation.  It  is  the  only  star 
in  the  Harvard  Photometry  which  is  exactly  of  the  1st  magnitude,  although 
by  the  Estimates  of  that  catalogue  it  is  1.2.  It  thus  has  three  times  the 
brilliancy  of  Polaris. 

The  parallax  is  given  by  Elkin  as  o".ioi,  showing  a  distance  from  us  of 
twenty-eight  light  years;  or,  if  the  interval  between  the  earth  and  the  sun, 
the  astronomers'  unit  of  stellar  measurement,  be  considered  as  one  inch, 
that  between  the  sun  and  this  star  would  be  twenty-seven  miles.  It  is  re- 
ceding from  our  system  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  a  second,  and,  next  to  C 
Herculis,  seems  to  have  the  greatest  velocity  in  the  line  of  sight  of  any  of 
the  bright  stars  yet  determined.  The  spectrum  is  Solar,  and  a  beautiful 
example  of  the  type. 

Aldebaran  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  10th  of  January.  It  has  a  10th- 
magnitude  companion,  109"  away,  which  has  long  been  known,  but  Bum- 
ham  recently  divided  this  into  11  and  13.5,  i".8  apart,  at  a  position  angle 
of  2790;  and,  in  1888,  discovered  a  i4th-magnitude  companion  3i"4  dis- 
tant, at  a  position  angle  of  1090. 

The  Tanrids  of  the  20th  of  November  radiate  from  a  point  north  of,  and 
preceding,  this  star.  These  meteors  "  are  slow,  and  fireballs  occasionally 
appear  among  them." 


The  Hyades  marked  by  the  sailor. 

Potter's  translation  of  Euripides'  '!•»• 

As  when  the  seaman  sees  the  Hyades 
Gather  an  army  of  Cimmerian  clouds, 
Auster  and  Aquilon  with  winged  steeds. 

Christopher  Marlowe's  History  o/ Doctor  Fotat». 

a»  01*  A2!  y»  <*>  and  e  Tauri,  io°  southeast  of  the  Pleiades, 

Whitening  all  the  Bull's  broad  forehead, 

form  one  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  in  the  sky,  and  have  been  famous  for 
ages,  especially  with  the  classical  authors. 


The  Constellations  387 

Mythologically  they  were  daughters  of  Atlas  and  Aethra,  and  hence  half- 
sisters  of  the  Pleiades,  with  whom  they  made  up  the  fourteen  Atlantides ; 
or  the  Dodonides,  the  nymphs  of  Dodona,  to  whom  Jupiter  entrusted  the 
nurture  of  the  infant  Bacchus,  and  raised  them  to  the  sky  when  driven 
into  the  sea  by  Lycurgus.  Similarly  they  were  said  to  be  the  Nysiades, 
the  nymphs  of  Nysa,  and  teachers  of  Bacchus  in  India. 

Anciently  supposed  to  be  seven  in  number,  we  moderns  count  but  six, 
and  Hesiod  named  only  five, —  Kleea,  Eudora,  Koronis,  Phaeo,  and 
Phaesula ;  but  Pherecydes  gave  a  complete  list  of  them,  although  one  of  his 
names  has  been  lost,  and  the  rest,  preserved  by  Hyginus,  vary  from  those 
given  by  Hesiod,  and  doubtless  are  somewhat  corrupted  in  form.  These 
were  Aesula  or  Pedile,  Ambrosia,  Dione,  Thyene  or  Thyone,  Eudora, 
Koronis,  and  Polyxo  or  Phyto.1  Pherecydes  probably  took  in  0  and  £  at 
the  tips  of  the  horns,  omitting  some  of  the  fainter  stars  now  included  in  the 
group ;  Thales,  however,  is  said  to  have  acknowledged  but  two, —  a  and  c 
in  the  eyes, —  "one  in  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  and  the  other  in  the 
South  " ;  Hipparchos  and  Ptolemy  named  only  a  and  y  as  "Tddctv ;  Euripides, 
in  the  Phatthon,  counted  three;  and  Achaeus,  four.  Ovid  used  Thyone 
for  the  whole,  but  none  of  the  sisters'  names  have  been  applied  to  the  in- 
dividual stars  as  in  the  case  of  the  Pleiades. 

They  are  among  the  few  stellar  objects  mentioned  by  Homer, —  and  by 
him,  Hesiod,  Manilius,  Pliny,  and  doubtless  others,  given  separately  from 
Taurus.     Pliny  called  them  Parilienim,  from  their  luciday  Aldebaran. 

The  Greeks  knew  them  as  'Trfcfec,  which  became  "  Hyades  "  with  the  cul- 
tured Latins,  supposed  by  some  to  be  from  veiv,  "  to  rain,"  referring  to  the 
wet  period  attending  their  morning  and  evening  setting  in  the  latter  parts  of 
May  and  November;  and  this  is  their  universal  character  in  the  literature 
of  all  ages.  Thus  we  have  Hyades  Gratis  ab  imbre  vocat  of  Ovid's  Fasti; 
pluviasque  Hyadas  of  the  Aeneid  and  of  Ovid  again ;  said  p/uviae  generally, 
which  Manilius  expressed  in  his 

Sad  Companions  of  the  taming  Year. 

While  far  back  of  all  these,  in  the  She  King: 

The  Moon  wades  through  Hyads  bright, 
Foretelling  heavier  rain. 

Pliny  wrote  of  them  as  being  "  a  violent  and  troublesome  star  causing 
stormes  and  tempests  raging  both  on  land  and  sea  " ;  in  later  times  Edmund 
Spenser  called  them  the  Moist  Daughters;  Tennyson,  in  his  Ulysses,  said : 

Thro1  scudding  drifts  the  rainy  Hyades  vext  the  dim  sea ; 
i  Grotius  has  much  information  as  to  their  titles  in  his  Syntagma  Arattorutn. 


388  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

and  Owen  Meredith  has  "  the  watery  Hyades "  in  The  Earl's  Return, 
The  queer  old  Guide  into  Tongues  of  John  Minsheu,  calling  them  the  Seven 
Stan, —  the  only  instance  of  this  title  that  I  have  met  for  this  group,— 
makes  still  more  intimate  their  connection  with  the  showers;  for  at  its  word 
Hyades  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  word  Raine,  where  we  see : 

Hyades,  iadez,  dictae  stellae  quaedam  in  cornibus  Tauri ;  quae  ortu  occasuq.  sus  pla- 
vias  largosque  imbres  concitant. 

And  in  Doctor  Johnson's  Dictionary  the  word  is  defined  as  "  a  watery  con- 
stellation." Thus  they  have  always  been  considered  most  noteworthy  by 
husbandmen,  mariners,  and  all  who  were  dependent  upon  the  weather, 
even  to  the  last  two  or  three  centuries. 

Ovid  called  them  Bidus  Hyantia,  after  their  earthly  brother,  Hyas,  whose 
name,  after  all,  would  seem  to  be  the  most  natural  derivation  of  the  title : 
and  it  was  their  grief  at  his  death  which  gave  additional  point  to  Horace's 
tristes  Hyadas,  and,  in  one  version  of  their  story,  induced  Jove  to  put  them 
in  the  sky. 

But  their  colloquial  title  among  the  Roman  country-people  was  Sncnlae, 
the  Little  Pigs,  as  if  from  Sus,  Sow,  the  Greek  'Tc,  Homer's  Dvc,  which 
indeed  might  as  well  be  the  derivation  of  cT<£o*ec  as  vetv.  This  name  con- 
stantly occurs  in  astronomical  literature  from  the  time  of  Columella  and 
Pliny  to  Kepler,  Hevelius,  and  Flamsteed ;  Pliny  accounting  for  it  by  the 
fact  that  the  continual  rains  of  the  season  of  their  setting  made  the  roads  so 
miry  that  these  stars  seemed  to  delight  in  dirt,  like  swine !  And  this  idea, 
trivial  though  it  seems,  was  sufficiently  prevalent  for  Cicero,  a  century  be- 
fore Pliny,  to  think  worthy  of  contradiction  in  his  De  Natura  Deorum. 
Smyth  said  that  the  title  might  come  from  the  resemblance  of  the  group  to 
a  pig's  jaws ;  or  because  Aldebaran  and  its  companion  stars  were  like  a  sow 
with  her  litter.  Peck  suggests,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Classical  Literature 
and  Antiquities,  that  Suculae  was  the  oldest  Roman  name,  given  before 
the  Greek  appellation  was  known,  and  to  be  compared  with  our  popular 
stellar  titles  such  as  the  Dipper,  Charles'  Wain,  etc.  Isidorus  traced  it  to 
stuus,  "  moisture,"  a  pleasanter  derivation,  and  possibly  more  correct,  than 
that  held  in  ancient  Italy.    This  will  account  for  Bayer's  Suoeidae. 

Bassus  and  others  knew  the  group  as  v-tytkov,  the  symbol  with  Pythag- 
oras for  human  life;  and  the  Roman  V,  as  it  resembles  those  letters,— a 
and  e  being  the  extremes,  y  at  the  vertex.   But  Ulug  Beg's  translator  wrote: 

Quinque  stellae  quae  sunt  in  facie,  in  forma  Lambdae  Graecoruxn  et  forma  rob  Dil. 

In  the  Alfonsine  Tables  we  find  Lampadas,  the  accusative  plural  of  Lam- 
pada,  a  Torch. 


The  Constellations  389 

Occasional  Arabic  titles  were  Al  Hijda^,  a  Triangular  Spoon,  and 
Al  Kil&f,  the  Little  She  Camels,  referring  to  the  smaller  stars  in  distinction 
from  Aldebaran,  the  Large  Camel ;  Al  Ferghani  wrote  the  word  Kala'ij. 
These  Little  Camels  appeared  in  one  Arabic  story  as  driven  before  the 
personified  Aldebaran,  in  evidence  of  his  riches,  when  he  went  again  to  woo 
Al  Thurayya,  the  Pleiades,  who  previously  had  spurned  him  on  account  of 
his  poverty.  Another  author  made  the  word  Al  Kallis,  the  Boiling  Sea, 
so  continuing  in  Arabia  the  Greek  and  Roman  ideas  of  its  stormy  and 
watery  character.  Generally,  however,  in  that  country,  the  Hyades  were 
Al  Dabaran,  which  was  adopted  in  the  151 5  Almagest,  as  well  as  in  the 
Alfonsine  Tables  of  1521,  where  we  read  sunt  stellae  aldebaran,  specially 
referring  to  the  star  y  "  of  those  in  the  face."  The  Arabic  title,  therefore, 
was  identical  with  that  of  the  2d  manzil,  which  these  stars  constituted,  as 
they  also  did  the  2d  nakshatra,  Bohini,  Aldebaran  marking  the  junction 
with  the  adjacent  Mrigacfrsha. 

The  Hindus  figured  this  asterism  as  a  Temple,  or  Wagon ;  and  there  are 
many  astrological  allusions  to  it  in  the  Siddhdntas,  the  collective  term  for 
the  various  standard  astronomical  books  of  that  people. 

The  Chinese  utilized  it  for  their  2d  situ,  Pi,  or  Peih,  anciently  Pal,  a 
Hand-net,  or  a  Rabbit-net,  but  included  X  and  a;  although  some  limited 
this  station  to  e,  the  farthest  to  the  north.     The  She  King  thus  described  it : 

Long  and  curved  is  the  Rabbit  Net  of  the  sky ; 

but  with  that  people  generally  it  was  the  Star  of  the  Hunter,  and,  with  the 
astrologers,  the  Drought  Car.  This  title,  however,  was  inappropriate,  for  the 
Hyades  seem  to  have  been  as  closely  identified  with  rain  in  China  as  in 
Greece  or  Rome, —  indeed  were  worshiped  as  Tfi  Shi,  the  General,  or 
Ruler,  of  Rain,  from  at  least  1 100  b.  c.  Still  this  character  was  not  native, 
but  must  have  been  derived  from  western  Asia,  where  the  early  rains  coin- 
cided with  the  heliacal  rising  of  these  stars,  which  was  not  the  case  in  China 
by  nearly  two  months.  The  adjacent  small  stars,  with  f,  were  Tien  Lin, 
the  Celestial  Public  Granary;  and  the  whole  group  was  known  as  the 
Announcer  of  Invasion  on  the  Border. 

The  Hyades  have  been  identified  with  the  scriptural  Kazziroth,  but  there 
is  little  foundation  for  this ;  even  less  than  for  their  identification,  by  Saint 
Jerome  and  by  Riccioli,  with  the  Klm&h  of  the  Book  of  Job,  ix,  9. 

Anglo-Saxon  titles  are  Baedgaitran,  Baedgasnan,  and  Bedgaesrom, 
whatever  these  may  mean ;  and  the  Boar-Throng  which  that  people  saw 
in  the  sky  may  have  been  this  group  rather  than  Orion  as  generally  is  sup- 
posed. 

It  is  thought  that  the  Hyades  have  a  united  proper  motion  towards  the 


390  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

west.    They  are  rich  in  doubles  and  full  of  interest  to  the  owners  of  even 
small  glasses. 

(3,  Double,     2.1  and  10,  brilliant  pure  white  and  pale  gray. 

El  Hath  is  from  Al  NatilL,  the  Butting  One,  because  located  on  the  tip  of 
the  northern  thorn,  5°  from  f,  similarly  placed  on  the  southern.  This  title 
also  appears  for  Aries  and  its  star  Hamal. 

Bayer  said  that  many  included  it  and  £  in  the  Hyades  group,  but  this 
seems  improbable,  although  Pherecydes  had  it  thus. 

0  Tauriis  identical  with  y  Aurigae,  and  has  been  considered  as  belonging 
to  either  constellation ;  Burritt's  Atlas  calling  it  Aurigae  or  £1  Hath.  As  a 
member  of  Auriga  it  lies  on  the  left  ankle,  and  was  the  Arabians'  Xabd  al 
'Inan,  usually  translated  the  Heel  of  the  Rein-holder. 

Smyth,  who  is  often  humorous  amid  his  exact  science,  referring  to  the 
position  of  this  star  at  the  greatest  possible  distance  from  the  hoof,  says : 
"  Can  this  have  given  rise  to  the  otherwise  pointless  sarcasm  of  not  know- 
ing B  from  a  bull's  foot '  ?  " 

With  Capella  and  other  stars  in  Auriga  it  was  the  Chinese  Woo  Chay,  a 
Fire-carriage. 

In  Babylonia  it  was  Shur-narkabti-Bha-iltanu,  the  Star  in  the  Bull 
towards  the  North,  or  the  Northern  Star  towards  the  Chariot,—  not  our 
Wain,  but  the  Chariot  of  Auriga, —  and  marked  the  6th  ecliptic  constellation. 
The  sun  stood  near  this  star  at  the  commencement  of  spring  6000  years  ago. 

Among  the  Hindus  it  represented  Agni,  the  god  of  fire,  and  commonly 
bore  that  title ;  as  also  the  similar  Hutabhuj,  the  Devourer  of  the  Sacrifice. 

Astrologers  said  that  El  Nath  portended  eminence  and  fortune  to  all  who 
could  claim  it  as  their  natal  star. 

It  has  a  Sirian  spectrum,  and  is  receding  from  us  at  the  rate  of  about  five 
miles  a  second. 

Between  it  and  V  Aurigae  was  discovered  on  the  24th  of  January,  1892, 
the  now  celebrated  nova  Aurigae  that  has  occasioned  so  much  interest  in 
the  astronomical  world. 

Y,    4.2,    yellow. 

Hyadum  I  is  generally  seen  for  this,  and,  synonymously,  Primus  Hy»- 
dum,  or,  more  correctly,  as  with  Flamsteed,  Prima  Hyadum ;  but  this  was 
not  original  with  him,  for  long  before  it  evidently  was  an  Arabic  designa- 
tion, as  Al  Achsasi  had  Awwal  al  Dabaran,  the  First  of  the  Dabaran. 

Hipparchos  described  it  as  ev  tw  pvyx^h  "in  the  muzzle,"  still  its  location 
at  the  vertex  of  the  triangle. 


The  Constellations  391 

With  others  adjacent  it  was  Choo  Wan,  the  Many  Princes,  of  China. 

<5,  4.2,  is  Hyadmn  H 

f,  3.6,  one  of  the  Hyades,  according  to  Whitall,  is  Ain,  from  the  Ara- 
bic Ain,  the  Eye,  near  which  it  lies,  Flamsteed  calling  it  Ooulus  barens,  the 
Northern  Eye. 

Some  think  that  it  alone  constituted  the  2d  situ,  Pi. 

Close  by  is  a  small  nebula,  N.  G.  C.  1555,  one  of  the  few  known  to  be 
variable  in  light. 

C>   3-5» 

was  the  determinant  of  the  7th  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia,  Shnr- 
narkafati-aha-flhatf,  the  Star  in  the  Bull  towards  the  South,  or  the  Southern 
Star  towards  the  Chariot. 

Reeves  gave  it,  with  others  near  by,  as  Tien  Kwan,  the  Heavenly  Gate. 

In  astrology  £  has  been  considered  of  mischievous  influence. 

It  marks  the  tip  of  the  southern  horn  and  the  singular  Crab  Nebula,  a 
little  to  the  northwest,  the  first  in  Messier's  catalogues,1  and  now  known  as 
N.  G.  C.  1952,  1  M.  Although  Bevis  had  seen  this  in  1731,  it  was  acci- 
dentally rediscovered  by  Messier  on  the  12th  of  September,  1758,  while 
observing  f  and  a  neighboring  comet,  and  led  to  his  two  catalogues  of  103 
nebulae  and  clusters,  published  from  1771  to  1782,  the  first  attempt  at  a 
complete  list  of  these  objects.  The  return  of  Halley's  comet  was  first 
observed  in  August,  1835,  close  to  this  star,  when  the  nebula  was  a  perfect 
mare's-nest  to  astronomical  tyros. 


The  seven  sweet  Pleiades  above. 

Owen  Meredith's  The  Wanderer. 

The  group  of  sister  stars,  which  mothers  love 
To  show  their  wondering  babes,  the  gentle  Seven. 

Bryant's  The  Constellations. 

fc0e  tftfeiaoee, 

the  Harrow  Cloudy  Train  of  Female  Stan  of  Manilius,  and  the  Starry 
Seven,  Old  Atlas'  Children,  of  Keats'  Endymion,  have  everywhere  been 

1  The  work  of  Messier,  shared  by  La  Caille  and  Mechain,  was  supposed  to  have  brought 
rr'gether  all  objects  of  that  class  in  the  heavens ;  but  twenty  years  afterwards  Sir  William 
Herschel  had  added  asoo  to  their  lists,  and  his  son's  General  Catalogue  of  1864  has  5079  nebulae 
and  clusters.  This  was  enlarged  by  Dreyer,  in  his  New  General  Catalogue,  to  9416  discovered 
UP  to  December,  1887 ;  and  since  then  at  least  1000  more  have  been  added  by  Swift  and  the 
observers  at  Marseilles.     Halley,  in  1716,  knew  only  six,  and  of  these  four  are  clusters. 


392  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

among  the  most  noted  objects  in  the  history,  poetry,  and  mythology  of  the 
heavens ;  though,  as  Aratos  wrote, 

not  a  mighty  space 
Holds  all,  and  they  themselves  are  dim  to  see. 

All  literature  contains  frequent  allusions  to  them,  and  in  late  years  they 
probably  have  been  more  attentively  and  scientifically  studied  than  any 
other  group. 

They  generally  have  been  located  on  the  shoulder  of  the  Bull  as  we  have 
them,  but  Hyginus,  considering  the  animal  figure  complete,  placed  them 
on  the  hind  quarter;  Nicander,  Columella,  Vitruvius,  and  Pliny, on  the  tail, 

In  cauda  Tauri  septem  quas  appellavere  Vergilias ; — 

although   Pliny  also  is  supposed  to  have  made  a  distinct  constellation 

of  them.     Proclus  and  Geminos  said  that  they  were  on  the  back;  and 

others,  on  the  neck,  which  Bayard  Taylor  followed  in  his  Hymn  to  Taurus, 

where  they 

Cluster  like  golden  bees  upon  thy  mane. 

Eratosthenes,  describing  them  as  over  the  animal,  imitated  Homer  and 
Hesiod  in  his  IU«ac;  while  Aratos,  calling  them,  in  the  Attic  dialect 
HkffiMfft,  placed  them  near  the  knees  of  Perseus ;  thus,  as  in  most  of  his 
poem,  following  Eudoxos,  whose  sphere,  it  is  said,  clearly  showed  them  in 
that  spot.  Hipparchos  in  the  main  coincided  with  this,  giving  them  as 
Ukeidc  and  lUemdec;  but  Ptolemy  used  the  word  in  the  singular  for  four 
of  the  stars,  and  did  not  separate  them  from  Taurus.  The  Arabians  and 
Jews  put  them  on  the  rump  of  Aries ;  and  the  Hindu  astronomers,  on  the 
head  of  the  Bull,  where  we  now  see  the  Hyades. 

The  Pleiades  seem  to  be  among  the  first  stars  mentioned  in  astronomical 
literature,  appearing  in  Chinese  annals  of  2357  b.  c,  Alcyone,  the  lucid** 
then  being  near  the  vernal  equinox,  although  now  240  north  of  the  celestial 
equator;  and  in  the  Hindu  lunar  zodiac  as  the  1st  nakshatra,  Xrittitt1 
Karteek,  or  Kartiguey,  the  General  of  the  Celestial  Armies,  probably  long 
before  1730  b.  c,  when  precession  carried  the  equinoctial  point  into  Aries. 
Al  Biruni,  referring  to  this  early  position  of  the  equinox  in  the  Pleiades, 
which  he  found  noticed  "  in  some  books  of  Hermes,"  2  wrote : 

1  The  Krittikas  were  the  six  nurses  of  Skanda,  the  infant  god  of  war,  represented  by  ** 
planet  Mars,  literally  motherless,  who  took  to  himself  six  heads  for  his  better  nourishment,  and 
his  nurses'  name  in  Karttikeya,  Son  of  the  Krittikas. 

2  These  Hermetic  Books  were  the  sacred  canon  of  Egypt,  in  forty-two  volumes,  treating  °* 
religion  and  the  arts  and  sciences,  their  authorship  being  ascribed  to  the  god  Thoth,  wboo 
the  Greeks  knew  as  Hermes  Trismegistos,  Thrice  Great  Hermes. 


The  Constellations  393 

This  statement  must  have  been  made  about  3000  years  and  more  before  Alexander. 

And  their  beginning  the  astronomical  year  gave  rise  to  the  title  "  the  Great 
Year  of  the  Pleiades"  for  the  cycle  of  precession  of  about  25,900  years. 

The  Hindus  pictured  these  stars  as  a  Flame  typical  of  Agni,  the  god  of  fire 
and  regent  of  the  asterism,  and  it  may  have  been  in  allusion  to  this  figuring 
that  the  western  Hindus  held  in  the  Pleiad  month  Kartik  (October-No- 
vember) their  great  star-festival  Dibali,  the  Feast  of  Lamps,  which  gave  ori- 
gin to  the  present  Feast  of  Lanterns  of  Japan.  But  they  also  drew  them, 
and  not  incorrectly,  as  a  Razor  with  a  short  handle,  the  radical  word  in 
their  title,  kart,  signifying  "  to  cut." 

The  Santals  of  Bengal  called  them  Bar  en;  and  the  Turks,  Ulgher. 

As  a  Persian  lunar  station  they  were  Perv,  Perven,  Pervifl,  Parvig,  or 
Parviz,  although  a  popular  title  was  Peren,  and  a  poetical  one,  Parnr.  In 
the  Rubd'is^ox  Rub&iydt,  of  the  poet-astronomer  Omar  Khayyam,  the  tent- 
maker  of  Naishdpur  in  n  23,  "  who  stitched  the  tents  of  science,"  they  were 
Parwin,  the  Parven  of  that  country  to-day ;  and,  similarly,  with  the  Khoras- 
mians  and  Sogdians,  Parvi  and  Parnr ;  —  all  these  from  Peru,  the  Begetters, 
as  beginning  all  things,  probably  with  reference  to  their  beginning  the 
year. 

In  China  they  were  worshiped  by  girls  and  young  women  as  the  Seven 
Sifters  of  Industry,  while  as  the  1st  sieu  they  were  Mao,  Man,  or  Maon, 
anciently  Mol,  The  Constellation,  and  Gang,  of  unknown  signification, 
Alcyone  being  the  determinant. 

On  the  Euphrates,  with  the  Hyades,  they  seem  to  have  been  Mas-tab- 
ba-gal-gal-la,  the  Great  Twins  of  the  ecliptic,  Castor  and  Pollux  being  the 
same  in  the  zodiac. 

In  the  5th  century  before  Christ  Euripides  mentioned  them  with  'Act6c, 
our  Altair,  as  nocturnal  timekeepers ;  and  Sappho,  a  century  previously, 
marked  the  middle  of  the  night  by  their  setting.  Centuries  still  earlier 
Hesiod  and  Homer  brought  them  into  their  most  beautiful  verse;  the 
former  calling  them  'Arkdyevrj^,  Atlas-born.  The  patriarch  Job  is  thought 
to  refer  to  them  twice  in  his  word  KImah,  a  Cluster,  or  Heap,  which  the 
Hebrew  herdsman-prophet  Amos,  probably  contemporary  with  Hesiod, 
also  used;  the  prophet's  term  being  translated  "the  seven  stars"  in  our 
Authorized  Version,  but  "  Pleiades  "  in  the  Revised.  The  similar  Baby- 
lonian-Assyrian Kimtn,  or  Kimmatn,  signifies  a  "  Family  Group,"  for  which 
the  Syrians  had  Kima,  quoted  in  Humboldt's  Cosmos  as  Oemat ;  this  most 
natural  simile  is  repeated  in  Seneca's  Medea  as  densos  Pleiadum  greges. 
Manilius  had  Glomerabile  Sidns,  the  Rounded  Asterism,  equivalent  to  the 


394  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Globus  Pleiadmn  of  Valerius  Flaccus;  while  Brown  translates  the  IUqidfyf 
of  Aratos  as  the  Flock  of  Clustexen. 

In  Milton's  description  of  the  Creation  it  is  said  of  the  sun  that 

the  gray 
Dawn  and  the  Pleiades  before  him  danc'd, 
Shedding  sweet  influence, — 

the  original  of  these  last  words  being  taken  by  the  poet  from  the  Book  of 
Job,  xxxviii,  31,  in  the  Authorized  Version,  that  some  have  thought  an 
astrological  reference  to  the  Pleiades  as  influencing  the  fortunes  of  man- 
kind, or  to  their  presumed  influential  position  as  the  early  leaders  of  the 
Lunar  Mansions.  The  Revised  Version,  however,  renders  them  "  cluster,'' 
and  the  Septuagint  by  the  Greek  word  for  "band,"  as  if  uniting  the  mem- 
bers of  the  group  into  a  fillet ;  others  translate  it  as  "  girdle,"  a  conception 
of  their  figure  seen  in  Amr  al  Kais'  contribution  to  the  Muailakdt,  trans- 
lated by  Sir  William  Jones : 

It  was  the  hour  when  the  Pleiades  appeared  in  the  firmament  like  the  folds  of  a  silken 
sash  variously  decked  with  gems. 

Von  Herder  gave  Job's  verse  as : 

Canst  thou  bind  together  the  brilliant  Pleiades  ? 
Beigel  as : 

Canst  thou  not  arrange  together  the  rosette  of  diamonds  of  the  Pleiades? 

and  Hafiz  wrote  to  a  friend  : 

To  thy  poems  Heaven  affixes  the  Pearl  Rosette  of  the  Pleiades  as  a  seal  of  immor- 
tality. 

An  opening  rose  also  was  a  frequent  Eastern  simile ;  while  in  Sadi's  Guiisian, 
the  Rose-garden,  we  read : 

The  ground  was  as  if  strewn  with  pieces  of  enamel,  and  rows  of  Pleiades  seemed  to  hug 
on  the  branches  of  the  trees ; 

or,  in  Grafs  translation : 

as  though  the  tops  of  the  trees  were  encircled  by  the  necklace  of  the  Pleiades. 

William  Roscoe  Thayer  repeated  the  Persian  thought  in  his  Halid: 

slowly  the  Pleiades 
Dropt  like  dew  from  bough  to  bough  of  the  cinnamon  trees. 


The  Constellations  395 

That  all  these  wrote  better  than  they  knew  is  graphically  shown  by  Miss 
Clerke  where,  alluding  to  recent  photographs  of  the  cluster  by  the  Messrs. 
Henry  of  Paris,  she  says : 

The  most  carious  of  these  was  the  threading  together  of  stars  by  filmy  processes.  In 
one  case  seven  aligned  stars  appeared  strung  on  a  nebulous  filament  "like  beads  on 
a  rosary."  The  "  rows  of  stars,"  so  often  noticed  in  the  sky,  may  therefore  be  concluded 
to  have  more  than  an  imaginary  existence. 

The  title,  written  also  Pliades  and,  in  the  singular,  Plias,  has  commonly 
been  derived  from  nkeiv,"to  sail,"  for  the  heliacal  rising  of  the  group  in  May 
marked  the  opening  of  navigation  to  the  Greeks,  as  its  setting  in  the  late 
autumn  did  the  close.  But  this  probably  was  an  afterthought,  and  a  better 
derivation  is  from  rrAeZoc,  the  Epic  form  of  ttAcwc,  "  full,"  or,  in  the  plural, 
"  many,"  a  very  early  astronomical  treatise  by  an  unknown  Christian  writer 
having  Ply  odes  a  pluraliiate.  This  coincides  with  the  biblical  Kimah  and 
the  Arabic  word  for  them  — Al  Thurayya.  But  as  Pleione  was  the  mother 
of  the  seven  sisters,  it  would  seem  still  more  probable  that  from  her  name 
our  title  originated. 

Some  of  the  poets,  among  them  Athenaeus,  Hesiod,  Pindar,  and  Simon- 
ides,  likening  the  stars  to  Rock-pigeons  flying  from  the  Hunter  Orion,  wrote 
the  word  UeXeiddegu which,  although  perhaps  done  partly  for  metrical 
reasons,  again  shows  the  intimate  connection  in  early  legend  of  this  group 
with  a  flock  of  birds.  When  these  had  left  the  earth  they  were  turned  into 
the  Pleiad  stars.  Aeschylus  assigned  the  daughters'  pious  grief  at  their 
father's  labor  in  bearing  the  world  as  the  cause  of  their  transformation  and 
subsequent  transfer  to  the  heavens;  but  he  thought  these  Peleiadesdkrepoi, 
"  wingless."  Other  versions  made  them  the  Seven  Doves  that  carried  am- 
brosia to  the  infant  Zeus,  one  of  the  flock  being  crushed  when  passing 
between  the  Symplegades,  although  the  god  filled  up  the  number  again. 
This  story  probably  originated  in  that  of  the  dove  which  helped  Argo 
through ;  Homer  telling  us  in  the  Odyssey  that 

No  bird  of  air,  no  dove  of  swiftest  wing, 
That  bears  ambrosia  to  the  ethereal  king, 
Shuns  the  dire  rocks ;  in  vain  she  cuts  the  skies, 
The  dire  rocks  meet  and  crush  her  as  she  flies ; 

and  the  doves  on  Nestor's  cup  described  in  the  Iliad  have  been  supposed 
to  refer  to  the  Pleiades.  Yet  some  have  prosaically  asserted  that  this  col- 
umbine title  is  merely  from  the  loosing  of  pigeons  in  the  auspices  customary 


396  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

at  the  opening  of  navigation.  These  stories  may  have  given  rise  to  the 
Sicilians'  Seven  Dovelets,  the  Sette  Palommielle  of  the  Pentameron. 

Another  title  analogous  to  the  foregoing  is  Butrom  from  Isidores,— 
Caesius  wrongly  writing  it  Brutnm, —  in  the  mediaeval  Latin  for  Borpt^,  1 
Bunch  of  Grapes,  to  which  the  younger  Theon  likened  them.  It  is  a  happy 
simile,  although  Thompson  *  considers  it  merely  another  avian  association 
like  that  seen  in  the  poetical  Peleiades  and  the  Alcyone  of  the  lucida. 

Vergiliae  and  Sidus  Vergiliarum  have  always  been  common  for  the 
cluster  as  rising  after  Ver,  the  Spring, —  the  Breeches  Bible  having  this  mar- 
ginal note  at  its  word  "  Pleiades"  in  the  Book  of  Job  y  xxxviii,  31 : 

which  starres  arise  when  the  sunne  is  in  Taurus  which  is  the  spring  time  and  bring  flowers 

And  these  names  obtained  from  the  times  of  the  Latin  poets  to  the  18th 
century,  but  often  erroneously  written  Virgiliae.  Pliny,  describing  the 
glow-worms,  designated  them  asstellae  and  likened  them  to  the  Pleiades: 

Behold  here  before  your  very  feet  are  your  Vergiliae ;  of  that  constellation  are  they  the 
offspring. 

And  the  much  quoted  lines  in  Locksley  Hall  are  similar : 

Many  a  night  I  saw  the  Pleiads,  rising  thro'  the  mellow  shade, 
Glitter  like  a  swarm  of  fire-flies  tangled  in  a  silver  braid. 

Bayer  cited  Signatricia  Lamina. 

Hesiod  called  them  the  Seven  Virgins  and  the  Virgin  Stan;  Vergil,  the 
Eoae  Atlantides;  Milton,  the  Seven  Atlantic  Sisters;  and  Hesperidet,  the 

title  for  another  batch  of  Atlas'  daughters  from  Hesperis,  has  been  applied 
to  them.  Chaucer,  in  the  Hous  of  Fame ,  had  Atlantes  donghtres  •evene; 
but  his  "  Sterres  sevene  "  refer  to  the  planets.  As  the  Seven  Sisters  they 
are  familiar  to  all ;  and  as  the  Seven  Stars  they  occur  in  various  early  Bible 
versions ;  in  the  Siftansterri  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  though  they  also  wrote 
Pliade ;  in  the  Septistelliutn  vestis  institoris,  cited  by  Bayer ;  and  in  the 
modern  German  Siebengestirn.  This  numerical  title  also  frequently  has 
been  applied  to  the  brightest  stars  of  the  Greater  Bear,  as  in  early  days  it 
was  to  the  "  seven  planets," — the  Sun,  Moon,  Mercury,  Venus,  Mars,  Jupiter, 
and  Saturn.     Minsheu  had  the  words  "  Seven  Starres  "  indiscriminately  for 

l  He  traces  the  word  back  as  equivalent  to  'Otrag,  a  Dove,  probably  Columba  omas  of  OW 
World  ornithology,  and  so  named  from  its  purple-red  breast  like  wine, — o«i«?, —  and  nahiralo 
referred  to  a  bunch  of  grapes ;  or  perhaps  because  the  bird  appeared  in  migration  at  the  time 
of  the  vintage.  This  is  strikingly  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  coins  of  M alios  in  Cilicia  bore 
doves  with  bodies  formed  by  bunches  of  grapes ;  these  coins  being  succeeded  by  others  bear- 
ing grapes  alone;  and  we  often  see  the  bird  and  fruit  still  associated  in  early  Christian 
symbolism. 


The  Constellations  397 

the  Pleiades,  Hyades,  and  Ursa  Major,  saying,  as  to  the  first, "that  appear 
in  a  cluster  about  midheaven." 

As  the  group  outline  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  Dipper  in  Ursa  Major, 
many  think  that  they  much  more  deserve  the  name  Little  Dipper  than  do 
the  seven  stars  in  Ursa  Minor;  indeed  that  name  is  not  uncommon  for 
them.  And  even  in  our  6th  century,  with  Hesychios,  they  were  Zdrtkka, 
a  Chariot,  or  Wagon,  another  well-known  figure  for  Ursa  Major. 

Ideler  mentioned  a  popular  designation  by  his  countrymen, —  Sehif&hrta 
Geetirn,  the  Sailors'  Stars, —  peculiarly  appropriate  from  the  generally  sup- 
posed derivation  of  their  Greek  title  and  meteorological  character  of  2000 
years  ago;  but  the  Tables  of  some  Obscure  Wordis  of  King  James  I  antici- 
pated this  in  '<  Seamen*  Starres  —  the  seaven  starrest 

The  Teutons  had  Senlainer;  the  Gaels,  Griglean,  Grioglachan,  and 
Meanmnaeh;  the  Hungarians,  who,  Grimm  says,  have  originated  280 
native  names  for  stars,  called  the  Pleiades  Fiastik  and  Heteveny, —  this  last 
in  Finland  Het'e  wa'ne;  the  Lapps  of  Norway  knew  them  as  Hiedgierreg ; 
while  the  same  people  in  Sweden  had  the  strange  Suttjenes  Rauko,  Fur  in 
Frost,  these  seven  stars  covering  a  servant  turned  out  into  the  cold  by  his 
master.  The  F  mns  and  Lithuanians  likened  them  to  a  Sieve  with  holes 
in  it;  and  some  of  the  French  peasantry  to  a  Mosquito  Vet,  Coufini&re, — 
in  the  Languedoc  tongue  Cousigneiros.  The  Russians  called  them  Baba, 
the  Old  Wife ;  and  the  Poles,  Baby,  the  Old  Wives. 

As  we  have  seen  the  Hyades  likened  to  a  Boar  Throng,  so  we  find  with 
Hans  Egede,  the  first  Norse  missionary  to  Greenland,  1721-34,  that  this 
sister  group  was  the  Killnktnrset  of  that  country,  Dogs  baiting  a  bear; 
and  similarly  in  Wales,  Y  twr  tewdws,  the  Close  Pack. 

Weigel  included  them  among  his  heraldic  constellations  as  the  Multipli- 
cation Table,  a  coat  of  arms  for  the  merchants. 

Sancho  Panza  visited  them,  in  his  aerial  voyage  on  Clavileno  Aligero,  as 
las  Siete  Cabrillas,  the  Seven  Little  Nanny  Goats;  and  la  Bacchetta,  the 
Battledore,  is  a  familiar  and  happy  simile  in  Italy ;  but  the  astronomers  of 
that  country  now  know  them  as  Plejadi,  and  those  of  Germany  as  Plejaden. 

The  Rabbis  are  said  to  have  called  them  Snkkoth  Rfndth,  usually  trans- 
lated "the  Booths  of  the  Maidens"  or  "the  Tents  of  the  Daughters,"  and 
the  Standard  Dictionary  still  cites  this  supposed  Hebrew  title ;  but  Riccioli 
reversed  it  as  Filiae  Tabernaonli.  All  this,  however,  seems  to  be  errone- 
ous, as  is  well  explained  in  the  Speaker's  Commentary  on  the  2d  Book  of  the 
Kings  xvii,  30,  where  the  words  are  shown  to  be  intended  for  the  Baby- 
lonian goddess  Zarbanit,  Zirat-banit,  or  Zir-pa-nit,  the  wife  of  Bel  Marduk. 

The  Alfonsine  Tables  say  that  the  "  Babylonians,"  by  whom  were  proba- 


398  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

bly  meant  the  astrologers,  knew  them  as  Atorage,  evidently  their  word  for 
the  manzil  Al  Thnrayya,  the   Many  Little  Ones,  a  diminutive  form  of 
Tharwan,  Abundance,  which  Al  Biruni  assumed  to  be  either  from  their 
appearance,  or  from  the  plenty  produced  in  the  pastures  and  crops  by  the 
attendant  rains.    We  see  this  title  in   Bayer's  Athoraie ;  in  Chilmead's 
Atauria  ?i*aft  Taurinae;  and  otherwise  distorted  in  every  late  mediaeval 
work  on  astronomy.     Riccioli,  commenting  on  these  in  his  Almagestum 
Novum,  wrote  Arabic*  non  Athoraiae  vel  Atarage  sed  Altorieh  seu  Besat 
Elnasch,  hoc  estfiliae  congregationis ;  the  first  half  of  which  may  be  correct 
enough,  but  the  Benat,  etc.,  singularly  confounded  the  Pleiad  stars  with 
those  of  Ursa  Major.     In  his  Astronomia  Reformata  he  cited  Athorace  and 
Altorieh  from  Aben  Ragel.    Turanya  is  another  form,  which  Hewitt  says  i> 
from  southern  Arabia,  where  they  were  likened  to  a  Herd  of  Camels  with 
the  star  Capella  as  the  driver. 

A  special  Arabic  name  for  them  was  Al  Hajm,  the  Constellation  par 
excellence,  and  they  may  be  the  Star,  or  the  Star  of  piercing  brightneM,  re- 
ferred to  by  Muhammad  in  the  53d  and  86th  Suras  of  the  Kufdn,  and 
versified  from  the  latter  by  Sir  Edwin  Arnold  in  his  Al  Hafiz,  the  Preserver . 

By  the  sky  and  the  night  star ! 
By  Al  Tarik  the  white  star ! 
To  proclaim  dawn  near ; 

Shining  clear  — 
When  darkness  covers  man  and  beast  — 

the  planet  Venus  being  intended  by  Al  Tari^.     Grimm  cited  the  similar 
Syryan  Voykodsynn,  the  Night  Star. 

They  shared  the  watery  character  always  ascribed  to  the  Hyades,  as  is 
shown  in  Statius*  Pliadum  nivosum  sidus ;  and  Valerius  Flaccus  distinctly 
used  the  word  "  Pliada  "  for  the  showers,  as  perhaps  did  Statius  in  his  fluid* 
movere ;  while  Josephus  states,  among  his  very  few  stellar  allusions,  that 
during  the  investment  of  Jerusalem  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  170  b.  c,  the 
besieged  suffered  from  want  of  water,  but  were  finally  relieved  "  by  a  large 
shower  of  rain  which  fell  at  the  setting  of  the  Pleiades."  In  the  same  way 
they  are  intimately  connected  with  traditions  of  the  Flood  found  among  so 
many  and  widely  separated  nations,  and  especially  in  the  Deluge-myth  oi 
Chaldaea.  Yet  with  all  this  well  established  reputation,  we  read  in  the 
Works  and  Days  : 

When  with  their  domes  the  slow-pac'd  snails  retreat, 
Beneath  some  foliage,  from  the  burning  heat 
Of  the  Pleiades,  your  tools  prepare. 


The  Constellations  399 

They  were  a  marked  object  on  the  Nile,  at  one  time  probably  called 
Chu  or  Chow,  and  supposed  to  represent  the  goddess  Hit  or  Keith,  the 
Shuttle,  one  of  the  principal  divinities  of  Lower  Egypt,  identified  by  the 
Greeks  with  Athene,  the  Roman  Minerva.  Hewitt  gives  another  title  from 
that  country,  Athur-ai,  the  Stars  of  Athyr  (Hathor),  very  similar  to  the 
Arabic  word  for  them ;  and  Professor  Charles  Piazzi  Smyth  suggests  that 
the  seven  chambers  of  the  Great  Pyramid  commemorate  these  seven  stars. 

Grecian  temples  were  oriented  to  them,  or  to  their  lucida  y  those  of 
Athene  on  the  Acropolis,  of  different  dates,  to  their  correspondingly  differ- 
ent positions  when  rising.  These  were  the  temple  of  1530  b.  c.;  the 
Hecatompedon  of  11 50  b.  c. ;  and  the  great  Parthenon,  finished  on  the 
same  site  438  b.  c.  The  temple  of  Bacchus  at  Athens,  1030  b.  c,  looked 
toward  their  setting,  as  did  the  Asclepieion  at  Epidaurus,  1275  b.  c,  and 
the  temple  at  Sunium  of  845  b.  c.  While  at  some  unknown  date,  perhaps 
contemporaneous  with  these  Grecian  structures,  they  were  pictured  in  the 
New  World  on  the  walls  of  a  Palenque  temple  upon  a  blue  background; 
and  certainly  were  a  well-known  object  in  other  parts  of  Mexico,  for  Cortez 
heard  there,  in  15 19,  a  very  ancient  tradition  of  the  destruction  of  the  world 
in  some  past  age  at  their  midnight  culmination. 

A  common  figure  for  these  stars,  everywhere  popular  for  many  centuries, 
is  that  of  a  Hen  with  her  Chickens, —  another  instance  of  the  constant  asso- 
ciation of  the  Pleiades  with  flocking  birds,  and  here  especially  appropriate 
from  their  compact  grouping.  Aben  Ragel  and  other  Hebrew  writers  thus 
mentioned  them,  sometimes  with  the  Coop  that  held  them, —  the  Mama  Gal- 
linae  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  these  also  appearing  in  Arabic  folk-lore,  and 
still  current  among  the  English  peasantry.  In  modern  Greece,  as  the  Hen- 
coop, they  are  HovXia  or  HovXeki,  not  unlike  the  word  of  ancient  Greece. 
Miles  Coverdale,  the  translator  in  1535  of  the  first  complete  English  Bible, 
had  as  a  marginal  note  to  the  passage  in  the  Book  of  Job: 

these  vii  star  res,  the  clock  henne  with  her  ohiokenB ; 

and  Riccioli,  in  his  A  Images  turn  Novum  : 

Germanice  Brathean :   Anglice  Bntrio  id  est  gallina  fovens  pullos. 

We  see  in  the  foregoing  the  Bntrnm  of  Isidorus,  Riccioli's  great  prede- 
cessor in  the  Church.  The  German  farm  laborers  call  them  Olnck  Henne; 
the  Russian,  Vastidha,  the  Sitting  Hen;  the  Danes,  Aften  Hoehne,  the  Eve 
Hen ;  while  in  Wallachia  they  are  the  Golden  Cluck  Hen  and  her  five  Chicks. 
In  Servia  a  Girl  is  added  in  charge  of  the  brood,  probably  the  star  Alcyone, 
Maia  appropriately  taking  her  place  as  the  Mother.    The   French  and 


4-00  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Italians  designate  them,  in  somewhat  the  same  way,  as  PuLnniere,  Poiwi- 
nidre,  and  Gallinelle,  the  Pullets,  Riccioli's  Gallinella.  Aborigines  of  Africa 
and  Borneo  had  similar  ideas  about  them.  Pliny's  translator  Holland 
called  them  the  Brood-hen  star  Vergiliae. 

Savage  tribes  knew  the  Pleiades  familiarly,  as  well  as  did  the  people  of 
ancient  and  modern  civilization ;  and  Ellis  wrote  of  the  natives  of  the 
Society  and  Tonga  Islands,  who  called  these  stars  Matarii,  the  Little  Eyes: 

The  two  seasons  of  the  year  were  divided  by  the  Pleiades  ;  the  first,  Matarii  i  nia,  the 
Pleiades  Above,  commenced  when,  in  the  evening,  those  stars  appeared  on  the  horizon, 
and  continued  while,  after  sunset,  they  were  above.  The  other  season,  Matarii  i  raro,  the 
Pleides  Below,  began  when,  at  sunset,  they  ceased  to  be  visible,  and  continued  till,  in  the 
evening,  they  appeared  again  above  the  horizon. 

Gill  gives  a  similar  story  from  the  Hervey  group,  where  the  Little  Eyes  are 
Katariki,  and  at  one  time  but  a  single  star,  so  bright  that  their  god  Tane 
in  envy  got  hold  of  Aumea,  our  Aldebaran,  and,  accompanied  by  Mere, our 
Sirius,  chased  the  offender,  who  took  refuge  in  a  stream.  Mere,  however, 
drained  off  the  water,  and  Tane  hurled  Aumea  at  the  fugitive,  breaking  him 
into  the  six  pieces  that  we  now  see,  whence  the  native  name  for  the 
fragments,  Tauono,  the  Six,  quoted  by  Flammarion  as  Tan,  both  titles  singu- 
larly like  the  Latin  Taurus.  They  were  the  favorite  one  of  the  various 
avelas,  or  guides  at  sea  in  night  voyages  from  one  island  to  another;  and. 
as  opening  the  year,  objects  of  worship  down  to  1857,  when  Christianity 
prevailed  throughout  these  islands.  The  Australians  thought  of  them  as 
Young  GirlB  playing  to  Young  Men  dancing, —  the  Belt  stars  of  Orion; 
some  of  our  Indians,  as  Dancers ;  and  the  Solomon  Islanders  as  Togo  ni 
oanra,  a  Company  of  Maidens.  The  Abipones  of  the  Paraguay  River 
country  consider  them  their  great  Spirit  Groaperikie,  or  Grandfather;  and 

in  the  month  of  May,  on  the  reappearance  of  the  constellation,  they  welcome  their  Grand- 
father back  with  joyful  shouts,  as  if  he  had  recovered  from  sickness,  with  the  hymn, 
"  What  thanks  do  we  owe  thee !  And  art  thou  returned  at  last  ?  Ah  I  thou  hast  happily 
recovered !  "  and  then  proceed  with  their  festivities  in  honor  of  the  Pleiades'  reappearance. 

Among  other  South  American  tribes  they  were  Cajupal,  the  Six  Stars. 

The  pagan  Arabs,  according  to  Hafiz,  fixed  here  the  seat  of  immortality; 
as  did  the  Berbers,  or  Kabyles,  of  northern  Africa,  and,  widely  separated 
from  them,  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo;  all  thinking  them  the  central  point  of 
the  universe,  and  long  anticipating  Wright  in  1750  and  Madler  in  1846. 
and,  perhaps,  Lucretius  in  the  century  before  Christ. 

Miss  Clerke,  in  a  charming  and  instructive  chapter  in  her  System  of  the 
Stars  which  should  be  read  by  every  star-lover,  tells  us  that : 


The  Constellations  401 

With  November,  the  "  Pleiad-month,"  many  primitive  people  began  their  year ;  and  on 
the  day  of  the  midnight  culmination  of  the  Pleiades,  November  I  7,  no  petition  was  pre- 
sented in  vain  to  the  ancient  Kings  of  Persia ;  the  same  event  gave  the  signal  at  Busiris 
for  the  commencement  of  the  feast  of  Isis,  and  regulated  less  immediately  the  celebra- 
tion connected  with  the  fifty-two-year  cycle  of  the  Mexicans.  Savage  Australian  tribes  to 
this  day  dance  in  honor  of  the  "  Seven  Stars,"  because  "  they  are  very  good  to  the  black 
fellows."  The  Abipones  of  Brazil  regard  them  with  pride  as  their  ancestors.  Elsewhere, 
the  origin  of  fire  and  the  knowledge  of  rice-culture  are  traced  to  them.  They  are  the 
"hoeing-ttan"  of  South  Africa,  take  the  place  of  a  farming-calendar  to  the  Solomon  Island- 
ers, and  their  last  visible  rising  after  sunset  is,  or  has  been,  celebrated  with  rejoicings  all 
over  the  southern  hemisphere  as  betokening  the  "  waking-up  time  "  to  agricultural  activity. 

They  also  were  a  sign  to  ancient  husbandmen  as  to  the  seeding-time ; 
Vergil  alluding  to  this  in  his  1st  Georgk,  thus  rendered  by  May : 

Some  that  before  the  fall  'oth'  Pleiades 
Began  to  sowe,  deceaved  in  the  increase, 
Have  reapt  wilde  oates  for  wheate. 

And,  many  centuries  before  him,  Hesiod  said  that  their  appearance  from 
the  sun  indicated  the  approach  of  harvest,  and  their  setting  in  autumn  the 
time  for  the  new  sowing;  while  Aristotle  wrote  that  honey  was  never 
gathered  before  their  rising.  Nearly  all  classical  poets  and  prose  writers 
made  like  reference  to  them. 

Mommsen  found  in  their  rising,  from  the  21st  to  the  25th  of  the  Attic 
month  BapyrjXiuyv,  May-June,  the  occasion  for  the  prehistoric  festival 
UZvvrfjpia,  Athene's  Clothes-washing,  at  the  beginning  of  the  corn  harvest, 
and  the  date  for  the  annual  election  of  the  Achaeans ;  while  Drach  sur- 
mised that  their  midnight  culmination  in  the  time  of  Moses,  ten  days  after 
the  autumnal  equinox,  may  have  fixed  the  day  of  atonement  on  the  10th 
of  Tishri.  Their  rising  in  November  marked  the  time  for  worship  of  de- 
ceased friends  by  many  of  the  original  races  of  the  South, —  a  custom  also 
seen  with  more  civilized  peoples,  notably  among  the  Parsis  and  Sabaeans, 
as  also  in  the  Druids'  midnight  rites  of  the  1st  of  November;  while  a 
recollection  of  it  is  found  in  the  three  holy  days  of  our  time,  All  Hallow 
Eve,  All  Saints'  Day,  and  All  Souls'  Day. 

Hippocrates  made  much  of  the  Pleiades,  dividing  the  year  into  four 
seasons,  all  connected  with  their  positions  in  relation  to  the  sun ;  his  winter 
beginning  with  their  setting  and  ending  with  the  spring  equinox ;  spring 
lasting  till  their  rising;  the  summer,  from  their  appearing  to  the  rising  of 
Arcturus;  and  the  autumn,  till  their  setting  again.  And  Caesar  made  their 
heliacal  rising  begin  the  Julian  summer,  and  their  cosmical  setting  the  com- 
mencement of  winter.  In  classic  lore  the  Pleiades  were  the  heavenly  group 
26 


402  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

chosen  with  the  sun  by  Jove  to  manifest  his  power  in  favor  of  Atreus  by 
causing  them  to  move  from  east  to  west. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  all  that  we  read  so  favorable  to  the  high  re- 
gard in  which  these  stars  were  held,  they  were  considered  by  the  astrologers 
as  portending  blindness  and  accidents  to  sight,  a  reputation  shared  with 
all  other  clusters.  The  Arabs,  especially,  thought  their  forty  days'  disap- 
pearance in  the  sun's  rays  was  the  occasion  of  great  harm  to  mankind,  and 
Muhammad  wrote  that  "  when  the  star  rises  all  harm  rises  from  the  earth." 
But  Hippocrates  had  differently  written  in  his  Epidemics,  a  thousand  years 
before,  of  the  connection  of  the  Pleiades  with  the  weather,  and  of  their  in- 
fluence on  diseases  of  autumn : 

until  the  season  of  the  Pleiades,  and  at  the  approach  of  winter,  many  ardent  fevers  set  in; 

and: 

in  autumn,  and  under  the  Pleiades,  again  there  died  great  numbers. 

Although  the  many  legends  of  their  origin  are  chiefly  from  Mediterranean 
countries,  yet  the  Teutonic  nations  have  a  very  singular  one  associated 
with  our  Saviour.  It  says  that  once,  when  passing  by  a  baker's  shop,  and 
attracted  by  the  odor  of  newly  baked  bread,  He  asked  for  a  loaf;  but  being 
refused  by  the  baker,  was  secretly  supplied  by  the  wife  and  six  daughters 
standing  by.  In  reward  they  were  placed  in  the  sky  as  the  Seven  Stars, 
while  the  baker  became  a  cuckoo; x  and  so  long  as  he  sings  in  the  spring, 
from  Saint  Tiburtius1  Day,  April  14th,  to  Saint  John's  Day,  June  24th,  his  wife 
and  daughters  are  visible.  Following  this  story,  the  Pleiades  are  the  Gaelic 
Crannarain,  the  Baker's  Peel,  or  Shovel,  a  title  shared  with  Ursa  Major. 

Another,  still  homelier,  but  appropriately  feminine,  name  is  hinted  at  in 
Holland's  translation  from  the  Historia  Naturalis,  where  Pliny  treats  of 
"  the  star  Vergiliae  " : 

So  evident  in  the  heaven,  and  easiest  to  be  known  of  all  others,  it  is  called  by  the  name 
of  a  garment  hanging  out  at  a  Broker's  shop. 

Those  who  have  traced  out  the  origin  of  the  title  Petticoat  Lane  for  the 
well-known  London  street  will  recognize  what  Pliny  had  in  mind. 

In  various  ages  their  title  has  been  taken  for  noteworthy  groups  of  seven 
in  philosophy  or  literature.  This  we  see  first  in  the  Philosophical  Pleiad 
of  620  to  550  b.  c,  otherwise  known  as  the  Seven  Wise  Men  of  Greece,  or 
the  Seven  Sages,  generally  given  as  Bias,  Chilo,  Cleobulus,  Epimenides  or 

l  May  it  not  be  from  this  that  comes  the  English  term  "  Cuckoo  Bread,"  that  we  find  in  Mrs. 
Dana's  and  Miss  Satterlee's  delightful  book.  How  to  Know  the  Wild  Flowers,  for  the  Jow 
flowering  Oxalis,  the  dainty  Wood  Sorrel  of  our  northern  groves  ? 


The  Constellation^  403 

Periander,  Pittacus,  Solon,  and  the  astronomer  Thales ;  again  in  the  Alex- 
andrian Literary  Pleiad,  or  the  Tragic  Pleiades,  instituted  in  the  3d  cen- 
tury b.  c.  by  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  and  composed  of  the  seven  contemporary 
poets,  variously  given,  but  often  as  Apollonius  of  Rhodes,  Callimachus 
or  Philiscus,  Homer  the  Younger  of  Hierapolis  in  Caria,  Lycophron, 
Nicander,  Theocritus,  and  our  Aratos ;  in  the  Literary  Pleiad  of  Charle- 
magne, himself  one  of  the  Seven ;  in  the  Great  P16iade  of  France,  of  the  16th 
century,  brought  together  in  the  reign  of  Henri  III,  some  say  by  Ronsard, 
the  "  Prince  of  Poets,"  others  by  d'Aurat,  or  Dorat,  the  "  Modern  Pindar," 
called  "Auratus,"  either  in  punning  allusion  to  his  name  or  from  the 
brilliancy  of  his  genius,  and  the  "  Dark  Star,"  from  his  silence  among  his 
companions;  and  in  the  Lesser  Pleiade,  of  inferior  lights,  in  the  subsequent 
reign  of  Louis  XIII.  Lastly  appear  the  Pleiades  of  Connecticut,  the 
popular,  perhaps  ironical,  designation  for  the  seven  patriotic  poets  after 
our  Revolutionary  War :  Richard  Alsop,  Joel  Barlow,  Theodore  Dwight, 
Timothy  Dwight,  Lemuel  Hopkins,  David  Humphreys,  and  John  Trum- 
bull,—  all  good  men  of  Yale. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  when,  and  by  whom,  the  titles  of  the  seven 
sisters  were  applied  to  the  individual  stars  as  we  have  them;  but  now  they 
are  catalogued  nine  in  all,  the  parents  being  included.  These  last,  how- 
ever, seem  to  be  a  comparatively  modern  addition,  the  first  mention  of 
them  that  I  find  —  in  Riccioli's  A  Image  stum  Novum  of  1651  —  reading: 

Michael  Florentius  Langrenius  l  lllarum  exactam  figuram  observavit,  &  ad  me  misit,  in 
qua  additae  sunt  duae  Stellae  aliis  innominatae,  quas  ipse  vocal  Atlantem,  &  Pleionem ; 
nescio  an  sint  illae,  quas  Vendelinus  ait  observari  tanquam  novas,  quia  mod 6  apparent, 
modo  latent. 

.     .     .     the  great  and  burning  star, 
Immeasurably  old,  immeasurably  far, 
Surging  forth  its  silver  flame 
Through  eternity,  .  .  .  Alcyone ! 

Archibald  Lampman's  Alcyone. 

f\,  or  Fl.  25,    3,     greenish  yellow. 

Alcyone  represents  in  the  sky  the  Atlantid  nymph  who  became  the  mother 
of  Hyrieus  by  Poseidon;  but,  though  now  the  Light  of  the  Pleiades,  its  mytho- 
logical original  was  by  no  means  considered  the  most  beautiful.  Riccioli 
wrote  the  word  Aloione  and  Aloinoe,  and  some  early  manuscripts  have  Altione. 

The  early  Arabs  called  it  Al  Jauz,  the  Walnut ;  Al  Jauzah  or  Al  Wasat, 
the  Central  One;  and  Al  Hair,  the  Bright  One;— all  of  Al  Thurayya.  The 

^his  Michel  Florent  van  Langren  was  of  Antwerp,  a  contemporary  and  friend  of  Riccioli, 
and  associated  with  him  in  giving  names  to  the  various  features  of  the  moon's  surface. 


404  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

later  Al  Achsasi  added  to  this  list  Thanr  al  Thurayya,  which,  literally  the 
Bull  of  the  Pleiades,  i.  e.  the  Leading  One,  probably  was  a  current  title 
in  his  day,  for  his  Italian  contemporary  Riccioli  said,  in  his  Astnmotma 
Reformata,  that  the  lucida  "  Alcinoe  "  was  Altorich  turn  Athorric  Hip- 
parch  os  has  been  supposed  to  allude  to  it  in  his  6£vc,  and  <JfvraTOf,  rfc 
nXeiddog,  the  Bright  One,  and  the  Brightest  One,  of  the  Pleiad.  Yet,  in 
the  face  of  these  epithets,  Ptolemy  apparently  did  not  mention  it  in  the 
Sytitaxis;  while  Baily,  in  his  edition  of  Hyde's  translation  of  Ulug  Beg's 
lablts,  affixed  Flamsteed's  25  and  Bayer's  i\  to  the  32d  star  of  Taurus, 
which  is  described  as  stella  externa  minuta  vergiliarum^  quae  est  ad  latus 
boreale$—o\ix  Atlas. 

In  Babylonia  it  determined  the  4th  ecliptic  constellation,  Temennu,  the 
Foundation  Stone. 

In  India  it  was  the  junction  star  of  the  nakshatras  Krittika  and  Rohini. 
and  individually  Amba,  the  Mother;  while  Hewitt  says  that  in  earlier 
Hindu  literature  it  was  Arundhati,  wedded  to  Vashishtfia,  the  chief  of  the 
Seven  Sages,  as  her  sisters  were  to  the  six  other  Rishis  of  Ursa  Major;  and 
that  every  newly  married  couple  worshiped  them  on  first  entering  their 
future  home  before  they  worshiped  the  pole-star.  He  thinks  this  a  symbol 
of  the  prehistoric  union  of  the  northern  and  southern  tribes  of  India. 

We  often  see  the  assertion  that  our  title  is  in  no  way  connected  with 
'Akitv&v,  the  Halcyon,  that  "  symbolic  or  mystical  bird,  early  identified 
with  the  Kingfisher,"  the  ornithological  Alcedo  or  Ceryle ;  so  that  although 
the  myth  of  the  Halcyon  Days,  that  "  clement  and  temperate  time,  the 
nurse  of  the  beautiful  Halcyon," 

When  birds  of  calm  sit  brooding  on  the  charmed  wave, 

is  not  yet  understood,  some  of  Thompson's  conjectures  as  to  its  stellar 
aspect  will  be  found  interesting.     He  writes  that 

the  story  originally  referred  to  some  astronomical  phenomenon,  probably  in  connexion 
with  the  Pleiades,  of  which  constellation  Alcyone  is  the  principal  star.  In  what  appears 
to  have  been  the  most  vigorous  period  of  ancient  astronomy  (not  later  than  2000  P.  c, 
but  continuing  long  afterwards  to  influence  legend  and  nomenclature)  the  sun  rose  at  the 
vernal  equinox,  in  conjunction  with  the  Pleiad,  in  the  sign  Taurus:  the  Pleiad  is  in  many 
languages  associated  with  bird-names  .  .  .  and  I  am  inclined  to  take  the  bird  on  the  bull's 
back  in  coins  of  Eretria,  Dicaea,  and  Thurii  for  the  associated  constellation  of  the  Pleiad. 
.  .  .  Suidas  definitely  asserts  that  the  Pleiades  were  called  'AAxvovef.  At  the  winter  sol- 
stice, in  the  same  ancient  epoch,  the  Pleiad  culminated  at  nightfall  in  mid-heaven.  .  •  • 
This  culmination,  between  three  and  four  months  after  the  heliacal  rising  of  the  Pleiad  in 
Autumn,  was,  I  conjecture,  symbolized  as  the  nesting  of  the  Halcyon.  Owing  to  the  an- 
tiquity and  corruption  of  the  legend,  it  is  impossible  to  hazard  more  than  a  conjecture; 
but  that  the  phenomenon  was  in  some  form  an  astronomic  one  I  have  no  doubt 


The  Constellations  405 

Madler  located  in  Alcyone  the  centre  of  the  universe,  but  his  theory  has 
been  shown  to  be  fallacious.  There  is  no  satisfactory  reason  for  his  con- 
clusion, and  not  much  more  for  Miss  Clerke's  remarks  as  to  the  probable 
size  and  distance  of  Alcyone, —  that  it  shines  to  its  sister  stars  with  eighty- 
three  times  the  lustre  of  Sirius  in  terrestrial  skies,  while  its  intrinsic  bril- 
liancy, as  compared  with  that  of  the  sun,  is  1000  times  greater.  All  this 
rests  upon  the  extremely  doubtful  assumption  of  a  parallax  of  o".oi3  de- 
duced from  the  star's  proper  motion. 

It  culminates  on  the  31st  of  December. 

The  three  little  companions,  easily  visible  with  a  low-power,  form  a  beau- 
tiful triangle  3'  away  from  Alcyone. 

Multi  ante  occasum  Maiae  coepere. 

Vergil's  xst  Gtorgic. 

Fl.  20,  or  Bessel's  c,    4. 

Maia  appears  in  the  motto  as  personifying  all  the  Pleiad  stars,  and  the 
poet  cautions  the  farmer  against  sowing  his  grain  before  the  time  of  its 
setting. 

She  was  the  first-born  and  most  beautiful  of  the  sisters,  and  some  have 
said  that  her  star  was  the  most  luminous  of  the  group ;  in  fact,  Riccioli, 
in  his  Aimagestum  Novum,  distinctly  wrote  of  Maia:  dicta  lucida  Pleia- 
dum  &*  tertii  honoris,  quae  mater  Mercurii  perhibetur,  although  in  the 
Astronomia  Reform  at  a  his  "  Alcinoe  "  is  the  lucida  ;  so  that  we  are  uncer- 
tain which  of  these  stars  was  the  Pleiaa  that  he  used  for  some  one  of  the 
group.  But  the  mythological  importance  of  the  goddess  whose  name  Maia 
bears  would  indicate  that  Riccioli  may  have  been  correct  as  to  the  first  of 
these  identifications,  and  that  the  titles  of  the  two  stars  perhaps  should  be 
interchanged. 

The  name  also  is  written  Mea  and  Maja,  the  feminine  form  of  ma/us,  an 
older  form  of  magnus.  Cicero  had  the  word  Majja,  calling  the  Pleiad 
sanctissitna,  for  in  his  day  Maia  was  only  another  figure  for  the  great  and 
much  named  Rhea-Cybele,  Fauna,  Faula,  Fatua,  Ops,  familiarly  known  as 
Ma,  or  Maia  Maiestas,  the  Bona  Dea,  or  Great  and  Fruitful  Mother,  who 
gave  name  to  the  Roman  month,  our  May. 

Ovid  added  to  her  title  Pleias  uda,  the  Moist  Pleiad,  as  another  symbol 
for  the  group;  and  Dante  used  her  title  for  the  planet  Mercury,  as  the  At- 
lantid  was  mother  of  that  god. 

The  equivalent  Maou,  for  the  Pleiades  in  China,  is  singularly  like  the 
Latin  word. 
26* 


406  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  nebula  attached  to  this  star,  a  part  of  the  general  nebulosity  that 
envelops  the  group,  was  first  noticed  in  1882  on  photographs  by  Pickering 
and  the  Messrs.  Henry. 


.    .     .    the  lost  Pleiad  seen  no  more  below. 

Byron's  Btfpo. 

Fl.  17,  or  £,     4.6. 

Eleetra,  although  for  at  least  two  or  three  centuries  the  title  of  a  clearly 
visible  star,  has  been  regarded  as  the  Lost  Pleiad,  from  the  legend  that  she 
withdrew  her  light  in  sorrow  at  witnessing  the  destruction  of  Ilium,  which 
was  founded  by  her  son  Dardanos, —  as  witness  Ovid  in  the  Fasti: 

Electra  Trojae  spectare  ruinas 
Non  tulit  ante  oculos,  opposuitque  manum ; 

or,  as  Hyginus  wrote,  left  her  place  to  be  present  at  its  fall,  thence  wander- 
ing off  as  a  hair-star,  or  comet ;  or,  reduced  in  brilliancy,  settled  down  close 
to  Mizar  as  'AXtonrj^,  the  Fox,  the  Arabs'  Al  Suha,  and  our  Alcor.  In  the 
Harleian  Manuscript  the  word  is  written  Electa. 

Ovid  called  her  Atlantis,  personifying  the  family. 

The  Pirt-Kopan-noot  tribe  of  Australia  have  a  legend  of  a  Lost  Pleiad, 
making  this  the  queen  of  the  other  six,  beloved  by  their  heavenly  Crow, 
our  Canopus,  and  who,  carried  away  by  him,  never  returned  to  her  home. 


Thy  beauty  shrouded  by  the  heavy  veil 

Thy  wedlock  won. 

Elixabeth  Worthington  Fiske. 

Fl.  23,  or  </,    5,    silvery  white. 

Merope  often  is  considered  the  Lost  Pleiad,  because,  having  married  a 
mortal,  the  crafty  Sisyphus,  she  hid  her  face  in  shame  when  she  thought 
of  her  sisters'  alliances  with  the  gods,  and  realized  that  she  had  thrown  her- 
self away.  She  seems,  however,  to  have  recovered  her  equanimity,  being 
now  much  brighter  than  some  of  the  others.  The  name  itself  signifies 
"Mortal." 

This  star  is  enveloped  in  a  faintly  extended,  triangular,  nebulous  haze, 
visually  discovered  by  Tempel  in  October,  1859  >  an(*  there  is  a  small,  dis- 
tinct nebula,  discovered  by  Barnard  in  November,  1890,  close  by  Merope, 
almost  hidden  in  its  radiance,  although  intrinsically  very  bright. 


The  Constellations  407 

Taygete  simul  os  terris  ostendit  hones  turn  Pleias. 

Vergil's  4th  Georgic. 

Fl.  19,  or  e9  Double,    5.1  and  10,    lucid  white  and  violet. 

Taygete,  or  Taygeta,  a  name  famous  in  Spartan  story  for  the  mother  of 
Lace  daemon  by  Zeus,  was  mentioned  by  Ovid  and  Vergil  as  another  repre- 
sentative of  this  stellar  family;  the  former  calling  it  Boror  Pleiadum,  and 
the  latter  using  it  to  fix  the  two  seasons  of  the  honey  harvest,  as  in  David- 
son's translation  of  the  passage  beginning  with  our  motto : 

as  soon  as  the  Pleiad  Taygete  has  displayed  her  comely  face  to  the  earth,  and  spurns  with 
her  foot  the  despised  waters  of  the  ocean ;  or  when  the  same  star,  flying  the  constellation 
of  the  watery  Fish,  descends  in  sadness  from  the  sky  into  the  wintery  waves. 

Ulug  Beg  applied  to  it  Al  Waaat,  the  Central  One,  usually  and  more 
appropriately  given  to  Alcyone. 

Bayer  lettered  it  q,  describing  it  as  Pleiadum  minima;  but  the  Century 
Cyclopedia's  £  is  a  misprint  for  e. 

And  is  there  glory  from  the  heavens  departed  ? 
— Oh!  void  unmarkld! — thy  sisters  of  the  sky 
Still  hold  their  place  on  high, 
Though  from  its  rank  thine  orb  so  long  hath  started, 
Thou,  that  no  more  art  seen  of  mortal  eye. 

Mrs.  Hemans'  The  Lett  Pleiad. 

Fl.  16,  or  g,   6.5,     silvery  white. 

CeLaeno,  or  Celeno,  has  been  called  the  Lost  Pleiad,  which  Theon  the 
Younger  said  was  struck  by  lightning  I 

It  gives  but  one  half  the  light  of  Taygete ;  still  it  can  be  seen  with  the 
naked  eye,  if  a  good  one,  and  is  so  given  in  the  Heis  Verzeichniss. 

The  Sister  Stars  that  once  were  seven 
Mourn  for  their  missing  mate  in  Heaven. 

Alfred  Austin. 

FL  21  and  Fl.  22,  or  k  and  /,    6.5  and  7. 

Sterope  I  and  Sterope  II,  less  correctly  Asterope,  are  a  widely  double 
star  at  the  upper  edge  of  the  rising  cluster,  and  faintly  visible  only  by  rea- 
son of  the  combined  light ;  so  that  Al  Sufi's  5th  magnitude  seems  large. 

Ovid  made  use  of  Steropes  sidufl  to  symbolize  the  whole,  but  the  present 
magnitudes  would  show  that  his  star  —  if,  indeed,  he  referred  to  any  special 


408  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

star  at  all,  as  is  improbable  —  was  not  ours,  or  else  that  a  change  in 
brilliancy  has  taken  place.  In  fact,  this  also,  and  not  without  reason,  has 
been  called  the  Lost  Pleiad. 

Atlas,  that  on  his  brazen  shoulders  rolls 
Yon  heaven,  the  ancient  mansion  of  the  gods. 

Potter's  translation  of  Euripides'  *lwr. 

Fl.  27,  or/,  Double,    4.5,    intense  white. 

Atlas  was  Pater  Atlas  with  Riccioli,  apparently  having  been  added  in 
his  day  to  the  original  group  of  the  seven  daughters.  It  was  of  him  that 
Ovid  wrote : 

Pleiades  incipiunt  nmeros  relevare  paternos ; 

for  their  setting  relieved  the  father  of  some  of  his  burden  as  bearer  of  the 
heavens. 

With  Pleione  it  marks  the  end  of  the  handle  of  the  Pleiad  Dipper,  and 
probably  has  a  very  minute,  close  companion,  said  to  have  been  discovered 
by  Struve  in  1827,  and  again  revealed,  at  an  occultation  by  the  moon, 
on  the  6th  of  January,  1876. 

Hinc  sata  Pleione  cnm  caelifero  Atlante 
Jungitur,  ut  fama  est,  Pleladasqne  parit. 

Ovid's  Fasti. 

Fl.  28,  or  A,    6.5. 

Pleione,  Riccioli's  Mater  Pleione,  and  Plione,  were  equally  modern 
additions,  although  Valerius  Flaccus  used  the  word  to  personify  the  whole. 

As  the  spectrum  of  this  star  shows  the  bright  lines  of  hydrogen  like  that 
of  P  Cygni,  Pickering  suggests  that  it  may  similarly  have  had  a  temporary 
brilliancy  and  thus  be  the  Lost  Pleiad :  a  scientific  and  —  if  there  ever  has 
been  in  historic  time  a  star  in  the  cluster  that  is  now  missing  —  the  most 
probable  solution  of  this  much  discussed  question;  so  that  the  mother 
seems  to  have  been  lost,  as  well  as  many  of  the  daughters ! 

The  Harleian  Manuscript  of  Cicero's  Aratos  represents  the  Sisters  by 
plain  female  heads  under  the  title  VII  Pliades  et  AthlanHdes,  and  individu- 
ally as  Merope,  Alcyone,  Celaeno,  Electra,  Ta  Ygete,  Sterope,  and  Maia.1 
Grotius  has  them  in  the  same  way,  but  in  far  more  attractive  style,  from 

1  Other  names,  too,  were  assigned  to  the  mythological  septette ;  the  scholiast  on  Theocritus 
giving  them  as  Coccymo,  Plancia,  Protis,  Parthemia,  Lampatho,  Stonychia,  and  the  familiar 
Maia. 


The  Constellations  409 

the  old  Leyden  Manuscript,  where  we  find  the  orthography  Asterope  and 
Mea,  the  former  of  which,  appearing  with  Germanicus,  has  become  common 
in  our  day.  The  German  manuscript,  dating  from  the  15th  century,  shows 
seven  full-length  figures,  the  Dark  Sister  smaller  than  the  others,  and  wear- 
ing a  dark-blue  head-dress,  the  rest  brighter  in  color,  with  faces  of  true 
German  type. 

While  this  list  includes  all  the  named  Pleiad  stars,  some  practically  in- 
visible without  optica]  aid,  yet  every  increase  of  power  reveals  a  larger 
number.     Riccioli  wrote  about  this  in  1651 : 

Telescopio  autem  spectatae  visae  sunt  Galileo  plus  quam  40.  ut  narratur  in  Nuncio 
Sidereo ; 

a  first-rate  field- glass,  taking  in  3^°  and  magnifying  seven  diameters,  shows 
57 ;  Hooke,  in  1664,  saw  78  with  the  best  telescope  of  his  day;  Swift  sees 
300  with  his  4j£-inch,  and  600  with  his  16-inch;  and  Wolf  catalogued,  at 
the  Paris  Observatory  in  1876, 625  in  a  space  of  90'  by  135'.  But  with  the 
camera  the  Messrs.  Henry  photographed  1421  in  1885,  and  two  years 
later,  by  a  four-hours'  exposure,  2326  down  to  the  16th  magnitude  within 
three  square  degrees, —  more  than  are  visible  at  any  one  time  by  the  naked 
eye  in  the  whole  sky.  And  a  recent  photograph  by  Bailey,  with  the  Bruce 
telescope,  reveals  3972  stars  in  the  region  20  square  around  Alcyone; 
although  there  is  no  certainty  that  all  of  these  belong  to  the  Pleiades  group. 
Statements  as  to  their  magnitudes  and  distances  make  many  of  them  ex- 
ceed Sirius  in  size,  and  to  be  250  light  years  away;  but  these  are  based 
upon  an  assumption  of  parallax  as  yet  only  hypothetical.  But,  if  correct, 
how  appropriate  are  Young's  verses  in  his  Night  Thoughts: 

How  distant  some  of  these  nocturnal  Sans ! 
So  distant  (says  the  Sage)  'twere  not  absurd 
To  doubt,  if  Beams  set  out  at  Nature's  Birth, 
Are  yet  arrived  at  this  so  foreign  World 
Tho'  nothing  half  so  rapid  as  their  Flight ; 

and  Longfellow's  stanza  in  his  Ode  to  Charles  Sumner: 

Were  a  star  quenched  on  high, 

For  ages  would  its  light, 
Still  travelling  downward  from  the  sky, 

Shine  on  our  mortal  sight. 

While  some  of  these  undoubtedly  are  only  optically  connected  with  the 
true  Pleiades,  yet  the  larger  part  seem  to  form  a  more  or  less  united  group, 


41  o  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

which  the  spectroscope  shows  to  be  of  the  same  general  type;  this  fact 
being  first  brought  out  by  Harvard  observers  in  1886,  from  comparisons 
of  the  spectra  of  forty  of  its  stars.  They  are  supposed  to  be  drifting  to- 
gether toward  the  south-southwest,  and  so  may  be  called  a  natural  con- 
stellation. 

Nicander  wrote  of  them  as  <U/'£a>vac,  "  the  smaller  ones  " ;  Manilius,  as 
tertia  forma  y  "the  third-sized" ;  and  many  think  that  the  light  of  some  has 
decreased,  not  only  from  the  legends  of  the  Lost  Pleiad  and  the  fact  that 
some  of  the  sisters'  names  are  applied  to  stars  which  could  not  possibly 
have  been  seen  by  the  unaided  eye,  but  also  because  only  six  are  now  visi- 
ble to  the  average  observer,  and  whoever  can  see  seven  can  as  readily  see 
at  least  two  more.  Miss  Airy  counted  twelve ;  Mr.  Dawes,  thirteen ;  and 
Kepler  said  that  his  scholar  Michel  Mostlin  could  distinguish  fourteen, 
and  had  correctly  mapped  eleven  before  the  invention  of  the  telescope, 
while  others  have  done  about  as  well ;  indeed  Carl  von  Littrow  has  seen 
sixteen.  In  the  clear  air  of  the  tropic  highlands  more  of  the  group  are  visi- 
ble than  to  us  in  northern  latitudes, —  from  the  Harvard  observing  station  at 
Arequipa,  Peru,  eleven  being  readily  seen ;  so  that  Willis  was  unconsciously 
right  in  his  verses : 

the  linked  Pleiades 
Undimm'd  are  there,  though  from  the  sister  band 
The  fairest  has  gone  down ;  and  South  away ! 

Smyth  wrote : 

If  we  admit  the  influence  of-  variability  at  long  periods,  the  seven  in  number  may  hare 
been  more  distinct,  so  that  while  Homer  and  Attalus  speak  of  six,  Hipparchus  and  Aratas 
may  properly  mention  seven. 

Yet  we  find  Humboldt,  in  Cosmos,  saying  that  Hipparchos  refuted  the 
assertion  of  Aratos  that  only  six  are  to  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye,  and  that 

One  star  escaped  his  attention,  for  when  the  eye  is  attentively  fixed  on  this  constella- 
tion, on  a  serene  and  moonless  night,  seven  stars  are  visible. 

But  Aratos*  words  do  not  justify  this  statement  as  to  his  opinion.  He 
wrote : 

seven  paths  aloft  men  say  they  take, 
Yet  six  alone  are  viewed  by  mortal  eyes. 
From  Zeus'  abode  no  star  unknown  is  lost 
Since  first  from  birth  we  heard,  but  thus  the  tale  is  told; 


The  Constellations  41 1 

this  "  seven  paths,"  inTtiTropoi,  being  first  found  in  the  Tj}<to£  attributed  to 
Euripides.  Eratosthenes  called  it  UXeidc  InrdoTepo?,  the  Seven-starred 
Pleiad,  although  he  described  one  as  Uavatfmvrj^  All-invisible;  Ovid  re- 
peated from  the  Phainomena  the  now  trite 

Quae  septem  did,  sex  tamen  esse  solent ; 
and  again : 

Six  only  are  visible,  but  the  seventh  is  beneath  the  dark  clouds. 

Cicero  thought  of  them  in  the  same  way ;  and  Galileo  wrote  Dico  autem  sex, 
quando  quidcm  septimafere  nunquam  apparet  But  the  early  Copts  knew 
them  as  "Egaorpov,  the  Six-starred  Asterism,  and  many  Hindu  legends  men- 
tion only  six. 

Discarding,  of  course,  all  the  mythical  explanations  of  the  Lost  Pleiad,  I 
would  notice  some  of  the  modern  and  serious  attempts  at  an  elucidation  of 
the  supposed  phenomenon.     DQctor  Charles  Anthon  considered  it  founded 
solely  upon  the  imagination,  and  not  upon  any  accurate  observation  in 
antiquity.     Jensen  thinks  that,  as  a  favorite  object  in  Babylonia,  the  astron- 
omers of  that  country  attached  to  it,  with  no  regard  to  exactitude,  their  num- 
ber of  perfection  or  completeness,  7  playing  with  them  a  more  important 
part  even  than  it  did  among  the  Jews;  thence  it  descended  to  Greece, 
where,  its  origin  being  lost  sight  of,  was  caused  the  discrepancy  which 
we  cannot  now  explain,  as  well  as  the  legends  and  folk-lore  on  the  subject. 
Lamb  asserted  that  the  astronomers  of  Assyria  could  see  in  their  sky 
seven  stars  in  the  group,  and  so  described  them ;  but  the  Greeks,  less  favor- 
ably situated,  finding  only  six,  invented  the  story  of  the  missing  sister. 
Riccioli  propounded  a  theory — which  I  have  nowhere  found  adopted  by 
any  later  writer  —  that  the  seventh  and  missing  Pleiad  may  have  been  a 
nova  appearing  before  that  number  was  recorded  by  observers,  but  extin- 
guished about  the  date  of  the  Trojan  war;  this  last  idea  accounting,  too, 
for  the  association  of  Electra  with  the  lost  one.    Still  another  explanation 
is  hinted  at  by  Thompson  under  Coma  Berenices;  and  the  really  scientific 
theories  of  Smyth  and  Pickering  have  already  been  noticed.     It  is  in  these 
last  two,  I  think,  that  the  solution  of  this  interesting  question  will  be  found, 
if  at  all;  and  with  the  astronomers  I  would  leave  it,  as  perhaps  I  ought  to 
have  done  before. 

Ptolemy  mentioned  Ukeidg  for  only  four  stars  in  Tavpog  that  Baily  said 
were  Flamsteed's  18,  19,  23,  and  27,  our  Alcyone  singularly  being  disre- 
garded, as  well  as  four  others  of  our  named  stars ;  and  Al  Sufi,  who  revised 
Ptolemy's  observations,  stated  that  this  "  Alexandrian  Quartette  "  also  were 


412  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

the  brightest  in  his  day  —  the  ioth  century.  But  Ulug  Beg,  although  he 
is  supposed  to  have  followed  Ptolemy,  applied  "  Al  Thurayya  "  to  the  five 
that  Baily  said  were  Fl.  19,  23,  21,  22,  and  25  (Alcyone).  Baily  himself, 
editing  Hyde's  translation  of  Ulug  Beg,  gave  only  Fl.  19  and  23  as  of 
"  Al  Thuraja." 

Recent  photographic  observations  have  revealed  other  nebulous  matter, 
in  different  degrees  of  condensation,  scattered  throughout  the  cluster,  con- 
necting its  various  members;  while  Barnard  in  1894  found  vast  nebulosity 
extendin  g  almost  as  far  as  Z,  Persei. 

The  Pleiades  afford  so  convincing  a  proof  of  the  popular  misapprehen- 
sion as  to  the  moon's  apparent  magnitude  that  I  am  tempted  to  introduce 
another  illustration  drawn  from  these  stars.  The  angular  distance  between 
Alcyone  and  Electra  and  between  Merope  and  Taygeta  is  greater  by  sev- 
eral minutes  than  the  mean  angular  diameter  of  the  moon's  disc, —  31'  7",-- 
so  that  the  latter  could  be  inserted  within  the  quadrangle  formed  by  those 
four  stars  with  plenty  of  room  to  spare ;  although  in  looking  at  the  cluster 
the  impression  is  that  our  satellite  would  cover  the  whole.  An  occultation 
of  the  Pleiades  by  the  moon  gives  a  vivid  realization  of  this  fact ;  and  as 
this  is  a  not  infrequent  phenomenon,  I  commend  its  observation  to  any 
unbeliever. 

9  and  82,     4.1  and  $.6,    pearly  white  and  yellowish, 

form  a  naked-eye  double  in  the  Hyades  to  which  Mr.  William  Peck  applies 
the  name  Alya ;  but,  as  this  is  inappropriate  and  found  with  no  other 
author  for  these  stars,  may  we  not  suspect  error  in  transcription  ? — this  title 
belonging  by  universal  recognition  to  another  01, —  that  of  Serpens. 

Although  337"  apart,  our  thttas  may  be  in  physical  relation  to  each  other. 

*,  with  ky  /,  «,  and  o,  between  the  horns,  all  of  about  the  5th  magnitude, 
were  the  Chinese  Choo  Wang,  the  Many  Princes. 


X1  and  %2,    4.4  and  6.5,  and    o,    4.3 ; 
<p,  Double,    5.1  and  8,  and    ^,  Double,     5.6  and  8, 

stretching  from  the  left  eye  to  the  left  ear  of  the  Bull,  were  the  Arabs'  Al 
Kalbain,  the  Two  Dogs,  1.  e.  of  Al  Dabaran,  who,  as  the  Driver  of  the 
Pleiades,  would  naturally  have  his  dogs  as  near-by  attendants. 

Reeves  included  0,  #,  and  ^  in  the  Chinese  Li  Blub,  a  Coarse  Sandstone; 
X  and  v  in  Tien  Keae,  the  Heavenly  Street ;  and  n  and  p,  of  the  5th  mag- 


The  Constellations  413 

nitude,  with  other  small  stars  near  the  Hyades,  in  Tien  Toe,  Heaven's 
Festival, 

A  pair  of  nth- magnitude  stars,  4/;.9  apart,  lies  between  the  kappas;  the 
phi  stars,  yellow  and  orange  in  color,  are  53". 6  apart ;  and  the  components 
of  x,  white  and  bluish  white,  are  i9/;.3  apart. 


gaum  (pomdtotrii,  (poniafotwftt'B  (gtoff, 

the  Taurus  Begalis  of  Houzeau,  is  the  Taurean  Boyal  of  the  French ;  Toro 
di  Poniatowiki  of  the  Italians ;  Poniatowsky's  Stier  of  the  Germans ;  and, 
on  the  Stieler  Planisphere,  Poln  Stier,  the  Polish  Bull 

It  was  made  up  from  unformed  stars  of  Ophiuchus,  Smyth  writes, 

in  1777  by  the  Abbe*  Poczobut,  of  Wilna,  in  honour  of  Stanislaus  Poniatowski,  King  of 
Poland ;  a  formal  permission  to  that  effect  having  been  obtained  from  the  French  Acad- 
emy. It  is  between  the  shoulder  of  Ophiuchus  and  the  Eagle,  where  some  stars  form  the 
letter  V,  and  from  a  fancied  resemblance  to  the  zodiac-bull  and  the  Hyades,  became  another 
Taurus.  Poczobut  was  content  with  seven  component  stars,  but  Bode  has  scraped  to- 
gether no  fewer  than  eighty, — 

of  course  chiefly  telescopic,  for  only  20  to  25  are  visible  to  the  unaided 
eye ;  but  as  a  distinct  constellation  it  is  not  generally  recognized  by  astrono- 
mers, and  its  stars  have  been  returned  to  Ophiuchus. 

We  have  no  individual  names  for  any  of  these,  but  sundry  small  ones  in 
the  head  were  the  Chinese  Tiling  Ting,  or  Tsung  Jin,  a  Relative. 

A  century  and  a  half  before  Poczobut's  time  these  stars,  with  those  of 
our  Vulpecula,  had  been  introduced  by  Bartsch  into  his  plates  as  the  River 
Tigris,  although  this  probably  had  previously  been  a  recognized  constella- 
tion. Its  course  was  from  0  and  y,  in  the  right  shoulder  of  Ophiuchus, 
onwards  between  Aquila  and  the  left  hand  of  Hercules ;  thence  between 
Albireo  (0  Cygni)  and  Sagitta  to  Equuleus  and  the  front  parts  of  Pega- 
sus, ending  at  the  latter's  neck.  This  Tigris  continued  until  as  late  as  1679 
with  Royer,  but  has  long  since  disappeared  from  the  maps,  and  indeed  from 
the  memory  of  most  observers;  while  the  Royal  Bull  itself  seems  to  be 
lapsing  into  similar  obscurity. 

Three  or  four  centuries  before  all  this  the  Arabian  engraver  of  the  Bor- 
gian  globe  appropriately  represented  the  stars  of  this  constellation  by  a 
triangular  figure. 

It  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  10th  of  August. 

Although  it  has  no  named  star,  its  "  70  Ophiuchi,"  the  middle  one  in  the 
eastern  leg  of  the  V,  is  a  celebrated  binary,  with  a  period  of  about  ninety 


414  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

years,  the  components  2"  apart,  at  a  position  angle,  in  the  year  1897,  of 
276°.58.     A  third  invisible  companion  is  suspected. 


&fe0copium,  or  £u6ub  (^sfrcmomtcue, 

was  formed  by  La  Caille  between  Ara  and  Sagittarius  on  the  edge  of  the 
Milky  Way,  but  in  such  irregular  form  that  it  encroached  upon  four  of  the 
old  constellations ;  r\  Sagittarii  having  been  taken  as  /3  to  mark  the  Tele- 
scope's stand;  d  Ophiuchi  for  its  8;  a  was  in  Corona  Australis ;  and  y  was 
the  v  of  Scorpio.  Bode  had  it  in  his  Gestirne  of  1805  as  the  ABtronomiiche 
Fernrohr,  crowding  it  in  between  Sagittarius  and  Scorpio;  but  Baily  and 
Gould  restricted  it  to  the  south  of  Scorpio,  Sagittarius,  and  Corona  Australis. 

Gould  assigned  to  it  87  naked-eye  stars,  the  brightest  a  3 ^-magnitude. 

Small  as  these  are, two  bore  individual  titles  in  Chinese  astronomy;  « 
being  known  as  We,  Danger;  and  y  as  the  mythological  Chuen  Shwa 

The  constellation  culminates  on  the  13th  of  August,  at  the  same  time  as 
Wega  of  the  Lyre. 


£efe0coptum  gewcfcfii 


formed  by  the  Abbe"  Hell  in  1 781,  in  honor  of  Sir  William  Herschel,  was 
first  published  by  Bode  in  1800.  It  lay  between  the  Lynx  and  Gemini 
and  appears  on  Burritt's  Atlas  ;  but  since  his  day  has  passed  away  from  the 
maps  and  catalogues. 

The  star  n  of  Gemini  marks  its  former  location,  the  western  end  having 
been  among  the  i/>  stars  of  Auriga,  not  far  from  the  latter's  0. 


Five  splendid  Stars  in  its  unequal  Frame 
Ddtoton  bears,  and  from  the  shape  a  Name ; 
But  those  that  grace  the  sides  dim  Light  display 
And  yield  unto  the  Basis  brighter  Ray. 

Creech's  ManiHus. 

£ridngufum, 

the  German  Breieok,  the  French  and  English  Triangle,  and  the  Italian 
Triangolo,  appeared  as  Triangulus  in  the  Rudolphine  Tables,  always  quali- 


The  Constellations  415 

fied  as  major  till  the  Lesser  Triangle  was  discarded.  It  lies  just  south  from 
y  Andromedae  on  the  edge  of  the  Milky  Way,  and  although  small  and 
faint  notwithstanding  our  poet's  description,  is  one  of  the  old  constellations 
evidently  more  noticed  by  the  ancients  than  by  us.  They  drew  it  as  equi- 
lateral, but  now  it  is  a  scalene  figure,  0,  6,  y  at  the  base  and  a  at  the  vertex. 

Hood  strangely  said  that  it  was  placed  in  the  heavens  only  that  the  head 
of  Aries  might  be  better  known,  which  recalls  the  blunder  of  Aratos  as  to 
the  faintness  of  Aries'  stars. 

It  was  beXTtorov  with  the  earlier  Greeks,  from  their  similarly  shaped  let- 
ter A,  to  which  Ovid  in  his  Nux  likened  it ;  as  did  Aratos  in  his  lines  that 
Brown  renders,  more  literally  than  rhythmically : 

Below  Andromeda,  in  three  sides  measured 
Like-to-a-Delta ;  equal  two  of  them 
As  it  has,  less  the  third,  yet  good  to  find 
The  sign,  than  many  better  stored  with  stars. 

Transcribed  by  Cicero  and  Hyginus  as  Deltoton,  it  became  Beltotom  with 
the  Romans,  as  well  as  with  astronomers  to  the  17th  century.  Naturally  it 
also  was  Delta,  and  so,  associated  with  Egypt  and  the  Nile,  became 
Aegyptns,  Nilus,  Nili  Domum,  the  Home  of  the  Nile,  which  originally  was 
Mi  Donum,  the  Gift  of  the  Nile,  from  Herodotus'  norafiov  dwpov,  "  the 
river's  gift." 

Tp/ywvov,  used  by  Hipparchos  and  Ptolemy,  became  Trigonum  with 
Vitruvius,  and  Trigonus  with  Manilius,  translated  Trigon  by  Creech.  Tri- 
cnapis,  Three-pointed,  and  Triqnetrum,  the  Trinal  Aspect  of  astrology,  are 
found  for  it ;  while  Bayer  had  Triplicitas  and  Orbis  terrarum  tripertitns  as 
representing  the  three  parts  of  the  earth,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa ;  and 
Triangula*  Septentrionalis,  to  distinguish  it  from  his  own  Southern  Triangle. 

Pious  people  of  his  day  said  that  it  showed  the  Trinity,  its  shape  re- 
sembling the  Greek  initial  letter  of  AZo^;  while  others  of  the  same  sort 
likened  it  to  the  Mitre  of  Saint  Peter. 

Its  titles  Sieilia,  Trinacria,  and  Triqnetra  are  those  of  the  ancients  for 
the  similarly  shaped  island  of  Sicily, —  that  Ceres  had  begged  of  Jove 
might  be  reproduced  in  the  sky, —  triangular  from  its  three  promontories, 
Lilybaeum,  Pelorus,  and  Pachynus,  and  at  times  identified  with  the  mythi- 
cal Thrinakia  of  the  Odyssey \  the  pasture-ground  of  the  Oxen  of  the  Sun, 
that  Gower  called  Mela's  Holy  Ox-land.  In  modern  days  it  has  been 
noted  as  the  site  of  the  famous  Palermo  Observatory. 

It  was  here  that  was  discovered  by  Piazzi,  on  the  first  New  Year  Day 
of  the  present  century,  the  first  minor  planet,  which  he  named  Ceres  For- 


41 6  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

dinandea  in  joint  honor  of  the  patron  goddess  of  the  island  and  of  his  king, 
the  Bourbon  Ferdinand  of  Naples ;  but  the  adjective  has  been  dropped  by 
astronomers  as  not  conforming  to  their  rule  of  mythological  nomenclature 
for  the  planets, —  a  rule,  however,  much  deviated  from  in  recent  times  in  the 
naming  of  these  little  bodies.  Perhaps  the  astronomers  have  exhausted 
their  classical  dictionaries!  It  was  found1  as  an  8th-magnitude  star— 
Flammarion  says  as  a  comet  —  between  Aries  and  Taurus,  coincidently  not 
far  from  our  Triangulum,  the  ancient  Sioilia ;  but  it  was  little  imagined  at 
the  time  that  433  similar  bodies  would  be  found  in  the  next  ninety-seven 
years,  more  than  150  of  them  since  1892,  and  all  but  seven  of  these  last  by 
photography,2  then  an  unknown  art. 

The  Arabians  translated  our  title  as  Al  Mnthftllath,  variously  seen  in 
Western  usage  as  Almutallath,  Almutaleh,  Almutlato,  Mutlat,  Mutkton, 
HnfUthum,  Mutlathun,  and  Mntlatnn,  with  probably  still  other  similarly 
degenerated  forms  of  the  original. 

The  Jews  are  said  to  have  known  it  as  ShaUfth,  from  the  name  of  an  in- 
strument of  music  of  triangular  shape,  or  with  three  cords,  mentioned  in  the 
1st  Book  of  Samuel,  xviii,  6.  This  same  figure,  for  the  three  bright  stars 
of  Aries,  has  already  been  noticed  at  y  of  that  constellation. 

Heis  enumerates  here  30  naked-eye  components,  but  Argelander 
only  15. 

The  Chinese  asterism  Taien  Ta  Twang,  Heaven's  Great  General,  in- 
cluded this  with  X  of  Andromeda  and  the  stars  of  the  Smaller  Triangle. 

a>    3«6!    yellow. 

Caput  Triangnli  was  translated  Baa  al  Mnthallath  by  the  Arabian 
astronomers. 

It  is  a  half-magnitude  inferior  to  0,  although  the  latter  bears  no  name. 
Together  these  two  were  the  Arabs'  Al  Mixiii,  the  Scale-beam. 
a  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  6th  of  December. 

l  This,  like  many  other  important  discoveries,  was  by  a  happy  accident, —  Piazzi,  very  differ- 
ently, being  in  search  of  an  extra  star,  the  eighty-seventh  of  Mayer's  list,  wrongly  laid  down  in 
Wollaston's  catalogue. 

Recent  measurements  by  Barnard  show  that  Ceres  is  only  a  litUe  less  than  500  miles  in 
diameter,  and  thus  the  first  in  size  of  the  minor  planets  as  in  order  of  discovery. 

*  The  first  of  such  discoveries  by  the  camera  was  by  Wolf  on  the  20th  of  December,  1891. 
of  Brucia,  No.  323 ;  the  first  applications  of  the  new  art  to  the  heavens  having  been  made  with 
the  daguerreotype  process  by  Doctor  John  W.  Draper,  of  New  York  City,  on  the  moon  in 
1840;  again,  by  the  professional  Whipple  of  Boston,  under  Bond's  direction,  at  the  Harrani 
Observatory,  on  the  star  Wega  in  1850 ;  and  at  the  same  place  on  Mixar  and  Alcor  in  1857- 
The  first  photograph  of  a  star's  spectrum  was  in  1872 ;  of  a  nebula,  in  1880 ;  of  a  comet  (near 
the  sun  during  the  latter's  total  eclipse),  in  x88a;  and  of  a  meteor,  in  1891. 


The  Constellations  417 

£ridn$uftmt  (Jtttnor 

was  formed,  and  thus  named,  by  Hevelius,  from  three  small  stars  immedi- 
ately to  the  south  of  the  major  constellation,  towards  Hamal  of  Aries ;  but 
it  has  been  discontinued  by  astronomers  since  Flamsteed's  day.  Still  Gore 
has  recently  revived  it  in  the  title  Triangula  on  the  planisphere  in  his  trans- 
lation of  r Astronomic  Populairey  as  did  Proctor  in  his  reformed  list. 


£riangufum  ^uefrafe,  ffc  £ouf$em  trtdngfe, 

much  more  noticeable  than  its  northern  original,  first  appeared  in  print  in 
Bayer's  Uranometria  of  1603,  although  its  formation  is  attributed  to  Pieter 
Theodor  of  nearly  a  century  previous. 

Caesius  cited  names  for  it  drawn  from  the  older  constellation,  among 
them  Almntabet  algenubi  Arabice  neotericis^  which  would  show  that  either 
the  Arabians  had  anticipated  Bayer,  or  were  very  prompt  to  learn  of  his 
work.  But  he  also  called  it  the  Three  Patriarchs,  doubtless  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  from  its  three  prominent  stars ;  and  Julius  Schiller  had  recourse 
to  their  descendants  for  his  alphabetical  title  Signum  Tan.  .  Proctor  cata- 
logued it  as  plain  Triangulum,  the  Northern  Triangle  being  one  of  his 
Triangula.  The  French,  Germans,  and  Italians  exactly  translate  the  Latin 
words.    The  Chinese  equivalent  is  San  Kid  Hung. 

The  constellation  lies  south  of  Ara,  between  the  tail  of  Pavo  and  the  fore 
feet  of  the  Centaur,  Gould  assigning  to  it  46  components  down  to  the  7th 
magnitude.     The  lucida  a  comes  to  the  meridian  on  the  14th  of  July. 

a,  2.2,  P  and  y,  3.1  each,  were — perhaps  are  now — the  seamen's  Tri- 
angle Stan. 

Ideler  said  that  La  Caille  substituted  for  it  Norma  et  Regula,  but  in  maps 
of  the  present  day  both  constellations  appear  side  by  side. 


Zucana,  t$e  £oucan, 

was  published  by  Bayer  under  our  English  name,1  but  some  one  has  Latin- 
ized it  in  ornithologists'  style  as  we  now  see  it.     Burritt  had  Toueana  and 

1  Professor  Alfred  Newton  says  that  the  avian  word  may  be  from  the  Guaranis'  TI,  Nose, 
and  Cang,  Bone;  and  that  it  first  was  mentioned  in  print  by  Treve*t  in  1558  as  from  that  Bra- 
zilian Indian  tribe.     It  is  the  Rhamphastos  toco  of  the  naturalists. 

27 


41 8  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Tonchan;  the  French,  Toucan;  the  Italians,  Toucano ;  and  the  Germans. 
Tukan.  The  Chinese  translated  the  original  word,  given  to  them  by  the 
Jesuits,  as  Neaou  Chuy,  the  Beak  Bird,  very  appropriate  to  a  creature  that 
is  almost  all  beak. 

In  the  17th  century  the  English  called  it  the  Brarilian  Pye,  but  Caedus 
gave  it  the  geographically  incorrect  Pica  Indica;  while  Kepler,  Riccioli 
and  even  later  authors  knew  it  as  the  Anfer  Americanui,  a  title  that  appears 
as  late  as  Stieler's  planisphere  of  1872,  in  the  American  Oam. 

Tucana  lies  immediately  south  of  Phoenix,  bordering  on  the  south  polar 
Octans,  its  tail  close  to  the  bright  Achernar  of  Eridanus,  and  marks  the 
crossing  of  the  equinoctial  colure  and  the  antarctic  circle. 

Gould  assigned  to  it  81  naked-eye  stars,  from  2.8  to  the  7th  magni- 
tudes. 

The  4th-magnitude  y  is  very  blue,  and  the  5j£  v,  strongly  red;  but  its 
most  notable  object  is  Bode's  cluster  47,  N.  G.  C.  104.  This  celebrated 
"  ball  of  suns  "  has  been  lettered  f  by  Gould,  as  it  shines  like  a  hazy  4?2- 
magnitude  star.  Bailey  counted,  within  660"  of  its  centre,  2235  stars,  and 
among  them  six  variables.  The  cluster  seems  to  be  completely  insulated 
with  regard  to  the  surrounding  stars. 


Zuxhus  JMtortuB,  $e  £ofifarg  €0ni0$, 

was  formed  by  Le  Monnier  in  1776  from  the  faint  stars  over  the  tail-tip  of 
the  Hydra,  where  some  modern  seeker  of  fame  has  since  substituted  another 
avian  figure,  the  Hoctua,  or  Night  OwL 

The  title 1  is  said  to  be  that  of  the  Solitaire,  formerly  peculiar  to  the  little 
island  Rodriguez  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  344  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Mau- 
ritius; although  the  bird  has  been  extinct  for  two  centuries, —  as  indeed 
now  is  the  constellation. 

Little  seems  to  be  known  of  this  sky  figure,  although  Ideler  wrote  of  it 
as  Einfiedler,  the  German  DrosseL 

1  The  generic  word  Turdus,  however,  is  erroneous ;  for  the  bird  was  not  a  thrash,  but,  as  its 
correct  name,  Pe top Aap  solitaria,  denotes,  an  extremely  modified  form  of  flightless  pigeon  allied 
to  the  dodos"  yet  larger  and  taller  than  a  turkey. 


The  Constellations  419 


Twas  noon  of  night,  when  round  the  pole 
The  sullen  Bear  is  seen  to  roll. 

Thomas  Moore's  translation  of  the  Ode*  of  Anacreon. 

.    •    .    round  and  round  the  frozen  Pole 
Glideth  the  lean  white  bear.  . 

Robert  WiDiams  Buchanan's  Ballad  0/ Judas  luariot. 

QXxta  (gU jor,  ffc  (Breatet  (gear, 

the  Grande  Ourse  of  the  French,  the  Oria  Haggiore  of  the  Italians,  and  the 
Oroete  Bfir  of  the  Germans,  always  has  been  the  best  known  of  the  stellar 
groups,  appearing  in  every  extended  reference  to  the  heavens  in  the 
legends,  parchments,  tablets,  and  stones  of  remotest  times.  And  Sir  George 
Cornewall  Lewis,  quoting  allusions  to  it  by  Aristotle,  Strabo,  and  many 
other  classical  writers,  thinks,  from  Homer's  line, 

Arctos,  sole  star  that  never  bathes  in  th'  ocean  wave 

(by  reason  of  precession  it  then  was  much  nearer  the  pole  than  it  now  is), 
that  this  was  the  only  portion  of  the  arctic  sky  that  in  the  poet's  time  had 
been  reduced  to  constellation  form.  This  statement,  however,  refers  solely 
to  the  Greeks ;  for  even  before  Homer's  day  we  know  that  earlier  nations 
had  here  their  own  stellar  groups;  yet  we  must  remember  that  the  'Ap*Toc 
and  *Apa£a  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  consisted  of  but  the  seven  stars,  and 
that  these  alone  bore  those  names  till  Thales  formed  our  Ursa  Minor. 
Later  on  the  figure  was  enlarged  "  for  the  purpose  of  uranographic  com- 
pleteness," so  that  Heis  now  catalogues  227  components  visible  to  his 
naked  eye,  although  only  140  appeared  to  Argelander,  down  to  the  6th 
magnitude. 

It  is  almost  the  first  object  to  which  the  attention  of  beginners  in  as- 
tronomy is  called, —  a  fact  owing  partly  to  its  circumpolar  position  for  all 
points  above  the  41st  parallel  rendering  it  always  and  entirely  visible  above 
that  latitude,  but  very  largely  to  its  great  extent  and  to  the  striking  con- 
formation of  its  prominent  stars.  It  is  noticeable,  too,  that  all  early  cata- 
logues commenced  with  the  two  Ursine  constellations. 

Although  the  group  has  many  titles  and  mythical  associations,  it  has 
almost  everywhere  been  known  as  a  Bear,  usually  in  the  feminine,  from  its 
legendary  origin.  All  classic  writers,  from  Homer  to  those  in  the  decline 
of  Roman  literature,  thus  mentioned  it, —  a  universality  of  consent  as  to  its 
form  which,  it  has  fancifully  been  said,  may  have  arisen  from  Aristotle's  idea 
that  its  prototype  was  the  only  creature  that  dared  invade  the  frozen  North. 


420  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Yet  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Teutonic  nations  did  not  know  this  stellar 
group  under  this  shape,  although  the  animal  was  of  course  familiar  to  them 
and  made  much  of  in  story  and  worship.  With  them  these  stars  were  the 
Wagen,  our  familiar  Wain.    Aratos  wrote  in  the  Phainomena: 

Two  Bears 
Called  Wains  move  round  it,  either  in  her  place; 

Ovid,  in  the  TVistia,  Magna  minorqne  ferae;  and  Propertius  included  both 
in  his  Gemmae  Ursae;  while  Horace,  Vergil,  and  Ovid,  again,  called  them 
Oelidae  AretL  We  also  meet  with  Arctoi  and  Arotoe.  The  Anglo-Saxon 
Manual  of  Astronomy  of  the  ioth  century  adopted  the  Greek  Arctoi,  al- 
though it  adds  "which  untaught  men  call  Carlee-w»n";  rare  old  Ber. 
Jonson,  in  1609,  in  his  Epicoene,  or  the  Silent  Woman ,  called  Kallisto 

a  star  MiitreM  Urmia  in  the  heavens ; 

and  La  Lande  cited  Fera  major,  Filia  Ursae,  and  Ursa  cum  pnernlo,  re- 
ferring to  Areas. 

The  well-known,  although  varied,  story  of  KaAAiarw, —  as  old  as  Hesiod's 
time, —  who  was  changed  to  a  bear  because  of  Juno's  jealousy  and  tran>- 
ferred  to  the  skies  by  the  regard  of  Jove,  has  given  rise  to  much  poetical 
allusion  from  Hesiod's  day  till  ours,  especially  among  the  Latins.  In 
Addison's  translation  of  Ovid's  Metamorphoses y  where  this  myth  is  related. 
we  read  that  Jove 

snatched  them  through  the  air 

In  whirlwinds  up  to  heaven  and  fix'd  them  there; 

Where  the  new  constellations  nightly  rise, 

And  add  a  lustre  to  the  northern  skies ; 

although  the  dissatisfied  Juno  still  complained  that  in  this  location  they 

proudly  roll 
In  their  new  orbs  and  brighten  all  the  pole. 

This  version  of  the  legend  turned  Kallisto's  son  Areas  into  Ursa  Minor. 
although  he  was  Bootes;  Matthew  Arnold  correctly  writing  of  the  mother 
and  son  in  his  Merope: 

The  Gods  had  pity,  made  them  Stars. 
Stars  now  they  sparkle 
In  the  northern  Heaven  — 
The  guard  Arcturus, 
The  guard-watch'd  Bear. 


The  Constellations  421 

Another  version  substituted  her  divine  mistress  'Aprefug  —  also  known  to 
the  Greeks  as  KaXMoTTj,  the  Roman  Diana  —  for  the  nymph  of  the  celes- 
tial transformation ;  the  last  Greek  word  well  describing  the  extreme  beauty 
of  this  constellation.  La  Lande,  however,  referred  the  title  to  the  Phoe- 
nician Xalitsah,  or  Chalitsa,  Safety,  as  its  observation  helped  to  a  safe 
voyage. 

Among  its  names  from  the  old  story  are  Kallisto  herself;  Lycaonia,  Lyea- 
onia  Pnella,  Lycaonia  Arctos,  from  her  father,  or  grandfather,  king  of  the 
aboriginal  race  that  was  known  as  late  as  Saint  Paul's  day,  with  the  distinct 
dialect  alluded  to  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  xiv,  1 1 ;  Bianae  Comes  and 
Phoebei  Miles  are  from  her  companionship  in  arms  with  that  goddess :  and 

it  was  one  of  the 

arctos  oceani  metuentes  aequore  tingi, 

because  Tethys,  at  Juno's  instigation,  had  forbidden  Kallisto  to  enter  her 
watery  dominions.     Yet  Camoes,  from  a  lower  latitude,  wrote  of  As  Unas: 

We  saw  the  Bears,  despite  of  Juno,  lave 
Their  tardy  bodies  in  the  boreal  wave. 

Ovid's  arctos  aequoris  expertes ;  immunemque  aequoris  Arcton ;  liquidique 
immunia  ponti,  and  utraque  sicca,  were  from  the  fact  that,  being  circumpolar, 
neither  of  the  Bears  sets  below  the  ocean  horizon.  This  was  a  favorite 
conceit  of  the  poets,  and  astronomically  correct  during  millenniums  before 
and  centuries  after  Homer's  day,  although  not  so  in  recent  times  as  to  the 
Greater,  except  in  high  latitudes.  Chaucer  reproduced  this  in  his  rendering 
of  the  De  Consolatione  Philosophiae  by  Boetius,  whom  he  styles  Boece : 

Ne  the  sterre  y-cleped  "  the  Bere,"  that  enclyneth  his  ravisshinge  courses  abouten  the 
soverein  heighte  of  the  worlde,  ne  the  same  sterre  Ursa  nis  never-mo  wasshen  in  the  depe 
westrene  see,  ne  coveiteth  nat  to  deyen  his  flaumbe  in  the  see  of  the  occian,  al-thogh  he 
see  other  sterres  y-plounged  in  the  see; 

our  Bryant  rendering  this  idea: 

The  Bear  that  sees  star  setting  after  star 
In  the  blue  brine,  descends  not  to  the  deep. 

Poetical  titles  induced  by  the  legend  of  Areas  were  Virgo  Honacrina  and 
Tegeaea  Virgo,  from  the  Arcadian  towns  Nonacris  and  Tegea ;  Erymanthis, 
perhaps  the  Erymanthian  Boar  that  Hercules  slew,  but  more  probably  the 
Erymanthian  Bear;  Maenalia  Arctos,  Haenalis,  and  Maenalis  Ursa,  from 
those  mountains ;  Parrhasis,  Parrhasia  Virgo,  and  Parrhasides  Stellae,  from 

*7# 


422  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

the  tribe,  although  Pluche  went  farther  back  for  this  to  the  Phoenician 
pilots'  Parraiu,  the  Guiding  Star,—  the  Hebrews'  PharaahaL  Sophocles 
wrote  of  it  in  the  Oedipus  as  Aroadium  Sidus,  referring  to  the  whole  country 
of  Arcadia,  the  Switzerland  of  Greece,  famous  in  the  classical  world  for  its 
wild  mountain  scenery ;  and  very  early  silver  coins  of  Mantinea  showed  the 
Bear  as  mother  of  the  patron  god. 

Such  has  been  the  myth  of  this  constellation  current  for  at  least  three 
millenniums;  but  Mueller  discards  it  all,  and  says: 

The  legend  of  Kallisto,  the  beloved  of  Zens  and  mother  of  Arkas,  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  original  meaning  of  the  stars.  On  the  contrary,  Kallisto  was  supposed  to  have  been 
changed  into  the  Arktos  or  Greater  Bear  because  she  was  the  mother  of  Arkas,  thai  is  to  ay, 
of  the  Arcadian  *  or  bear  race,  and  her  name,  or  that  of  her  son,  reminded  the  Greeks  of 
their  long  established  name  of  the  northern  constellation. 

Aratos*  version  of  the  legend,  from  very  ancient  Naxian  tradition,  made 
the  two  Bears  the  Cretan  nurses  of  the  infant  Jupiter,  afterwards  raised  to 
heaven  for  their  devotion  to  their  charge.  From  this  came  the  Cretaaee 
fdve  Arotoe  of  Germanicus;  but  Lewis  said : 

This  fable  is  inconsistent  with  the  natural  history  of  the  island ;  for  the  ancients  testify 
that  Crete  never  contained  any  bears  or  other  noxious  animals. 

Subsequent  story  changed  the  nurses  into  the  Cretan  nymphs  Helice  and 
Melissa.  Hyginus  and  Germanicus  also  used  the  masculine  form  Uifitf  as 
well  as  Arctufl. 

The  Hebrew  word  Ajh  or  Ayilh  in  the  Book  of  Job,  ix,  9,  and  xxxviii,  32, 
supposed  to  refer  to  the  Square  in  this  constellation  as  a  Bier,  not  a  Bear, 
was  translated  Aroturns  by  Saint  Jerome  in  the  Vulgate ;  and  this  was 
adopted  in  the  version  of  161 1  authorized  by  King  James.  Hence  the 
popular  belief  that  the  Bible  mentions  our  star  a  Bootis ;  but  Umbreit  had 
already  corrected  this  to  "  the  Bear  and  her  young,"  and  in  the  Revision 
of  1885  the  patriarch  talks  to  us  of  "  the  Bear  with  her  train,"  these 
latter  being  represented  by  the  three  tail  stars.  Von  Herder  strangely  ren- 
dered the  first  of  these  passages  "  Libra  and  the  Pole  Star,  the  Seven  Stars"; 
but  the  second,  more  correctly,  as  "  the  Bear  with  her  young  "  feeding  around 
the  pole;  or,  by  another  tradition,  the  nightly  wanderer,  a  mother  of  the 
stars  seeking  her  lost  children, —  those  that  no  longer  are  visible.   The 

1  Lucian,  KuDe  Astrologia,  wrote  that  "  the  Arcadians  were  an  ignorant  people  and  despised 
astronomy  "  ;  and  Ovid  graphically  described  their  great  antiquity  and  primitive  mode  oflife 
well  justifying  their  title  of  the  Bear  Race,  his  lines  being  quaintly  translated  by  Gower: 
Therefore  they  naked  run  in  sign  and  honour 
Of  hardiness  and  chat  old  bare-skinned  manner. 


The  Constellations  423 

Breeches  Bible  has  this  marginal  note  to  its  word  Arcturus :  "  The  North 
Star,  with  those  that  are  about  him." 

Hebrew  observers  called  the  constellation  D5bh;  Phoenician,  Dub;  and 
Arabian,  Al  Dubb  al  Akbar,  the  Greater  Bear,—  Dubhelaobar  with  Bayer 
and  Dub  Alacber  with  Chilmead, —  all  of  these  perhaps  adopted  from 
Greece.  Caesius  cited  the  "  Mohammedans' "  Dubbe,  Dnbhe,  and  Duben ; 
and  Robert  Browning,  in  his  Jochanan  Hakkadosh,  repeated  these  as 
Dob. 

But  whence  came  the  same  idea  into  the  minds  of  our  North  American 
Indians?  Was  it  by  accident?  or  is  it  evidence  of  a  common  origin  in  the 
far  antiquity  of  Asia  ?  The  conformation  of  the  seven  stars  in  no  way 
resembles  the  animal, —  indeed  the  contrary ;  yet  they  called  them  Okuari 
and  Pauknnawa,  words  for  a  "  bear,"  before  they  were  visited  by  the  white 
men,  as  is  attested  by  Le  Clercq  in  1 691,  by  the  Reverend  Cotton  Mather 
in  17 1 2,  by  the  Jesuit  missionary  La  Fitau  in  1724,  and  by  the  French 
traveler  Charlevoix  in  1744.  And  Bancroft  wrote  in  his  history  of  our 
country : 

The  red  men  ...  did  not  divide  the  heavens,  nor  even  a  belt  in  the  heavens,  into 
constellations.  It  is  a  curious  coincidence,  that  among  the  Algonquins  of  the  Atlantic 
and  of  the  Mississippi,  alike  among  the  Narragansetts  and  the  Illinois,  the  North  Star 
was  called  the  Bear. 

In  justice,  however,  to  their  familiarity  with  a  bear's  anatomy,  it  should  be 
said  that  the  impossible  tail  of  our  Ursa  was  to  them  either  Three  Hunters, 
or  a  Hunter  with  his  two  Dogi,  in  pursuit  of  the  creature ;  the  star  Alcor 
being  the  pot  in  which  they  would  cook  her.  They  thus  avoided  the 
incongruousness  of  the  present  astronomical  ideas  of  Bruin's  make-up, 
although  their  cooking-utensil  was  inadequate.  The  Housatonic  Indians, 
who  roamed  over  that  valley  from  Pittsfield  through  Lenox  and  Stock- 
bridge  to  Great  Barrington,  said  that  this  chase  of  the  stellar  Bear  lasted 
from  the  spring  till  the  autumn,  when  the  animal  was  wounded  and  its 
blood  plainly  seen  in  the  foliage  of  the  forest. 

The  long  tail  of  the  Bear,  a  queer  appendage  to  a  comparatively  tailless 
animal,  is  thus  accounted  for  by  old  Thomas  Hood  in  his  didactic  style : 

Scholar. 

1  marvell  why  (seeing  she  hath  the  forme  of  a  bearc)  her  tail  should  be  so  long. 
Master. 

Imagine  that  Jupiter,  fearing  to  come  too  nigh  unto  her  teeth,  layde  holde  on  her  tayle, 
and  thereby  drewe  her  up  into  the  heaven ;  so  that  shee  of  herself  being  very  weightie, 
and  the  distance  from  the  earth  to  the  heavens  very  great,  there  was  great  likelihood  that 
ner  taile  must  stretch.    Other  reason  know  I  none. 


424  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

My  friend  the  Reverend  Doctor  Robert  M.  Luther  of  Newark,  New  Jersey. 
tells  me  that  a  similar  story  was  current  with  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  of 
forty  years  ago.  The  same  "  weightie  "  reason  will  apply  equally  well  to 
the  Smaller  Bear ;  indeed  the  latter's  tail  is  even  proportionately  longer, 
although  the  kink  in  it  takes  a  different  turn.  It  is  probably  this  associa- 
tion of  these  Seven  Stars  with  our  aborigines  that  has  given  them  the  occa- 
sional title  of  the  Seven  Little  Indians, 

Trevisa  derived  the  title  thus :  "  alwey  thoo  sterres  wyndeth  and  turneth 
rounde  aboute  that  lyne,  that  is  calde  Axis,  as  a  bere  aboute  the  stake.  And 
therefore  that  cercle  is  clepid  the  more  bere."  Boteler  borrowed  this  for 
his  Hudibras  : 

And  round  about  the  pole  does  make 
A  circle  like  a  bear  at  stake. 

The  great  epic  of  the  Finns,  the  Kalewala,  makes  much  of  this  constella- 
tion, styling  it  Otawa  and  Otawainen,  in  which  Miss  Clerke  sees  likeness 
to  the  names  used  by  our  aborigines  for  "  the  great  Teutonic  King  of 
beasts."  But  that  people  also  said  that  the  Bear  stars,  and  especially  the 
pole-star,  were  young  and  beautiful  maidens  highly  skilled  in  spinning  and 
weaving, —  a  story  originating  from  a  fancied  resemblance  of  their  rays  of 
light  to  a  weaver's  web. 

The  Century  Dictionary  has  a  theory  as  to  the  origin  of  the  idea  of  a 
Bear  for  these  seven  stars,  doubtless  from  its  editor,  Professor  Whitney, 
that  seems  plausible, —  at  all  events,  scholarly.   It  is  that  their  Sanskrit  desig- 
nation, Riksha,  signifies,  in  two  different  genders,  "  a  Bear,"  and  "a  Star/' 
"  Bright,"  or  "to  shine," —  hence  a  title,  the  Seven  Shiners, —  so  that  it  would 
appear  to  have  come,  by  some  confusion  of  sound,  of  the  two  words  among 
a  people  not  familiar  with  the  animal.     Later  on  Riksha  was  confounded 
with  the  word  Bishi,  and  so  connected  with  the  Seven  Sages,  or  Poets, 
of  India;  afterwards  with  the  Seven  Wise  Men  of  Greece,  the  Seven 
Sleepers  of  Ephesus,  the  Seven  Champions  of  Christendom,  etc.;  while  the 
Seven  Stars  of  early  authors,  as  often  used  for  Ursa  Major  as  for  the 
Pleiades,  certainly  is  much  more  appropriate  to  the  Ursine  figure  than  to 
the  Taurine.     Minsheu  had  "the  Seven  Starres  called  Charles  Waine  in  the 
North,"  and  three  centuries  earlier  Chaucer  wrote  of  "the  sterres  seven" 
with  manifest   reference  to  this  constellation.     The  Kalewala  had  the 
equivalent  Seitsen  tahtinen;  the  Portuguese  Camoes,  Sete  Flammai;  and 
the  Turks,  Yidigher  Yildnz. 

Hewitt  says  that  these  seven  stars  at  first  were  known  in  India  as  Seven 
Bears,  although  also  as  Seven  Antelopes,  and  again  as  Seven  Bulls,  the 
latter  merged  into  one,  the  Great  Spotted  Bull,  as  the  Seven  Bears  also 


The  Constellations  425 

were  into  Ursa  Major,  with  our  Arcturus  for  their  keeper;  and  he  gives 
their  individual  titles  as  Kratu  for  a,  Pulaha  for  0,  Pulastya  for  y,  Atri  for 
<5,  Afkgiras  for  e,  and  Marici  for  77,  the  six  sons  of  Brahma,  who  himself  was 
Vashishtha,  the  star  f.  The  Vishnu-Dharmay  however,  claimed  Atri  as 
their  ruler ;  indeed,  there  seems  to  be  much  variance  in  Sanskrit  works  as 
to  the  identity  of  these  stars  and  titles. 

When  the  figure  of  the  Bear  was  extended  to  its  present  dimensions, 
four  times  as  great  as  Homer's  Arktos,  we  do  not  know,  and,  to  quote 
again  from  Miss  Clerke, 

we  can  only  conjecture ;  but  there  is  evidence  that  it  was  fairly  well  established  when 
Aratos  wrote  his  description  of  the  constellations.  [He  stretched  it  over  Gemini,  Cancer, 
and  Leo.]  Aratos,  however,  copied  Eudoxus,  and  Eudoxus  used  observations  made  — 
doubtless  by  Accad  or  Chaldaean  astrologers  —  above  2000  B.  c.  We  infer,  then,  that 
the  Babylonian  Bear  was  no  other  than  the  modern  Ursa  Major.  .  .  .  Thus,  circling 
the  globe  from  the  valley  of  the  Ganges  to  the  great  lakes  of  the  New  World,  we  find 
ourselves  confronted  with  the  same  sign  in  the  northern  skies,  the  relic  of  some  primeval 
association  of  ideas,  long  since  extinct.     Extinct  even  in  Homer's  time. 

And  Achilles  Tatios  distinctly  asserted  that  it  was  from  Chaldaea.  But 
Brown  thinks,  in  regard  to  the  identity  of  the  archaic  and  modern  con- 
stellations of  this  name  in  that  country, 

that  at  present  there  is  no  real  evidence  to  connect  the  Kakkata  Dabi  (or  Dabu,  the  Baby- 
lonian Bear)  with  the  Plough  or  Wain,  still  less  with  Ursa  Major ; 

and  identifies  the  latter  with  the  Euphratean  Bel-me-Khi-ra,  the  Con- 
fronter  of  Bel, —  Bertin,  with  Bel  himself.  A  group  of  seven  stars  is 
often  shown  on  the  cylinders  from  Babylonia,  Lajard's  Culte  de  Mithra 
giving  many  instances  of  this,  although  the  reference  may  have  been  to  the 
Pleiades;  while  it  is  Sayce's  suggestion  that  perhaps  "the  god  seven,"  so 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions,  is  connected  with  Ursa  Major. 

Theon's  attribution  of  the  invention  of  the  constellation  to  the  mythical 
Nauplius,  son  of  Poseidon,  and  a  famous  navigator,  hardly  seems  worthy 
of  mention. 

Among  the  adjacent  Syrians  it  was  a  Wild  Boar,  and  in  the  stars  of  the 
feet  of  our  Bear  the  early  nomads  saw  the  tracks  of  their  GhazaL  Simi- 
larly, in  the  far  North,  it  has  been  the  Sarw  of  the  Lapps,  their  familiar 
Reindeer,  the  Los  of  the  Ostiaks,  and  the  Tukto  of  the  Greenlanders. 

Smyth  wrote  in  his  Speculum  Hartwdlianum  : 

King  Arthur,  the  renowned  hero  of  the  Mabinogion>  typified  the  Great  Bear;  as  his 
name, —  Arth,  bear,  and  Uthyr,  wonderful, —  implies  in  the  Welsh  language;  and  the 
constellation,  visibly  describing  a  circle  in  the  North  Polar  regions  of  the  sky,  may  pos- 
sibly have  been  the  true  origin  of  the  Son  of  Pendragon's  famous  Round  Table,  the 
earliest  institution  of  a  military  order  of  knighthood. 


426  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Whatever  may  be  the  fact  in  this  speculation,  we  know  that  the  early 
English  placed  King  Arthur's  home  here,  and  that  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  long  called  it  Arthur's  Chariot  or  Wain,  which  appears  in  the  Lay 
of  the  Last  Minstrel : 

Arthur's  slow  wain  his  course  doth  roll, 
In  utter  darkness,  round  the  pole. 

In  Ireland  it  has  been  King  David's  Chariot,  from  one  of  that  island's  eariy 
kings;  in  France,  the  Great  Chariot,  and  it  was  seen  on  Gaulish  coins. 
The  Anglo-Norman  poet  De  Thaun  of  the  12th  century  had  it  Chaiere; 
and  La  Lande  cited  the  more  modern  la  Bone,  the  Wheel.  Occasionally 
it  has  been  called  the  Car  of  Bodtes. 

And  this  carries  us  back  to  another  of  the  earliest  titles  for  our  constella- 
tion, the  "A/iafa,  Wain  or  Wagon, —  Riccioli's  Amaxa, —  of  the  Iliad  and 
Odyssey,  that  Homer  used  equally  with  mApicTo$,  although  with  the  same 
limitation  to  the  seven  stars.  Describing  the  shield  made  by  Hephaistos 
for  Achilles,  the  poet  said,  in  Sir  John  Herschel's  rendering : 

There  the  revolving  Bear,  which  the  Wain  they  call,  was  ensculptured, 
Circling  on  high,  and  in  all  its  course  regarding  Orion; 
Sole  of  the  starry  train  which  refuses  to  bathe  in  the  Ocean ; 

which  I  have  quoted,  in  preference  to  others  more  rhythmical,  from  the 
interest  that  we  all  feel  in  the  translator  as  an  astronomer,  although  but 
little  known  as  a  poet.  Homer  repeated  this  in  the  5th  book  of  the 
Odyssey,  where  Ulixes,  in  Bryant's  translation,  is 

Gazing  with  fixed  eye  on  the  Pleiades, 

Bodtes  setting  late  and  the  Great  Bear, 

By  others  called  the  Wain,  which  wheeling  round, 

Looks  ever  toward  Orion  and  alone 

Dips  not  into  the  waters  of  the  deep. 

For  so  Calypso,  glorious  goddess,  bade 

That,  on  his  ocean  journey,  he  should  keep 

That  constellation  ever  on  his  left ; 

Ithaca,  whither  he  was  bound,  lying  due  east  from  Calypso's  isle,  Orgygia- 
Pope  rendered  the  original  the  Horthera  Team,  and  the  lines  on  Orion: 

To  which,  around  the  axle  of  the  sky, 
The  Bear,  revolving,  points  his  golden  eye. 

These  passages  clearly  show  the  early  use  of  the  Wain  stars  in  Greek  navi- 
gation before  Cynosura  was  known  to  them ;  as  Aratos  wrote : 


The  Constellations  427 

By  it  on  the  deep 
Achaians  gather  where  to  sail  their  ships  ; 

Ovid  imitating  this  in  the  Fasti  and  Tristia.     Orion  seems  to  have  been 
often  joined  in  this  use,  for  Apollonius  wrote : 

The  watchful  sailor,  to  Orion's  star 
And  Helice,  turned  heedful. 

Aratos  called  the  constellation  the  "  Wain-like  Bear  " ;  and,  alluding  to  the 
title  *A/iafa,  asserted  that  the  word  was  from  &pa,  "  together,"  the  "Afia^cu 
thus  circling  together  around  the  pole ;  but  no  philologist  accepts  this,  and 
it  might  as  well  have  come  from  afov,  "  axle,"  referring  to  the  axis  of  the 
heavens.  In  fact,  Hewitt  goes  far  back  of  Aratos  in  his  statement  that  the 
Sanskrit  god  Akshivan,  the  Driver  of  the  Axle  (Aksha),  was  adopted  in 
Greece  as  Ixion,  whose  well-known  wheel  was  merely  the  circling  course 
of  this  constellation.  Anacreon  mentioned  it  as  a  Chariot  as  well  as  a 
Bear ;  and  Hesychios  had  it  "Ayavva,  an  archaic  word  from  dyetv,  "  to 
carry,"  singularly  like,  in  orthography  at  least,  the  Akkadian  title  for  the 
Wain  stars,  Aganna,  or  Alcanna,  the  Lord  of  Heaven ;  and  Aben  Ezra 
called  it  Ajala,  the  Hebrew  word  for  "wagon." 

The  Romans  expressed  the  same  idea  in  their  Currus ;  Plaustrum,1  or 
Plostrum,  magnum ;  with  the  diminutive  Plaustricula,  which  Capella  turned 
into  Plaustriluca,  imitating  the  "  Noctiluca"  used  by  Horace  for  the  moon. 
Apollinaris  Sidonius,  the  Christian  writer  of  the  6th  century,  called  the  con- 
stellation Plaustra  Parrhasis ;  and  Rycharde  Eden  wrote  it  Plastrum, — 

al  the  sterres  cauled  Plastrnm  or  Charles  Wayne,  are  hydde  under  the  Northe  pole  to 
the  canibals. 

In  all  these,  of  course,  reference  was  made  to  the  seven  stars  only,  Bartschius 
plainly  showing  this  on  his  chart,  where  he  outlines  them,  with  the  title 
Plaustrum,  included  within  the  limits  of  the  much  larger  Ursa  Major. 

The  Italians  have  Cataletto,  a  Bier,  and  Carro;  and  the  Portuguese 
Cam5es  wrote  it  Carreta. 

The  Danes,  Swedes,  and  Icelanders  knew  it  as  Stori  Vagn,  the  Great 
Wagon,  and  as  Karlfl  Vagn ;  Karl  being  Thor,  their  greatest  god,  of  whom 
the  old  Swedish  Rhyme  Chronicle ;  describing  the  statues  in  the  church2  at 
Upsala,  says : 

1  The  Latin  plaustrum,  originally  a  two-wheeled  ox-cart,  appears  in  the  De  Re  Rustica  of 
Cato  Censorius  as  plaustrum  maius  for  one  with  four  wheels. 

1  It  is  in  this  church,  or  cathedral,  that  the  great  Linnaeus  lies  buried,  and  over  its  south 
Porch  is  sculptured  the  Hebrew  story  of  the  Creation. 


428  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  God  Thor  was  the  highest  of  them ; 

He  sat  naked  as  a  child, 

Seven  stars  in  his  hand  and  Charles's  Wain. 

The  Goths  similarly  called  the  seven  stars  Karl  Wagen,  which  has  de- 
scended to  modern  Germans  as  Wagon  and  Himmel  Wagen,  the  last  with 
the  story  that  it  represents  the  Chariot  in  which  Elijah  journeyed  to  heaven. 
But  in  the  heathen  times  of  the  northern  nations  it  was  the  Wagon  of  Odin, 
Woden,  or  Wnotan,  the  father  of  Thor,  and  the  Irmines  Wagen  of  the  Sax 
ons.  Grimm  cites  Herwagen,  probably  the  Horwagen  of  Bayer  and  the 
Hnrwagen  of  Caesius ;  while  a  common  English  name  now  is  the  Waggon. 
The  Poles  call  it  Wos  Hiebeski,  the  Heavenly  Wain.  In  all  these  similes 
the  three  tail  stars  of  our  Bear  were  the  three  draught-horses  in  line. 
The  royal  poet  King  James  wrote : 

Heir  shynes  the  charlewain,  there  the  Harp  gives  light, 
And  heir  the  Seamans  Starres,  and  there  Twinnis  bright. 

This  old  and  still  universally  populat  title,  Charles's  Wain,  demands  more 
than  mere  mention.  It  has  often  been  derived  from  the  Saxon  ceorl,  the 
carle  of  mediaeval  times,  our  churly  and  thus  the  "  peasant's  cart ";  but  this  is 
incorrect,  and  the  New  English  Dictionary  has  an  exhaustive  article  on  the 
words,  well  worthy  of  repetition  here: 

Chariot*!  Wain.  Forms  :  carles-waen,  Cherlemaynes-wayne,  Charlmons  wayn,  carle  wen- 
sterre,  carwaynesterre,  Charel-wayn,  Charlewayn,  Charle  wane,  Charles  wayne  or  waiot, 
Charles  or  Carol's  wain(e),  Charlemagne  or  Charles  his  wane,  wain(e),  Charle- waine,  Charl- 
maigne  Wain,  Charles's  Wain.  [OE.  Carles  wagn,  the  wain  (a{ia£a>  plaustrum)  of  Orl 
(Charles  the  Great,  Charlemagne).  The  name  appears  to  arise  out  of  the  verbal  associa- 
tion of  the  star-name  A  returns  with  Arturus  or  Arthur,  and  the  legendary  association  of 
Arthur  and  Charlemagne ;  so  that  what  was  originally  the  wain  of  Arcturus  or  Boote? 
(*  Bootes'  golden  wain,'  Pope)  became  at  length  the  wain  of  Carl  or  Charlemagne.  (The 
guess  churt's  or  carle's  wain  has  been  made  in  ignorance  of  the  history.)] 

As  the  name  Arcturus  was  formerly  sometimes  applied  loosely  to  the  constellation 
Bootes,  and  incorrectly  to  the  Great  Bear,  the  name  Carletoayne -sterre  occurs  applied  to 
the  star  Arcturus. 

The  editor  cites  from  various  authors  since  the  year  iooo,  when  he  finds 
CarleswsBn  (I  can  make  a  still  earlier  citation  of  this  word  from  one  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  Cottonian  Manuscripts  of  some  years  previously),  and  quotes 
from  Sir  John  Davies,  the  philosophical  poet  of  the  Elizabethan  age: 

Those  bright  starres 
Which  English  Shepheards,  Charles  his  waine,  do  name; 
But  more  this  He  is  Charles,  his  waine, 
Since  Charles  her  royall  wagoner  became ; 

and  from  John  Taylor,  "the  King's  water-poet,"  of  1630: 


The  Constellations  429 

Charles  his  Cart  (which  we  by  custome  call  Charles  his  wane)  is  most  gloriously 
stellifide. 

The  list  ends  with  a  quotation  from  J.  F.  Blake,  of  1876,  who  even  at  this 
late  day  had  King  Charles'  Wain. 

This  connection  of  these  Seven  Stars  with  England's  kings  was  due  to 
the  courtiers  of  Charles  I  and  II,  who  claimed  it  as  in  their  masters' 
honor,  and  elsewhere  occurs;  William  Bas,  or  Basse,  about  1650,  having, 
in  Old  Tom  of  Bedlam: 

Bid  Charles  make  ready  his  waine; 
James  Hogg,  the  Ettrick  Shepherd,  in  the  Queen's  Wake  of  1813 : 

Charles  re-yoked  his  golden  wain ; 
and  Tom  Hood,  of  fifty  years  ago : 

looking  at  that  Wain  of  Charles,  the  Martyr's. 

This  is  from  the  Comet,  the  humorous  Astronomical  Anecdote  of  the  great 
Sir  William  Herschel,  whom  the  poet  called  the  "  be-knighted,"  and 
further  described  as 

like  a  Tom  of  Coventry,  sly  peeping, 
At  Dian  sleeping; 
Or  ogling  thro'  his  glass 
Some  heavenly  lass 
Tripping  with  pails  along  the  Milky  Way. 

Coverdale's  Bible  alludes  to  it  and  its  companion  as  the  Waynes  of 
Heaven,  which  Edmund  Becke,  in  his  edition  of  1549,  transforms  into 
Vaynes,  and  Cadmarden,  in  his  Rouen  edition  of  151 5,  into  the  Waves  of 
Heaven.  Dutch  and  German  versions  have  Wagen  am  Hinunel;  the 
Saxon  versions,  Wanes  Thisl,  or  Wagon-pole ;  and  this  idea  of  a  wagon,  or 
its  parts  and  its  driver,  is  seen  in  all  the  Northern  tongues  where  the  Bear 
is  not  recognized.  Grimm's  Teutonic  Mythology  is  very  full  as  to  this 
branch  of  the  stellar  Wain's  nomenclature. 

Ukeidda,  the  Septuaginfs  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  Ash,  is  manifestly  in- 
correct, but  may  have  misled  the  later  Rabbis  who  applied  this  last  word  to 
the  group  in  Taurus.  The  Feshitta-Syriac  Version  translates  the  Mazzardth 
of  the  Book  of  Job  by  'galta,  meaning  our  Wain. 

The  isth-century  German  manuscript  so  often  alluded  to  mentions  it  as 
the  Southern  Tramontane,  a  title  more  fully  treated  under  Ursa  Minor; 
and  Vespucci,  in  his  j°  Lettera,  wrote  of  the  two  Bears : 


43°  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

La  Stella  tramontana  o  l'orsa  maggiore  &  minore. 

Both  of  these  have  been  —  perhaps  still  are  —  night  clocks  to  the  English 
rustic,  and  measures  of  time  generally,  as  in  Poe's  Ulalume, "  star-dials  that 
pointed  to  morn." 

Shakespeare's  Carrier  at  the  Rochester  inn-yard  said : 

ArTt  be  not  four  by  the  day,  I'll  be  hang'd;  Charles  Wain  is  over  the  new  chimney, 
and  yet  our  horse  not  pack'd ; 

Tennyson,  in  his  touching  New  Year's  Eve : 

We  danced  about  the  May-pole  and  in  the  hazel  copse, 

Till  Charles's  Wain  came  out  above  the  tall  white  chimney  tops ; 

and  again,  in  the  Princess: 

I  paced  the  terrace,  till  the  Bear  had  wheePd 
Thro1  a  great  arc  his  seven  slow  suns. 

Spenser,  in  the  Faerie  Queen,  thus  refers  to  the  Wain  as  a  timepiece*  and 
to  Polaris  as  a  guide : 

By  this  the  northern  wagoner  had  set 
His  sevenfold  teme  behind  the  steadfast  starre 
That  was  in  ocean  waves  never  yet  wet, 
But  firme  is  fixt,  and  sendith  light  from  farre 
To  all  that  in  the  wide  deep  wandering  arre. 

Its  well-known  use  by  the  early  Greeks  in  navigation  was  paralleled  in 
the  deserts  of  Arabia,  "through  which,"  according  to  Diodorus  the  Sicilian, 
"  travellers  direct  their  course  by  the  Bears,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  done 
at  sea."  They  serve  this  same  purpose  to  the  Badawiyy  of  to-day,  as  Mrs. 
Sigourney  describes  in  The  Stars,  writing  of  Polaris : 

The  weary  caravan,  with  chiming  bells, 
Making  strange  music  'mid  the  desert  sands, 
Guides  by  thy  pillar'd  fires  its  nightly  march. 

Sophocles  made  a  similar  statement  of  the  Bear  as  directing  travelers  gen- 
erally ;  Falstaff,  in  King  Henry  IV,  said : 

We  that  take  purses  go  by  the  moon  and  the  seven  stars; 

and  the  modern  Keats,  in  his  Robin  Hood: 

the  seven  stars  to  light  you, 
Or  the  polar  ray  to  right  you. 


The  Constellations  431 

But  the  astrologers  of  Shakespeare's  time  ascribed  to  it  evil  influences, 
which  Edmund,  in  King  Leary  commented  upon  with  ridicule : 

This  is  the  excellent  foppery  of  the  world,  that,  when  we  are  sick  in  fortune,  (often  the 
surfeit  of  oar  own  behaviour),  we  make  guilty  of  our  disasters  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the 
stars, — 

claiming  that  his  own 

nativity  was  under  Ursa  Major,  so  that  it  follows  I  am  rough  and  lecherous. 

Both  of  the  Bears  have  been  frequently  found  on  the  old  sign-boards 
of  English  inns,  and,  in  a  more  important  way,  are  emblazoned  on  the 
shields  of  the  cities  of  Antwerp  and  Groningen  in  the  Netherlands. 

The  Plough  has  been  a  common  title  with  the  English  down  to  the 
present  time,  even  with  so  competent  a  scientist  as  Miss  Clerke,  one  of  the 
few  astronomical  writers  who  still  continue  the  use  of  the  good  old  names 
of  stars  and  constellations.  She,  however,  takes  the  three  line  stars  as  the 
Handle,  not  the  Team.  Minsheu  mentioned  it  in  the  same  way,  but  added 
ut  placet  astrologis  dicitur  Temo,  1.  e.  the  Beam,  a  term  originating  with 
Quintus  Ennius,  the  Father  of  Roman  Song,  adopted  by  Cicero,  Ovid, 
Statius,  and  Varro,  and  common  with  the  astrologers.  Fale,  in  1593, 
described  it  as  called  "  of  countrymen  the  plough,"  the  first  instance  in 
print  that  I  have  found.  Thus  it  was,  perhaps  still  is,  the  Irish  Cain- 
eheaeta.  Hewitt  sees  this  Heavenly  Plough  even  in  prehistoric  India,  and 
quotes  from  Sayce  the  title  Sugi,  the  Wain,  which  later  became  Libra's 
name  as  the  Yoke. 

With  the  Wain  and  Plough  naturally  came  the  Plough  Oxen,  the  Triones 
of  Varro,  Aulus  Gellius,  and  the  Romans  generally,  turned  by  the  gramma- 
rians into  Teriones,  the  Threshing-oxen,  walking  around  the  threshing- 
floor  of  the  pole.  Martial  qualified  these  by  hyperborei  Odrysii  and  Par- 
rkasii,  but  also  called  the  constellation  Parrhasium  Jugum ;  and  Claudian, 
inoccidui,  "never  setting."  Cicero,  with  contemporary  and  later  Latin 
writers,  said  Septem-  or  Septentriones,  as  did  the  long-haired  Iopas  in  his 
Aeneid  song  of  the  two  Northern  Oars ;  and  Propertius  wrote  of  them : 

Flectant  Icarii  sidera  tarda  boves ; 

while  Claudian  designated  them  z&pigri ;  all  of  which  remind  us  of  similar 
epithets  for  their  driver  Bootes. 

Septentrio  seems  to  have  been  applied  to  either  constellation;  and  Dante 
used  it  for  the  Minor,  with  a  beautiful  simile,  in  his  Purgatorio,  Eventually 
it  became  a  term  for  the  north  pole  and  the  north  wind ;  then  for  the  North 


432  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

generally,  as  the  word  Arctic  has  from  the  stellar  <£p*roc.  Dante  had  sel- 
tentriondle  sito  ;  Chaucer  spoke  of  the  "  Septentrioun  "asa  compass  point ; 
Shakespeare,  in  King  Henry  VI: 

as  the  South  to  the  Septentrion  ; 

Michael  Drayton,  the  friend  of  Shakespeare  and  poet  laureate  in  1626. 
wrote  in  the  Poly-Olbion  of  "septentrion  cold";  Milton,  in  Paradise  Re- 
gained,  of "  cold  Septentrion  blasts";  and,  in  our  day,  Owen  Meredith  in 
the  Wanderer  has  "  beyond  the  blue  Septentrions  " ;  while  the  word  seems 
current  as  an  adjective  in  nearly  all  modern  languages.  Still  there  is 
nothing  new  in  all  this,  for  in  the  Avesta  the  Seven  Stars  marked  the  North 
in  the  four  quarters  of  the  heavens. 

The  Persian  title  was  Hafturengh,  Heft  Averengh,  or  Heft  Bengh,  quali- 
fied by  Mihin,  Greater,  to  distinguish  it  from  Kihui,  Lesser;  Hewitt  giving 
this  as  originally  Hapto-iringas,  the  Seven  Bulls,  that  possibly  may  be 
the  origin  of  the  Triones.  Cox,  however,  goes  far  back  of  this  classic  title 
and  says : 

They  who  spoke  of  the  seven  triones  had  long  forgotten  that  their  fathers  spoke  of 
the  taras  (staras)  or  strewers  of  light ; 

and  Al  Biruni  derived  the  word  from  tarana,  "  passage,"  as  of  the  stars 
through  the  heavens.  Thus  from  the  results  of  modern  philological  research 
it  is  possible  that  our  long  received  opinions  as  to  the  derivations  of  many 
star-names  should  be  abandoned,  and  that  we  should  search  for  them  far 
back  of  Greece  or  Rome. 

Heraclitos,  the  Ionic  philosopher  of  Ephesus  of  about  500  b.  c,  asserted 
that  this  constellation  marked  the  boundary  between  the  East  and  the 
West,  which  it  may  be  regarded  as  doing  when  on  the  horizon. 

A  coin  of  74  b.  c,  struck  by  the  consul  Lucretius  Trio,  bears  the  Seven 
Stars  disposed  in  an  irregular  curve  around  the  new  moon,  while  the  word 
Trio  within  the  crescent  is  an  evident  allusion  to  the  consul's  name,  albeit 
one  hardly  known  in  Roman  history. 

The  Hebrew  Ash,  or  'Ayish,  is  reproduced  by,  or  was  derived  from,  the 
Arabic  Banat  Haash  al  Knbra,  the  Daughters  of  the  Great  Bier,  1.  e. the 
Mourners, —  the  Benenas,  Benethasch,  and  Beneth  As  of  Chilmead  aod 
Christmannus, —  applied  to  the  three  stars  in  the  extreme  end  of  the  group. 
77  being  Al  Ka'id,  the  Chief  One;  from  this  came  Bayer's  El  Keid  for  the 
whole  constellation.  Riccioli,  quoting  Kircher,  said  that  the  Arabian 
Christians  with  more  definiteness  termed  it  Ha' ash  Laazar,  the  Bier  of 
Lazarus,  with  Mary,  Martha,  and  Ellamath, —  this  last  being  given  in  Mrs. 


The  Constellations  433 

Jameson's  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art  as  Marcella  or  Manilla,  but  by  Smyth 
as  Magdalen;  Riccioli's  word  should  be  Al  Amah,  the  Maid,  the  position 
that  Marcella  occupied  toward  the  two  women  during  their  journey  to  Mar- 
seilles, where  she  was  canonized.   Karsten  Niebuhr  said  that  the  constellation 
was  known,  even  in  his  day,  as  tfa'ash  by  the  Arabs  along  the  Persian  Gulf; 
and  Wetzstein  tells  the  modern  story,  from  that  people,  in  which  these 
mourners,  the  children  of  Al  Na'ash,  who  was  murdered  by  Al  Jadi,  the 
pole-star,  are  still  nightly  surrounding  him  in  their  thirst  for  vengeance, 
the  wdliddn  among  the  daughters  —  the  star  Mizar — holding  in  her  arms 
her  new-born  infant,  the  little  Alcor,  while  Suhail  is  slowly  struggling  up  to 
their  help  from  the  South.     Delitzsch  says  that  even  to-day  the  group  is 
known  as  a  Bier  in  Syria;  Flammarion  attributing  this  title  to  the  slow 
and  solemn  motion  of  the  figure  around  the  pole.     This  seems  to  have 
originated  in  Arabia;  and  from  it  come  the  titles  even  now  occasionally 
heard  for  the  quadrangle  stars  —  the  Bier  and  the  Great  Coffin.    With  the 
early  Arab  poets  the  Banat  stars  were  an  emblem  of  inactivity  and  laziness. 
It  had  other  names  also.    Cynosuris  appeared  with  Ovid  and  Germani- 
cus  for  this,  although  it  generally  is  applied  to  the  Lesser  Bear;   Uklv8tovt 
used  for  it  or  for  its  quarter  of  the  sky,  was  from  the  Greek,  as  we  see  in  Plu- 
tarch's dl  r&v  nXivOiwv  vnoypaQai,  the  "  fields,"  or  "  spaces,"  into  which  the 
augurs  divided  the  heavens,  the  templa,  or  regioties,  coeli  of  the  Latins ; 
while  "EA-if ,  the  Curved,  or  Spiral,  One,  and  'EA/kt;,  apparently  first  used  for 
the  constellation  by  Aratos  and  Apollonius  Rhodius,  became  common  as 
descriptive  of  its  twisting  around  the  pole, —  whence  one  of  its  titles  now, 
the   Twitter ;   Sophocles  having  the  same  thought  in  "Apicrov  orpo<l>d6eg 
KiXevdot,  the  "  circling  paths  of  the  Bear."     Some,  however,  derived  the 
name  from  the  curved  or  twisted  position  of  the  chief  stars ;  and  others,  still 
more  probably,  from  the  city  Helice,  Kallisto's  birthplace  in  Arcadia.  Ovid 
used  this  tide  in  the  Fasti,  where  he  wrote  of  both  the  Bears,  in  navigation  : 

Esse  duas  Arctos,  quarum,  Cynosura  petatur 
Sidoniis,  Helicen  Graia  carina  notet ; 

but  later  on  Helice  was  considered  a  nymph,  one  of  the  two  Cretan  sister 
nurses  who  nourished  the  infant  Jupiter 

In  odorous  Dikte,  near  the  Idaian  hill, 

whence  she  was  transferred  to  the  skies.     Dante,  in  the  Paradiso,  alludes 
to  barbarians 

coming  from  some  region 
That  every  day  by  Helice  is  covered 
Revolving  with  her  son  whom  she  delights  in. 
28 


434  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Homer's  'EAS/cuto?  has  been  rendered  "  observing  Helice,"  and  so  applied 
to  the  early  Grecian  sailors;  but  there  seems  to  be  no  foundation  for  this, 
as  the  word  merely  signifies  "  black-,"  "  glancing-,"  or  "  rolling-eyed,"  and  fre- 
quently was  applied  to  various  characters  in  the  I/iad,  with  no  limitation  zs 
to  sex  or  profession. 

Ancient,  however,  as  are  "Apicroc  and  Ursa,  'Ash  and  the  Bier,  "Auafa, 
Plaustrum,  and  Triones,  this  splendid  constellation  ran  still  further  back— 
three  or  four  or  even  more  millenniums  before  even  these  titles  were  current 
—  as  the  Bull's  Thigh,  or  the  Fore  Shank,  in  Egypt.  There  it  was  represented 
on  the  Denderah  planisphere  and  in  the  temple  of  Edfu  by  a  single  thigh 
or  hind  quarter  of  the  animal,  alluded  to  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead  as 

The  constellation  of  the  Thigh  in  the  northern  sky ; 

and  thus  mentioned  in  inscriptions  on  the  kings'  tombs  and  the  walls  ol  the 
Ramesseum  at  Thebes.  Sometimes  the  figure  of  the  Thigh  was  changed  to 
that  of  a  cow's  body  with  disc  and  horns ;  but,  however  called  or  represented, 
these  stars  always  were  prominent  in  the  early  astronomy  and  mythology 
of  Egypt.  Mes^et  seems  to  have  been  their  designation,  and  specially  for 
some  one  of  them,  as  representative  of  the  malignant  red  Set,1  Sit,  or  Sith, 
Sut  or  Sutech,  who,  with  his  wife  Taurt  or  Thoueris,  shown  by  the  adjoining 
Hippopotamus  (now  a  part  of  our  Draco),  represented  darkness  and  the 
divinities  of  evil.  Set  also  was  a  generic  term  applied  to  all  circumpolar 
constellations,  because,  as  always  visible,  they  somewhat  paradoxically  were 
thought  to  typify  darkness. 

Hewitt  writes  of  Set  in  his  earliest  form  as  Kapi,  the  Ape-God,  stars  of 
our  Cepheus  marking  his  head ;  while  at  one  time  on  the  Nile  the  Wain 
stars  seem  to  have  been  the  Dog  of  Set  or  of  Typhon.  This  may  have  given 
rise  to  the  title  Canii  Venatica  that  La  Lande  cited,  if  this  be  not  more  cor 
rectly  considered  as  the  classic  Kallisto's  hound;  and  the  same  idea  ap- 
pears in  the  Catuli,  Lap-dogs,  and  Canes  Laconicae,  the  Spartan  Dogs,  that 
Caesius  cited  for  both  of  the  Wains. 

The  myth  of  Horus,  one  of  the  most  ancient  even  in  ancient  Egypt,  de- 
ciphered from  the  temple  walls  of  Edfu,  5000  b.  c,  as  connected  with  the 
stellar  Hippopotamus,  was,  about  3000  years  afterwards,  transferred  tu 
the  Thigh,  which  then  occupied  the  same  circumpolar  position  that  the  Hilr 
popotamus  did  when  the  original  inscription  was  made.  In  view  of  this, 
Champollion  alluded  to  the  Thigh  as  Horns  Apollo. 

1  Set,  also  Anubis,  Apap,  Apepi,  Bes,  Tebha,  Teirtha,  and  Typhoeus  according  to  P* 
tarch,  was  one  of  Egypt's  greatest  gods,  who  subsequently  became  the  Greek  giant  Typh°r" 
father  of  the  fierce  winds,  but  slain  by  Zeus  with  a  thunderbolt  and  buried  under  M°unt 
Aetna. 


The  Constellations  435 

Towards  our  era,  when  Egypt  began  to  be  influenced  by  Greece,  her  for- 
mer pupil,  our  Wain  was  regarded  as  the  Car  of  Osiris,  shown  on  some  of 
that  country's  planispheres  by  an  Ark,  or  Boat,  near  to  the  polar  point,  al- 
though it  also  seems  to  have  been  known  as  a  Bear. 

Al  Biruni  devoted  a  chapter  of  his  work  on  India  to  these  seven  stars, 
saying  that  they  were  there  known  as  Saptar  Shayar,  the  Seven  Anchorites, 
with  the  pious  woman  Al  Suha  (the  star  Alcor),  all  raised  by  Dharma  to 
the  sky,  to  a  much  higher  elevation  than  the  rest  of  the  fixed  stars,  and  all 
located  "near  Vas,  the  chaste  woman  Vumdhati";  but  who  was  this  last 
is  not  explained.     And  he  quoted  from  Varaha  Mihira : 

The  northern  region  is  adorned  with  these  stars,  as  a  beautiful  woman  is  adorned  with 
a  collar  of  pearls  strung  together,  and  a  necklace  of  white  lotus  flowers,  a  handsomely 
arranged  one.  Thus  adorned,  they  are  like  maidens  who  dance  and  revolve  round  the  pole 
as  the  pole  orders  them. 

Professor  Whitney  tells  us  that 

to  these  stars  the  ancient  astronomers  of  India,  and  many  of  the  modern  upon  their 
authority,  have  attributed  an  independent  motion  about  the  pole  of  the  heavens,  at  the 
rate  of  eight  minutes  yearly,  or  of  a  complete  revolution  in  2700  years; 

and  that  this  strange  dogma  well  illustrates  the  character  of  Hindu  as- 
tronomy. The  matter-of-fact  Al  Biruni,  commenting  on  this  same  thing, 
and  on  the  absurdly  immense  numbers  in  Hindu  chronology,  wrote : 

The  author  of  the  theory  was  a  man  entirely  devoid  of  scientific  education,  and  one 
of  the  foremost  in  the  series  of  fools  who  simply  invented  those  years  for  the  benefit  of 
people  who  worship  the  Great  Bear  and  the  pole.  He  had  to  invent  a  vast  number  of 
years,  for  the  more  outrageous  it  was,  the  more  impression  it  would  make. 

In  China  the  Tseih  Sing,  or  Seven  Stars,  prominent  in  this  constellation, 
were  known  as  the  Government,  although  also  called  Pih  Tow,  the  Northern 
Measure,  which  Flammarion  translates  the  Bushel ;  while  the  centre  of  the 
Square  was  Kwei,  an  object  of  worship  and  a  favorite  stellar  title  in  that 
country,  as  it  occurs  twice  in  their  list  of  sieu,  although  there  rendered  the 
Spectre,  or  Striding  Legs.  Reeves  said  that  the  four  stars  of  the  Square 
were  Tien  Li,  the  Heavenly  Reason,  and  Edkins,  in  his  Religion  in  China^ 
assigns  to  this  spot  the  home  of  the  Taouist  female  divinity  Tow  Moo. 
Colas  gives  Ti  Tone,  the  Emperor's  Chariot ;  but  this  was  doubtless  a  later 
designation  from  Jesuit  teaching. 

Weigel  of  Jena  figured  it  as  the  heraldic  Danish  Elephant ;  but  Julius 
Schiller,  as  the  archangel  Michael;  while  Caesius  said  that  it  might  repre- 
sent one  of  the  Bean  sent  by  Elisha  to  punish  his  juvenile  persecutors,  or 
the  Chariot  that  Pharaoh  gave  to  Joseph. 


436  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Popular  names  for  it  have  been  the  Butcher's  Cleaver,  somewhat  similar 
to  the  Hindu  figure  for  the  other  Seven  Stars,  the  Pleiades;  the  Brood  Hen, 
also  reminding  us  of  that  cluster,  as  do  the  Gaelic  Grigirean,  Crann,  and 
Crannarain;  Peter's  Skiff;  from,  or  the  original  of,  Julius  Schiller's  8hip  of 
Saint  Peter ;  the  Ladle ;  and,  what  is  known  to  every  one,  star-lover  or  not, 
the  Big  Dipper,  the  universally  common  title  in  our  country.  In  southern 
France  this  has  been  changed  to  Casserole,  the  Saucepan. 

Before  the  observations  of  the  navigators  of  the  15th  and  16th  centuries 
the  singular  belief  prevailed  that  the  southern  heavens  contained  a  con- 
stellation near  the  pole  similar  to  our  Bear  or  Wain ;  indeed,  it  is  said  to 
have  been  represented  on  an  early  map  or  globe.     Manilius  wrote : 

The  lower  Pole  resemblance  bears 

To  this  Above,  and  shines  with  equal  stars ; 

With  Bears  averse,  round  which  the  Draco  twines ; 

and  Al  Biruni  repeated  the  Sanskrit  legend  that  at  one  time  in  the  history 
of  the  Creation  an  attempt  was  made  by  Visv&mitra  to  form  a  southern 
heavenly  home  for  the  body  of  the  dead  king,  the  pious  Somadatta;  and 
this  work  was  not  abandoned  till  a  southern  pole  and  another  Bear  had 
been  located  in  positions  corresponding  to  the  northern,  this  pole  passing 
through  the  island  Lunka,  or  Vadavamukha  (Ceylon).  The  Anglo-Saxon 
Manual  made  distinct  mention  of  this  duplicate  constellation  "  which  we 
can  never  see."  Towards  our  day  Eden,  describing  the  "  pole  Antartike," 
said: 

Aloysius  Cadamustus  *  wryteth  in  this  effecte :  We  saw  also  syxe  cleare  bryght  tnd 
great  starres  very  lowe  above  the  sea.  And  consyderynge  theyr  stations  with  our  coom- 
passe,  we  found  them  to  stande  ryght  south,  fygured  in  this  maner,  «*«»,.  W* 
judged  them  to  bee  the  chariot te  or  wayne  of  the  south :  But  we  saw  not  the  principal! 
star  re,  as  we  coulde  not  by  good  reason,  except  we  shuld  first  lose  the  syght  of  the  north 
pole. 

And,  quoting  from  Francisco  Lopes  of  1552  : 

Abowt  the  poynt  of  the  Sou  the  or  pole  Antartike,  they  sawe  a  lyttle  whyte  cloude  and 
foure  starres  lyke  unto  a  crosse  with  three  other  joynynge  thereunto,  which  resemble  oure 
Septentrion,  and  are  judged  to  bee  the  signes  or  tokens  of  the  south  exeltree  of  heaven. 

What  is  referred  to  here  is  not  known,  for,  although  the  figure  represented 
is  that  of  the  Southern  Cross,  this  constellation  always  is  upright  when 
on  the  meridian,  and,  as  the  observation  was  made  in  latitude  140  or  15°. 

This  Alois,  or  Luigi,  di  Cada  Mosto  was  a  noted  Venetian  navigator  in  the  service  of 
Portugal,  for  whom  is  often  claimed  the  discovery  of  the  Cape  Verd  Islands  in  1456;  but  these 
had  been  seen,  at  least  in  part,  fifteen  years  previously,  by  Antonio  and  Bartolomeo  di  Nolli- 


The  Constellations  437 

its  base  star  was  plainly  visible.    Still  it  would  seem  that  some  early  know- 
ledge of  the  Cross  was  the  foundation  of  this  idea  of  a  southern  Wain.  . 

Pliny  strangely  blundered  in  some  of  his  allusions  to  Ursa  Major,  assert- 
ing in  one  its  invisibility  in  Egypt,  and,  again,  describing  the  visit  to  Rome 
of  ambassadors  from  Ceylon, —  Milton's  "utmost  Indian  isle  Taprobane," — 
wrote  of  them : 

Septentriones  Vergiliasque  apud  nos  veluti  novo  coelo  mirabantur. 

ai  0j  7*  ^9  eJ  it  and  V*  m  tnis  order,  as  one  follows  the  line  of  seven  stars 
from  the  north,  form  the  familiar  Dipper,  of  which  Mr.  B.  F.  Taylor  writes 
in  his   World  on  Wheels: 

From  that  celestial  Dipper, —  or  so  I  thought, —  the  dews  were  poured  out  gently  upon 
the  summer  world. 

All  these  stars,  unless  possibly  cJ,  which  is  too  faint  for  the .  Potsdam 
observers,  are  approaching  our  system  at  various  rates  of  speed.  Flam- 
marion  has  a  page,  on  this  so-called  star-drift,  in  his  PAstronomie  fbpulaire, 
concluding  that  from  their  proper  motions  they  will  form  an  exaggerated 
Steamer  Chair  50,000  years  hence,  as  they  did  a  magnificent  Cross  50,000 
years  ago. 

(X,  Binary,     2  and  n,    yellow. 

Dubb9  more  generally  Dubhe,  the  Bear,  is  the  abbreviation  of  the  Ara- 
bians' Thahr  al  Dubb  al  Akbar,  the  Back  of  the  Greater  Bear,  Dubb  being 
first  found  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables. 

Al  Biruni  said  that  it  was  the  Hindu  Kratu,  the  Rishi  or  Sage. 

Lockyer  asserts  that  it  was  Ak,  the  Eye,  i.  e.  the  prominent  one  of  the 
constellation,  utilized  in  the  alignment  of  the  walls  of  the  temple  of  Hathor 
at  Denderah,  and  the  orientation  point  of  that  structure  perhaps  before 
5000  b.  c. ;  at  all  events,  before  the  Thigh  became  circumpolar,  about  4000 
b.  c.  This  was  in  the  times  of  the  Hor-she-shu,  the  worshipers  of  Horus, 
before  the  reign  of  Mena,1  when  the  star  had  a  declination  of  over  640, — 
now  about  620  24'.  And  he  finds  two  other  temples  also  so  oriented. 
As  typifying  a  goddess  of  Egypt,  it  was  Bast  Iaia  and  Taurt  Isis. 

The  Chinese  know  it  as  Tien  Choo,  Heaven's  Pivot,  and  as  Kow  Ching. 

a  is  50  from  j3  and  io°  from  cJ,  and,  being  always  visible,  these  stars 
afford  a  ready  means  of  accurate  eye  measurement  of  others  adjacent. 

l  Mena,  Menes,  or  Min  was  the  first  historic  king  of  Egypt,  his  date  being  variously  given 
from  5867  b.  C.  to  389a  B.  c. ,  Flinders  Petrie  making  it,  from  astronomical  data,  4777  B.  c. 
28» 


438  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  Keepers  was  Arago's  name  for  them;  while,  as  the  Pointers,  they 
indicate  to  beginners  in  astronomy  the  pole-star,  28^°  distant  from  a,  and 
Regulus,  450  away  towards  the  south ;  and  they  have  been  called  the 
Two  Stan. 

They  are  circumpolar  north  of  about  320  45' ;  and,  with  Polaris,  received 
much  attention  in  the  first  almanac l  that  was  printed  in  London,  in  1473. 

Klein  surmised,  in  1867,  that  Dubhe  shows  remarkable,  although  irregu- 
lar, variations  in  color, —  not  in  light, —  from  red  to  yellow,  in  a  period  of 
54^  days ;  but  this  is  still  in  doubt.  Its  spectrum  is  Solar,  and  it  is  ap- 
proaching our  system  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  a  second. 

The  nth-magnitude  companion,  .97  of  a  second  away,  was  discovered 
by  Burnham  in  1889,  and  is  thought  to  be  in  rapid  revolution  around  it. 


P?     2.5,    greenish  white. 

Merak,  or  Mirak,  is  from  Al  Marakk,  the  Loin  (of  the  Bear) ;  but  Chil- 
mead  said  Mirae,  and  Scaliger,  Mizar.  It  may  have  been  known  by  the 
Greeks  as  Helike,  one  of  their  names  for  the  whole. 

The  Chinese  called  it  Tien  Senen,  an  Armillary  Sphere,  and  the  Hindus, 
Pnlaha,  one  of  the  Rishis. 

Its  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  it  is  moving  toward  us  about  i8#  miles  a 
second. 

Close  to  it,  on  the  west,  lies  the  Owl  Nebula,  N.  G.  C.  3587,  97  M.,  dis- 
covered by  Mechain  in  1781,  and  so  called  from  the  two  interior  circular 
spaces,  each  with  a  central  star  representing  the  eye;  although  one  of  the>e 
stars  seems  to  have  disappeared  since  1850.  The  angular  diameter  of  thb 
nebula  —  2'  40"  —  indicates  a  magnitude  sufficient  to  contain  thousand> 
of  solar  systems. 

"f>     2.5,    topaz  yellow. 

Phaed  and  Phachd,  Phad,  Phaed,  Phecda,  Phekda,  and  Phegda,  are  all 

from  Al  Fafidh,  the  Thigh,  where  this  star  is  located  in  the  figure. 

Al  Biruni  said  that  it  was  Pulastya,  one  of  the  Hindu  Seven  Sages. 

The  Chinese  knew  it  as  Ke  Seuen  Ke,  and  as  Tien  Ke,  another  Armillan 
Sphere. 

Its  spectrum  is  similar  to  that  of  /3,  and  the  star  is  approaching  us  at  the 
rate  of  16.6  miles  a  second.     It  is  8°  distant  from  0,  and  \%°  from  d. 

1  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  second  of  such  works;  the  first  being  variously  given  as  po- 
lished in  Vienna  by  Purbach,  or  in  Buda,  or  in  Poland  a  few  years  previously. 


The  Constellations  439 

t*9     3-6,    pale  yellow. 

Megrez  is  from  Al  Maghres,  the  Root  of  the  Tail. 

In  China  it  was  Kwan,  and  Tien  Kuen,  Heavenly  Authority. 

With  the  Hindus  it  may  have  been  Atri,  one  of  their  Seven  Rishis,  and 
the  Vishnu-Dharma  said  that  it  ruled  the  other  stars  of  the  Bear. 

It  is  io°  distant  from  a;  4^°  from  y\  $}4°  from  c;  and  320  from  the 
pole,  directly  opposite  j3  Cassiopeiae,  and  almost  on  the  equinoctial  colure. 
«,  3,  yf  and  6  form  the  bowl  of  the  Dipper,  the  body  of  the  Bear,  and  the 
frames  of  the  Bier,  Plough,  and  Wain,  but  occupy  a  space  of  less  than  }£ 
of  the  whole  constellation.     Within  this  square  Heis  shows  eight  stars. 

Megrez  is  thought  to  be  slightly  variable,  and  to  have  decreased  in  lustre 
during  the  present  century,  on  the  very  doubtful  ground  that  it  is  much 
fainter  than  the  succeeding  e.     As  to  this  Miss  Clerke  writes : 

The  immemorially  observed  constituents  of  the  Plough  preserve  no  fixed  order  of  relative 
brilliancy,  now  one,  now  another  of  the  septett  having  at  sundry  epochs  assumed  the 
primacy. 

But  this  is  uncertain,  although  we  know  that  Ptolemy  rated  it  at  the  3d 
magnitude  and  Tycho  at  the  2d. 

S,     2.1. 

Alioth,  sometimes  Allioth,  seems  to  have  originated  in  the  first  edition 
of  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  and  appeared  with  Chaucer  in  the  Hous  of  Fame 
as  Aliot ;  with  Bayer,  as  Aliath,  from  Scaliger,  and  as  Risalioth ;  with  Riccioli, 
as  Alabieth,  Alaioth,  Alhiath,  and  Alhaiath,  all  somewhat  improbably  de- 
rived, Scaliger  said,  from  Alyat,1  the  Fat  Tail  of  the  Eastern  sheep.  But 
the  later  Alfonsine  editions  adopted  Aliare  and  Aliore  —  Riccioli's  Alcore 
—  from  the  Latin  Almagest  of  15 15,  on  Al  Tizini's  statement  that  the  word 
was  Al  Hawar,  the  White  of  the  Eye,  or  the  White  Poplar  Tree,  1.  e.  In- 
tensely Bright;  Hyde  transcribing  the  original  as  Al  Haur.  Ulug  Beg  had 
Al  Harm,  but  Ideler,  rejecting  this  as  not  being  an  Arabic  word,  substituted 
Al  Jaun,  the  Black  Courser,  as  if  belonging  to  the  governor,  Al  Ka'id,  the 
star  77,  and  its  comparative  faintness  gives  some  probability  to  this  con- 
jecture. Assemani,  however,  said  that  on  the  Cufic  globe  it  is  "  Alhut,"  the 
Fish, —  one  of  the  many  instances  of  blundering  that  Ideler  attributed  to 
him. 

Bayer  also  assigned  to  it  the  Micar,  Miraoh,  and  Mizar  that  we  give  to 

iTbe  syllable  Al,  in  this  word  Alyat,  is  not  the  Arabic  definite  article. 


44-0  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

rj,  and  designated  it  as  Aay&v,  the  Flank,  and  'Trrd^w/ia,  the  Diaphragm, 
as  marking  those  parts  of  the  Bear's  figure. 

Al  Biruni  said  that  it  was  Afigiras  among  the  Hindu  Seven  Sages. 

In  China  it  was  Yuh  Kang,  the  Gemmeous  Transverse,  a  portion  of  an 
early  astronomical  instrument ;  while  other  stars  between  it  and  6  were 
Seang,  the  Minister  of  State. 

e  has  a  Sirian  spectrum,  and  is  in  approach  toward  us  at  the  rate  of  19 
miles  a  second.     It  is  5^2°  from  d,  and  4*4°  from  f. 

In  1838  Sir  John  Herschel  thought  it  the  lucida  of  the  seven  stars,  but 
in  1847  that  77  had  taken  its  place.  Franks,  in  1878,  considered  1  the 
lucida,  and  that  the  sequence  was  e,  r\,  f,  a,  /3,  y,  and  rf. 

f   Double,  possibly  binary,    2.1  and  4.2,    brilliant  white  and  pale  emerald. 

Mirak  was  an  early  name  for  this,  a  repetition  of  that  for  /3;  but  Scaliger 
incorrectly  changed  it  to  the  present  Mizar,  from  the  Arabic  Ki'zar,  a  Girdle 
or  Waist-cloth,  which,  although  inappropriate,  has  maintained  its  place  in 
modern  lists ;  Mizat  and  Mirza  being  other  forms.  There  is  evident  confu- 
sion in  the  early  use  of  this  word  as  a  stellar  title,  for  it  has  also  been 
applied  to  the  stars  0  and  e  of  this  constellation.  The  "hill  Mizar"  of  the 
42d  Psalm  sometimes  is  wrongly  associated  with  this,  the  original  Hebrew 
word  misar  being  better  rendered  in  the  Psalter,  from  Coverdale's  version, 
as  "  the  little  hill,"  1.  e.  of  Hermon,  of  which  it  was  a  minor  peak. 

£  also  was  the  Arabic  'Anfik  al  Ban&t,  the  Necks  of  the  Maidens, 
referring  to  the  Mourners  at  the  Bier;  or  perhaps  this  should  be  rendered 
"  the  Goat  of  the  Mourners,"  for  in  some  editions  of  Ulug  Beg's  Tables  it  was 
written  Al  Inak, — correctly  Al  'Inz.  Assemani  said  that  it  was  "Alhiac," 
the  Ostrich,  probably  another  of  his  errors,  as  all  these  stellar  birds  were 
much  farther  south,  in  or  near  our  River  Eridanus. 

With  Alcor  it  has  various  combined  titles  noted  at  that  star;  and  Wett- 
stein  repeats  an  Arabic  story  in  which  Mizar  is  the  wdliddn  of  the  Banat. 
with  Alcor  as  her  new-born  infant. 

In  India  it  may  have  been  Vashishtha,  one  of  the  Seven  Sages. 

£  was  the  first  star  to  be  noticed  as  telescopically  double, —  by  Riccioli 
at  Bologna  in  1650,  and  fifty  years  later  much  observed  and  very  fully 
described  by  Gottfried  Kirch  and  his  scientific  wife,  Maria  Margaretha 
Winckelmann :  an  association  like  that  of  the  great  observer  Herschel 
and  his  sister,  of  the  last  century,  and  of  Sir  William  and  Lady  Huggins  in 
their  spectroscopic  work  of  to-day.  As  early  as  1857  it  was  successfully 
da^uerreotyped,  with  others  surrounding,  by  the  younger  Bond  oftheHai- 


The  Constellations  441 

vard  Observatory,  although  Wega  had  been  pictured  by  the  same  process 
at  the  same  observatory  seven  years  previously  by  the  elder  Bond. 

The  components  are  within  14"  of  arc  of  each  other,  with  a  position 
angle  of  i49°-5,  anc^  may  De  a  binary  system  with  a  long  period  of  revolu- 
tion; while  Pickering  has  shown,  by  study  of  its  spectrum  photographed 
in  1889,  that  the  brightest  component  is  itself  double,  the  two  bodies,  of 
nearly  equal  brightness,  revolving  around  their  common  centre  of  gravity 
at  a  speed  of  100  miles  a  second  in  104  days,  140  millions  of  miles  apart, 
and  with  a  united  mass  forty  times  that  of  our  sun.  This  spectrum  is 
Sirian,  and  the  star  is  in  approach  to  us  at  the  rate  of  19.5  miles  a  second. 

C  is  4>£°  from  e,  and  70  from  rj;  and  a  straight  line  from  it  to  Polaris 
passes  through  the  exact  pole  i°  14'  before  reaching  Polaris. 

Mizar  and  Alcor  are  n'  48"  apart,  and,  since  they  have  nearly  identical 
proper  motion,  some  think  that  they  may  also  be  in  mutual  revolution, 
although  so  distant  from  each  other.  With  their  attendant  stars  they  form 
one  of  the  finest  objects  in  the  sky  for  a  small  telescope,  being  readily 
resolved  by  a  terrestrial  eyepiece  of  40  diameters  with  a  2^-inch  objective. 


T^     1.9,    brilliant  white. 

Alcaid,  Alkaid,  and  Benatnasch  are  our  present  titles,  from  Ka'id  Banat 
al  Ha'aah,  the  Governor  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Bier,  /.  e.  the  Chief  of  the 
Mourners.  Some  of  the  Arabic  poets  wrote  that  these  Daughters  —  the 
stars  e,  £  and  77  —  were 

Good  for  nothing  people  whose  rising  and  setting  do  not  bring  rain. 

Bayer  included  Elkeid  in  his  list  of  names  for  the  stars  as  well  as  for  the 
constellation,  and  had  authority  for  it  from  Kazwini;  but  he  added  for  i\ 
"Beaenaim,  Bennenatz  correctius  Benetnasch,"  and  in  his  text  of  Bootes 
alluded  to  it  as  Benenacx.  The  Alfonsine  Tables  of  152 1  say  Bennenazc; 
Riccioli,  Benat  Elnanflohi,  Beninax,  Benenath,  Benenatz ;  while  Al  Ka'id 
often  has  been  turned  into  Alchayr,  Arago's  Ackair,  and  others'  Aokiar. 
In  this  Al  Ka'id  we  see  the  derivation,  through  the  Moors,  of  the  modern 
Spanish  word  Alcaide;  and,  with  the  same  idea,  Ideler  translated  the 
original  as  the  "  Stadtholder." 

Assemani  transcribed  from  the  Borgian  globe  "Alcatel,"  Destroying. 
Al  Biruni  gave  it  as  Hanoi,  one  of  the  Seven  Rishis  of  India. 

In  China  it  was  known  as  Yaou  Kwang,  a  Revolving  Light. 

Boteler  has  an  amusing  reference  to  it  in  Hudibras : 


442  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Cardan  believ'd  great  states  depend 
Upon  the  tip  orth'  Bear's  tail's  end; 
That,  as  she  whisk'd  it  t' wards  the  Sun, 
Strew'd  mighty  empires  up  and  down  ; 
Which  others  say  must  needs  be  false, 
Because  your  true  bears  have  no  tails. 

r\  is  70  from  C,  and  2 6°  from  a;  and  with  £  forms  another  pair  oi 
Pointers — towards  Arcturus.  It  is  noted  as  marking  the  radiant  of  one  of 
the  richest  minor  meteor  streams,  the  Urrids  of  the  10th  of  November. 

Bradley's  earliest  observations  for  parallax  were  made  on  this  star  and 
y  Draconis,  but  unsuccessfully,  as  his  instruments  were  inadequate;  yet 
even  in  our  own  day  Pritchard's  work  on  tf  for  the  same  purpose  showed 
a  negative  result, — o".046,  and  equally  unsatisfactory. 

Alkaid's  spectrum  is  Sirian,  and  the  star  is  approaching  us  at  the  rate  of 
1 6. 1  miles  a  second. 

Sir  John  Herschel  thought  it,  in  1847, tne  tocida  of  the  seven  stars. 


9,  Double,    3.4  combined,    brilliant  white. 

This,  with  t,  h,  v,  0,  e,  and /in  the  Bear's  throat,  breast,  and  fore  knet>. 
which  describe  somewhat  of  a  semicircle,  was  the  Arab  star-gazers'  Sarir 
Banat  al  Na'ash,  the  Throne  of  the  Mourners. 

This  space  also  has  been  Al  Hang,  the  Pond  into  which  the  Gazelle* 
sprang  for  safety  at  the  lashing  of  the  Lion's  tail ;  although  Hyde  applied 
this  title  to  the  stars  now  our  Coma  Berenices,  and  fhufr  al  Ghixlan,  the 
Gazelles'  Tracks,  to  the  small  outlying  stars  near  the  Bear's  feet.  But  the 
engraver  of  the  Borgian  globe  placed  them  at  stars  in  the  neck. 

In  China  0,  v,  and  0  were  Wan  Chang,  the  Literary  Illumination. 


I,  Binary,    3.2  and  13,    topaz  yellow  and  purple,     and    X,    3.5. 

Smyth  wrote  that 

this  star  has  obtained  the  name  of  Talita,  the  third  vertebra,  the  meaning  of  which  is  no'. 
quite  clear.  Ulug  Beigh  has  it  Al  Phikra  al  Thmlitha,  perhaps  for  Al  Kafzah  al-tkalitkch, 
the  third  spring,  or  leap,  of  the  ghazal ; 

but  he  was  not  sufficiently  comprehensive,  for  this  last  title  was  applied  b} 
the  Arabs  to  t  and  k  together;  al  Ula,  the  First  (leap),  being  shown  by  r  ^ 
£,  and  al  Thanlyah,  the  Second  (leap),  by  k  and  /*, —  not  6  and  p  as  thai 


The  Constellations  443 

generally  accurate  author  asserted.  In  popular  lists  1  frequently  is  given  as 
Talitha.  Hyde  strangely  rendered  the  original  words  of  Ulug  Beg  as  the 
Vertebrae  of  the  Greater  Bear, —  whence  probably  Smyth's  statement, — 
or  the  Cavity  of  the  Heel,  which,  from  the  star's  position  in  the  figure,  is  a 
much  more  likely  translation. 

In  China  these  two  stars  were  Shang  Tae,  the  High  Dignitary. 

H olden  says  of  1  that  its  "companion  is  suspected  to  be  a  planet."  It  is 
12"  distant  from  the  larger,  and  the  orbital  revolution  is  very  slow. 

X,     3.7,    and    Jl,     3.2,    red. 

These  are  our  Tania  borealis  and  Tania  anjtralis;  and  together  were  the 
Arabs'  Al  Kaffeah  al  Thaniyah,  the  Second  Spring  (of  the  Gazelle),  marking 
the  Bear's  left  hind  foot.  Baily  has  them  in  his  edition  of  Ulug  Beg's 
Tables,  from  Hyde's  Latin  translation,  as  Al  Phikra  al  Thania, —  in  the 
original  Al  Fikrah,  the  Vertebra ;  but  this,  more  probably,  is  entirely  wrong, 
as  these  three  pairs  of  stars  have  always  marked  three  of  the  Bear's  feet. 

In  China  they  were  Chung  Tae,  the  Middle  Dignitary. 

V,  Double,     3.5  and  12,    orange  and  cerulean  blue, 
£,  Binary,    3.9  and  5  5,    subdued  white  and  grayish  white, 

mark  the  right  hind  foot,  and  are  the  southern  of  the  three  noted  pairs. 

They  were  the  Chinese  HeaTae,  the  Lower  Dignitary. 

The  components  of  f  are  but  1"  apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  3000. 
_  v9  the  northern  one  of  the  two  stars,  is  Alula  borealis,  from  Al  Kafeahal 
Hla,  the  First  Spring. 

s  is  Alula  anjtralis,  the  southern  one  in  the  combination, —  Ulug  Beg's 
Al  Fikrah  al  Ula.     Ideler's  Awla,  and  Burritt's  Acola,  are  erroneous. 

This,  with  f  Herculis  and  y  Virginis,  was  the  most  prominent  of  the 
double  stars  discovered  to  be  binary  systems  by  Sir  William  Herschel  in  his 
investigations  for  stellar  parallax,  when  (I  quote  from  Professor  Young), 

to  use  his  own  expression,  he  "went  out  like  Saul  to  seek  his  father's  asses,  and  found 
a  kingdom," — the  dominion  of  gravitation  extended  to  the  stars,  unlimited  by  the  bounds 
of  the  solar  system. 

s  was  the  first  binary  of  which  the  orbit  was  computed, —  by  Savary  in 
1828, — having  a  period  of  sixty-one  years,  and  has  already  made  more  than 
a  complete  revolution  since  its  discovery.  The  components  are  about  2" 
apart,  with  a  position  angle  in  1898  of  i62°.7. 


444  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  foregoing  three  pairs,  about  200  apart  and  the  members  of  each  pair 
1  J4°  or  20  apart,  are  beautifully  grouped  with  others  invisible  to  the  naked 
eye.  They  were  interesting  to  the  Arabs,  as  they  now  are  to  us,  and  were 
collectively  designated  Kafeah  al  Thiba',  the  Springs  of  the  Gazelle, 
each  pair  marking  one  spring ;  the  Gazelle  being  imagined  from  the  un- 
formed stars  since  gathered  up  as  Leo  Minor,  and  the  springing  of  the  ani- 
mal being  due  to  its  fear  of  the  greater  Lion's  tail.  Ideler  adopted  this 
from  Al  Tizini  and  the  Cufic  globe  at  Dresden ;  while  the  Borgian  globe 
shows  a  Gazelle  and  her  Young  in  the  same  location.  Kazwini,  however, 
described  this  group  as  extending  over  the  eyes,  eyebrows,  ears,  and  muzzle 
of  the  figure  of  our  Ursa  Major. 

According  to  Williams9  the  Chinese  knew  these  six  stars  as  San  Taa,  or 
Bhang  Tae ;  but  Reeves  limited  this  title  to  1  and  «.  Their  records  men- 
tion a  comet  seen  near  by  in  1 10  b.  c. 

0,  Double,    3.5  and  15.2. 

Bayer  said  that  "  the  Barbarians  "  called  this  Miucida,  a  word  apparently 
coined  in  the  Middle  Ages  for  the  muzzle  of  an  animal,  the  feature  of  the 
Bear  that  the  star  marks. 

The  components  are  7"  apart,  at  a  position  angle  of  191  °.4. 

TCl,     5.6,    and  TC2,     4.8. 

Mnjeida  has  also  been  applied  to  these,  although  Heis  locates  them 
nearer  the  eyes. 


Ol,    5.2,    and    02,  Binary,    4.8  and  9.5,    flushed  white  and  sapphire, 

with  o,  7T,  p,  A,  //,  and  some  others  in  the  eyes,  ears,  and  muzzle  of  the  Bear, 
were  the  asterism  that  Kazwini  knew  as  Al  Thiba',  the  Gazelle. 

With  <j>  and  others  they  were  the  Chinese  San  Tsse,  the  Three  Instructors. 

The  components  of  a2  are  3''  apart,  with  a  position  angle  of  2500. 

t,  a  5th-magnitude  double,  with  other  small  stars  near  by,  was  the  Chi- 
nese Nny  Keae,  the  Inner  Steps. 


X,     4,     red, 

placed  on  the  right  foot  by  Burritt  as  Al  Kaphrah,  is  wrong,  for  Heis  puts 
the  letter  at  a  star  on  the  rear  of  the  right  hind  quarter,  and  has  no  letter  at 


The  Constellations  445 

Burritt's  star ;  if  entitled  to  a  name  at  all,  it  should  be  Al  Kafeah,  as  at 
1  and  k.     Still  the  Standard  Dictionary  follows  Burritt  in  its  El  Kophrah. 

It  was  the  Chinese  Tae  Tang  Show,  the  Sun  Governor,  and  Shaon  We, 
of  somewhat  similar  signification. 

V>>  a  3  ^-magnitude  yellow  star,  is  Tien  Tsan,  according  to  Williams,  but 
Reeves  says  Ta  Twin,  Extremely  Honorable. 

w,  a  5th-magnitude,  with  near-by  stars,  was  Tien  Laou,  Heavenly  Prison. 

Between  V>  and  g>,  somewhat  nearer  to  the  former,  is  the  7th-magnitude 
LI.  2 1 185,  one  of  the  two  or  three  stars  that  follow  a  Centauri  in  prox- 
imity to  our  system,  and,  so  far  as  our  present  determinations  can  be 
trusted,  6j4  light  years  away. 


gy    or    80  Fl.,    4.8. 

Alcor  is  the  naked-eye  companion  of  Mizar,  and,  inconspicuous  though 
it  be,  has  been  famous  in  astronomical  folk-lore. 

This  title,  and  that  of  the  star  e,  Alioth,  may  be  from  the  same  source, 
for  Smyth  wrote  of  it: 

They  are  wrong  who  pronounce  the  name  to  be  an  Arabian  word  importing  sharp-sigh  ted  - 
ness :  it  is  a  supposed  corruption  of  al-jaun,  a  courser,  incorrectly  written  al-jat,  whence 
probably  the  Alioth  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables  came  in,  and  was  assigned  to  c  Ursae  Majoris, 
the  "  thill-horse  "  of  Charles's  Wain.  This  little  fellow  was  also  familiarly  termed  Suha 
[the  Forgotten,  Lost,  or  Neglected  One,  because  noticeable  only  by  a  sharp  eye],  and  im- 
plored to  guard  its  viewers  against  scorpions  and  snakes,  and  was  the  theme  of  a  world 
of  wit  in  the  shape  of  saws  : 

but  Miss  Clerke  says : 

The  Arabs  in  the  desert  regarded  it  as  a  test  of  penetrating  vision ;  and  they  were 
.accustomed  to  oppose  "  Suhel "  to  "  Suha  "  (Canopus  to  Alcor)  as  occupying  respectively 
the  highest  and  lowest  posts  in  the  celestial  hierarchy.  So  that  Vidit  Alcor,  at  non  lunam 
plenum,  came  to  be  a  proverbial  description  of  one  keenly  alive  to  trifles,  but  dull  of 
apprehension  for  broad  facts. 

Al  Sahja  was  the  rhythmical  form  of  the  usual  Suha;  and  it  appears  as  Al 
"Khawwar,"  the  Faint  One,  in  an  interesting  list  of  Arabic  star- names,  pub- 
lished in  Popular  Astronomy  for  January,  1895,  by  Professor  Robert  H. 
West,  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beirut. 

Firuzabadi  called  it  Our  Riddle,  and  Al  Sad&k,  the  Test, — correctly 
?Mdak,  True ;  while  Kazwini  said  that  "  people  tested  their  eyesight  by 
this  star."  Humboldt  wrote  of  it  as  being  seen  with  difficulty,  and  Arago 
similarly  alluded  to  it;   but  some  now  consider  it  brighter  than  formerly 


446  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

and  no  longer  the  difficult  object  that  it  was,  even  in  the  clear  sky  of  the 
Desert ;  or  as  having  increased  in  angular  distance  from  Mizar. 

Although  the  statement  has  been  made  that  Alcor  was  not  known  to  the 
Greeks,  there  is  an  old  story  that  it  was  the  Lost  Pleiad  Electra,  which  had 
wandered  here  from  her  companions  and  became  "AXcjnrjS,  the  Fox;  a 
Latin  title  was  Eques  Stellula,  the  Little  Starry  Horseman;  liquet,  the 
Cavalier,  is  from  Bayer;  while  the  Horse  and  his  Rider,  and,  popularly,  in 
England,  Jack  on  the  Middle  Horse,  are  well  known,  Mizar  being  the  horse. 

Al  Biruni  mentioned  its  importance  in  the  family  life  of  the  Arabs  on  the 
1 8th  day  of  the  Syrian  month  Adar,  the  March  equinox ;  and  a  modem  story 
of  that  same  people  makes  it  the  infant  of  the  wdliddn  of  the  three  Banal 

In  North  Germany  Alkor,  as  there  written,  has  been  der  Hinde,  the 
Hind,  or  Farm  Hand;  in  Lower  Germany,  Dumke;  and  in  Holstein, Hans 
Bumken,  Hans  the  Thumbkin, — the  legend  being  that  Hans,  a  wagoner, 
having  given  the  Saviour  a  lift  when  weary,  was  offered  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  for  a  reward ;  but  as  he  said  that  he  would  rather  drive  from  east  to 
west  through  all  eternity,  his  wish  was  granted,  and  here  he  sits  on  the 
highest  of  the  horses  of  his  heavenly  team.  A  variant  version  placed  Hans 
here  for  neglect  in  the  service  of  his  master  Christ ;  and  the  Hungarians 
call  the  star  Oontzol,  with  a  somewhat  similar  tale.  Another  Teutonic  ston 
was  that  their  giant  Orwandil,  our  Orion,  having  frozen  one  of  his  big  toes, 
the  god  Thor  broke  it  off  and  threw  it  at  the  middle  horse  of  the  Wagon. 
where  it  still  remains. 

In  China  it  was  Foo  Sing,  a  Supporting  Star. 

At  the  obtuse  angle  formed  with  Alcor  and  Mizar  lies  the  Sidns  ludo- 
vicianum,  an  8th-magnitude  bluish  star,  just  visible  in  a  field-glass.  Thi< 
was  first  noted  in  1691  by  Einmart  of  Nuremberg,  and  in  1723  by  another 
German,  who,  thinking  that  in  it  he  had  discovered  a  new  planet,  named  it 
after  his  sovereign,  Ludwig  V,  landgrave  of  Hesse-Darmstadt. 


1830  Groombridge,     or    4010  B.  A.  C,    6.5, 

is  the  well-known  Flying  Star,  or  Runaway  Star,  that,  until  Kapteyn's 
recent  discovery  of  a  swifter  one  in  Pictor,  had  shown  the  greatest  velocity 
of  any  in  the  heavens,  although  the  7^-magnitude  La  Caille  9352  in  Piscis 
Australis,  and  an  Sj4 -magnitude  in  Sculptor,  are  not  far  behind  it  in  this 
respect.     According  to  Miss  Clerke, 

Argelander  discovered  in  1842  its  pace  to  be  such  as  would  carry  it  around  tbe  entire 
sphere  in  185,000  years,  or  in  265  over  as  much  of  it  as  the  sun's  diameter  covers. 


The  Constellations  447 

Another  calculator  states  that  in  6000  years  it  will  reach  Coma  Berenices. 
This  is  equivalent  to  a  proper  motion  of  7".o3  of  arc  annually,  at  the  rate 
of  over  200  miles  a  second,  and  its  velocity  may  be  still  greater, —  a  speed 
uncontrollable,  Professor  Newcomb  says,  by  the  combined  attractive  power 
of  the  entire  sidereal  universe. 

The  observations  for  its  parallax  do  not  accord  in  their  results,  but  Pro- 
fessor Young  assigns  to  the  star  a  distance  of  37^  light  years. 

It  is  about  1 6°  south  from  y,  half-way  between  Coma  and  the  stars  v  and 
£  on  the  right  paw  of  the  Bear;  its  exact  location  being  n°  46'  of  right 
ascension  and  38°  35'  of  north  declination,  about  150  from  LI.  21258,  an 
8^ -magnitude  also  much  observed  for  its  great  proper  motion ;  but  50,000 
years  hence  the  Flying  Star  will  have  separated  from  this  by  at  least  ioo°. 

From  the  foregoing  list  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  in  the  entire  constel- 
lation twenty  stars  individually  named,  many  of  them  inconspicuous,  two 
even  telescopic, —  evidence  enough  in  itself  of  the  antiquity  of,  as  well  as  the 
continued  popular  and  scientific  interest  in,  Ursa  Major. 


The  other,  less  in  size  but  valued  more  by  sailors, 
Circles  with  all  her  stars  in  smaller  orbit. 

Poste's  Aratos 

(Urea  (gtinor,  ffle  feeder  (gear, 

the  Orsa  Minore  of  Italy,  Petite  Ourse  of  France,  and  Kleine  Bar  of  Ger- 
many, shared  with  its  major  companion  the  latter's  Septentrio,  *Ap«Toc, 
"Ajuafa,  *kyavvay  and  'Ea/k^. 

Similarly  it  was  Kvvoaovpic,  but  solely  Kvvoaovpa;  this  early  and  univer- 
sal title,  usually  translated  the  "  Dog's  Tail,"  continuing  as  Cynosnra  down  to 
the  time  of  the  Rudolphine  Tables  ;  although  with  us  "  Cynosure  "  is  applied 
only  to  Polaris.  The  origin  of  this  word  is  uncertain,  for  the  star  group 
does  not  answer  to  its  name  unless  the  dog  himself  be  attached ;  still  some, 
recalling  a  variant  legend  of  Kallisto  and  her  Dog  instead  of  Areas,  have 
thought  that  here  lay  the  explanation.  Others  have  drawn  this  title  from 
that  of  the  Attican  promontory  east  of  Marathon,  because  sailors,  on  their 
approach  to  it  from  the  sea,  saw  these  stars  shining  above  it  and  beyond ; 
but  if  there  be  any  connection  at  all  here,  the  reversed  derivation  is  more 


448  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

probable;  while  Bournouf  asserted  that  it  is  in  no  way  associated  with  the 
Greek  word  for  "  dog." 

Cox  identified  the  word  with  AvKoaovpa,  which  he  renders  Tail,  or  Train, 
of  Light  Yet  this  does  not  seem  appropriate  to  a  comparatively  faint 
constellation,  and  would  rather  recall  the  city  of  that  title  in  Arcadia,  the 
country  so  intimately  connected  with  the  Bears.  But  the  stellar  name 
probably  long  antedated  the  geographical,  old  as  this  was;  Pausanias  con- 
sidering Lycosura  the  most  ancient  city  in  the  world,  having  been  founded 
by  Lycaon  some  time  before  the  Deluge  of  Deucalion.  Indeed  the  Area 
dians  asserted  that  they  and  their  country  antedated  the  creation  of  the 
moon,  an  assertion  which  gave  occasion  to  Aristotle's  term  for  them,— 
npooekrjvoi  and  the  Latins1  Proselenes. 

Singularly  coincident  with  the  foregoing  AvKooovpa  was  the  title  that  the 
distant  Gaels  gave  to  these  stars, —  Drag-blod,  the  Fire  Tail. 

Very  recently,  however,  Brown  has  suggested  that  the  word  is  not  Hel- 
lenic in  origin,  but  Euphratean ;  and,  in  confirmation  of  this,  mentions  a 
constellation  title  from  that  valley,  transcribed  by  Sayce  as  An-ta-fUM*. 
the  Upper  Sphere.  Brown  reads  this  An-nas-fur-ra,  High  in  Rising,  cer- 
tainly very  appropriate  to  Ursa  Minor;  and  he  compares  it  with  K-vv-oo- 
ov-pa,  or,  the  initial  consonant  being  omitted,  Unosoura.  This,  singularly 
like  the  Euphratean  original, 

might  easily  become  Kunosoura  under  the  influence  of  a  popular  etymology,  aided  by  the 
appearance  of  the  tail  stars  of  the  constellation.  And  in  exact  accordance  with  the  fore- 
going view  is  the  following  somewhat  curious  passage  in  the  Phainomena,  308-9: 

Then,  too,  the  head  of  Kynosure  runs  very  high, 
When  night  begins. 

Ursa  Minor  was  not  mentioned  by  Homer  or  Hesiod,  for,  according  to 
Strabo,  it  was  not  admitted  among  the  constellations  of  the  Greeks  until 
about  600  b.  c,  when  Thales,  inspired  by  its  use  in  Phoenicia,  his  probable 
birthplace,  suggested  it  to  the  Greek  mariners  in  place  of  its  greater  neigh- 
bor, which  till  then  had  been  their  sailing  guide.  Aratos,  comparing  the 
two,  wrote,  as  in  our  motto,  of  the  Minor,  its  Guards,  0  and  y,  then  being 
much  nearer  the  pole  than  was  a,  our  present  pole-star.  Thales  is  reported 
to  have  formed  it  by  utilizing  the  ancient  wings  of  Draco,  perceiving  thai 
the  seven  chief  components  somewhat  resembled  the  well-known  Wain,  but 
reversed  with  respect  to  each  other.  From  all  this  come  its  tides  ♦on,«ty 
Phoenice,  and  Ursa  Phoenicia.  * 

The  later  classical  story  that  made  sister  nymphs  out  of  the  stars  of  our 
two  Bears,  and  nurses  on  Mount  Ida  of  the  infant  Jove,  is  alluded  to  by 
Manilius  in  his  line, 


The  Constellations  449 

The  Little  Bear  that  rock'd  the  mighty  Jove. 

Although  occasionally,  but  wrongly,  figured  and  described  as  equal  in 
size, —  Euripides  wrote : 

Twin  Bears,  with  the  swift-wandering  rushings  of  their  tails,  guard  the  Atlantean  pole, — 

they  have  always  occupied  their  present  respective  positions,  and,  as  Ma- 

nilius  said : 

stand  not  front  to  front  bat  each  doth  view 
The  others  Tayl,  pursu'd  as  they  pursue ; 

the  scientific  poet  Erasmus  Darwin  of  the  last  century,  grandfather  of 
Charles  Robert  Darwin  of  this,  imitating  this  in  his  Economy  of  Vegetation  .» 

Onward  the  kindred  Bears,  with  footsteps  rude, 
Dance  round  the  pole,  pursuing  and  pursued. 

This  "  dancing "  of  the  stars  generally,  as  well  as  of  the  planets,  was  a 
favorite  simile,  and  in  classical  days  specially  gave  name  to  6  and  e  of  this 
constellation,  as  well  as  in  Hindu  astronomy ;  while  Dante  thus  applied  it  to 
all  those  that  were  circumpolar: 

Like  unto  stars  neighboring  the  steadfast  poles, 
Ladies  they  seemed,  not  from  the  dance  released. 

The  Arabians  knew  Ursa  Minor  as  Al  Dubb  al  Afghar,  the  Lesser  Bear, 
—  Bayer's  Dhub  Elezguar,  and  Chilmead's  Dub  Alatgar, —  although  earlier 
it  was  even  more  familiar  to  them  as  another  Bier ;  and  they  called  the  three 
stars  in  the  tail  of  our  figure  Banat  al  Na'ash  al  Sughra,  the  Daughters  of 
the  Lesser  Bier. 

Here,  and  in  Ursa  Major,  some  early  commentators  located  the  Fold,  an 
ancient  stellar  figure  of  the  Arabs,  and  an  appropriate  title,  as  Firuzabadi 
called  0  and  the  gammas  in  Ursa  Minor  Al  Farkadain,  usually  rendered  the 
Two  Calves,  but,  better,  the  Two  Young  Ibexes ;  Polaris,  too,  was  well 
known  as  a  Young  He  Goat,  and  adjacent  stars  bore  names  of  desert  ani- 
mals more  or  less  associated  with  a  fold.  Perhaps  Lowell  had  this  in  mind 
when  he  wrote,  in  Prometheus,  of 

The  Bear  that  prowled  all  night  about  the  fold 
Of  the  North-star. 

But  Manilius  anticipated  him  in  writing  of  the  BearsV 

Secure  from  meeting  they're  distinctly  roll'd, 
Nor  leave  their  Seats,  and  pass  the  dreadfull  fold. 

29 


45°  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  Arabs  also  likened  the  constellation  to  a  Tiah,  while  with  all  that 
nation,  heathen  or  Muhammadan,  it  was  Al  EaM,  the  Hole  in  which  the 
earth's  axle  found  its  bearing. 

Others  of  them,  as  well  as  the  Persians,  figured  here  the  Ihlilagji,  the 
Myrobalanum,  or  Date-palm  Seed  or  Fruit,  which  the  grouped  stars  were 
thought  to  resemble ;  but  Hyde,  writing  the  word  Myrobalanaris,  said  that 
it  signified  one  of  their  geometrical  figures, —  described  by  Ideler  as  bounded 
by  our  a,  d,  e,  £,  fi,  y,  /3,  a9  6,  and  the  stars  in  the  head  of  Camelopardalis. 
In  Persia,  where  this  foregoing  figure  was  popular,  Ursa  Minor  also  was 
Heft  Bengh,  Heft  Averengh,  or  Haftnrengh  Kihin,  the  last  word  desig- 
nating its  inferiority  in  size  to  Ursa  Major. 

Jensen  sees  here  the  Leopard  of  Babylonia,  an  emblem  of  darkness  which 
this  shared,  there  and  in  Egypt,  with  all  other  circumpolar  constellations; 
while  on  the  Nile  it  was  the  well-known  Jaekal  of  Set  even  as  late  as  the 
Denderah  zodiac.  This  Jackal  also  appears  in  the  carvings  on  the  walls 
of  the  Ramesseum,  but  is  there  shown  with  pendent  tail  strikingly  coin- 
ciding with  the  outlines  of  the  constellation. 

Plutarch  said  that  with  the  Phoenicians  it  was  Doube  or  Dobher  (?),  simi- 
lar to  the  Arabian  title,  but  defined  by  Flammarion  as  the  "  Speaking  Con- 
stellation,"—  better,  I  think,  the  "Guiding  One,"  indicating  to  their  sailors 
the  course  to  steer  at  sea.  Jacob  Bryant  assigned  it  to  Egypt,  or  Phoenicia, 
as  Cahen  ourah, —  whatever  that  may  be. 

The  early  Danes  and  Icelanders  knew  it  as  the  Smaller  Chariot,  or 
Throne,  of  Thor;  and  their  descendants  still  call  it  Litli  Vagn,the  Little 
Wagon ;  as  also,  but  very  differently,  Fiotakonur  i  lopti,  the  Milkmaids  of 
the  Sky.  But  the  Finns,  apparently  alone  among  the  northern  nations  of 
Europe  in  this  conception,  have  Vaha  Otawa,  the  Little  Bear. 

Dante  called  the  seven  stars  Cornn,  doubtless  then  a  common  name,  for 
it  appeared  in  Vespucci's  j°  Lettera  as  Eloorno,  his  editor  erroneously  ex- 
plaining this  as  a  typographical  error  for  carro,  the  wain ;  Eden  and  others  of 
his  time  translating  this  as  the  Home,  And  it  has  been  the  Spanish  shep- 
herds' similarly  shaped  Bocina,  a  Bugle ;  and  the  Italian  sailors1  Bogini,  a 
Boa. 

Caesius  mentioned  Catuli,  and  Canei  Laoonioae,  the  Lapdogs  or  Puppies, 
and  the  Spartan  Dogs,  as  titles  for  both  of  the  Bears. 

With  the  Chinese  it  was  Peih  Sing. 

Alrucaba,  or  Alraocaba,  which  probably  should  be  Al  Bukkabah,  is  first 
found  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  although  the  edition  of  152 1  applied  it  only 
to  the  lucida.  While  this  generally  is  supposed  to  be  from  the  Arabic  Al 
Bakabah,  the  Riders,  Grotius  asserted  that  it  is  from  the  Chaldee  Bfttah 


The  Constellations  451 

a  Vehicle,  the  Hebrew  Blchfibh ;  and,  if  so,  would  seem  to  be  equivalent 
to  the  Wain  and  from  the  Hebrew  editor  of  Alfonso.  Others  have  thought 
it  from  Bukbah,  the  Knee,  as  0  always  has  marked  the  forearm  of  the  Bear, 
and  Alrucaba,  in  a  varied  orthography,  was  current  for  that  star  some  cen- 
turies ago,  as  it  is  now  for  Polaris.  Riccioli  gave  a  queerly  combined  name 
for  the  constellation,  Dubhernkabaa ;  and  Bayer  had  Eruooabah,  ending 
his  list  of  titles  with  Ezra,  a  blunder  in  some  connection  with  the  commen- 
tator Aben  Ezra,  whom  he  often  cited  as  an  authority ;  still  Riccioli  followed 
him  in  this. 

The  Geneva  Bible,  rendering  the  Hebrew  Ash,  etc.,  by  "  Arcturus  with 
his  Sonnes,"  incorrectly  added  the  marginal  note,  "the  North  Star  with 
those  that  are  about  him." 

Caesius  typified  the  constellation  as  the  Chariot  sent  by  Joseph  to  bring 
his  father  down  into  Egypt,  or  that  in  which  Elijah  was  carried  to  heaven ; 
or  as  the  Boar  that  David  slew. 

Young  astronomers  now  know  it  as  the  Little  Dipper. 

In  the  old  German  manuscript  already  alluded  to  mention  is  made  of 

Ursa  Minor  under  the  North  Pole,  which  is  called  by  another  name  Tramontane  (/.  e.  be- 
cause on  one  side  of  the  Mons  Coelius,  whereon  sits  the  Pole  Star) ; 

thus  indicating  another  origin  for  this  name  than  that  found  under  Polaris 
as  from  the  Mediterranean  nations.  I  have  seen  no  explanation  of  this,  yet 
frequent  references  are  met  with  in  early  records  to  some  mountain  located 
in  the  North  as  the  seat  of  the  gods  and  the  habitation  of  life,  the  South 
being  "  the  abode  of  the  prince  of  death  and  of  demons."    Sayce  writes : 

In  early  Sumerian  days  the  heaven  was  believed  to  rest  on  the  peak  of  "  the  mountain 
of  the  world  "  in  the  far  northeast,  where  the  gods  had  their  habitations  (cf.  Isai.  xiv,  13) 
[the  mount  of  congregation,  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  north],  while  an  ocean  or 
"  deep  "  encircled  the  earth  which  rested  upon  its  surface. 

Von  Herder  referred  to  it  as 

Albordy,  the  dazzling  mountain,  on  which  was  held  the  assembly  of  the  gods ; 

and  identified  it  with  "  the  holy  mountain  of  God  "  alluded  to  in  the  Book 
of  the  Prophet  Ezekiel)  xxviii,  14;  and  Professor  Whitney  quoted  from  the 
62d  verse  of  the  1st  chapter  of  the  Surya  Siddhdnta  : 

the  mountain  which  is  the  seat  of  the  gods ; 

and  from  the  34th  verse  of  the  12th  chapter: 


452  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

A  collection  of  manifold  jewels,  a  mountain  of  gold,  is  Meru,1  passing  through  the  mid- 
dle of  the  earth-globe,  and  protruding  on  either  side. 

Commenting  upon  which,  he  says : 

"the  'sent  of  the  gods '  is  Mount  Meru,  situated  at  the  north  pole." 

The  Norsemen  had  the  same  idea  in  their  Himinbiorg,  the  Hill  of  Heaven, 
and  the  abode  of  Heimdallr,  the  guardian  of  the  bridge  Bifrost,  the  Rain- 
bow, which  united  the  earth  to  Asaheimr,  or  Asgard,  the  Yard,  City,  or 
Stronghold  of  the  Ass,  their  gods,  and  the  Olympus  of  Northern  mythology. 
While  far  back  of  them  the  Egyptians  supported  their  heavenly  vault  by 
four  mountains,  one  at  each  of  the  cardinal  points.  Towards  our  day,  in 
the  report  by  "  Christophorus  Colonus,  the  Admyrall,"  recorded  by  Peter 
Martyr,  we  read  that  the  great  discoverer  thought 

that  the  earth  is  not  perfectlye  rounde;  But  that  when  it  was  created,  there  was  tor- 
teyne  heape  reysed  thereon,  much  hygher  than  the  other  partes  of  the  same. 

Columbus  called  this  Paria,  asserting  that  it  contained  Paradise;  but  it 
would  seem  from  his  narrative  that  he  located  it  somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  his  discoveries  between  North  and  South  America.  Even  in 
Chiimead's  Treatise,  more  than  a  century  after  Columbus,  we  find  serious 
reference  to  this  mythical  mountain  as 

the  mountain*  Slotus,  which  lies  under  the  Pole,  and  is  the  highest  in  the  world. 

May  we  not  see  in  these  the  origin  of  Mons  Coelius,  the  Heavenly  Moun- 
tain, and  of  the  name  Tramontana  from  our  constellation's  location  above 
that  celestial  elevation  ?  And  I  would  here  call  attention  to  the  old  story 
of  the  Seven  Sleepers  of  Ephesus,2  who,  under  the  persecution  of  Decius  in 
our  3d  century,  slumbered  for  nearly  200  years  in  the  grotto  under  the  simi- 
larly named  Mount  Coelian ;  these  worthy  successors  of  Epimenides  the 
Cnosian  and  predecessors  of  our  Rip  Van  Winkle  being  early  associated 
with  the  seven  stars  of  Ursa  Major,  and  so  perhaps  with  this,  the  Minor. 

The  latter's  genethliacal  influence  was  similar  to  that  of  its  companion; 
the  Prince,  in  Tennyson's  Princess,  thus  accounting  for  his  temperament: 

For  on  my  cradle  shone  the  Northern  star ; 

and  likeness  in  their  motions  is  alluded  to  in  the  same  author's  In  Aftmork* 
where 

1  Whatever  geographical  foundation  there  may  be  for  this  Meru  probably  lies  in  the  Paro* 
the  Roof  of  the  World,  that  has  lately  become  of  strategical  importance  in  Asia. 

2  These  canonized  Sleepers  are  still  commemorated  in  the  ritual  of  the  Roman  Cathofi1 
Church  for  the  27th  of  June. 


The  Constellations  453 

the  lesser  wain 
Is  twisting  round  the  polar  star, — 

one  of  the  Greater  Bear's  titles  being  the  Twister;  and  in  the  Lazy  Team,  a 
designation  that  it  still  more  deserves  than  does  Ursa  Major. 

In  Proctor's  attempt  to  reform  constellation  names  he  calls  this  simply 
Minor,  the  Greater  Bear  being  Una. 

Ursa  Minor,  as  now  drawn,  is  inclosed  on  three  sides  by  the  coils  of 
Draco ;  formerly  it  was  almost  entirely  so.  Argelander  here  enumerates 
27  stars  down  to  the  5^  magnitude,  and  Heis  54. 

one  unchangeable  upon  a  throne 
Broods  o'er  the  frozen  heart  of  earth  alone, 
Content  to  reign  the  bright  particular  star 
Of  some  who  wander  and  of  some  who  groan. 

Christina  G.  Rossetti's  Later  Life. 

OLy  Double,    2.2  and  9.5,    topaz  yellow  and  pale  white. 

Phoenioe  was  the  early  Greek  name,  borrowed  from  its  constellation,  for 
this  "  lovely  northern  light "  and  the  "  most  practically  useful  star  in  the 
heavens  " ;  but  for  many  centuries  it  has  been  Stella  Polaris,  the  Pole-star, 
or  simply  Polaris, —  Riccioli's  Pollaris ;  this  position  seeming  to  be  first 
recognized  in  literature  by  Dante  when  he  wrote  in  the  Paradiso : 

the  mouth  imagine  of  the  horn 
That  in  the  point  beginneth  of  the  axis 
Round  about  which  the  primal  wheel  revolves. 

Euclid  said  in  his  Phainomcna  : 

A  star  is  visible  between  the  Bears,  not  changing  its  place,  but  always  revolving  upon 
itself; 

Hipparchos,  that  the  pole  was  "in  a  vacant  spot  forming  a  quadrangle 
with  three  other  stars,"  both  of  these  calling  this  IldAoc,  the  Pblus  of  Lucan, 
Ovid,  and  other  classical  Latins;  and  Euphratean  observers  had  called 
their  pole-star  Pol,  or  Bfl.  But,  although  other  astronomical  writers  used 
these  words  for  some  individual  star,  there  is  no  certainty  as  to  which  was 
intended,  for  it  should  be  remembered  that  during  many  millenniums  the 
polar  point  has  gradually  been  approaching  our  pole-star,  which  2000  years 
ago  was  far  removed  from  it, — in  Hipparchos*  time  120  24'  away  accord- 
ing to  his  own  statement  quoted  by  Marinus  of  Tyre  and  cited  by  Ptolemy. 
Miss  Clerke  writes  as  to  this : 
29* 


454  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  entire  millennium  before  the  Christian  era  may  count  for  an  interregnum  as  regards 
Pole-stars.  Alpha  Draconis  had  ceased  to  exercise  that  office ;  Alniccabah  had  not  yet 
assumed  it. 

Kochab  (the  P  of  Ursa  Minor),  and  *  of  Draco,  at  different  times  in  that 
epoch,  may  have  been  considered  as  this  pole-star,  the  last  a  4th-magnitude 
about  io°  distant  from  the  true  pole;  although  the  5th-magnitude  £,  4C 
away  in  Eratosthenes1  day,  perhaps  was  intended.  And  this  is  not  unlikely, 
as  this  inconspicuous  object,  for  some  reason,  was  sufficiently  noteworthy 
among  the  Chinese  to  bear  the  title  How  Kung,  the  Empress.  The  m 
<t>avfjg9  "  ever  visible,"  of  the  5th-century  Stobaeus  may  have  referred  to  our 
Polaris,  then  about  70  distant  from  the  pole. 

The  fact  that  the  Polaris  of  his  day  did  not  exactly  mark  the  pole  was 
noted  by  Pytheas,  the  Greek  astronomer  and  navigator  of  Massilia,  the 
modern  Marseilles,  about  320  b.  c.  ;  and  till  this  discovery  the  belief  was 
prevalent  that  the  heavenly  pole  was  absolutely  fixed. 

In  none  of  the  foregoing  cases  does  a  single  star  seem  to  be  mentioned 
as  a  guide  in  navigation ;  but  as  knowledge  in  this  art  increased,  our  a  took 
the  place  of  its  constellation  as  Stella  Maris,  a  title  that  Saint  Jerome,  in 
his  Onomasticon,  applied  to  the  Virgin  Mary;  there,  however,  with  no 
marine,  or  stellar,  connection.  But  a  star,  being  always  a  symbol  of  sanc- 
tity, was  peculiarly  so  of  the  holiest  of  women,  so  that  this  title  of  the  chief 
star  of  heaven  was  adopted  as  one  interpretation  of  her  Jewish  name  Miriam. 

Bayer's  la  Tramontana  was  well  known  before  his  day,  for  Eden  trans- 
lated from  the  First  Decode,  printed  in  1511,  "cauled  by  the  Italians  Tra- 
montana1'; and  Jehan  de  Mandeville  ("syr  Iohn  Maundauile")  more 
than  a  century  before  the  discovery  of  our  continent,  in  his  statement  of 
his  belief  in  the  sphericity  of  the  earth,  wrote  of  it  as 

the  Stem  Trmnimantane,  that  is  clept  the  Stern  of  the  See,  that  is  unmevable,  and  that  U 
toward  the  Northe,  that  we  clepen  the  Lode  Stem. 

One  derivation  of  this  transmontane  is  from  the  fact  that  the  nations  along 
the  Mediterranean  saw  the  star  beyond  their  northern  mountain  boundary ; 
and  the  word  appears  in  the  popular  saying,  current  among  the  Latin  races, 
of  a  man's  "losing  his  Tramontane"  when  one  had  lost  his  bearings. 
Another  earlier  and  much  more  probable  origin,  however,  is  from  a  title  for 
the  constellation  already  alluded  to.  Similarly  the  Finns  know  Polaris  as 
Taehti,  the  Star  at  the  Top  of  the  Heavenly  Mountain. 

Anglo-Saxons  of  the  10th  century  said  that  it  was  the  Stip-steorra,  the  Ship- 
star;  Eden,  "cauled  of  the  Spanyardes  Hortes " ;  Bayer,  Angel Stenif  the 


The  Constellations  455 

Pivot  Star,  and  the  Latin  Navigatoria;  while  it  was  the  Steering  Star  to 
early  English  navigators,  who 

knew  no  North,  but  when  the  Pole  Star  shone. 

Andrew    Marvell,  strangely  the  common  friend  of  John  Milton  and  King 
Charles  II,  said: 

By  night  the  northern  star  their  way  directs ; 

and  Thomas  Moore  wrote,  in  his  Light  of  the  Haram  : 

that  star,  on  starry  nights 
The  seaman  singles  from  the  sky 
To  steer  his  bark  for  ever  by. 

Thus,  as  the  leading  star,  it  became  the  Loadstar,  or  Lodestar,  of  early 
English  authors ;  Spenser  saying : 

The  pilot  can  no  loadstar  see, 

and  Shakespeare's  Helena,  in  A  Midsummer  Nighfs  Dream,  tells  Hermia 

Your  eyes  are  lodestars. 

Bryant  beautifully  alludes  to  its  office  in  these  verses  from  his  Hymn  to  the 
North  Star: 

Constellations  come,  and  climb  the  heavens,  and  go. 
Star  of  the  Pole !  and  thou  dost  see  them  set. 

Alone  in  thy  cold  skies, 
Thou  keep' st  thy  old  unmoving  station  yet, 
Nor  join'st  the  dances  of  that  glittering  train, 
Nor  dipp'st  thy  virgin  orb  in  the  blue  western  main. 

On  thy  unaltering  blaze 
The  half  wrecked  mariner,  his  compass  lost, 

Fixes  his  steady  gaze, 
And  steers,  undoubting,  to  the  friendly  coast ; 
And  they  who  stray  in  perilous  wastes  by  night, 
Are  glad  when  thou  dost  shine  to  guide  their  footsteps  right.  . 

A  beauteous  type  of  that  unchanging  good, 

That  bright  eternal  beacon,  by  whose  ray 

The  voyager  of  time  should  shape  his  heedful  way. 

And  Wordsworth,  in  the  Excursion,  thus  goes  back  to  the  earliest  times : 

Chaldaean  shepherds,  ranging  trackless  fields, 
Beneath  the  concave  of  unclouded  skies 
Spread  like  a  sea,  in  boundless  solitude, 


456  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Looked  on  the  polar  star,  as  on  a  guide 

And  guardian  of  their  coarse,  that  never  closed 

His  steadfast  eye. 

Milton's  Comus  had  the  much  quoted 

Our  Star  of  A  ready, 
Or  Tyrian  Cynosure ; 
and  L Allegro  : 

The  Cynosure  of  neighboring  eyes, — 

a  designation  of  Polaris  which  has  everywhere  become  common;  while 
Cinosnra  and  Cynosura  regularly  appeared  in  scientific  works  of  the  17th 
and  1 8th  centuries;  but  this  was  one  of  the  ancients'  titles  for  the  whole 
of  Ursa  Minor,  and  never,  by  them,  limited  to  the  lucida.  The  Star  of 
Aready  either  referred  to  Arcadia,  the  earthly  home  of  Kallisto,  or  to  Areas, 
her  son,  transferred  to  the  skies  by  his  father  Jove,  when  ignorantly  about 
to  slay  his  mother  after  her  transformation.  The  poet,  however,  followed 
a  common  error  in  locating  Areas  here,  for  he  properly  was  identified  with 
Bootes. 

The  Chinese  had  several  names  for  it,—  Pin  Keih ;  Ta  Shin ;  Tien  Hwang 
Ta  Ti,  the  Great  Imperial  Ruler  of  Heaven,  the  circumpolar  stars  circling 
around  it  in  homage,  the  whole  forming  the  Purple  Subtle  Enclosure;  and 
Ti  or  Ti  Tso,  the  Emperor's  Seat,  this  last  also  being  borne  by  a  Herculis. 
And  it  was  Tow  Kwei,  as  with  Ursa  Major,  from  its  square  of  stars,  0,y,  v 
and  77.  Its  first  use  in  navigation  is  ascribed  to  their  emperor  Hong  Ti,  or 
Hwang  Ti,  a  grandson  of  Noah !  However  this  may  be,  it  seems  certain 
that  some  polar  star,  or  constellation,  has  been  used  in  China  from  remote 
antiquity. 

In  earliest  Northern  India  the  star  nearest  the  pole  was  known  as  Gra- 
hadhara,  the  Pivot  of  the  Planets,  representing  the  great  god  Dhruva,  and 
Al  Biruni  said  that  among  the  Hindus  of  his  time  it  was  Dhruva  himself. 
It  was  an  object  of  their  worship,  as  our  Polaris  is  to-day  among  the  Man- 
daeans l  along  the  Tigris  and  lower  Euphrates. 

The  Arabs  knew  Polaris  as  Al  Kiblah,  "because  it  is  the  star  least  distant 
from  the  pole,"  although  then  50  away,  and  helped  them,  in  any  strange 
location  distant  from  an  established  place  of  worship,  to  know  the  points 

1  This  strange  people,  fast  dwindling  to  extinction,  are  also  known  as  Nasoraeans,  or  Saint 
John  Christians.    In  their  representation 

the  sky  is  an  ocean  of  water,  pure  and  clear,  but  of  more  than  adamantine  solidity,  upon  which  the  stars  aw 
planets  sail.  Its  transparency  allows  us  to  see  even  to  the  pole-star,  who  is  the  central  sun  around  whom  « 
the  heavenly  bodies  move.  Wearing  a  jewelled  crown,  he  stands  before  Abath  fir's  door  at  the  gate  of  U* 
world  of  light;  the  Mandaeans  accordingly  invariably  pray  with  their  faces  turned  northward. 


The  Constellations  457 

of  the  compass  and  thus  the  direction  of  Mecca  and  its  Ka'bah,1  towards 
which  every  good  Muslim  must  turn  his  head  in  prayer.  They  also  called 
it  Al  JadI,  the  Young  He  Goat,  which  subsequently  degenerated  to  Juddah, 
as  Niebuhr  heard  it  a  century  ago,  and  known  in  Desert  story  as  Giedi,  the 
slayer  of  the  dead  man  on  the  Bier  of  Ursa  Major. 

Wetzstein  says  that  in  Damascus  it  is  called  Mismar,  a  Needle  or  Nail. 

As  marking  the  north  pole  it  bore  the  latter's  title,  Al  Kntb  al  Shamftliyy, 
the  Northern  Axle,  or  Spindle,  from  Al  Kutb,  the  Pin  fixed  in  the  under 
stone  of  a  mill  around  which  the  upper  stone  turns ;  and  this  same  thought 
later  appeared  in  English  poetry,  as  in  Marlowe's  History  of  Doctor  Faustus, 
where  he  says  of  the  stars  that 

All  jointly  move  upon  one  axletree 

Whose  terminine  is  term'd  the  world's  wide  pole. 

The  Arabian  astronomers  knew  it  as  Al  Kaukab  2  al  Shamaliyy,  the  Star 
of  the  North,  an  appellation  perhaps  given  by  their  nomad  ancestors  to  0 
as  nearer  the  pole  in  their  time. 

Kazwini  mentioned  the  belief  of  the  common  people  that  a  fixed  contem- 
plation of  Al  Kaukab  would  cure  itching  of  the  eyelids, —  ophthalmia,  then, 
as  now,  being  the  prevalent  disease  of  the  Desert. 

The  Alfonsine  Tables  of  1521  have  Alrucaba  et  est  Stella  polaris  sive 
Polus  ;  and  Bayer,  Alruocabah  seu  Buocabah  Ismaelitis ;  but  this  was  shared 
with  the  next  star,  as  also  with  the  constellation. 

The  Turks  know  it  as  Yilduz,  the  Star  par  excellence ;  and  have  a  story 
that  its  light  was  concealed  for  a  time  after  their  capture  of  Constantinople. 

Polaris  is  i°  14'  distant  from  the  exact  pole,  which  lies  on  the  straight 
line  drawn  from  Polaris  to  f  Ursae  Majoris,  and  will  continue  in  gradual  ap- 
proach to  the  pole  till  about  the  year  2095,  when  it  will  be  only  26'  30" 

1  This  ancient  Square  House,  probably  an  early  Sabaean  temple,  was  built,  tradition  says, 
first  in  heaven ;  then  for  Adam  on  earth  as  a  tabernacle  of  radiant  clouds  let  down  by  the  an- 
gels directly  under  its  celestial  site.  This,  disappearing  at  his  death,  was  replaced  by  one 
of  stone  and  clay  by  the  patriarch  Seth,  that  in  its  turn  was  swept  away  by  the  Deluge.  Lastly 
it  was  erected  by  Abraham  and  Ishmael  to  contain  the  Black  Stone,  Al  Hajar  al  Aswad,  a 
ruby,  or  jacinth,  brought  from  heaven  by  Gabriel  and  now  blackened  by  the  pilgrims'  tears, 
or  because  so  often  kissed  by  sinners ;  but  it  is  generally  regarded  by  unbelievers  as  a  meteor- 
ite. The  Century  Cyclopedia,  however,  describes  it  as  an  irregular  oval  about  seven  inches  in 
diameter,  composed  of  about  a  dozen  smaller  stones  of  various  shapes  and  sizes.  The  Stone 
is  set  into  the  northeast  corner  of  the  wall,  at  a  convenient  height  for  kissing. 

2  Kaukab  is  the  same  as  the  Assyrian  and  Chaldaean  word  Kakkab,  the  Hebrew  Koljabh  ; 
this  last  also  the  fighting  name  of  Bar  Cochab,  the  Son  of  a  Star,  who  was  the  leader  of  the 
second  revolt  of  the  Jews  in  132-135,  during  the  reign  of  Hadrian,  his  shekels  bearing  a  star 
over  a  tetrastyle  temple.  The  name  was  variously  written,  but  correctly  as  Bar  Coziba,  from 
his  birthplace. 


458  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

away.  It  will  then  recede  in  favor  successively  of  yf  tt,  C,  v»  and  a  of  Cepheus, 
a  and  6  of  the  Swan,  and  Wegaof  the  Lyre,  when,  marked  by  this  last  bril- 
liant star,  11,500  years  hence  the  pole  will  be  about  500  distant  from  its 
present  position  and  within  5°  of  Wega,  which  for  3000  years  will  serve  as 
the  pole-star  of  the  then  existing  races  of  mankind.  The  polar  point  will 
thence  circle  past  1  and  r  Herculis,  0,  t,  and  a  Draconis,  j3  Ursae  Minoris, 
and  *  Draconis  back  to  our  a  again;  the  entire  period  being  from  25,695 
to  25,868  years,  according  to  different  calculations.1  Shakespeare  did  not 
know  all  this  when  he  wrote  in  Julius  Caesar: 

constant  as  the  Northern  Star, 
Of  whose  true  fixed  and  resting  quality 
There  is  no  fellow  in  the  firmament. 

Its  distance  from  us  has  been  variously  estimated  from  36  to  63  light 
years,  and  it  is  receding  from  our  system  at  the  rate  of  about  16  miles  a 
second.    The  spectrum  is  Sirian. 

The  9  j4 -magnitude  companion,  i8".6  distant,  is  a  good  test  for  a  2%- 
inch  glass  with  a  power  of  80.  This  was  discovered  by  Sir  William  Her- 
schel  in  1779,  and  may  be  in  revolution  around  its  principal.  Its  present 
position  angle  is  2150.  Other  minute  stars  can  be  seen  with  afield-glass 
in  the  vicinity ;  and  the  Messrs.  Henry  of  Paris  have  charted  by  photogra- 
phy 1270  stars,  within  i°  of  the  pole,  where  previously  only  about  80  were 
known  by  telescopic  observation,     a  itself  is  slightly  fainter  than  0. 

While  Polaris  is  the  nearest  naked-eye  visible  to  the  true  pole,  Smyth 
mentioned  a  nebula,  now  known  as  N.  G.  C.  3172,  much  nearer  in  1843. 
and  from  its  proximity  called  Polarissima ;  while  nearer  still  was  a  10th- 
magnitude  star  bearing  the  warlike  title  Blficher,  then  within  2'  of  the  exact 
point.    Poole's  Celestial  Handbook  says  of  some  unidentified  star : 

Anonyma  —  Double  :  magnitudes  7.5  and  9 ;  distance  2' ;  it  is  the  nearest  to  the  pole. 


(3,     2,    reddish. 

Koohab  is  from  the  Arabic  title  that  it  shared  with  a ;  and  it  perhaps  was 
this  star  that  the  Greek  astronomers  called  T16Xo$,  for  it  was  near  the  pole 
1000  years  before  our  era.     Burritt  has  Kochah. 

Alruoaba,  variously  written,  is  also  common  to  it  and  Polaris,  as  well  as 
to  its  constellation,  Smyth  saying  that  this  was  the  Alfonsine  Reicchabba. 

1  This  uncertainty  in  the  period  of  the  cycle  of  precession  mainly  arises  from  tbe  fact  that 
the  circle  is  not  a  strictly  closed  one,  owing  to  the  slight  motion  of  the  pole  of  the  ecliptic  due 
to  the  action  of  the  planets  upon  the  orbit  of  the  earth. 


The  Constellations  459 

Hi'ir  al  Farkadain  and  AnwSr  al  Farkad&in,  the  Bright  One,  and  the 
Lights,  of  the  Two  Calves,  were  titles  in  the  Desert  for  this  star,  from  an 
early  figure  here,  in  the  Fold,  of  these  timid  creatures  keeping  close  to 
their  mother.  )3  was  often  designated  by  pre-Islamitic  poets  as  the  faithful 
and,  from  its  ever  visible  position,  the  constant  companion  of  the  night 
traveler.  Indeed  the  Badawiyy  claimed  that  they  had  a  perpetual  treaty 
with  Al  Farkad  to  this  effect,  and  their  poets  made  the  Two  Pherkads, 
0  and  y,  symbols  of  constancy.     Chilmead  cited  Alferkathan. 

a>  0*  Y1,  y2,  <?,  and  e  constituted  the  group  Circitores,  Saltatorei,  Ludentes, 
or  Ludiones,  the  Circlers,  Leapers,  or  Dancers  around  the  early  pole,  well 
known  from  classical  times  to  late  astronomy. 

In  China  0  was  another  Ti,  the  Emperor. 

Its  spectrum  is  Solar,  and  the  star  is  receding  from  us  at  the  rate  of  8^ 
miles  a  second. 

?\   3-3,    and    Y  >   5-8- 

These  were  known  by  the  Arabs  as  one  star,  AUfa'  al  Farkadain,  the 
Dim  One  of  the  Two  Calves,  but  by  us  as  Pherkad  Major  and  Pherkad 
Minor,  57  minutes  of  arc  apart. 

With  )3  and  others  they  were  the  Dancers,  and  with  0  alone  the  Guards, 
or  Wardens,  of  the  Pole,  that  old  Thomas  Hood  said  were 

of  the  Spanish  word  guardare,  which  is  to  beholde,  because  they  are  diligently  to  be 
looked  unto,  in  regard  of  the  singular  use  which  they  have  in  navigation  ; 

and  Recorde, 

many  do  call  the  Shafte,  and  others  do  name  the  Guarda!  after  the  Spanish  tonge. 

While  Eden,  in  the  Arte  of  Navigation  which  he  "  Englished  out  of  the 
Spanyshe,"  in  1561,  from  Martin  Cortes'  communication  to  King  Charles  V, 
mentioned  "two  starres  called  the  Guardians,  or  the  Month  of  the  Home"; 
and  still  earlier,  in  his  translation  of  Peter  Martyr,  "  the  Guardens  of  the 
north  pole.1'     Shakespeare,  in  Othello,  wrote  : 

The  wind-shak'd  surge,  with  high  and  monstrous  mane 
Seems  to  cast  water  on  the  burning  Bear, 
And  quench  the  guards  of  th'  ever  fixed  pole. 

Riccioli's  title  for  them  is  Vigiles,  to  which  he  added 
Italice  le  guardiole,  o verso  guardiane. 
These  Guards,  like  the  stars  in  Charles'  Wain,  were  a  timepiece  to  the 


460  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

common  people,  and  even  thought  worthy  of  special  treatises  by  navigators, 
as  to  their  use  in  indicating  the  hours  of  the  night. 
In  China  y1  was  Ta  Tsie,  the  Crown  Prince. 

&>     4-3i    greenish. 

Yildnn  is  generally  given  to  this,  probably  from  the  Turkish  Yilduz  that 
is  better  applied  to  a ;  but  it  has  degenerated  to  Vfldiur,  and  the  Century 
Dictionary  has  Gildun,  perhaps  by  a  typographical  error. 

Bayer's  Xopevrrjs  npuTTj  for  (J,  and  Xopevr^c  devrepa  for  the  adjoining  «, 
the  First  and  the  Second  Dancer,  were  also  general  designations  in  which 
a,  0,  and  the  two  stars  y  were  included. 

C>    4.3,    flushed  white, 

marking  the  junction  of  the  handle  with  the  bowl  of  the  Little  Dipper,  is 
AUfa  al  Farkadain  of  some  lists,  i\  being  Anwar  al  Farkadain;  but  these 
titles  certainly,  and  much  better,  belong  to  j3  and  y. 

In  China  it  was  Kow  Chin. 

b,  a  5th-magnitude,  has  been  mentioned  as  How  Kung,  the  Empress. 


Virgin  august !  come  in  thy  regal  state 
With  soft  majestic  grace  and  brow  serene ; 
Though  the  fierce  Lion's  reign  is  overpast 
The  summer's  heat  is  all  thine  own  as  yet, 
And  all  untouched  thy  robe  of  living  green 
By  the  rude  fingers  of  the  northern  blast. 

R.  J.  PhUbrick's  Virgo. 

the  Anglo-Saxon  Msden,  the  Anglo-Norman  Pulcele,  the  French  Viffgei 
the  Italian  Virgine,  Bayer's  Jnnckfraw,  and  the  present  German  Jvngiraii* 
—  in  fact  a  universal  title, —  generally  has  been  figured  with  the  palm 
branch  in  her  right  hand  and  the  spica,  or  ear  of  wheat,  in  her  left.  Thus 
she  was  known  in  the  Attic  dialect  as  K6pq,  the  Maiden,  representing  Per- 
sephone, the  Roman  Proserpina,  daughter  of  Demeter,  the  Roman  Ceres; 
while  in  the  Ionic  dialect  Nonnus,  of  our  5th  century,  called  her  <rra- 


The  Constellations  461 

Xvvfaft  Kovprj,  the  Wheat-bearing  Maiden,  spieifera  Virgo  Cereris,  the 
Virgo  spicea  mnnera  gestaas  of  Manilius.  When  regarded  as  Proserpina, 
she  was  being  abducted  by  Pluto  in  his  Chariot,  the  stars  of  adja- 
cent Libra;  and  the  constellation  also  was  Demeter  herself,  the  Ceres 
spieifera  dea,  changed  by  the  astrologers  to  Arista,  Harvest,  of  which  Ceres 
was  goddess.  Caesius  had  it  Arista  Puellae,  that  would  seem  more  correct 
as  Aristae  Paella,  the  Maiden  of  the  Harvest. 

Those  who  claim  very  high  antiquity  for  the  zodiacal  signs  assert  that 
the  idea  of  these  titles  originated  when  the  sun  was  in  Virgo  at  the  spring 
equinox,  the  time  of  the  Egyptian  harvest.  This,  however,  carries  them 
back  nearly  1 5,000  years,  while  Aratos  said  that  Leo  first  marked  the  har- 
vest month;  so  that  another  signification  has  been  given  to  the  word 
(TTo^vwd^c.     We  read,  too,  that 

In  Ogygian  ages  and  among  the  Orientals,  she  was  represented  as  a  sun-burnt  damsel, 
with  an  ear  of  corn  in  her  hand,  like  a  gleaner  in  the  fields ; 

and,  like  most  of  that  class,  with  a  very  different  character  from  that  assigned 
to  her  by  the  classic  authors.  Is  it  not  this  ancient  story  of  the  Maiden  of 
the  Wheat-field  that  is  still  seen  in  the  North  English  and  South  Scottish 
custom  of  the  Kern-baby,  or  Kernababy, —  the  Corn,  or  Kernel,  Baby^ 
thus  described  by  Lang  in  his  Custom  and  Myth  f 

The  last  gleanings  of  the  last  field  are  bound  up  in  a  rude  imitation  of  the  human  shape, 
and  dressed  in  some  rag-tags  of  finery.  The  usage  has  fallen  into  the  conservative  hands 
of  children,  but  of  old  "the  Maiden"  was  a  regular  image  of  the  harvest-goddess,  which, 
with  a  sickle  and  sheaves  in  her  arms,  attended  by  a  crowd  of  reapers,  and  accompanied 
with  music,  followed  the  last  carts  home  to  the  farm. 

It  is  odd  enough  that  the  "  Maiden  "  should  exactly  translate  the  old  Sicilian  name  of 
the  daughter  of  Demeter.  "  The  Maiden  "  has  dwindled,  then,  among  us  to  the  rudi- 
mentary Kernababy ;  but  ancient  Peru  had  her  own  Maiden,  her  Harvest  Goddess. 

And  in  Vendue  the  farmer's  wife,  as  the  corn-mother,  is  tossed  in  a  blanket 
with  the  last  sheaf  to  bring  good  luck  in  the  subsequent  threshing.  Perhaps 
Caesius  had  some  of  this  in  view  when  he  associated  our  sky  figure  with 
Ruth,  the  Moabitess,  gleaning  in  the  fields  of  Boaz. 

Virgo  also  was  Erigone, —  perhaps  from  the  Homeric  ^Epiyeveia,  the 
Early  Born,  for  the  constellation  is  very  old, —  a  stellar  title  appearing  in 
Vergil's  apotheosis  of  his  patron  Augustus.  This  was  the  maiden  who  hung 
herself  in  grief  at  the  death  of  her  father  Icarius,  and  was  transported  to 
the  skies  with  Icarius  as  Bootes,  and  their  faithful  hound  Maira  as  Procyon, 
or  Sirius ;  all  of  which  is  attested  by  Hyginus  and  Ovid.  It  may  have 
been  this  Icarian  story  that  induced  Keats1  Lines  on  the  Mermaid  Tavern; 


462  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Sipping  beverage  divine, 

And  pledging  with  contented  smack 

The  Mermaid  In  the  Zodiac, 

Sometimes  she  was  figured  with  the  Scales  in  her  hands, — 

Astraea's  scales  have  weighed  her  minutes  out, 
Poised  on  the  zodiac, — 

whence  she  has  been  considered  At**/,  the  divinity  of  Justice,  the  Roman 
Justa  or  Juititia;  and  Astraea,  the  starry  daughter  of  Themis,  the  last  ot 
the  celestials  to  leave  the  earth,  with  her  modest  sister  Pudicitia,  when  the 
Brazen  Age  began.     Ovid  wrote  of  this : 

Virgo  caede  madentes, 
Ultima  coelestum,  terras  Astraea  reliquit; 

when,  according  to  Aratos,  she 

Soared  up  to  heaven,  selecting  this  abode, 
Whence  yet  at  night  she  shows  herself  to  men. 

Thus  she  is  the  oldest  purely  allegorical  representation  of  innocence  and 
virtue.  This  legend  seems  to  be  first  found  with  Hesiod,  and  was  given  in 
full  by  Aratos,  his  longest  constellational  history  in  the  Phaitiomena.  Other 
authors  mentioned  her  as  ElpTjvrj,  Irene,  the  sister  of  Astraea,  and  the  Pax 
of  the  Romans,  with  the  olive  branch ;  as  Concordia;  as  UapOivo^  A/&£,  the 
Virgin  Goddess;  as  2ij3vAAa,  the  Singing  Sibyl,  carrying  a  branch  into 
Hades ;  and  as  Tv^t/,  the  Roman  Fortnna,  because  she  is  a  headless  con- 
stellation, the  stars  marking  the  head  being  very  faint. 

Classical  Latin  writers  occasionally  called  her  Ano,  Atargatia,  and  Der- 
oete,  the  Syrorum  Dea  transferred  here  from  Pisces ;  Cybele  drawn  by  lions, 
for  our  Leo  immediately  precedes  her ;  Diana ;  Minerva ;  Panda  and  Pan- 
tica;  and  even  Medusa,  Posidippus,  289  b.  c,  gave  Thesbia  orThespia, 
daughter  of  Thespius,  or  of  the  Theban  Asopus ;  and  some  said  that  one 
of  the  Muses,  even  Urania  herself,  was  placed  here  in  the  sky  by  Apollo. 

"Aanokia  is  from  Kircher,  who  in  turn  took  it  from  the  Coptic  Egyptians, 
the  Statio  amoris,  quern  in  incremento  Nili  dii  ostendcbant.  This,  however, 
is  singularly  like  H  TloXidgy  designating  Minerva  as  guardian  of  citadels 
and  the  State,  already  seen  as  a  title  for  this  constellation ;  and  there  was  a 
Coptic  Asphulia  in  Leo  as  a  moon  station. 

In  Egypt  Virgo  was  drawn  on  the  zodiacs  of  Denderah  and  Thebes, 
much  disproportioned  and  without  wings,  holding  an  object  said  to  be  a 
distaff  marked  by  the  stars  of  Coma  Berenices;  while  Eratosthenes  and 
Avienus  identified  her  with  Ms,  the  thousand-named  goddess,  with  the 


The  Constellations  463 

wheat  ears  in  her  hand  that  she  afterwards  dropped  to  form  the  Milky 
Way,  or  clasping  in  her  arms  the  young  Horus,  the  infant  Southern  sun- 
god,  the  last  of  the  divine  kings.  This  very  ancient  figuring  reappeared  in 
the  Middle  Ages  as  the  Virgin  Mary  with  the  child  Jesus,  Shakespeare 
alluding  to  it  in  Titus  Andronicus  as  the 

Good  Boy  in  Virgo's  lap ; 

and  Albertus  Magnus,  of  our  13th  century,  asserted  that  the  Saviour's  horo- 
scope lay  here.  It  has  been  said  that  her  initials,  MV,  are  the  symbol  for 
the  sign,  ")?  ;  although  the  International  Dictionary  considers  this  a  mono- 
gram of  Uap,  the  first  syllable  of  Uapdsvoq,  one  of  Virgo's  Greek  titles ; 
and  others,  a  rude  picturing  of  the  wing  of  Ifltar,  the  divinity  that  the 
Semites  assigned  to  its  stars,  and  prominent  in  the  Epic  of  Creation. 

This  Irtar,  or  Ishtar,  the  Queen  of  the  Stars,  was  the  Ashtoreth  of  the 
1st  Book  of  the  Kings,  xi,  5,  33,  the  original  of  the  Aphrodite  of  Greece  and 
the  Venus  of  Rome;  perhaps  equivalent  to  Athyr,  Athor,  or  Hathor  of  the 
Nile,  and  the  Astarte  of  Syria,  the  last  philologically  akin  to  our  Esther 
and  Star,  the  Greek  'Aorfjp.  Astarte,  too,  was  identified  by  the  Venerable 
Bede  with  the  Saxon  goddess  of  spring,  Eostre,  at  whose  festival,  our  Easter, 
the  stars  of  Virgo  shine  so  brightly  in  the  eastern  evening  sky ;  and  the 
Sumerians  of  southern  Babylonia  assigned  this  constellation  to  their  sixth 
month  as  the  Errand,  or  Message,  of  Istar. 

In  Assyria  Virgo  represented  Baaltis,  Belat,  Belit,  and  Beltis,  Bel's  wife ; 
while  some  thought  her  the  Mylitta  of  Herodotus.  But  this  was  a  very 
different  divinity,  the  Babylonian  Molatta,  the  Moon,  the  Mother,  or  Queen, 
of  Heaven,  against  whose  worship  the  Jews  were  warned  in  the  Book  of  the 
Prophet  Jeremiah,  xliv,  17,  19,  and  should  not  be  confounded  with 
Ashtoreth,  the  goddess  of  the  Zidonians,  that  our  figure  symbolized. 

In  India  Virgo  was  Kanya,  the  Tamil  Kauni,  or  Maiden, —  in  Hyde's 
transcription,  Xannae, —  mother  of  the  great  Krishna,  figured  as  a  Goddess 
sitting  before  a  fire,  or  as  a  Gul ;  and  in  the  Cingalese  zodiac  as  a  Woman  in 
a  Ship,  with  a  stalk  of  wheat  in  her  hand.  Al  Biruni  thought  this  ship 
marked  by  the  line  of  stars  j3,  i\,  y,  d,  and  e,  like  a  ship's  keel.  Varaha 
Mihira  borrowed  the  Greek  name,  turning  it  into  Parthena,  Partina,  or 
Pathona. 

In  Persia  it  was  Khoaha,  or  Khusak,  the  Ear  of  Wheat,  and  Secdeidos  de 
Darzama,  this  last  often  translated  the  "  Virgin  in  Maiden  Neatness  " ;  but 
Ideler,  doubting  this,  cited  BeigePs  conjecture  that  it  was  a  Persian  render- 
ing of  Staohys,  one  of  the  Greek  titles  of  Virgo's  star  Spica.  Bayer  had  it 
Seclenidos  de  Darzama. 

The  early  Arabs  made  from  some  members  ot  the  constellation  the 


464  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

enormous  lion  of  their  sky ;  and  of  others  the  Kennel  Corner,  with  dogs 
barking  at  the  Lion.  Their  later  astronomers,  however,  adopted  the  Greek 
figure,  and  called  it  Al  Adhra1  al  Bafhl&h,  the  Innocent  Maiden,  remains 
of  which  are  found  in  the  mediaeval  titles  Eladari,  Eleadari,  Adrendeta,  and 
in  the  Adienedesa  of  Albumasar.  But  as  they  would  not  draw  the  human 
form,  they  showed  the  stars  as  a  sheaf  of  wheat,  Al  Sunbulah,  or  as  some 
stalks  with  the  ripened  ears  of  the  same,  from  the  Roman  Spica,  its  brightest 
star.  Kazwini  gave  both  of  these  Arabian  names,  the  last  degenerating 
into  Sunbala,  found  in  Bayer,  and  Sumbela,  still  occasionally  seen.  The 
Almagest  of  15 15  says  Virgo  est  Spica. 

The  Turcomans  knew  the  constellation  as  Dufhiza  Pakhiia,  the  Pure 
Virgin;  and  the  Chinese,  as  She  Sang  Hen,  the  Frigid  Maiden;  but  before 
their  Jesuit  days  it  was  Shun  Wei,  which  Miss  Clerke  translates  the  Serpent, 
but  Williams,  the  Quail's  Tail,  a  part  of  the  early  stellar  figure  otherwise 
known  as  the  Bed  Bird,  Pheasant,  or  Phoenix. 

It  appears  as  Ki,  the  20th  in  the  Euphratean  cycle  of  ecliptic  constella- 
tions, and  considered  equivalent  to  Asm,  a  Place,  i.  e.  the  moon  station 
that  Spica  marked ;  but  Jensen  thinks  that  the  original  should  be  Sim,  or 
Shim,  perhaps  meaning  the  "  Ear  of  Corn  " ;  much  of  this  also  is  individually 
applied  to  Spica. 

In  the  land  of  Judaea  Virgo  was  Bethulah,  and,  being  always  associated 
with  the  idea  of  abundance  in  harvest,  was  assigned  by  the  Rabbis  to  the 
tribe  of  Asher,  of  whom  Jacob  had  declared  "  his  bread  shall  be  fat."  In 
Syria  it  was  Bethulta. 

Thus,  like  Isis,  one  of  her  many  prototypes,  Virgo  always  has  been  a 
much  named  and  symbolized  heavenly  figure;  Landseer  saying  of  it, " so 
disguised,  so  modernized  and  be-Greek'd  .  .  .  that  we  literally  don't  know 
her  when  we  see  her." 

In  astrology  this  constellation  and  Gemini  were  the  House  of  Mercury, 
Macrobius  saying  that  the  planet  was  created  here;  the  association  being 
plainly  shown  by  the  caduceus  of  that  god,  the  herald's  trumpet  entwined 
with  serpents,  instead  of  the  palm  branch,  often  represented  in  her  left  hand 
But  usually,  and  far  more  appropriately,  Virgo's  stars  have  been  given  over 
to  the  care  of  Ceres,  her  namesake,  the  long-time  goddess  of  the  harvest 
For  her  astrological  colors  Virgo  assumed  black  speckled  with  blue;  and 
was  thought  of  as  governing  the  abdomen  in  the  human  body,  and  as  bear- 
ing rule  over  Crete,  Greece,  Mesopotamia,  Turkey,  Jerusalem,  Lyons,  and 
Paris,  but  always  as  an  unfortunate,  sterile  sign.  Manilius  asserted  that  in 
his  day  it  ruled  the  fate  of  Arcadia,  Caria,  Ionia,  Rhodes,  and  the  Doric 
plains.     Ampelius  assigned  to  it  the  charge  of  the  wind  Argestes,  that  blew 


The  Constellations  465 

to  the  Romans  from  the  west-southwest  according  to  Vitruvius,  or  from  the 
west-northwest  according  to  Pliny. 

The  latter  said  that  the  appearance  of  a  comet  within  its  borders  implied 
many  grievous  ills  to  the  female  portion  of  the  population. 

Virgo  was  associated  with  Leo  and  with  the  star  Sirius  in  the  ancient 
opinion  that,  when  with  the  sun,  they  were  a  source  of  heat ;  Ovid  alluding 
to  this  in  his  Ars  Amatoria: 

Virginis  aetheriis  cum  caput  ardet  equis. 
And  John  Skelton,  the  royal  orator  of  King  Henry  VII,  wrote: 

In  autumn  when  the  sun  in  Viigine 

By  radiant  heat  enripened  hath  our  corne. 

A  coin  of  Sardis,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Lydia,  bears  her  figure 
with  the  wheat  ear  in  her  left  hand  and  a  staff  in  her  right ;  and  the  stateres 
of  Macedonia  have  much  the  same.  The  Alfonsi/ie  Tables  showed  her  as  a 
very  young  girl  with  wings;  the  Leyden  Manuscript  and  the  Hyginus  of 

1488,  as  a  young  woman  with  branch  and  caduceus;  and  the  Albumasar  of 

1489,  as  a  woman  with  a  fillet  of  wheat  ears.  The  old  German  illustration 
also  gave  her  wings,  but  dressed  her  in  a  high-necked,  trailing  gown ;  and 
Diirer  drew  her  as  a  lovely  winged  angel. 

Julius  Schiller  used  her  stars  to  represent  Saint  James  the  Less,  and 
Weigel,  as  the  Seven  Portuguese  Towers. 

But  all  these  figurings,  ancient  as  some  of  them  may  be,  are  modern 
when  compared  with  the  still  enduring  Sphinx  generally  claimed  as  prehis- 
toric, perhaps  of  the  times  of  the  Hor-she-shu,  long  anterior  to  the  first 
historical  Egyptian  ruler,  Menes ;  and  constructed,  according  to  Greek  tra- 
dition, with  Virgo's  head  on  Leo's  body,  from  the  fact  that  the  sun  passed 
through  these  two  constellations  during  the  inundation  of  the  Nile.  Some 
Egyptologists,  however,  would  upset  this  astronomical  connection  of  the 
Virgin,  Lion,  and  Sphinx,  Mariette  claiming  the  head  to  be  that  of  the  early 
god  Harmachis,  and  others  as  of  an  early  king. 

Ptolemy  extended  the  constellation  somewhat  farther  to  the  east  than  we 
have  it,  the  feet  being  carried  into  the  modern  Libra,  and  the  stars  that 
Hipparchos  placed  in  the  shoulder  shifted  to  the  side,  to  correct,  as  he  said, 
the  comparative  distances  of  the  stars  and  members  of  the  body.  Upon 
our  maps  it  is  about  52°  in  length,  terminating  on  the  east  at  X  and  p,  and 
so  is  the  longest  of  the  zodiac  figures.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Leo, 
Coma  Berenices,  and  Bootes ;  on  the  east  by  Serpens  and  Libra ;  on  the 
3° 


466  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

south  by  Hydra,  Corvus  and  Crater;  and  on  the  west  by  Leo,  Crater,  and 
Corvus. 

While  the  beautiful  Spica  is  its  most  noteworthy  object  to  the  casual 
observer,  yet  the  telescope  shows  here  the  densest  nebular  region  in  the 
heavens,  in  the  space  marked  by  its  0, 17,  y,  d,  and  Denebola  of  Leo ;  while 
other  nebulae  are  scattered  all  over  this  region  of  the  sky.  Sir  William 
Herschel  found  here  no  less  than  323,  which  later  search  has  increased  to 
over  500, —  very  many  more  nebulae  than  naked- eye  stars  in  the  constella- 
tion.   Argelander  gives  10 1  of  the  latter,  and  Heis  181. 

It  is  for  these  four  stars  in  Virgo,  forming  with  e  two  sides  of  a  right- 
angled  triangle  open  towards  Denebola,  y  at  its  vertex,  that  Professor 
Young  uses  his  mnemonic  word  Begde  to  recall  their  order.  They  extend 
along  the  wings  through  the  girdle,  and  were  the  Kennel  Corner  of  the 
Barking  Dogs  of  the  Arabs,  often  considered  as  the  Bogs  themselves. 

Von  Zach,  of  Gotha,  rediscovered  here  on  the  last  day  of  the  first  year 
of  this  century  the  minor  planet  Ceres,  whose  position  had  been  lost  some 
time  after  its  discovery  by  Piazzi  on  the  previous  New  Year's  Day ;  Olbers 
repeating  this,  and  independently,  the  next  evening,  the  first  anniversary  of 
the  original  discovery.  Here,  too,  Olbers  found,  on  the  28th  of  March, 
1802,  another  minor  planet,  Pallas,  the  second  one  discovered,  and  appro- 
priately named,  for  the  thirty-first  of  the  Orphic  Hymns  described  this  god- 
dess as  "  inhabiting  the  stars." 

The  sun  passes  through  the  constellation  from  the  14th  of  September  to 
the  29th  of  October ;  and  during  this  time 

the  Virgin  trails 
No  more  her  glittering  garments  through  the  blue. 

Ot,   Spectroscopic  binary,   1.3,  brilliant  flushed  white. 

Spioa  signifies,  and  marks,  the  Ear  of  Wheat  shown  in  the  Virgin's  left 
hand — Aratos  wrote  "in  her  hands";  Vitruviusand  Hyginus,  "in  her  right 
hand  " —  when  she  was  thought  to  be  Ceres.  All  the  Romans  called  it 
thus,  Cicero  saying  Spioum,  and  their  descendants,  the  modern  Italians, 
Spigha;  the  French  have  1'EpL  In  Old  England  it  was  the  Virgin1!  Spike, 
and  even  Flamsteed  thus  designated  it.  For  at  least  twenty-five  centuries,  and 
among  all  civilized  peoples,  the  Latin  word,  or  words  of  similar  import,  has 
obtained ;  although  Smyth  mentioned  an  attempt  before  his  day  to  secure 
for  it  the  illustrious  name  of  Newton. 

Xrdxvg,  perhaps  of  the  same  signification  although  another  has  been 
assigned  to  it,  appeared  with  Aratos,  Hipparchos,  and  Ptolemy,  transcribed 
by  the  Latins  as  Stachyi.     Manetho  had  Xto^vwcJ^c,  which  we  have  seen 


The  Constellations  467 

used  for  Virgo  by  another  Graeco-Egyptian  author,  Nonnus.  Bayer  cited 
Arista  for  the  star  as  for  the  constellation ;  Aristae  Puella  occurs  in  some 
Latin  doggerel  by  Caesius ;  as  the  brightest  of  the  figure  it  bore  the  tatter's 
Erigone;  while  Vindemitor  and  Vindemiator,  which  better  belong  to  e, 
have  been  applied  to  it. 

Other  titles — Sunbala;  Snnbale;  Sumbela;  Riccioli's  Snmbalet,  Sombalet, 
Sembalet  Eleandri;  and  Schickard's  Snnbalon — are  from  Sunbnlah  and 
Al '"  Adhra',  Arabic  words  synonymous  respectively  with  Spica  and  Virgo, 
although  Hyde  derived  them  from  ZifivXXa,  the  Singing  Sibyl,  of  the  con- 
stellation. Al  Biruni  said  that  it  was  Al  Hnlbah,  the  Bristle,  but  his  ex- 
planation of  this  only  served  to  show  the  strange  confusion  in  titles  that 
existed  in  the  Arab  mind  between  Spica  and  Al  Dafirah  in  the  Lion's  tail. 
And  Al  Biruni,  again,  said  that  it  was  the  Calf  of  the  Lion,  with  Arcturus  as 
the  second  Calf;  but  Kazwini  designated  it  as  Sak  al  Asad,  the  Shin-bone  of 
the  Lion,  this  Lion  being  the  enormous  figure  already  alluded  to,  of  which 
a  part  of  Virgo  formed  one  of  the  legs. 

A  still  more  widely  spread  native  name  in  the  Desert  was  Al  Simak  al  A'zal, 
the  Defenceless,  or  Unarmed,  Simak,  i.  e.  unattended  by  any  near-by  star ; 
the  other  Simak,  Arcturus,  being  armed  with  a  lance,  or  staff,  represented 
by  adjacent  stars  of  Bootes;  and  it  doubtless  was  this  isolated  position  ot 
Spica  that  induced  the  Coptic  title  Khoritos,  Solitary.  The  Alfonsinc  Tables 
turned  Simak  al  A'zal  into  inermis  Aaimec,  adding  Acimon,  Alaraph,  Almn- 
cedie  "of  the  Chaldaeans,"  and  Alacel;  while  the  151 5  Almagest  had 
Aschimech  inermis.  From  all  these  come  Bayer's  Alaazel,  Alazel,  Azimon, 
Alzimon  "  of  the  Nubians,"  Hazimet  Alazel,  the  alchemists'  Alhaiseth,  Ric- 
cioli's  Eltsameoti  and  Elteamach,  and  the  Azimeeh  still  occasionally  seen. 
Scaliger  had  Hazimeth  Alhacel,  and  Schickard  Hnzimethon.  Riccioli  cited 
a  "Nubian"  tide,  Eleazalet,  that  some  have  said  came  from  Al  fAzalah, 
the  Hip-bone,  but  it  probably  belongs  among  the  derivatives  from  A'zal; 
and  his  Eleadari  has  been  transferred  to  Spica  from  the  constellation. 

This  star  marked  the  12th  manzil,  Al  Simak,  and  in  early  astrology  was, 
like  all  of  Virgo,  a  sign  of  unfruitfulness  and  a  portent  of  injustice  to  inno- 
cence ;  but  later  on,  of  eminence,  renown,  and  riches. 

Chrysococca  called  it  \iiKp6q  Koirapdroc,  the  Little  Lance-bearer,  Arc- 
turus being  Kovrapdrog  par  excellence.  And  Hyde  gave  the  Hebrew  Shib- 
boleth, the  Syrian  Shebbelta,  the  Persian  Chushe,  and  the  Turkish  Salkim,  all 
signifying  the  "  Ear  of  Wheat ";  other  names  being  the  Persian  £pur,  the 
(Jparegha  of  the  Avesta,  the  Sogdian  Shaghar  and  Khorasmian  Akhihafarn, 
all  meaning  a  "  Point " — 1.  e.  Spica. 

The  Hindus  knew  it  as  Citra,  Bright,  their  12th  nakshatra,  figured  as  a 
Lamp,  or  as  a  Pearl,  with  Tvashtar,  the  Artificer,  or  Shaper,  as  its  presiding 


468  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

divinity;  and  some  have  thought  it  the  Tistar  Star  that  generally  has  been 
identified  with  Sirius. 

In  Babylonia,  and  representing  the  whole  constellation,  it  personified  the 
wife  of  B31,  and  as  Sa-Sha-Shirfi,  the  Virgin's  Girdle,  marked  the  20th 
ecliptic  asterism  of  that  name,  and  the  lunar  asterism  Dan-nu,  the  Hero  of 
the  Sky  Furrow.  It  was  also  Emukn  Tin-tir-Ki,  the  Might  of  the  Abode  of 
Life,  a  common  title  for  Babylon  itself. 

In  Chinese  astronomy  Spica  was  a  great  favorite  as  Ki6,  the  Horn,  or 
Spike,  anciently  Keok  or  Quik,  the  special  star  of  springtime;  and  with  { 
formed  their  12th  situ  under  that  title.     Naturally  it  was  the  determinant 

It  is  said  to  have  been  known  at  one  time  in  Egypt  as  the  Lute-Bearer, 
and  was  evidently  of  importance,  for  another  Egyptian  name  was  Bepi,  the 
Lord;  and  Lockyer  thinks  that  the  great  "  Mena  may  symbolize  Spica,  with 
which  star  we  have  seen  Min-worship  associated."  According  to  this 
same  author,  one  of  the  temples  at  Thebes,  probably  dedicated  to  this 
Mena,  Menat,  Menes,  Min,  or  Khem,  was  oriented  to  Spica's  setting  about 
3200  b.  c;  and  the  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Tell  al  Amarna  was  also  so 
oriented  about  2000  b.  c,  or  perhaps  somewhat  later.  A  similar  character 
attached  to  it  in  Greece,  for  two  temples  have  been  found  at  Rhamnus, 
"  almost  touching  one  another,  both  following  (and  with  accordant  dates) 
the  shifting  places  of  Spica,"  at  their  erection  1092'  and  747  b.  c;  "and 
still  another  pair  at  Tegea."  Temples  of  Here  were  also  so  oriented  at 
Olympia  1445  b.  c,  at  Argos  and  Girgenti;  and  those  of  Nike  Apterosat 
Athens,  11 30  b.  c,  and  of"  the  Great  Diana  of  the  Ephesians,"  715  b.  c 

It  was  to  the  observations  of  this  star  and  of  Regulus  about  300  b.  c, re- 
corded by  the  Alexandrian  Timochares,  that,  after  comparison  with  his  own 
150  years  later,  Hipparchos  was  indebted  for  the  great  discovery  attributed 
to  him  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes ;  although  Babylonian  records, 
and  the  temple  orientation  of  Egypt  and  Greece,  may  indicate  a  far  earlier 
practical  knowledge  of  this. 

According  to  Ptolemy,  Timochares  observed  an  occultation  by  the  planet 
Venus  of  an  unidentified  star  "  on  the  tip  of  Virgo's  wing," — perhaps  y>  or 
g> — on  the  12th  of  October,  271  b.  c.1 

l  A  still  earlier  record  of  the  planet,  dating  from  686  B.  c,  is  on  a  tablet  from  Chaldaea  now 
in  the  British  Museum;  while  earlier  still  are  Homer's " Ean%qog,  the  Latin  Hesperus,— 

the  brightest  star  that  shines  in  Heav*n ; 
and  Isaiah's 

.    .    .    day  star,  son  of  the  morning, 

that  out  Authorized  Version  rendered  "  Lucifer, "  the  equivalent  of   the  Greek  alternative 
titles   'EtootpoQOQ  and  #010^000$,   the  Latin   Phosphorus.      The  identity  of  this  Morning 
Star  with  the  Evening  Star  Hesperus  was  discovered  by  Pythagoras,  or  by  Parmenides,  in  the 
5th  century  before  Christ. 
The  planet  also  was  known  as  tA(fQoSlttj,  as  Juno's  Star,  and  as  Isis. 


The  Constellations  469 

Spectroscopic  observations  by  Vogel  in  1890  show  that  Spica  is  in  revo- 
lution with  a  speed  of  at  least  fifty-six  miles  a  second  in  an  orbit  of  three 
millions  of  miles'  radius,  around  the  common  centre  of  gravity  of  itself  and 
an  obscure  companion  in  a  period  of  about  four  days.  It  is,  however,  never 
eclipsed  by  the  latter,  as  is  the  case  with  the  star  Algol.  Its  spectrum  is 
Sirian ;  and  the  system  is  approaching  us  at  the  rate  of  9.2  miles  a  second. 
Gould  thinks  that  it  shows  fluctuations  in  brilliancy. 

It  is  one  of  the  lunar  stars  much  utilized  in  navigation,  and  lies  but  20 
south  of  the  ecliptic,  and  io°  south  of  the  celestial  equator,  coming  to  the 
meridian  on  the  28th  of  May. 

With  Denebola,  Arcturus,  and  Cor  Caroli  it  forms  the  Diamond  of  Virgo, 
500  in  extent  north  and  south. 

P>    3-9>    pafc  yellow. 

Zavijava,  a  universal  name  in  modern  catalogues,  is  first  found  with 
Piazzi,  but  is  Zarijan  in  the  Standard  Dictionary.  It  is  from  Al  Zftwiah, 
the  Angle,  or  Corner,  1.  e.  Kennel,  of  the  Arab  Dogs, —  although  y  exactly 
marks  this  Corner  and  should  bear  the  title. 

The  stars  0,  rj,  y,  d,  e,  outlining  this  Kennel,  formed  the  nth  manzi/,  Al 
Awwa',  the  Barker,  which  was  considered  of  good  omen ;  while  Firuzabadi 
included  it  with  the  preceding  moon  station  Al  Sarfah, —  0  Leonis, — in  the 
group  Al  Nahran,  the  Two  Rivers,  as  their  rising  was  in  the  season  of  heavy 
rains.  Other  indigenous  titles  were  Al  Bard,  the  Cold,  which  it  was  said  to 
produce ;  and  Warak  al  Asad,  the  Lion's  Haunches. 

0  marked  the  18th  ecliptic  constellation  of  Babylonia,  Shepn-arku  sha-A, 
the  Hind  Leg  of  the  Lion,  for  this  country  also  seems  to  have  had  one 
of  these  creatures  here.  With  rjf  it  perhaps  was  Ninsar,  the  Lady  of  Heaven, 
probably  a  reference  to  Istar ;  and  Urra-gal,  the  God  of  the  Great  City ;  and 
one  of  the  seven  pairs  of  stars  famous  in  that  astronomy.  As  a  Euphratean 
lunar  asterism  it  bore  the  same  title  Ninsar,  but  this  included  all  the  com- 
ponents of  the  Arabs'  Kennel  Corner. 

These  also  were  the  Persian  Mashaha,  the  Sogdian  Fastaahat,  the  Kho- 
rasmian  Afsasat,  and  the  Coptic  Abnkia,  all  of  the  Arabic  signification. 

In  China  it  was  Yew  Chi  Fa,  the  Right-hand  Maintainer  of  Law. 

0  is  130  south  of  Denebola  in  Leo,  culminating  with  it  on  the  3d  of  May. 

Y>  Binary  and  slightly  variable,     3  and  3.2,    white. 

The  Latins  called  this  Porrima,  or  Antevorta,  sometimes  Postvorta, 
names  of  two  ancient  goddesses  of  prophecy,  sisters  and  assistants  of  Car- 
3o# 


470  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

menta  or  Carmentis,  worshiped  and  at  times  invoked  by  their  women. 
Porrima  was  known  as  Proraa  and  Prota  by  Aulus  Gellius  of  our  2d  century. 

y  was  specially  mentioned  by  Kazwini  as  itself  being  ZSwiat  al  'Awwi'» 
the  Angle,  or  Corner,  of  the  Barker ;  and  Al  Tizini,  with  Ulug  Beg,  had 
much  the  same  name  for  it ;  but  Al  BirunI,  quoting  from  Al  Zajjaj,  said 
that  "  these  people  are  all  wrong,"  and  that  'Awwa'  here  meant  "  Turn," 
referring  to  the  turn,  or  bend,  in  the  line  of  stars.  This  interesting  early 
figure  is  noticeable  even  to  the  casual  observer,  y  being  midway  between 
Spica  and  Denebola,  the  sides  of  the  Kennel  stretching  off  to  the  north  and 
west,  respectively  marked  by  r\  and  /3,  6  and  e. 

In  Babylonia  it  marked  the  19th  ecliptic  constellation,  ShiiMnalirtt-ihirii, 
the  Front,  or  West,  Shur  (?) ;  while  individually  it  was  Kakkab  Dan-ira,  the 
Star  of  the  Hero,  and  the  reference  point  in  their  annals  of  an  observation 
of  Saturn1  on  the  1st  of  March,  228  b.  c,  the  first  mention  of  this  planet 
that  we  have,  and  recorded  by  Ptolemy. 

The  Chinese  knew  y  as  Bhang  Seang,  the  High  Minister  of  State. 

Astronomers  consider  the  two  stars  alternately  variable  in  light;  and 
some  call  both  yellow,  so  following  the  apparent  rule  of  similar  coloration 
in  components  of  binaries  when  of  equal  brilliancy ;  those  unequal  being 
of  contrasting  colors.  In  1836  they  showed  as  a  single  star  in  the  largest 
telescope  then  in  use;  but  now  are  6"  apart,  moving  in  an  orbit  more  eccen- 
tric than  any  other  as  yet  well  determined,  with  a  period  of  revolution  esti- 
mated at  about  190  years.  The  position  angle  in  1890  was  3300.  They 
are  of  special  interest  to  astronomers,  as  well  as  a  show  object  to  all. 

They  culminate  on  the  17  th  of  May. 

$1     3-6,     golden  yellow, 

although  individually  unnamed  in  our  lists,  was  one  of  the  'Awwa. 

On  the  Euphrates  it  was  Lu  Lim,  the  Gazelle,  Goat,  or  Stag, —  or  perhaps 
King ;  and,  with  c,  probably  Mas-tab-ba,  another  of  the  seven  pairs  of  Twin- 
stars  of  that  country.  The  Hindus  called  it  Apa,  or  Apat,  the  Waters;  and 
the  Chinese,  Tize  Seang,  the  Second  Minister  of  State. 

Secchi  alluded  to  6  as  bcllissima,  from  its  most  beautiful  banded  spectrum 
of  the  3d  class  of  spectra,  like  that  of  a  Herculis. 

£,     3.3,    bright  yellow, 

is  the  Vindemiatrix  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  whence  it  has  descended  into 
modern  lists;  but  in  Latin  days  it  was  Vindemiator  with  Columella,  which 

1  Saturn  was  Xqovog  and  tfa/vwr,  the  Shiner,  with  the  Greeks ;  Al  Thakib,  the  Piercer,  wi& 
the  Arabs ;  and  Saturnus,  or  Stella  Solis,  with  the  Latins. 


The  Constellations  471 

is  found  as  late  as  Flamsteed;  Vindemitor,  with  Ovid  and  Pliny;  and 
Provindemiator  and  Provindemia  major,  with  Vitruvius ;  all  signifying  the 
"Grape-gatherer,"  from  its  rising  in  the  morning  just  before  the  time  of  the 
vintage.  These  titles  were  translations  of  the  UpoTpvyerrjp,  UporpvyeTrjg, 
Uporpvyerog,  and  Tpvyerfjp,  used  by  Ptolemy,  Plutarch,  and  other  Greek 
authors,  the  first  of  these  words  appearing  in  the  Phainomena,  and  rendered 
the  "  Fruit-plucking  Herald  " ;  but  it  is  in  a  line  of  the  poem  considered 
doubtful ;  Riccioli  had  Protrigetrix.  This  profusion  of  titles  from  the  ear- 
liest times  indicates  the  singular  interest  with  which  this  now  inconspicuous 
star  was  regarded  in  classical  astronomy.  The  Century  Cyclopedia  has  the 
following  note  on  it : 

At  the  time  when  the  zodiac  seems  to  have  been  formed  (2100  B.  c.)  this  star  would 
first  be  seen  at  Babylon  before  sunrise  about  August  20,  or,  since  there  is  some  evidence 
that  it  was  then  brighter  than  it  is  now,  perhaps  a  week  earlier.  This  would  seem  too 
late  for  the  vintage,  so  that  perhaps  this  tradition  is  older  than  the  zodiac. 

The  classical  name  was  translated  by  the  Arabians  Mukdim  al  Kitaf ; 
and  another  title  was  Almuredin,  still  seen  for  it,  perhaps  from  Al  Muridin, 
Those  Who  Sent  Forth.  Traces  of  these  words  are  found  in  the  Alaoast, 
Alcalft,  Alaraph,  and  Almueedie  of  Bayer's  Uranometria. 

In  China  it  was  Tsze  Tseang,  the  Second  General. 

On  the  Euphrates  it  may  have  been  Kakkab  Mulu-in,  the  Star  Man  of 
Fire,  possibly  symbolizing  the  god  Laterak,  the  Divine  King  of  the  Desert; 
although  that  title  has  been  assigned  to  p.  Virginis  and  6  Librae. 

It  marked  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  nth  manzil,  and  in  astrology 
was  a  mischief-making  star.     It  culminates  on  the  2 2d  of  May. 


I],  Variable  between  3  and  4. 

Zaniah  is  from  Al  Zawiah,  applied  in  German  lists  to  this  instead  of  to 
the  stars  0  and  y,  all  of  these  being  in  the  Kennel. 

In  China  it  was  Tso  Chih  Fa,  the  Left-hand  Maintainer  of  Law. 

It  lies  on  the  left  side  of  the  Virgin,  and  just  to  the  westward  is  the  point 
of  the  autumnal  equinox  which  the  Chinese  knew  as  Yih  Mun,  Twan  Mun, 
or  Een  Mun,  Heaven's  Gate.  With  ?  it  almost  exactly  marks  the  line  of 
the  celestial  equator. 

0,  Triple,    4.4,  9,  and  10,    pale  white,  violet,  and  dusky, 

is  on  the  front  of  the  garment,  below  the  girdle;  the  components,  f.i  and 
65"  apart;  the  position  angle  of  the  first  two  stars  being  3450. 


472  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Moderns  have  no  name  for  it,  but  in  the  Surya  Siddhanta  it  was  Aptmi- 
Atsa,  the  Child  of  the  Waters. 

With  another  adjacent,  but  now  unidentified,  star,  it  was  known  in  China 
as  Ping  Taou,  the  Plain  and  Even  Way. 


ij    4.2. 

Syrma  is  from  Zvppa,  used  by  Ptolemy  to  designate  this  star  on  the  Train 
of  the  Virgin's  robe. 

With  *  and  <f>  it  was  mentioned  in  the  first  Arabian  translation  of  the 
Syntaxis  as  being  in  the  himdr,  or  " skirt,"  of  the  garment ;  but  the  trans- 
lator of  the  Latin  edition  of  15 15,  missing  the  point  at  the  first  letter, 
read  the  word  as  Aimdr,  "  an  ass,"  so  that  this  central  one  of  these  three 
stars  strangely  appears  in  that  work  as  in  asino.  They  formed  the  13th 
manzif,  Al  Ghafr,  the  Covering,  as  Smyth  explains, 

because  the  beauty  of  the  earth  is  hidden  when  they  rise  on  the  18th  Tishrin,  or  1st  of 
November;  others  say  on  account  of  the  shining  of  the  stars  being  lessened  as  if  covered; 

but  Kazwini, 

because,  when  they  rise,  the  earth  robes  herself  in  her  splendour  and  finery, — her  summer 
robes. 

The  Arabic  word,  however,  is  analogous  to  Zvpfia,  and  so  may  have 
been  taken  from  Ptolemy;  although  Al  Biruni  quoted  from  Al  Zajjaj  Al 
Ghafar,  the  Tuft  in  the  Lion's  tail,  which  it  may  have  marked  in  the  figure 
of  the  ancient  Asad.  Another  signification  of  the  word  Ghafr  is  the  "  Young 
Ibex."  Al  Biruni  also  said  that  the  Arabs  considered  this  the  most  fortunate 
of  their  lunar  stations,  as  lying  between  the  evils  of  the  Lion's  teeth  and 
claws  on  one  side  and  the  tail  and  venom  of  the  Scorpion  on  the  other, 
and  quoted  from  a  Rajaz  poet: 

The  best  night  forever 
Lies  between  Al  Zubanah  and  Al  Asad ; 

adding  that  the  horoscope  of  the  Prophet  lay  here,  and  that  the  date  of  the 
birth  of  Moses  coincided  with  it. 

As  a  lunar  station  these  stars  were  the  Sogdian  Sarwa  and  the  Khoras- 
mian  Shushak,  the  Leader;  the  Persian  Hugru,  the  Good  Goer;  and  the 
Coptic  Khambalia,  Crooked-clawed,  A  being  substituted  for  0;  and  it  is 
said  that  they  were  the  Akkadian  Lu  Lim,  the  He  Goat,  Gazelle,  or  Stag. 
the  original  perhaps  also  meaning  "  King,"  and  employed  for  d. 


The  Constellations  473 

1  alone,  according  to  Hommel,  was  the  Death  Star,  Xnlu  Bat. 

1,  «',  and  v  constituted  the  13th  situ,  Kang,  a  Man's  Neck,  *  being  the 
determining  star;  while,  with  the  preceding  station,  the  united  group  was 
8hen  sing,  as  Edkins  writes  it,  the  Star  of  Old  Age ;  and,  with  others  near, 
it  may  have  been  included  in  the  Tien  Mun  mentioned  at  the  star  77. 

fiy  a  3.9-magnitude,  was  Al  Achsasi's  Eijl  al  'Awwa',  the  Foot  of  the 
Barker.  It  has  been  included  with  6  Librae  in  the  Akkadian  lunar  asterism 
Mulu  In,  a  title  also  applied  to  e ;  the  Sogdian  Fatarwa,  and  the  Khoras- 
mian  Sara-fsariwa,  both  signifying  the  "One  next  to  the  Leader" — i.e.  next 
to  the  lunar  asterism  t,  k,  and  A. 

v,  f,  o,  and  7r,  forming  the  head  of  Virgo,  were  the  Chinese  Nuy  Ping, 
the  Inner  Screen;  p  was  Xew  Heang,  the  Nine  Officers  of  State,  in  which 
some  smaller  stars  were  included;  a  and  t,  Tien  Teen,  the  Heavenly 
Fields ;  while  %  anc*  V>>  w^n  others  adjacent,  were  Tlin  Heen ;  all  of  these 
stars  being  of  4th  to  6th  magnitudes. 


(ttufpecufd  cum  &neere,  ffc  Eittfe  fox  ttitfy  tfle  (Booee, 

is  known  in  Italy  as  Volpe  oolla  Oea ;  in  Germany  as  Fuchs,  or  Fuchschen, 
mit  der  Gans ;  and  in  France  as  Petit  Benard  avec  l'Oie. 
Smyth  wrote  that  this  is 

a  modern  constellation,  crowded  in  by  Hevelius  to  occupy  a  space  between  the  Arrow  and 
the  Swan,  where  the  Via  Lactea  divides  into  two  branches.  For  this  purpose  he  ransacked 
the  informes  of  this  bifurcation,  and  was  so  satisfied  with  the  result,  that  the  effigies  figure 
in  the  elaborate  print  of  his  offerings  to  Urania.  He  selected  it  on  account  of  the  Eagle, 
Cerberus  and  Vukur  Cadens.  "  I  wished,1'  said  he,  "  to  place  a  fox  and  a  goose  in  the 
space  of  the  sky  well  fitted  to  it ;  because  such  an  animal  is  very  cunning,  voracious  and 
fierce.    Aquilaand  Vultur  are  of  the  same  nature,  rapacious  and  greedy." 

The  two  members  are  sometimes  given  separately;  indeed  the  Anser  is 
often  omitted.  Flamsteed's  Atlas  shows  both,  but  separates  the  titles ;  and 
Proctor  arbitrarily  combined  both  in  his  Vulpes,  Astronomers  now  call  the 
whole  Vnlpeeula. 

Its  inventor  saw  27  stars  here,  but  Argelander  catalogued  37,  and  Heis 
62.    They  come  to  the  meridian  toward  the  end  of  August. 

Although  I  have  elsewhere  found  no  named  star  in  Vulpecula,  and  its 


474  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

general  faintness  would  render  it  doubtful  whether  there  ever  has  been 
one,  yet  the  Standard  Dictionary  says  of  it  under  the  word  Anser: 

a  small  star  in  the  constellation  of  the  Fox  and  the  Goose ; 

and  the  Century  Dictionary  has  much  the  same.    This  may  have  been  a, 
the  lucida,  a  4.4-magnitude  just  west  of  the  Fox's  head. 

A  meteor  stream,  the  Vulpecnlids,  appearing  from  the  13th  of  June  to  the 
7th  of  July,  radiates  from  a  point  in  this  constellation ;  but  the  tatter's 
most  noteworthy  object  is  the  Double-headed  Shot,  or  Dumb-bell,  Veboli, 
N.  G.  C.  6853,  27  M.,  just  visible  in  a  i^-inch  finder,  70  southeast  from 
the  star  Albireo. 


...  the  milky  way  i*  the  sky,— 
A  meeting  of  gentle  lights  without  a  name. 

Sir  John  Suckling. 

Torrent  of  light  and  river  of  the  air, 

Along  whose  bed  the  glimmering  stars  are  seen 
Like  gold  and  silver  sands  in  some  ravine 

Where  mountain  streams  have  left  their  channels  bare! 

Longfellow's  Tfu  Galaxy 

Z$t  &afaty,  or  QjMtfy  Ttfag, 

has  borne  arbitrary,  descriptive,  or  fanciful  titles  in  every  age. 
Anaxagoras,  550  b.  c,  and  Aratos  knew  it  as  to  TdXa, 

that  shining  wheel,  men  call  it  Milk ; 

Eratosthenes,  as  KvkXo$  TaAafr'ac,  the  Circle  of  the  Galaxy;  other  Greek 
authors,  as  KvkAoc  yakattriKog,  the  Galactic  Circle ;  and  Hipparchos,  as  A 
TaXdi-ios,  the  Galaxy.  Galaxure,  the  Lovely  One,  of  the  Homeric  Hymn 
may  have  been  the  personification  of  this;  and  Galatea,  the  Milk-white, 
of  the  Iliad,  for  this  nymph  was  a  daughter  of  Oceanus,  and  the  Galay 
was  long  known  as  Eridanus,  the  Stream  of  Ocean.  Indeed  during  all 
historic  time  it  has  been  thought  of  as  the  Eiver  of  Heaven. 

Such,  too,  was  the  Akkadian  idea  of  it  in  connection  with  that  of  a 
Great  Serpent ;  Brown  writing  of  this : 


No  doubt  the  Great  Serpent,  in  one  of  its  mystic  phases,  is  connected  with  the  C 
■tream  —  e.  g.,  the  Norse  mdhgardhaormr,  the  Weltum-tpanner  (M  Stretcher-round-the- 
world  ").     But  the  Akkadian  Snake-river,  with  whatever  else  it  may  be  associated,  cer- 


The  Galaxy  475 

tainly  also  in  one  phase,  and  on  the  three  Boundary-stones  referred  to,  represents  the 
Cir cuius  Lacteus.     In  W.  A.  /.,  n,  51,  we  read : 

45.  Akkadian  Hid  tsirra,  Assyrian  Nahru  tsiri,  =  "  River-of-the-Snake."  Thus  Hid- 
dagal,  "  River  "  +  "  great "  =  Hiddekel  (Genesis  ii,  14). 

46.  Ak.  Hid  turra  An  gal>  As.  Nahru  markasi  Hi  rabi,  =  "  River-of-the-cord-of-the- 
God  great." 

47.  Ak.  Hidtuabgal,  As.  Nahru  Apshi  rati,  =  "  River-of-the-Abyss  great." 

It   also    was  the   Eiver-of-the-Shepherd's-hut,  dust-cloud  high,  and  the 
Akkadian  Hid In-ni-na,  Eiver-of-the-Divine-Lady ;  and,  to  quote  again: 

This  Snake-river  of  sparkling  dust,  the  stream  of  the  abyss  on  high  through  which  it 
runs,  the  golden  cord  of  the  heaven-god  (Prof.  Sayce  aptly  refers  to  II.  viii,  19),  connected 
alike  with  the  hill  of  the  Sun-god  and  with  the  passage  of  ghosts,  is  the  Milky  Way ;  and 
it  is  the  Biver  of  Nana,  wife  of  the  heaven -god,  as,  in  Greek  mythology,  it  is  connected 
with  Here. 

Among  the  Arabs  it  was  Al  Hahx,  the  River,  a  title  that  they  afterwards 
transferred  to  the  Greek  constellation  Eridanus ;  and  those  other  Semites, 
the  Hebrews,  knew  it  as  N'har  di  Hot,  the  River  of  Light;  but  the  Rabbi 
Levi  recurred  to  the  Akkadian  simile  in  saying  that  it  was  the  Crooked  Ser- 
pent of  the  Book  of  Joof  xxvi,  13.  Usually,  however,  in  Judaea  it  was 
Aroch, —  in  Armenia  and  Syria,  Arocea, —  not  a  lexicon  word,  but  evidently 
from  Aruhdh,  a  Long  Bandage,  and  well  applied  to  this  long  band  of  light. 

In  China,  as  in  Japan,  it  was  Tien  Ho,  the  Celestial  River,  and  the  Silver 
River,  whose  fish  were  frightened  by  the  new  moon,  which  they  imagined  to 
be  a  hook ;  although  those  countries  also  may  have  named  it  as  we  do,  for 
in  the  She  King  are  the  lines  by  the  emperor-poet  Seuen,  of  the  8th  century 
before  Christ,  translated  by  Legge : 

Brightly  resplendent  in  the  sky  revolved 
The  Milky  Way; 
and  again : 

Vast  is  this  Milky  Way, 

Making  a  brilliant  figure  in  the  sky. 

Al  Biruni  quoted  from  a  Sanskrit  tradition  that  it  was  Akaah  Ganga,  the 
Bed  of  the  Ganges ;  but  his  other  Hindu  title,  Kshira,  is  not  explained.  In 
North  India  it  was  Bhagwan  Id  Kaehahri,  the  Court  of  God,  and  Swarga 
Duari,  the  Dove  of  Paradise. 

In  Rome  it  was  often  thought  of  as  the  Heavenly  Girdle,  Coeli  Cingulnm, 
and  as  a  Circle ;  Pliny,  calling  it  Circnlns  lacteus,  followed  Cicero,  who  also 
said  Orbit  lacteus,  and  made  extended' allusion  to  it  in  his  Vision  of  Scipio 
as  "  a  radiant  circle  of  dazzling  brightness  amid  the  flaming  bodies." 

It  is  in  this  Vision  that  we  find  a  graphic  and  beautiful  description  of  the 


476  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

nine  heavenly  crystal  circles,  the  foundation  of  the  old  system  of  astronomy, 
from  which  issued  the  Harmony  of  the  Spheres  universally  believed  in  till 
the  times  of  Copernicus;  but  Euripides  already  had  written  of  it : 

Thee  I  invoke,  thou  self-created  Being,  who  gave  birth  to  Nature,  and  whom  light  and 
darkness,  and  the  whole  train  of  globes,  encircle  with  eternal  music. 

Towards  our  day  Shakespeare,  in  the  Merchant  of  Venice ;  said : 

There's  not  the  smallest  orb  which  thou  behold'st 
But  in  his  motion  like  an  angel  sings ; 

Milton,  in  Paradise  Lost: 

the  fix'd  stars,  fix'd  in  their  orb  that  flies, 
And  ye  five  other  wand'ring  fires  that  move 
In  mystic  dance  not  without  song; 
Ben  Jonson : 

Spheres  keep  one  musick,  they  one  measure  dance ; 

and  Addison  doubtless  had  it  in  mind  in  his  beautiful  astronomical  hymn : 

Forever  singing  as  they  shine. 

Kepler  assigned  the  various  tones  in  music  to  the  various  planets,  one 
issuing  from  each  of  the  spheres :  the  bass  from  Saturn  and  Jupiter,  the 
tenor  from  Mars,  the  contralto  from  Venus,  and  the  soprano  from  Mercury. 
The  conception  of  the  Milky  Way  as  a  pathway  always  and  everywhere 
has  been  current.  This  is  seen  in  the  Romans'  Via  coeli  regia;  Via  laetif 
and  Via  laetea,  the  Mylke  way  and  Mylke  whyte  way  in  Eden's  render- 
ing ;  Semita  laetea,  the  Milky  Footpath ;  and  Ovid's 

High  Road  paved  with  stars  to  the  court  of  Jove ; 

imitated,  in  Paradise  Lost,  by  Milton's 

The  Way  to  God's  eternal  house, 

the  much  quoted 

Broad  and  ample  road  whose  dust  is  gold, 
And  pavement  stars,  as  stars  to  thee  appear 
Seen  in  the  galaxy,  that  milky  way 
Which  nightly  as  a  circling  zone  tbou  seest 
Powder 'd  with  stars. 

The  Norsemen  knew  it  as  the  Path  of  the  Ghosts  going  to  Valholl  (Val- 
halla), in  the  region  Gladhsheimr, —  the  palace  of  their  heroes  slain  in  battle ; 


The  Galaxy  477 

and  our  North  American  Indians  had  the  same  idea,  as  witness  the  °  wrinkled 
old  Nokomis,"  when,  teaching  the  little  Hiawatha,  she 

Showed  the  broad  white  road  in  heaven, 
Pathway  of  the  ghosts,  the  shadows, 
Running  straight  across  the  heavens, 
Crowded  with  the  ghosts,  the  shadows, 
To  the  Kingdom  of  Ponemah, 
To  the  land  of  the  hereafter ; 

the  brighter  stars  along  the  Road  marking  their  camp-fires.  William  Ham- 
ilton Hayne's  Indian  Fancy  embodies  it  thus : 

Pure  leagues  of  stars  from  garish  light  withdrawn 

Behind  celestial  lace- work  pale  as  foam, — 
I  think  between  the  midnight  and  the  dawn 

Souls  pass  through  you  to  their  mysterious  home. 

Our  aborigines  and  the  Eskimo  also  called  it  the  Ashen  Path,  as  did  the 
Bushmen  of  Africa, — the  ashes  hot  and  glowing,  instead  of  cold  and  dark, 
that  benighted  travelers  might  see  their  way  home, —  thus  unwittingly  follow- 
ing the  classical  Manilius : 

this  was  once  the  Path 
Where  Phoebus  drove;  and  in  length  of  Years 
The  heated  track  took  Fire  and  burnt  the  Stars. 
The  Colour  changed,  the  Ashes  strew'd  the  Way, 
And  still  preserve  the  marks  of  the  Decay ; 

although  he  also  more  scientifically  wrote : 

Anne  magis  densa  s  tell  arum  turba  corona. 

Among  the  early  Hindus  it  was  the  Path  of  Aryamin,  leading  to  his 
throne  in  ElysiunY;  in  the  Panjab  it  is  Berfi  da  ghat,  the  Path  of  Noah's 
Ark;  and  in  northern  India,  Nagavithi,  the  Path  of  the  Snake. 

The  Patagonians  think  it  the  road  on  which  their  dead  friends  are  hunt- 
ing ostriches.  ^ 

The  Anglo-Saxons  knew  it  as  Waetlinga  Strot, —  Hoveden's  Watlinga- 
itrete, —  the  path  of  the  Waetlings,  the  giant  sons  of  King  Waetla,  Vate,  or 
Ivalde ;  Minsheu  thus  defining  the  word : 

howsoever  the  Romans  might  make  it  .  .  .  the  names  bee  from  the  Saxons,  and  Roger 
Hoveden  saith  it  is  so  called  because  the  sonnes  of  Wethle  made  it  leading  from  the  East 
sea  to  the  West; 

and  going  into  extended  and  very  interesting  details  as  to  its  course,  and 


478  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

those  of  other  Roman  "  waies  "  in  early  Britain.  Old  Thomas  Hood  simi- 
larly could  see  no  derivation  for  this  title, 

except  it  be  in  regard  of  the  narrowness  it  seemeth  to  have,  or  else  in  respect  of  that  great 
highway  that  lieth  between  Dover  and  St.  Albans. 

This  was  variously  known  as  Werlam  Street,  Wadlyng  Street,  Vatlant 
Street,  and  lastly  Wailing  Street,1  the  ancient  road  still  in  use  from  Chester 
(the  ancient  Deva),  through  London  (Londinium),  to  Dover  (Dubris 
Portus);  and  its  stellar  connection  appears  in  the  Hous  of  Fame : 

Lo,  there,  quod  he,  cast  up  thine  eye. 
Se  yonder,  lo,  the  Galaxye, 
Which  men  clepeth  the  Milky  Wey, 
For  hitt  is  whytt,  and  some  parfey, 
Callen  hit  Watlinge  Strete. 

Another  title,  Walsyngham  Way,  first  found  in  Langland's  Vision  of  Wil- 
liam concerning  Piers  Plowman,  made  it  the  road  to  the  Virgin  Mary  in 
heaven,  as  the  earthly  way  was  to  her  shrine  in  Norfolk,  where  she  was  known 
as  our  Lady  of  Walsyngham ;  this  existing  till  1538,  when  England  abolished 
her  monasteries.  The  idea  of  this,  and  of  other  similar  path-titles,  may  have 
come  from  the  fancy  that  this  heavenly  way  crowded  with  stars  resembled 
the  earthly  roads  crowded  with  pilgrims.  Anglo-Saxon  glossaries  have  it 
as  binges  Uueg,  Weg,  or  Wee,  Iringe's  Way ;  and  as  Bil-Idun's  Way,  these 
personages  being  descendants  of  Waetla,-and  both  Ways  leading  to  Asgard 
over  the  bridge  at  which  Slavonic  mythology  terminated  this  celestial  way, 
and  thus  joined  earth  to  heaven,  "  where  four  monks  guard  the  sacred  road 
and  cut  to  pieces  all  who  attempt  to  traverse  it."  Later  on  this  Aigard 
Bridge  was  the  title  indiscriminately  applied  to  the  Milky  Way  and  Rain- 
bow, varied,  as  to  the  latter,  by  Bifrost  or  Asbreu. 

And  here  I  may  be  pardoned  for  repeating  a  quaintly  beautiful  passage 
from  Minsheu's  definition  of  the  Rainbow,  although  not  connected  with  the 
Galaxy,  nor  strictly  astronomical : 

The  Bow  is  the  weapon  ofwarre  and  therefore  called  the  Bow  of  the  battel!,  If  Zach.  9. 
10.  (battle-bow)  &  10.  4.  (id).  The  Bow  that  appeareth  in  the  clouds  hath  no  string, 
nor  no  deadly  arrow  prepared  upon  it,  there  is  no  wrath  that  appeareth  in  it ;  et  iicitur 
Arcus  clementiae  &*  foederis,  indicans  mundum  non  secundo  periturum  aquis.  And  there- 
fore we  should  love  him  that  hath  laid  aside  his  wrath,  and  embraced  us  with  mercie. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Minsheu's  was  a  polyglot  dictionary!    Ves- 

l  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  there  are  other  derivations  for  Watling  Street,— one  by  no  mean* 
improbable,  Minsheu  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  namely,  that  it  was  called  after  Vitel- 
lianus,  the  Roman  director  in  its  construction,  whom  the  Britons  knew  as  Guetalin. 


The  Galaxy  479 

pucci,  a  century  before,  expressed  much  the  same  sentiment  where  —  but 
connecting  the  Bible  with  Science  —  he  wrote,  in  Eden's  rendering : 

It  is  a  pledge  of  peace  betweene  god  and  men,  and  is  ever  directly  over  ageynst  the 
soonne. 

Grimm,  in  Teutonic  Mythology,  cites  many  titles  for  the  Galaxy.  Among 
the  Northmen  it  was  Wnotanes  Weg,  or  Straza,  Wuotan's,  or  Woden's,  Way, 
or  Street;  among  the  Midland  Dutch,  Vronelden  Straet,  the  Women's 
Street,  and  Hilde,  or  Hulde,  Straue,  Saint  Hilda's,  or  Hulda's,  Street ;  in 
Jutland,  Veierveien,  or  Brunei,  Straet;  in  Westphalia,  Wiar  Strata,  the 
Weather  Street,  and  Miilen  Weg,  the  Milky  Way ;  and  in  East  Friesland, 
Harmawith  and  the  Melkpath.  In  Hungary  it  was  Hada  Kuttya,  the  Via 
Belli,  because  in  the  journey  of  war  and  migration  from  Asia  their  ancestors 
followed  this  shining  mark;  and  the  Finns  have  the  pretty  Linnunrata,  the 
Birds'  Way,  as  the  winged  spirits  flit  thither  to  the  free  and  happy  land,  or 
because  the  united  bird-songs  once  were  turned  into  a  cloud  of  snow-white 
dovelets  still  seen  overhead.    This  was  the  Lithuanian  Paukszcziu  Kielis, 

In  Germany  the  modern  Milch  Straftse  is  the  translation  of  our  best- 
known  title ;  while  it  has  long  been,  and  popularly  is  even  now,  Jakobs 
Straoe  and  Jakobs  Weg,  Jacob's  Road ;  as  the  Belt  of  Orion  is  his  Staff 
lying  alongside  the  road.  And  it  has  been  still  further  associated  with 
that  patriarch  as  his  Ladder. 

In  Sweden  the  Milky  Way  is  the  Winter  Street, —  so,  at  all  events,  with 
the  peasantry, —  their  Winter  Oatan ;  and  that  country's  idea  of  it  is  thus 
beautifully  given  by  Miss  Edith  M.  Thomas : 

Silent  with  star-dust,  yonder  it  lies  — 

The  Winter  Street,  so  fair  and  so  white ; 
Winding  along  through  the  boundless  skies, 

Down  heavenly  vale,  up  heavenly  height. 

Faintly  it  gleams,  like  a  summer  road 

When  the  light  in  the  west  is  sinking  low, 
Silent  with  star-dust!     By  whose  abode 

Does  the  Winter  Street  in  its  windings  go  ? 

And  who  are  they,  all  unheard  and  unseen  — 

O,  who  are  they,  whose  blessed  feet 
Pass  over  that  highway  smooth  and  sheen  ? 

What  pilgrims  travel  the  Winter  Street  ? 

Are  they  not  those  whom  here  we  miss 
In  the  ways  and  the  days  that  are  vacant  below? 

As  the  dust  of  that  Street  their  footfalls  kiss 
Does  it  not  brighter  and  brighter  grow  ? 


480  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Steps  of  the  children  there  may  stray 
Where  the  broad  day  shines  though  dark  earth  sleeps, 

And  there  at  peace  in  the  light  they  play, 
While  some  one  below  still  wakes  and  weeps. 

The  old  Norsemen  had  a  similar  title  in  their  Vetrarbrant ;  and  the  Celts 
knew  it  as  Arianrod,  the  Silver  Street,  which  also  occurs  for  the  Northern 
Crown,  but  there  as  the  Silver  Circle. 

In  England,  for  centuries,  the  Galaxy  has  been  the  Way  of  Saint  Jan* 
sometimes  the  Way  to  Saint  James,  and  thus  figuratively  the  Via  regia;  in 
Italy,  the  Via  lattea;  in  France,  the  Voie  laette.  But  with  the  French 
peasantry  it  always  has  been  the  Road  of  Saint  Jacques  of  Compostella,  this 
last  itself  a  stellar  word  from  the  Campus  Stellae  of  Theodomir,  bishop  of 
Idria,  who  was  guided  by  a  star  in  835  to  the  bones  of  Saint  James  in  a 
field.  The  same  title  obtains  in  Spain,  but  there  it  is  popularly  known  as 
El  Camino  de  Santiago,  the  patron  saint  in  battle  of  that  country,  Long- 
fellow writing  of  this  in  his  Galaxy  : 

The  Spaniard  sees  in  thee  the  pathway,  where 

His  patron  saint  descended  in  the  sheen 

Of  his  celestial  armor,  on  serene 
And  quiet  nights  when  all  the  heavens  were  fair. 

In  the  Basque  tongue  it  is  Ceruoo  Esnibidia. 

Wherever  this  idea  of  a  road  was  held  in  early  times  it  seems  to  have 
referred  to  the  Milky  Way  as  traveled  by  the  departing  souls  of  illustrious 
men,  who,  Manilius  wrote,  were 

loos'd  from  the  ignoble  Chain 
Of  Clay,  and  sent  to  their  own  Heaven  again, — 

to  those  stars,  that  were  regarded  not  only  as  the  homes  of  such,  but  often 
as  the  very  souls  themselves  physically  shining  in  the  skies,  as,  metaphori- 
cally, they  had  upon  the  earth.  Thus  it  was  known  in  classical  times  as 
Heroum  Sedes.  Following  out  this  conception,  the  Galaxy  later  became 
the  Italian  Strada  di  Roma;  the  Swiss  Weg  nf  Rom;  the  Slovak Zeiti 
v'Rim, — all  signifying  the  "  Way  of  Rome,"  because  only  through  that  capital 
of  the  church  could  access  to  heaven  be  secured. 

Thomas  Moore  somewhat  changed  the  figure  in  his  Loves  of  the  Angtb, 
where  he  says  as  to  the  stars  in  general : 

Rolling  along  like  living  cars 

Of  light,  for  gods  to  journey  by ! — 

a  thought  that  also  is  found  with  Pliny,  and  even  with  Saint  Clement 


The  Galaxy  481 

Romieu  says  that  the  Galaxy  was  Masarati,  probably  Assyrian,  and 
identifies  it  with  the  hieroglyphic  Xasrati,  the  Course  of  the  sun-god,  that 
may  be  the  origin  of  the  story  of  Phaethon,  and  we  see  very  much  the 
same  title  in  the  Babylonian  Creation  Legend  as  applied  to  the  zodiac. 
This  word,  similar  to  the  Hebrew  Xasz&roth  that  some  Rabbis  positively 
asserted  signifies  the  "  Milky  Way,"  appears  in  Stoffler's  De  Sphaera  as  Xaia- 
rati,  apparently  taken  from  Ptolemy,  and  supposed  by  Canon  Cook,  in  the 
Speaker's  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Job ,  xxxviii,  32,  to  be  the  equivalent 
of  the  Arabic  Al  Majarrah,  the  Milky  Track. 

In  addition  to  this  last, —  Riccioli's  Almegiret, — the  Arabians  had  Tarik 
al  Laban  of  the  same  meaning,  but  also  knew  the  Galaxy  as  Darb  al  Ta- 
banln,  the  Path  of  the  Chopped  Straw  Carriers,  and  as  Tarik  al  Tibn,  the 
Straw  Road. 

Riccioli  gave  this  as  the  Hebrew  Nedhlbath  Tebhen,  correctly  Nethi- 
bhath,  which  the  Syrians  translated  Sh'bhll  Tebhna;  the  Persians,  Bah 
Kakaahan,  or  simply  Kakeshan;  the  Copts,  Pimoit  ende  pitch;  and  the 
Turks,  Banian  Ugh'rilL  These  last  also  called  it  Hagjiler  Ynli,  the  Pilgrims' 
Road,  traversed  in  their  annual  journey  to  Mecca. 

Riccioli  also  cited  the  "  Aethiopian  "  Chaaara  tsamangadu;  and  Grimm, 
the  same  country's  Pasare  Zamanegade,  the  Straw  Stalks  lying  in  the  Road ; 
—  both  probably  from  one  original  differently  transcribed.  And  a  singular 
legend,  from  some  unknown  source,  tells  us  that  these  Stalks,  or  Chopped 
Straw,  marking  the  Pilgrims'  Road,  were  dropped  by  Saint  Venus  (!)  after 
her  theft  from  Saint  Peter;  hence  her  Armenian  title  Hartacol,  or  Harta- 
cogh,  the  Straw-thief.  In  China  it  shared  the  zodiac's  name  of  the  Yellow 
Road,  from  the  color  of  this  scattered  straw. 

In  classic  folk-lore  the  Milky  Way  was  marked  out  by  the  corn  ears 
dropped  by  Isis  in  her  flight  from  Typhon ;  or  was  the  result  of  some  of 
Juno's  nursery  troubles  with  the  infant  Hercules.  Alluding  to  these,  Manilius 
wrote  that  it 

justly  draws 
Its  name,  the  Milky  Circle,  from  its  cause. 

From  this  doubtless  came  the  Roman  Oiroulus  Jnnonins.  Early  India 
accounted  for  it  in  somewhat  the  same  way  in  connection  with  Sarama; 
and  a  similar  thought  is  expressed  by  the  Arabic  Umm  al  SanuV,  the  Mother 
of  the  Sky. 

Caer  Gwydyon,  the  Castle  of  Gwydyon,  the  enchanter  son  of  Don,  the 
King  of  the  Fairies,  is  one  of  its  Celtic  titles  in  more  modern  times,  others 
of  the  family  appearing  in  Cassiopeia  and  Corona  Borealis.     But  the  Celts 
also  thought  it  the  road  along  which  Gwydyon  pursued  his  erring  wife. 
3* 


482  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

The  Incas  of  Peru  said  that  it  was  the  dust  of  stars,  and  gave  titles  to  its 
various  parts ;  the  Ottawa  Indians,  that  it  was  the  muddy  water  stirred  up 
by  a  turtle  swimming  along  the  bottom  of  the  sky ;  while  the  Polynesian 
islanders  know  it  as  the  Long,  Bine,  Cloud-eating  Shark. 

In  poetry,  too,  the  Milky  Way  has  ever  been  a  favorite  —  indeed,  a 
hackneyed  —  subject.  Miss  Myra  Reynolds  tells  us  in  her  7 reatment  of  Na- 
ture in  English  Ibetty  : 

From  Waller  on,  the  Milky  Way  typifies  virtues  so  numerous  that  tbey  shine  in  cne 
undistinguished  blaze ; 

and  that  Swift's  Apollo's  Edict  of  1720,  among  its  prohibitions  to  authors  of 
the  use  of  some  of  the  more  wearisomely  frequent  similitudes,  specifically 
forbids  their  even  naming  the  Milky  Way, —  a  rule  that  would  have  been 
equally  applicable  to  the  classical  authors  as  to  those  of  our  day.  Among 
the  former,  Manilius  wrote  of  it : 

as  a  beaten  Path  that  spreads  between 
A  troden  Meadow,  and  divides  the  Green. 
Or  as  when  Seas  are  plow'd  behind  the  Ship, 
Foam  curls  on  the  green  surface  of  the  Deep. 
In  Heaven's  dark  surface  such  this  Circle  lies, 
And  parts  with  various  Light  the  Azure  skies. 
Or  as  when  Iris  draws  her  radiant  Bow 
Such  seems  this  Circle  to  the  World  below. 

Among  recent  poetical  similes  we  find  Edward  Young's 

this  midnight  pomp, 
This  gorgeous  arch  with  golden  worlds  inlaid ; 

Joseph  Rodman  Drake's 

The  milky  baldric  of  the  skies, 

and  in  the  Culprit  Fay; 

the  bank  of  the  milky  way ; 
Tennyson's 

marvelous  round  of  milky  light 
Below  Orion ; 

while  in   the   Lady   of  Shalott  he  likens  the  "gemmy  bridle"  of  Sir 

Lancelot  to 

some  branch  of  stars  we  see 
Hung  in  the  golden  Galaxy. 

The  Finnish  Topelius  made  it  the 


The  Galaxy  483 


starry  bridge  of  light, 
Which  now  smiles  down  upon  the  earth  from  heaven's  placid  face, 
And  firmly  binds  together  still  the  shores  of  boundless  space. 

This  was  built  by  the  lovers  Zulamith  and  Salami  that  they  might  be  united 
in  heaven  as  they  had  been  on  earth. 

They  toiled  and  built  a  thousand  years 

In  love's  all  powerful  might : 
And  so  the  Milky  Way  was  made  — 

A  starry  bridge  of  light ; 

and  when  the  task  was  successfully  accomplished  they  were  merged  to- 
gether in  the  single  star  Sirius. 

Homer  strangely  did  not  allude  to  it,  unless  he  may  have  personified  it 
in  the  Iliad.  Nor  did  Ptolemy  express  any  opinion  as  to  its  nature,  although 
he  called  it  the  Band, —  Fascia  in  one  Latin  translation, —  and  fully  described 
it  in  the  8th  book  of  the  Syntaxis;  his  account  of  it  being  considered  "  cer- 
tainly superior  to  all  the  rather  fantastic  representations  given  in  the  maps 
published  before  the  last  quarter  of  our  century." 

Dante  gave  much  attention  to  it  in  his  Convito,  repeating  various  of  the 
opinions  of  the  ancient  philosophers.  He  said  that  Anaxagoras  considered 
it  reflected  light  from  the  sun,  an  opinion  shared  by  Aristotle,  Democritus, 
and  even  by  the  later  Avicenna  (Ibn  Sina  of  Bokhara)  of  about  a.  d. 
1000 ;  and  he  attributed  to  Aristotle  another  theory  —  that  it  was  the  gather- 
ing of  vapors  under  the  stars  of  that  region.   His  own  lines  in  the  Paradiso — 

distinct  with  less  and  greater  lights 
Glimmers  between  the  two  poles  of  the  world  — 

accurately  describe  it,  as  does  his 

Galassia  si,  che  fa  dubbiar  ben-saggi ; 

for  speculation  concerning  it  was  almost  as  varied  as  its  observers. 

Aristotle  expressed  still  a  third  opinion,  that  it  was  the  gases  from  the 
earth  set  on  fire  in  the  sky ;  Oinopides  and  Metrodorus  considered  it  the 
early  course  of  the  sun  abandoned  after  the  bloody  banquet  of  Thyestes ; 
the  Pythagoreans  and  others,  that  it  marked  the  blazing  path  of  the  disas- 
trous runaway  when,  as  in  the  Inferno, 

Phaeton  abandoned  the  reins, 
Whereby  the  heavens,  as  still  appears,  were  scorched ; 

or,  as  in  Longfellow's  The  Galaxy: 

Phaeton's  wild  course  that  scorched  the  skies 
Where'er  the  hoofs  of  his  hot  coursers  trod. 


484  Star-Names  and  their  Meanings 

Some  thought  it  the  sunbeams  left  behind  in  the  track  of  the  sun's  chariot, 

—  the  Vestigium  Solis,  that  Macrobius  termed  Zona  penuta,  the  Girdle 
Burned;  and  others,  Via  penuta.  Plutarch  said  that  it  was  the  shadow 
of  the  earth  as  the  sun  passed  beneath  us.  Diodorus  the  Sicilian,  of  the 
1  st  century  before  Christ,  and  the  philosopher-naturalist  Theophrastus,  of 
the  3d,  asserted  that  it  marked  the  junction  of  the  two  starry  hemispheres, 

—  a  statement  thus  versified  by  Manilius : 

Whether  the  Skies  grown  old  here  shrink  their  frame, 

And  through  the  chinks  admit  an  upper  Flame, 

Or  whether  here  the  Heaven's  two  Halves  are  joyn'd, 

But  odly  clos'd,  still  leave  a  Seam  behind. 

Or  here  the  parts  in  Wedges  closely  prest, 

To  fix  the  Frame,  are  thicker  than  the  Rest. 

Like  Clouds  condens'd  appear,  and  bound  the  Sight, 

The  Azure  being  thickened  into  White. 

Even  as  late  as  1603  Bayer  wrote : 

Constat  hie  circulus  ex  tenui  nebulosa  substantia; 

and  such  probably  was  the  general  scientific  conception  of  the  Galaxy  until 
seven  years  later  Galileo's  "  glazed  optic  tube  "  revealed  its  larger  constituent 
stars,  and,  as  he  wrote  in  the  Nuncius  Sidereus, 

got  rid  of  disputes  about  the  Galaxy  ...  for  it  is  nothing  else  but  a  mass  of  innumerable 
stars  planted  together  in  clusters. 

A  few,  however,  even  in  antiquity  seem  to  have  known,  or  at  least  sus- 
pected, its  true  character ;  for  Democritus,  the  master  of  Epicurus,  about 
460  b.  c,  and  Pythagoras  before  him,  said  that  it  was  a  vast  assemblage  of 
very  distant  stars,  in  which  belief  Aristotle  seems  to  have  coincided;  al- 
though several  other,  and  absurd,  opinions  are  attributed  to  this  eminent 
man,  as  well  as  to  Democritus.     Manilius  thus  expressed  this  belief: 

Or  is  the  spatious  Bend  serenely  bright 

From  little  Stars,  which  there  their  Beams  unite, 

And  make  one  solid  and  continued  Light? 

Arabian  poets  wrote  similarly,  as  Ta'abbata  Sharran,  whose  verse  is  quoted 
in  the  Hamasahy — 

The  Mother  of  clustered  stars. 

Our  knowledge  of  it  may  thus  briefly  be  summed  up :  It  covers  more  than 
one  tenth  of  the  visible  heavens,  containing  nine  tenths  of  the  visible  stars, 
and  seems  a  vast  zone-shaped  nebula,  nearly  a  great  circle  of  the  sphere,  the 


The  Galaxy  485 

poles  being  in  Coma  and  Cetus.  In  a  measure  it  can  be  resolved  by  slight 
optical  aid  into  innumerable  stars,  although  even  the  largest  telescopes  will 
not  resolve  the  faintest  parts.  Many  of  these  stars  are  small,  "  not  at  all 
comparable  with  our  sun  in  dimensions."  It  is  inclined  about  630  to 
the  celestial  equator,  and,  Sir  John  Herschel  wrote, 

is  to  sidereal  what  the  invariable  ecliptic  is  to  planetary  astronomy — a  plane  of  ultimate 
reference,  the  ground-plane  of  the  sidereal  system. 

Our  position  close  to  its  central  plane  is  not  favorable  to  a  correct  survey ; 
t>ut,  as  we  see  it,  it  is  marked  by  strange  cavities  and  excrescences,  with 
^branches  in  all  directions,  and  is  interrupted  in  its  course,  especially  at 
Ophiuchus  and  Argo,  apparently  by  the  operation  of  some  force  still  at 
-work, —  these  interruptions  being  in  its  width  as  well  as  in  its  course.  Its 
apparent  structure  is  not  uniform,  but  curdled  or  flaky, —  bright  patches 
alternating  with  faint  or  with  almost  absolute  vacancies. 

While  it  contains  a  large  number  of  star-clusters,  it  has  but  few  true 
nebulae,  although  among  these  are  the  important  Horseshoe  Nebula  below 
Scutum,  the  Dumb-bell  in  Vulpecula,  and  the  Trifid  in  Sagittarius;  yet 
large  diffused  masses  of  nebulosity  are  found  in  several  portions  of  it. 

Pickering's  spectroscopic  work  seems  to  indicate  that  the  Milky  Way 
forms  a  system  separate  from  the  rest  of  the  sidereal  universe ;  but  Gould 
inclined  to  the  opinion  that  it  is  "  the  resultant  of  two  or  more  superposed 
galaxies,"  which  will  perhaps  account  for  the  brighter  portions  in  Cassiopeia 
and  Crux  as  representing  "  the  intersection  of  the  two  crossed  rings  visibly 
diverging  in  Ophiuchus."  And  Miss  Clerke  thus  concludes  the  chapter  on 
the  Milky  Way  in  her  System  of  the  Stars: 

What  is  unmistakable  is  that  the  entire  formation,  whether  single  or  compound,  is  no 
hoisted  phenomenon.     All  the  contents  of  the  firmament  are  arranged  with  reference  to 
k     It  is  a  large  part  of  a  larger  scheme  exceeding  the  compass  of  finite  minds  to  grasp  in 
*!s  entirety. 


3'* 


INDICES 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Not  including  Authors'  Names,  Arabic  Titles,  Biblical  references,  nor  Greek  matter. 
Separate  indices  for  these  follow  this  General  Index. 


A,  or  Aleph  (Taurus),  381. 

Aaron,  399. 

Aaron  the  High  Priest,  237,  336. 

Abantiadea,  330. 

Abeille,  291. 

Abel  the  Just,  20a,  395,  347. 

Aben  Exra  (correctly  Ibn  Exra),  86;  et  passim. 

Aben  Exra  (Cassiopeia),  144. 

Abhijit,  385. 

Abigail,  33. 

Abraham's  Ram,  78. 

Abraham  with  Isaac,  151. 

Absyrthe,  85. 

Abukia,  469. 

Acator,  85. 

Acerra,  6a. 

Acetabula,  in. 

Acetea,  199. 

Ackahi,  112,  348. 

Acreshi,  348. 

Acrisioniades,  330. 

Acria  Venator,  151. 

Acrobo,  362. 

Acrux,  Alpha  (a)  of  Crux,  191. 

Acvattha,  59. 

Afvini,  nakshatra,  8a,  3x3,  354. 

Adam,  342. 

Adam  and  Eve,  234. 

Adhupakarik,  324. 

Adler,  55. 

Adler  mit  dem  Antinous,  56. 

Aegoceroa,  135. 

Aegyptua,  415. 

Aequinoctialia,  76. 

Aequoreua  Juvenia,  46. 

Aequoris  Hircua,  135. 

Aereua,  323. 

Aeroata'to,  237. 

Aeaacus,  399. 

Aesculapius,  303,  398. 

Aethiopia,  claim  of,  to  invention  of  astronomy,  2J 

Afeichius,  398. 

Afelar,  a3o. 

Africa,  and  the  zodiac,  6. 

Afsasat,  469. 

Aften  Hoehne,  399. 

Aganna,  427. 

*«*«tya  (Sanskrit  for  Canopus),  71. 

Agena,  154. 

Agenoreus,  370. 


Agni,  91,  390. 

Aigle,  55. 

Ailuv,  80. 

Airy  Trigon,  49. 

Aja,  78. 

Ajala,  437. 

Ak,  437. 

Akanna,  437. 

Akiah  Gangi,  475. 

Akhahafarn,  467. 

Akhtar  Wenik,  7. 

Akkadian  astronomy,  our  knowledge  of,  limited,  1 ; 
connection  of  the  calendar  with,  x  ;  et passim. 

Akokera,  138. 

Afcrabh,  36a. 

Akrevi,  36a. 

Alatus,  333. 

Al  Blrunl,  on  the  study  of  the  stars,  xii,  7;  and  the 
lunar  mansions,  8,  9 ;  et  passim. 

Albireo  (Abbireo,  Alberio,  Albeiro,  Albirco), 
196. 

Alcidea,  240. 

Alci'one  and  Alcin'oe,  403. 

Alcy'one,  403. 

Aleph  (Aldebaran),  38s. 

Ales  and  Avis,  193. 

Ales  Jo  vis,  193. 

Ales  Ledaeus,  193. 

Alexandrian  School,  Greek  in  character,  19;  ori- 
gin of  (note),  19. 

Alfonsine  Tables,  The,  12;  et passim. 

Alfonso  the  Tenth,  remark  of,  concerning  the  Ptole- 
maic system  of  astronomy,  12. 

Ali  Vicrika,  363. 

Al  Kitib  al  Mijisti,  xii. 

Alligamentum  linteum  or  luteum,  34a. 

Almagest,  derivation  of  word,  xii  (note  3) ;  et  passim. 

Almannus,  240. 

Alpheichius,  298. 

Al  Sufi,  on  Arabic  and  Arabian  star-names,  xiii; 
et  passim. 

Altar  (Libra),  273. 

Altar  or  Altare  (Ara),  61. 

Altar  of  Noah,  63. 

Alter,  xi8. 

Alter  Castor,  223. 

Altera  Soils  Porta,  136. 

Alti'one,  403. 

Al  Thabit  ibn  Kurrah,  reviser  of  Al  Kitib  al  Mi- 
jisti, xii. 

Al  Tixini,  work  of,  translated  by  Hyde,  a ;  et  passim. 


489 


49° 


General  Index 


Alub,  57. 

Amalthea,  86. 

Amaaiua,  305. 

AmaaiuB  Paaiphaea,  379. 

Amaxa,  426. 

Amazon  Star,  313. 

Amba,  404. 

American  Qana,  4x8. 

Ammon  Libycua,  78. 

Amnls,  315. 

AmoB,  97. 

Ampeliue,  Lucius,  and  Aquarius,  49. 

Ampbion  and  Zethua,  333. 

Amphionia,  or  Arionia,  Lyra,  a8x. 

Amphitrite,  199. 

Amphitryoniadea,  24 1. 

Ampbora  (Two-handled  Wine-jar),  45,  334. 

Amru,  or  Bmru  (Aries),  78. 

Anacea,  333. 

Ancha,  54. 

Anderaon,  Tbomaa  D.,  Dr.,  discovers  T  Auri- 
gae,  9*- 

Andhaki,  319. 

Androgeua,  399. 

Andromeda,  31 ;  names  of  the  ancients  for,  31 ;  signifi- 
cance of,  31 ;  mentioned  by  Sappho,  700  b.  c. ,  31 ;  Eu- 
ripides and  Sophocles  on,  31 ;  antedates  classical 
times,  33 ;  the  Euphrates  the  probable  origin  of,  3a ; 
Sayce's  claim  concerning,  33 ;  noted  in  Phoenicia,  3a ; 
additional  tides  of,  33 ;  familiar  to  the  classic  Latins, 
3a ;  name  of  Caesar  Germanicus  for,  3a ;  a  scho- 
liast's name  for,  33 ;  another  classic  name  for,  3a ; 
Arabic  and  other  names' of,  3a;  original  figure  of, 
3a;  various  versions  of  the  legend  of,  3a ;  Arabian 
astronomers*  representation  of,  33;  reason  for  the 
Utter,  33 ;  idea  of  the  Spanish  edition  of  the  A  l/tm- 
sine  Tables  as  to,  33;  early  connection  of,  with 
Pisces,  33;  other  early  representations  of,  33; 
Caestus'  dictum  concerning,  33;  Julius  Schiller's 
name  for,  33 ;  the  cross  of,  34 ;  the  bounds  of,  34 ; 
Milton's  reference  to,  34 ;  Kingsley's  reference  to, 
34;  position  of  component  stars  of,  34;  recent  con- 
fusion concerning,  34;  Argelander  and  Heis  con- 
cerning components  of,  34 ;  the  Phoenician  sphere 
and  the  composition  of,  34,  35. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Andromeda,  35 ;  various  names  of, 
35;  the  significance  of,  in  astrology,  35 ;  Arabic  de- 
scription of,  35 ;  identical  with  delta  (i)  of  Pegasus, 
35 ;  is  one  of  the  Three  Guides,  35 ;  its  position  in 
the  Hindu  lunar  sodiac,  35 ;  its  relation  to  Gamma 
(y)  of  Pegasus,  35 ;  culmination  of,  35. 

Beta(/S)  of  Andromeda,36;  various  names  of,  36: 
confusion  with  Zeta  (£)  of  Ursa  Major,  36;  referred 
to  by  Hipparchos,  36;  position  of,  in  later  Ara- 
bian astronomy,  36;  various  locations  of,  36;  its 
position,  36;  significance  of,  in  astrology,  36; 
Sca)iger*s  name  for,  36;  included  by  Brown  in 
lunar  station  Kuton,  36;  by  Renouf  in  Arit,  36. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Andromeda,  36;  various  names 

of,  36,  37 ;  eminent  in  astrology,  37;  duplicity  of,  37; 

easy  resolution  of,  38 ;  Sir  William  Herschel  on,  38. 

Delta  (£)  of  Andromeda,  38 ;  position  of,  38 ; 

position  of  components  of,  38. 


Xi  (£)  of  Andromeda,  38;  name  of,  38;  deriva- 
tion of  name  of,  38;  Bayer's  estimate  of;  30. 

Phi  (*)  of  Andromeda,  and  Chi  (x)  Andr.,  30 ; 
position  of,  39 ;  names  in  Chinese  astronomy  of,  35- 
Great  Nebula,  The,  of  Andromeda,  39:  Po- 
sition of,  39;  ancient  knowledge  of,  39:  AI  Sufi's 
name  for,  in  986, 39 ;  not  noticed  from  986-1612, 39 : 
catalogued  under  many  names,  39 ;  descriptwe  c£ 
by  Marius,  39 ;  true  character  of,  undetermmed,  39. 
Andromeda'a  Head,  35. 
Angel  Stern,  454. 
Anguifer,  398. 
Anguiger,  398. 
Anguilla,  374. 
Anguia,  303,  374. 
Anguitenena,  398. 
Anelar,  930. 
Anhelar,  330. 
An-nae-aur-ra,  448. 

Announcer  of  Invaaion  on  the  Border,  389. 
Ano  (Virgo),  46a. 
Anaer,473,474. 
Anaer  Americanus,  418. 
Anta,  Jitu,  and  Mina  or  Minam,  338. 
Antamarda,  3a. 
Anta'rea,  364. 
Antarii,  86. 
Antar'a  Star,  365. 
Ab-ta-aur-ra,  448. 
Antecania  (Anticanea),  131,133. 
Antecedena  Cania  (Antecuraor),  131. 
Antepea  and  Antepedea,  353. 
Antevorta,  469. 

Antigonua  Gonatas,  patron  of  Aratos,  17. 
Antin'oiia,  location  of,  40;  origin  o£,  40;  lime  know 
to  early  astronomers,  40,  41 ;    Ptolemy's  aflusioa 
to,  41 ;  unnoticed  till  1551,  41 ;  various  subsequent 
notices  of,  41 ;  variant  rides  of,  41 ;  occasional? 
appears  for  Aquarius,  41 ;  various  other  names  of, 
41 ;  various  locations  of,  41. 
Antlia  Pneumatica  (the  Air  Pump),  4a ;  known  to 
astronomers  as  Antlia,4a;  die  German  Loft  Pumpc, 
4a;   position  of,  43;  culmination  of,  43;   has  85 
naked-eye  stars,  43 ;  inconspicuous  but  interestm*. 
43;  period  of,  43. 
Anubis  (Canis  Minor),  13a. 
Anu-ni-tum,  359, 
Anuridhi,  367. 
Anuv,  80. 
Aorion,  304. 
Apa,  or  Apaa,  470. 
Apami-Ataa,  473. 
Ape,  The,  aao. 
Aper,  340. 
Apea,  39a. 
Apet,  309. 

Apex  of  the  Sun'a  Way,  345. 
Apha  Barani  (correctly  Apha  Bharanl),  »9*- 
Aphelion  (Aphellar,  Aphellan),  33a 
Apln,  lunar  station,  53. 
Apia,  391,  393,  381. 
Apia  Indica,  43. 
Apia  Muaca,  391. 


General  Index 


491 


ApolIinU,  Lyra,  a8x. 

Apollo,  199,  930. 

Apollo  and  Hercules,  293. 

Apostle  Bartholomew,  363. 

Apostle  Paul  with  his  Sword  and  Book,  331. 

Apostle  Philip,  275. 

Apous,  43. 

Apparat  Chimique,  aai. 

Apparatus  Chemicus,  aai. 

Apparatus  Sculptoris,  37a. 

Apta  Altaria  (An),  6a, 

Apullum,  330. 

Apus  (Bird  of  Paradise),  43,  45;  names  of,  43;  deri- 
vation of,  43;  English  names  of,  44;  Chinese  name 
o£  44 ;  culmination  of,  44 ;  number  of  naked-eye 
stars  in,  44;  one  of  the  twelve  new  Southern  con- 
stellations introduced  by  Bayer,  44;  various  as* 
cripttons  of  its  invention,  44,  45. 

Aqua,  50. 

Aquarida,  The,  5a,  53. 

Aquario,  45- 

Aquarius,  45;  other  names  of,  45-53;  reason  for 
appellation,  45 ;  proximity  of  other  analogous  stel- 
lar forms  to,  45 ;  region  of,  in  Euphratean  astron- 
omy, 45;  immemorial  representation  of,  45;  Al 
Birunfs  and  Ulug  Beg's  idea  of,  45 ;  Vercingeto- 
rix's  tide  for,  46 ;  in  Roman  astronomy,  46 ;  names 
with  the  biblical  school  for,  46;  nomenclature  of, 
extensive  but  consistent,  46;  in  Greek  literature, 
46;  its  dde  with  Catullus,  Ausonius,  and  Manilius, 
46 ;  the  latter* s  tide  for  it  common  to  classic  writers, 
46;  a  synonym  for  Jove,  46 ;  name  of,  in  Ceos,  46; 
Appian's  name  for,  46;  in  the  1515  Almagest,  46; 
Pindar's  symbolixation  of,  46 :  Horace's  names,  46; 
spoken  of  by  Thomson  in  The  Seasons,  46 ;  char- 
acterized by  Vergil,  46 ;  in  the  Babylonian  calendar, 
47 ;  in  the  Epic  of  Creation,  47 ;  Babylonian  names 
for  the  Urn  of,  47;  Akkadian  title  for,  47;  astro- 
nomical antiquity  involved  by  latter,  47;  Egyptian 
terms  for,  47;  Egyptian  legend  concerning,  47; 
Arabic,  Persian,  Hebrew,  Syriac,  and  Turkish 
names  of,  47 ;  in  the  Persian  Bundehesh,  47 ;  in 
Chinese  astronomy,  47 ;  a  Chinese  imperial  symbol, 
47 ;  contained  three  of  the  Chinese  situ,  47;  headed 
Chinese  zodiacal  signs  as  the  Rat,  47 ;  was  and  still 
is  the  ideograph  for  water  in  the  East,  47 ;  compo- 
nents of,  form  a  Chinese  asterism,  48 ;  in  Hindu 
astronomy,  48;  Hindu  and  Tamil  names  for,  48; 
Varaha  Mihira's  name  for,  48;  significance  of,  to 
the  Magi  and  Druids,  48;  Anglo-Saxon  name  for, 
48 ;  referred  to  by  John  of  Trevisa,  48 ;  other  Eng- 
lish titles  for,  48 ;  said  to  nave  been  assigned  in 
Jewish  astronomy  to  Reuben,  48 ;  uncertainty  con- 
cerning the  latter,  48;  referred  to  by  Dante,  48; 
note  by  Longfellow  on  latter,  48;  name  of,  in  as- 
trology* 49 1  connected  with  Capricorn  in  astrology, 
49;  as  Junonts  Astrum,  a  diurnal  sign,  49;  color 
of,  in  astrology,  49 ;  regarded  by  Lucius  Ampelius 
as  the  keeper  of  the  southeast  and  south  winds,  49 ; 
the  astronomical  symbol  of,  49 ;  origin  of  latter,  49 ; 
not  conspicuous,  50;  how  denned,  50;  S pence  and 
Manilius  on  this  definition  of,  50;  defined  by 
Geminos  in  77  b.  c,  50;  by  Aratos  and  Cicero, 


50 ;  other  Larin  names  of,  51 ;  outlines  of  ribs  of, 
sometimes  conjoined  with  Capricorn,  51;  astro- 
nomical importance  of,  51 ;  reason  cf  this,  51 ;  oc- 
cultation  of  its  star  Psi  predicted,  51;  consequence 
of  this,  51 ;  position  of,  51 ;  number  of  naked-eye 
stars  in,  51 ;  its  meteor  streams,  5a,  53. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Aquarius,  color  of,  51 ;  various 
names  of,  51-53;  combined  by  Kazwlni  and  Ulug 
Beg  with  o  of  Aquarius,  51 ;  astrological  name  of, 
51 ;  Burritt's  names  for,  51 ;  erroneously  named  in 
Century  Cyclopedia,  51 ;  position  of,  in  Aquarius, 
51 ;  has  a  companion,  51 ;  a  component  of  the 
33d  sieu  and  the  determinant  star,  51 ;  Gould  on, 
5a ;  culmination  of,  52. 

Beta  (/3)  of  Aquarius,  color  of,  5a ;  names  01, 
5a;  meaning  of  name  of,  5a;  included  in  aad 
tttaHZt'tvrith  $  of  Aquarius  and  c  of  Capricorn  us,  5a; 
with  £  constitutes  Persian  lunar  station  Bunda  and 
the  Coptic  Upuineuti,  52;  marks  the  situ  Heu,  5a; 
Hindu  name  of,  5a ;  Euphratean  name  of,  52 ;  as- 
trologers' name  for,  5a. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Aquarius,  color  and  position  ot, 
5a ;  names  of,  5a ;  significance  of  its  Arabic  names, 
52;  Uiug  Beg's  definition  of,  52;  denned  by  Kaz- 
winl,  5a;  a  component  of  the  23d  manail,  5a; 
a  component  of  the  Chinese  Fun  Mo,  5a. 

Delta  (6)  of  Aquarius,  names  of,  53;  derivation 
of  names  of,  53;  other  identifications  of,  53 ;  in  Eu- 
phratean astronomy,  53 ;  a  component  of  the  lunar 
station  Apen,  53 ;  the  determinant  star  of  A  pin 
and  corresponding  stations,  53;  a  component  of 
the  Chinese  Yu  lin  Keun,  53 ;  radiant  point  of  die 
Delta  Aquarids,  53. 

Epailon  (e)  of  Aquarius,  names  of,  53,  54; 
Kazwlni  on,  53;  brightest  star  of  the  azst  manzil, 
53;  the  determinant  of  the  sieu  Mo,  54 ;  a  compo- 
nent of  the  Euphratean  lunar  asterism  Munaga 
and  the  Coptic  Upeuritos,  54 ;  Bayer's  names  for, 
54;  Grotius*  names  for,  54;  proximity  of,  to  the 
Saturn  Nebula,  54. 

Zeta  (0  of  Aquarius,  binary  but  unnamed,  54 ; 
position  of,  54 ;  duplicity  of,  discovered  in  1777, 54. 

Theta  (9)  of  Aquarius,  position  of,  54;  desig- 
nation of,  54;  Chinese  name  of,  54. 

Kappa  («)  of  Aquarius,  names  of,  54, 55 ;  Gas- 
sendi's  definition  of,  54;  Theon's  name  for,  54: 
Keats  on,  55 ;  Chinese  name  for,  55. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Aquarius,  prominence  of,  55 ; 
names  of  Proclus  and  Aratos  for,  55 ;  part  of  33d 
nakshatra,  55 ;  a  component  of  Chinese  asterism 
Luy  Peih  Chin,  55 ;  Chinese  name  of,  55. 
Aquila,  other  names  of,  55-57;  position  and  consti- 
tution of,  55,  56;  early  picturing*  of,  56;  modern 
German  representation  of,  56 ;  the  id*u  Zamama  of 
Euphratean  uranography,  56 ;  Latin  legends  con- 
cerning, 56;  Greek  legends  concerning,  56,  57; 
Dupuis'  derivation  of  the  name,  56;  figured  on 
coins,  57 ;  in  Arabian,  Persian,  and  Hindu  astron- 
omy, 57;  Chinese  name  for,  58;  Chinese  tradition 
concerning,  58. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Aquila,  various  names  of,  59,  60 ; 
in  the  Syntaxis,  59;  in  Greek  tragedy,  59;  its 
Euphratean  antecedent,  59;   its  Persian,  Sogdian, 


492 


General  Index 


and  Khorasmian  correspondents,  59 ;  in  Zend  my. 
thology,  59 ;  a  component  of  axst  nakshatra*  £ra- 
vana,  55 ;  a  component  of  the  Chinese  Ho  K.00, 
60;  in  astrology,  60;  magnitude  and  use  of,  60; 
other  details  of,  6a 

Beta  03)  of  Aquila,  color,  names,  and  position 
of,  60. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Aquila,  color,  names,  and  posi- 
tion of,  60,  61. 

Epailon  («)  of  Aquila,  color,  names,  and  posi- 
tion of,  61 ;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  61. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Aquila,  with  Iota  (1),  names 
of,  61 ;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  61 ;  in  the  Grynaeus 
Syntaxis,  61. 

Aquary  and  Aquarye,  48. 

Aquila  (Italian),  55. 

Aquila  Antinoiia,  41. 

Aquila  cadens,  283. 

Aquila  marina,  a8a. 

Aquila  Promethei,  or  Tortor  Promethei,  56. 

Aquilaris,  a8z. 

Aquilids,  The,  radiant  point  and  period  of,  60. 

Aquilonaris,  337. 

Aquilonius,  337. 

Aquitenens,  46. 

Ara,  various  names  of,  61-63;  location  of,  61;  in 
classic  times,  6a;  in  Euphratean  astronomy,  63; 
components  of,  63,  64;  various  representations 
of,  62-64;  meteorological  importance  of,  in  early- 
times,  63. 

Arabia,  backward  in  early  astronomy,  35 ;  her  pro- 
gress in  the  art  after  Muhammad,  36;  star  worship 
in,  a6. 

Arabian  astronomy,  9$t  a6- 

Arabib,  or  Aribib,  78. 

Arabic  star-namea,  inter-relation  of,  with  Greek 
titles,  xii. 

Arabo- Latin  Almagest,  The,  origin  of,  xii;  pub- 
lished at  Venice  in  1515,  xii:  el  passim. 

Ara  Centauri,  6a. 

Ara  Thymiematis,  6a. 

Arator  (Auriga),  85. 

Arator  (Bootes),  92. 

Ara t os,  and  the  number  of  the  constellations,  11; 
on  sky  figures,  17;  ignorant  of  astronomy,  17;  the 
"certain  other,"  («*/!*),  17;  his  sphere  identical 
with  that  of  Eudoxos,  17 ;  criticized  by  Hipparchos, 
1 7 ;  his  Pkainomena  founded  on  its  prose  namesake 
by  Eudoxos,  17;  et  passim. 

Arcadium  Sidua,  42a. 

Arcanua,  76. 

Arcaa,  94. 

Archangel  Gabriel,  333. 

Archer,  The.    See  Sagittarius. 

Arcitenens,  351. 

Arc-light,  386. 

Arctoe  et  Draco,  204. 

Arctoi  and  Arctoe,  430. 

Arctoe,  420. 

Arctur,  102. 

Arcturi  Custos,  94. 

Arctu'rua  (Ursa  Major),  42a. 

Arcturus.    See  a  of  Bootes,  under  Bootes*  93,  98. 


Arcturus  Minor,  93. 

Arctus,  433. 

Arctusona,  10a. 

Arcua,  35a. 

Ardri,  31  x. 

Argelander,  10;  tt passim. 

Argha  (Argo),  66. 

Argion,  132,  304. 

Argoa  Puppis  (Argo),  66. 

Argolica  Navia  (Argo),  66. 

Argonautic  Expedition,  characters  of,  repraeoteii 
in  the  heavens,  18 ;  et  passim. 

Argo  Navis,  various  names  of,  64-67;  poaoot  d 
64 ;  extent  and  culmination  of,  64 ;  divisions  <J,  <h  : 
in  poetry,  65;  in  the  Alfimsine  TaJUts,vA  ir« 
Thtatrum  Comtticum,  65;  in  mythology,  to- 
other legends  concerning,  65,  66 ;  conspkoGJs  1 
low  latitudes,  67 ;  minor  components  of,  73. 7f>  75 

Ariadnaea  Corona,  174. 

Ariadnaea  Sidua,  174. 

Ariadne's  Crown,  177. 

Ariadne's  Hair,  168. 

Ariadne's  Tiar,  174. 

Arianrod,  480. 

Aries,  locations  of,  75;  various  names  of,  75-79- 
Manilius  on,  75;  Longfellow  on,  7s:  legend*  c-s 
cerning,  75,  76;  representations  of,  76-79:  tsckoi 
prominence  of,  76;  in  the  Jewish  calendar,  7: 
Dante  on,  77;  in  mythology,  78;  in  Eastern  as»- 
nomical  systems,  78;  with  the  biblical  school.  -S 
Aratos  on,  79:  in  astrology,  79;  symbol  of,  ;*- 
minor  components  of,  83. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Aries,  names  and  posi&oD  o(.  6c. 
Chaucer  on,  80;  various  conjectures  cooceraisg. 
80,  81 ;  in  navigation,  81 ;  culmination  of,  S»- 

Beta  03)  of  Aries,  various  names  of,  81, 8a ;  pan 
of  the  uakshatra  Acvini,  8a. 
Gamma  (y)  of  Aries,  luunesand  duplicity  o(:: 
Delta  (4)  of  Aries,  details  concerning,  S3. 

Ariete  (Aries),  75,  78. 

Arietids,  The,  position  of,  83. 

Arietis,  80. 

Arion,  195,  304. 

Arista,  461,  467. 

Aristae  Puella,  461,  467. 

Arista  Puellae,  461. 

Aristaeus,  46,  399. 

Aristophanes,  on  star  worship,  26. 

Aristotle,  3 ;  on  star  worship,  26. 

Arit,  ao,  36. 

Ariture,  101. 

Ark,  435. 

Arkat  aha  hi-na  Shahu,  141. 

Ark  of  the  Covenant,  181,  184. 

Arku-sha-nangaru-aha-ahutu,  112. 

Arku-sha-pu-u-maah-maahu,  336. 

Arku-sha-rishu-ku,  80. 

Arma,  151. 

Armagh,  260. 

Armiger  Alea,  56. 

Arnebeth,  365. 

Arnum  (Aries),  78. 

Arocea,475. 


I 


General  Index 


493 


Aroch,  475. 

Arquitenene,  351. 

Arrow,  351,  352. 

Arrow  of  Cupid,  35a 

Arrow,  The.     See  Sagitta. 

ArtJLn,  353. 

Arthur's  Chariot  or  Wain,  436. 

Artophilaxe,  93. 

Artulos,  336. 

Artulosia,  35. 

Arture,  xox. 

Arturo,  102. 

ArQ,  253. 

Arula  (Ara),  62. 

Arundhati,  404. 

Aryabhata  (Hindu  astronomer),  used  same  signs  as 

Hipparchos,  21. 
Aryaman,  88,  100. 
AryC,  353. 
Aryiki,  3x9. 
Ary5,  253. 
Ascella,  358. 
Asclepios,  298. 
Aaelli(Asiiii),  xxx. 
Aaelline  Starlets,  xxx. 
Asellus,  105. 
Asellus  Australia,  xxx. 
Asellua  Borealis,  in. 
Aagard  Bridge,  478. 
'Ash,  87,  422. 

Ashidhi,  Former  and  Latter,  354. 
Ashen  Path,  477. 
Ashiyane,  2x8. 
Ashtaroth,  X77. 
Ashwins,  The,  223. 
Aaina,  247. 
Aakar,  88. 
Asleha,  354. 

Asmidiske.    Same  as  A  s/idiske  74. 
Asphulia,  259. 
Aspidiake,  74. 
Aas,  323. 
Astacus,  107. 
Asterion,  1x5. 
Aater'ope,  407. 
Aator,  333. 
Aatraea,  373,  462. 
Astrologers,   Roman  terms  for,  33;   driven  from 

Rome  by  law,  23 ;  Greek  prosecution  of,  33. 
Astrology,  originated  in  the  Euphrates  Valley,  33 ; 
Roman  designations  for  the  devotees  of,  33 ;  Dante's 
belief  in,  33;  English  reliance  on,  33,  34 ;  instances 
of  the  latter,  34;  decadence  of,  in  England,  34;  its 
cause,  34;  prevalent  on  the  Continent,  34;  prac- 
tised by  Gassendi,  Kepler,  and  Tycho  Brahe,  34 ; 
Napoleon's  belief  in,  35;  died  in  England  in  17th 
century,  35 ;  still  alive  in  China  and  the  East,  25 ; 
and  in  Germany,  35;  Kepler's  term  for,  35;  origi- 
nally included  astronomy,  35 ;  et Passim. 
Astron'ochus,  353. 
Astronomische  Pernrohr,  4x4. 
Astronomy,  no  advance  of,  for  a  thousand  years  after 
Ptolemy,  xa ;  stellar  divisions  in  early  Chinese,  33 ; 


Arabia's  part  in  early,  25;  perhaps  of  very  early 
origin,  47 ;  centred  in  Aquarius  by  the  Magi  and 
Druids,  48. 

As-sur-ba-ni-pal,  and  the  Creation  Legend,  2 
Knott). 

As  Uraaa,  421. 

Asvahtirs,  The  Seven,  5. 

Atar'gatis  and  Der'ceto,  462. 

'AtirSth,  177. 

Atelier  du  Sculpteur,  373. 

Athalpia,  X35. 

Athamas,  75,  76. 

Athor  (Athyr),  205. 

Athur-ai,  399. 

Atl,  337. 

Atlantis,  406. 

Atlantea  doughtres  sevene,  396. 

Atlas,  94. 

Atlas,  or  Pat'er  Atlas,  408. 

Atri,  439. 

Audax,  303,  307. 

Audiens,  xox. 

Aumea,  385. 

Auriga,  various  names  of,  83-86;  position  of,  83; 
figurings  of,  83-86 ;  Ideler  on,  84 ;  Manilius  on,  84; 
the  Egyptian  Horus,  85 ;  Professor  Young  and,  86 ; 
minor  components  of,  90-92. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Auriga,  various  names  of,  86-88 ; 
a  signum  fluvial*,  86;  Pliny  and  Manilius  on, 
86;  legends  and  figurings  of,  86-88;  in  the  Den- 
derah  Zodiac,  87;  connected  with  Ptah,  87;  in  va- 
rious Eastern  systems,  88 :  in  the  Akkadian  calen- 
dar, 88;  in  Peru,  88;  in  astrology,  88;  Tennyson 
on,  88;  Professor  Young  and  others  on  color  of, 
89 ;  culmination  of,  89. 

Beta  (0)  of  Auriga,  various  names  and  posi- 
tion of,  89. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Auriga,  names  and  position  of, 
89,  90;  common  to  Auriga  and  Taurus,  90. 

Delta  (6)  of  Auriga,  position  of,  90;  unnamed 
in  English  astronomy,  90;  in  Hindu  and  Chinese 
astronomy,  90. 

Epsilon  («)  of  Auriga,  names  and  variability 
of,  90. 

Zeta  (0  of  Auriga,  names  of,  90,  91 ;  in  classic 
poetry,  90,  91 ;  the  westernmost  of  the  Haedi  and 
prophetic  of  storms,  90,  91. 
Iota  (1)  of  Auriga,  91. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Auriga,  with  m  and  <r,  forms  one 
of  the  Arabs'  Tents,  91. 
Mu  (m)  of  Auriga,  91. 
Sigma  (?)  of  Auriga,  91. 
Tsu  (t)  of  Auriga,  discovery  of,  91 ;   details 
concerning,  91,  92. 

Aurigae,  or  £1  Nath,  390. 

Aurigae  Manua,  89. 

Aurigator,  85. 

Autel,  or  Encenaoir  (Ara),  61. 

Avdem,  259. 

Avecr,  3x8. 

Avelar,  230. 

Avellar,  230. 

Aveata,  The,  5. 


494 


General  Index 


Avis  Ficarius,  x8a 

Avis  Satyra,  x8o. 

Avis  Veneris,  193. 

Axis,  the  Earth's,  in  Milton's  Parodist  Lost,  4. 

Ayil,  80. 

Ayish,  432. 

Asasel,  137. 

Axhdehft,  904. 

Axure  Dragon,  356,  361. 

Basitis,  463. 

Baba,  or  Baby,  397. 

Babylonians,  The,  meaning  of  the  chief  stars 
among,  23 ;  well  versed  in  astronomy  and  astrology, 
23;  et  passim. 

Bacchi  Sidus,  953. 

Bacchus,  96. 

Bacon,  Roger,  3  (uote). 

Baculus  Jacobi,  315. 

Bagdei,  X45. 

Baharu,  385. 

Bahi,  136. 

Bihu,  311,  3>3* 

Bahumehi,  190. 

Balaena,  160,  163. 

Balance,  or  Scales,  The.    See  Libra. 

Balances,  375. 

Baletne,  160. 

Balik,  337. 

Ballon  Aerostatique,  337. 

Balloon,  The.    See  Globus  A  irostaticus. 

Balteua,  3x5. 

Baltic  Sea,  The,  203. 

Bambycil,  339. 

Ban,  354- 

Band,  483- 

Bara,  or  Bere  (Aries),  78. 

Barani  (correctly  Bharani),  393. 

Bar  Farshat,  35. 

Bartach  (Bartschiua),  Jakob,  13. 

Barv,  393. 

Bashish,  82. 

Basilica  Stella  and  Basiliscus,  356. 

Basilisk,  362. 

Bast,  399. 

Bastham,  30a. 

Bast  Isis  and  Taurt  Isis,  437. 

Bathsheba,  145. 

Batillus,  6s. 

Bayer,  Johann,  3;  the  Uranometria  of,  13 ;  et  pas- 
sim. 

Beam,  431. 

Bear,  451. 

Beardriver,  The,  94. 

Bears,  435- 

Becher,  182. 

Bed,  or  Couch,  354,  355. 

Bede,  The  Venerable  (Baeda),  6. 

Beehive,  The,  xxs. 

Beel-zebul,  293. 

Begde,466. 

Belat  and  Belit,  463. 

Be'lier,  75. 

Bellator  and  Bellatrix,  307,  3x3. 


Beller'ophon  and  Bellerophontes,  393. 

Bellerophon  (Auriga),  85. 

Bel  Marduk,  3a. 

Bel-me-khi-ra,  425. 

Beltia,  376,  463. 

Belua,  163,  378. 

Belua  aquatica,  383. 

Benjamin,  279. 

Bert  di  ghia,  477. 

Berenice's  Bush,  170. 

Berenice's  Hair.    See  Coma  Berenices. 

Berenice's  Periwig,  170. 

Berg  M enalua,  390. 

Berdssos,  Chaldaean  historian  (260B.C),  »;  dcdaicd 
Abraham  famous  for  celestial  observations,  2 ;  said 
that  Abraham  taught  the  Egyptians,  s. 

Ber  zand  nisheste,  341. 

Besn,  311. 

Bessel's  lettered  stars  in  the  Pleiades,  405-** 

Bestia,  or  Bestia  Centauri,  378. 

BethQlah,  or  Bethulta,  464. 

Bhidra  padla,  incorrectly  Bhldra-padi,  3*5. 

Bhagwin  ki  Kachahri,  475. 

Biblical  School,  The,  and  the  consteDauof»»  «6. 
et  passim. 

Biene,  291. 

Bier,  42a,  433,  449. 

Big  Dipper,  436. 

Bighanwand,  369. 

Bilancia,  369. 

Bilat,  376. 

Bildhauer  Werkstadt,  373. 

Bildhauerwerkatatte,  373. 

Bil-Idun'e  Way,  478. 

Bilu-aha-siri,  366. 

Biot,  on  the  lunar  mansions,  8. 

Bir,  374. 

Bird  of  the  Desert,  x8t. 

Bird,  The,  19a. 

Bittern,  The.     See  Grus. 

Black  Magellanic  Cloud,  190. 

Blase  Star,  177. 

Blinking  Demon,  333. 

Bliicher,  458. 

Blue,  483. 

Blue  Emperor,  361. 

Blue  Planetary,  The,  152. 

Boar-Throng,  389. 

Boat,  335.  435- 

Boat  of  Osiris,  365. 

Bochart,  Samuel,  on  the  origin  of  man?  *ty 
groups,  33;  et  passim. 

Bocina  and  Bogina,  450. 

Bode,  Johann  EUert,  14:  the  Uransgrsfkk  & 
X4- 

Bohrer,  389. 

Bombycii  Hierapolitani,  399, 

Bodte,  92. 

BoStea,  various  names  of,  93-98 ;  various  denvsooos 
and  figuring*  of,  93-98;  Carlyle  on,  93»  0l^f 
Sytttaxis,  93 ;  Cicero  on,  93 ;  Maiulius  oft.  9*  r: 
Aratos  on,  94 ;  Ovid  on,  94 ;  Homer  (Doty  *» 
94,  96;  La  Lande  on,  94 ;  in  the  calendsr,  95*  "r 
siod  on,  95;  Vergil  on,  95 ;  Minsbeu  00, 96  (**)• 


General  Index 


495 


Dante  alludes  to,  96;  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables, 
97 :  in  Poland,  97 ;  Diirer*s  drawing  of,  98 ;  extent 
of,  98 ;  minor  components  of,  104-106. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Bootes  (Arcturus),  98 ;  various 
names  of,  98-103 ;  early  knowledge  and  naming  of, 
98;  often  confounded  with  Ursa  Major,  98;  erro- 
neously supposed  to  be  alluded  to  in  the  Book  of  Job, 
99;  once  a  constellation,  99;  in  Homer,  99;  famous 
with  early  seamen,  99 ;  influence  of,  always  dreaded, 
99:  in  ancient  marine  insurance,  99;  in  Latin  hus- 
bandry, 99;  stormy  reputation  of,  99;  Hippocrates 
on.  99;  in  Plautus,  100;  in  Horace,  100;  Pope's 
mention  of,  100;  in  astrology,  xoo;  in  Egyptian 
astronomy  associated  with  Antares,  100;  an  Egyp- 
tian object  of  worship,  xoo :  in  the  Hindu  system, 
100;  various  opinions  of,  100;  in  Chinese  astrono- 
my, 100;  with  the  Arabians,  100,  101;  in  thcAl- 
fimsine  Tables,  xox ;  in  the  A  Imagest,  xox ;  de- 
picted with  weapons,  101 ;  early  visibility  of,  xox ; 
with  Al  Blrunl,  xox ;  Chaldaean  identification  of, 
xox  ;  John  Wiclif  s  name  for,  xox ;  John  of  Trevisa 
on,  xox ;  varying  locations  of,  xox,  xoa ;  in  the  Syn- 
taxis,  X02;  with  Robert  Recorde,  102;  first  star  to 
be  seen  in  the  daytime  with  telescope,  102;  seen 
with  naked  eye  before  sunset,  xoa;  brilliancy  of, 
102 ;  Piiny  and  the  color  of,  102;  Schmidt  and  the 
color  of,  xos ;  with  Schiller,  xoa ;  Elkin  and,  xoa, 
X03;  large  proper  motion  of,  103;  spectrum  of, 
103 ;  culmination  of,  103. 

Beta  (0)  of  Botftea,  various  names  for,  103;  with 
Gamma  (y),  Delta  (£),  and  Mu  (m)  of  Bootes,  the 
trapezium  Al  Dhi'bah,  103;  the  head  of  Bootes,  103. 
Gamma  (y)  of  Botftea,  various  names  of,  103 ; 
position  of,  X03 ;  Euripides  and  Manilius  on,  103 ; 
Flammarion  on,  103;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  103. 
Delta  (6)  of  Bootea,  unnamed  except  in  Chi- 
nese astronomy,  X04. 

Epaifon  (c)  of  Botftea,  various  names  of,  104 ; 
position  of,  X04;  in  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  104; 
beauty  of,  104;  binary  character  of,  104;  Herschel's 
failure  to  determine  parallax  of,  104. 

Bta  fa)  of  Botftea,  various  names  of,  104 ;  po- 
sition of,  X04  ;  in  Euphratean  astronomy,  104 ;  in 
Chinese  astronomy,  105. 

Theta  (*)  of  Bootea,  associated  with  Kappa 
(«)  and  Iota  (1)  of  Bootes,  105 ;  various  names  of, 
X05 ;  position  of,  X05. 

Mu  (m)  of  Botftea,  color  and  ternary  character 
of,  105;  various  names  of,  105;    in  the  Alfonsine 
Tables  and  Almagest  of  1515, 105 ;  Idelerand,  105. 
Bootea  (a  Boons),  99. 
Botftla  and  Botftrea,  93. 
Boa,  380. 

Boteler  (Butler),  Samuel,  3. 
Bouasole  (on  Argo),  64. 
Bouvier,  Mias  Hannah  M.,  92. 
Bow  and  Arrow,  352. 
Bow,  The,  234. 

Brachium  (correctly  Bracchium),  368. 
Brahma  Ridaya,  88. 
Branchiae,  xxx. 
BraodenburgJEagle,  The,  58. 
Braallian  Pye,  4x8. 
Breastplate  of  Righteousness,  109. 


Bridemif,  278. 

Brightly  Radiating;  One,  The,  124. 
Brood  Hen,  436. 
Brood-hen  star  Vergiliae,  400. 
Brown,  Robert,  Jr.,  xviii,  5;  et passim. 
Brunei  Straet,  479. 
Brutum,  or  Butrum,  396,  399. 
Bub'ulcua,  or  Bubulum  Caput,  380. 
Bubulua,  96. 

Bucca  (BuccanHorn),  135. 
Buchdrucker  Preaae,  297. 
Buchdrucker  Werkatadt,  297. 
Bulino,  106. 

Bull,  The.    See  Taurus. 
Bull,  The  (Centaurus),  150. 
Bull  of  Light,  382. 
Bull,  or  Ox,  of  Chinese  astronomy,  X39. 
Bull's  Eye,  384. 
Bull's  Thigh,  434. 
Bunch  of  Arrows,  173. 
Bunda,  Persian  lunar  station,  52. 
Bundeheah,  The,  and  the  zodiac,  5;  and  the  lu- 
nar mansions,  9. 
Bungula,  153. 
Burin,  The,  106. 
Bushel,  435. 
Bushgali,  136. 
Buaaola  (in. Argo),  64. 
Butcher'a  Cleaver,  436. 

Cabrilla,  86. 

Cacodaemon,  331. 

Cadmua,  299. 

Caduceua,  171. 

Caeciua,  298. 

Caelum,  or  Scalptorium,  106;  various  names  01, 
xo6;  culmination  of,  106;  Burritt  changes  name 
of,  xo6. 

Caer  Arianrod,  177. 

Caer  Qwydyon,  481. 

Caes,  xi  7. 

Caeaiua,  the  Coelum  Astronomico-Poeticon  of  (see 
*0t*),3i;  tt passim. 

Caeaiua  (Ophiuchus),  299. 

Caeteua  (Hercules),  240. 

Caga  Qilgati,  206. 

Cahen  Ourah,  450. 

Cahen  Sihor,  120. 

Cain,  267. 

Cajupal,  400. 

Calamus,  350. 

Calendar,  the  Akkadian,  details  concerning,  x. 

Calf  of  the  Lion,  First,  467;  Second,  xoi. 

California  of  the  Sky,  310. 

Calls,  183. 

Callisto  (Kalliato),  421. 

Calx,  236. 

Camaleonte,  or  Cameleon,  165. 

Camcheacta,  431. 

Camelopardalia,  or  Camelopardus,  106 ;  various 
names  and  formations  of,  106 ;  extent  and  location 
of,  xo6;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  xo6,  107;  compo- 
nents and  culmination  of,  107. 

Camels,  or  Cattle  (Sagittarius),  355. 


496 


General  Index 


Camelus,  xo6. 

Camino  de  Santiago,  El,  480. 

Cammarus,  107. 

Cancer,  various  names  of,  107;  position  of,  107: 
distinguishing  feature  of,  107;  in  the  Alfon- 
sine  Tables,  107 ;  with  classic  writers,  107 ;  insig- 
nificance of,  in  the  zodiac,  107 ;  mythology  on,  107; 
subject  of  early  attention,  107 ;  reason  of  this,  107 ; 
in  astrology,  107,  108;  evil  significance  of,  108;  in 
Akkadian  astronomy,  108 ;  in  the  calendar,  108 ; 
various  identifications  of,  108 ;  in  Saxon  chronicles, 
xo8,  109;  with  Dante,  Chaucer,  and  Milton,  109; 
in  Egyptian  records,  109;  with  Albumasar,  109; 
with  the  biblical  school,  109;  on  the  round  zodiac 
of  Denderah,  109;  on  the  Farnese  globe,  110;  in 
Hindu  astronomy,  zxo;  various  picturings  of,  no; 
Doctor  Johnson  and,  xio;  Ampelius  and,  xxo;  in 
the  coinage  of  Cos,  1x0;  symbol  of,  no;  period  of 
the  sun  in,  xxo;  the  H alley  comet  and,  xix;  chief 
components  of,  xxx ;  minor  components  of,  1x4. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Cancer,  various  names  of,  xxx ; 
culmination  of,  xxx. 
Beta  (0)  of  Cancer,  xxx. 
Gamma  (y)  of  Cancer,  various  names  of,  xxx  ; 
in  the  Latin  A  Imagest  and  the  A  l/onsine  Tables, 
xxx;  Bailey  and,  xxx;   Manilius  and,  ixx  ;    in  as- 
trology, ixa;  in  meteorology,  xxa;  Pliny  and,  xxa. 
Delta  (i)  of  Cancer,  various  names  of,  xxx,  xxa; 
Bailey  on,  xxx;   Manilius  on,  ixx;    in  astrology, 
x  12;  in  meteorology,  xxa;   inconspicuous,  xia ;    in 
Hind's  Solar  System,  xxa. 

Epsilon  («)  of  Cancer,  various  names  of,  11  a, 
1x3;  Bayer  and,  xia;  scientific  names  of,  xxa;  in 
the  Almagests,  113;  Galileo  and,  113;  a  compo- 
nent of  the  lunar  station  Avra-k,  1x3 ;  in  meteor- 
ology, 1x3:  Pliny  and  Aratos  on,  1x3;  as  a  heraldic 
sign  and  in  astrology,  113;  in  China,  113. 

Zeta  (0  of  Cancer,  position  of,  114;  of  great 
interest  to  astronomers,  1x4 ;  one  of  Watson's  intra- 
mercurial  planets,  114- 

Theta  (4)  of  Cancer,  one  of  Watson's  intra- 
mercurial  planets,  114. 
Kappa  (k)  and  Lambda  (A)  of  Cancer,  114. 
Mu  (m)  and  Xi  (£)  of  Cancer,  1x4. 

Cancer  Minor,  109. 

Cancre,  Le,  107, 109. 

Cancro,  II,  107. 

Candlemas  Bull,  383. 

Cane  Maggiore,  117. 

Cane  Minore,  131. 

Canea  Laconicae,  434,  450. 

Canes  Venatici,  various  names  of,  1x4,  115;  Ptol- 
emy on,  X14;  in  the  Prodrvmus,  1x5;  usual  figur- 
ing of,  1x5;  Bartschius  and  Assemani  on,  1x5. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Canes  Venatici,  1x5;  the  Cor 
Caroli  of  H alley,  115;  Flamsteed  on,  1x5;  other 
names  of,  xx6;  Ulug  Beg  on,  1x6;  a  favorite  with 
amateur  observers,  1x6;  Espin  on,  xx6;  culmina- 
tion of,  x  16 ;  other  details  concerning,  116. 

Beta  (0)  of  Canea  Venatici  (Chara),  116; 
next  to  Cor  Caroli  the  brightest  star  of  the  South- 
em  Hound,  xx6. 

Canicula,  xa,  118,  13a. 


Canis,  and  Canis  Australior,  1x7. 

Cania  (Cassiopeia),  144. 

Cania  Latrana,  93. 

Canis  Major  (Australior),  position  o(  X17;  nnoc 
names  of,  117-xao;  meariyandmclassktixaei,!!?. 
in  the  Prognastica  and  Pkaiuemena,  117;  in  Ho- 
mer, X17;  Hesiod  on,  1x7;  with  the  Greeks,  1x7; 
with  the  Latins,  118;  in  Ovid,  118;  in  the  Alfom. 
sine  Tables,  xx8 ;  mentioned  by  Vergil,  1x8;  legends 
concerning  and  allusions  to,  xx8;  Bayer  and,  xiS; 
Aratos'  name  for,  1x9;  in  Arabian  astronoxoy,  ixg 
in  the  Latin  Almagest,  1x9;  in  the  Urammetria. 
1x9;  with  Chumead  and  La  Lande,  1x9;  imponact 
in  Euphratean  astronomy,  1x9;  Professor  Young  or. 
X19;  various  figuring!  of,  1x9;  with  the  Hindus, 
119 ;  among  Northern  nations,  1x9 ;  Novidius*  ides- 
tification  of,  1x9. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Canis  Major  (Sirius),  120;  den- 
vabon  of  name,  iao ;  various  names  of,  no:  Plu- 
tarch on,  iao;  Galen  and  Homer  on,  iao;  sacrificed 
to  by  Roman  farmers,  xax ;  among  the  Lanes, 
xax  ;  in  the  Palladium  0/  Husbandry,  in ;  Ede? 
on,  xax;  derivation  of  Arabic  names  of,  in;  k 
various  early  works  on  astronomy,  xax,  in :  the 
modem  Subaii,  xaa;  in  Finnish  literature,  122.  ■ 
Oceania,  xaa;  Eastern  names  of,  x»;  Edkiosoa, 
xaa;  Hewitt  on,  xaa;  in  Euphratean  astroooo). 
122,  123;  its  periods  known  in  Chakiaea,  123;  the 
only  star  known  with  certitude  in  Egyptian  records, 
123 ;  worshiped  in  Egypt,  123 ;  on  the  Deadenfc 
zodiac,  123,  124 ;  Plutarch  and,  124 ;  other  foro* 
of  worship  of,  124 ;  the  base  of  the  Canicular  pe- 
riod, 124 ;  Lockyer  on  this,  124 ;  Sir  Edwin  AnwU 
on,  134:  Minsheu  on,  124;  Cnestus'  name  for, 
124;  position  of,  125;  with  the  Phoenician*,  us 
relatively  ignored  by  Chinese  astronomers,  125;  ir 
Chinese  astrology,  125 ;  the  Maxzaroth  of/**,  im- 
probable Hebrew  worship  of,  125 ;  calnunaboo  oC 
celebrated  at  Eleusis,  125;  veneuted  in  Arataa, 
125;  in  early  astrology  and  poetry,  125;  Homer, 
Pope,  and  Spenser  on,  125 ;  in  the  Aeneid  and 
Gt orgies,  iao;  Hesiod,  Hippocrates,  and  Manila* 
on,  xa6;  heliacal  rising  of,  iao;  Gcminos on,  irf 
Dante  and  Milton  on,  127;  on  the  Farnese  globe. 
127 ;  Pliny  concerning,  x  27 ;  with  Aristotle,  127 :  «* 
late  astrology,  127;  character  of,  in  opposition,  W< 
always  the  brightest  star  in  the  heavens,  127  >  *ecD 
in  daylight,  137;  change  of  color  of,  127;  AraK*' 
adjective  for,  137 ;  Tennyson  on,  127 ;  Arago's  Ara- 
bic  name  for,  X27;  among  the  nearest  stars,  i^- 
parallax  of,  128;  its  color  perhaps  the  caused* 
apparent  magnitude,  ia8;  forty  times  brighter  dun 
the  sun,  128;  spectrum  of,  xa8;  velocity  of,  "*• 
culmination  of,  128:  Kant  upon,  xa8;  Manfrtf 
idea  concerning,  128;  satellite  of,  located,  x*S» 'J9- 
facts  concerning  the  satellite  of,  129 ;  Swift  and  >  * 
taire  on  this,  129. 

Beta  (fi)  of  Canis  Major,  various  names  of.  139. 
130;  the  forerunner  of  Sirius,  xso;  Butttnano  <*- 
129,  130:  in  China,  130. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Canis  Major,  130;  nan**,  por- 
tion, disappearance,  and  reappearance  of,  13°- 
Delta  (<)  of  Canis  Major,  variability  of,  13* 


General  Index 


497 


Bpailon  («)  of  Canis  Major,  names  and  posi- 
tion angle  of,  13a 

Zeta  (£)  of  Canis  Major,  130;  location  and 
names  of,  130. 

Eta  fa)  of  Cania  Major,  universal  name  of, 
131 :  Smyth  on,  131. 
Mu  (m)  of  Cania  Major,  Grotius  on,  132. 
Omicron  (0)  of  Canis  Major,  with  Pi  (*)  of 
Canis  Major  and  other  small  stars,  the  Chinese  Ya 
Kc,  131. 

Cania  Minor,  various  names  of,  131-133;  not  known 
to  the  Greeks  by  any  comparative  title,  131 ;  Roman 
epithets  for,  131;  Lucan  on,  13a;  in  Horace,  132; 
Pliny  upon,  13a;  in  mythology,  13a;  various  iden- 
tifications of,  13a;  mixed  nomenclature  of,  13a; 
Bayer  and,  13a;  in  the  Almagest,  13a;  Arab  fables 
concerning,  13a;  related  in  position  to  Leo,  133; 
significance  of,  in  astrology,  133;  Digges  on,  133; 
names  for,  with  the  biblical  school,  133 ;  origin  of 
outlines  uncertain,  133;  position  of,  133. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Canis  Minor,  various  names  of, 
133.  134 :  in  earliest  Greek  records,  133 ;  in  the  A  I- 
fonsin*  Tables,  133;  bears  many  of  its  constella- 
tion's names,  133;  of  earlier  origin  than  the  constel- 
lation, 133 ;  Bryant's  derivation  of,  134 ;  Euphratean 
correspondent  of,  134;  Hommel  on,  134;  Dupuis 
and  Edkinson,  134;  in  China,  134;  in  the  Hervey 
Islands,  134;  in  astrology,  134;  culmination  of, 
134 ;  parallax  and  spectrum  of,  134 ;  minute  com- 
panions of,  134;  period,  mass,  and  light  of,  134. 

Beta  (0)  of  Cania  Minor,  134;  names  of,  and 
details  concerning,  134,  135. 

Zeta  (f)  of  Cania  Minor,  a  component  of  the 
Chinese  Shwuy  Wei,  135. 

Theta  (0)  of  Canis  Minor,  a  component  of 
the  Chinese  Shwuy  Wei,  135. 

Omicron  (o)  of  Canis  Minor,  a  component  of 
the  Chinese  Shwuy  Wei,  135. 

Pi  (w)  of  Canis  Minor,  a  component  of  the 
Chinese  Shwuy  Wei,  135. 

Canis  Orionis,  13a. 

Canis  Syrius,  1x8. 

Canis  Tritonis,  161. 

Canis  ululans,  378. 

Canis  venatica,  434. 

Cania  virgineus,  13a. 

Canna.  350. 

Canopo  fosco,  II,  190. 

Canopus,  67-73 ;  history  of,  68-73 ;  see  also  under 
A  rgo  Navis  and  Alpha  (a)  0/  Carina. 

Canopus  (the  pilot),  68. 

Caneer,  109. 

Cantana,  256. 

Canticum,  a8x. 

Caomai,  310. 

Cape  Clouds,  994. 

Capella,  86-89  (see  under  Auriga). 

Capellae,  91. 

Caper  and  flexus  Caper,  135. 

Capilll,  z6o. 

Capra  (Capella),  86. 

Capra  ilia  Amalthea  (Capricornus),  135. 

Capricorn,  Capricorne,  Capricorno,  135. 

Capricornus,  position  of,  135;  various  names  of,  135- 

32 


140;  oriental  legends  concerning,  135;  weather  sig- 
nificance of,  135;  \n\ne  A  rabo-Latin  Almagest,  135; 
Greek  legend  concerning,  136;  in  Eastern  systems, 
136 ;  frequent  mention  of,  in  early  times,  136;  Platonic* 
ideas  concerning,  136;  Sargon  on,  136 ;  NumaPom- 
pilius  and,  136 ;  in  astrology,  136:  Akhabituson,i36; 
peculiar  to  Vesta,  136;  Ampelius  on,  136;  Manil- 
iuson,  X36,  137;  in  the  almanac  of  1386,  X37;  Ar- 
candumon,  137;  the  pet  of  astrologers,  137;  favor- 
ably regarded  by  the  Arabians,  137;  classically  re- 
garded as  of  bad  influence  on  the  weather,  137 ; 
Horace  and  Aratos  on  this,  137 ;  in  the  Euphratean 
tablets,  137;  fanciful  identifications  of,  137;  on 
the  Augustan  coinage,  137;  in  astrology,  137 ;  on 
British  coinage,  137 ;  figuring  of,  generally  consis- 
tent, 137 ;  a  nocturnal  sign,  138 ;  Caxnoes  on,  138 :  on 
the  Egyptian  zodiacs,  138;  on  theDenderah  zodiac, 
138;  on  a  Brahmin  zodiac,  138 ;  Jewish  Rabbis  on, 
138;  in  Egyptian  astronomy,  138;  other  Eastern 
identifications  of,  138 ;  last  in  order  on  Indian  zo- 
diac, 138;  in  the  Aztec  calendar,  138;  in  Chinese 
astronomy,  139 ;  in  Assyrian  and  Akkadian  astron- 
omy, 139;  Jensen  and  Sayce  on,  139;  early  origin 
of,  X39;  symbol  of,  139;  origin  of  symbol  of,  139; 
Dante  and  Milton  on,  139 ;  Tropic  of  Capricorn  and, 
139;  inconspicuousness  of,  140;  chiefly  noticeable 
for  the  naked-eye  duplicity  of  its  lucida,  140. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Capricornus  (a1  and  a*),  names  of, 
X40;  various  derivations  of,  140 ;  culmination  of,  140. 

Beta  (0)  of  Capricornua  (0'and  0s),  names  of, 
140,  141;  components  of  Chinese  situ  Nieu  or  Keen 
Nieu,  141 ;  connected  with  silk  industry  in  China, 
X4X ;  position,  etc.,  of,  141. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Capricornus,  141;  various 
names  of,  141;  defined  the  Babylonian  asterism 
Mahar  sha  ni-na  ShahQ,  141 ;  with  other  stars  formed 
the  Chinese  Liiy  Pei  Chen,  141. 

Delta  (6)  of  Capricornus,  various  names  of, 
14 1 ;  with  other  stars  forms  the  Chinese  Luy  Pei 
Chen,  141 ;  Ideler  on,  14X ;  in  Babylonian  astrono- 
my, 141 ;  Neptune  near  it  in  1846,  141. 

Epsilon  (c)  of  Capricornus,  with  other  stars 
forms  the  Chinese  Luy  Pei  Chen,  141. 

Zeta  (0  of  Capricornus,  the  Chinese  Yen,  14a. 

Eta  (1?)  of  Capricornus,  Chow  in  China,  14a. 

Theta  (0)  of  Capricornus,  Tsin  in  China,  142. 

Iota  (1)  of  Capricornus,  the  Chinese  Tae,  14a. 

Kappa  (*)  of  Capricornus,  forms  with  other 
stars  the  Chinese  Luy  Pei  Chen,  141. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Capricornus,  with  other  stars 
the  Chinese  Tien  Luy  Ching,  14a. 

Mu  {n)  of  Capricornus,  the  Chinese  Kuh,  14a. 

Nu  (v)  of  Capricornus,  the  Arabic  Shat,  14a. 

Upailon  (v)  of  Capricornus,  the  Chinese  Loo 
Sieu,  14a. 

Phi  (<*>)  of  Capricornus,  with  Chi  (*),  the 
Chinese  Wei,  14a. 

Psi  (ifr)  of  Capricornus,  the  Chinese  Yue,  14a. 
Capuja,  156. 
Caput  and  Cauda,  374. 
Caput  Gorgonis  and  Caput  Larvae,  33a. 
Caput  Trianguli,  416. 
Carcinus,  107. 
Cardinal's  Hat,  363. 


498 


General  Index 


Carina  Argon  (Argo),  66. 

Carina.    See  under  A  rgo,  64. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Carina,  history  of,  67-72 ;   vari- 
ous names  of,  67-72;  Strabo  00,67;  derivation  of 
modem  name  of,  68;    always  important,  69;  an- 
cient worship  of,  70 ;  Moore  on,  70 ;  Carlyle  on,  70 ; 
in  various   ancient   astronomical   systems,  70-71 ; 
Dante  on,  71 ;  in  geodesy,  71 ;  Tennyson  on,  73. 
See  also  Canopus. 
Beta  (0)  of  Carina,  7a;  position  of,  7a. 
Eta  (v)  of  Carina,  position  and  importance 
of,  73 ;  variations  in  light  of,  74 ;  nebula  of,  74 
Iota  (t)  of  Carina,  position  and  names  of,  74. 

Carles-waen,  420,  428. 

Carlwaynesterre  (Arcturus),  101. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  and  the  constellations,  x\;  tt 
Passim. 

Carman,  The  (of  Minsbeu),  96. 

Carnabas,  Carnabon,  Carnabus,  299. 

CarofBotites,  426. 

Carreta  and  Cairo,  427. 

Casserole,  436. 

Cassiepeia.    See  Cassiopeia. 

Cassiopeia  (or  Cassiope),  various  names  of,  14a- 
1 45  '•  one  of  the  oldest  and  best-known  constellations, 
14a ;  known  as  the  "  Celestial  W  "  when  below  the 
pole,  and  as  the  ••  Celestial  M  "  when  above  it,  14a  ; 
Hyginus'  description  of,  14a,  143;  Aratos  on,  143; 
important  in  Greek  astronomy,  143;  Hevelius  on, 
143;  among  the  Romans,  143;  among  the  Arabs, 
143,  144;  various  ngurings  of,  143,  144;  in  the 
Al/onsine  Tables  and  the  A  rabo-Laiin  Almagtst, 
144;  in  Celtic  astronomy,  144;  Schiller  on,  144; 
in  Chinese  astronomy,  144,  145 ;  its  Egyptian  cor- 
respondent, 145;  well  known  on  the  Euphrates, 
145;  Milton  on,  145;  Landscer's  name  for,  145; 
in  17th-century  nomenclature,  145;  in  the  Leyden 
MS.,  145;  in  astrology,  145;  Professor  Young  and, 
*45 »  position  of,  245  ;  rich  in  clusters,  145 ;  Arabic 
name  for  it,  146;  the  nova  of,  146,  147  ;  Tycho  and 
the  latter,  147 ;  excitement  caused  by  it,  147 ;  Chi- 
nese name  for  it,  147. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Cassiopeia,  various  names  of, 
245;  UlugBeg  on,  145;  Smyth  on,  146;  variability, 
period,  and  culmination  of,  146;  companions  of, 
146 ;  a  component  of  the  Chinese  Yuh  Lang,  146. 

Beta  (0)  of  Cassiopeia,  various  names  of,  146; 
Tizini's  name  for,  146 ;  as  a  component  of  the 
Three  Guides  marks  the  equinoctial  colure,  146; 
an  indicator  of  Polaris*  position  in  regard  to  the  pole, 
146;  useful  in  marking  sidereal  time,  146;  parallax 
of,  146 ;  Poe  on,  146. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Cassiopeia,  147 ;  Chinese  name 
for,  147;  of  interest  to  astronomers,  147;  variable 
spectrum  of,  147;  companions  of,  147. 

Delta  (£)  of  Cassiopeia,  names  of,  148 ;  utilized 
by  Picard  in  geodesy,  148. 

Epsilon  (<)  of  Cassiopeia,  sometimes  bears  the 
name  of  Delta  (6)  of  Cassiopeia,  148. 

Zeta  (£)  of  Cassiopeia,  a  component  of  the 
Chinese  Foo  Loo,  148. 

Eta  (r?)  of  Cassiopeia,  a  noted  binary,  one  of 
the  nearest  to  the  solar  system,  248. 


Lambda  (A)  of  Cassiopeia,  a  component  of  the 
Chinese  Foo  Loo,  148. 

Mu  (fi)  of  Cassiopeia,  associated  with  Tbea(#> 
of  Cassiopeia  in  Arabia  as  the  Elbow,  148;  treat 
proper  motion  of,  148. 

Cassiopeia's  Chair,  143. 

Castor.    See  under  Alpha  («)  of  Gemini,  23a 

Castor  and  Pollux.   See  under  Gemini,  iw  tt  seq. 

Castore  e  Polluce,  My,   Caatores,  123. 

Castor  fraterque  magni  Caatoris,  223. 

Casyapi,  144. 

Cat,  The.    See  Felts. 

Qatabhishaj  (33d  nakskatra\  55. 

Cataletto,  427. 

Catalogues  of  Constellations,  various,  11-14- 

Catellus  (Catulus),  13a. 

Cathedra  mollis,  143. 

Cat'uli  (Canes  Venatki),  1x5 ;  (the  Wains),  434*  45* 

Cautel,  66. 

Cavallino,  213. 

Cecrops,  46. 

Cefeo,  155. 

Ceginus  (and  variants),  95, 156. 

Ceichius  (Chegnius),  156. 

Celaeno,  or  Celeno,  407. 

Cela  8culptoria,  106. 

Celeris,  3x3. 

Celeste  Lasca,  338. 

Celestial  M  and  Celestial  W,  143. 

Celestial  Sisters,  177. 

Celox  Jasonis  (Argo),  66. 

Celticus,  340. 

Censer,  373. 

Centaur  (Sagittarius),  353. 

Centaur,  The.    See  Centaurus. 

Centaure  Chiron,  151. 

Centaur's  Crown,  172. 

Centaurus,  various  names  of,  148-152;  derived  by 
Aratos  from  early  Greek  times,  148;  associated 
with  Pholos,  148,  149;  Apollodorus  on  the  latter, 
149;  Eratosthenes  concerning,  149;  and  Chiron, 
149 ;  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and,  149 ;  Matthew  Arnold 
on  Chiron,  149 ;  the  Centaur,  the  investor  of  u* 
constellations,  149 ;  Greek  legends  concerning.  M* 
150;  Prometheus  and,  150;  various  figuring*  <£ 
150,  151;  William  Morris  and  the  Centaur,  150; 
Arabic  figuring  of,  150;  Ptolemy's  descrrptioo  cL 
151 ;  Hipparchos  and  Puny  on,  151 ;  position  cC 
151 ;  on  the  Farnese  glebe,  X51 ;  in  the  Hyp**** 
the  Al/onsine  Tables,  and  the  Leyden  MS.,  i5»: 
Bayer's  and  Burritt's  figuring  of,  151;  in  Roan* 
nomenclature,  151 ;  Recorde's  name  for,  151  •  Tri- 
ton and,  151;  confused  with  Sagittarius,  i$»:  m 
mediaeval  Christian  astronomy,  15 1;  one  of  tb< 
largest  constellations,  151;  position  of,  i5a:  ^ 
partly  visible  in  the  latitude  of  New  York,  >S3: 
other  details  concerning,  152;  minor  components 
of,  and  their  names,  154,155. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Centaurus,  various  names  of. 
»5»-*54 :  splendor  of,  made  it  an  object  of  worsh'P 
on  the  Nile,  153;  Lockyer  and,  X53;  importance 
of,  in  Chinese  astronomy,  153;  position  of,  *53« 
culmination  of,  153 ;  of  greatest  interest  to  astron*- 


General  Index 


499 


men,  153 ;  perhaps  the  nearest  star  to  our  system, 
153;  parallax  and  distance  of,  153;  Professor  Young's 
demonstration  of  the  latter,  153;  Sir  John  Her- 
schel's  demonstration  of  the  same,  153;  and  the 
sun,  153;  duplicity  of,  153;  period  and  position 
angle  of,  1 54  ;  one  of  the  Southern  Pointers,  154. 

Beta  (0)  of  Centaurus,  various  names  of,  154; 
various  locations  on  maps,  154 ;  one  of  the  Southern 
Pointers,  154;  in  African  and  Australasian  nomen- 
clature, 154. 

Theta  (0)  of  Centaurus,  154 ;  wrongly  desig- 
nated in  Century  Cyclopedia,  154;  discovery  of  a 
companion  to,  154,  155 ;  in  Chinese  astronomy, 
155;  culmination  of,  155. 

Omega  (»)  of  Centaurus,  Bayer's  name  for, 
N.  G.  C.  5139.  *55- 
Centaurus  (Sagittarius), 353. 
Cephee,  155. 

Cepheids,  The,  radiant  point  of,  158. 
Cepheis,  39. 

Cepheus,  various  names  of,  155-157;  knowledge  of,  in 
Chaldaea,  155 ;  in  Greek  story,  156 ;  the  name  among 
early  astronomers  and  classic  authors,  1 56 ;  its  tides 
sometimes  confused  with  Bootes,  156:  inappropriate 
names  for,  156;  suggested  reason  for  these,  156; 
Horace  on,  156;  not  conspicuous,  156:  highly  re- 
garded and  well  known  in  Greek  literature,  156; 
the  source  of  many  queer  Arabic  titles,  156;  in 
Hindu  astronomy,  156;  Hewitt  and  Dunkin  on, 
156;  Bayer's  illustration  of,  156;  in  China,  156; 
with  nomadic  Arabs,  157;  associated  with  the  Fold, 
157;  Bayer  and  this,  157;  other  Arabic  tides  of, 
157;  with  the  biblical  school,  157;  minor  compo- 
nents of,  157-159. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Cepheus,  various  names  of,  157; 
culmination  of,  157;  will  be  the  Polaris  of  the  year 
7500,  157. 

Beta  {fi)  of  Cepheus,  158;  components  and 
position  angle  of,  158. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Cepheus,  various  names  of, 
158;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  158. 

Mu  (m)  of  Cepheus,  location  of,  158;  Sir  W. 
Herschel's  "  Garnet  Star,"  158 ;  deep  color  of,  159. 
Xi(£)  of  Cepheus,  Arabic  name  of,  159;  com- 
ponents of,  and  their  position  angle,  159. 
Cerbere  (Rameau  et  Cerbere),  159. 
Cerbero,  159. 

Cerberus,  various  names  of,  159,  160;    formerly  an 
adjunct  to  Hercules,  159 ;  disregarded  by  astrono- 
mers, 159;    various  ngurings  of,  160;    with  Chi- 
nese astronomers,  160. 
Ceres  Perdinandea,  416. 
Ceres  spicifera  dea,  46s. 
Cernuator,  240. 
Cemco  Esnibidia,  480. 
Cerva,  144. 
Cervus,a9o. 
Cete,  161. 

Ceteus  and  Cetheus,  340. 

Cetus,  various  names  of,  160-162 ;  connected  with  the 
legend  of  Andromeda,  160 :  known  of  old  on  the 
Euphrates,  160;  in  Greek  nomenclature,  160,  x6i; 
with  the  Romans,  x6i ;  various  ngurings  of,  161  ; 


the  Euphratean  Tiamat,  161 ;  position  and  extent 
of,  161;  in  the  15x5  Almagest  and  the  Al/cnsine 
Todies,  162;  Bayer's  name  for,  162;  in  biblical 
nomenclature,  162 ;  of  no  special  interest,  except 
in  its  star  Mira,  162 ;  minor  components  of,  162-165. 
Alpha  (a)  of  Cetus,  various  names  of,  162 ;  loca- 
tion, prominence,  and  culmination  of,  162;  in  as- 
trology, 162. 

Beta  (0)  of  Cetus,  various  names  of,  163;  the 
Second  Frog,  163 ;  in  China,  163 ;  increased  bril- 
liancy of,  163 ;  culmination  of,  163. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Cetus,  components  and  position 
angle  of,  163. 

Zeta  (0  of  Cetus,  various  names  of,  163;  in  as- 
trology, 163 ;  with  Chi(x)  a  naked-eye  double.  163. 
Eta  (1?)  of  Cetus,  various  names  of,  163,  164. 
Iota  (1)  of  CetuB,  position  and  tide  of,  164 ; 
with  other  stars,  the  Chinese  Tien  Yuen,  164. 

Omicroo  (o)  of  Cetus,  various  tides  of,  164 ;  a 
variable  of  long  period  and  a  type  of  its  class,  164; 
when  first  noticed,  164 ;  various  descriptions  of, 
164;  period  of,  164;  variable  in  its  light,  165;  Sir 
William  Herschel  on,  165 ;  spectrum  of,  165. 

Chalice,  310. 

Chalitsa,  or  Kalitsah,  421. 

Chamaeleon,  various  names  of,  165 ;  unimportance 
and  position  of,  165  :  first  figured  by  Bayer,  165 ; 
components  of,  named  only  in  China,  165 ;  culmi- 
nation of,  165. 

*'  Chamaeleon  with  the  File,"  165. 

Chameleon,  165. 

Chambers  of  the  South,  362. 

Champion,  The.    Sec  Perseus. 

Chang,  184,  248. 

Chang  Chen,  116. 

Chang  Jin,  167. 

Chang  Sha,  182. 

Chaou,  142,  245. 

Chaou  Teaou  (or  Yaou),  103. 

Chara,  115,  xt6. 

Chara.    See  Beta  ifi)  0/ Canes  Venatici,  116. 

Charere,  426. 

Chariot  of  Elijah's  Journey  to  Heaven,  428. 

Chariot,  The  Smaller  (of  Thor),45o. 

Chariot  (of  Pharaoh),  435;  (of  Joseph),  45X. 

Charles'  Oak.    See  Robur  Carolina**. 

Charles'  Wain,  428. 

Xas,  108. 

Chaaara  tsamangadu,  481. 

Cha  Sze,  376. 

Chaucer,  and  the  zodiac,  3,  4 ;  et  passim. 

Chay  Foo,  197. 

Chelae,  269. 

Chemical  Furnace,  The.  See  Fornax  C he  mica 
or  Ckymiae. 

Chemische  Apparat,  221. 

Chercjengh,  xo8. 

Chevalet  du  Peintre,  2x4. 

Chevelure,  168. 

Chevre,  86. 

Chieftain's  Star,  The,  122. 

Chien  de  Mer,  161. 

Chiens  du  C basse,  114. 


500 


General  Index 


Chin  New,  285. 

China,  and  the  zodiac,  5,  6;  the  lunar  mansions 
in,  7 ;  claims  the  formation  of  the  constellations, 
ax ;  astronomy  in,  due  to  Chaldaean  influence,  ax ; 
also  to  Arabians,  21 ;  recent  advance  of,  in  astron- 
omy, due  to  Jesuit  missionaries,  si. 

Chin  Chay,  369. 

Chinese  astronomy,  5-7,  21 ;  et  passim. 

Chine;,  376. 

Chioma,  168. 

Chiphus,  156. 

Chiron  (preceptor  of  Jason),  said  by  St.  Clement  to 
be  the  inventor  of  the  constellations,  18;  et  pas- 
sim. 

Chiron  and  Chyron  (Centaurus),  149. 

Chiron  (Sagittarius),  353. 

Chironis  Pilia,  379. 

Chnum,  Chnemu,  Gnoucn,  or  Knum,  138. 

Choo  (Pillar)  Chinese  asterism,  91. 

Choo  (Ara),  63. 

Choo  (Centaurus),  155. 

Choo  Neaou,  2a. 

Choo  Wan,  391. 

Choo  Wang:,  4"- 

Chow,  142, 376. 

Chow  Ting,  171* 

Christi  Crux,  194. 

Christ's  Seamless  Coat,  310. 

Chrysomallus,  76. 

Chu,  or  Chow  (the  Pleiades),  20,  399. 

Chuen  Shwo,  414. 

Chung  Ho  Mud,  206. 

Chung  Shan,  246. 

Chung  Tae,  443. 

Chushe,  467. 

Chymische  Ofen,  221. 

Ciconia,  30a 

Cigno,  192. 

Cillas,  84. 

Cincinnus,  169. 

Cingulum,  36. 

Cinosura  and  Cynosura,  456. 

Cipactli,  138. 

Circlnus,  various  names  of,  166;  formed  by  La 
Caille,  x66 ;  position  and  culmination  of,  166. 

Circitores,  459. 

Circulus  lacteua,  475. 

Circulus  Junonius,  481. 

Cirros  and  Cirrus,  xn. 

Cisne,  192. 

Cithara  and  Clara  Fides  Cyllenea,  281. 

Citrt,  182,  467. 

Clamator  (Bootes),  93. 

Clarum  Tyndaridae  Sidus,  222. 

Clava,  Z05. 

Clavator  and  Claviger,  240. 

Claws  of  the  Scorpion,  269. 

Clement,  Saint,  of  Alexandria,  agrees  with  Jo- 
sephus  in  reference  to  the  high  priest's  breastplate 
and  the  zodiac,  2. 

Cleonaeum  Sidus,  252. 

Cleostratos,  3. 

Clerke,  Miss  Agnes  M.,  and  the  zodiac,  3,  6 


(note);    lunar  mansions,  8;    and  the  deems,  9: 
on  the  multiplicity  of  sky  figures,  xo;  etpasam. 

Clip'eus,  or  Clyp'eus  Sobieskii,  373. 

Cloud-eating  Shark,  482. 

Cloud  Nebula,  367. 

Club  of  Hercules,  The,  943,  246,  302,  375. 

Clusters,  8tar.    See  Nebula*. 

Coal-Sack,  190,  297. 

Coat  of  Arms,  of  Sobieskt,  373. 

Cocchiere,  83. 

Cocher,  83. 

Cock,  or  Hen,  381. 

Coeli  Cingulum,  475. 

Coelum,  Coelulum,  Parvum  Coelum,  173. 

Coeur  de  Charles,  116. 

Coiled  Hair  of  Ariadne,  174. 

Coinage,  Ancient,  xvii;  et passim. 

Colca  (Capella),  88. 

Collarium,  85. 

Collum  Ceti,  164. 

Collum  Hydrae,  249. 

Colomba  and  Colombe  de  Noe,  166. 

Colorrhobus,  X05. 

Coluber,  203,  247,  374. 

Columba  Noae,  various  names  of,  1 66 ;  first  foraaHy 
published  by  Royer,  166;  located  on  Bayer's  plait 
of  Canis  Major,  166;  Caesius  and,  166;  not  recog- 
nized by  early  astronomers,  166 ;  Smyth  sad,  167 : 
minor  components  of,  168. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Columba  Noae,  variousnasies  of, 
167;  in  China,  167;  inconspicuous,  but  of  impor- 
tance in  Egyptian  temple  worship,  167 ;  Lockyer 
and,  167 ;  position  and  culmination  of,  167. 

Beta  (0)  of  Columba  Noae,  various  names  oi, 
167;  inChilmead's  Treatise,  167. 

Columella,  in  the  De  Re  Rustic^  19;  et  passim. 

Coma  Berenices,  various  names  of,  168-172 ;  poo- 
don  of,  x68 ;  first  alluded  to  by  Eratosthenes,  i«: 
its  constellation  place  long  unsettled,  168;  in  Tj- 
cho's  catalogue,  168 ;  in  Aratos*  PAasmmuma,  16S: 
after  whom  named,  168 ;  invented  by  Conon,  169: 
Callimachus  and  Catullus  on,  169;  legends  associ- 
ated with,  169 ;  Hyginus'  name  for,  169 :  not  men- 
tioned by  Manilius,  169;  on  Mercator's  globe, 
169;  in  the  Almagests,  169;  Pliny  on,  169, 170. 
Holland's  blunder  concerning,  170;  SchiDer  asd 
Thompson  on,  170;  Serviss*  description  of,  170 : 
in  Middle  English  poetry,  170;  various  figuring? 
of,  170,  171;  on  the  Dresden  globe,  171;  in  «**** 
Egyptian  nomenclature,  171 ;  abundance  of  Chi- 
nese names  for,  171 ;  components  of,  171 ;  culmi- 
nation of,  171. 

Comae  Berenices,  169. 

Comesque  Bootae,  304, 

Comets,  AI  Biruni  on,  27;  et  passim. 

Commissura  Piscium,  34a. 

Companions  of  Denebola,  859. 

Compas  and  Compasso,  166. 

Concordia,  462. 

Constellations,  The,  details  concerning,  >°-  lt' 
18 ;  and  present  boundaries  of,  xo ;  Greek  names  « 
figures  in,  xo;  Latin  terms  for  figures  in,  xo;  num- 
ber of,  xx ;  later  catalogues  of,  after  Bayer,  1%  *4: 


General  Index 


501 


discovery  of  new,  14,  x8 ;  new,  mostly  in  the  southern 
heavens,  14 ;  various  early  investigators  of  the,  14 ; 
discrepancy  in  modern  number  of,  15 ;  106  claimed 
by  Ideler,  15;  various  other  estimates  of,  15; 
eighty  to  ninety  now  acknowledged,  15;  Chiron 
said  to  be  the  inventor  of,  18 ;  Seneca  on  the  date 
of  their  formation,  18;  ascription  of,  by  mycolo- 
gists, 19;  formation  of,  claimed  by  China,  21; 
Ideler  on  the  origin  of  the,  32 ;  Cicero  on  the,  37 ; 
the  biblical  school  and  the,  28;  Giordano  Bruno 
and  the,  28 ;  other  iconoclasts  and  the,  28.  See  also 
Sky  figures  and  Star  groups. 

Continuatio  Hydrae,  247. 

Copernicus,  date  of  work  of,  13;  tt passim. 

Corbeau,  179. 

Cor  Caroli,  see  Alpha  (a)  of  Canes  Venatici,  1x5. 

Cor  Hydrae,  349. 

Cor  Leonis,  356. 

Cor  Scorpii,  365. 

Cor  Serpentia,  375. 

Cor  Tauri,  384. 

Cornlpedes,  353. 

Cornipes,  333. 

Cornu  (y  Scorpii),  369. 

Cornucopias,  87. 

Cornua  (Aries),  76. 

Cornua  (Taurus),  379. 

Corolla,  j  73. 

Corona,  Corona  Ariadnae,  or  Ariadnes,  174. 

Corona  Auatraie,  172. 

Corona  Australia,  various  titles  of,  172, 173;  incon- 
spicuousness  of,  173 ;  location  of,  173 ;  Aratos  silent 
concerning,  17a;  known  to  Hipparchos,  173:10  Ptol- 
emy, 172 ;  associated  with  Sagittarius,  172;  not  men- 
tioned by  Manilius,  173;  classical  legends  concerning, 
x73;  in  5th-century  nomenclature,  173;  among  the 
Arabs,  173;  in  China,  173;  Bayer  on,  173 ;  inthe/f /- 
fonsine  Tables,  173 ;  the  lucida  of,  173 ;  culmination 
of,  173;  in  the  astronomy  of  the  biblical  school,  173. 

Corona  Borea  (Borealis,  Septentrionalis),  174. 

Corona  Borealis,  various  names  of,  174;  the  only 
stellar  crown  known  to  Eratosthenes  and  the  early 
Greeks,  174;  with  the  Latins,  174;  classic  legends 
concerning,  174;  Apollonius  Rhodius  upon,  174; 
in  modern  and  classic  poetry,  174 ;  Dante  on,  175 ; 
always  a  favorite,  175;  Chaucer  on,  175;  Skeat's 
comment  upon,  175;  Spenser  on,  175;  in  the 
Ge orgies,  175;  stars  of,  favored  by  astrologers,  ac- 
cording to  Manilius,  176 ;  in  Arabian  astronomy, 
176;  various  ngurings  of,  176,  177;  various  writers 
on,  176;  in  the  A  {fonsine  Tables,  176;  Dupuis 
and,  177;  in  Hebrew  astronomy,  177;  in  Syrian, 
177;  the  Chinese  Kwan  Soo,  177;  Shawnee  name 
for,  177;  with  the  biblical  school,  177;  in  the  Ley- 
den  MS.,  177;  interesting  to  astronomers,  177;  in 
Australasia,  177 ;  appearance  of  the  Blaze  Star  in, 
177;  minor  stars  of,  x  79;  uncertainty  as  to  lettering 
and  naming  of  stars  of,  171. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Corona  Borealis,  various  names 
of,  x 78,  179;  Bayer  on,  178;  in  the  Georgics,  178; 
central  one  of  the  group,  178;  S pence  on,  178; 
spectrum  and  culmination  of,  179 ;  the  radiant  point 
of  the  Coronids,  179. 

3** 


Corona  Pirmiana,  177. 

Corona  Qnosida  (Cretica,  Gnossis),  174. 

Corona  Sagittarii,  173. 

Coronids,  The,  179;  radiant  and  duration  of,  179. 

Corvo,  179. 

Corvus,  various  names  of,  179 ;  noted  with  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  179;  Ovid  upon,  179;  in 
mythology,  179;  in  the  Metamorphoses,  180;  leg- 
ends and  figurings  of,  180,  181 ;  in  Arabic  astron- 
omy, 180;  the  Hindus  and,  181;  the  A  vesta  and, 
x8x;  in  Akkadian  nomenclature,  x8i;  known  to  the 
Hebrews,  181 ;  and  to  the  Chinese,  181 ;  in  Christian 
legend,  x8x;  minor  components  of,  182. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Corvus,  various  names  for,  181  ; 
the  Chinese  Yew  Hea,  181 ;  decrease  of,  in  bril- 
liancy, 181,  183 ;  change  in  color  of,  182. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Corvus,  name  and  derivation 
of,  182;  brightness  of,  182;  marks  nth  Chinese 
sieu,  182 :  culmination  of,  182. 

Delta  ( S)  of  Corvus,  titles  and  position  of,  182 ; 
components  and  position  angle  of,  182 ;  with  Alpha 
(a),  Beta  OS),  Gamma  (y),  and  Epsilon  («)  of  Cor- 
vus, the  xxth  nakskatra,  X82;  part  of  the  early 
Lion,  183. 

Cos,  183. 

Coumbum,  48. 

Coupe,  182. 

Couronne  Auatraie,  172. 

Couronne  Boreale,  174. 

Cousigneiros  and  Cousiniere,  397. 

Cowherd,  The,  58. 

Qparegha,  467. 

Qpur,  467. 

Crabba,  108. 

Crab  Nebula,  391. 

Crab,  The.    See  Cancer. 

Crane,  The.    See  Grus. 

Crann,  436. 

Crannarain  (Pleiades),  402 ;  (Ursa  Major),  436. 

Crater,  various  names  of,  182-184;  formation  and 
position  of,  182;  long  associated  with  Hydra  and 
Corvus,  183 ;  in  Greek  legend,  183 ;  with  the  Ro- 
mans, 183;  Hewitt  and,  183;  Brown  upon,  183; 
with  the  Jews,  183;  old  English  name  for,  183;  in 
early  Arabian  astronomy,  183;  in  the  A  (fonsine 
Tables,  183;  Riccioli's  names  for,  183;  part  of 
the  10th  sieu,  184;  Caesius  and  Schiller  upon, 
184;  in  astrology,  184;  minor  stars  of,  184  (un- 
der o). 

Alpha  (a)  of  Crater,  titles  of,  184 ;  decreased 
brilliancy  and  culmination  of,  184. 

Cratera,  183. 

Qravana,  21st  nakshatra,  59. 

Craver,  202. 

QravishthS,  200. 

Crayfish,  The,  109. 

Creation  Legend  (Epic  of  Creation),  The,  dis- 
covered by  George  Smith,  in  1872,  1,  2;  name  of 
the  signs  in,  2 ;  where  it  was  found,  2  (note) ;  date 
of  composition  of,  2  (note). 

Cressa  Corona,  174. 

Cretaeae  sive  Arctoe,  422. 

Creter,  183. 


5°2 


General  Index 


Crines  and  Crines  Berenices,  169. 

Qrob,  376. 

Croce,  184. 

Crocodile,  The,  272. 

Croisade,  184. 

Croix,  184. 

Qroni,  59. 

Crooked  Billet,  The,  74. 

Crooked  Serpent,  475. 

Crosers,  Crosier,  Crosiers,  and  Crossiers,  189. 

Cross,  The.    See  Crux. 

Crosse  Stars,  189. 

Cross,  in  Serpens,  375. 

Cross,  on  Sobieski's  Shield,  373. 

Cross  of  Calvary,  194. 

Cross  of  Jesus,  200. 

Croton  and  Crotos,  352. 

Crown  of  Ahasuerus,  177. 

Crown  of  Amphitrite,  174. 

Crown  of  Eternal  Life,  173. 

Crown  of  Thorns,  177. 

Crown  of  Vulcan,  174. 

Crow,  The.    See  Corvus. 

Crowned  Snake,  362. 

Crucero,  Cruciero,  Crusero,  Crusiers,and  Cru- 
zero,  188, 189. 

Crux,  various  names  of,  184-191 ;  unknown  to  the 
ancients  under  modern  title,  184;  with  Ptolemy 
was  part  of  the  Centaur,  184 ;  outlined  as  such  by 
Bayer,  184,  185 ;  Hipparchos  and,  185 ;  Pliny  and, 
185 ;  possibly  the  Sula  of  Al  Blrunl,  185 ;  Hewitt 
and,  185;  with  Whittier,  185;  time  last  seen  in 
Jerusalem,  185 ;  invention  attributed  to  Roycr,  but 
known  for  200  years  anterior,  185 ;  figured  by 
Mollineux  in  1592,  185;  other  figurings  of,  185; 
position  and  extent  of,  185 ;  more  like  a  kite  than  a 
cross,  185 ;  unnoticed  as  a  cross  till  mentioned  by 
Dante,  186,  187;  Vespucci  and,  187;  in  the  Lusi- 
adasy  187 ;  Owen  Meredith  on,  187 ;  frequently 
mentioned  in  16th-century  navigation,  187 ;  Piga- 
fetta's  term  for,  188;  other  terms  for,  188,  189; 
Cristoval  d'Acosta  names  it,  189;  religious  senti- 
ment and,  189 ;  Mrs.  Hemans  and,  189 ;  Von 
Humboldt  on,  189,  190;  with  the  Pareni  Indians, 
190;  Lockyer  and,  190;  in  Chinese  astronomy, 
190;  associated  with  Brazil,  190;  contains  the 
Coal-sack,  190;  with  the  Peruvians,  190;  minor 
stars  of,  191  (under  a). 

Alpha  (a)  of  Crux,  or  Acrux,  position,  du- 
plicity, and  culmination  of,  191. 

Crux  cum  S.  Helena,  194. 

Cujam,  246. 

Cuor  di  Carlo,  116. 

Cup  of  Christ's  Passion,  or  Cup  of  Joseph,  184. 

Cup  of  Noah,  248. 

Cup,  The.    See  Crater. 

Currus,  199,  427. 

Currus  Maris  or  Volitans  (Argo),  66. 

Curvus,  198. 

Cushiopeia,  145. 

Custos  Arcti,  93. 

CustoB  Erymanthidos  Ursae,  93. 

Custos  Boum,  96. 


Custos  Caprarum,  85. 

Custos  Buropae,  118. 

Custos  Hesperidum,  204. 

Custos  Messium,  various  names  of,  191;  funned 
by  La  Lande,  191 ;  origin  of  tide,  192;  uorecof- 
nized  now  by  astronomers,  192. 

Cybele,  46a. 

Cycno  Generati,  222. 

Cycnus  and  Cygne,  19a. 

Cygnus,  various  names  of,  192-195 ;  position  oC,  192: 
with  Eratosthenes,  192 ;  adopted  by  the  Roaac*. 
192;  various  legends  concerning,  192-194;  oeed 
the  Argonautic  constellations,  193 ;  possibly  £1* 
known  on  the  Euphrates,  193 ;  did  not  originals 
with  the  Greeks,  193;  in  Arabic  nomeadatore. 
193;  the  Al/ottsine  Tables  and,  193 :  Meier's  com- 
ment on  the  variants  of,  194 ;  usual  figuring  oC 
104 ;  identifications  of,  by  the  biblical  school,  194: 
Lowell  on,  194 ;  in  Smith's  Come,  Learn  of  tkt 
Stars,  194,  195;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  195;  Bir- 
mingham on,  195 ;  contains  the  Lace-work  Nebula, 
195 ;  minor  stars  of,  196-198. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Cygnus,  various  names  of,  195. 
196 ;  no  sensible  proper  motion,  196 :  parallax  aa) 
spectrum  of,  196 ;  culmination  of,  196. 

Beta  (0)  of  Cygnus,  various  names  of,  196; 
one  of  the  show  objects  of  the  sky,  196:  postwo 
angle  of,  196. 

Oamma  (y)  of  Cygnus,  197;  the  Chinese  Ties 
Tsin,  197 ;  location  and  spectrum  of,  197. 

Bpsilon  (<)  of  Cygnus,  position  of,  197;  de- 
tails concerning,  197. 

Omega1  (V)  of  Cygnus,  components  and  po- 
sition angle  of,  198. 

Pi1  (it1)  of  Cygnus,  tides  of,  197;  part  of  uk 
Chinese  Tang  Shay,  198. 

Cylenius  Tour,  228. 

Cyllarus,  213. 

Cyllenius,  330. 

Cynocephalus,  The  (Ara),  20,  64. 

Cynosura,  447. 

Cynosuris,  433. 

Daemon,  350. 

Dagaim,  338. 

Dagiotho,  339. 

DlgOn,  338,  345. 

Dancers,  400,  459. 

Danish  Elephant,  435. 

Dan-nu,  468. 

Dante,  on  Aquarius,  48;  et passim. 

Dark,  or  Northern,  Emperor,  338. 

Dar  Lugal,  366. 

Dark  8ign,  The,  109. 

Dark  Warrior,  The,  139,  338. 

Daull,  incorrectly  Daulo,  47. 

Dauphin,  198. 

David  and  Jonathan,  224. 

David  withjthe  head  of  Goliath,  331. 

Dayan  Bsiru,  Dayan  Same,  Dayan  Shisha, 

and  Dayan  Sidi,  206,  285. 
Dea  Syria,  338. 
Debilissima,  288. 


General  Index 


503 


Deborah,  145. 

Decachordum,  281. 

Decana,  The,  9;  Miss  Clerke  on,  9 :  various  names 

of,  9;  Manilius'  term  for,  9;  Firmicus  and,  10. 
Deer-slayer,  The,  13a. 
Deer,  The,  aof  144. 
Defectum  Sidus,  240. 
Deferens  caput  Algol,  330. 
Deferens  cathenam,  330. 
Deferens  leonem,  278. 
Deferens  psalterium,  28 1. 
De  la  Caille,  Abbe  Nicolas  and  his  Mtmoires 

and  Caelum  StelH/erum,  14 ;  it  passim. 
Delfino,  198. 
Deli,  47. 

Delle  Caustiche,  359. 
Delphin,  Delphis,  and  Delphyn,  198. 
Delphinua,  rarious  names  of,  198-200;  one  of  the 

smallest  constellations,  198 ;  in  all  astronomical  lit- 
erature has  borne  its  present  title,  198 ;  of  religious 

significance  in  Greece,  199;    the  sky  emblem  of 

philanthropy,  199;  in  Ovid,  199;  Manilius  on,  199  ; 
in  Cicero,  199 ;  other  legends  concerning,  199 ;  in 
Hindu  nomenclature,  200 ;  possibly  the  Euphratean 
Makhar,  200;  with  the  early  Christians,  200;  the 
Greek  title  adopted  by  the  Arabians,  200 ;  in  the 
Al/onsine  Tables,  200;  position  and  culmination 
of,  200;  in  Christian  nomenclature,  200;  minor 
stars  of  (under  a),  200. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Delphlnus,  strange  name  of,  200, 
201 ;  variability  of,  201. 

Beta  (0)  of  Delphinua,  strange  name  of,  200, 
201  ;  position  angle  of,  aox. 

Delta,  4x5. 

Delta  Aquarids,  53. 

Deltoton  and  Del  tot  urn,  415. 

Dem'eter,  461. 

Demon  and  Demon  8tar,  332. 

Denderah  Zodiac,  The,  109,  no;  et passim. 

Dercete,  Dercetis,  and  Dercia,  338. 

De  Rheita,  53;  9t passim. 

Derke,  or  Derketo,  338. 

Desanaus  and  Desanes,  240. 

Desmos,  34a. 

Deus  Libycus  (Aries),  78. 

Dew  (the  19th  sieu),  355. 

Dexter,  118. 

Dhamsu,  Dhanu,  Dhanasu,  and  Dhanus,  }54- 

Dhanishtha,  200. 

Dharind,  366. 

Dhruva,  456. 

Diadema  Coeli,  175. 

Diadem  of  Solomon,  173. 

Diamond  of  Virgo,  259,  469. 

Diana,  462. 

Dianae  Comes,  305,  421. 

Dianae  Sidua,  356. 

Didymi,  223. 

Dii  German!  and  Dii  Samothraces,  223. 

Dii  Syrii,  399 

Dik  Paye,  282. 

Dilgan  (a  Arietis),  80;  (a  Lyrae),  285. 

Dil-gan  I-ku  (or  Babili),  88. 


Dil-kar,  or  Askar,  80. 

DillmamVs  derivation  of  Mazz&rdth  a ;  et  passim. 

Diodaa,  241. 

Diodorus  (the  Sicilian),  on  the  origin  of  Egyptian 
constellations,  20;  et  passim. 

Dione,  399. 

Dionyaiua  Bxiguus,  on  the  stars,  27. 

Dioscuri,  223. 

Diota  (Two-eared  Jar),  46. 

Discus  parvus  confractus,  176. 

Distaff,  171. 

Dob  and  Dobh,  423. 

Dodecatemory  divisions,  Enoch  the  inventor  of,  2. 

Doe,  The,  zoo. 

Dog  of  Orion,  1x7. 

Dog  of  Set,  or  of  Typhon,  434. 

Dog  of  Tobias,  119,  133. 

Dog,  The,  78,  157. 

Dogs,  The  Barking,  466. 

Dog-star,  The,  120. 

Dol,  or  Dul,  47. 

Dolones  (Stimulus),  92. 

Dolphin  (Pisces),  341. 

Dolphin,  The.     See  Deipkinus. 

Dolphyne,  198. 

Domicilium  Solis,  252,  257. 

Dominus  Soils,  156. 

Domus  Veneris  nocturna,  383. 

Donkeys,  The,  m. 

Do  Patkar,  224. 

Dorado,  other  names  of,  201,  202 ;  derivation  of, 
201;  on  Gore's  planisphere  in  translation  of  VAs- 
tronomie  Populaire,  201 ;  in  the  Celestial  Handbook 
of  1892,  202 ;  Caesius  and,  203 ;  in  the  Rudolpkine 
Tables \  202 ;  location  of,  202 ;  near  the  nebula  30 
DoradQs,  202 ;  minor  components  of,  202. 

Doradus  and  Dorade,  20 1. 

DoradQs,  30,  location  of,  202. 

Dorsanes  and  Dosanes,  240. 

Double  Double  (in  Lyra),  288;  (in  Scorpio),  371. 

Double-headed  Shot  Nebula,  474. 

Double  Ship,  The,  139. 

Double  Sword,  362. 

Doubting  Thomas,  253. 

Drache,  202. 

Draco  (Cetus),  162  ;  (Hydra),  247. 

Draco,  various  names  of,  202-206 ;  title  of,  generally 
the  same,  202 ;  in  the  Latin  Tables,  203 ;  in  the 
Skield of  Hercules,  203 ;  in  mythology,  203 ;  Schil- 
ler upon,  203;  Caesius  and,  203;  with  the  Swedes, 
203 ;  Delitzsch's  assertion  concerning,  203 ;  Renan's 
idea  about,  203 ;  Proctor  on  its  change  as  to  the 
pole,  203;  in  Persia,  204;  in  Hindu  worship, 
204 ;  in  Babylonian  records,  204 ;  Rawlinson  upon, 
204 ;  probable  Chaldaean  figure  of,  204 ;  usual  figur- 
ing of,  204 ;  in  the  A  rgonauUcae,  204 ;  in  Vergil, 
204;  stars  of,  circumpolar  about  5000  b.  c, 
205 ;  much  observed  in  early  Egypt,  205 ;  on  the 
Denderah  planisphere,  205;  on  the  Ramesseum  at 
Thebes,  205;  Delitszch  on  this,  205:  symbol  of 
Egyptian  deities,  205;  Lockyer  upon,  205;  the 
Egyptians  and,  205 ;  close  to  Necht,  205  ;  among 
Arabian  astronomers,  205 ;   on  the  Borgian  globe, 


504 


General  Index 


905 ;  astrological  idea  of,  305 ;  on  Turkish  maps, 
305 ;  Bayer  and,  905 ;  Williams  and,  305 ;  Edkins 
concerning,  306 ;  extent  of,  306 ;  minor  components 
of,  307  (under  Beta  (j8) ),  infra. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Draco,  various  names  of,  306 ; 
among  seamen,  306;  in  China,  206;  Sayce  concern- 
ing, 706;  Brown's  opinion  concerning,  306 ;  location 
of,  in  3750  b.  c,  ao6;  seen  night  and  day  from  the 
central  passage  of  Cheops'  Pyramid,  307;  Her- 
schel  concerning  the  brilliancy  of,  307 ;  with  Bayer, 
307 ;  culmination  of,  307. 

Beta  (0)  of  Draco,  various  names  of,  307 ;  in 
early  Arab  astronomy,  307 ;  position  angle  of  com- 
panion of,  307 ;  in  China,  207. 

Gamma  (>)  of  Draco,  307 ;  other  names  of, 
307-309;  in  early  Arabic  astronomy,  308 ;  not  re- 
ferred to  by  FlrCtzabadi,  308 ;  familiar  to  seamen, 
308 ;  symbols  of,  208;  notable  in  all  ages,  308 ;  seen 
by  Hooke  in  daytime,  308 ;  Bradley  and,  208 ;  of 
early  importance  on  the  Nile,  308 ;  was  the  natural 
successor  of  Alpha  (a)  Ursae  Majoris  as  an  object  of 
temple  worship  in  Egypt,  208 ;  known  in  Egypt  as  Isis, 
208 ;  location  of,  308 ;  rising  of,  visible  at  Denderah 
and  Thebes,  308 ;  Lockyer  concerning,  308,  309 ; 
various  Egyptian  titles  of,  309;  worshiped  in  The- 
bes, 309 ;  location  of,  309. 

Delta  (6)  of  Draco,  various  names  of,  209 ;  Al 
TixinI  and,  309 ;  with  other  components,  the  Chi- 
nese Tien  Choo,  3 10;  Chinese  title  of,  310;  near 
the  north  pole  of  the  ecliptic,  3io. 

Zeta  (g)  of  Draco,  sometimes  Al  Dhi'bah,  and 
with  Eta  (v)  the  1'wo  Hyaenas,  210 ;  the  radiant  of 
meteor  streams  of  Jan.  19  and  March  28,  210. 

Eta  (ij)  of  Draco,  the  Chinese  ShangTsae,  210. 

Theta  (0)  of  Draco,  the  Chinese  Hea  Tsae,  310. 

Iota  (1)  of  Draco,  various  names  of,  3x0;  in 
China,  310;  radiant  of  the  Quadrantid  meteors,  sxo. 

Kappa  (*)  of  Draco,  a  future  pole-star,  458. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Draco,  various  names  of,  3 10, 
an ;  etymology  of,  sxo;  in  China,  2x1. 

Mu  (m)  of  Draco,  211;  names  of,  six;  modern 
location  of,  six. 

Xi  (£)  of  Draco,  names  of,  six,  3x3 ;  in  the  Alma- 
gest of  1515,  311 ;  Proctor  and,  213;  the  radiant 
point  of  the  Draco n ids,  313. 

8igma  (<r)  of  Draco,  location  of,  212 ;  deriva- 
tion of  name  of,  31 3 ;  one  of  our  nearest  stars,  312. 

Phi  (4)  of  Draco,  the  Chinese  Shaou  Pih,  313. 

Chi  (x)  of  Draco,  the  Chinese  Kwci  She,  sis. 

Pal  (*',  <i>2)  of  Draco,  names  of,  sis ;  the  Chi- 
nese Niu  She,  sis;  position  angles  of,  212. 

Omega  (*>)  of  Draco,  name  of,  3x2;   withy 
Draconis  the  Hyaena's  Claws,  3is. 
Draco  Lesbius,  374- 
Draconids,  The,  212. 
Drag-blod,  448. 
Dragon,  The.    See  Draco. 
Dragon,  several  in  China,  354, 364,  372,  356,  361. 
Dragon  (French)  and  Dragone  (Italian),  202. 
Dragon  (Leo  Minor),  364;  (Libra),  273. 
Dragon  of  Aetes,  246. 
Dragon's  Eyes,  The,  307. 
Dragon's  Head,  The,  307. 


Dragon's  Tail,  The,  206. 

Dramasa,  396. 

Draught  Oxen,  The  (of  the  She  King),  58. 

Dreieck,  4x4. 

Drossel,  4x8. 

Drought  Car,  389. 

Drum  or  Tabor,  338. 

Dsi,  376. 

Dub,  Dubbe,  and  Dubon,  433. 

Ductor  in  Linguae  (1617-1637),  15. 

Duf  hisa  Pakhixa,  464. 

Dumb-bell  Nebula,  474. 

Dumke,  446. 

Duo  Asini,  xix. 

Duo  Corpuscula,  334. 

Duo  Lupi,  210. 

Duo  Pavones,  334. 

Du  Paikar,  334. 

Dupuis,  traces  the  present  solar  zodiac  to  Egypt, 

19;  on  origin  of  names  in  Aquila,  56;  et  passim. 
DUrer,  Albrecht,  his  delineation  of  sky  figures,  28, 

39;  of  constellations,  39;  et/assim. 
Du-shisha,  133. 

Eagle,  The.    See  Aquila. 

Eagle,  The  (Sirius),  133. 

Eagle  (Lyra),  283;  (Scorpio),  363. 

Eagle  of  Military  Rome,  or  of  St.  John,  57- 

Bar  Jewel,  366. 

Earthly  Trigon,  The,  136. 

Easy  Chair,  The,  162. 

Bbioring  and  Ebtiorung,  310. 

Echidna,  347. 

Echiguen,  337. 

£crevisse,  107. 

Ecu,  or  Bouchlere,  de  Sobieaki,  373. 

Eculeus,  sis. 

Eden,  Rycharde,  13  and  note;  et/assim. 

Effigies  defects  labore,  340. 

Bffusio  Aquae,  51. 

Egypt,  said  by  some  to  nave  first  given  shapes  ad 
names  to  the  star  groups,  19 ;  her  early  cowtdb- 
tions  of  native  origin,  19 ;  present  solar  iodise  traced 
by  Dupuis  to,  19 ;  the  astronomy  of,  unsdesnfe, 
20;  our  ignorance  of  the  astronomy  of,  10;  »b 
connection  with  religion  in,  20;  et/assim. 

Egyptian  X,  The,  135. 

Eidechee  and  Bidexe,  251. 

Einhorn,  389. 

Einsiedler,  4x8. 

Blcorno,  450. 

Electa  and  Blectra,  406. 

Elektrisir  Machine,  389. 

Elephant's  Tusk,  355. 

Ell,  Ell  and  Yard,  or  El  wand,  316. 

El  Taur,  384. 

Blvarad,  184. 

Emansor,  180. 

Emperor,  Dark,  or  Northern,  338. 

Emuku  Tin-tir-Ki,  468. 

Engonasi,  Engonasin,  or  Engonasis,  139* 

Enoch,  the  inventor  of  the  Dodecatetitory  dhriaoos,  * 

Ensis,  316. 


General  Index 


505 


Ente-mae-murandl£ntena-ma8-luv,248, 276,369. 
Eoxu,  140. 

Boae  Atlantidee,  396. 
Eorosch,  181. 
Ephippiatus,  323. 
Epifl'f466. 
Epipataecua,  240. 
Equerrc  et  la  Regie,  293. 
Equea  and  Equee  Stellula,  330,  446. 
Equi  Caput  and  Bquiculus,  313. 
Equi  Praeaeetio  and  Equi  Sectio,  213. 
Equuleus   (Bculeus),  various  names  of,  212-314: 
location  of,  212  ;   Hood  upon,  213 ;  formed  by  Hip- 
parchos,    213;    but   not  published   by  him,   313; 
Ptolemy  and,  2x3;  with  later  astronomers,  213;  in 
the  Syntajeis,  Almagest  {\s%\),  and  Al/onsine  Ta- 
bles, 2x3;  with  the  Arabians,  2x3;  with  the  Hin- 
dus, 213 ;  with  the  mycologists,  2x3 ;  Caesius'  and 
Schiller's  names  for,  2x4;  culmination  of,  214. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Equuleus,  names  of,  2x4 ;  with 
Beta  (0)  the  Chinese  Sze  Wei,  2x4. 

Delta  (8)  of  Equuleus,  astronomical  tacts  con- 
cerning, 214. 
Epsilon  («)  of  Equuleus,  tacts  concerning,  214. 
Equuleus  Pict oris,  named  and  formed  by  La  Caille, 
214 ;  other  names  of,  214 ;  location  of,  2x4 ;    Kap- 
teyn's  discovery  in,  2x4. 
Equulua,  2x3. 
Equus,  213,  323. 

Equus  Alee  and  Equus  dimidiatus,  323. 
Equus  maaculue,  278. 
Equus  Neptunlus  (Argo),  66. 
Equus  Minor  and  Equus  Primus,  213. 
Equus  Pegasus,  323. 
Equus  posterior  and  Equus  volans,  323. 
Eratosthenes,  and  the  constellations,  xx;  on  the 

Centaur,  149  ;  et  passim. 
Ereote,  241. 

Erechtheue  (Auriga),  84. 
Erib-me-gali,  217. 
Eridan  and  Eridano,  215. 
BridanuB  (the  Milky  Way),  474. 
Eridanus,  The  River,  various  names  of,  2x5-217 ; 
divisions  of,   2s  5;    extent  of,   215;    anciently  re- 
garded as  of  indefinite  extent,  2x5 ;   with  modern 
astronomers,  215 ;  with  the  Greeks,  2x5 ;  in  Hesiod, 
215:  other  identifications  of,  2x5,  3x6;  association 
of,  with  the  Heliades,  2x6;  legend  concerning,  216; 
Eratosthenes  and  the  Scholiasts  upon,  216 ;  in  the 
Al/onsine  Tables,  216;  La  Lande  and,  216;  iden- 
tified with  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates,  216,  2x7; 
George  Smith  and,  2x7;  Landseeron,  2x7;  among 
the  Moors  and  Arabs,  2x7 :  Caesius'  name  for,  217 ; 
other  figurings  of,  217;  minor  components  of,  2x8. 
Alpha  (a)  of  Eridanua,  various  names  of,  217, 
ai8;  location  of,  217;  various  writers  on,  218 ;  one 
of  Dante's  Tre  Facelle,  218;  the  Chinese  Shwuy 
Wei,  ax8 ;  not  mentioned  by  Ptolemy,  2x8 ;  culmi- 
nation of,  ai8. 

Beta  ifi)  of  BridanuB,  names  of,  218;  loca- 
tion of,  218;  the  Chinese  Yuh  Tsing,  ax8. 

Gamma  (y1)  of  Eridanua,  names  of,  2x8 ;  with 
other  components  the  Chin  tse  Tien  Yuen,  218. 


Eta  (17)  of  Erldanus,  names  of,  etc.,  2x8,  219. 
Theta  (0)  of  Erldanus,  names  of,  219;  in  the 

At/bnsine  Tables,  219;  Bullialdus  on,  219;    Ric- 

cioli  and,  2x9 ;  visible  in  the  latitude  of  New  York 

in  early  winter,  219;  Baily  and,  219. 
Ornicron  (o1)  of  BridanuB,  219. 
Omicron(o')  of  Erldanus,  220;  the  AbW  Hell 

and,  23o ;  duplicity  of,  discovered  by  Herschel  in 

1783,  220;  great  proper  motion  of,  220. 
Tau  (r)  of  Eridanua,  220. 
Upsilon  (v1,  Vs)  of  Erldanus,  names  of,  220. 
Erigonaeus,  117. 
Erigone,  461,  467. 
Brigonius,  132. 
Erlgu,  59. 
Ermelia,  1x3. 
Erndtehiiter,  191. 
Brymanthis,  421. 
Escorpiun,  363. 
Btsen-tsiri,  248,  369. 
Eudemos,  on  the  sky  figures,  18. 
Eudoxos,  author  of  the  original  prose  •ait'opera, 

17,  18;  et  passim. 
Eupeutos  (or  Opeutus),  140. 
Euphratean  astronomy,  six  alternate  signs  of  the 

solar  zodiac  in,  x. 
Euaebius,  on  early  star  literature,  xv;  et  passim. 
Eve,  291. 

Exaltation  of  Venus,  34a 
Esor,  connection  of,  by  Hyde,  with  Mazzar&th,  2. 
Exra,  45x. 

Fa,  317- 
Paelis,  220. 
Fahne,  255. 

Pair  Star  of  the  Waters,  The,  124. 
Palco  sylvestris,  282. 
Palling  Grype,  283. 
Pals  Italica,  106. 
Pamily  of  Aquila,  60. 
Pang,  368. 
Parankhand,  292. 
Parahat  Bath,  326. 
Pasariva,  277,  473. 
Fascia  (the  Milky  Way),  3,  483. 
Pastashat,  469. 
Father  of  Light,  The,  139. 
Faulx,  The,  51. 
Fearr,  383. 

Felis  (Canis  Minor),  131. 

Felis  (Paelis),  formed  by  La  Lande  in  1805,  220; 
discontinued  in   charts   now,   221;    Proctor  and, 

22X. 

Peluco,  350. 

Peng  Shi,  358. 

Penice,  335. 

Pera,  278. 

Pera  major,  420. 

Fe  Yu,  347. 

Piaatik  and  Heteveny,  397. 

Pides  and  Pidls,  281,  285. 

Pidicen  and  Pidicula,  281,  285. 

Plery  Trigon,  The,  79. 


506 


General  Index 


Figliuola  di  Minoi,  La,  175. 

Pig-tree,  The,  254. 

Filia  Ursae,  430. 

Filiae  Tabernaculi,  397. 

Pioaakonur  a  lopti,  450. 

Pire,  27a. 

First  Star  in  Ariea  (y  Arietis),  8a. 

FlrfUfcbldi  (editor  of  A I  KdmUt),  5a. 

Fische,  336. 

Pish  (Ursa  Minor),  450. 

Fishes,  The.     See  Pisctt. 

Fishes  of  Hea,  or  la,  337. 

Fish-hook  of  Maui,  370. 

Fiskikallar,  313. 

Five  Reservoirs  of  Heaven,  78. 

Fixas,  336. 

Flagella,  in. 

Flame,  393. 

Flamingo,  The.    See  Grus. 

Flammiger,  156. 

Flamateed,  Dr. John,  14;  ttpatrim. 

Fleche,  349. 

Fleece,  The,  20. 

Fliege,  39a. 

FUegende  Fisch,  347. 

Flock  of  Clusterera,  394. 

Flood,  The,  248. 

Flumen  and  Fluss  Sridanua,  215. 

Fluviua,  215. 

Fluvius  Aquarii,  51. 

Plying  Fish,  The.    See  Piscts  Volant. 

Flying  Grype,  The,  56. 

Flying  Serpent,  251. 

Flying  Star,  The,  214,  446. 

Foal,  The.    See  EouuUus. 

Focus  (Ara),  63. 

Fold,  The,  93,  157, 449. 

Pomalhaut,  and  variants.  See  under  Alpha  (a)  of 
Piscis  Australisy  345-347. 

Pong,  368. 

Fontis  Musarum  Inventor,  321. 

Food-bearer,  The,  87. 

Poo  Chih,  165. 

Foo  Loo,  148. 

Poo  Pin,  350. 

Foo  Shay,  335. 

Foo  Sing,  446. 

Foo  Yue,  55. 

Fore  Shank,  434. 

Forficulae,  361. 

Former  AshldhI,  354. 

Fornax  Chemica  (or  Chymiae),  names  of,  221; 
formed  by  I-a  Caille,  221 ;  the  Chinese  Tien  Yu, 
22i;  Bode  and,  221;  the  lucida  of,  221;  culmina- 
tion of  the  lucida  of,  221. 

Portis  and  Fortissimus,  307. 

Fortune  (Virgo),  462. 

Fortune  fortunarum,  astrologers'  name  for  Beta 
O)  of  Aquarius,  52. 

Foaeorium,  350. 

Four  Royal  Stars,  256. 

Fovea,  133. 

Fox,  364. 


Frederic!  Honores,  221;  formation  and  other 
names  of,  331,  322;  published  by  Bode,  221;  cos- 
position  of,  22x;  description  of,  333;  seldom  men- 
tioned nOW,  333. 

French  Lilies,  The,  106. 
Ftere,  332. 
Friddo  Animal,  363. 
Friedrich'8  Ehre,  231. 
Prigge  Rok,  315. 
Fuebot,  315. 
Fuhrmann,  83. 
Fu  Kwang,  368. 
Fttllen,  3x3. 
Pundens  laticea,  46. 
Fundus  Vasis,  184. 
Fun  Mo  (The  Tomb),  52. 
Furiosus,  347,  307. 
Fusor  aquae,  51. 

Oabbara,  306. 

Gadjo,  136. 

Oalapago,  380. 

Galaxy,  The,  or  Milky  Way,  various  names  of, 
474-485;  fanciful  nomenclature  of,  474 ;  with  Greek 
writers,  474 ;  the  Homeric  figure  for,  474 ;  the  Ak- 
kadian idea  of,  474 ;  Brown  on  this,  474,  475 ;  witi 
the  Arabs,  475;  among  the  Hebrews,  475;  in 
China  and  Japan,  475;  with  the  Hindus,  47S> 
among  Latin  writers,  475;  in  poetry  and  pro*. 
476-1480;  universal  conception  of,  476;  with  die 
Norsemen,  476;  among  the  North  American  In- 
dians, 477;  among  the  early  Hindus,  477;  Paa- 
gonian  idea  of,  477 :  Anglo-Saxon  figuring  of,  477  • 
Minsheu  on,  477,  478;  in  Grimm's  Teutonic  My- 
thology, 479:  in  Germany  and  Sweden,  479:  ■ 
England  and  France,  480 ;  reason  for  general  titk 
of,  480;  Romieu  on,  481;  RiccioK  and,  4S1:  ° 
China,  481 ;  in  classic  folk-lore,  481 ;  Celtic  wk  of, 
481 ;  among  the  Peruvians,  482 ;  a  favorite  theme 
in  poetry,  482;  ignored  by  early  Greek  writers, 
483;  Dante  and,  483 ;  ancient  theories  concerning. 
483,  484 ;  Galileo  reveals  character  of,  484;  modem 
knowledge  of,  484,  485 ;  opinions  concerning.  4S5- 

Oalgal  Hammaxilftth,  the  Jews'  name  for  the  zo- 
diac, 2 ;  meaning  of,  2. 

Gallina  and  Oalina,  193,  194,  195. 

Qallinelle,  400. 

Qallue  (the  Cock),  Bartsch's  asterism,  75. 

'galtl,  correctly  'Agaltl,  429. 

Gam,  76. 

G«ng,  393. 

Ganymedes  and  Ganymede  Juvenis,  46. 

Ganymedea,  of  Antinous,  41 ;  of  Aquarius,  46. 

Ganymedes  Raptrix,  56. 

Garafaa,  303. 

Garnet  Star,  The,  158. 

Garrulua  proditor,  180. 

Gate  of  the  Gods,  136. 

Gate  of  Men,  107. 

Gateway,  375. 

Gatto,  33i. 

Gau,  359. 

Gaudium  Veneris,  383. 


General  Index 


507 


Gawthaf,  934. 

Gazelle,  444 

Gel,  366. 

Gelidae  Arcti,  440. 

Gelidus,  135. 

Gemat,  393. 

Qemeaux  and  Qemelli,  222. 

Geminae  Ursae,  420. 

Gemini,  various  names  of,  233-330;  antiquity  of 
oame  of,  333 ;  Dante  and,  333 ;  Cowley  and,  333 ; 
Owen  Meredith  and,  332;  with  Milton,  333;  in 
classic  writers,  333;  individual  names  of,  333; 
Welcke  and  the,  333 ;  with  the  Greeks,  333 ;  in  In- 
dia, 223;  on  a  Buddhist  zodiac,  333;  various  ascrip- 
tions of,  by  the  Jews,  323;  Hyde  and,  323;  Julius 
Pollux  and,  333 ;  much  uncertainty  as  to  stellar 
history  of  name  Jauzah  for,  333,  224 ;  in  the  1515 
Almagest  and  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  224:  with 
the  Persians,  224 ;  Kircber  and,  224 ;  legends  con- 
cerning, 224;  Paulus  Venetus  and,  224;  in  the 
Lsyden  MS.,  224;  Caesius*  figuring  of,  224;  on 
the  Denderah  planisphere,  224 ;  other  representa- 
tions of,  324,  *35 :  Sayce  concerning,  225 ;  in  classic 
days,  225 ;  in  Latin  history,  235 ;  on  coinage,  335 ; 
propitious  to  mariners,  335;  in  the  Fasti,  335; 
Cower' s  term  for,  335 ;  with  Horace,  325 ;  in  the 
Acts  0/  tks  A  jostles,  325;  connected  with  the 
electrical  phenomena  of  heavy  weather  at  sea,  226; 
Pliny  on  this,  326 ;  various  references  to  this,  226 ; 
modern  names  for  these  phenomena,  326 ;  Pigafetta 
and,  236:  various  poets  on,  226;  invoked  by  Greeks 
and  Romans  in  war  and  storm,  227 ;  with  Macaulay 
and  in  Homer's  Hymn,  328 ;  objects  of  adjuration 
in  Rome,  338 ;  and  in  modern  slang,  328 ;  in  as- 
trology, 328;  Albumasar  on,  328;  regarded  as 
connected  with  England,  328;  events  in  English 
history  attributed  to,  328;  in  Chinese  astrology, 
228;  Ampelius  on,  938;  colors  of,  328;  the  natal 
sign  of  Dante,  228 ;  in  the  Paradise,  239  ;  symbol 
of,  339;  origin  of  the,  339;  Brown  and  the 
symbol  of,  339 ;  prominent  on  the  Euphrates,  339 ; 
the  Ape  of  the  Chinese  solar  zodiac,  229 ;  Edkins 
on  this,  339;  the  Chinese  Yin  Yang,  339:  and 
Jidim,  239 ;  in  Ellis'  Polynesian  Researches,  339 ; 
Gill  upon,  339 ;  in  Australia  and  South  Africa,  339 ; 
Aristotle  and,  239;  location  of,  339. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Gemini,  various  names  of,  230- 
233;  with  the  Greeks,  330;  Caesius  and,  331; 
among  the  Babylonians,  331;  in  Assyria,  331 ;  wor- 
ship of,  331 ;  an  evil  portent  in  astrology,  231 ; 
with  the  Arabians,  231;  Ai  Tizinl  on,  231 ;  Al  Bi- 
runl  on,  331 ;  a  component  of  the  Chinese  Hoo 
Choo  and  Pih  Ho,  331 ;  other  identifications  of, 
231,  233;  location  of,  232;  decrease  in  brilliancy 
of,  333;  culmination  of,  232;  in  Tennyson,  232; 
Sir  John  Herschel  on,  232 ;  other  astronomers  and, 
23a ;  period  of,  333 ;  location  and  position  angle  of 
components  of,  333 ;  spectrum  of,  332 ;  Belopolsky 
upon,  333  ;  nebulae  near,  333. 

Beta  (0)  of  Gemini,  various  names  of,  333, 334 ; 
with  the  early  Arabs,  333 ;  in  Babylonian  astron- 
omy, 333 ;  location  of,  333 ;  5  companions  of,  333 ; 
parallax  and  spectrum  of,  333 ;  used  in  navigation, 


333 ;  in  astrology,  933 ;  Ptolemy  and  Bayer  on,  933; 
in  the  Alfonsine  Tablts,  933;  distance  from  a,  934. 
Gamma  (y)  of  Gemini,  various  names  of,  934 ; 
Riccioh  and,  334 ;  in  Babylonia,  334. 

Delta  (8)  of  Gemini,  various  names  of,  334 ; 
the  Chinese  Ta  Tsun,  334;  near  the  radiant  point 
of  the  Geminids,  334. 

Bpeilon  («)  of  Gemini,  335 ;  various  names  of, 
335 ;  forms  part  of  Chinese  Tung  Tsing,  335. 

Zeta  (£)  of  Gemini,  names  and  variants  of, 
335 ;  Lockyer  upon,  935. 

Eta  (n)  of  Gemini,  various  titles  of,  935,  936 ; 
the  Pish  Pai  of  the  Persians,  935 ;  various  astrono- 
mers on,  335;  with  the  Arabs,  335;  the  Chinese 
Yue,  335;  in  Babylonia,  335;  in  astrology,  335; 
variability  of,  discovered  by  Schmidt,  335;  period 
and  duplicity  of,  235 ;  Uranus  discovered  near,  336. 
Mu  00  of  Gemini,  names  of,  336,  337 ;  in  the 
dictionaries,  236;  in  Babylonia,  336;  in  China,  337. 

Geminids,  The,  334. 

Gemini  Lacones,  332. 

Gemini  Pisces,  337. 

Geminos  (the  Greek  author),  50 ;  et passim. 

Geminum  Astrum,  22s. 

Geminus  biformis,  151. 

Gemma,  Gema,  and  Gemma  Coronae,  178. 

Genam,  2x1. 

Geniculatus,  Genuflexns,  and  Qenunixus,  940. 

Geodesy,  early,  and  Canopus,  71. 

Georg's  Harfe,  or  George  Harffe,  347. 

Ge  Twisan,  993. 

Ghamb,  331. 

Ghanwand,  376. 

Ghathaf,  234. 

Ghav,  or  Gad,  380. 

Gherges,  57. 

GhezhdQm,  362. 

Giansar  and  Giauxar,  210. 

Giant,  The.    See  Orion. 

Giant  King  of  War,  354. 

GibbBr,  309. 

Globus,  162. 

Gideon's  Fleece,  265. 

Gigms,  306. 

Gilthead  Pish,  207. 

Girafe,  Giraffe,  and  Giraffe,  106. 

Girl,  399. 

Girtab,  369,  369. 

Gisbar-namru-sa-pan,  353. 

Gisda,  385. 

Gis-gan-gu-sur,  369. 

Gis-mes,  255. 

Gladius,  iox. 

Glaucus,  299,  374. 

Globes,  The  Arabic,  description  of,  43;  et passim. 

Globes,  Chilmead's  Learned  Treatise  on,  36. 

Globus  Aerostaticus,  formation  by  La  Lande, 
237;  position  of,  237;  unrecognized  now,  337; 
published  by  Bode,  237 ;  various  titles  of,  237. 

Globus  Pleiadum,  394. 

Glomerabile  Sidus,  393. 

Gloria  Frederic!,  221. 

Gluck  Henne,  399. 


508 


General  Index 


Gnoeia  Ardor  Bacchi,  176. 
Qnosia  Stella  Coronae,  178. 
God's  Eye,  385. 

Goei,  Koei,  or  Kwei,  the  sieu  in  Andromeda,  36. 
Goal  (or  Wei),  the  sieu  in  Aquarius,  51,  327. 
Got  (Capricorn us),  136. 

Golden  Cluck  Hen  and  her  five  Chicka,  399. 
Golden  Crown  of  the  Ammonite  King*,  177. 
Golden  Piah,  345. 
Golden  NuU,  307. 
Golden  Yard-arm,  3x6. 
Gold  Pield,  209. 
Goldfish,  The.    See  Dorado. 
Qtintsol,  446. 

Goodricke,  John,  an  amateur  observer,  158. 
Good  Messengers,  167. 
Good  Shepherd,  The,  86. 
Gooae,  a  Roman  name  for  Aquarius,  46. 
Gooae,  The,  80. 
Gorgonea  prima,  33a. 
Gorgonea  quarta,  335. 

Gorgonea  aecunda  and  Gorgonea  tertia,  334. 
Qorgoneum  Caput,  33a. 
Gorgonlfer  and  Gorgoniaue,  330. 
Gorgonia  Ore,  339. 
Gould,  Dr.  A.  B.,  xo;  et passim. 
Government,  The,  435. 
Grabatichel,  106. 
Gramas  ((  Librae),  978. 

Gramas  and  Graaaiaa  (in  Scorpio),  361,  367,  371. 
Grahadhlra,  456. 
Grand  Chien,  1x7. 
Grande  Ourse,  4x9. 
Grand  Nuaga,  095. 
Gratua  Iaccho  Crater,  183. 
Great  Chariot,  426. 
Great  Coffin,  433- 
Great  Dragon,  The,  203. 
Greater  Bear,  The.    See  Ursa  Major. 
Greater  Cloud,  The.    Sec  Nubecula  Major. 
Greater  Dog,  The,  x  x  7  et  see.    See  Cants  Major. 
Greater  Fish,  345. 
Great  Piah,  The,  soo. 
Great  Looped  Nebula,  909. 
Great  Nebula  (Andromeda),  39;  (Orion),  3x6. 
Great  Serpent,  474. 
Great  Spotted  Bull,  424. 
Great  Star  in  Heen  Yuen,  The,  257. 
Great  Storm  Bird,  181. 

Greeks,  The,  interested  in  the  heavens,  x8;   origi- 
nated scientific  astronomy,  19 ;  et  passim. 
Greip,  119. 

Griffin,  or  Eagle,  336. 
Grigirean,  436. 

Griglean  and  Grioglachan,  397- 
Griveneacoa,  nx. 
Groaperikie,  400. 
Groaae  Bar,  4x9. 
Groaae  Hund,  1x7. 
Groaae  Waeaerachlange,  Der,  046. 
Groaae  Wolke,  395. 

Grotius  and  star  nomenclature,  xi;  etpassmu 
Grue,  La,  937. 


Grumium,  an,  397. 

Grua,  237;  an  appropriate  title,  937;  other  saws 
for,  and  composition  of,  937,  938;  HonpoQooa. 
937;  with  the  Arabians,  937;  the  components  ef, 
937;  Caesius  on,  937;  Schiller  on,  937;  aiaor 
components  of,  938 ;  English  figuring*  at,  238. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Grua,  Al  Tizinfs  name  far,  J3S; 
the  Chinese  Kc,  338;  location  of,  938. 

Grua  aut  Ciconia,  300. 

Gu  (a  Water-jar  overflowing),  47. 

Guardena  of  the  north  pole,  459. 

Guardians  and  Guarda,  459. 

Gubernaculum,  67. 

Gui,  397. 

Guiam,  Gaiam,  and  Guyam,  946. 

Gula,  311. 

Gua-ba-ra,  957. 

Gu-sbi-rab-ba,  360. 

Gu-shir-kes-da,  xxa. 

Gut-an-na,  389. 

Habenifer,  85. 

Habena  capellaa  (haedoa,  hircum,  etc),  85. 
Hada  Kuttya,  479. 

Hadronitho  Demaluache,  Rkrioli's  "ChaMeu' 
title  for  the  solar  zodiac,  x ;  doubt  as  to  tab  oase,  1 
Haedi  and  Haedua,  90, 91. 
Haemonioa  Arcua,  359. 
Hae  Shan,  155. 
Hae  Shih,  75. 

Hafturengh  Kihin,  439,  450. 
Hafturengh  Mihin,  439. 
Hagjiler  Yuli,  481. 
Halley,  Dr.  Edmund,  13;  et  passim. 
HaUey  Nebula,  949. 
Han,  30a. 

Hand  of  Juatice,  360. 
Hand  of  the  Pleiadea,  144. 
Handle,  43»- 
Hannabeah,  195. 
Hana  Diimken,  446. 
Hapi,  381. 
Hapto-iringaa,  439. 
Harapha,  Harpa,  and  Hearpe,  982. 
Hare  (Scorpio)  of  China,  363. 
Hare,  The  (of  La  Lande),  so,  342, 
Hare,  The.    SceLepus. 
Harmawith,  479. 
Harnacaff,  144. 
Harpa  Georgii,  347. 
Harpechruti,  994. 
Harp-atar,  985. 
Har'undo,  350. 

Harvest-keeper,  The.    See  Cmstm  Mtssmm- 
Haae,  964. 
Haehteher,  904. 
H'aall,  correctly  K*aU,  71, 125. 
Haaieadra,  and  Delta  (*)  Aqitarii,  53* 
Haata,  182. 
Haatorang,  256,  346. 
Haupthaar,  x68. 
Hauritor  aquae,  46. 
Haualicky  am  Nebft,  9*2. 


General  Index 


509 


Hea,  or  Hoa,  904. 

Head  and  Tail  of  the  Dragon,  ao8,  349. 

Head  of  Meduaa,  332. 

Heang  Low,  or  Kiang  Leu,  78. 

Heart  of  the  Royal  Lion,  356. 

Hea  Tae,  443. 

Hea  Taae,  aio. 

Heavenly  Chariots,  The,  354. 

Heavenly  Dog,  184. 

Heavenly  Plough,  431. 

Hebrew  Sinner,  267. 

Heels  (in  Sagittarius),  355. 

Heft  Averengh,  or  Heft  Rengh,  432,  450. 

Helenae  Genitor,  193. 

Hel'ice,  or  Hel'ike,  433,  438. 

Hen,  The,  193. 

Hencoop  and  Hen  with  her  Chickens,  399. 

Heniochus  (Auriga),  84. 

Herculea,  350. 

Hercules  and  Heraclus  (0  Geminorum),  233. 

Hercules,  location  of,  338;  one  of  the  oldest  sky 
figures,  338 ;  first  known  to  the  Greeks  as  Engonasi, 
339  •  various  names  of,  339-243 ;  origin  of,  myste- 
rious, 339;  other  figurings  of,  339;  Eratosthenes  on, 
339;  connection  of,  with  Euphratean  mythology, 
339;  an  object  of  worship  in  Phoenicia,  239;  every- 
where of  importance,  339;  in  the  Tetrabiblos, 
340;  first  found  in  the  Catasterisms,  340;  Panya- 
sis  and,  340;  various  other  figurings  of,  340-243; 
in  the  4th  edition  of  the  Alfonsine  Tables,  341 ; 
Bayer  and,  24 x ;  Hyde  and  Flammarion  on,  341 ; 
general  drawing  of,  341 ;  on  the  Farnese  globe,  341 ; 
in  the  Ltyden  MS.,  341 ;  Bayer's  figuring  of,  341  ; 
the  Venetian  illustrator  of  Hyginus  and,  343 ;  with 
the  biblical  school,  342  ;  Schiller  and,  343 ;  with  the 
Arabs,  243 ;  the  Halley  nebula  situated  in,  24s ; 
minor  components  of,  344. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Hercules,  343 ;  various  names 
for,  343 ;  with  the  nomads,  343 ;  the  Chinese  Ti 
Tso,  243;  a  component  of  the  Chinese  Ho,  343; 
variability  and  culmination  of,  343. 

Beta  (j9)  of  Hercules,  various  names  of,  343, 
244;  in  the  Arabo-Latin  Almagest,  344;  Bayer 
and  Ideler  on,  344;  the  Chinese  Ho  Chung,  344; 
spectrum  of,  344. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Hercules,  344;  the  Chinese 
Ho  Keen,  344. 
Zeta  (0  of  Hercules,  facts  concerning,  244. 
Theta  (0)  of  Hercules,  244;  the  Chinese  Tien 
Ke,  244. 

Kappa  (*)  of  Hercules,  various  tides  of,  244 ;  a 
component  of  the  Chinese  Tsung  Tsing,  344;  with 
the  Dorians,  244 ;  various  locations  of,  244. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Hercules,  various  names  of, 
344;  Bayer  and,  244;  Burritt  upon,  244,  245;  the 
Chinese  Chaou,  245 ;  the  vicinity  of,  the  Apex  of 
the  Sun's  Way,  changed  by  recent  observations, 
345;  details  concerning  this,  345. 

Mu  GO  of  Hercules,  345;  the  Chinese  Kew 
Ho,  345. 

Nu  (r)  and  Xi  ($)  of  Hercules,  components  of 
the  Chinese  Chung  Shan,  246. 
Omega  (»)  of  Hercules,  facts  concerning,  246. 


Herculeum  Astrum,  353. 

Herculeus  and  Herculeus  Leo,  353. 

Herd  of  Camels,  398. 

Herdsman,  The,  93. 

Her  Majesty  of  Denderah,  133. 

Hermidone,  343. 

Hermippus,  199. 

Heros  Tirynthius,  241. 

Heroum  Sedes,  480. 

Herschel,  Sir  John,  10;  attempts  to  reform  stellar 
system  (1841),  but  unsuccessfully,  16;  et  passim. 

Herwagen,  Horwagen,  and  Hurwagen,  428. 

Hers  Karls,  xx6. 

HSs,  or  HSts,  350. 

Hesiod,  3;  et  passim. 

Hesiri,  120. 

He»-mut,  305. 

Hesperides,  396. 

Het'e  wa'ne,  397. 

Heu,  Hlu,  or  HU,  53. 

Heuen  Ko,  103. 

Heu  Leang,  55. 

Heung  Woo,  or  Heung  Wu,  22,  52. 

Hewel  (Hevelius),  Johann,  13;  et passim. 

Hewitt,  J.  P.,  on  Altair,  59;  et passim. 

Hilde  Strasse,  479. 

Hinde,  446. 

Hind's  Crimson  8tar,  269. 

Hindu  astronomy,  20,  ax ;  Arabic  and  Greek  in- 
fluence on,  20,  21 ;  et  passim. 

Hing  Chin,  171. 

Hinnulus,  2x3. 

Hipparchos,  divides  zodiac,  6;  names  constella- 
tions, xo,  xi ;  Pliny  on,  xx ;  date  of  observations  of, 
xi ;  et  passim. 

Hippolytus,  84. 

Hippopotamus,  The,  20,  205. 

Hircinus  Sidus,  135. 

Hlrcus,  86. 

Hircus  Corniger,  135. 

Hirondelle,  399. 

Historia  Coelestis  Britannica,  14. 

Hiuen  Hiau,  139. 

Hiuen  Ying,  47. 

Ho,  243,  303. 

Ho  Choo,  231. 

Ho  Chung  and  Ho  Keen,  244. 

Ho  Koo  (a,  fi,  7  Aquilae),  60. 

Holy  Innocents  of  Bethlehem,  203. 

Homer,  did  not  mention  zodiac,  3;  et  passim. 

Ho  Neaou,  336. 

Hood,  Thomas  (1590),  xi;  et  passim. 

Hoo  She,  130. 

Horace,  on  Aquarius,  46;  et  passim. 

Home,  450. 

Horologium  Oscillatorium,  location  and  names 
of,  246;  a  variable  component,  246;  rarely  men- 
tioned, 246 ;  on  Whitall's  planisphere,  246. 

Horoscope,  246. 

Horoscope  of  the  World,  108. 

Horse,  or  Horseman  (Sagittarius),  354. 

Horse,  The  (Leo),  254. 

Horseman,  The  (Gemini),  333. 


5io 


General  Index 


Horse's  Head  (Equuleus),  3x3. 

Horse  and  his  Rider,  446. 

Horseshoe  Nebula,  373. 

Horus,  85,  307. 

Horus  Apollo,  434. 

Horus  the  Elder  and  Horus  the  Younger,  334. 

Hostia  and  Hostiola,  378. 

Hounds,  The,  115* 

House,  340,  365. 

House  of  Jupiter,  356. 

House  of  Mars,  79,  364. 

House  of  Mercury,  298,  464. 

House  of  Saturn,  49, 136. 

House  of  the  Pive  Emperors,  78. 

House  of  the  Moon,  108. 

House  of  the  Sun,  953. 

House  of  Venus,  374. 

How,  30X. 

How  Kung,  460. 

Hridroga,  48. 

Hrusa,  385. 

Hucru,  47a. 

Hulde  Strasse,  479. 

Hunt,  William  Holman,  and  the  Arab  shay kh,  33. 

Hunter,  The.    See  Orion. 

Hunter,  The  (Sinus),  X22. 

Hunter  with  his  two  Dogs,  433. 

Hunting  Dogs,  The.    See  Comes  Venatici. 

Hurru,  366. 

Hutabhuj,  390. 

Hwa  Kae,  106, 159. 

Hwan  Chay,  301,  303. 

Hyades,  The  (a,  0\  P,  y,  8,  «  of  Taurus),  famous 
in  classic  days,  386 ;  in  mythology,  387 ;  anciently 
seven,  are  only  six  now,  387 ;  different  authors  give 
different  numbers  of,  387;  in  Homer,  387;  with 
other  Greeks,  387;  various  authors  on,  387,  388; 
other  Latin  names  for,  388 ;  in  Arabia,  389;  stormy 
character  of,  389;  among  the  Hindus,  389;  in 
China,  389;  with  the  biblical  school,  389;  Anglo- 
Saxon  titles  of,  389. 

Hyadum  I  and  Hyadum  II,  390,  391. 

Hyde,  Dr.  Thomas,  translator  of  the  Tables  of 
Ulug  Beg,  a ;  inventor  of  the  term  cunei/armes,  3 
(note) ;  translator  of  Al  Tuini's  work,  a ;  his  deri- 
vation of  "  Mazzardth,"  3 ;  et passim. 

Hydra,  of  Chaldaea  (Libra),  376. 

Hydra,  various  names  for,  346-349 ;  one  of  the  Ar- 
gonautic  constellations,  347;  in  Ovid,  347;  various 
astronomers  upon,  347;  in  the  Arabo-Latin  Al- 
magest, 347;  La  Lande's  title  for,  347;  general 
representation  of,  347;  Noctua  recently  added  to, 
348 ;  in  the  constellations  of  the  biblical  school  as- 
tronomy, 348;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  248;  in 
Hindu  astronomy,  348 ;  various  components  of,  in 
Eastern  star  systems,  348 :  in  Euphratean  uranog- 
raphy,  348 ;  in  Egyptian  astronomy,  248 ;  modern 
extent  of,  348;  Gesnerand,  248;  visibility  of,  249; 
Al  Sufi  and,  249 ;  minor  components  of,  249,  250. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Hydra,  various  names  of,  349; 
Caesius  and,  249;  with  the  Arabs,  249;  Tycbo's 
name  for,  249 ;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  249 ;  culmi- 
nation of,  249. 


Beta  (fi)  of  Hydra,  with  Xi  <£),  the  Qukk 
Tsing  Kew,  249. 
Epsilon  (c)  of  Hydra,  facts  concerning,  249- 
Iota  <t)  of  Hydra,  the  Chinese  Ping  Sing,  34$. 
Kappa  («)  of  Hydra,  with  others,  Al  Ssffs 
Al  Sharasif,  349. 

Xi   (£)  of  Hydra,  with  Beta  0),  the  Ctine* 
Tsing  Kew,  249. 
Hydra  et  Corvus  et  Crater,  183, 
Hydra  et  Crater  and  Hydra  et  Corvus,  247. 
Hydre,  246. 
Hydre  Male,  250. 

Hydridurus,  Hydrocho6s,andHydrochoos,4C. 
Hydros  and  Hydros,  247. 

Hydras,  distinct  from  Hydra,  350;  position  aad 
other  names  of,  250;  in  the  nomenclature  of  the 
biblical  school,  350;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  353; 
0  the  lucida  of,  350. 
Hyre'ldes,  Hyriades,  and  Hyriea  proles,  30S. 

Iasides,  156. 

Iasonia  Carina  (Argo),  66. 

Ibis,  or  Swan,  353* 

Ibis,  White,  The,  emblem  of  Egyptian  zodiac  2. 

Ibn  Bsra.    See  A  ben  Ezra. 

Icarii  Boves,  95. 

Icarium  Astrum  and  Icarius,  xx8, 132. 

Icarus,  or  Icarius,  95, 133. 

Ichiguen,  337. 

Ichthues,  337. 

Ideler,  on  star-names,  xi;  translator  of  £axviaL 
xvi ;  on  origin  of  the  constellations,  sa;  etpaism 

Idra,  Idrus,  and  Idrus  Aquaticus,  246,  247. 

Idxu,  376. 

Idxu  Zamama,  56,  59. 

Ighnuna,  376. 

Ignitabulum  (Ara),  62. 

Ignota  Facias,  340. 

Ihlilagji,  450. 

Ikhma,  3x8. 

I-kuandl-ku-u  (a  Arietis),  80;  (Aldebaran),  385. 

Ilderim,  Shaykh,  in  Ben  Hur%  xii 

Illuminator  of  the  Great  City,  354. 

Imago  laboranti  slmilis,  241. 

Imbrifer,  135. 

Imbrifer  Duo  Pisces,  337. 

Imma,  47. 

Imperial  Chariot,  x8x. 

Inachides,  330. 

Inachis,  379. 

Incalurus,  105. 

Incenaus,  156. 

Incumbent  in  genibus,  340. 

Incurvatus  in  genu,  340. 

Indian,  The.    See  Indus. 

Indianer,  Indiano,  and  Indien,  350. 

Indus,  other  names  of,  350,  251 ;  figuring  and  loca- 
tion of,  250,  351 ;  one  of  Bayer's  new  cossteUatiofl&. 
350;  with  Flamsteed,  350;  Schiller  and,  %y\  d* 
Chinese  Pe  See,  251. 

Inflammatus,  156. 

Ingenicla  Imago  and  Ingeniclus,  240. 

Ingeniculatus  and  Ingeniculus,  24a 


General  Index 


511 


Inkalunia,  105. 

Inner  Throne  of  the  Five  Emperors,  156. 

Innum,  an  Akkadian  name  for  the  solar  zodiac,  1. 

Insidiata,  365. 

Inthronata,  143. 

Invakft  and  Invall,  3x9. 

x©»  379- 

Irene,  463. 

Iringea  Uueg,  Weg,  or  Wee,  478. 

Irmines  Wagen,  438. 

Isaac,  367. 

Ishi,  a76. 

Ishmael,  353. 

Isis,  366,  381,  46a. 

Isis  (Mu  (m)  of  Canis  Major),  131. 

Isis   (Hathor,  Sati,   8atit,  80th is),   133,    134, 

305. 
Isis  (Taurt  Isis),  208. 
Istar,  or  Ishtar,  463. 
Isus  Trikind*,  3x5. 
Ittha,  338. 
Ivy  Wreath,  171. 
'IyQthft,  87,  385. 
Ixion,  341. 

Jabhah,  Alf  the  8th  manxil,  357,  359. 
Jackal,  334. 
Jackal  of  Set,  450. 
Jack  on  the  Middle  Horse,  446. 
Jacob  (Auriga),  86;  (on  the  nice  of  the  moon),  367; 
(Orion),  3x0. 

Jacob,  allegorical  images  of  his  blessing  the  signs  of 
the  Via  Solis,  a. 

Jacob's  Rod  and  Jakob  Stab,  3x5. 

Jaculum,  350. 

Jagdhunde,  1x4. 

Jakob's  Strasse  and  Jakob's  Weg,  479. 

Janitor  Lethaeus,  xx8. 

Japan,  ideas  in,  as  to  purpose  of  stars,  33. 

Jason,  399. 

Jidim,  339. 

Jth,  378,  338. 

Jin  Ma,  356. 

Jiray,  a3x. 

Joachim  and  Anna,  88.,  x6a. 

Joash,  the  King  of  Israel,  35a. 

Job,  351. 

Job's  Coffin,  aoo. 

Joculator,  353. 

John  of  Trevisa,  on  Aquarius,  48. 

John  the  Baptist,  as  Aquarius,  6,  46. 

Joo  Tseo,  331. 

Jordan,  The,  3x7. 

Jordanus,  1x5. 

Joseph,  the  dream  01,  and  the  zodiac,  a. 

Joseph  the  Patriarch,  383. 

Josephus,  connects  the  xs  stones  of  the  high  priest's 
breastplate  with  the  xa  signs  of  the  zodiac,  3 ;  sup- 
ported by  St.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  3 ;  declares 
Abraham  famous  for  celestial  observations,  a ;  says 
Abraham  taught  the  Egyptians,  3. 

Joshua,  310, 

Jostandis,  144. 


Jovis  Ale  a,  Jo  via  Nutrix.or  Armiger  (Aquila),  56. 

Jovis  et  Junonis  Sidus,  353. 

Jovis  Nutrix  (Capella),  86. 

Jovis  Sidus  (Aries),  78. 

Judas  Iscariot,  367. 

Judas  Thaddaeus  (Aquarius),  46. 

Juga,  373. 

Jugula  and  Jugulae,  ixx,  306,  315. 

Jugum  (Lyra),  383,  387. 

Jugum.    See  Libra. 

Jui,  or  Tui,  317. 

Juka,  373. 

Julius  Caesar,  his  need  of  an  astronomer  in  reform- 
ing the  calendar,  19;  compelled  to  call  the  Greek 
Sosigenes  to  his  aid,  19. 

Junckfraw  and  Jungfrau,  460. 

Junonis  astro m,  49. 

Jupiter  Ammon  and  Jupiter  Libycus  (Aries),  78. 

Justa,  or  Justitia,  46a. 

Juvenca  Inachia,  379. 

Juvenis  and  Juvenis  gerens  aquam,  46. 

Juvenis  Aequoreus,  156. 

Jyesthi,  366. 

Kabarnlt,  or  Karbana  (a  Carinae),  67, 68. 

Kae  Uh,  55. 

Kahi  Nub,  68. 

Kaht,  343- 

Kak-ban,  133. 

Kakkab  Bir,  366. 

Kakkab  Dan-nu,  470. 

Kakkab  Kasti,  123. 

Kakkab  Kastu,  354. 

Kakkab  Kua,  a6o. 

KakkablLik-ku,  123. 

Kakkab  Mulu-iai,  471. 

Kakkab  Nammax,  53. 

Kakkab  Paldars  (Pallika,  or  Palura),  134. 

Kakkab  Sar,  3x1,  3x8. 

Kakkab  Su-gub  Gud-EUm,  379. 

Kak-shidi,  or  Kak-shisha  (Sirius),  xaa. 

Kak-ahisa  (Antares),  366. 

Kalakang,  xo8. 

Kal-bu  and  Kal-bu  Sa-mas,  123. 

Kalevan  Miekka,  3x5. 

Kalitsah,  4*»- 

Kallisto  (Callisto),  431. 

Kalpeny,  5a. 

KamSn  (Sagittarius),  353. 

Kang,  473- 

Kang  Che,  100. 

Kang  Ho,  106. 

Kannae,  463. 

Kenya  and  Kauni,  463. 

Kaou  Pin,  202. 

Kapi,  X56,  434. 

Karka  and  K  ark  at  an,  108. 

Karlaeiche,  349. 

Karls  Vagn,  437. 

Karl  Wagen,  438. 

Ksrteek,  or  Kartiguey,  393. 

Kfisah  Shekesteh,  176. 

Kash-shud  Sha-ka-tar-pa,  303. 


512 


General  Index 


Kathaca,  108. 

Katze,  aax. 

Kaurba  and  Kaurpya,  363. 

Kaxhdum,  36a. 

$azwlni,  on  star-names,  xiv ;  et  passim. 

Ke,  338. 

Keats,  on  Aquarius,  55;  et  passim. 

Keen  Pi,  373. 

Keeper,  355. 

Keepers,  438. 

Ke  Kwan,  155,  379. 

Kelbl  Qabbiri,  incorrectly  Kelbo  Qavoro,  1x9. 

Kelebh  hannlbfth,  93. 

Kennel  Corner  of  the  Barking  Dogs,  464, 466. 

Keo,  3x8. 

Keok,  or  Qnik,  468. 

Kepler,  edits  Tycho's  catalogue,  13;  et  passim. 

Kepler's  Star,  300. 

Kertko,  353. 

Ke  Seuen  Ke,  438. 

Kesheth  and  geshtt,  353. 

K«sll,  7X,  X35,  308,  3x3,  36s,  385. 

Keuen  She,  333. 

Keu  Hea,  no. 

Kew  Heang,  473. 

Kew  Ho,  345. 

Kew  Yew,  319,  360. 

Keyhole  Nebula,  The,  surrounding  ij  Cannae,  74. 

Khachman,  37a 

Khambalia,  47a. 

Khamshish,  355. 

Kharthian,  366. 

Khatsar,  53. 

Khawlya,  3x5. 

Khem,  331. 

Khigalla,  334. 

Khoritos,  467. 

Khosha,  or  Khusik,  463. 

Khonsu,  and  Canopus,  70. 

Khumba  (Kumbaba),  48. 

Ki  (sieu),  355,  358 ;  in  Babylonia,  464. 

Kien  Mun,  348. 

Kien  Sing,  359. 

Killukturset,  397. 

KIml  and  Kimlh,  385,  389,  393. 

Kim-mut,  304. 

Kimtu,  or  Kimmatu,  393. 

King,  C.  W.,  on  symbols  of  signs,  49. 

King  David's  Chariot,  436. 

King  David's  Harp,  2S2. 

King's  Horse,  3x4. 

King  Solomon,  157. 

Kin  Neu,  38x. 

Kin  Yu,  aoa. 

Ki6,  468. 

Kircher,  Athanasius,  3 ;  et  passim. 

Kislev,  309. 

Kit,  355 

Kite,  363. 

Klaria,  311. 

Klelne  Bar,  447. 

Kleine  Hund,  Der,  131. 

Kleine  Lowe,  363. 


Kleine  Pferd,  ax3. 

Kleine  Wasaerachlange,  Der,  350. 

Kleine  Wolke,  395. 

Klusos,  a  Coptic  lunar  station,  3x8. 

Kneeling  Camel,  The,  144. 

Knife,  353. 

Ko,  the  ancient  aad  suu%  5a. 

Koei,  or  Kwei,  338. 

KoiiHghi  and  Usun  Koirughi,  363. 

Kolanxa,  xox. 

KoleOn,  the  Coptic  Musca  Boreabs,  393, 

Koo  Low,  154. 

Koo  She,  73. 

Korneforos,  Kornephoros,  Kornephorut,  343- 

Ko  Sing,  Tycho's  ncva,  147. 

Ko  Taou,  144. 

Kow  and  Kow  Kwo,  360. 

Kow  Ching,  437. 

Kow  Kin,  373. 

Kranlch,  Der,  337. 

Kratu  (a  Ursae  Majoris),  437. 

Krebs,  or  Krippe,  107. 

Kreus,  184. 

Krittikl,  393,  393. 

Kriya  (Aries),  78. 

Kshlra,  the  Hindu  Galaxy,  475. 

Ku.    See/**. 

Kuen  She,  130. 

Kuen  Teing,  268. 

Kugha,  Aquarius  in  Turkey,  47. 

Kuh,  143. 

Kulira,  108. 

Kullat  Nunu,  343. 

Kung,  5,  xxo. 

Kurra,  181. 

Kusam,  the  ancient  xxth  sieu,  x8a. 

Kut,  xxo, 

Kuton,  a  Coptic  lunar  station,  36,  343. 

Ku-ur-ku  (Seat  of  Flowing  Waters),  47- 

Kuxi  (Aries),  78. 

Kwa  Chaou,  aoo. 

Kwan,  439. 

Kwan  Kew,  390. 

Kwan  Soo,  177. 

Kwan  Wei,  xi4. 

Kwei,  the  6th  sieu,  no;  in  Ursa  Major,  435- 

Kwei  She,  axs. 

La  Caille,  charts  of,  14 ;  on  Argo,  64 ;  etpsssm- 

Lacerta,  names  and  formation  of,  351 ;  figuring*  aad 
components  of,  351;  location  of,  351 ;  Hcveliusaoi 
351 ;  part  of  the  Chinese  Frying  Serpent,  as1- 

Beta  (0)  of  Lacerta,  the  radiant  point  of  the 
Lacertids,  351 . 

Lacertids,  The,  251. 

Lace-work  Nebula,  The,  195, 

Laconian  Key,  143. 

Ladder,  479. 

Ladle,  436. 

Ladon,  304. 

Lake  of  Fullness  (Aries,  Taurus,  Gemini),  78- 

La  Lande,  his  constellations  14  '•  et  passim. 

Lamash  (Denebola  in  Babylonia),  358. 


General  Index 


513 


Lamp  and  Lampe  alt  Nuru,  273,  374. 

Lampadaa  (tbe  Hyades),  388. 

Lanceator,  97. 

Lance-star  (Antares  or  Procyon),  366. 

Landseer,  John,  17  (see  also  note) ;  author  of  Sa- 
baean  Researches,  17. 

Lang  Hoo  (Sinus),  135. 

Lang  Taeang  and  Lang  Wei  (stars  of  Coma),  171. 

Laniger  (Aries),  76. 

Lanx  xneridionalis  and  aeptentrionalia,  275, 976. 

Laocodn  (Ophiuchus),  299. 

Laou  Jin  (Canopus),  71. 

La  Place,  on  origin  of  sky  figures,  x6 ;  et  passim. 

Lar  (Ara),  6a. 

Larmes  de  Saint  Laurent,  335. 

Laterak,  471. 

Latrator  Anubis  (Sirius),  iax. 

Latter  AahldhI,  the  19th  nakshatra,  354. 

Laxy  Team,  453- 

Leaders  of  the  Celestial  Host,  337. 

Leaena  (Leo  Minor),  363;  (Lupus),  378. 

Leang  (6  Ophiuchi),  303. 

Lebre  and  Lapre,  364. 

Ledaean  Lights  and  Ledaean  Stars,  333. 

Ledaei  Pratres  and  Ledaeum  Sidus,  333. 

Ledaei  Juvenes,  333. 

Lee  Sze,  303. 

Leen  Taou,  s88. 

Left  Bye,  The  (Aldebaran),  384. 

Leg,  The,  145- 

Lei  (a  Tear),  54. 

Leier,  380. 

Lenkutch,  xo8. 

Leo  marinus,  378. 
Leo  (Cetus),  163. 

Leo,  various  names  of,  353-355;  location  of,  353; 
Ptolemy  and,  353;  in  classic  myth,  353;  with  Ovid  and 
Manflius,  353;  the  emblem  of  heat,  353 ;  in  astrology, 
353;  with  ancient  physicians,  353;  in  meteorology, 
253;  Pliny  upon,  353 ;  referred  toon  the  walls  of  the 
Ramesseum  at  Thebes,  253;  figured  on  the  Dende- 
rah  planisphere,  253;  partly  included  in  the  Egyptian 
stellar  Lion,  353 ;  Eastern  titles  of,  all  mean  Lion, 
253 ;  tribal  sign  of  Judah,  353 ;  Landseer  on  this, 
353;  in  figurings  of  the  biblical  school,  353;  on 
Ninevite  cylinders,  353 ;  in  other  Eastern  systems, 
353 ;  Hewitt  and,  353 ;  always  identified  with  the 
sun,  353 ;  in  heraldry,  354 ;  different  from  the  early 
Arabic  Asad,  354 ;  with  early  Hindu  astronomers, 
354 ;  in  Arabian  astronomy,  354 ;  in  the  Chinese 
solar  zodiac,  354;  adopted  by  China  in  x6th  cen- 
tury, 354;  symbol  of,  354;  derivation  of  symbol 
of,  354 ;  hieroglyph  of,  among  the  symbols  of  Mith- 
raic  worship,  355 ;  on  coinage,  355 ;  drawings  of,  255 ; 
minor  components  of,  their  locations  and  names,  365. 
Alpha  (a)  of  Leo,  various  names  of,  355-258 ; 
origin  of  names,  355;  in  Babylonian,  Hindu  and 
Sogdian  astronomy,  255;  in  Persian  astron- 
omy, .  355,  356 ;  among  the  Turanians,  356 ; 
in  Akkadia,  356;  at  Nineveh,  356;  in  Arabia, 
Greece,  and  Rome,  356;  with  Pliny,  356;  in 
European  astronomy,  356 ;  with  Tycho,  356 ;  with 
Dupuis,  356 ;  in  early  times  indicated  the  solstitial 

33 


colure,  356 ;  in  English  astrology,  356 ;  with  Will- 
yam  Salysbury,  356;  with  Al  Birunl,  356;  with 
Bayer  and  others,  356;  in  Eupratean  astronomy, 
357 ;  in  Khorasmia,  357 ;  with  Horace,  357 ;  promi- 
nent among  lunar-mansion  stars,  3S7 ;  a  component 
of  the  Arabian  Al  Jabhah,  357 ;  in  Chinese  astron- 
omy, 357;  ancient  importance  of,  357;  faintest  of 
xst-magnitude  stars,  357;  spectrum  and  parallax 
of,  357;  observed  in  navigation,  357 ;  location  and 
culmination  of,  357 ;  position  of  companion  of,  358. 

Beta  (0)  of  Leo,  various  names  of,  358,  359 ; 
with  Bayer,  Chilmead,  Schickard,  and  Riccioli, 
358;  with  Nubian  astrologers,  358;  in  the  Alftm- 
sine  Tables,  358 ;  with  Proctor  and  others,  358 ;  in 
Arabian  astronomy,  358 ;  with  Al  BirQnl,  358 ;  part 
of  the  nakshatra  Uttara  Phalguni,  358 ;  in  Hindu 
and  Chinese  and  Babylonian  astronomy,  358;  Eu- 
phratean  names  of,  258;  with  the  Sogdians  and 
Khorasmians,  359;  in  Persia,  259;  with  Hewitt, 
259;  part  of  Asphutia,  359;  in  astrology,  359 ;  spec- 
trum and  location  of,  359;  culmination  of,  359; 
a  component  of  the  Diamond  of  Virgo,  259. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Leo,  other  names  of,  359 ;  with 
Smyth,  359;  brightest  member  of  Al  Jabhah,  359 ; 
Herschel  and,  259 ;  velocity  and  spectrum  of,  360. 

Delta  (6)  of  Leo,  various  names  of,  260 ;  with 
Ulug  Beg,  260 ;  a  component  .of  the  manzil  Al 
Zubrah,  260;  a  component  of  the  nakshatra  Purva 
Phalguni,  360;  in  various  Eastern  systems,  260; 
spectrum  and  velocity  of,  260;  Flamsteed  and,  360. 

Epsilon  (<)  of  Leo,  various  names  of,  260,  a6i  > 
a  component  of  Al  Ashlar,  360;  location  of,  in 
Babylonian  astronomy,  360;  with  the  Chinese,  261. 

Zeta  (£)  of  Leo,  various  names  of,  261 ;  a  com- 
ponent of  the  manxil  Al  Jabhah,  261 ;  proximity 
of,  to  radiant  point  of  the  Leonids,  s6x. 

Theta  (*)  of  Leo,  various  names  of,  363. 

Iota  (1)  of  Leo,  details  concerning,  363. 

Kappa  (k)  of  Leo,  details  concerning,  262. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Leo,  details  concerning,  263. 

Mu  0*)  of  Leo,  various  names  of,  and  details 
concerning,  263. 
Leo  Minor,  various  names  of,  263;  formed  by 
Hevelius,  263;  with  Proctor,  363;  other  astrono- 
mers and,  364 ;  in  China,  364 ;  on  the  Denderah 
planisphere,  364. 

PI.  46,  names  of,  and  details  concerning,  364. 
Leoncino,  263. 
Leone  and  Leun,  253. 

Leonids,  The,  location  of,  261 ;  date  of  appearance 
of,  261;  probable  first  notice  of,  261;   number  of 
known  revolutions  of,  261 ;  Theophanes  and,  261 ; 
with  Professor  Newton,  a6x ;  with  Oppolzer  and 
Levexrier,  261 ;  other  details  concerning,  a6x,  263 ; 
Milton's  allusion  to,  363. 
Leopard  (Ursa  Minor),  450. 
Leopardus,  cited  by  La  Lande  for  Lupus,  378. 
Lepus,  various  names  of,  364-368 ;  Aratos  and,  364 ; 
legends  concerning,  364-368 ;  among  the  Romans, 
265 ;  with  the  Arabs,  265 ;  Riccioli  and,  265 ;  with 
Klazwtnl,  265;  Hommel  and,  265;  in  Egyptian  as- 
tronomy, 365 ;  with  the  Chinese,  365 ;  with  Caesius 
and  with  Schiller,  365;    on  the  Denderah  plani- 


SH 


General  Index 


sphere,  365;  Aelian  and,  965 ;  Brown  on  the  loca- 
tion oC  966 ;  connected  with  the  moon  in  Eastern 
tradition  and  legend,  266-367 »  *n  scriptural  simile, 
267 ;  in  poetry,  267,  368. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Lepus,  various  names  of,  a68 ; 
other  details  concerning,  369. 
Beta  (/3)  of  Lepus,  names  and  details  of,  396. 

Lernaeua  (Cancer),  107 ;  (Serpens),  374. 

Leader  Bear,  The.    See  Ursa  Minor. 

Leaser  Dog,  The.    See  Cants  Minor. 

Leaser  Lion,  The.    See  Leo  Minor. 

Leaser  Waterman,  The,  51. 

Leu,  or  Low,  the  37th  sieu,  8a. 

Level  and  Square.     See  Norma. 

Leviathan  (Cetus),  162;  (Delphinus),  200. 

Levriera,  1x4. 

Leya  and  Leyaya,  354. 

Lexard,  351. 

Libella,  393. 

Libra,  other  names  of,  369;  with  the  Greeks,  369; 
anciently  associated  with  Scorpio,  369;  in  classic 
and  modern  poetry,  370-373 ;  various  Greek  names 
for,  373;  the  Roman  Jugum,  37a;  in  Indian  as- 
tronomy, 372;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  273;  its  ori- 
gin, 373;  in  Eastern  astronomy,  373;  date  of,  un- 
certain, 373;  symbol  of,  373;  Miss  Clerke  upon, 
273,  274;  with  Brown,  274;  in  modern  and  classi- 
cal astrology,  374,  375 ;  influence  of,  on  commerce, 
374;  with  devout  heathen  and  in  the  biblical 
school's  nomenclature,  275 ;  other  details  concern- 
ing! 375;  minor  components  of,  and  details  con- 
cerning them,  278. 

Alpha  (a1,  a>)  of  Libra,  various  names  of,  275 ; 
in  Greek  astronomy,  275 ;  with  Beta  of  Libra  forms 
the  mantil  Al  Zubtnah,  275 ;  in  Hindu  astronomy, 
275;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  276;   in   Babylonian 
astronomy,  376;  in  Euphratean  and  Chaldaean  no- 
menclature, 376 ;  location  and  culmination  of,  276. 
Beta  O)  of  Libra,  various  titles  of,  276;  in 
Babylonian  astronomy,  276;  Jensen  and  Brown 
on,  276 ;  Ptolemy  concerning,  276 ;  Hind  on  this, 
276 ;  Professor  Young  on  decrease  in  brightness  of, 
377 ;  color,  spectrum,  and  velocity  of,  377. 
Delta  (<)  of  Libra,  names  and  details  of,  277. 
Eta  (1?)  of  Libra,  location  and  names  of,  277. 
N.  O.  C.  5904,  location  of,  377 ;    discovered  by 
Kirch  in  1702, 277;  details  concerning,  277. 

Licorne  and  Liocorno,  289. 

Lieu  and  Liu,  the  7th  situ,  948. 

Lievre,  264. 

Light  of  the  Pleiadee,  403. 

Lik  bar-ra,  or  Ur-bar-ra,  325. 

Li  Kung,  329. 

Lillth,  the  star  Algol,  332. 

Limbus  TeztiliB,  3. 

Lince,  279. 

Lineal,  393. 

Ling  Tae,  363. 

Linnunrata,  the  Galaxy  in  Finland,  479. 

Linum  boreum  and  auetrlnum,  342. 

Linx,  or  Luchs,  279. 

Lion,  The  (Leo),  353;  (the  early  Asad),  464. 

Lion,  The,  of  Egypt,  2a 


Lion,  Le,  95a. 

Lion'a  Heart,  The  (Regulus),  956. 

Lion'a  Tail,  in  Scorpio,  370. 

Lira,  980. 

Lis,  or  Fleur  de  Lie,  993. 

Li  8hih,  4x3. 

Litli  Vagn,  450. 

Litoreua,  107. 

Little  Camels,  384. 

Little  Dipper,  The  (Pleiades),  397;  (Una  Minor). 
45«- 

Little  Pox  with  the  Gooae,  473- 

Little  Horae,  The.    See  Equulnu . 

Little  Lion  (/  Leo  Minoris),  364. 

Lixard,  The.    See  Laeerta. 

Loadstar  and  Lodestar,  455. 

Lobster,  The,  109. 

Lochium  Funis  and  Logleine,  in  Argo,  65. 

Long  Blue  Cloud-eating  Shark,  483. 

Longfellow,  on  Dante's  Fortuna  Major,  48,  49. 

Loo  8ieu,  142. 

Lore,  85. 

Lord  of  Canals,  47. 

Los,  425. 

Loup,  278. 

Low,  in  Ara,  63. 

Lowe,  252. 

Lubdhaka,  119. 

Lucertola,  251. 

Lucida  Cassiopea,  146. 

Lucidus  Anguis,  374. 

Ludentes  and  Ludionss,  459. 

Luft  Ball  and  Luft  Ballon,  337. 

Lugal  Tudda  (Antares),  366. 

Luh  Kea,  106. 

Lu-lim,  or  Lu-nit  (in  Aries),  80. 

Lu  Lim  (in  Virgo),  470,  473. 

Lunar  Mansions,  their  connection  with  Mao* 
rOth,  3;  their  part  in  observational  astronomy,  7: 
position  of,  7;  astrological  characters  of,  7.  an- 
tiquity of,  7;  composition  of,  7;  number  a,  7> 
origin  of,  8 ;  Hindu  name  for  the,  8 ;  Arabic  lena 
for  the,  8;  alluded  to  in  the  $urin%  8 ;  Whitney 
and  Newton  on  the,  8 ;  Biot  on  the,  8 ;  Clerke  00 
the.  8;  Al  BirunI  on  the,  8;  scriptural  allusoes 
to,  9;  Chinese  name  for,  9;  the,  in  Japan,  9;  vsn- 
ous  national  forms  of  the,  9 ;  et  passim. 

LUneburg  Horse,  393. 

Lupa,  Lupo,  and  Lupus,  978. 

Lupus,  various  names  of,  978,  979;  origin  of  oasot 
of,  978;  with  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  278;  wious 
astronomical  writers  and,  978 ;  with  the  Arabians, 
978;  Euphratean  correspondent  of,  978;  withOe- 
sius  and  Hyde,  978,  979;  Aratos  on,  a79«  *' 
scribed  by  Eratosthenes,  979;  in  mythology,  *79<* 
Schiller  and,  979 ;  antiquity  and  iiiconspicuousne* 
of,  979 ;  location  of,  979 ;  components  of,  and  a*8*4 
and  details  concerning  them,  979. 

Lura,  984. 

Lutaria,  383. 

Lute-bearer,  or  Repl,  The,  20,  466. 

Luy  Pei  Chen,  or  Chin,  48,  55, 141. 

Luy  Tien,  398. 


General  Index 


S*S 


Lycaon  (Bootes),  94;    (Hercules),  240. 
Lycaonia  Arctos  and  Puella,  421. 
Lycieca,  378. 

Lynx  or  Tiger.  See  Lynx  tive  Tigris. 
Lynx  «WTigrie,  other  names  of,  279,  280;  modern 
figure  of,  due  to  Hevelius,  280;  its  numerous  doubles 
its  noticeable  feature,  280 ;  Professor  Young  upon, 
280;  culmination  of,  280. 
Ft.  32,  names  of,  and  details  concerning,  280. 
Lyra,  various  names  of,  280-284;  derivation  of 
name  of,  a8o,  a8i;  in  Greece,  281;  in  English 
and  classic  poetry,  281,  283 ;  with  Ovid  and  Ma- 
nilius,  281 ;  in  Persian  and  Arabian  nomencla- 
ture, 281 ;  in  European  astronomy,  282 ;  with 
the  biblical  school,  282;  other  figuring*  of,  282; 
associated  with  a  bird,  282 ;  various  writers  on  this, 
282,  283 ;  with  Aratos,  283 ;  Greek  designations  of, 
adopted  in  Arabia,  283,  284;  antiquity  of  name 
and  figure  of,  284;  testimony  of  ancient  coinage  to 
this,  284 ;  figurings  of,  in  ancient  writings,  284 ;  lo- 
cation of,  and  details  concerning,  284 ;  minor  com- 
ponents of,  and  their  names,  288. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Lyra,  various  names  of,  284-286 ; 
origin  of  Arabic  title  of,  284 ;  among  the  Greeks 
and  Latins,  284,  285;  with  Cicero,  Columella,  and 
Pliny,  285 ;  importance  of,  with  the  Romans,  285 ; 
Sayce  and,  385 ;  with  Brown,  285 ;  with  the  Chi- 
nese, 285 ;  in  Hindu  astronomy,  285 ;  in  Egyptian 
astronomy,  286;  Hewitt  and  Lockyer  on,  286; 
will  be  the  Polaris  of  13400  a.  d.,  286;  remote- 
ness of,  286;  location  of,  286;  after  Sinus  the  most 
prominent  of  Sirian-rype  stars,  286 ;  velocity  of,  and 
theory  concerning,  286;  with  the  Arabs,  286;  cul- 
mination of,  2C6. 

Beta  03)  of  Lyra,  names  of,  287;  location  of, 
287;  in  China,  287;  changes  in  brilliancy  of,  287; 
spectrum  of,  287 ;  theory  concerning,  287. 

Gamma  (?)  of  Lyra,  names  of,  287 ;  location 
of,  287. 

Epailon  («>,  €«;  FL  4,  FL  5)  of  Lyra,  "Double- 
Double"  character  of,  288;  details  concerning,  288. 
N.  G.  C.  6730,  date  of  discovery  by  Darquier, 
287 ;  details  concerning,  287,  288. 
Lyra  Arionia,  281. 
Lyrae  Teatudo,  284. 
Ly raids,  The,  details  concerning,  284. 
Lyre  and  Lyre  of  Zurah,  280,  281. 

M-a-a-su,  369. 

Ma-a-tu,  88. 

Ma'at,  286. 

Mecerie,  240. 

Machine    Electrica,  position  of,  289;    generally 

omitted  now,  289. 
Machine  Blettricaand  Machine  Electrique^. 
Macula  Magellan!,  191. 
Maeden,  460. 

Meenalie  Arctoe  and  Maenalie  Urea,  421. 
Meere,  t7S. 
Meforte,  85. 

Magdalen,  on  the  face  of  the  moon,  267. 
Magellanic  Clouds,  The.    See  Nubecula*. 
Magellan  Patches,  294. 


Magh  and  Maghi,  254,  255,  257. 

Meghan  eadwie,  366. 

Magi,  a  fancied  figure  for  Orion's  Belt,  316. 

Magna  minorque  ferae  (the  Bears),  420. 

Magnanimue,  247. 

Magnus  (Canis  Major),  1x8. 

Mahar-aha  bi-na  Shahu,  141. 

Mah  Fun,  154. 

Mahik  (Pisces),  337. 

Mahru-aha-riehu-ku,  8a. 

Mahu,  294. 

Mala,  Maja,  and  Majja,  405. 

Mala-rati,  Maearati,  and  Maerati,  481. 

Maiden  of  the  Wheat-field,  461. 

Makhar  (Capricornus),  139;  (Delphinus),  200. 

Malerstaffelei,  2x4. 

Malice  and  Melica,  240. 

Malue  (in  Argo),  64. 

Mandorla,  187.     See  not*. 

Manger  of  the  Infant  Saviour,  282. 

Manger,  The,  or  Crib,  109,  113. 

Maniliue,  32  (note) ;  et passim. 

Maniliue  (Hercules),  241. 

Mansion  of  Kings,  137. 

Mantellum,  or  Mantile,  54. 

Mantile  (in  Orion),  320. 

Many  Stare,  The,  20, 171. 

Manxll  and  Manazil,  8 ;  et  passim. 

Mao,  Maou,  or  Mau,  393,  405. 

Marduk,  32,  382. 

Mareaanl,  3x8. 

Margarita  Coronae,  178. 

Marici,  441. 

Marina  (Lyra),  283. 

Mariner's  Compass,  The.    See  Pyxis  Nautica. 

Mariue,  Simon,  the  De  Mundo  Joviali  of,   39; 

re-observes  the  Great  Nebula  in  Andromeda,  39; 

names  4  satellites  of  Jupiter,  39. 
Markhashik,  303. 
Martia  Sidus,  364. 
Martiue,  278. 

Martyr,  Peter,  12  (note) ;  14  (note) ;  et  passim. 
Maru-sha-arkat-sharru,  263. 
Maru-sba-pu-u-mash-mashu,  235. 
Mary  Magdalene  (Cassiopeia),  145. 
Maaathl  and  Maeathre,  273. 
Mashaha,  469. 
Maah-maehu-arku,  S33. 
Mash-maahu-sha-Risu,  234. 
Mashtawand,  53. 

Mas-mas  and  Maah-maehu-Mahru,  231,  234. 
Massa  Gallinae,  399. 
Mas-tab-ba,  470. 
Mas-tab-ba-gal-gal,  231,  393. 
Mas-tab-ba-tur-tur,  234,  3x8. 
Masu,  256. 
Masu  Sar,  366. 
Matariki  and  Matarii,  400. 
Mater  Ple'ione,  408. 
Mauer  Quadrant,  348. 
Mavors,  85. 
Ma  Wei,  X54- 
Maximue  Anguie,  204. 


5»6 


General  Index 


Mayer,  Johann  Tobias,  37;  discovert  duplicity  of 
Gamma  (y)  of  Andromeda,  37. 

Mazlltha,  3x5. 

Maxz&ioth,  the  Targumts*  form  of  Mazzaroth.a,  3x5. 

MaxxftrQth,  origin  of  the  biblical  word,  2 ;  form  of, 
in  the  Targuwu%  2;  Hyde's  derivation  of,  a;  Dill- 
mann's  derivation  o£  a;  various  renderings  and 
derivations  o(,  2 ;  various  applications  of  this  word, 
1*5.  3«5»  3«9»  4*9.  48i. 

Mea,  405. 

Meanxnnach,  397. 

Media,  358. 

Medusa,  46a. 

Meea  Too,  160. 

Meih  Fung,  291. 

Melanippe  and  Menalippe,  323. 

Melicartus  and  Melicerta,  240. 

Melkarth,  239. 

Melkpath,  479 

Melius,  241. 

Melo,  2x6. 

Mena,  or  Meaat,  ao,  100,  366. 

Menalo,  290. 

Mena's  Followers  and  Mena' a  Herald,  ao. 

Mendes,  138- 

Mensa,  291. 

Mercator,  Qerardus,  the  globes  of,  13- 

Mercurialis,  s6x. 

Mercurii  Sidus,  xo8. 

Me're,  122. 

Merga  and  Marrha,  106. 

Mer'ope,  406. 

Merops  (Aquila),  56. 

Mesxet,  434- 

Mesha,  78. 

Mes-ri-e,  123. 

Messier,  Le,  191. 

Mes-su,  260. 

Mi  and  Vi,  369. 

Miaplacidus  and  Maiapladdus  (fi  Cannae),  7a. 

Michael,  the  archangel  (Ursa  Major),  435. 

Microscopium,  formed  by  La  Caille,  289;  location 
and  culmination  of,  289;  in  early  German  astrono- 
my, 289;  with  Brown  and  Flammarion,  289. 

Midhunam  and  Mithuna,  223. 

Mielan  circul  sodiacuxn,  4. 

Mietitore,  191. 

Mikid-isati,  259. 

Milch  Strasse,  479. 

Milk  Dipper,  356. 

Milky  Way,  The.    See  Galaxy. 

Milton,  and  the  earth's  axis,  4 ;  etpmssim. 

Minamref,  370. 

Minerva,  463. 

Ming  t'ang,  365. 

Minoia  Corona  and  Minoia  Virgo,  174. 

Minor,  Proctor's  name  lor  Ursa  Minor,  453. 

Minor  Cloud,  The.    See  Nubecula  Minor. 

Minotaur,  The  (Centaurus),  150, 151. 

Minotaurua  (Sagittarius),  352. 

Minsheu.John,  15;  et passim. 

Miraand  Stella  Mira,  164. 

Mirror,  138. 


Missile  and  Missore,  350. 

Mithraic  Bull,  382. 

Mithras,  331. 

Mitre  of  Saint  Peter,  4x5. 

Mixing-bowl,  183- 

Miyan  (lunar  station),  35;  (Regulus),  255. 

Misnaixn  and  Moznayixn,  273. 

Misrita,  names  of  signs  in  the  Crtatxm  Legend,  2; 
word  similar  to,  appears  for  the  Milky  Way,  a; 
supposed  to  be  original  oi  the  biblical  Marxiroth, 
2;  also  of  Maxsaloth,  the  form  used  in  the  Ter- 
gumu,  2 ;  probable  meaning  oi,  a. 

Mo,  Mu,  Niu,  Nii,  or  Woo  Nieu,  54 

Mochos,  272. 

Moist  Daughters,  387. 

Mo  Ki,  x39. 

Mol,  393. 

Monius,  47. 

Monoceros,  various  names  of,  289, 290;  locanoo ot 
289;  with  Proctor,  290;  of  modern  origin,  *fi> 
various  writers  concerning,  990;  in  China,  spa: 
culmination  of,  290;  Fl  30  at,  290. 

Mons  Maenalus,  position  of,  and  formation  by 
Hevelius,  290;  other  names  of,  soo;  possible  ori- 
gins of,  290,  291;  Landsecr's  represeatatno  ot 
290;  Hewitt  and,  290;  culmination  at,  291. 

Mons  Menelaus,  290. 

Mons  Mensae,  various  names  of,  291;  fornaboa 
of,  by  La  Caille,  291 ;  location  of,  and  origin  tf 
name  of,  291 ;  Gould  and,  29X  ;  now  Mensa,  391- 

Monstruxn  and  Monstrum  audaz,  204. 

Monstrum  marinum,  x6a. 

Monstrum  mirabile,  204. 

Montagne  de  la  Table  and  Monte  Tavola,  391. 

Months,  Akkadian  names  ot,  connected  with  divi- 
sions of  the  zodiac,  x. 

Montone,  the  Aries  of  Dante,  77. 

Moras,  X32. 

Mosca  Australe,  29X,  292. 

Moses  (Aquarius),  46;  (Ophtochus),  299. 

Mosquito  Net  (the  Pleiades),  397. 

Mouche,  29a. 

Mouche  Australe  ou  Indienne,  291. 

Mouth,  355. 

Mouth  of  the  Home,  459. 

Mriga  (Makara,  Makaram,  Makra),  138. 

Mriga,  a  Hindu  figure  of  Orion,  309. 

Mrigaciras  and  Mrigacirshl,  3x5, 318. 

Mrigavyldha  (Canis  Major),  xxo. 

Mutrid,  X04. 

Mflll,  370. 

Mulban,  354. 

Mulda,  2x6. 

Mulen  Weg,  479. 

Muller  Catenate,  3s. 

Mulier  Sedls,  143. 

Mul-lik-ud,  X23. 

Multiplication  Table,  397. 

Multuns  (Aries),  7s. 

Mulu  Bat  (1  Virginia),  473. 

Mulubat  (in  Ophiuchus),  302. 

Mulu-isi,  276, 473. 

Mulus  Clitellatus  (Auriga),  84. 


General  Index 


5»7 


Mummu  Tilxnut  (Corvus  or  Crater),  183. 
Munaga,  ■  Euphratean  lunar  asterism  in  Aquarius, 

54 ;  in  Capricornus,  X39. 
Muadi  Templum  (Ara),  63. 
Mural  Quadrant,  The.    See  Quadrant  Muraiu. 
Hum,  59. 

Mus  and  Muaculua,  183. 
Mutator,  350. 

Muaca  Australia,  location  and  other  namea  of, 
391 :  origin  of  title  of,  991 ;  composition  and  cut* 
mutation    of,   991;    with  the  Chinese,  991;    with 
Schiller,  991. 
Muaca  Borealis,  formation,  position,  and  other 
names  of,   39a;  components  and  culmination  of, 
292;  origin  of  present  title  obscure,  aoa;  not  gen- 
erally recognized,  99a ;  Ptolemy  and,  aoa ;  Royer's 
figuring  of,  99a. 
Muacida,  337. 
Muaicum  8ignum,  zoo. 
Mut,  909. 

Mu-air-kes-da,  933. 
Mutatrlx,  958. 

Mylke  way  and  Mylke  whyta  way,  476. 
Myrtllua  (Auriga),  84;  (Cygnus),  193. 

Na  Ainanu,  399. 

Naaman,  a  16th-century  name  for  Aquarius,  46. 

Nagar-aaaffga,  108. 

Nagavithi,  477- 

Nahi,  136. 

Nahn,  114. 

Nail  of  the  Crucifixion,  351. 

Nakshatraa,  The,  8;  et passim. 

Nan-garu,  108. 

Nan  Hae,  376. 

Nan  Ho,  134. 

Nan  Mun,  153. 

Nan  Tow,  355. 

Naoe,  73. 

Napoleon,  3x5. 

Narrow  Cloudy  Train  of  Female  Stars,  391. 

Nasedha,  399. 

Nave  Argo  and  Navire  Argo,  64. 

Navigatoria,  455. 

Navigium  Praedatorium,  66. 

Navisjasonis,  66. 

Naxius  'Ardor,  176. 

Neaou  Chuy,  4x8. 

Nebuchadressar  (Cenuurus),  151. 

Nebula,  The  Great  (Andromeda),  39;  (Orion),  3x6. 

Nebulae  and  Clusters :  N.  G.  C.  934,  31  M.,  the 
Great  Nebula  in  Andromeda,  39,  40;  aai,  3a  M., 
in  Andromeda,  40;  7009  Saturn  Nebula  in  Aqua- 
"us*  54 ;  337a  Keyhole  Nebula  in  Carina  of  Argo, 
74;  9633,  44  M.,  cluster  •  Cancri,  the  Beehive, 
1 12-114;  537a,  3  M.,  cluster  in  Canes  Venauci,  xx6 ; 
5x94,  51  M.,  Spiral  Nebula  in  Canes  Vena- 
tici,  xx6,  1x7;  5x39  cluster  »  Centauri,  155;  4354, 
99  M.,  Pin-wheel  Nebula  in  Coma  Berenices, 
T7>:  4755  cluster  around  k  Cruris,  19/;  6960  Lace- 
work  Nebula  in  Cygnus,  195;  9070  Great 
Looped  Nebula,  30  Dorados,  aoa;  6905, 13  M., 
duster  in  Hercules,  94a;   5904,  5  M.,  cluster  in 

33* 


Libra,  277;  6790,  57  M.,  Ring  Nebula  in  Lyra, 
387,  288 ;  the  Nubeculae,  994,  995 ;  1976,  49  M., 
the  Great  Nebula  in  Orion,  3x6,  317 ;  198a,  43 
M.,  in  Orion,  317;  884  and  869,  clusters,  the 
Sword-hand  of  Perseus,  334;  6533,  6  M.,  neb- 
ula in  Sagittarius,  359;  6603,  94  M.,  Delle  Caus- 
tiche,  in  Sagittarius,  359;  65x4,  ao  M.,  the  Trifld 
Nebula  in  Sagittarius,  359 ;  the  Cloud  Nebula 
in  Scorpio,  367 ;  6093,  80  M.,  in  Scorpio,  368;  6M. 
in  Scorpio,  370;  6475,  7  M.,  in  Scorpio,  370;  6705, 
xx  M.,  in  Scutum,  373 ;  66x8, 17  M.,  0  or  Horse- 
shoe Nebula,  or  8wan  Nebula,  in  Scutum,  373, 
374 1  x555  in  Taurus,  391 ;  1959,  x  M.,  the  Crab 
Nebula  in  Taurus,  391 ;  the  Pleiades  Nebulae, 
406,  4x3;  the  first  photograph  of  a  nebula,  4x6; 
X04,  Bode's,  47 ;  cluster  in  Tucana,  4x8 ;  3587>  97 
M.,  the  Owl  Nebula  in  Ursa  Major,  438;  3x73, 
Polarissima  in  Ursa  Minor,  458 ;  densest  nebular 
region  of  the  sky  in  Virgo,  466;  6853,  97  M.,  the 
Dumb-bell  Nebula  in  Vulpecula,  474;  general 
paucity  of,  in  Milky  Way,  485;  three  of  the  finest, 
however,  in  the  Milky  Way,  485. 

Necht,  ao,  305. 

N«har  dl  Nur,  475- 

Nelson,  3x5. 

Nemaeus  and  Nemaeum  Monstrum,  353. 

Nembus,  334. 

Nemean  Lion,  Nemeas  Alumnus,  and  Nemees 
Terror,  35a. 

Nepa,  or  Nepas  (Cancer),  107;  (Hydra),  347. 

Nepa,  or  Nepas  (Scorpio),  361. 

Neper,  389. 

Neptune,  2x7. 

Neptuni  Prolee,  135- 

Neptuni  Sidua,  340. 

Neptunua,  199. 

Nereus  (Cepheus),'xs6;  (Eridanus),  3x7. 

Nergal,  or  Nerigal,  354* 

Neshr,  correctly  Neshsr,  57 ;  in  the  Ckaidee  Para- 
phrase, 57. 

Nessus,  340. 

Nethlbhath  Tebhen,  481. 

Newton  (Spica),  466. 

Newton,  Professor  Hubert  Anson,  on  the  lunar 
mansions,  8  (not*) ;  rt  passim. 

New  Venus,  The,  147- 

Nga  Man,  994. 

Nlallar,  3x5. 

Niau,  357. 

Nibat  Anu  (in  Sagittarius),  354,  357*  358. 

Nido  di  Leda,  399. 

Niedgierreg,  397. 

Nieu,  Keen  Nieu,  or  Ngu  Gu,  the  aothM/a,  141- 

Night  Owl,  The.    SetNoctua. 

Nile,  The  (Eridanus),  3x7;  (Hydra),  348. 

Nil!  Donum,  4x5. 

Nilus  (Eridanus),  3x6;  (Triangulum),  4x5. 

Nimasp  (Sagittarius),  35a. 

Nimrod  (Bootes),  95;  (Orion),  309. 

Nimrod's  Horse,  333. 

Ninsar,  469. 

Niphla,  307. 

NIrru-sha-shutu,  976. 


5i8 


General  Index 


Niru,  139. 

Niehtya,  the  13th  nakthatra,  100. 

Nieue,  240. 

Nit,  or  Noith,  399. 

Nitax-bat,  303. 

Niu  She,  2x2. 

Niveau,  293. 

No  Animal  Nemaeo  Truculento,  352. 

Noah,  a  mediaeval  name  for  Centaurus,  151. 

Noah'e  Ark  (Argo),  66. 

Noah'e  Dove.    See  Columba  Nome. 

Noah'e  Raven  (Corvus),  181,  248. 

Noctiparee,  270. 

Noctua,  248 ;  Bullitt's  location  of,  292 ;  not  recog- 
nised now,  293 ;  location  of,  formerly  occupied  by 
the  Solitaire,  293,  4x8. 

Nodus  and  Nodus  coeleetie,  342. 

Nodua  duorum  ftlorum,  Nodue  Piscium,  342. 

Nodue  Secundue,  209, 2x1. 

Nomenclature  of  the  8tars,  not  unworthy  the  at- 
tention of  gxeat  scholars,  xi. 

NSrdiiche  Krone,  174. 

Norma  et  Regula,  various  names  of,  293 ;  original 
composition  of,  293;  later  form  of,  293;  Ideleron, 
293;  in  modern  astronomy,  293;  in-  Flamsteed's 
A  Has,  293 ;  composition  and  culmination  of,  293 ; 
other  details  concerning,  293;  Miss  Clerke  on  the 
nova  of,  293 ;  Professor  Young  and,  293. 

Norma  Nilotica,  49. 

Nortee,  454- 

Northern  Cars,  431. 

Northern  Coal-Sack,  197. 

Northern  Cross.    See  Cygnus. 

Northern  Crown,  The.    See  Corona  Borealis. 

Northern  Ply,  The.    See  Mtuca  Borealis. 

Northern  Gate  of  the  Sun,  108. 

Northern  Sirius,  133. 

Northern  Team,  426. 

Nubecula  Major,  other  names  of,  295 ;  location  and 
composition  of,  295 ;  with  Flammarion,  295 ;  among 
the  Southern  Arabs,  295 ;  Schiller's  figuring  of,  295. 

Nubecula  Minor,  names  and  composition  of,  295 ; 
with  Flammarion,  295 ;  other  details  of,  295. 

Nubeculae,  allusions  to,  by  Vespucci,  68,  69. 

Nubeculae  Magellan!,  origin  of  name,  294 ;  other 
names  of,  294 ;  Bayer  the  first  to  figure  the,  294 ; 
wilh  Peter  Martyr,  294 ;  among  the  Polynesians, 
294;  Russell's  photographs  of,  294;  location  of  the, 
serves  to  locate  the  South  Pole,  295. 

Nube  Maggiore  and  Nube  Minora,  295. 

Nubes  Major  and  Nubes  Minor,  295. 

Nubilum,  112. 

Nunl  (incorrectly  Nuno),  Nunl,  and  NQnu,  337. 

Nunki,  359. 

NQr,  369. 

Nuru  sha  Shutu  and  Nuru  sha-Iltfinu,  276. 

Nu-tsir-da,  299,  375. 

Nuy  Keae,  444. 

Nuy  Ping,  in  Leo  Minor,  264 ;  in  Virgo,  473. 

Oannes,  the  Fish-god,  73  (see  note). 
Oannes  (Piscis  Australis),  345. 
Oarion,  304. 


Obelus,  35a 

Ocean  and  Ocean  us,  2x5,  axy. 

Octans  Hadleianue,  formation  of,  by  LaCatlle,  S96; 

other  names  of,  296 ;  marks  the  South  Pole.  29! 
Octipea,  107. 

Oculua,  a  poetical  term  for  Corona  Borealis,  17$. 
Oculue  australis  and  Oculue  Tauri  (Aldebsran), 

384. 

Oculue  boreue  («  Tauri),  391. 

Oebalidae  and  Oebalii,  22a. 

Oei,  or  Wei,  the  28th  tint,  292. 

Oetaeue,  241. 

Officina  Sculptoria,  37a. 

Officina  Typographica,  formed  by  Bode,  a??; 
other  names  of,  297;  unrecognized  to-day,  and  *d- 
dom  found  on  maps,  297. 

Ogka  (Polish  Bootes),  97. 

Oiaeau  de  Paradis,  43. 

Okuari,  423. 

Old  Atlas*  Children,  391. 

Old  Serpent,  The,  a  figure  for  Draco,  203. 

Olenium  Aatrum,  86. 

Olor  (Cygnus),  193. 

Omega  Nebula,  373. 

One  of  Daniel'e  Lions,  253. 

Ophiuchue  vel  8erpentariust  various  names  of, 
297:  location  and  extent  of,  297;  with  the  dasckal 
Hyginus,  297;  among  early  nations,  297;  in  ear- 
liest  Greek  astronomy,  298;  with  the  Latins,  so8: 
legends  concerning,  298 ;  various  identifications  at 
298,  299;  with  Arabian  and  Euphratean  astrono- 
mers, 299 ;  Brown  on,  299 ;  Pliny  concerning,  999  • 
Lord  Bacon  and,  299;  with  the  biblical  school 
299;  various  figurings  of,  299,  300;  with  Bayer. 
300;  Royal  Hill  as  to  its  position  in  the  todac, 
300;  other  details  concerning,  300. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Ophiuchue,  various  names  oC 
300,  301 ;  in  the  Al/imsine  Tablts,  300 ;  with  $ax- 
wini,  30X ;  in  China,  301 ;  spectrum,  velocity,  and 
culmination  of,  301. 

Beta  O)  of  Ophiuchue,  various  names  of,  301 : 
location  of,  301. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Ophiuchue,  somecoofusioo  con- 
cerning its  name,  30X ;  a  component  of  the  Chinese 
Tsung  Ching,  30X. 

Delta  (2)  of  Ophiuchue,  various  names  of,  y»; 
in  China,  30a. 

Bpeilon  (e)  of  Ophiuchue,  various  names  e£ 
302 ;  in  China,  302 ;  a  component  of  the  Chinese 
Hwan  Chay,  302 ;  a  component  of  Nasak  al  Yami- 
niyy,  302;  in  Euphratean  astronomy,  30a;  ia  mod- 
ern astrology,  302;  other  details  concerning,  30*- 
Eta  (i))  of  Ophiuchue,  various  names  U,  y&> 
with  Brown,  302 ;  in  China,  302. 

Theta  (*)  of  Ophiuchue,  various  names  of, 
303 ;  with  Epping,  303 ;  a  component  of  the  So?* 
dian  Wajrik,  303;  in  Khorasmian  and  Coptic  as- 
tronomy, 303 ;  in  China,  303 ;  with  Gould,  303. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Ophiuchue,  various  names  of, 
303;  inChma,  303; 

70  Ophiuchi,  location  of;  301 ;  system,  period, 
and  parallax  of,  30X. 

Ophiuculue  and  Ophiulchua,  298. 


General  Index 


5»9 


Ophiulcue  and  Ophiultua,  998. 

Ophiultua  (in  Auriga),  85. 

Opus  Phrygionarum,  fanciful  name  of  the  Jews  for 

the  zodiac,  2;  the  meaning  of,  2. 
Orbiculua  Capitia,  173. 
Orbia  lacteua,  475. 
Orbia  terraruxn  tripertitua,  4x5. 
'drebh,  or  Orev,  181. 
Orfercalim,  350. 

Origan,  on  the  stars,  27;  on  the  constellations,  27. 
Orion,  brilliancy  of,  303 ;  location  of,  303,  304 ;  with 
the  Theban  Greeks,  304;  variousnames  of,  304-310; 
with  Catullus,  304 ;  derivation  of  name,  304 ;  in  the 
Uranologia,  304 ;  with  the  Boeotians,  304 ;  Ovid 
on,  304 ;  with  Matthew  Arnold,  304 ;  with  Aratos 
and  Thompson,  305;  with  Tennyson,  305;  with 
Homer  and  Hesiod  and  Horace,  305 ;  Pindar  and 
Maniliua  on,  305 ;  other  classic  and  modern  poets 
on,  305,  306;  stormy  reputation  of,  306;  a  calendar 
sign,  306;  in  the  Gentva  Bible,  306;  with  the 
Latins,  306 ;  in  Eastern  astronomies,  307 ;  various 
astronomical  writers  on,  307;  prominent  in  Egypt, 
307 ;  on  the  Denderah  zodiac,  307 ;  in  Egyptian 
mythology,  308 ;  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  307, 308 : 
various  figuring*  of,  307,  308;  definition  of,  308;  in 
astrology,  306;  in  the  Old  Testament,  308,  309; 
Jewish  later  name  for,  309;  with  Adam  Clarke, 
309;  in  the  Revised  Version,  309;  in  Hindu  as- 
tronomy, 309;  with  the  Chinese,  3x0;  with  the 
Khorasmians,  3x0;  with  the  Irish  and  Saxons,  3x0; 
with  Caesius,  3x0;  other  figuring*  of,  3x0;  minor 
components  of,  320. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Orion,  various  names  of,  3x0-3x2; 
in  the  Al/onsine  Tables,  3x0;  in  Arabia,  3x0,  311; 
with  various  writers,  3x1 ;  in  Hindu  astronomy, 
311 ;  Persian  and  Coptic  equivalents  of,  3x1 ;  Pro- 
fessor Young  on,  311 ;  other  details  concerning, 
3x1 ;  position  and  culmination  of,  3x2. 

Beta  (0)  of  Orion,  various  names  of,  3x2; 
"  marine  "  character  of,  3x2 ;  greatest  star  of  Orion, 
3x3 ;  in  astrology,  3x3 ;  in  Norse  astronomy,  3x3 ; 
spectrum  and  velocity  of,  3x3. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Orion,  various  titles  of,  3x3 ; 
location  of,  3x3 ;  in  the  Amazon  River  myths,  3x3 ; 
in  astrology,  3x4 ;  spectrum  and  velocity  of,  3x4. 

Delta  (8)  of  Orion,  names  of,  3x4-3x6;  in 
astrology,  3x4 ;  location  and  spectrum  of,  3x4. 

Bpsilon  (e)  of  Orion,  names  of,  3x4-3x6;  in 
astrology,  3x4;  spectrum,  velocity,  and  culmina- 
tion of,  3x4. 

Zeta  (0  of  Orion,  various  titles  of,  3x4-3x6; 
spectrum  and  velocity  of,  3x4. 
Eta  (i|)  of  Orion,  various  titles  of,  3x6. 
Theta  (0*)  of  Orion,  not  named  individually, 
3x6;  location  of,  3x6;  details  concerning  the  Great 
Nebula  of,  3x6,  3x7. 

Iota  (t)  of  Orion,  various  names  of,  3x7;  in 
China,  3x7 ;  location  of,  3x8. 

Kappa  (k)  of  Orion,  names  and  location  of, 
3x8. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Orion,  various  names  of,  3x8, 
3x9 ;  in  astrology,  3x8 ;  in  Arabian  and  Euphratean 
astronomy,  3x8;  in  other  Eastern  systems,  3x8; 


Professor  Whitney  on,  3x8 ;  in  China,  3x9 ;  other 

writers  on,  3x9. 
Nu  (y)  and  Xi  ($)  of  Orion,  the  Chinese  Shwuy 

Foo,  320 ;  location  of,  320. 
Omicron  (o1,  o*)  of  Orion,  names  and  location 

of,  320;  components  of  the  Chinese  Tsan  Ke,  320. 
Pi  (a4,  it*,  w3,  *\  *»,  a4,  and  g)  of  Orion,  names 

and  location  of,  320;  components  of  the  Chinese 

Tsan  Ke,  320. 
Tau  (r)  of  Orion,  location  of,  320;  the  Chinese 

Yuh  Tsing,  320. 
Upallon  (v)  of  Orion,  details  of,  320. 
Ori'onida,  The,  radiant  point  of,  320. 
Orion's  ad  Hound,  132. 
Orloge  and  Orologio,  246. 
Orphae  and  Orphua,  x6a. 
Orpheus  (Cygnus),  193;  (Hercules),  24X. 
Oraa  Maggiore,  4x9. 
Oraa  Minora,  447- 
Orwandil,  3x0. 
Osiris  (Bootes),  96;  (Sirius),  xao,  124;  (Orion),  308; 

(Taurus),  381. 
Osiris,  Car  of,  435. 
Oa  Pegaai,  327. 
Oa  Piacia  notii,  346. 
Oa  Roaae,  195. 
Ostrich's  Neat,  163. 
Otawa  and  Otawainen,  424. 
Otyaya  Kalem,  350. 
Our  Lady's  Wand,  3x6. 
Our  Riddle  (Alcor),  445. 
Overturned  Chair,  355. 
Ovillus,  241. 
Ovis  Aurea,  76. 
Owl  Nebula,  438. 
Ox,  The  (Taurus),  382. 
Oxirinque  (Capricornus),  138,  345. 

Pa  (c  Serpentis),  376. 

Pa  and  gut  (Sagittarius),  354. 

Padevar,  82. 

Padua,  2x5. 

Pae  Chaou,  201. 

Pagaaaea  Carina  (Argo),  66. 

Paha,  385. 

Painter's  Eaael,  The.    See  EquuUus  Pictoris. 

Pair  of  Compaaaea,  The.    See  Circinus. 

PairofKida,  234. 

Pa  Kuh,  Chinese  asterism,  90. 

Pal,  389. 

Palaemon,  240. 

Palette,  2x4. 

Palmea  emeritus,  205. 

Panda  and  Pantica,  462. 

Panthera,  278. 

Paon,  the  French  Pavo,  320. 

Paou  Ping,  47. 

Pa-pil-sak,  853. 

Papaukal,  xox. 

Paradiea  Vogel,  43. 

Paraaiea,  330. 

Parilicium  and  Palilicium,  384,  387. 

Pamela  and  Parrbasia,  421, 422. 


520 


General  Index 


Parrhasia  Virgo  and  Parrhaaidea  Stellas,  4az. 

Parrhasium  Jugum,  431. 

Parsondas,  33a 

Parthena,  Partina,  or  Pathona,  463. 

Parven,  Parvi,  and  Parur,  393. 

Parvis  and  Parwin,  393. 

Fusts  Zamaaegade,  481. 

Paschal  Lamb,  The  (Csnis  Minor),  133. 

Passer,  347. 

Pastinator  and  Pastor,  95. 

Patascus,  940. 

Patera,  183. 

Path  of  Aryamln,  477. 

Paukascsiu  Kielis,  479. 

Paukunawa,  433. 

Paul,  Saint,  and  the  Pkainomsna  of  Aratos,  81. 

Pavo,  position  of,  320;  other  names  of,  330;  origi- 
nally Argos,  321;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  391; 
Julius  Schiller's  figuring  of,  331. 

Pavone,  330. 

Pax,  463. 

Peacock,  a  Roman  idea  for  Aquarius,  46. 

Peacock,  The.    See  Pavo. 

Peacocks,  Arabian  idea  for  Gemini,  334. 

Pecus  Athamantidos  Helles,  75. 

PeS  (Corona  Australia),  173. 

Pegase,  331. 

Pegasides,  333. 

Pegmsida,  The,  radiant  point  of,  338. 

Pegaso,  39 x. 

Peg'aaua,  3x3;  various  names  of,  331-334 ;  location  of, 
321 ;  in  mythology,  331 ;  Longfellow  on  the  legend 
of,  331;  traditional  history  of,  331,  333;  in  early 
classical  mythology,  333;  the  Greeks  on,  333; 
Euripides*  name  for,  333;  in  Roman  astronomy, 
393:  in  the  Al/onsin*  TabUty  393;  with  Caesius, 
333 ;  in  Jewish  legend,  333 ;  in  numismatics,  333 ; 
origin  of  name  of,  333 ;  in  Egypt  and  on  the  Den- 
derah  zodiac,  334 ;  with  the  Arabs,  324 ;  other  de- 
tails concerning,  334 ;  minor  components  of,  339. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Pegaaua,  various  names  of,  334, 
335;  in  Hindu  astronomy,  334;  in  Chinese,  335; 
Brown  on,  335;  in  astrology,  335;  culmination 
and  meridional  location  of,  335 ;  spectrum  and  loca- 
tion of,  335 ;  observed  in  navigation,  335. 

Beta  (0)  of  Pegaaua,  various  names  of,  335, 
336 ;  with  the  Arabs,  335 :  with  the  Hindus,  335 ; 
Professor  WHitney  and,  335;  in  astrology,  336; 
with  the  Chinese,  336;  variability,  spectrum,  and 
velocity  of,  336. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Pegaaua,  names  of,  336,  337 ; 
location  of,  336;  with  Al  BirQni,  336;  in  China, 
336;  with  the  Hindus,  336;  a  component  of  the 
Three  Guides,  337. 

Delta  (6)  of  Pegaaua,  unnamed  as  a  compo- 
nent of  Pegasus,  337;  same  as  Alpha  (a)  of  An- 
dromeda, 337. 

Epailon  («)  of  Pegaaua,  various  names  of, 
337;  a  component  of  the  sum  Goei,  337;  spectrum 
and  velocity  of,  337. 

Zeta  (0  of  Pegasus,  names  of,  337,  338;  with 
the  Chinese,  328;  near  the  radiant  point  of  the 
Pegasids,  338. 


Eta  (if)  of  Pegasus,  location  and  title  of,  jsl 
Theta  (0)  of  Pegmaua,  with  Nu  (r)  aa  Ante 
star-group,  398;  individual  name  of,  398:  on  dc 
Dresden  Globe,  3»& 

Kappa  (it)  of  Pegasus,  location  of,  338;  mv 
named  except  in  China,  338. 

Lambda  (A)  and  If  u  (m)  of  Pegaaua,  asses 
of,  338. 

Nu  (v)  of  Pegasus.    See  under  7*W»  {*)  */ 
Pegasus,  398  (also  339). 
Pi  («)  of  Pegasus,  the  Chinese  Woo,  399. 
Tau  (t)  of  Pegasus,  names  of,  339 ;  •  com- 
ponent of  the  Chinese  Li  Rung,  339. 
Pegasus  Equus  alatus,  393. 
Peih,  35.  3a6»  3*9- 
Peih  Leih,  343- 
Peih  Sing,  45°- 
Peise,  369. 
Peisun,  336. 
Pelagi  Procella,  135. 
Pele'iades,  395. 
Pelenor,  151. 
Pelethroniua,  84, 151. 
Pendeluhr,  346. 

Pendulum  Clock.    See  HervUgium. 
Peren,  393. 
Peri-pik,  3x5. 
Perisoma,  104. 
Persea,  33, 
Persee,  399. 
Per'seide,  The,  location  of,  335 ;  ancient  knowledge 

of,  335;  various  names  of,  335* 
Perseo,  339. 
Peraeph'one,  460. 

Perseua,  various  names  of,  399-331 ;  early  nguriap 
of,  3«9»  33o ;  in  legend,  399, 330 ;  with  the  classes! 
poets,  330;  with  La  Lande,  331;  on  coinage,  331; 
with  astrologers,  331 ;  with  the  biblical  school,  331; 
extent  of,  331 ;  minor  components  of,  331;  theory 
concerning,  331 ;  minor  components  of,  and  feet* 
concerning  them,  334. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Perseus,  various  names  of,  331 : 
a  component  of  the  Chinese  Tien  Yuen,  331 ;  newt 
sets  in  the  latitude  of  New  York  City,  33s;  sPec" 
trum  and  velocity  of,  333. 

Beta  (0)  of  Perseus,  various  names  of,  33*: 
with  Ptolemy,  Hipparchos,  and  Pliny,  33* :  *** 
the  Hebrews,  339;  in  China,  339;  with  astrologcn, 
333:   variability,  spectrum,  and  velocity  of,  33> 

Epailon  (c)  of  Perseue,  a  component  of  the 
Chinese  Keuen  She,  333. 

Eta  (n)  of  Perseus,  unnamed  except  in  Chou, 
334 ;  details  concerning,  334. 
Omega  (»)  of  Perseue,  name  of,  335. 
Upsilon  (v)  of  Perseus,  location  of,  334 :  &*«** 
of,  334t  335  J  with  Bayer,  334 ;   a  component  of  tbe 
Sword  Hand  of  Perseus,  335. 
Perseus  et  Caput  Medusae,  3*9, 
Persian,  The.    See  Indus. 
Persuaaor  Amphitritee,  199. 
Peace  Austrmle,  344. 
Peaces  (Pisces),  337. 
P**cit  336,  338. 


General  Index 


521 


Peaebre,  113. 
Pe  Sse,  251. 
Peter's  Skiff,  436. 
Peter's  Staff,  315. 
Petit  ChevsU,  213. 
Petit  Chiea,  131. 
Petit  Lion,  363. 
Petit  Nutge,  395. 
Petite  Ourse,  447. 
Petosiria,  51  (and  not*). 
Ptau,  320. 
Pfeil,  349. 
Phacetis,  338. 
Phae'thon,  85. 

Phagre  and  Oxyrinque  (Piscis  Australis),  345. 
Pnainomena  (970  b.  c.)  of  Aratos,  zx ;  founded  on 
the  work  of  Eudoxos,  17 :  many  commentaries  on 
the,  17;  translated  by  Cicero,  17;  by  others,  17; 
the  sole  guide  to  arrangement  of  early  constellations, 
17;  best  translated  by  Robert  Brown,  Jr.,  18;  quoted 
by  St.  Paul,  iB. 
Phalgunt,  954. 

Pharaoh  Neku,  sends  a  Phoenician  fleet  to  circum- 
navigate (?)  Africa  about  600  a.  c,  14. 
Pharaahah,  42a. 
Pharetra,  352. 
Pharmax,  184. 
Pharua  (Ara),  6a. 
Pheasant,  or  Phoenix,  464. 
Phenix,  335. 

Phililyrides  and  Philyrides,  149. 
Philo  Judaeua,  and  the  zodiac,  2. 
Philomelua,  04. 
Phoebeiua  Ales,  179. 
Phoebea  Miles,  421. 
Phoebi  Assessor,  193. 
Phoebi  Sidus,  022. 
Phoebo  Sacer  Ales,  179. 
Phoebus,  931. 

Phoenice  (Ursa  Minor), 448;  (a  Ursae  Minoris), 453. 
Phoenicia,  and  astronomy,  18,  19,  22;  etfassim. 
Phoenicopterua.    See  under  Grut,  238. 
Phoenix,  various  names  of,  335;   location  of,  335, 
33° :  Bayer's  name  for,  appropriate,  336 ;   with  the 
Egyptians,  336  ;  in  China,  336 :  with  Schiller,  336. 
Alpha  (a)  of  Phoenix,  name,  conspkuousness, 
and  culmination  of,  336. 
Phdnix,  335. 
Phorbas,  299. 
PhrixeaOvis  (Aries),  75. 
Phrixeum  Pecus,  75. 
Phrixi  Vector  (Aries),  75. 
Pi»  the  25th  situ,  35;  the  2d  «>»,  389. 
PUutos,  1x4. 
Pica  Indies,  4x8. 

Piccolomini  (of  Siena),  anticipates  Bayer,  13. 
Pictor,  914. 
Pidnu-sha-8hame,  an  Akkadian  name  for  the  xo- 

diac,  x ;  meaning  of  this  name,  x ;  asterism,  385. 
Pin  Ho,  93x. 
PihHoo,22. 
Pih  Keih,  456. 
PIb  Tow,  435. 


Pih  Yang,  78. 

PikhSrion,  960. 

Pikutorion,  8a. 

Pile  of  Bricks,  995. 

Pilgrim  Star,  The,  147. 

Pi  Lo  Sse  Mud,  346. 

Pirn  an,  931. 

Pincerna,  41. 

Pindar,  on  Aquarius,  46. 

Ping  Sing,  949,  968. 

Ping  Taou,  479. 

Pinnipes,  330. 

Pin- wheel  Nebula,  172. 

Pipiri,  299. 

Piri-ere-ua,  371. 

Pisces  (of  the  zodiac),  various  names  of,  336-349 ; 
wide  separation  of  the  figures  o£  337 ;  locations  of 
these,  337;  culminations  of,  337 ;  now  first  of  the  xo- 
diac, 337;  embraces  the  sign  Aries,  337;  also  the 
vernal  equinox,  337;  with  the  Greeks,  337;  with 
the  Romans,  337;  Miss  Clerke  on,  337;  on  the 
Euphrates,  337;  in  other  Eastern  systems,  337;  in 
earliest  Chinese  astronomy,  337,  338;  with  the  Ara- 
bians, 338;  Dante  and,  338;  with  the  Hindus,  338; 
Al  Blrunl  on,  338;  with  the  Greeks,  338,  339; 
legends  concerning,*  339 ;  the  Syrians  and,  339; 
with  the  Chaldaeans,  339 ;  in  Jewish  astronomy,  339 ; 
in  astrology,  340 ;  Ptolemy  distinguishes  them,  340 ; 
derivation  of  name  of,  340 ;  symbol  of,  340 ;  with 
the  biblical  school,  340,  341 ;  on  the  Merton  Col- 
lege zodiac,  341;  ancient  conjunctions  of  Jupiter 
and  Saturn  within,  341 ;  supposed  connection  of 
these  with  birth  of  Christ,  341 ;  predictions  con- 
cerning, 341;  Juno  discovered  in,  341;  Spenser 
on,  341 ;  with  La  Lande,  34X ;  details  concerning, 
349 ;  minor  components  of,  343. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Pisces,  various  names  of,  349 ; 
location  of,  349;  with  classic  writers,  349;  culmi- 
nation of,  343. 

Beta  (0)  of  Pisces,  name  of,  343;  a  component 
of  the  Chinese  Peih  Leih,  343. 

Delta  («)  of  Pisces,  names  identical  with  those 
of  Alpha  of  Pisces,  with  Bayer,  343;  a  component 
of  the  Chinese  Wae  Ping,  343. 

Zeta  (£)  of  Pisces,  prominent  in  Hindu  as- 
tronomy, 343 ;  in  various  Eastern  combinations,  343. 
Eta  fa)  of  Pisces,  with  Epping,  343 ;  in  Chi- 
nese astronomy,  343. 

Pisces  (of  Piscis  Australis),  344. 

Pisces  boreales,  340. 

Piscis  aquoous,  344. 

Piscis  Australis,  location  and  names  of,  344;  mod- 
ern representations  of,  344 ;  with  classic  and  modern 
writers,  344;  not  on  the  Farnese  globe,  344;  in 
early  legend,  344 ;  La  Lande  and,  344, 345;  Long- 
fellow's name  for,  345;  with  the  Arabians,  345; 
with  the  biblical  school,  345;  serologically  like 
Saturn,  345;  minor  components  of,  347. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Piscis  Australis,  Aratos  on, 
345;  present  location  of,  345;  with  Ptolemy,  345; 
many  names  and  varied  orthography  of,  345,  346  ; 
various  locations  of,  345, 346;  with  the  early  Arabs, 
346;  with  Flammarion,  346;  in  China,  346;  one  ot 


522 


General  Index 


Dante's  Tie  Facelle,  346;  southerly  position  of, 
346;  culmination  of,  346;  important  in  navigation, 
346. 

Beta  (fi)  of  Piacia  Australia,  namea  of,  347; 
in  China,  347. 

Piacia  Capricorn!,  345. 

Piacia  Gemellus,  337. 

Piacia  magnua,  345. 

Piacia  Meridionalie,  345. 

Piacia  aolitariua,  345. 

Piacia  Volana,  introduced  by  Bayer,  347;  names 
and  culmination  of,  347;  Schiller  on,  347;  the 
Chinese  Fe  Yu,  347. 

Piah  Pai,  235,  336. 

Pish  Parvia,  99a. 

Pietrix  (Cetus),  161. 

Pittore,  3x4. 

Place  where  One  Bows  Down,  36a. 

Plaatrum,  427. 

Plauatra  Parrhaaia,  437. 

Plauatric'ula,  427. 

Plauatri  Cuatoa,  94. 

Plauatrilu'ca,  427. 

Plauatrum  magnum,  497. 

Ple'iadea,'  The,  7 ;  various  names  of,  391-403 ;  in 
classic  poetry,  392;  everywhere  among  the  most 
noted  objects  in  the  lore  of  the  heavens,  393 ;  more 
studied  of  late  than  any  other  group,  392;  general 
location  of,  392 ;  other  placings  of,  392 ;  among  the 
first  stars  named  in  astronomical  literature,  392; 
with  the  Chinese  and  the  Hindus,  39a,  393 ;  in  Per- 
sia* 393!  on  the  Euphrates,  393;  Euripides  and, 
393;  in  the  BibU,  393,  394;  with  various  poets, 
394 ;  Miss  Clerke  on,  395 ;  derivation  of  name  of, 
395;  poetical  ngurings  of,  395;  legends  concern- 
ing. 395!  in  European  nomenclature,  396,  397;  in 
heraldry,  397;  with  the  Rabbis,  397 ;  among  Baby- 
lonian astrologers,  397,  398 ;  watesy  character  of, 
398 ;  in  Josephus,  398 ;  marked  objects  on  the  Nile, 
399 ;  temples  in  Greece  oriented  to  them,  399 ;  va- 
rious ngurings  of,  399,  400;  Miles  Coverdale  and, 
399 ;  well  known  to  savage  tribes,  400 ;  among  the 
Australians,  400;  on  the  Paraguay  River,  400; 
among  South  American  tribes,  400 ;  with  the  pagan 
Arabs,  400 ;  Miss  Clerke  and,  401 ;  a  sign  of  sced- 
ing-time,  401 ;  Hesiod,  Aristotle,  and  Vergil  on  this, 
40X ;  with  Mommsen  and  Drach,  401 ;  in  connec- 
tion with  various  ancient  systems  of  worship,  401 ; 
in  the  modern  church  calendar,  401;  Hippocrates 
and,  401,  40a ;  with  Caesar,  401 ;  in  classic  lore, 
40X,  402 ;  in  astrology,  40a ;  with  the  Arabs,  402 ; 
legends  concerning  origin  of,  402 ;  Pliny's  name 
for,  402 ;  associated  in  all  ages  with  philosophy  and 
literature,  402,  403 ;  BesseTs  lettered  stars  in,  405- 
408 ;  various  tacts  concerning  the  Pleiad  stars,  409- 
4x2 ;  minor  components  of,  4x2,  4x3. 

Pleiaa  and  Pleiaa  uda,  405. 

Ple'ione,  408. 

Ple'jaden  and  Plejadi,  397. 

Pliaa,  Pliade,  and  Pliadea,  395,  396. 

Pliny,  his  terms  for  the  sky-figures,  xo ;  on  Hippar- 
chos,  xx ;  his  number  of  asterisms  and  stars,  xx ;  on 
origin  of  Aries  and  Sagittarius,  18;  et  passim. 


Pli'one,  408. 

Plorana  (Bootes),  93. 

Ploatrum  magnum,  497. 

Plough,  431. 

Ploughman  with  hia  Oxen,  85. 

Plough  Oxen,  431. 

Pluteum  Pictoria,  2x4. 

Pluto's  Chariot,  275. 

Pocillator,  41. 

Poculum,  183. 

Poeticon  Aatronomicon,  The,  of  Hyginns,  11;  it 
passim. 

Pointers,  438. 

Poiaaon  Auatrale,  344. 

Poiaaona,  336. 

Poiaaon  Volant,  347. 

Polaris,  449,  453. 

Polariaaima,  458. 

Pole,  South,  The,  unfiguxed  space  around,  object 
of  early  investigators,  14;  extent  of  this  space,  14, 
15;  marked  by  Octans,  296;  in  classic  and  modem 
poetry,  296,  297 ;  among,  the  Hindus  and  Arabs, 
296:  bleakness  of  the  heavens  in  this  region  com- 
mented on  by  early  navigators,  296;  Peter  Martyr 
and  Pigafetta  on  this,  296 ;  other  allusions  to,  397. 

Pole-8tar,  453. 

Pole-8tar  of  the  South,  190. 

Polia,  359. 

Poliah  Bull,  4x3. 

Pollaria,  453. 

Pollucea,  233. 

Pollux,  233. 

Pollux.    See  under  Arte  O)  Gsmimsrmm. 

Poln  Stier,  4x3. 

Polyleukea,  223. 

Pomptina,  180. 

Ponderoaua,  68. 

Poniatowaki'B  Bull,  Poniatowaky'a  Stier,  41* 

Pope,  Alexander,  and  the  sodiac,  4. 

Porrima,  469. 

Portana  caput  larvae,  330. 

Portitor  Phrixi,  75. 

Portitor,  or  Proditor,  Europae,  379, 

Portitor  Uraae,  93. 

Poatvorta,  469. 

Pouaainiere,  400. 

Praecania  and  Procania,  X31. 

Praecipua,  the  htcida  of  Leo  Minor,  264. 

Praeciaio  Equi,  3x3. 

Praepee,  235. 

Praeaaepe,  incorrectly  Praeaepe,  113. 

Praeaegmen,  2x3. 

Praeaepe  Salvatoria,  282. 

Praja-plti,  90,  x8x,  309. 

Pratiahthana,  35,  325. 

Praxit'elea,  xo6. 

Preaepe,  correctly  Praeaaepe,  113. 

Prima  Hyadum  and  Primus  Hyadum,  39* 

Princepa  Armenti,  380. 

Princeps  Juventutia,  78. 

Princepa  Zodiaci,  76. 

Printing  Office.     See  Officwm  Typsgrapkk*- 

Priatla  and  Priatix,  x6x. 


General  Index 


5*3 


Pritithi,  976. 

Procidene  and  Prociduue,  040. 
Proclue,  3. 

Proctor,  on  the  study  of  astronomy,  xv ;  on  astro- 
logical colors,  49. 
Procumbena  in  genua,  240. 
Procyon  (Procion,  Prochion),  131, 133. 
Proditor  (Taurus),  379. 
Prodromua  Aatronomiae  of  1690, 13. 
Profugue,  330. 
Prolea  Derda,  338. 
Prometheua,  341. 
Propua,  335,  336. 
Proraa  and  Proaa,  470. 
Proeer'pina,  460. 

Proahthapadas,  35,  395. 
Protri'getrix,  471. 

Protrygctcr,  95. 

Provinde'mia  major,  471. 

Provinde'miator,  471. 

Prunarum  Conceptaculum  (Aia),  6a. 

Pnycsck,  the  Bohemian  Bootes,  97. 

Psalterlum  Qeorgii,  347. 

Paylle,  998. 

Ptah,  an  Egyptian  name  for  CapeUa,  87. 

Ptolemaeon,  70. 

Ptolemy,  Claudiua,  xii;  catalogues  constellations, 
xx  ;  composition  of  catalogue  o£  ix ;  et  passim. 

Puer  Aquilae  (Adrianaeua),  41. 

Puer  Idaeua  and  Iliacue,  46. 

Pueri  Tyndarii,  etc.,  22a. 

PofUi  *33- 

Pugio,  101. 

Pul,  or  BI1,  453. 

Pulaha,  438. 

Pulast'ya,  438. 

Pulcele,  460. 

Pulslnlere,  400. 

Puluk-ku,  108. 

Punarvarsu,  931. 

Pund,  969. 

PupiUa,  178,  983. 

Puppis.    SecArgv. 

Pur  Cahen,  134. 

Purple  8ubtle  Bndoaure,  456. 

Pflrva  Bhldrapadla,  35,  395. 

Pflrva  Phalguni,  254,  960. 

Puahya,  no,' 112. 

Puteus  (Ara),  6a. 

Pythagoras,  said  to  have  learned  from  Zoroaster,  ax. 

Python,  903. 

Pyxis,  Grotius'  name  for  •  Aquarii,  54. 

Pyxis  Nautlca,  54,  64 ;  formed  from  stars  in  Argo, 
34^ ;  an  anachronism,  348 ;  reannexed  by  Baily  to 
Argo,  348;  inserted  by  Gould  in  his  Uranomttria 
as  a  distinct  constellation,  348. 

Qablu  (and  qlbu)  aha  rlshu  aqrabi,  369. 

Qarnu  8hahH,  140. 

Quadra  Buclidia,  993. 

Qoadrane  Muralis,  location  and  names  of,  348; 
culmination  of,  348;  Quadrantids  of,  348;  not  rec- 
ognised by  modem  astronomers,  348. 


Quadrants,  348. 
Quadrantids,  The,  axo,  348. 
Quadrupea  vaata,  278. 
Quail's  Tail,  464. 
Querela,  349. 
Qui  in  genibus  est,  240. 
Quinque  Dromedarii,  907. 

Quintilian,  insists  that  astronomical  knowledge  is 
necessary  in  order  to  understand  the  classic  poets,  31. 
Quit,  Tha  8un'e,  245. 
Quiver,  The,  203. 

Rabe,  179. 

Racchetta,  La,  397. 

Raedgasnan  and  Raedgastran,  389. 

Rahab,  309. 

Rainy  Qoat-starre,  86. 

Rah  Kakeshan,  481. 

Rakhvad,  234. 

Ram,  The.    See  A  rut. 

Rameau  et  Cerbere,  159,  242. 

Ramm,  75. 

Rammln  or  Rammlnu,  47. 

Ramo,  159. 

Ramo  e  Cerbero,  242. 

Ramus  Pomifer,  242. 

Rana  Secuoda,  163. 

Raphael  (Hydrus  and  Tucana),  950,  995. 

Rashnawand,  3x5. 

Rat,  The,  47;  ideograph  for  water  in  the  East,  47. 

Rateau,  3x6. 

Ratis  Heroum,  66. 

Raven,  The.    See  Corvtts. 

Raaor,  a  Hindu  figure  for  the  Pleiades,  393. 

Red  Bird,  181,  464. 

Redgaesrum,  389. 

Red  8ea,  The,  2x7. 

Regia,  256. 

Regulus,  x56,  255. 

Rehua,  229. 

Reindeer,  The,  377. 

R<aem,  380. 

R'khubh,  45X. 

Renne,  377. 

Rennthier,  378. 

Repi  (Spica  of  Virgo),  468. 

Rescuer,  399. 

Retlcolo,  Reticule  or  Rhombe,  349. 

Reticulum  Rhomboidalia,  origin  and  location  of, 

348>  349:  olhcT   names  of,  349;    first  drawn  by 

Habrecht,  349. 
RevatI,  338,  343. 
Reveoante  of  the  Swan,  198. 
Rex,  255,  956. 

Rhomboidal  Net,  The,  348. 
Rhomboidische  Nets,  349. 
Rhombus,  349. 
Riga  e  Squadra,  293. 
Rikeha,  424. 
Ring  Nebula,  287. 
Rishabam,  382. 
Riahi,  494. 
Riehu  A.,  960. 


SH 


General  Index 


Riu-but-eame,  97. 

River  Jordan,  2x3,  348. 

Rlver-of-the-Divine-Lady,  475. 

River  of  Heaven,  474. 

River  of  Ocean,  2x5. 

River  of  Orion,  9x7. 

Rlver-of-the-Shepherd's-hut,  475. 

River  Tigris,  4x3. 

Riwand,  343. 

Road  of  Saint  Jacques  ofCompostella,  480. 

Robur  Carolinum,  origin  and  names  o£  349 ;  La 
Cattle  and,  349;  in  Reeves'  list  oi  Chinese  star- 
tides,  349. 

Roha,  an  undefined  word  for  Auriga,  85. 

RohinI,  366.  384.  389. 

Romans,  The,  and  astronomy,  19;  ttpauim. 

Roman  V,  388. 

Rosa,  170. 

Roaa  myetica,  9x4. 

Roach  haaaatan,  the  Divela  head,  33s. 

Rosemund,  195. 

RSsh  ha  8Itin,  33a. 

Rota  Ixionie,  173. 

Rotanev  and  Rotanen,  aoo,  aoi. 

Roue,  La,  496. 

Row  of  Pearls,  343. 

Row  or  Ridge,  a  figure  of  the  15th  nakskmtra,  367. 

Royer,  Augustin,  13. 

Rubecchio,  Tuscan  name  for  xodiac,  4;  Longfel- 
low's translation  of,  5. 

Rubu,  76. 

Rudolphine  Tablee,  The,  13. 

Rukub,  45°- 

Rukubi,  84. 

Runaway  Star,  446. 

Ruth,  Caesius'  figure  for  Virgo,  461. 

Rutilicua  and  Rutilico,  943,  944. 

8a,  a  Leonis  on  the  Euphrates,  958. 
Babesias,  96. 
Sacks  of  Coale,  994. 
Sacrarium  or  8acria,  69. 
Sadmasij,  59. 

Saetta,  349- 

Sagarinus,  374. 

Sa-gi-mu,  999. 

Sagitta,  insignificance  of,  349; 
349-3SX;  location  of,  349:  ▼«* 
astrological  nature  of,  350;  with  Bayer,  350:  with 
the  Hebrews,  350;  not  in  the  Reeves  list,  351; 
with  Caesius  and  Schiller,  351;  extent  of,  351; 
other  details  concerning,  351. 

Sagitta  arcui  applicata,  359. 

Sagittarie  and  Saagittare,  359. 

8agittario,  331. 

Sagittarius,  quotation  from  Smyth  on,  9;  various 
names  of,  35*-357:  location  of,  351;  with  the 
Greeks  and  Latins,  351;  with  Eastern  nations, 
359;  among  the  Jews,  359;  with  the  biblical 
school,  359,  353;  formation  of,  on  the  Euphrates 
preceded  that  of  Chiron,  the  Southern  Centaur,  353 ; 
various  figurings  of,  353 ;  on  the  Denderah  zodiac, 
353 j  confusion  of,  with  the  Southern  Centaur,  353 ; 


353*   354:    u 


1  of, 
b  figurings  of,  350 ; 


legends 

scriptions,  354;  mentioned  in  Second  Bmk  iftkt 
Kings,  354;  in  the  Assyrian  calendar,  354;  of 
Euphratean  origin,  354 ;  with  the  Hindus  354 :  ■ 
ancient  Arabia,  355 ;  facts  concerning  minor  com- 
ponents of,  355;  the  Chinese  Tiger,  356;  ia  as- 
trology, 356;  on  early  coinage,  356:  La  Caule  and, 
356;  symbol  o£  357:  the  sua  and,  357;  other  de- 
**us  of,  357;  minor  components  of,  350,  360. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Sagittarius,  various  names  of, 
357 :  possibly  the  Euphratean  Nibat  Ann,  357. 

Beta  ifi\  0*)  of  Sagittariua,  names  of,  357: 
with  (aswlnl,  357. 

Gamma  (y)  of  8agittariua,  various  names  oC 
357*  35B ;  on  the  Borgian  globe,  358 ;  ia  China,  35I 
Delta  («)  of  Sagittariua,  names  of,  358. 
Bpailon  («)  of  Sagittariua,  names  of,  35I: 
facts  concerning,  358. 

Zeta  (£)  of  Sagittariua,  name  of,  358 ;  b  East- 
ern astronomies,  358. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Sagittariua,  names  of,  35*, 
359 ;  with  £anrlni,  358 ;  the  wm  of,  359. 

Ma  (m\  »*)  of  Sagittarius,  names  and  locacioa 
of,  359;  details  concerning,  359;  Brown  upon,  35> 
Nu  (rl,  r1)  of  Sagittarius,  name  and  nature  of. 
359 ;  components  of  the  Chinese  Kien  Sing,  350. 
Pi  (tr)  of  Sagittariua,  names  of,  359. 
Sigma  (•*)  of  Sagittariua,  names  and  locauoo 
of,  359;  with  the  Hindus,  359:  possibly  a  compo- 
nent of  the  Akkadian  Gu-sku-rab-ba,  360. 

Omega  (••)  of  Sagittariua,  with  other  muwr 
stars  the  Kow  Kwo  of  China,  360. 
Sagittariua  tenons  pateram  aeu  crateram,  131. 
Sagittary  and  Sagitary,  35*- 
Sagittaire,  351. 

Sagittifer  (Bootes),  97;  (Sagittarius),  35X. 
Sagittiger  and  Sagittlpotens  (Sagittarius),  351 
8agmarius  Caballua,  393. 
8ahu,  90,  307. 
Saint  Andrew,  389. 
Saint  Benedict,  999. 
Saint  Catherine  the  Martyr,  57. 
Saint  David,  iao. 
Saint  James  the  Greater,  924. 
8aint  James  the  Leas,  465. 
Saint  Jerome,  86;  et  p€uum. 
Saint  Job,  391. 
Saint  John,  109, 
Saint  Joaeph,  3x0. 
Saint  Laurence's  Teara,  335. 
Saint  Marguerite,  179. 
Saint  Matthew  the  Apoatle,  333. 
Saint  Matthias,  341. 
Saint  Paul  with  the  Malteae  Viper,  999. 
Saint  Peter,  78. 
Saint  8tephen,  157. 
Saint  Sylvester,  98. 
Sal,  3x0,  396. 
Salkim,  467. 
Saltator,  940. 
Saitatorea,  459. 

Ugh'riei,  48x. 
1,949. 


General  Index 


5*5 


Samu,  958. 

Sanctua  and  Sancua,  341. 

San  KiS  Hung,  4x7. 

San  Kung,  115. 

SanTae.444. 

San  Tsse,  444. 

Saptar  3hayarf  435. 

Sara-faaariva,  277,  473. 

Sarama,  119,  485. 

Sardhiwa,  30a. 

Saren,  393. 

Sargea,  369. 

Sarlt,  385. 

Sarttn,  108. 

Sarwa,  47a. 

3artono,  correctly  Sartana,  108. 

Sarur,  370. 

Sarw,  495. 

Sa-Sha-Shiru,  468. 

Sata  Va8aa,  67. 

Sataves,  385. 

Satellites  of  Jupiter,  Marius'  names  for,  39. 

Satevia,  956,  366. 

Saturn  Nebula,  54. 

Saturnua,  308. 

Satyr,  353. 

Sayce,  Profoeaor>.  H.,  on  the  Akkadian  Calendar, 
i:  et passim. 

Scaliger  and  others,  on  star  nomenclature,  xi;  et 
passim. 

Scalovin,  aoi. 

Scarabaeua,  109. 

Sceptre,  Brandenburg,  360. 

Sceptre  and  Hand  of  Justice.    See  Lmeerta. 

Sceptrum  Brandenburgicum,  when  charted,  360; 
now  practically  forgotten,  360. 

Scheil,  Pare,  confirms  date  of  discovery  of  Creation 
Legend,  a  (note). 

Schiff,  64. 

Schiflahrta  Geatirn,  397- 

8chif-atern,  71. 

Schiller,  J.  P.  C.  (the  poet),  and  the  zodiac,  9. 

Schiller,  Juliue,  38;  et  passim. 

Schjellerup  159,  116;  location  of,  xx6;  character 
of,  xx6. 

Schlange,  374. 

SchlangentrMger,  997. 

Schlegel,  Ouatave,  Uranographis  Chinoise  of,  9a. 

Scooter,  356, 

SchUtx  and  Schutae,  3sx. 

Schwan,  X99. 

Schwerdtfiach,  aoa. 

8dp-ateorra,  454. 

Scorpio,  and  its  daws,  a  double  sign,  i. 

Scorpio,  names  of  and  legends  concerning,  360-364 ; 
in  e»Hy  poetry,  361 ;  largest  of  early  zodiac  figures, 
3G1 ;  with  Ovid,  361 ;  with  the  Greeks  and  Latins 
generally,  361 ;  in  carry  China,  361 ;  Sir  William 
Drummond  and,  369;  with  the  Hebrews,  369; 
Chatterton  and  Spenser  on,  369 ;  on  the  Denderah 
*«iiac,  36a ;  with  the  Arabians  and  Persians,  369 ; 
with  the  Akkadians,  36a ;  a  symbol  of  darkness, 
36a ;  in  early  India,  363 ;  with  Dante,  Chaucer,  and 


Longfellow,  363;  in  the  biblical  school,  363;  the 
symbol  of,  363;  in  meteorology,  363 ;  in  astrology, 
363,  364;  other  details  concerning,  364;  minor 
components  of,  369* 

Alpha  (a)  of  Scorpio,  various  names  of,  364- 
367;  derived  from  Ptolemy,  364;  with  the  astrolo- 
gers, 365 ;  with  various  astronomical  writers,  365 ; 
in  China,  365;  with  the  Hindus,  Persians,  and 
Babylonians,  366;  Cheyneand,  366;  in  Egypt,  366 ; 
Penrose  upon,  366;  rising  and  culmination  of,  366; 
other  details  concerning,  367. 

Beta  (/3)  of  Scorpio,  various  names  of,  367, 
368;  derivation  of  name  of,  obscure,  367;  in  Arabia, 
367 ;  with  the  Hindus,  367 ;  in  China,  368 ;  Pro- 
fessor Whitney  and,  368;  occultations  of,  368; 
other  details  concerning,  368. 

Qamma  (y)  of  8corpio,  names  of,  368,  369 ; 
astronomers  at  variance  over,  368;  in  Arabia,  369; 
in  China,  369 ;  Brown  upon,  369. 

Delta  (I)  of  8corpio,  names  of,  369,  370;  im- 
portant in  early  times,  369;  on  the  Euphrates,  369; 
with  the  Babylonians,  369;  in  other  Eastern  as- 
tronomies, 369 ;  in  China,  369. 

Theta  (8)  of  Scorpio,  the  Euphratean  Sargas, 
369;  details  concerning,  369,  370. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Scorpio,  names  of,  370;  in 
astrology,  370;  in  Arabian  and  Hindu  astronomy, 
370;  in  the  Polynesian  islands,  370;   other  details 
concerning,  37X. 
Nu  (v)  of  Scorpio,  names  and  location  of,  371. 
Xi  (£)  of  Scorpio,  details  concerning,  371. 
8igma  (<r)  of  8corpio,  name  of,  371. 
Upailon  (v)  of  8corpio,  names  of,  371,  379 ; 
Smyth  on,  379;  in  China,  379;  Ideler  on,  379. 

Omega  («•*,  *»)  of  8corpio,  names  and  location 
of,  379. 

8corpion,  The.    See  Scorpio. 

8corpione  of  Rehoboam,  363. 

8corpioa,  361. 

Scorpioun,  363. 

8corpiua.    See  Scorpio. 

8corpiua  cum  Chslis,  361. 

8croll,  989. 

8cudo  di  8obieaki,  373. 

Sculptor,  formed  by  La  Caille,  379 ;  various  names 
of,  379 ;  inconspkuousness  and  location  of,  379. 

8cultore,  37s. 

Scutulum,  74. 

Scutum  8obieecianum,  various  names  of,  373; 
formed  by  Hevelius,  373;  figuring*  of,  373;  long 
known  in  China,  373;  other  details  concerning,  373. 

8cutum  Bobieskii,  or  Sobieaii,  373. 

8cyphue,  183. 

8cytta,  359. 

Sea,  The,  45,  359- 

Sea  Calf,  33. 

Sea  Goat  (or  Ooat-Piah),  138. 

8eang,  440. 

8eaou  Tow,  165. 

Seaou  Wei,  [964. 

Secchione,  363. 

8ecdeidoa,  or  8eclenidoa,  de  Daraama,  463. 

Sectio  Bqui  Minoria,  or  Equina,  9x3. 


526 


General  Index 


Sectio  Tauri,  379. 

Secundus  or  Sequent  (Canis  Major),  118. 

Bed,  Sept,  Sepet  or  Set,  20, 124. 

Sedes  Regalia  or  Regie,  143. 

Sedillot,  on  the  lunar  mansions,  8. 

See  Compaae  in  Argo.    See  Pyxis  Nautica. 

Segel  (Vela),  64. 

Seginua  (Bootes),  95 ;  (y  Bodtis),  103. 

Seginua  (Cepheus),  156. 

Segment  of  Peraeua,  331. 

Se  Han  fa  Librae,  etc.),  278. 

Seih  Muh  (Sagittarius),  356. 

8eitaen  tahtinen,  in  Una  Major,  424. 

Sekhet,  y  Draconis  in  Egypt,  209. 

Selk-t,  or  Serk-t,  366. 

Sella  and  Solium,  143. 

Semi-Capran  Fiab,  The,  138. 

8emi  Fer  and  Semi  Vir  (Centaurus),  151. 

Semi-perfectus  (Equuleus),  313. 

8emita  Lactea,  476. 

8emivir  (Sagittarius),  352. 

Sen  (0  Serpentis),  376. 

8eneca,  on  formation  of  the  constellations,  18. 

Senex  Aequoreue,  156. 

Septem-  or  Septentrionea,  431,  447. 

8eptentrio  (Bootes),  94. 

Sepulcrum  Christ!  (Andromeda),  33. 

Ser  or  Shir  (Leo),  253. 

Serk-t  (a  Centauri),  153. 

Serpens,  a  name  for  our  Draco,  203. 

Serpens,  various  names  of,  374,  375 ;  antiquity  and 
figuring  of,  374 ;  Manilius  on,  374 ;  with  the  Greeks 
and  Latins,  374;  in  Arabia,  374,  375 ;  with  the  He- 
brews, 375 ;  with  the  biblical  school,  375 ;  other  de- 
tails concerning,  375;  minor  components  of,  376; 
Chinese  names  for  these  last,  376. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Serpens,  various  names  of,  375; 
Smyth  on,  375;  with  Ovid  and  Vergil,  375;  in 
China,  375;  Edkins  on,  375;  the  radiant  point  of 
the  Alpha  Serpentids,  376 ;  culmination  of,  376. 

Beta  O)  of  Serpent,  with  the  Chinese,  376; 
near  the  radiant  point  of  the  Beta  Serpentids,  376  • 
unnamed  except  in  China,  376. 

Theta  (•)  of  Serpens,  names  of,  376;  in  China, 
376 ;  location  of,  376. 

8erpena  Aquaticus  (Hydra),  247. 

Serpent  Herculeus,  Lernaeua,  8agarinus  or 
Tiberinus,  374. 

Serpent,  The.    See  Serpen*. 

Serpent,  stars  of  Lepus  in  Egypt,  265. 

Serpentaire  (Ophiuchus),  297. 

Serpent-charmer  (Ophiuchus),  298. 

Serpente  (Serpens),  374. 

Serpent-holder,  The.    See  Ophiuchus. 

Serpentids,  The  Alpha,  376. 

Serpentids,  The  Beta,  376. 

Serpentiger  and  Serpentinarius,  298. 

Serpentis  Lator  add  Serpentis  Praesea,  298. 

Serpent  of  Aesculapius  (Caesius,  Qlaucus, 
Laocotin,  or  Ophiuchua),  374. 

Sertum  Australe  (Corona  Australis),  173. 

Servana  Antinolim  (Aquila),  56. 

Servant,  The  (Pegasus  in  Egypt),  20,  324. 


Set  (Sirius),  so,  124. 

Set  (the  ctrcumpolar  constellations),  434. 

Sete  Flammas  (Ursa  Major),  424. 

Sette  Palommielle  (the  Pleiades),  396. 

Seulainer  (the  Pleiades),  397. 

Seven  Antelopes  (Ursa  Major),  424. 

Seven  Atlantic  8istera,  396. 

Seven  Bears  or  Seven  Bulls,  424. 

8even  Champions  of  Christendom  (Ursa  Ma- 
jor), 424. 

8even  Dovelets  (the  Pleiades),  396. 

8even  Little  Indiana  (Ursa  Major),  424. 

Seven  Poets,  The,  or  Seven  Sleepers,  424. 

Seven  Portuguese  Towers  (Virgo),  465. 

8even  Sages,  The,  or  Seven  Wise  Men,  4*4 

Seven  Shiners,  The,  424. 

Seven  8isters,  The,  or  8even  Virgins,  396. 

8even  Sisters  of  Industry,  993. 

8even  8tars,  The  (the  Hyadcs),  388. 

Seven  8tara,  The  (stars  of  Hydra  in  China),  mS- 

Seven  Stars,  The  (the  Pleiades),  396. 

Seven  Stars,  The  (in  Ursa  Major),  424. 

8extant,  The.    See  Sextans  Uraauu. 

8extans  Uraniae,  formed  by  Hevdnis,  376;  orif- 
inal  figuring  0^377;  generally  recognized  by  as- 
tronomers, 377 ;  De  Rheita  and,  377 ;  die  imcida  oi 
377 ;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  377. 

8haddai,  El  (note),  124. 

Shad  Mashir,  Aquila  in  Sogdiana,  59. 

8haghar,  Spica  in  Sogdiana,  467. 

8hah,  or  Shahu  (Capricornus),  139. 

Shahin  tara  sed  of  Nasr  al  Din,  57. 

Shakespeare  and  astrology,  23:  et passim. 

Shak-ahadi,  the  20th  lunar  station,  14a 

Shllish  and  Shftlieha,  82,  416. 

8hang  Ching,  in  CamelopardaUs,  107. 

Shang  Pih,  i  Draconis  in  China,  21a 

Shang  Poo,  or  8haou  Poo  (A  Draconis),  a". 

8hang  Seang,  stars  in  Leo  and  Virgo,  260, 47° 

Shang  Tae,  minor  stars  in  Ursa  Major,  443*  444- 

8hang  Tsae  (ij  Draconis),  2x0. 

Shang  Tseang,  sure  in  Coma  and  Leo,  171,  36 j- 

Shang  Wei,  minor  stars  in  Camdopardsfe  and 
Draco,  107,  158. 

8haou  Pih  (9  Draconis),  212. 

Shaou  We  (*  Ursae  Majoris),  445. 

Shaou  Wei,  minor  stars  in  Camelopardalb,  D**0* 
and  Leo,  107, 158,  254. 

Shark,  Long  Blue  Clond-eating,  The,  4** 

8harru  (a  Leon  is),  255. 

Shat  (the  24th  situ),  326. 

Shawsbat,  Sogdian  lunar  station,  53. 

Shay  Fuh,  Shay  Show,  and  Shay  We,  ayx 

She,  stars  of  Columba  in  China,  x68. 

8beaf  of  Wheat  (Coma  Berenices),  170. 

Shebbeltfi  (the  Syriac  a  Virginis),  467. 

Sh'bhil  Tebhnfi  (the  Syriac  Galaxy),  481. 

Sheep,  The  (stars  in  Cepheus),  157. 

Sheep  within  the  Pasture  (Club  of  Hercules),  Mr 

She  Low  (A  Ophiuchi),  303. 

Shen  (Orion  in  China),  3x0. 

Shepherd,  The  (stars  in  Cepheus),  157- 

8hepherd  and  his  Dog,  The,  375. 


General  Index 


P7 


Shepheid  of  the  Heavenly  Flock,  ioz. 

Shepherd's  Star,  The  (Capella),  88;  (Venus),  88. 

Shepu-arku  sha-A,  469. 

She  Sang  Neu,  Virgo  in  China,  464. 

Sheu  sing:,  «tars  of  Virgo  in  China,  473. 

ShibbClcth  (Spica),  467. 

Sh!  Ch'en,  or  Chin  (Gemini  and  Orion),  999,  310. 

Shield,  The,  390. 

Shih  (a  Pegasi),  395. 

Shih  Tase  Kea,  Crux  in  China,  190. 

ShihOr,  incorrectly  Sihor,  124. 

Shing  Kung,  stars  in  Scorpio,  361. 

Ship  Argo,  The.    See  A  rgo  Mavis. 

Ship  of  Saint  Peter,  436. 

Shl-shu-mlra  or  Sim-ehu-mlra  (Capricorn us), 

138;  (Delphinus),  aoo;  (Draco),  aoo,  904. 
ShOr,  Taurus  in  Judaea,  380. 
Show  Sing  (Libra),  372. 
Shuh,  stars  of  Serpens,  375. 
Shiila,  or  Sfila,  Crux  in  ancient  India,  185. 
Shun  Ho,  or  Sse  Tsse  (Leo),  954. 
Shan  Show,  in  the  early  Chinese  zodiac,  no. 
Shun  Wei,  Virgo  in  China,  464. 
ShQr,  the  Babylonian  Taurus,  382. 
Shur-mahrfi-shiru,  marked  by  y  Virginia,  470. 
Shur-narkabti-aha-iltanu  (0  Tauri),  390. 
Shur-narkabti-sha-ahutu  (£  Tauri),  39s. 
Shushak,  Khorasmian  lunar  station,  47a. 
Shuter,  The  Persian  Cassiopeia,  414. 
Shwang  Vu,  present  Chinese  name  for  Pisces,  338. 
Shwuy  Foo,  Chinese  asterism  in  Orion,  32a 
Shwuy  Wei  (in  Canis  Minor),  135;  (a  Eridani),  9x8 
Sib-si-anna  (a  and  i?  Bootis),  xoi,  104. 
Sicilia  (Triangulum),  4x6. 
Sickle,  The,  253,  255. 
Sidhaya,  the  6th  nakajkatra,  no. 
Sidus  Pauatum  Regis,  51. 
Sidus  Hyantis,  388. 
Sidus  Ludovlcianuxn,  446. 
Sidus  Minervae  et  Bacchi,  203. 
Sidus  Vergillarum,  396. 
Siebengestirn  and  Sifunsterri,  396. 
Siete  Cabrillas,  397. 

Sieu,  a  Chinese  lunar  station,  9 ;  et  passim. 
Sigillarius,  3. 
Signatricia  Lumina,  396. 
Signum  hiemale  (Capricorn us),  135. 
Signum  Tau  (Triangulum  Australe),  417. 
Sihor,  correctly  ShlbJSr,  X24. 
Siktut,  a  Greenland  figure  for  Orion's  Belt,  3x5. 
Siliquastrnm  (in  Cassiopeia),  144. 
Silver  River,  The,  475- 
Si-mal,  or  8i-mul  (a  Arietis),  80. 
81  ma  ta'ien  (in  Orion),  3x9. 
Simham,  or  Sinha  (the  Tamil  Leo),  254. 
Simon  Zelotes  (Capricorn us),  137. 
Sin,  or  Sam,  the  16th  sum,  365. 
8ing,  the  8th  situ,  248. 
Singe  Hanuant  (a  Canis  Minoris),  134. 
Sing  Ki,  in  Capricornus  and  Sagittarius,  139,  356. 
Sinha,  or  Simham,  in  Leo,  954. 
Sin-nun-tu,  or  8i-nu-nu-tum,  358. 
Sir,  or  Tsir,  304,  30a. 


Sirii,  The  Two,  195. 

Sirion,  Syrius  and  Canis  Syrius,  xx8. 

8irius,  Serius,  etc.,  9,  190-199. 

Sirius  Jemenicue,  121. 

Siru,  or  Shiru  (Virgo),  464. 

Situla  (Aquarius),  45;  (*  Aquarii),  54. 

Situla  (o1  Eridani),  9x9. 

8ivlnam,  of  the  Rig  Veda,  122. 

Skinker,  The  (Aquarius),  48. 

Sky  figuree,  multiplicity  of,  decried,  x6;  reform  in 
system  of,  tried,  16 ;  old  system  of,  soil  remains, 
16 ;  formation  and  original  date  of  the  earliest  o(, 
16 ;  various  countries  claim  to  have  originated,  x6 ; 
sources  of  the  old  48  lost  in  antiquity,  x8;  Pliny 
and  Eudemos  on  the,  18 ;  preservation  of  them  by 
the  Greeks,  x8;  ancient  Egyptian,  90;  Professor 
Edward  S.  H olden  on,  s8;  DQrer  and  the,  98;  the 
fiur'dH  on,  33.    See  also  under  Constellations. 

Smati-Oeirie,  Orion  in  Egypt,  308. 

Smith,  George,  discovers  the  Crtation  Legend,  1. 

8mon  barbaris%  and  Smon  nautis,  199. 

8myth,  William  Henry,  xvii;    et  passim. 

Snail,  The,  perhaps  Draco  in  Babylonia,  904. 

Sobieski's  Shield,  Sobieskischer  8child.  See 
Scutum  Sobiescianum. 

Solarium,  location  of,  377 ;  origin  of  obscure,  377 ; 
ignored  by  astronomers,  377. 

Solechin,  the  Egypto-Greek  Sirius,  194. 

Solitaire,  and  the  Solitary  Thrush,  293,  4x8. 

Soma-cup,  The,  of  prehistoric  India,  183. 

Sonans  (Cepheus),  156. 

Sonipes,  and  Sonipes  Ales,  151,  333. 

Son  of  the  Shunammite  (AntmoQs),  41. 

Soot-bag,  or  Coal-sack,  xoo,  297. 

8opet  and  Sopdit  (Sirius),  194. 

Soror  Ple'iadum,  407. 

Sosigenes,  aids  JuKus  Caesar  to  reform  calendar,  19. 

Sot,  Sothi,  or  Sothis,  90,  193,  194. 

Southern  Celestial  Clock,  189. 

Southern  Cross,  The.    See  Crux. 

Southern  Crown,  The.    See  Corona  Australis. 

Southern  Fish ,  The.    See  Piscis  A  ustraUs. 

Southern  Ply,  The.    See  Afusca  A  ustraUs. 

Southern  Gate  of  the  8un  (Capricornus),  136. 

Southern  Pointers,  The  (a  and  0  Cen  tauri),  154. 

Southern  Tramontane  (Ursa  Major),  499. 

Southern  Triangle.    See  Triangulum  Austral*. 

South  Triangle  (Crux),  189. 

8partana  Soboles,  or  Suboles,  222. 

Spartan  Twins,  The,  992. 

8pear,  The  (Sagitta),  351. 

Spectral  Gem,  The  (y  Velae),  73. 

Spence,  Joseph,  in  Polymetis%  50;  et  passim. 

Spica,  Spicum  and  Spigha,  466. 

Spicifera  Virgo  Cereris,  461. 

Spinning  Damsel,  The  (Lyra),  58. 

Spira  Australis  (Corona  Australis),  173. 

Spiral  Nebula,  The,  1x6. 

Stachys  (Virgo),  463 ;  (Spica),  466. 

Staff,  Jacob's,  315. 

Star-deaignationa,  contusion  in  consequence  of 
change  in,  16 ;  et  passim. 

Star  groups.    See  Constellations  and  Sky  figures. 


52* 


General  Index 


Star  in  the  Chayre,  The,  147. 

8tar-names,  interrelation  of  Arabic  end  Greek,  xii; 
antiquity  of,  adii;  origin  of  Arabic,  archaic,  xin; 
derivation  of  many,  xiv;  classic  writers  on,  xiv; 
first  given  by  herdsmen,  hunters,  sailors,  etc.,  xv. 

Star  of  Arcady,  in  Milton's  Cemms,  456. 

8tar  of  Autumn  (Sinus),  iso. 

Star  (or  Stars),  of  Crucero,  The  (Crux),  188. 

Star  of  Maxduk  (Capella),  88. 

8tarofOairia  (Canopus),  70. 

8tar  of  Saint  Catharine  (Canopus),  71. 

8tar  of  the  Flocka,  perhaps  a  Arietis,  80. 

Star  of  the  Ooddeaa  Bahu  (Denebola),  359. 

Star  of  the  Hunter  (the  Hyades),  389. 

8tar,  or  8tar  of  piercing  brightneaa,  The,  398. 

8tar  Royal,  257  {extract). 

8tarry  Seven,  The,  of  Keats'  Endymum,  391. 

Stars  of  the  Water,  The,  so. 

Stars,  The,  titles  of,  chiefly  from  the  Arabs,  xii; 
number  of,  on  present  maps,  15 ;  increase  of  num- 
ber of,  to  be  charted,  15;  German  folk-lore  and,  97 : 
other  superstitions  about,  37;  emblems  of  sanctity 
in  early  Christian  art,  a8;  blunders  of  painters  and 
authors  in  regard  to  the,  29-31 ;  allusions  in  classic 
writers  to  the,  31;  Quintitian  and,  31;  Tennyson 
accurate  regarding,  31;  Dante,  Lowell,  and  Long- 
fellow on,  31;  et  passim. 

Star-worship,  in  Arabia,  96:  in  India,  96;  in 
Egypt,  36;  in  Greece,  36;  Aristophanes  on,  96; 
Aristotle  on,  36 ;  mentioned  by  Plato,  36;  by  Dante, 
96;  by  others,  36-38;  et  passim. 

State  Chariot,  Leo  and  Leo  Minor  in  China,  364. 

Statius,  on  the  constellations,  37;  et  passim. 

Steering  Star,  455. 

Steinbok  (Capricornus),  135. 

Stella  Domlnatrix  (Aldebaran),  384. 

Stella  Maris  and  Stella  Polaris,  453,  454. 

Stelllo  (Lacerta),  351. 

Steph'ani  (8,  0,  and  w  Scorpii),  369. 

Ster'ope  I  and  Ster'ope  II  (Steropes  8idue),  407. 

Stier,  Der  (Taurus),  378. 

Stimulus  (s)1  to  «K  Aurigae),  oa. 

Stork  in  the  Heaven,  The  (Grus),  337. 

Strada  di  Roma  (the  Galaxy),  480. 

Stranger  Star,  The,  in  Cassiopeia,  147. 

Straeae,  Hilda,  or  Jakob's  Hulde,  479. 

Strong  One,  The  (Sagittarius),  354. 

Struve,  Wilhelm,  and  family,  37  {note) ;  discovery 
concerning  companion  of  y  Andromedae,  37. 

8tymphalian  Birds,  The,  56. 

Snalocin,  soo. 

Sublimatns  (Hydra),  347;  (Orion),  307. 

Subrnffa,  Bayer's  error  as  to  a  Tauri,  384. 

Suc'ula,  Suculae,  and  Succidae,  384,  388. 

Sudarium  Veronicas,  377. 

Siidliche  Fiach,  344. 

Siidliche  Fliege,  991. 

Siidliche  Krone,  173. 

Sugi  («  Cannae),  71 ;  (me  Wain),  431. 

Sugi  Stars  (in  Libra),  974,  376. 

8ukk5th  and  Succoth,  B'nSth,  397. 

Sukra,  Sirius  in  earliest  India,  193. 

Su~ku-du,  Sirius  in  Assyria,  193. 


8ulcns,  RicaolTs  name  for  •  Eridaai,  no. 

8nn  (stars  in  Celumba),  168. 

8undeamoa,  349. 

8un-dial,  The.    See  Solarium. 

8ung,  n  Ophiuchi  in  China,  30a. 

Sun  of  the  South,  Cancer  in  Akkadia,  108. 

Sun's  Apex  and  Quit,  The,  945. 

Supa,  Akkadian  lunar  station  in  Gemini,  331. 

Superba,  La  (15a  Schjeuerup),  tie. 

Surya  Siddhanta,  The,  8  (mote). 

Suttjenea  Ravko,  the  Pleiades  in  Sweden,  397- 

8u-tul,  Capricornus  in  Akkadia,  139. 

Svati,  Arcturus  and  the  13th  aaJksAatrm,  too, 

Swan,  The.    See  Cygnus. 

Swan  Nebula,  The,  374. 

Swargm  Dnlii,  the  Galaxy  in  North  India,  475- 

Swordfiah,  The.    See    Xipkuu  under  Deride, 

90S. 

Swordftah,  The,  Capricornus  in  Egypt,  138- 

8word  Hand  of  Perseus,  The,  335. 

Syntaxis,  The  (Almagest),  of  Cbwfias  Pttlaaj. 
xii ;  unknown  in  Europe  tin  the  x6th  century,  xn: 
description  of,  u ;  corrected  by  Ulng  Beg,  is  tp* 
century,  13 ;  et  passim. 

Syr,  a  possible  Celtic  original  of  Sams,  iso. 

8yrius,  118,  no. 

Syrma  (1 Virgmis),  47a. 

Syrorum  Dea  (Virgo),  40s. 

Syryan  Voykodsyun,  the  Pleiades,  398. 

Sxe  Poo,  Chinese  stars  in  CanielopardsKs,  107. 

8se  FHh,  Chinese  stars  in  Moaoceros,  soo. 

Sse  Wei,  *  and  d  in  Equuleus,  314. 

Table  Mountain,  The.    See  Meat  Mens* 

Tables,  of  Ulug  Beg,  a;  et  passim. 

Tae,  Chinese  stars  m  Capricofnus,  149. 

Taehti,  a  title  for  Polaris  in  Finland,  454. 

Tae  Wei,  stars  of  Leo  and  Virgo,  354. 

Tae  Yang:  8how, «  Ursae  Majoris,  445- 

Tafelberg,  991. 

Tah,  the  8th  stem,  948. 

Tail,  or  Train,  of  Light,  448. 

Ted  Wei,  a  Chinese  stellar  division,  99. 

Tai  VI,  in  Draco,  906  (extract). 

Taj,  AI,  a  Persian  figure  in  Orion,  390. 

Ta  KiS,  Arcturus  in  China,  100. 

Ta  Leans;,  Taurus  in  China,  381. 

Ta  Line,  t  Persd,  334. 

Talyn  Arthur,  the  early  Britons'  Lyra,  98a. 

Tambim,  Taurus  in  AI  Bfr&ni* s  India,  38s. 

Tammech,  ched  by  Ricdoli  for  Gemini,  394. 

Tana;  Shay,  one  of  early  China's  Dragons.  i&i 

Taonri,  Taurus  m  India,  38a. 

Tapttra  Rayoaba,  Taurus  on  the  Assatoo,  j*i 

Taraha,  Persian  lunar  station  in  Gemini,  231 

Tarandus  vel  Rangifer,  location  and  fonnaws  d 

377»  378:  names  of,  377,  378;  seldom  figured.  **• 

now  rarely  mentioned,  378. 
Taxasad  and  Tarased,  60. 
Tarlsuk  and  Terixfl  (Libra),  973. 
Tarcuta,  an  unidentified  star-name,  198. 
Tascheter  and  Taschter,  a  Guardian  of  Hesvcs. 

956,  385. 


General  Index 


529 


Ta  Shin  (a  Scorpti),  365;  (Polaris),  456. 

Ta  Tsun  (6  Geminorum),  234;  (x  Ursae  Majoris), 

445- 

Ta  Tsse  (c  Leonis),  261 ;  (yi  Ursae  Minoris),  460. 

Tau,  Jewish  name  for  Libra,  373. 

Tau  and  Tauono,  the  Pleiades  in  Polynesia,  400. 

Taube,  166. 

Taukshika,  Sagittarius  in  India,  354. 

Taurft,  Syriac  title  for  Taurus,  380. 

Taureau,  Le,  378. 

Taureau  Royal,  Le,  4x3. 

Taurids,  the  meteor  stream,  386. 

Taurt,  y  Draconis,  209. 

Taurus,  first  of  the  twelve  signs,  1 ;  various  names 
of,  378-383 ;  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  noted  con- 
stellations, 378;  marked  the  vernal  equinox  from 
4000-1700  b.  c,  378;  Vergil  upon,  378:  in  Chau- 
cer, 378;  with  the  Greeks,  378;  mythology  ac- 
counts for  the  figuring  of,  379;  various  writers  on 
the  figuring  of,  379;  legends  concerning,  379; 
Thompson  on,  379 ;  titles  of,  synonymous  in  various 
languages,  380 ;  with  the  Latins,  380 ;  with  Manil- 
ius,  380;  on  coinage,  380;  Plutarch  and,  382; 
among  South  American  tribes,  381 ;  in  China, 
Egypt,  and  with  the  Hebrews,  381 ;  associated  with 
Adam's  first  sacrifice,  381 ;  with  the  biblical  school, 
382;  prominent  in  Pcrsico-Babylonian  and  Akka- 
dian astronomy,  382 ;  Epping  on,  382 ;  with  various 
other  Eastern  nations,  382 ;  among  the  Druids,  382 ; 
Scotch  idea  concerning,  383;  in  astrology,  383; 
other  details  of,  383 ;  minor  components  of,  391. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Taurus,  various  names  of,  383- 
386 :  Professor  Whitney  and,  383 ;  various  writers 
°n>  383.  384;  in  Arabia,  384;  the  divine  star  of  the 
tribe  Misam,  384 ;  with  the  Hindus,  384 ;  color  of, 
and  its  names  connected,  384,  385:  in  astrology, 
385;  with  Flammarion,  385;  with  the  Hebrews, 
385 :  prominent  in  all  systems,  385 ;  in  Babylonia, 
Akkadia,  and  Persia,  385 ;  in  Bohemia  and  among 
the  Hervey  Islanders,  385;  location  of,  386;  fre- 
quent occultation  of,  by  the  moon,  386 ;  used  in  navi- 
gation, 386 ;  spectrum  and  velocity  of,  386. 

Beta  (0)  of  Taurus,  names  of,  390;  location  of, 
390:  identical  with  y  Aurigae,  390;  Smyth  on,  390; 
in  China,  Babylonia,  and  India,  390;  in  astrology, 
390 ;  spectrum  and  velocity  of,  390. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Taurus,  names  of,  390 ;  Hip- 
parchos  on,  390;  in  China,  391. 

Zets  (£)  of  Taurus,  in  Babylonia,  381;  in 
Reeves'  Chinese  list,  391 ;  in  astrology,  391 ;  loca- 
tion of,  391 ;  other  details  concerning,  391. 

Eta  (11)  or  PI.  2$  of  Taurus,  the  Alcyone  of 
the  Pleiades,  403 ;  various  other  names  of,  403-405 ; 
brilliancy  of,  403;  with  the  Arabs,  403,  404;  in 
Babylonia  and  India,  404;  Thompson  upon,  404; 
Madler  and,  405 ;  with  Miss  Gierke,  405 ;  culmina- 
tion and  companions  of,  405. 

Fl.  16  of  Taurus  (Bessel's  g  of  the  Pleiades), 
names  of,  and  facts  concerning,  407. 

PI.  17  of  Taurus  (or  b  of  the  Pleiades),  titles  of, 
406;  legend  concerning,  406;  with  Ovid,  406;  in 
Australia,  406. 
PI.  19  of  Taurus  (orr  of  the  Pleiades),  various 

34 


names  of,  407;    with  classic  writers,  407;    Ulug 
teg's  name  for,  407 ;  Bayer  lettered  it  <?,  407. 

PI.  so  of  Taurus  (or  c  of  the  Pleiades),  vari- 
ous names  of,  405 ;  ancient  distinction  of  Maia,  405 ; 
with  the  Latins,  405 ;  in  China,  405 ;  the  nebula  of, 
406. 

PI.  ax  of  Taurus  (or  /  of  the  Pleiades),  name 
and  details  of,  407,  408. 

PI.  as  of  Taurus  (or  k  of  the  Pleiades),  name 
of,  and  details  concerning,  407,  408. 

PI.  33  of  Taurus  (or*/  of  the  Pleiades),  details 
concerning,  406. 

PI.  27  of  Taurus  (or /of  the  Pleiades),  name  of, 
and  details  concerning,  406. 

PI.  a8  of  Taurus  (or  h  of  the  Pleiades),  various 

names  of,  408-4x2;   spectrum  of,  408;    Pickering 

and,  408 ;  other  observations  concerning,  409-412. 

Theta  (ft1,  0s)  of  Taurus,  may  be  binary,  4x2. 

Iota  (0  of  Taurus,  with  other  stars  composes  the 

Chinese  Choo  Wang,  412. 

Kappa  (k1,  k*)  of  Taurus,  with  other  stars  com- 
ponents of  the  Arabs'  Al  Kalbain,  4x2. 

Phi  (<f>)  of  Taurus,  a  component  of  the  Chinese 
Li  Shih,  4x2. 

Chi  (x)  of  Taurus,  a  component  of  the  Chinese 
Li  Shih  and  Tien  Keae,  4x2. 

Upsilon  (v)  of  Taurus,  a  component  of  the 
Arabs'  Al  Kalbain,  4x2 ;  also  of  the  Chinese  Tien 
Keae,  4x2. 

Taurus    Poniatovii,  various  names  of,  4x3; 
formed  from  Ophiuchus  by  the  Abbe"  Poczobut  in 
1777,  4x3;  not  generally  recognized  by  astrono- 
mers, 4x3;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  413;  with  Bartsch, 
413 ;  a  triangular  figure  on  the  Borgian  globe,  4x3 ; 
culmination  and  companions  of,  4x3,  414. 
Taurus,  a  variant  for  Sagittarius,  352. 
Taurus  Regalia,  413. 
Taushaugjil,  Aquila  in  Turkey,  57. 
Ta  Who,  Scorpio  and  its  stars,  361,  365,  368. 
Tayg'eta,  or  Tayg'ete,  407. 
Tazxa  (Crater),  182. 
Tchsng,  or  Chang,  the  9th  situ,  248. 
Tchin,  the  nth  sum,  182. 
Team,  The,  in  Ursa  Major,  431. 
Teen  Ho,  Chinese  stars  in  Aries,  83. 
Tegeaea  Virgo,  Kallisto  of  Ursa  Major,  421. 
Tegmen  and  Tegmine,  114. 
Tejat  Posterior,  236. 
Tejat  Prior,  235. 

Telescopium,  the  Telescope,  formed  by  La  Caille, 
4x4;  Bode's  name  for,  4x4 ;  in  Chinese  astronomy, 
414;  culmination  of,  4x4. 
Telescopium  Herschelli,  formed  by  the  Abbe* 
Hell  in  1781  and  published  by  Bode  in  x8oo,  4x4 ; 
disappearance  from  maps,  and  former  location  of 

4M- 
Tell,  Aries  in  Judaea,  78. 
Telum  (Sagitta),  350;  (Sagittarius),  352. 
Temennu,  Alcyone  in  Babylonia,  404. 
Temo  meridianus  (Sagitta),  350. 
Temple,  Sagittarius  in  China,  356 ;  the  Hyades  in 

India,  389. 
Temple  Money,  The,  of  China,  5. 


53° 


General  Index 


Templum  (Ara),  62. 

TeSmlm,  223. 

Terebellum,  360. 

Tericas  (Coma  Berenices),  170. 

Teriones,  the  grammarians'  Triones,  431. 

Ternuelles,  the  Persian  Hercules,  241. 

Terrestris  (Canopus),  68. 

Testa  (Lyra),  283. 

Testudo,  a  proposed  constellation,  163,  283,  342. 

Testudo  and  Testudo  Lyrae,  283,  284. 

Te  Te,  Taurus  in  Babylonia,  382. 

Tew,  Tow,  or  Nan  Tow,  the  19th  sieut  355. 

Thales,  inventor  of  Ursa  Minor,  18,  448;  et  passim. 

Thamyris  (Hercules),  241. 

Thegius  and  Theguius  (Bootes),  96. 

Theophrastus,  the  first  botanist-author,  on  e  Can- 

cri,  113;  et  passim. 
Thesbia  or  Thespia  (Virgo),  462. 
Theseus  (a  Geminorum),  231 ;  (Hercules),  241. 
Theseus  and  Pirithotis  (Gemini),  223. 
Thessalicae  Sagitta  (Sagittarius),  352. 
Thierkreis,  the  German  title  for  the  zodiac,  3. 
Thigh,  The,  the  Egyptian  title  for  Ursa  Major,  20. 
Thompson's,  D'Arcy  Went  worth,  Glossary  of 

Greek  Birds,  xvii ;  et passim. 
Thomson,  James,  on  Aquarius,  46;  et  passim. 
Thoth  (Sinus),  124. 
Three  Guides,  The,  146,  327. 
Three  Hunters,  «,  £,  >j  Ursac  Majoris,  423. 
Three  Kings,  6,  «,  £  Ononis,  316. 
Three  Magi  (Hercules),  242. 
Three  Marys,  or  Three  Mowers,  316. 
Three  Patriarchs  (Triangulum  Australe),  417. 
Three  Stars,  The,  Orion's  Belt,  310,  316. 
Three    Swedish    Crowns,    Weigel's    figure    for 

Bootes,  98. 
Throne  of  Orion,  a,  0,  y,  and  &  Leporis,  265. 
Throne  of  Thor,  Ursa  Major  and  Ursa  Minor,  450. 
Thronos  Caesaris,  Pliny's  name  for  Crux,  185. 
Throwend,  the  Anglo-Saxon  title  for  Scorpio,  363. 
Thymele  (Ara),  62. 

Thyo'ne,  Ovid's  title  for  the  Hyadcs,  387. 
Thyrsus,  distinct constellation  with  Hipparchos,  151. 
Ti,  orTi  Tso  (a  Ursac  Minoris),  456. 
Ti,  the  14th  sieu,  276;  0  Ursac  Minoris,  459. 
Tiam,  the  ancient  5th  j/>«,  231. 
Tifim&t,  or  Tiimut,  32,  161,  z8i,  183,  204,  299. 
Tien  Ching,  late  Chinese  title  for  Libra,  272. 
Tien  Choo  (in  Draco),  210;   (in  Ursa  Major),  437. 
Tien  Chuen,  y  and  ?j  Persci,  334. 
Tien  Chwang,  stars  of  Draco,  210. 
Tien  He,  the  modern  Chinese  Scorpion,  362. 
Tien  Ho  (the  Galaxy),  475. 
Tien  Hwan,  stars  of  Cetus  in  China,  165. 
Tien  Hwang  Ta  Ti,  Polaris  in  early  China,  456. 
Tien  Kae,  0  and  y  Draconis,  207. 
Tien  Kang,or  Tien  Tsien,in  Piscis  Australia,  347. 
Tien  Ke  (0  Herculis),  244;  (y  Ursac  Majoris),  438. 
Tien  Keae  and  Tien  Tare,  in  Taurus,  412,  413. 
Tien  Kiang,  or  Tung  Han,  in  Ophiuchus,  303. 
Tien  Kuen,  6  Ursac  Majoris,  439. 
Tien  Kwan,  Chinese  stars  of  Taurus,  391. 
Tien  Laou,  stars  of  Ursa  Major,  445. 


Tien  Li  and  Ti  Tche,  stars  of  Ursa  Major,  435. 

Tien  Lin,  stars  near  the  Hyades,  389. 

Tien  Luy  Ching,  stars  of  Capricornus,  14s 

Tien  Meaou,  Chinese  asterism  in  Argo.  67. 

Tien  Mun,  stars  of  Hydra  and  Virgo,  248,  471. 

Tien  Pien,  Scutum  in  modern  China,  373. 

Tien  Seang,  in  Sextans,  377. 

Tien  Seuen,  0  Ursae  Majoris,  438. 

Tien  She,  a  Chinese  general  division,  22. 

Tien  Shi  Yuen,  stars  in  Serpens,  37s. 

Tien  See,  0  Scorpii,  368. 

Tien  Teen  and  Tsin  Heen,  stars  in  Virgo,  473- 

Tien  Tsan,  or  Ta  Tsun,  4>  Ursae  Majoris,  445- 

Tien  Tsin,  stars  of  Cygnus,  197. 

Tien  Yu  or  Yuen,  in  Cetus  and  Fornax,  164, 231 

Tien  Yuen,  stars  of  Eridanus,  218,  219;  star*  if 

Perseus,  331.  ^ 

Tiger,  Sagittarius  in  China,  356. 
Tigris  (Lynx),  279;  (River),  280;  (Sagitta),  35* 
Timshemath,  correctly  Tinshtmeth,  194. 
Tipografia,  297. 

Tir,  the  Persian  and  Pahlavi  Sirius,  tsa. 
Tir-An-na,  the  Akkadian  Polaris,  206. 
Tishiya,  the  6th  nakskatra,  no. 
Tishiya,  Tishiga,  Tistrija,  or  Tishtrya,  122. 
Tis-khu,  Sirius  in  Akkadia,  123. 
Tistar,  Edkins'  name  for  Arcturus,  100. 
Tistar  Star,  Sirius  or  Spica,  122.  468. 
Titefui,  a  Coptic  lunar  asterism,  255. 
Ti  Tso  and  Tsin,  a  Herculis  243. 
Tituma,  or  Jituma,  the  Tamil  Gemini,  223. 
Tjung,  the  ancient  9th  situ,  248. 
Togo  ni  samu  (the  Pleiades),  400. 
Tolam,  Tulam,  and  Tula,  272. 
Tome,  the  Gemini  of  Tyre,  223. 
Too  See,  stars  of  Cerberus,  160. 
Too  See  Kung,  0  Ceti,  163. 
Tora,  a  Persian  tide  for  Taurus,  38a 
Torcular  and  Torcularis  septentrionalis,  343 
Toro,  II,  the  Italian  Taurus,  378. 
Toro  di  Poniatowski,  413. 
Tortoise,  The,  Cancer  in  Babylonia,  109. 
Totyarguil,  Aquila  in  Australia,  59- 
Toucan,  Toucana,  and  Toucano.    Sec  Tucama 
Touchan,  The,  Burritt's  name  for  Tucana,  418. 
Tow  Kwei,  the  Square  in  Ursa  Minor,  456. 
Trager  des  Medusen  Kopf,  330. 
Tramontane  and  Tramontane,  452,  454. 
Trapezium,  in  Orion,  3x6. 
Trapezius  (Hercules),  241. 
Trapezuntius  (George  of  Trcbtzond),  translator  -<t 

the  Syntaxis,  xii. 
Tre  Pacelle,  The,  of  Dante,  71,  2x8,  346. 
Trethon  (Auriga),  84. 
Triangle,  The.    See  Triangulum. 
Triangle,  a  figuring  of  20th  nakskatrmy  286. 
Triangle  Indien,  250. 

Triangle  Stars,  The  (Triangulum  Australe),  417 
Triangles,  The  (of  Cygnus),  195. 
Triangolo,  Triangulum,  and  Triangulus,  4M 
Triangulum,  various  names  of,  4x4-416;  locatk* 

and  antiquity  of,  4x5;  Hood  connects  it  with  Aries. 

415;  Aratos  and,  415;  with  Cicero,  Hyginus,  awl 


General  Index 


531 


other  classic  astronomers,  415;  in  Egypt,  415; 
with  the  biblical  school,  4x5 ;  origin  of  some  names 
of,  415;  with  the  Arabs  and  Jews,  4x6 ;  in  Chinese 
astronomy,  4x6. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Triangulum,  name  and  culmina- 
tion of,  4x6. 

Beta  (0)  of  Triangulum,  unnamed,  but,  with 
Alpha  (a),  the  Arabian  Miz&n,  416. 
Triangulum  Australe,  names  of,  417 ;  more  no- 
ticeable than  its  northern  original,  417;  formation 
of,  attributed  to  Thcodor  about  1503,  417;  Caesius 
and,  4x7 ;  with  Schiller  and  Proctor,  417 ;  in  China, 
417;  location  of,  417;  minor  components  of,  4x7; 
Idelcr  and,  417. 
Triangulum  Minor,  formed  by  Hevclius,  4x7  ;  now 
discontinued  by  astronomers,  4x7. 

Triangulus  Septentrionalia,  415. 
Trica,  Tricas,  and  Triquetras,  169,  170. 

Tricuspid,  Triplicitas,  and  Triquetrum,  415. 

Trifid  Nebula,  359. 

Trigon,  The  Airy  (Aquarius),  49. 

Trigon,  Trigonum,  Trigonus,  415. 

Trigon,  Watery  (Cancer,  Pisces,  and  Scorpio),  107. 

Trinity,  The  (Triangulum),  415. 

Trionee,  431. 

Triopas  (Ophiuchus),  399. 

Tripater  (Orion),  308. 

Triptolemus  and  Iaeion  (Gemini),  223. 

Triton,  a  classical  title  for  Delphinus,  199. 

Trochilus  (Auriga),  85. 

Tropic  Crab,  The,  Milton's  name  for  Cancer,  109. 

Tropus  (1}  Gcminorum),  235. 

True  Lover's  Knot,  Nebula  N.  G.  C.  2070,  202. 

Tsae  Ching,  Bode's  2629  in  Coma,  171. 

Tsan,  the  4th  sir*,  310. 

Tsan  Ke,  stars  in  Orion,  320. 

Tsan  Tae,  stars  in  Lyra,  287. 

Tsaou  Foo,  stars  in  Ccpheus,  158. 

Tsee,  Tsok,  or  Teuy  He,  the  3d  situ,  318. 

Taeen  Poo  and  Taeen  Peen,  stars  in  Aquila,  61. 

Tseen  Hwang,  stars  in  Auriga,  91. 

Taeen  Ke  and  Tseen  Kow,  stars  in  Argo,  74,  75. 

Tseen  Kwao,  stars  in  Cetus,  162. 

Tseen  O,  in  Ana,  64. 

Tseen  She  (i)  Carinae),  73. 

Tseen  Yin  (6  and  £  Arae),  64. 

Tseih  Kung  and  Tso  She  Ti,  in  Bootes,  104. 

Tseih  She,  the  Chinese  Algol,  332. 

Tseih  She  Ke,  the  Beehive  in  Cancer,  113. 

Tseih  Shwuy,  stars  in  Perseus,  334. 

Tseih  Sing,  the  seven  stars  in  Ursa  Major,  435. 

Tseih  Tsing,  stars  in  Gemini  and  Cancer,  237. 

Tseu  Tare,  Pisces  in  early  China,  338. 

Tsew  Ke,  stars  in  L**o  and  Cancer,  263. 

Tshi5  (ij,  0,  and  £  Ophiuchi),  303. 

Tsien  Ta  Tseang,  stars  of  Andromeda  and  Trian- 
gulum, 4x6. 

Tsih  (y  Cassiopciae),  147 ;  (Lepus),  265. 

Tsih  Tsin,  stars  in  Cancer  and  Gemini,  114. 

Tsf  Kung,  Draco  in  China,  206. 

Tsin  (in  Capricornus),  142;  (in  Serpens),  376. 

Tsing,  the  5th  situ,  231,  237. 

Tsing  Kew,  0  and  $  Hydrae,  249. 


Tsing  Lung,  Azure  Dragon  of  China,  22,  365,  368. 

Tsin  Yin,  6  and  £  Arietis,  83. 

Tso  Chih  Pa  (17  Virgin  is),  471. 

Tso  Choo  ((  Draconis),  2x0. 

Tso  Hea  (0  Corvi),  182. 

Tso  Kang  («  Arae),  64. 

Tso  Ke  (p  Aquilac),  61. 

Tsoo,  in  Capricornus,  142;  in  Ophiuchus,  302. 

Tsow  Kaou,  stars  of  Cetus,  163. 

Tsu  Ke,  stars  of  Cancer  and  Leo,  114 

Tsung  Ching,  0  and  y  Ophiuchi,  301. 

Tsung  Jin,  or  Tsung  Ting,  413. 

Tsung  Tsing,  stars  of  Hercules,  244. 

Tsxe,  A  Columbac,  168. 

Tsxe  Pe,  c  and  p.  Leonis,  261. 

Tsae  Seang  (0  Leonis),  262;  (6  Virgin  is),  470. 

Tsae  Tseang  (c  Virginis),  471. 

Tsze  Wei,  circumpolar  stars  in  China,  22. 

Tufimu,  Gemini  in  Assyria,  231. 

Tuberoni  Regia,  or  Tyberone,  256. 

Tubus  Astronomicus.    See  TeUscopium. 

Tucana,  various  names  of,  417,  418;  published  by 

Bayer,  417 ;  in  China,  4x8  ;  location  of,  418;  Caesius 

and,  418;  details  concerning,  418. 
Tui,  or  Jui  (1  Ononis),  317. 
Tukan,  418. 

Tukto,  Ursa  Major  in  Greenland,  475. 
Tul-Ku,  identified  with  Ara,  63. 
Tung  Hae,  £and  ij  Serpen  lis,  376. 
Tung  Tsing,  stars  of  Gemini,  235. 
Turdus  Solitarius,  248;   names  and  formation  of, 

418;  details  concerning,  418. 
Turibulum,  Turribulum,  and  Thuribulum,  62. 
Turree,  Castor  in  Australia,  229. 
Tur-us-mal-max,  Castor  in  Assyria,  231. 
Twan  Mun,  or  Yih  Mun,  the  autumnal  equinox  in 

China,  471. 
Twelf  Tacna,  the  twelve  signs  in  Saxon  England,  4. 
Twelve  Akhtars,  The,  the  Pahlavi  zodiac,  5. 
Twin  Laconian  Stars,  222. 
Twin  Sons  of  Rebecca,  224. 
Twins,  The.    See  Gemini. 
Twisan,  Ge,  the  Anglo-Saxon  Gemini,  222. 
Twister,  The,  433. 
Two  Angels,  a  figure  for  Gemini,  224. 
Two  Brothers,  a  and  0  Ccntauri,  154. 
Two  Dogs,  the  Arabs'  Cassiopeia  and  Ccpheus,  144. 
Two-handed  Pot,  early  English  name  for  Crater,  183. 
Two-headed  Eagle,  Weigel's  figure  for  Orion,  310. 
Two  Gazelles,  Gemini  in  Chaldaea  and  Phoenicia, 

224. 
Two  Men  that  once  were  Lions,  154. 
Two  Sprouting  Plants,  an   Egyptian  figure  for 

Gemini,  224. 
Two   Stars,  The,  perhaps  Gemini  in  Egypt,  20; 

a  tide  now  for  o  and  0  Ursae  Majoris,  438. 
Tycho  BrahS,  catalogue  of,  13  ;  et  passim. 
Tycho's  Star,  147. 

Tympanum,  a  classical  title  for  Lyra,  »8t. 
Tyndaridae  and  Tyndarides  (Gemini),  222. 
Tyrannus,  cited  by  Bayer  for  Antares,  365. 
Tyrannus  aquae,  Aquarius  with  Horace,  46. 
Tyrius,  Martial's  name  for  Taurus,  379. 


532 


General  Index 


Uccello  Paradleo  (Apus),  43. 

Udgudua,  or  Utucagaba  (Sagittarius),  354. 

Udkagaba  (Lcpus  or  Sagittarius),  965. 

Udruvaga,  Aquarius  in  late  India,  48. 

Ughlak,  Capricornus  in  Turkey,  136. 

Ughuz,  Taurus  in  Turkey,  380. 

Ulgher,  the  Pleiades  in  Turkey,  393. 

Ulug  Beg,  the  Tables  (Ztj)  of,  2;  et passim. 

Umbilicus  Andromedae,  35. 

Ungal,  perhaps  a,  y,  and  A  Ononis,  311. 

Uogulae,  the  arms  of  Cancer,  ixx. 

Unicorn,  The.    See  Monoceros. 

Unicorno  and  Unlcornu,  389,  290. 

Uooaoura,  its  connection  with  Cynosura,  448. 

Upeuritoa,  Coptic  lunar  asterism  in  Aquarius,  54. 

Upulneuti,  Coptic  lunar  asterism  in  Aquarius,  52. 

Urakhga,  the  Akkadian  Corvus,  Cygnus,  and  Lyra, 
193,  282. 

Urania  (Virgo),  462. 

Uranus,  discovered  by  Herschelin  1781,  236;  details 
as  to  this,  236;  ancient  observations  of,  236;  Flam- 
steed  and,  260. 

Ur-bar-ra,  perhaps  stars  in  Pegasus,  325. 

Urbat,  Lupus  in  Akkadia,  278 ;  in  Babylonia,  366. 

Urcuchillay,  Lyra  in  ancient  Peru,  282. 

Urion  (Orion),  304. 

Urna,  in  Aquarius,  50,  54 ;  (CraterX  183. 

Urnam  qui  tenet  (Aquarius),  46. 

Ur-ner-gub  (0>  and  0*  Sagittarii),  357. 

Uropygium  (a  Cygni),  195. 

Ursa,  Proctor's  Una  Minor,  453. 

Urea  cum  puerulo,  430. 

Ursa  Major,  sometimes  identified  with  Mazzardth, 
2;  various  names  of,  4x9-437:  best  known  of 
stellar  groups,  419;  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis'  opinion 
concerning,  419;  with  the  Greeks,  419;  early  im- 
portance of,  4x9 ;  many  titles  and  associations  of, 
419;  the  universal  appellation  of,  4x9;  possible  ori- 
gin of  the  common  name  of,  419 ;  early  catalogues 
and,  419;  with  Teutonic  nations,  420;  in  Aratos' 
Pkainomena,  420 ;  with  other  classic  poets,  420 ; 
in  Anglo-Saxon  astronomy,  420 ;  Ben  Jonson  and, 
420;  with  La  Lande,  420;  in  ancient  legend,  420, 
421;  Matthew  Arnold  and,  420;  legendary  and 
poetic  appellations  and  conceits  of,  421 ;  on  early 
coinage,  422;  with  Sophocles,  422;  Mueller  and 
the  myth  of,  422;  Aratos  on  the  legend  of,  422; 
with  the  Hebrews,  422 ;  Saint  Jerome  and  this,  422 ; 
popular  mistake  arising  from  Saint  Jerome's  mis- 
translation, 432;  modern  corrections  of  this,  422; 
in  the  Breeches  Bible,  423 ;  in  various  eastern  sys- 
tems, 423 ;  with  the  North  American  Indians,  423 ; 
with  old  Thomas  Hood,  423;  with  the  Pennsylva- 
nian  Germans,  424;  Trevisa  and,  424;  in  the  Kale- 
utala,  424 ;  in  the  Century  Dictionary,  424 ;  with 
Chaucer  and  Minsheu,  424;  in  India,  424,  425; 
time  of  enlargement  of,  425 ;  on  the  Euphrates  and 
Ganges,  425 ;  Theon's  theory  concerning,  425 ; 
among  the  Syrians,  425 ;  with  northern  nations,  425 ; 
Smyth  upon,  425  ;  among  the  early  Britons,  Irish, 
and  French,  426;  with  Homer  and  Greek  navi- 
gators, 426 ;  Aratos  on  this,  427 ;  used  with  Orion 
in  navigation,  427 ;    various  derivations  of  names  of 


the  Wain,  437;  with  Anacreon,  427;  Hesyduo' 
name  for,  427 :  Aben  Ezra  and,  437 ;  with  the  Ro- 
mans, 427 ;  limitations  of  these  names  of,  as  sh<-wa 
by  Bartschius,  427 ;  with  the  Italiansand  Portuguese. 
427;  in  Scandinavian  nomenclature,  427;  with  the 
Goths,  428;  German  writers  and,  428;  Kingjaoes 
I  and,  428;  variant  forms  of  the  name  Charles' 
Wain,  428 ;  connection  of,  with  English  kings,  439: 
in  Miles  Covcrdale's  Bible,  429 ;  various  Engfcti 
poets  and,  429;  in  the  Septuaginty  439;  in  the 
Peskitta-Syriac  Version,  429;  Vespucci  and,  4X. 
430;  more  English  poets  upon,  430,  431 ;  used  s»  a 
timepiece  and  a  guide,  430;  Sophocles  refai  i< 
such  use  of,  430;  in  Shakespeare,  430;  in  astrology. 
431 ;  in  heraldry,  431 ;  mechanical  names  of.  431 ;  n 
prehistoric  India,  431;  Latin  names  of,  associaied«ith 
agriculture,  431 ;  Latin  writers  and,  431 ;  Dante  aa<i. 
431,  432;  more  English  poets  and,  432;  in  Penu, 
432;  HeraclitoS'Upon,  43a;  on  early  coinage,  432 . 
in  Hebrew  nomenclature,  432 ;  with  the  biblical  school 
43a ;  with  the  Arabs,  432 ;  Arab  legend  conceroirg 
Arabic  name  of,  433 ;  Ddiusch  and,  433 ;  with  the 
early  Arab  poets,  433 ;  names  shared  with  Una 
Minor,  433 ;  reason  of  some  Greek  names  of,  433 : 
Ovid  on  the  two  Bears,  433 ;  Homer's  epithet  kr. 
434 ;  ancient  name  of,  in  Egypt,  434 ;  on  the  Denderah 
planisphere,  434 ;  prominence  of,  in  early  Egypw» 
astronomy  and  in  astrology,  434;  Hewitt  on  Egyp- 
tian names  of,  434;  Egyptian  figuring)  oC  434 ; 
myths  connected  with  these,  434;  later  Egvptnn 
figurings  and  names  of,  435 ;  in  India,  435 ;  Profo** 
Whitney  on,  in  Hindu  astronomy,  435 ;  Al  Bruii 
on  the  same,  435 ;  with  the  Chinese,  435 ;  WeigeTs, 
Schiller's,  and  Caenus'  names  for.  435 ;  popular 
names  for,  436 :  in  southern  France,  436 ;  aoaer.t 
belief  concerning,  436;  Manilius  on  this,  436- 
Sanskrit  legend  concerning  this,  436;  Eden  and  tbe 
"  poleAnta^tike,,,  436;  Lopes  on  this,  436;  Phny's 
blunders  concerning,  437 ;  formation  of  the  Dipper. 

437- 

Alpha  (a)  of  Ursa  Major,  various  names  c 
437,  438:  the  Hindu  Kratu,  437;  Lockyer  and. 
437 ;  in  China,  437 ;  location  of,  437 ;  die  Egypt*" 
Ak,  437 ;  Arago's  name  for,  438 ;  use  of,  to  hegi* 
ners  in  astronomy,  438 ;  spectrum  and  velocity  *  I 

«8'  ^    *, 

Beta  (0)  of  Urea  Major,  various  names  of.  43*. 

in  China,  438;  spectrum  and  velocity  of.  43s :  *** 

Owl  Nebula  close  by,  438. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Urea  Major,  various  name*  «• 
438 ;  in  Hindu  nomenclature,  438 ;  in  China,  4.1- : 
spectrum,  velocity,  and  location  of,  438. 

Delta  («)  of  Urea  Major,  various  namesof,  439 
in  China  and  in  India,  439 ;  location  of,  on  the  eqo- 
noctial  colure,  439 ;  Ptolemy,  Tycho,  and  Miss  Cleric 
on  its  comparative  brilliancy,  439.  ( 

Epsilon  («)  of  Urea  Major,  various  names  *». 
and  the  uncertainty  as  to  their  derivation,  439*  **° 
on  the  Cufic  globe,  439;  Bayer  and,  439 :  alBoac 
the  Hindus,  440;  in  China,  440;  spectrum,  to* 
tion,  and  velocity  of,  440 ;  now  the  biad*  of  U«* 
Major,  440. 

Zeta  (0  of  Urea  Major,  various  names  of.  44'' 


General  Index 


533 


with  the  Arabs,  440;  Assemani  and,  440;  legend 
concerning,  440 ;  in  India,  440 ;  first  star  noted  as 
telescopically  double,  440;  successfully  daguerreo- 
typed  in  1857,  440;  spectrum,  location,  and  velocity 
of,  441. 

Eta  (if)  of  Ursa  Major,  various  names  of,  441 ; 
Arab  poets  on,  441;  on  the  Borgian  globe,  441 ;  in 
India,  441 :  in  China,  441 ;  referred  to  in  Hitdibras, 
44a ;  location  of,  44a ;  the  radiant  point  of  the  Ur- 
sids,  44a ;  spectrum  and  velocity  of,  442. 

Theta  ($)  of  Ursa  Major,  various  names  of, 
442;  in  Arabian  astronomy,  442 ;  Hyde  and,  44s; 
in  China,  442. 

Iota  (1)  of  Ursa  Major,  combined  with  Kappa 
(«)  by  the  Arabs,  442 ;  also  by  the  Chinese,  443. 

Kappa  («)  of  Ursa  Msjor,  combined  with  Iota 
(t)  by  Arabic  and  Chinese  astronomers,  44a,  443. 

Lambda  (A)  of  Ursa  Major,  combined  with 
Mu  (|&),  various  names  of,  443 ;  in  China,  443. 

Mu  (m)  of  Ursa  Major,  combined  with  Lambda 
(A),  various  names  of,  443;  in  China,  443. 

Nu  (r)  of  Ursa  Major,  combined  with  Xi  (£), 
various  names  of,  443;  in  Chinese  astronomy,  443; 
the  northern  of  the  two,  443;  other  details  concern- 
ing. 443- 

Xi  (£)  of  Ursa  Msjor,  combined  with  Nu  (v), 
various  names  of,  443 ;  the  southern  of  the  two,  443 ; 
in  China,  443 ;    other  details  concerning,  443. 

Omicron  (o)  of  Ursa  Major,  444. 

Pi  (»',  n*)  of  Ursa  Major,  444. 

8igma  (<rl,  <r*)  of  Ursa  Major,  components  of 
&azwinl*s  Al  Thiba',  444;  in  China,  444. 

Tau  (r)  of  Ursa  Major,  a  component  of  the 
Chinese  Nuy  Keae,  444. 

Chi  (x)  of  Ursa  Major,  names  of,  444,  445. 

Psi  (\p)  of  Ursa  Major,  Tien  Tsan  in  China,  445. 

Omega  (<*>)  of  Ursa  Msjor,  the  Chinese  Tien 
Laou,  445. 

Fl.  80  (or.fi  of  Ursa  Major,  various  names  of, 
445,  446;  famous  in  astronomical  lore,  445 ;  Smyth 
and  Miss  Clerlce  on,  445;  other  writers  on,  445,  446; 
legends  concerning,  446;  importance  of,  in  Syria. 
446;  in  North  Germany,  446;  in  China,  446. 

1830  Groombridge  of  Ursa  Major  (or  4010  B. 
A.  C),  identity  of,  and  details  concerning,  446: 
Ncwcomb  and  Young  on,  447;  location  of,  447. 
Ursa  Minor,  various  names  of,  447-453;  theories 
regarding  derivation  of  Greek  name  of,  447;  Gaelic 
name  for^  448;  not  mentioned  by  Homer  and 
Hesiod,  448 ;  origin  of  the  constellation,  448 ;  Thales 
and,  448;  in  classic  legends  and  poetry,  448, 
449:  Dante  on  the  "dancing"  of  the  stars,  449; 
with  the  Arabs,  449;  Lowell  on,  449;  Manilius 
and,  449:  other  Arabic  rtgurings  of,  450 ;  in  various 
eastern  systems,  450;  on  the  Denderah  zodiac,  450; 
Jensen's  identification  of,  with  Babylonia,  450; 
Plutarch's  with  Phoenicia,  450 ;  among  the  Scan- 
dinavian races,  450;  Dante  and,  450;  with  Cacsius, 
450;  in  China,  450;  in  the  Al/onsine  Tables,  451 ; 
among  the  Hebrews,  451 :  in  the  Geneva  Bible, 
451  '•  Caesius'  name  for,  451 ;  modern  names  of,  451; 
early  references  to,  and  figuring*  of,  451 ;  Norse 
ideas  of,   452;  similar  modern   names  of,  452;   in 


Tennyson,  452 ;  Proctor's  nomenclature  of,  453 ;  as 
now  drawn,  453. 

Alpha  (a)  of  Ursa  Minor,  the  Arabs  knew  it 
as  a  young  he  goat,  449;  various  names  of,  453- 
458;  "most  practically  useful  star  in  the  heavens," 
453;  Dante  and,  453;  in  Euclid's  Pkainomena, 
453 ;  Hipparchos  and  other  classic  writers  on,  453 ; 
Miss  Clerke  and,  453, 454 ;  Py  thcas  and  Polaris,  454 ; 
assumes  the  office  of  the  pole-star,  454 ;  other  details 
concerning,  454 ;  with  the  Finns,  454 ;  with  10th- 
century  Anglo-Saxons,  454;  poetical  references  to 
its  use  in  navigation,  455;  in  Milton,  456;  in  China, 
456;  in  earliest  Northern  India,  456;  with  the 
Arabs,  456;  name  of,  in  Damascus,  457;  in  Arabic 
astronomy,  457 ;  superstition  concerning,  457 ;  in  the 
A  l/onsine  Tables,  457 ;  with  the  Turks,  457 ;  dis- 
tance of,  from  the  exact  pole,  457 :  its  approach  to  and 
recession  from  the  pole,  457,  458;  Shakespeare's 
error  concerning,  458 :  distance  and  velocity  of,  458; 
spectrum  of,  458 ;   other  details  concerning,  458. 

Beta  (0)  of  Ursa  Minor,  various  names  of, 
458>  459  '>  familiar  to  the  Arabs,  459 ;  in  China,  459 ; 
spectrum  and  velocity  of,  459. 

Gamma  (yi,  y>)  of  Ursa  Minor,  various  names 
of,  459,  460;  components  of  the  Dancers  and  of  the 
Guards,  459;   various  writers  on,  459;    usefulness 
of,  as  a  timepiece,  459,  460 ;  in  China,  460. 
Delta  (6)  of  Urss  Minor,  names  of,  460. 
Zeta  (0  of  Ursa  Minor,  names  of,  460;   in 
China,  460. 
b  of  Ursa  Minor,  Chinese  name  for,  460. 

Ursa  Phoenicia,  448. 

U raids,  The,  location  of,  262;  sometimes  confused 
with  the  Leonids,  262,  442. 

Ursus,  422. 

Ursus  Marinus  (Cctus),  1*2. 

Uru-anna,  supposed  derivation  of  Orion,  304. 

Urusaba,  Taurus  in  Ceylon,  382. 

Ussika,  Scorpio  in  Ceylon,  363. 

Uttara  Bhadrapadss,  the  25th  nakskatra,  35,  325. 

Uttara  Phalguni,  the  10th  nakskatra,  258. 

Uz,  Akkadian  stars  in  Capricornus,  140. 

Vagina,  Germanicus'  name  for  Orion's  Belt,  315. 

Vagn,  Litli,  the  Danish  Ursa  Minor,  450. 

Vagn,  Stori,  the  Danish  Ursa  Major,  427. 

Vaha  Otawa.  the  Finn's  Ursa  Minor,  450. 

Vahik,  Aquarius  and  Capricornus  in  Persia,  47,  136. 

Vaht,  a  and  0  Pegasi  in  Persia,  326. 

Vanand  (Sirius  or  Procyon),  122,  134. 

Vsnant,  Zend  for  Altair,  59. 

Vansnt  (Corvus),  181. 

Vanant  and  Vansnd  ((.f  Scorpio),  369,  370. 

Varftha  Mihira,  Hindu  astronomer,  used  Greek  as. 

tronomical  titles,  21,  48. 
Varak,  Aries  in  the  Bundehesk,  78. 
Variabilis  Coronae,  178. 
Vas,  or  Vas  aquarium,  183. 
Vashishfha,  probably  <UrsaeMajorisin  India, 440. 
Vstlant  Street,  or  Wadlyng  Street,  478. 
Vaynes,  Waves,  or  Wsynes  of  Heaven,  429. 
Vectis,  Virga,  Virgula  jacens  (Sagitta),  350. 
Vector  Arionis,  199. 


534 


General  Index 


Vehiculum  Lunae  (Argo),  66. 

Veiervcicn  Straet,  or  Vronelden  Straet,  479. 

Vela.    See  A  rgo. 

Qamma  (y)  of  Vela,  various  names  of,  73,  73 ; 
position  of,  73 ;  spectroscopically  notable,  73. 

Vena,  Procyon  in  the  Hervcy  Islands,  134. 

Venabulum  (m1  Boot  is),  105. 

Venant  (of  Leo),  256. 

Venator  (Orion),  309. 

Venator  Ursae  (Bootes),  94. 

Veneris  Mater  (Pisces),  339. 

Veneris  Sidus  (libra),  374  ;  (Taurus),  383. 

Ventrale  (0  Andromedac),  36. 

Venue  cum  Adone,  Venus  et  Cupido,  Venus 
Syria  cum  Cupidine  (Pisces),  339. 

Vergil,  on  star-naming,  xiv;  ct  passim. 

Vergiliae,  or  Virgiliae,  396. 

Vernal  Equinox,  The,  in  Taurus,  3285  b.  c,  20; 
in  Aries,  1730  d.  c,  76;  now  in  Pisces,  337. 

Vernal  Pish  (Pisces),  338. 

Vernus  Portitor  and  Vervex  (Aries),  76. 

Verseau,  Le,  45. 

Vespa,  the  Wasp  (Musca  Borealis),  292. 

Vespertilio  (Antares),  365.' 

Vestae  Sidus  (Capricornus),  136. 

Vestigium  Solis  and  Via  perusta,  484. 

Vetrarbraut,  the  Norse  Galaxy,  480. 

Via  coeli  regia,  Via  lactea,  and  Via  lactis,  476. 

Via  lattea,  480. 

Vic&khS,  the  14th  nakshatray  275. 

Vichaca,  cited  from  Flammarion  for  Corona,  177. 

Vicritftu,  the  17th  nakshatra,  370. 

Victima  Centauri  (Lupus),  278. 

Victor  Qorgonei  Monstri  (Perseus),  330. 

Vierge,  460. 

Vig'iles  (0,  y1  and  y*  Ursae  Minoris),  459. 

Vij,  the  ancient  28th  sieu>  292. 

Vildiur  (5  Ursae  Minoris.),  460. 

Vincla,  Cicero's  Cords  of  the  Fishes,  343. 

Vinde'mia'tor,  Vindemitor.and  Vinde'mia'trix, 
467,  470- 

Violentus  Leo,  252. 

Virgine,  460. 

Virgin  Mary,  The,  463. 

Virgin's  Spike,  The,  466. 

Virgo,  a  universal  title,  460;  various  names  of,  460- 
466;  usual  figuring  of,  460:  its  Greek  title  in  the 
Attic  and  Ionic  dialects,  460-461 ;  with  astrologers, 
461 ;  one  of  the  zodiacal  signs  in  antiquity,  461 ; 
Aratos  on  this,  461 ;  other  variations  of  this,  461 ; 
Caesius'  figuring  of,  461:  early  legends  concerning, 
461 ;  in  Keats'  poem,  462  ;  other  allusions  to,  462 ; 
the  oldest  allegorical  representation  of  innocence 
and  virtue,  462 ;  allusions  to,  by  the  classic  writers, 
462;  in  Egypt,  462;  figuring  of,  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  463;  the  symbol  of,  463  ;  in  Assyria,  India, 
and  Persia,  463 ;  with  the  early  Arabs,  Turcomans, 
and  Chinese,  464;  on  the  Euphrates,  464;  con- 
tinual prominence  of,  464 ;  in  astrology,  464,  465 ; 
other  associations  of,  465 ;  on  coinage,  465 ;  Schiller 
and,  465;  figuring?,  of,  465;  Ptolemy's  definition 
of,  465 ;  Hipparchos  and,  465 ;  present  extent  of, 
465,  466;  details  concerning,  466;  minor  compo- 
nents of,  473. 


Alpha  (a)  of  Virgo,  various  names  of,  466-460; 
general  agreement  in  nomenclature  of,  466:  classic 
appellations  of,  466,  467 ;  with  tbe  Arabs,  467 ;  is 
the  A  Ifonsint  Tables,  467;  marked  the  nth  «u*- 
sii,  467 ;  in  early  astrology,  467 :  with  Eastern  a- 
tronomers,  467,  468;  in  Babylonia,  468;  ia  Quoa. 
468;  in  Egypt,  468;  Hipparchos  and,  in  the  dis- 
covery of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  46S 
Ptolemy  and,  469 ;  spectrum  and  velocity  of,  464  . 
used  in  navigation,  469:  culmination  of,  469:  a 
component  of  the  Diamond  of  Virgo,  469. 

Beta  (0)  of  Virgo,  various  names  o£  469;  ia 
Arabia  and  Babylonia,  469;  in  Persia  and  Chnu. 
469 ;  location  and  culmination  of,  469. 

Gamma  (y)  of  Virgo,  names  of,  469,  470;  vari- 
ously mentioned,  470;  in  Babylonia  and  Chin. 
470;  astronomers  on,  470;  culmination  of,  470. 

Delta  (I)  of  Virgo,  various  names  of,  470; 
beauty  of,  470. 

Epsilon  («)  of  Virgo,  various  names  of,  470. 

471 ;    prominent  in  classical  astronomy,  471 :   in 

China,  471 ;  in  astrology,  471 ;  culmination  of,  471. 

Eta  (t?)  of  Virgo,  various  names  of,  471 :  i* 

China,  471;  location  of,  471. 

Theta  (9)  of  Virgo,  location  of.  471;  names  <.< 
47a. 

Iota  (1)  of  Virgo,  names  of,  473 ;  various  details 
concerning,  472,  473. 

PI.  6  Virginia,  observed  by  Flamsued  with 
Uranus,  260. 

Virgo  devota  (Andromeda),  33. 

Virgo  Nonacrina  (Parrhasia,  Tegeaea),  421. 

Virgo  splcea  munera  gestana,  461. 

Vir  Regius  (Cephcus),  156. 

Vitruvius,  the  most  scientific  Roman  astronomef. 
19;  et  passim. 

Vociferans  (Cepheus),  156. 

Vociferator  (Bootes),  93. 

Voie  lactee,  480. 

Volans,  the  Plying  Pish,  347. 

Volucris  (Cygnus),  193. 

Voluyara,  cited  by  Grimm  for  Auriga,  85. 

Vrisha,  Vrishan,  and  Vrouchabam,  Taurus  in 
early  India,  383. 

Vrishaman,  the  Tamil  Scorpio,  363. 

Vrouchicam,  Scorpio  in  early  India,  363. 

Vulcani  Sidus  (Libra),  375. 

Vulpecula  cum  Ansere,  formed  by  Hevclius,  473: 
various  names  of,  473,  474;  details  concerning,  47  i- 
474;  its  title  abbreviated  to  Vulpecula,  473:  cul 
mination  of,  473 ;  the  Dumb-bell  Nebub  it*  must 
famous  object,  474. 

Vulpeculids,  The,  meteor  stream,  474. 

Vulpes,  Proctor's  name  for  Vulpecula,  473. 

Vulturcadens  (Cygnus),  193;  (Lyra),  283. 

Vulture,  the  early  Indian  Lyra,  282. 

Vultur  volans  (Aquila),  56. 

Waage  and  Waege,  369. 
Wabir,  a  Khorasmian  lunar  station,  35. 
Wadha,  6  and  9  Leonis  in  Sogdiana,  260. 
Wae  Choo,  a  Chinese  asterism  in  Monoceros,  290 
Waenes  Thisl,  Urea  Major  of  Angk>-Sa«on«,  4*> 
Wae  Ping,  stars  of  Pisces,  343. 


General  Index 


535. 


Waeter-gyt,  se,  the  Anglo-Saxon  Aquarius,  48. 
Waetlinga-Straet,  Watlinga-Strete,  and  Wat- 
ling  Street,  477,  478. 
Wag  and  Wage,  369. 
Wages,  the  Teutonic  Wain,  420. 
Wagen  am  Himmel,  439. 
Wagen  and  Himmel  Wagen,  438. 
Waggon,  The,  428. 

Wagon,  an  Indian  figure  of  the  Hyades,  389. 
Wagoner,  The  (Bootes),  93. 
Wagon  of  Odin,  Woden,  or  Wuotan,  428. 
Wain,  or  Wagon,  The,  430,  436. 
Wain  man,  The  (Bootes),  83. 
Wajrik,  9  and  £  Ophiuchi  in  Sogdiana,  303. 
Wallfisch,  Der,  160. 

Walayngham  Way  and  Werlam  Street,  478. 
Wan  Chang,  stars  of  Ursa  Major,  443. 
Wang  Leang,  or  Yah  Lang,  stars  of  Cassiopeia, 

*45,  146- 
Wanjil,  Pollux  in  Australia,  339. 
Wardens,  yl  and  y*  Ursae  Minoris,  459. 

Warrior,  The  Dark,  a  Chinese  zodiac  division, 
*39»  338. 

Wassermann,  45. 

Water,  The,  300,  337,  359- 

Water-beetle,  The,  early  figure  for  Cancer,  109. 

Water-dog,  The,  Procyon  in  Babylonia,  133. 

Waterman,  The.    See  Aquarius. 

Water-pot  of  Cana,  The  Stone  (Crater),  184. 

Water-pots  of  Cana,  The  (Dclphinus),  200. 

Water-Snake,  The.    See  Hydra. 

Waves  and  Waynes  of  Heaven,  439. 

Way  of  (or  to)  Saint  James,  480. 

Weaving  Sisters,  a  Chinese  figure  of  Lyra,  58. 

We  (a  Tekscopii),  413. 

Weg,  Wee,  or  Uueg,  Iringe's,  478 ;  Jakobs,  479 ; 
Wuotanes,  479. 

Weg  uf  Rom,  480. 

Wei,  the  33d  sieu  in  Aquarius,  51. 

Wei,  4  and  X  Capricorni,  143. 

Wei,  m»  ?>  and  4  Centauri,  155. 

Wei  (the  17th  sieu  in  Scorpio),  369. 

Whale,  The.    See  Cetus. 

Whale  that  Swallowed  Jonah,  The,  162. 

Wheat  Field,  The,  a  Phoenician  sky-figure,  192. 

Wheel,  The,  a  figuring  of  the  7th  nakshatra,  348. 

Whirlpool  Nebula,  The,  in  Canes  Venatici,  116. 

White  Tiger,  a  Chinese  stellar  division,  78,  310,  381. 

Whitney,  Prof.  William  Dwight,  and  star  no- 
menclature, xi ;  on  the  Lunar  Mansions,  7,  8;  on 
Indian  astronomy,  21 ;  et passim. 

Who  Sing,  An  lares,  the  Fire  Star,  365. 

Whyte  Bole,  The,  378. 

Wiar  Strate,  the  Galaxy  in  Westphalia,  479. 

Wider  and  Widder,  Der  (Aries),  75. 

Widhayu  and  Widhu  (/3  Lconis),  259. 

Wild  Boer,  The,  Ursa  Major  in  Syria,  425. 

Wine-cup  of  Noah,  The,  184. 

Wine-skin,  Eratosthenes'  idea  of  Lupus,  279. 

Winkelmass,  393. 

Winter  Street,  or  Winter  Gatan,  the  Galaxy  in 
Sweden,  479. 

Winged  Horse,  The,  333. 

Wolff,  Der,  278. 


Wolf,  The.    See  Lupus. 

Wolke,  Gross*  and  Kleine,  395. 

Woman  in  a  Ship,  the  Cingalese  Virgo,  4I3. 

Wonderful  Star,  The,  Stella  Mira,  164. 

Woo,  or  Yue  (c  Aquilae),  61. 

Woo  (»  Pegasi),  339. 

Woo  Chay,  stars  of  Auriga  and  Taurus,  88,  390. 

Woo  Choo  How,  in  Coma  and  Gemini,  171,  336. 

Woo  Chow  Shih,  stars  of  Gemini,  336. 

Woo  Ti  Tso,  Denebola  and  adjacent  stars,  358. 

Woomera,  Corona  Borealis  in  Australia,  177. 

Wo*  Niebeski,  the  Polish  Heavenly  Wain,  97,  428. 

Wreath  of  Flowers,  Corona  Borealis,  175. 

Wuotanes  Weg,  or  Straza,  479. 

X,  The  Egyptian,  73,  135. 

Xiphias.    See  Sword/ish,  under  Dorado. 

Yai,  the  Turkish  Sagittarius,  352. 

Ya  Ke,  stars  of  Canis  Major,  131. 

Yang  Hun  (or  Men)  (a  Lupi),  379. 

Yaou  Kwang  (i>  Ursae  Majoris),  441. 

Yard-stick,  or  Yard-wand,  316. 

Yaugh,  stars  in  Sagittarius,  359. 

Ydra  and  Ydre  (Hydra),  247. 

Yellow  Dragon,  The,  354. 

Yellow  Road*,  The,  481. 

Yen,  Chinese  stars  in  Capricorn  us,  142. 

Yew  Chi  Fa  0  Virginis),  468. 

Yew  Hea  (a  Corvi),  181. 

Yew  Kang,  stars  of  Pisces,  343. 

Yew  Ke,  stars  of  Aquila,  61. 

Yew  She  Ti,  stars  of  Bootes,  105. 

Yh,  Yih  and  Yen,  the  10th  sieu,  184. 

Yidigher  Yilduz,  Ursa  Major  in  Turkey,  424. 

Yilange,  Ophiuchus  in  Turkey,  299. 

Yildun  {6  Ursae  Minoris),  460. 

Yilduz,  Polaris  in  Turkey,  457. 

Ying  She  (or  Shih),  the  24th  sieu,  326. 

Yin  Tih  (Camelopardalis),  107. 

Yin  Yang,  Gemini  in  China,  239. 

Ydra  and  Ydre,  347. 

Young  Boy  in  a  Canoe  (Bellarrix),  313. 

Young  Girls  (the  Pleiades),  400. 

Young  He  Goat,  the  Arabs'  figure  for  Polaris,  449. 

Young  Men,  Australian  figure  for  Orion's  Belt,  315. 

Young,  Prof.  Charles  A.,  his  assistance  in  this 
work,  xix;  on  number  of  constellations,  15;  on 
01  Capricorni,  141;  on  a  Centauri,  153;  on  Corona 
Borealis,  178;  on  0  Librae,  377;  on  t  Lyncis,  a8o; 
upon  the  number  of  recognized  novae,  293 ;  on  a 
Ononis,  311 ;  on  apparent  comparative  size  of  Venus 
and  the  moon,  319 ;  et  passim. 

Young  Women,  the  Gemini  in  South  Africa,  229. 

Y  twr  tewdws,  the  Hyades  in  Wales,  197. 

Yu  Choo  (a  Draconis),  206. 

Yue  (^  Capricorni),  142. 

Yue*  (if  Geminorum),  335. 

Yuen  Wei,  unidentified  stars  of  Draco,  205. 

Yuh  Kang  (c  Ursae  Majoris),  440. 

Yuh  Tsing  (/SEridani),  218;  (ir  Ononis),  320. 

Yu  lin  Keun,  stars  of  Aquarius  and  Pisces,  53. 

Yu  Neu  (n  Leonis),  263. 


53& 


General  Index 


Yun  Yu  (ir  and  A  Piscium),  343. 

YU  Shi,  the  Ruler  of  Rain  (the  Hyades),  389. 

Zenith-star,  The  (y  Draconis),  209. 

Zerah,  Caesius'  figure  for  Cepheus,  157. 

Zeata  v*  Rim  (the  Galaxy),  480. 

Zib,  Pisces  in  later  Babylonia,  337. 

Zibanitu,  lunar  asterism  in  Libia,  276. 

Zibbat  A.  (Dencbola),  258. 

Zibu,  perhaps  Lupus  on  the  cylinders,  278. 

Zichoa,  Libra  in  the  9th  century,  270. 

Zidadh,  a  Khorasmian  lunar  station,  343. 

Zinge  and  the  Zingians,  70. 

Zirkel,  166. 

Zlxumara,  or  Shi-ahu-mara,  200,  204. 

Zodiac,  Solar,  The,  many  theories  as  to  birthplace 
and  time  of  formation  of,  x ;  general  agreement  as  to 
its  origin,  1 ;  Euphratean  six  alternate  signs  of,  1 ; 
dictum  of  Servius  (400  a.  d.)  concerning  it,  x  ;  Ric- 
doli  cites  a  "  Chaldean"  tide  of,  1;  doubt  as  to 
this,  1 ;  known  to  the  Akkadians  as  Innum  and 
Pidnu-sha-Shame,  1 ;  other  Jewish  names  for,  9; 
the  Egyptians  and,  1,  2;  Coptic- Egyptian  titles  of, 


2 ;  Greek  names  of,  3  :  German  name  of,  3 :  nancs 
of,  in  Rome,  3;  when  first  known  in  Greece,  3; 
Cicero's  name  for,  3  ;  poetical  name  of,  3;  D* 
Thaun's  name  for,  3;  Anglo-Saxon  names  of.  4. 
Pope's  name  fcr,  4;  former  English  names  of, ,4 : 
Dante's  name  for,  4 ;  Tuscan  name  of,  4;  Rig  *«* 
term  for,  5;  common  Hindu  name  of,  5;  Paha* 
terms  for,  5 ;  Zoroaster's  equivalent  for,  5 :  Chinese 
names  of,  5:  Chinese  progression  of,  5;  date  of  for- 
mation of,  in  China,  5 ;  Jesuits  introduce  the  Euro- 
pean todiac  into  China,  6;  Venerable  Bede 
and,  6;  Sir  William  Drummond  and,  6;  R« 
G.  Townsend  and,  6;  the  Ajvcalyfu  and,*: 
various  national  forms  of,  6;  unequal  dim** 
of,  6 ;  Hipparchos*  division  of,  6 ;  the  paranatel- 
lons  of,  6. 

Zodiac ua,  the  Latins'  zodiac,  3. 

Zona,  Orion's  Belt  with  Ovid,  315. 

Zona  peruata,  the  Galaxy  with  Macrobius,  4*4- 

Zoroaster,  mentioned  the  zodiac  in  the  Avtsto,  5- 

Zosma  (2  Leonis),  260. 

Zweig,  the  Branch,  in  Hercules,  24*- 

Zwilling,  or  Zwillinge,  aaa. 


ARABIC   INDEX 


Accentuation  of  the  originals  of  the  corrupted  words  has  been  followed  for  the  latter  as  fax  as  practicable,  but 
in  many  cases  necessarily  is  arbitrary.  The  Arabic  alphabet,  with  its  English  equivalents,  follows  these  pages. 


Aa'krab  (Scorpio),  363. 
Aa'krab  genu'bi  (4  Scorpii),  369. 
Aar'af,  Al,  Poe's  poem  and  star  title,  146. 
Abeen'  and  Aben'  (Draco),  205. 
Aben  Exra  (a  Tauri),  384. 
Abrachale'ua,  Aracale'us  (0  Geminorum),  233. 
A'camar  (•  Eridani),  219. 

A'carnar,  A'chenar,  and  variants  (a  Eridani),  918. 
A'chernar,  etc.  (a  Eridani),  217;  ($  Eridani),  219. 
Achir,  a  Tauri  in  Khorasmia,  257. 
Acimon',  a  Virginia  in  the  A  If  on  sine  Tables,  467. 
Acka'ir  and  Ackl'ar  (ij  Ursae  Majoris),  44*. 
Aclil'uachemall  and  Aclu'ahemali  (Corona  Bore- 
alis),  176. 

Acola  ($  Ursae  Majoris),  443- 

A'crab  and  Aa'krab  schemali'  (0  Scorpii),  367. 

Acubens'  and  Acuben'e  (a  Cancri),  hi. 

Adara',  Adhara'.and  Adard',in  Canis  Major,  130. 

Addeb'lria  (a  Tauri),  384. 

Adelf'alfa'res  (»l  Cygni),  197. 

Aderai'min  and  Adderoia'minon  (a  Cephei),  157. 

Adhafe'ra,  Aldhafa'ra,  Aldhafe'ratf  Leonis),  261. 

'Adhara  and  'Adbrl',  Al  (in  Canis  Major),  130, 131. 

Adhil'  ((  Androroedae),  38. 

'Adhra'  al  Nafhifah,  Al  (Virgo),  464,  467. 

Adib',  Addib,  Adid'  and  Adiv'e  (aDraconis),  206. 

Adige  and  Adigege  (Cygnus),  193. 

Adren'desa  and  Adren'edesa  (Virgo),  464. 

Afr  (a,  0,  and  y  Librae),  276. 

Aghnam,  Al,  in  Cepheus,  157,   159;  the  Club  of 
Hercules,  302. 

A  gribfth,  Al,  in  Canis  Major,  130;  in  Columba,  167. 

Ahaut'  Algenubi'  (Piscis  Australis),  345. 

AHawat  al  8uhall,  the  two  Dog-stars,  132. 

Anfa'  al  Farkadain'  (y»,  y",  and  (  Ursae  Minoris), 

_  459.  46o- 

Ahir  al  Nahr  (a  Eridani),  217. 

Ain  and  Al  'Ain'  (c  Tauri),  391. 

'Ain  al  Rami  (rl  and  v*  Sagittarii),  359. 

'Ain  al  Thaur  (a  Tauri),  384. 

Ainilam'  and  Anilam'  (c  Ononis),  314. 

Ajmal',  Al,  and  Ahmal'  (Conrus),  180,  181. 

Ajs  al  A'aad,  in  Corvus,  180. 

A'krab,  Al  (Scorpio),  362. 

Aktftb  al  A'aad  (0  Leonis),  258. 

Alaa'zel,  Ala'cel,  and  Ala'zel  (a  Virginia),  467. 

Al'abi'eth  and  Alal'oth  (e  Ursae  Majoris),  439- 

Alacast  and  Alcalst  («  Virginis),  471. 


Alach'il,  or  Alad'il,  Algenubi'  (Corona  Australis), 

»73- 
Ala'crab,  Ala'trab,  and  Ala'trap  (Scorpio),  362. 
Aladfar'  (i?  Lyrae),  288. 
Alahance'  and  Alhance'  (Sagitra),  350. 
Alaho're,  Allo're,  Aloho're  (a  Lyrae),  284. 
Alamac',  Alamak',  and  Alamech'  (y  Androme- 

dae),  36. 
Alanac',  Alanat',  Alloc',  etc.,  Auriga  and  a  Auri- 

gae,  85,  87. 
Alange  and  Alangue  (Ophiuchus),  299. 
Alangue,  and  variants  (a  Ophiuchi),  301 ;  (a  Ser- 

pentis),  375. 
Alanin'  (Draco),  205. 

Alaraph'  (a  Virginis),  467;  (e  Virginis),  471. 
Alarne'bet  (Lepus),  265. 
Alaach'a  (A  Scorpii),  370;  (v  Scorpii),  372. 
Ala'sid,  Ala'aado,  and  Ala'tid  (Leo),  254. 
Alatbod'  and  Alatud'o,  etc.,  Auriga  and  a  Aurigae, 

85.  87. 
Ala'zet  and  Ale'sit  (0  Leonis),  258. 
Albanere,  Ugendum  Alhance  (Sagitta),  350. 
Albega'la  and  Albegaio  (Lyra),  282. 
Albe'ze  and  Albiz'ze  (a  and  0  Centauri),  150. 
Alcahel'a  (a  Aurigae),  87. 
Alca'id  and  Alka'id  (»?  Ursae  Majoris),  441. 
Alcan'tarus,  Alcau'curua  (Capricornus),  135, 136. 
Alcantub  (a  Scorpii),  365. 
Alcatel  and  Alcha'yr  (fj  Ursae  Majoris),  441. 
Alcha'malo  (Aries),  78. 
Alchanz'ato  (Sagitta),  351. 
Alchel'eb  Alach'bar  (Canis  Major),  119. 
Alchel'eb  Alaa'gar  (Canis  Minor),  133. 
Alchemb'  (a  Persei),  331. 
Alche'te  and  Alche'ti  (Hercules),  242. 
Alche'ti  hale  Rechaba'tib  (Hercules),  242. 
Alcho'ro,  Alio  re,  All  ou' re,  Aloho're  (Lyra),  283. 
Alcor'  and  Alkor'  (g  Ursae  Majoris),  445,  446. 
Alcor'e,  Riccioli's  name  for  c  Ursae  Majoris,  439. 
Aldeb'aran,  and  variants  (a  Tauri),  383,  384. 
Al  Derab',  Al  Deraf ,  Alredaf ,  and  Alredat'  (a 

Cephei),  157. 
Alderal'  Jemln  (Cepheus),  157. 
Aldera'min  and  Al  Derai'mln  (a  Cephei),  157. 
Aldiga'ga  and  Addigaga'to  (Cygnus),  193. 
Ale  ser  and  Ale'zet  (Leo),  254. 
Alfa'ras   Alathem',  Alpha'res    and   Alphe'ras 

(Pegasus),  324. 


35 


537 


538 


Arabic  Index 


Alfard',  Alpbard',  and  variants  (a  Hydrae),  249. 

Alfec'ca,  Alfet'a,  etc.  (Corona  Borealis),  176. 

Alfec'ca  meridia'na  (Corona  Australia),  173. 

Alferkathan'  (0  and  y  Ursae  Minoris),  459. 

Alfirk'  (a  Cephei),  157;  (0  Cephei),  158. 

Al  Gam ua'  (0  Canis  Minoris),  134. 

Algau'za  (y  Ononis),  313. 

Algebar*,  Algibbar',  Algebra',  etc.  (Orion),  307. 

Algebar',  Elgebar'.and  Algibbar'  (0 Ononis),  31a. 

Alge'di  (a1  and  a"  Capricornii,  140. 

Algei'ba  and  Algi'eba  (y  Leon  is),  359. 

Algen'ib,  Algen'eb.and  Elgen'ab  (a  Persei),  331. 

Algen'ib  and  Algem'o  (y  Pegasi),  336. 

Algenu'bl  (c  Leonis),  260. 

Algethi'  and  Algiethi'  (Hercules),  34s. 

Algeuse'  and  Elgeuz'i  (Gemini),  943. 

Algha'vil  Altannin'  (Draco),  305. 

Algomeia'a,  Algomia'a,and  Algomeya'a  (Canis 

Minor),  13a. 
Algomeiz'a  and  Algomia'a  (Canis  Minor),  132. 
Algomeyl'a  (0  Canis  Minoris),  134. 
Algomys'o  and  Alcbamia'o  (Canis  Minor),  13?. 
Algorab',  y  Corvi  in  the  Alftmtine  Tables,  18a. 
Algorab'  and  Algores',  modern  names  for  8  Corvi, 

18a. 
Algueae',  Riccioli's  name  for  a  Geminorum,  231 . 
Alha'fa,  Chilmead's  name  for  Serpens,  374. 
Alhague'  and  Asalange'  (a  Ophiuchi),  301. 
Alhal'ath,  Alhi'ath,  Alhut'  (c  Ursae  Majoris),43o. 
Alha'ior,  Alba'joc,  etc.,  Auriga  and  a  Aurigae, 

85,  87. 
Alhai'seth  (a  Virginia),  467. 
Al  Hamar'ein,  erroneously  for  a  Cancri,  xn. 
Albas',  Alker',  and  Alkea'  (CraterX  183. 
Al  Haur,  Al  Hague',  Alhava'  (Ophiuchus),  299. 
Alhen'a  (y  Geminorum),  234. 
Alhl'ac  (£  Ursae  Majoris),  440. 
Alhut,  by  Assemani's  error  for  c  Ursae  Majoris,  439. 
Aliar'e  and  Alior'e  (e  Ursae  Majoris),  439. 
AUath',  Alioth',and  variants  (<  Ursae  Majoris),  439. 
Aliour'e  (Gemini),  224. 
Alkalu'ropa  (Bootes),  97;  (y  Herculis),  103;  (p  Her- 

culis),  X05. 
Al  Ka'meluz  (Bootes),  97 ;  (a  Bootis),  tox. 
Alkfit,  Al,  &,  t,  £  Ononis,  315 ;  17,  etc.,  in  Orion,  316. 
Alkauus'o,  Elkaus'u,  Elkus'u  (Sagittarius),  352. 
Alkea',  Alhes',  and  Alker'  (a  Crateris),  184. 
Almacb',  Almak',  Almaak',  Almaac,  and  Al- 

maack  (y  Andromedae),  36. 
Alman'tica  sett  Ni'tac  (the  zodiac),  3. 
Almegir'et,  Riccioli's  name  for  the  galaxy,  481. 
Almegra'mith  and  Almugam'ra  (Ara),  63. 
Alxnei'ean  and  Almei'sam  (y  Geminorum),  234. 
Almen'keb,  Chilmead's  name  for  0  Pegasi,  325. 
Almerxamo'  nna'gied  (a  Ononis),  311. 
Almlrazgual',  a  Moorish  name  for  Perseus,  330. 
Almi'sam  and  Almi'san  (y  Geminorum),  334. 
Almi'sarfand  Almi'zen  (Libra),  273. 
Almucedie'  (a  Virginis),  467 ;  (e  Virgin  is),  471. 
Almuredin'  («  Virginis),  471. 
Almuta'bet  algenu'bl  (Triangulum  Australe),  417. 
Almuta'leh,  Almutal'lath,  Almutla'to  (Trian- 

gulum),  4x6. 


Al  Nath  (0  Tauri),  89. 

Alnihan'  and  AlnilanV  (c  Ononis),  314 

Alnitah'  and  Alnitak'  ({  Ononis),  3x4. 

Alove'  (Perseus),  330;  (0  Persei),  332. 

Alphac'a,  Alphakh'aco,  and  Alphen'a  (Corasa 

Borealis),  176,  178. 
Alphart',  a  star  in  Argo,  75 ;  a  Hydrae,  249. 
Alphe'rat  and  Alphe'raU  (a  Andromedae),  35- 
Alpbor'a  and  Alphrad'  (a  Hydrae),  349. 
Al  Ram'ec,  Ara'mec,  Are'meab  (a  Bootis),  iw. 
Al  Reacha'  and  Al  Riacha'  (a  Piscium),  34a. 
Alruca'ba  and  Alrucca'ba  (Ursa  Minor),  45a 
Alruca'ba  and  Alrucca'bab  (a  Ursae  Minoris),  457. 
Alruca'ba  (0  Ursae  Minoris),  458. 
Alaa'ft  and  Athftfi  (<r  Draconis),  axa. 
AUahare'  aliemali'ja  (Canis  Major),  1x9. 
Alaahare'  alsemall'ja  (Canis  Minor),  132. 
Alaanj'a,  Aaang'e,  and  variants  (Lyra),  a8x,  383. 
Alsciau'kat,  a  star  in  Lynx,  380. 
Aleebere'  Aacemi'e  Algamei'ea  (Cams  Minor). 

X32. 
Alsem'cha,  Chilmead's  name  for  Pisces,  338. 
AUtre',  cited  by  Grotius  for  Sirius,  122. 
Alaha'in  (0  Aquilae),  60. 
Alahemali  (m  Leonis),  363. 
Alaobam',  Chilmead's  name  for  Sagitta,  350. 
Aleugahh',  Chilmead's  name  for  Hydra,  347. 
Altm'ir,  AU'ir,  Alcalr,  and  Alcar'  (Aqnixa),  57 
Alta'ir,  Atha'ir,  Ata'ir,  etc.  (a  Aquilae),  59. 
Altaur'o  and  Ataur7  (Taurus),  380. 
Alta'yr,  Chilmead's  name  for  Cygnus,  193. 
Alta'yr  aldigey'a,  Alfonsine  name  for  Cygnus.  194. 
Alterf  (A  Leonis),  263. 
Al  Thura'ja,  Baily's  name  for  Fl.  19  and  Ft  --3 

Tauri,  4x2. 
Al  Tinnin'  («  Draconis),  206. 
Altor',  Schickard's  name  for  Taurus,  380. 
Altor'ic  and  AthorTic  (*  Tauri),  404. 
Altor'icb  and  Altor'ieh  (the  Pleiades),  308. 
Altor'ich  and  Athor'rich  (i|  Tauri),  404. 
Aludra'  (i)  Canis  Minoris),  131. 
Alu'la  auatra'lia  (£  Ursae  Majoris),  443. 
Alula  borealis  (v  Ursae  Majoris),  443. 
Alvahar',  Chilmead's  name  for  Eridanus,  317. 
Alva'ka,  Chilmead's  name  for  Lyra,  382. 
Alwa'id  (0  Draconis),  207. 
Al'ya  and  Al'ga  (9  Serpen tis),  376. 
Al'ya  (*>  and  «■  Tauri),  412. 
Al'yah,  Al'yat,  and  Al'ioth  («  Serpenns),  375 
Al'yat,  the  origin  of  name  for  c  Ursae  Majoris,  439. 
Al  Zara'  («  Canis  Majoris),  130. 
Alzimon',  Nubian  name  for  a  Virginis,  467. 
'Amud  al  §alib  («  Delphini),  300,  aoi. 
'An&k  al  'Ard,  36;  meaning  of,  36;  Ulug  Beg  and. 

37;  connected  with  early  Arabian  astronomy,  37. 
'Anftk  al  Banftt  (c  Ursae  Majoris),  440. 
Ancbat'  al  Nahr  (r*  Eridani),  aao. 
Anget'enar,  and  variants  (r*  Eridani),  aao. 
Anf,  Al  (c  Pegasi),  327. 
Anf  al  A'sad,  the  6th  manxily  no. 
Aniph'ol  Pharasi,  Schickard's «  Pegasi,  337. 
Anana'de  and  Asna'de  (Andromeda),  32. 
Antar  and  Autar'a  Star  (a  Scarpa),  365. 


Arabic  Index 


539 


Anwir  al  Farkadain  (fi  and  *  Ursae  Minoris), 

459.  460. 
'Ans,  Al  («  Aurigae),  90. 
AramSkh,  a  Boons  in  modern  Arabia,  101. 
At'cbarnar  (a.  Eridani),  ai8. 
Arided'  and  Aridif  (a  Cygni),  193,  195. 
Arion'  and  Arrioph'  (a  Cygni),  195. 
Arkab'  (fi1  and  0*  Sagittarii),  357. 
Af^uwab,  Al  (a  and  fi  Pegasi),  324. 
Arma'lah,  Al  (Andromeda),  32. 
Ar'nab,  Al,  and  Ar'nebeth  (Lepus),  265. 
Ar'nig  and  As'nig  (Lyra),  282. 
Arra'i  (y  Cephei),  158. 
Arra'kis  (p.  Draconis),  211. 
Arab  (a.  Leporis),  268. 

*  Arnh  al  Jau'aah  (*,  fi,  y,  and  A  Leporis),  265. 
'Aran  al  Simfik  al  A'aal,  stars  in  Corvus,  180. 
A'aad,  the  early  Arabs*  Lion,  97,  231,  254 ;  etfassim. 
A'aad,  the  scientific  Arabians'  Leo,  254. 
A'sadah,  Al  (Lupus),  278. 
Anceher%  Aachere',  and  Aachere'  Aliemi'ni  (a 

Canis  Majoris),  122. 
Aschemi'e  and  Aachere'  (Canis  Minor),  132. 
Aschlmech'  iner'mis,  Aaimec'  (a  Virgin  is),  467. 
Ascimech',  Asimech',  Asimeth'  (a  Boons),  iox. 
A'sedaton  and  A'sid  (Leo),  254. 
Aaema'rik   and  Asme'at,  stars  in  Centaurus  and 

Lupus,  150. 
Ashlar,  Al  (c  and  p  Leonis),  260,  263. 
Aahrit,  Al,  the  27th  mansil,  82. 
A'alda  (Lupus),  278. 

Aa'ina,  Aal'ua,  Asu'ia,  Asvi'a  (Hydra),  247. 
A'sia  and  As'sld  (Leo),  254. 
Asu'gia  (Orion),  307. 
Asu'ia  and  Asvi'a  (fi  Draconis),  207. 
Asuxn'pha  (fi  Leonis),  258. 
Atara'ge  and  Atora'ge  (the  Pleiades),  398. 
Ataur'ia,  Chilmead's  name  for  the  Pleiades,  398. 
A'tha,  Al,  correctly  Al  'Ul'thah  (Coma),  169. 
Athiflyy,  Al,  82,  212,  286,  288,  292,  3x8. 
Athffer,  Al  (m  Lyrae),  288. 
AfhflLr  al  Dhi*b,  Al  (*»  Draconis),  2x2. 
Athora'ce,  Athorai'ae,  and  Athorai'e  (the  Plei- 
ades), 398. 
'Atik,  Al,  Atik,  and  Atl  (o  Persei),  334. 
A'tin  and  Hain'  Altor'  (a  Tauri),  384. 
Altanin'o,  Schickard's  name  for  Draco,  205. 
Atud',  and  variants,  Auriga  and  a  Aurigae,  85,  87. 
Au'ft,  Al,  correctly  Auwft',  in  Aquarius,  52. 
'Auhakln,  Al,  £,17  Draconis,  2x0;  \j/  Draconis,  2x2. 
Aulftd  al  Dhi'bah,  stars  of  Bootes,  105. 
Aulad  al  Nadhl&t,  other  stars  of  Bootes,  106. 
Awftld,  Al,  stars  of  Draco,  207. 
Aw'la,  Ideler's  name  for  £  Draconis,  443. 
jAwwft',  Al  (Bootes),  93;  (the  xxth  manxil),  469. 
'Awwftd,  Al,  stars  of  Draco,  207. 
Aw'wal  al  Dabarln  (y  Tauri),  390. 
Aw'wal  al  Dhirl*  (a  Geminorum),  231. 
Ayyuk'  (Auriga  and  a  Aurigae),  87. 
'Axal  al  Daja'jah  (iri  Cygni),  x97. 
Aselfaf  age,  A*elfaf  ge,  and  Axelfa'ge  (v*  Cygni), 

"97.  198- 
A*hi,  Al,  and  Axha'  (if  Eridani),  218. 


Asimech'  (a  Virginis),  467. 

Asimeth'  Colan's*  (Bootes),  97. 

Aalmon'  (a  Virginis),  467. 

Azuben'e  (a  Cancri),  xxx;  (Libra),  273. 

Azula'fe  (Lyra),  264. 

Azzang'o,  Schickard's  name  for  Lyra,  281. 

Babaaur,  Al,  Arabic  popular  name  for  Orion,  307. 

Bad'lye,  the  Persian  Crater,  183. 

Baham'  ($  Leonis),  328. 

Bald,  Al,  Baid',  and  Be  id'  (01  Eridani),  219. 

Bakkftr,  Al  (Bootes),  96. 

Bakr,  Al,  Al  Sufi's  name  for  Nubecula  Major,  295. 

Bal'dah,  Al,  the  19th  manxil  and  n  Sagittarii, 
3*4.  355,  359- 

Bali',  Al  (c  Aquarii),  53- 

Ban&t  Na'ash  al  Kubrft,  in  Ursa  Major,  432. 

Ban&t'  Na'ash  al  Qughrl,  in  Ursa  Minor,  449. 

Bard,  Al,  an  Arabic  group  in  Virgo,  469. 

Bat'enel  Kal'tos  and  Bat'enkaiton  (£  Ceti),  163. 

Bat'en  Kaltos  and  Bot'en  (£Ceti),  163. 

BIflyah,  Al,  and  Bat'lnah  (Crater),  183. 

Bafn  al  £ut,  the  26th  manzil,  36,  338. 

Bajn  al  gaitos,  or  getus  (£  Ceti),  163. 

Bed  Elgueze'  (a  Ononis),  and  variants,  3x0. 

Bee'mim  and  Bee'mun  (vW  Eridani),  220. 

Benat'  Elnasch',  Riccioli's  error  for  the  Pleiades, 
398. 

Benat'nasch  (jj  Ursae  Majoris),  and  variants,  44s. 

Benen'as,  Beneth'  As,  and  Beneth'asch,  Chil- 
mead's collective  name  for  c,  £,  and  if  Ursae  Ma- 
joris, 432. 

Bersha'wiah  (Perseus),  330. 

Bet'elgeuxe'  (a  Ononis),  and  variants,  3x0. 

Bihim,  Al  (9  Leonis),  328. 

Birdun',  correctly  Birdhaun,  Al  (Centaurus),  150; 
(Lupus),  279. 

Bot'ein'  (S  Arietis),  83. 

Bri'nek  (Lyra),  282. 

Bula'an,  Al  (p  and  v  Aquarii),  53. 

Burj  al  Jauxa'  (Gemini),  223. 

Bufain',  Al,  the  28th  mansil,  292. 

Ca'ab,  Al,  Assemani's  name  for  1*  Draconis,  21  x. 
Cabala'trab  (a  Scorpii),  and  variants,  365. 
Cai'cana  and  Can'tans  (Cepheus),  156. 
Calb-ale'set  («  Leonis),  and  variants,  256. 
Caph  and  Chaph  (fi  Cassiopeiae),  146. 
Cebalra'i,  Celabra'i,  Celbalra'i,  and  Chel'eb  (fi 

Ophiuchi),  30X. 
Cele'ub,  Chel'eub,  and  Chel'ub  (Perseus),  330. 
Chen'ib  (a  Persei),  331. 
Chiba',  Al  (a  Corvi),  181. 
Ctairka,  Nasr  al  Din's  title  for  Lyra,  282. 
Chort  (9  Leonis),  154,  262. 
Chortan  (6  and  9  Leonis),  260. 
Cursa'  (fi  Eridani),  218. 

Daban',  Postellus'  tide  for  Draco,  205. 

Dab'arftn,  Al,  the  2d  manzil  and  a  Tauri,  383; 

the  Hyades,  389. 
Da'bih,  Da'bih  Major  and  Da'bih  Minor  (fi\  fi* 

Capricorni),  140. 


54° 


Arabic  Index 


Dafi'ra,  the  Alfonsine  name  for  0  Leonis,  358. 
Pafirah,  Al,  Coma  Berenices  and  Fl.  15  Comae 

Berenices,  171. 
Paikft,  Al,  a  vacant  space  in  Taurus,  386. 
Dajajah,  Al,  the  Arabians'  and  Manetho's  name  for 

Cygnus,  193. 
Dalw,  Al,  the  Arabians'  Aquarius,  47 ;  x  Aquarii,  54. 
Dalw,  Al,  the  Square  of  Pegasus,  324. 
Parb  al  T&bbftnin  (the  galaxy),  481. 
Deb'iron  (a  Tauri),  384. 
Degi'ge  (Cygnus),  and  variants,  193. 
Deli,  the  Hebrews'  Aquarius,  Rkxioh's  Delle,  47. 
De'neb  (c  and  £  Aquilae),  61. 
De'neb,  De'neb  Adi'ge,  De'nebadigege,  etc.  (a 

Cygni),  195. 
De'neb,  De'neb  Algenu'bi,  and  Dhe'neb  (if  Ceti), 

163,  164. 
De'neb  and  Deneb'ola  (3  Leonis),  and  variants,  258. 
De'neb  and  Dha'nab  al  Dulflm  (c  Delphini),  201. 
De'nebalchedi',  De'neb  Algedi',  and  De'neb  Al- 

gethi'  (y  Capricorni),  141. 
De'neb  Algedi'  (6  Capricorni),  141. 
De'nebcaiton  and  De'neb  Kai'toe  (0  Ceti),  163. 
De'neb  Kai'toe  (t  Ceti),  164. 
Den'neb  Elaa'krab  (v  Scorpii),  372. 
Dhail,  Al  {$  or  A  Andromedae),  38. 
Dhalim'  and  Thalim'  (0  and  $  Eridani),  a  18. 
Dha'nab,  Al  (y  Gruis),  338. 
Dha'nab  al  A'sad  (0  Leonis),  258. 
Dha'nab  al  Dajajah,  Al  («  Cygni),  195. 
Dha'nab  al  Dulftm  («  Delphini),  201. 
Dha'nab  al  Ja'dy,  correctly  Dha'nab  al  Ja'dl  (« 

Capricorni),  141. 
Dha'nab  al  Kai'toe  (or  Ke'(us)  al  Janubi'yy  (0 

Ceti),  x63. 
Dha'nab  al  'Ukftb  («  and  y  Aquilae),  61. 
Dhit  al  Kursi'yy,  Dhath  Alcursi',  and  Dath  El- 

karti'  (Cassiopeia  and  a  Cassiopciae),  143,  145. 
Dhawa'ib,  Al,  small  stars  in  Orion,  320. 
Dhi'bah,  Al,  stars  in  Bootes,  103;  stars  in  Draco, 

206 ;  t  Draconis,  210. 
Dhi'bain,  Al  (£and  n Draconis),  210;  tyl  and  ^*  Dra- 
conis), 212. 
Dhili,  Al  (a  Draconis),  206;  (t  Draconis),  210;  (•» 

and/  Draconis),  212. 
Dhirfi',  Al  (a  and  0  Canis  Minoris),  135 ;    (the  5th 

mattzil),  231 ;   (a  Ononis),  3x0. 
Dhira'  al  A'ead  al  Makbudah,  in  Canis  Minor, 

133.  231- 
Dhirft'  al  Mabsu  tah',  Al  (a,  0  Geminorum),  231. 
Dhira'  al  Yamin,  Al  (a  Cephei),  157. 
Dhirft'ftn,  Al  (a  and  0  Geminorum),  234. 
Dhu  al  'Inftn'  (Auriga),  86. 
Dhub  Elez'guar  (Ursa  Minor),  449. 
Dhur  and  Duhr  (i  Leonis),  260. 
Dif'da  (0  Ceti),  163. 

pifdi'  al  Aw'wal,  Al  (a  Piscis  Austral  is),  346. 
pifdi"  al  Thftni,  Al  (0  Ceti),  163. 
Dob  and  D5bh  (Ursa  Major),  423. 
D51  and  Dial,  the  Persians'  Aquarius,  47. 
Dou'be,  or  DSb'her,  Ursa  Minor  in  Phoenicia,  450. 
Dschab'be  and  Dsha'beh  (a  Capricorni),  140. 
Dschub'ba  (6  Scorpii),  369. 


Dai'ban  (^  and  <l>*  Draconis),  axa. 

Dub,  Dub'bc,  Dnb'he,  Dub'on  (Ursa  Major),  4*3- 

Dubb  al  Ak'bar,  Al,  Dub  AlaCber,  and  DubBd- 

aCbar  (Ursa  Major),  423. 
Dubb  al  Ai'ghar,  Al,  Dub  Aiaa'gmr,  and  Dhub 

Elex'guar  (Ursa  Minor),  449. 
Dub'he  and  Dubb  (a  Ursae  Majoris),  437- 
Dubhe'rukabah  (Ursa  Minor),  451. 
Dulflm,  Al  (Delphinus),  200. 

Ec'ber,  Chilmead's  name  for  a  Canis  Majoris,  121. 

Ed  Asich'and  Eldaich'  (1  Draconis),  2x0. 

Eddib'  and  El  Dsib'  («  Draconis),  206, 

Edegia'gith  and  Eldigia'gich  (Cygnus),  193. 

Edeleu'  and  Eldelia  (Aquarius),  47. 

Elada'ri  and  Eleada'ri  (Virgo),  464,  467. 

Elar'neb  (Lepus),  265. 

Eleaz'alet  (a  Virginia),  467. 

Elgen'ab  (a  Persei),  331. 

Elgeuse'  (Orion),  307. 

Elgiautri'  (a  Geminorum),  231. 

Elhak'aac  (0  Geminorum),  233. 

Elha'thi  (Hercules),  242. 

El  Haut'  and  Elhaut'ine  (Pisces),  338. 

El  Hau'we  (a  Ophiuchi),  300. 

El  Ha'vic  (Hydra),  247. 

Elhen'aat  (0  and  y  Geminorum),  233,  234. 

Elkai'tos,  Blkal'tus,  and  Elke'toa  (Cetus),  162 

El  Ke'id  (Ursa  Major),  432;  (if  Ursae  Majoris),  441- 

Elkia'  (Crater),  183. 

Elkleil'  El  genu' bi  (Corona  Australis),  173. 

El  Koph'rah  (*  Ursae  Majoris),  445. 

Elle'sed  (Leo),  254. 

Elmac'  Alche'ras  (Equuleus),  213. 

El  Melik'  (a  Aquarii),  51. 

El  Nath  (a  Arietis),  80;  (0  Tauri),  390. 

Blnaf  ret  (y  and  fi  Cancri),  112. 

El  Rided'  (Cygnus),  193;  («  Cygni),  195. 

Elecheere',  Elaeiri',  Elaere'  (Canis  Major),  119. 

Elacheere'  (a  Canis  Majoris),  i». 

Eltanin',  Etamln',  Etanlm',  Etannln',  Etta- 
nin'  (y  Draconis),  207. 

El  Taur'  (Taurus),  380. 

Elteamec'ti  and  Eltsamach'  (a  Virginia),  467- 

Elzegesia'le  and  Elgeaiale  rulxbachei  (Her- 
cules), 242. 

E'nar  (a  Eridani),  ax8. 

Enf,  Enf  Alphe'rae,  En'if,  En'ir  (c  Pegari),  32? 

Erra'i  and  Er  Ra'l  (y  Cephei),  158. 

Erra'kia  (ji  Draconis),  an. 

Erucca'bah  (Ursa  Minor),  451. 

Etabln'  and  Etanin'  (Draco),  205. 

Eurisim'  (Cygnus),  194. 

Fahd,  Al  (Lupus),  278. 

Fandh,  Al  (y  Ursae  Majoris),  438. 

Fafcl,  Al  (Canopus),  69. 

Fakir  al  Jau'xah  (Orion's  Belt),  3x5. 

Fakar  al  Shuja*  («  Hydrae),  249. 

Fak'kah,  Al  (Corona  Australis),  X73:  (Corona  Bo- 

realis),  176. 
Fa'lak,  Al  (the  zodiac),  3. 
Fanifc,  Al  (a  Tauri),  384. 


Arabic  Index 


*M 


Paras  al  Aw'wal,  Al  (Equuleus),  213. 
Fa'ras  al  Tttmm,  Al,  an  early  Arabic  asterism,  304, 
Fa'ras  alThftni,  Al  (Equuleus),  ai3;(Pegasus),324. 
Pard  al  Shujft'  (a  Hydrae),  249. 
Fargh  al  Aw'wal,  the  24th  mama'/,  326. 
Fargh  al  Mu'liir,  Al,  the  35th  manxil,  336. 
Fargh  al  Muk'dim,  Al,  the  34th  mauul,  325. 
Fargh  al  Thftnl,  Al,  the  25th  mantil,  35,  326. 
Pargu,  Al,  correctly  Al  Fargh,  the  25th  manvi, 

35.  3*°- 

Farkadain',  Al  (0,  y1,  y*  Ursae  Minoris),  449. 

Far'kad,  Al  (0»  Ursae  Minoris),  459. 

Pass,  Al,  an  Arabic  figure  for  Ursa  Minor,  450. 

Fatik,  Al,  cited  by  Al  Birunl  for  a  Tauri,  384. 

Fawaris,  Al,  Arabic  astcrism  in  Cygnus,  195,  197. 

Fersaus' ,  the  Arabic  orthography  for  Perseus,  330. 

Pica' res  (Cepheus),  156;  (0  Cephei),  158. 

Fik'rah  al  Ola,  Al  ($  Ursae  Majoris),  443. 

Firk,  Al,  £aswlnf  s  name  for  a  Cephei,  157. 

Po'ca  (Corona  Borcalis),  176. 

Fomalhaut',  Potnalc/,  and  variants  (a  Piscis  Aus- 
tralia), 345,  346. 

Futn  al  A' sad,  an  Arabic  idea  of  Cancer,  no. 

Fum  al  Fa'ras  («  Pegasi),  327;  (v  Pegasi),  329. 

Fum  al  HOt,  and  variants,  for  a  Piscis  Australia, 
345.  347- 

Fum  al  Sa'makah  (0  Piscium),  343. 

FurQd,  Al,  and  Furud  (£  Canis  Majoris),  130. 

Gabbar'  (a  Canis  Majoris),  121. 
Gar'acles  (0  Geminorum),  233. 
Gen  ib  (a  Persci),  331. 
Geuze  and  Geuzax'guar  (Orion),  307. 
Ghaf'ar  and  Ohafr,  Al,  the  13th  tnanzil,  472. 
Gharafis ,  Al  (Canis  Minor),  133. 
Ghumaisa*,  Al  (Cants  Minor),  132. 
Ghurab,  Al,  Achsast's  name  for  Aquila,  57;  Cor- 
vus, 180. 
Gie'di  (Prima),  a»  Capricorni,  141. 
Gie'di  (Secunda),  a*  Capricorni,  141. 
Gie'di  («  Ursae  Minoris),  457- 
Gienah'  (y  Corvi),  182;  (c  Cygni).  197. 
Gieu*'  (Gemini),  223. 

Gomei'aaand  Gomel' sa  (a  Canis  Minoris),  134. 
Guad  and  Guag'i  (Eridanus),  217. 

Habor7  and  Halabor  (a  Canis  Majoris),  isx. 

Ha'cerab  and  Ha'crab  (Scorpio),  362. 

Ha'dar,  Al  (a  Cannae),  68:  (a  and  0  Centauri), 
x5»,  154- 

Hadi,  Al  (a  Aurigae),  87. 

Hidl  al  Najm  (a  Tauri),  384. 

Hague,  Al,  a  Moorish  name  for  Ophiuchus,  299. 

H'ail,  Al,  an  Arabic  figure  in  Hydra  and  Leo,  249. 

H;*H  *1  Kattani'yy,  Al,  the  Flaxen  Thread  unit- 
ing Pisces,  342. 

Hak'ah,  Al,  marking  the  head  of  Orion,  318. 

Hal'bah,  Al,  correctly  Al  Hul'bah,  171. 

Hamal,  Al,  Aries  and  a  Arietis,  78,  80. 

Ha'mal,  Al  (Corvus),  181. 

Hamasah,  Al,  an  Arabic  anthology,  484. 

Ha'mel,  Ham'mel,  and  Ha'mul  (a  Arietis),  8a 

Himil  Luia,  Al  (Bootes),  97. 


Hftmil  Rl's  al  GhQl  (Perseus),  330. 

H-amis  al  Na'amah  (y  Andromedae),  37. 

Hammlm,  Al,  Hyde's  name  for  £  Pegasi,  327. 

Ham'mel,  Riccioti's  name  for  Aries,  78. 

Hams,  or  Ham'aah,  Al,  perhaps  the  Arabs'  Sa- 
gitta,  350. 

Han' ah,  Al,  the  4th  manzil%  234. 

H  arltfln,  Al  (6  and  0  Leonis),  154,  260,  262. 

H-arasah,  Al  (A  and  v  Scorpii),  372. 

Hftris  al  Samft*  and  Hftris  al  8imlk,  Bootes  and 
a  Bootis,  97,  101. 

Har'neb  (Lepus),  265. 

Hasalan'gue  (Ophiuchus),  299. 

Haft,  Al,  an  Arabian  division  of  Taurus,  379. 

Haud,  Al  (Coma),  171;  (Leo  Minor),  264;  (in 
Ursa  Major),  442. 

Haun,  Al,  Ulug  Beg's  name  for  e  Ursae  Majoris,  439. 

Haur,  Al,  Hyde's  rendering  for  c  Ursae  Majoris,  439. 

Haur,  Al,  on  Arabic  globes  for  Ophiuchus,  299. 

Haut  (Pisces),  338. 

Haut  elgenu'bl  (Piscis  Australis),  345. 

Hawalm,  Al,  $  Pegasi  on  the  Dresden  globe,  328. 

Zjlaw'ar,  Al,  Al  Tixini's  name  for  c  Ursae  Majoris, 
439- 

Hawwft',  Al,  Arabian  translation  of  Ophiuchus,  299. 

Haw'wa,  individual  tide  for  a  Ophiuchi,  301. 

Hay  yah,  Al  (Draco),  205;  (Hydra),  247;  (Ser- 
pens), 374. 

H'a'zaf,  Al,  an  Arabic  figure  for  Lyra,  282. 

Hasimet'  Ala'zel,  Hasimeth'  Alha'cel,  and 
Huzimeth'on  (a  Virginis),  467. 

Hek'a  and  Hik'a  (A  Ononis),  3x8. . 

He'mal  (a  Arietis),  80. 

H  iba\  Al,  A,  a,  *  Aurigae,  91 ;  Corona  Australis,  173. 

Hiba"  al  Yamaniyyah,  Al  (Corvus),  181. 

Hie'risim  (0  Cygni),  196. 

Hie'rixim,  Hi'resym,  Hy'resym  (Cygnus),  194. 

Himlrain',  Al,  the  6th  mamil  (y,  6,  «  Cancri), 
110,  ixx. 

Hinayat  al  Nahr  (-H  Eridani),  220. 

Homam'  and  Homan'  (£  Pegasi),  327. 

Hul'bah,  Al,  incorrectly  Al  Hal'bah,  the  Arabians' 
name  for  our  Coma  Berenices,  171. 

Hul'bah,  Al,  Al  Biruni*s  name  for  a  Virginis,  467. 

rjlurr,  Al  (A  Aurigae?),  91. 

rjlQt,  Al,  incorrecdy  Al  Hut,  the  Vernal  Fish,  338. 

HQt  al  Janubiyy,  Al  (Piscis  Australis),  345. 

H us" mat,  Al,  correcdy  Al  Hux'mah,  Coma  Bere- 
nices in  modern  Arabia,  170. 

Ibf  al  Jau'xah  (a  Ononis),  3x0. 

Iclar'krav,  perhaps  6  Scorpii,  369. 

IchT  (0  Scorpii),  367. 

led  Algeuze  (a  Ononis),  310. 

Iklll,  Al  (Corona  Borealis),  176. 

Iklll  al  'A'krab,  «  Scorpii,  369. 

Iklll  al  Jab' hah,  the  15th  manxil,  367,  371. 

Iklll  al  Janubly'yah,  Al  (Corona  Australis),  173. 

Iklll  al  Shamftliy'yah,  Al  (Corona  Borealis),  176. 

Inak',  Al,  and  'Ins,  Al  \{  Ursae  Majoris),  440. 

'Inas,  Al  (a,  £,  iy  Aurigae),  87,  90. 

Incalu'rus,  Bootes  in  the  Ai/imsitu  Tables,  97. 

Iner'mis  Aslmec'  (a  Virginis),  467. 


542 


Arabic  Index 


Ir'acleua,  Grotius'  name  for  0  Geminorum,  233. 
Ia'tlusc  and  Ia'tuac  (Sagitta),  35a 
Iwtw',  Al,  peculiar  to  Al  Sufi  for  Lyra,  282. 
Izar,  Al  (c  Bootis),  104. 

Jab'bah  (y  Scorpii),  371. 

Jab'b&r,  Al  (Orion),  306. 

Jab' hah,  Al,  the  8th  manxil,  954,  957. 

Jab'hah,  Al  (6  Scorpii),  369. 

Jab' hat  al  'Akrab  (•»>  and  •■  Scorpii),  372. 

JadI,  Al  («»  Unae  M  in  oris),  457. 

Jady',  Al,  correctly  JadI,  Al  (Capricornus),  140. 

Jady'ain,  Al,  the  Kids,  £and  ij  Aurigae,  91. 

Jab'ialah,  Al  («  Pegasi),  327. 

Ja'is  (for  Tais)  (6  DraconU),  209. 

Janlb,  Al  (fCygni),  197;  (y  Pegasi),  326. 

Janfib  Qhurfib  al  Aiman  (y  Corvi),  182. 

Janb,  Al  (y  Pegasi),  326;  (a  Persei),  331. 

Janb  al  Mus'alaalah  (0  Andromedae),  36. 

Jan'ib  (a1  and  a*  Librae),  275. 

Jathi'yy  'ala  Rukbat  aihi,  Al,  the  Arabians'  Her. 

cules,  242. 
Jaun',  Al  (c  Ursae  Majoris),  439. 
Jau'zah,  Al,  Orion  in  early  Arabia,  307. 
Jauz,  Al,  and  Jau'zah,  Al,  early  Arabic  names  for 

H  Tauri,  403. 
Jed  (2  Ophtuchi),  302. 
Jeuze'  (Orion),  307. 

Juddah',  Al,  a  Ursae  Majoris  in  modern  Arabia,  457. 
Jummaiza,  Al  (Canis  Minor),  133. 
Ju'za  (K  Draconis),  211. 

Kabd  al  A' sad  (a  Canum  Venaticorum),  116. 

JCat>4  al  'In An  (0  Aurigae),  390. 

$a'b  dhi'l  'loan  (y  Aurigae),  89;  (t  Aurigae),  91. 

Kabah  al  Allf,  Al  (Aries),  78. 

Ka^b  al  Karm,  in  Centaurus  and  Lupus,  150,  278. 

Kaff,  Al  (0  Cassiopeiae),  146. 

Kaff  Algeria,  Al,  correctly  Al  Jariah,  stars   in 

Eridanus,  217. 
Kaffal  Hadlb,  Al,  stars  of  Cassiopeia,  143. 
Kaff  al  Jidh'mah  (or  Judh'mah),  Al,Cetus  and  a 

Ceti,  162,  163. 
Kaf  'zah,  Al  (*  Ursae  Majoris),  445. 
Kaf 'zah  al  Thinly  ah,  Al  (A,  n  Ursae  Majoris),  443. 
Kaf  'zah  al  Jhiba"  (in  Ursa  Major),  444. 
Kaf 'zah  al  Ola,  Al  (v  and  £  Ursae  Majoris),  443. 
Kahil  al  A' sad  (£  and  *  Leonis),  260. 
Ka'ig,  Al  (o*  Eridani),  220. 
£a'id  Banfit  al  Na'ash  (17  Ursae  Majoris),  441. 
Kaitaln'  (a  Piscium),  342. 
Kalft'if ,  Al  (the  Hyades),  389. 
Kalb,  Al  (0  Canis  Majoris),  129 ;  (Perseus),  330. 
Kalb,  Al  (0  Leonis),  258;  the  16th  manzil,  365. 
Kalbaln,  Al,  of  Al  Dabar&n  in  Taurus,  412. 
Kalb  al  'Akrab,  Kalb  Aa'krab  (a  Scorpii),  365. 
Kalb  al  Ak'bar,  Al  (Canis  Major),  119. 
Kalb  al  A'aad,  Kalbela'sit,  Kalbele'ced,  Kalbol 

A'aadi,  and  Kale  Ala'sed  (a  Leonis),  256. 
Kalb  al  As'ghar,  Al  (Canis  Minor),  133. 
Kalb  al  Dab'arftn  (a  Tauri),  386. 
Kalb  al  Fiat,  the  26th  manzil,  36. 
Kalb  al  Jabb&r  (Canis  Major),  119. 


Kalb  al  Mutakad'dlm,  Al  (Cants  Minor),  133. 

Kalb  al  Ra'i  (p  Cephei),  159:   (*  Hercuhs),  24} 

Kalbel'aphard',  Kalb  Elba' vich  (a  Hydrae),  a* 

Kallfts,  Al  (the  Hyades),  389. 

$amtta,  Al,  Arabic  dictionary,  53:  etftsgm. 

Ka'rmb,  Al  (r  and  v  Pegasi),  399. 

Karb  al  Ibl,  stars  in  Canes  Vcnatki,  115. 

Kara  al  Thaural  Sham  illy  yah  (y  Aurigae),  9a 

Kis,  Al  (Crater),  183. 

Kfta'ah    Darwlahftn   and    Kla  ah  Shekestefc 

(Corona  Boreatis),  176. 
Kaf 'at  al  Masakln  and  Kaf 'at  al  Silik  (Owe 

Borealis),  176. 
Kata'at  Alta'raa,  Qiilmead's  name  for  Equukas. 

213. 
Ka'tab,  Al  (0  Leonis),  258. 
Kafat,  Al,  and  Al  Kathl  (Cygnus),  193. 
Ka'Hd,  Al  (Delphinus),  200. 
Kau'kabalShamall'yy,  Al  («  Ursae  Minori&457- 
Kaua',  Al  (Sagittarius),  352. 
$aus',  Al,  a  small  group  in  Sagittarius,  355. 
Kaua'  Austra'Ha  (c  Sagittarii),  358. 
Kaua'  Borea'lia  (A  Sagittarii),  358. 
Kaua'  Merid'ionalia  (e  Sagittarii),  358. 
Kawakib  al  Firk  (a,  0,  and  *  Cephei),  157 
Ke'id  and  Kl'ed  (©«  Eridani),  220. 
Kelb' ala' crab  (a  Scorpii),  365. 
Kcltf  alas* guar  (Canis  Minor),  133. 
Kelde,  Riccioli'sname  for  stars  in  Cepheus,  157 
Kentau'rua,  Al  (Centaurus),  150. 
Ketpholtsu'mao  (0  Geminorum),  233. 
Ke'tua,  Al  (Cetus),  162. 
Khaw'war,  Al  (/-  Ursae  Majoris),  14s* 
Khetu'rua,  Al  (Bootes),  96;  (a  Boous),  iox. 
Kib'lah,  Al  (a  Ursae  Minor  is).  456. 
$idr,  Al,  early  Arabic  figure  in  Cepheus,  157.  '5* 
Kif 'fa  auatra'lia  («\  a*  Librae),  275. 
Kif 'fa  borea'lia  (0  Librae),  276. 
Kif'fah  al  JanQbiy'yah,  Al  (a*,  «>  Librae),  s?5- 
Kif'tatan,  Al,  the  Arabians'  libra,  273. 
Kiladah,  Al,  the  19th  montil^  35s. 
Kiltf ,  Al  (the  Hyades),  389. 
Kir' dab,  Al  (letter's  suggestion  for  £  Cepbeih  15* 
Kissln,  Al,  for  some  star  in  Coma  Berenices,  17' 
Kit" at  al  Pa'raa  (Equuleus),  2x3. 
Kit' alpha  (Equuleus),  213. 
Kit'alpha,  Kit'alphar,  and  Kitel  Pbard  («  &pw- 

lei),  2x4. 
Ko'cbab  and  Ko/chah  (0  Ursae  Minoris),  45»- 
Kolan'za  (Bootes),  97. 
Kub'bah,  Al  (Corona  Australis),  173. 
Kumm,  Al,  stars  in  Orion,  320. 
Kufhab,  Al,  Kaswtnfs  name  for  £  Cephei,  x$9- 
Kural'yy  al  Jab' bar  (Lepus),  965. 
Kuralyy  al  Jau'zah,  in  Eridanus  and  Orion,  ai» 
Kur'fld,  Al,  in  Canis  Major  and  Columba,  ifr  l6fi 
Ku|b  al  Shamlli'yy,  Al  (Ursa  MinorawU  U»* 

Minoris),  457. 

Laa'ah,  Al,  Leach'at,  Lea'uth  ( v  Scorpii),  W*  IP- 
Les'ath  v*l  fiothu  Lea'aaa  Bla'akrab  Iforta* 

Scorp.  (v  Scorpii),  372. 
Lib*',  Al,  the  6th  mansil,  108. 


Arabic  Index 


543 


Luri,  Al  (Lyra),  283. 

Lur'nis,  or  Al  Ur'nis  (Cygnus),  194. 

Maa'aim,  Ma'sini,  Ma'aym,  Ma'xym,  etc.  (A  Her- 

cuKs),  344. 
Mabautlh,  Al,  and  Mabsuthat'  (Fl.  31  Lyncis), 

280. 
Ma'ax,  Al  (<  Aurigae),  90. 

Mabau(At,  Al  (<  Geminorum),  335. 

Maha'sim  ($  and  if  Aurigae),  345. 

Maisin,  Al  (y  Geminorum),  334;  (A  Ononis),  318. 

M  ajar 'rah,  Al  (the  galaxy),  481. 

Makbfl'dah,  Al  (£  Geminorum),  335. 

Ma'laf,  Al  (in  Cancer),  113;  (Crater),  183. 

Malf  al  Kha'tar  (Corona  Borealis),  176. 

Maliki'yy  (a  Leonis),  356. 

Mallepb'on,  Schickard's  name  for  Crater,  1x3. 

Malphelca'ne,  and  Mnlfelcar're  (Corona  Borc- 
alis), 176. 

Manazil  al  $amr  (plural)*  Manail  (singular),  8. 

Man'ica,  Al  Sufi's  name  for  Orion's  Mantle,  33a 

Man'kib,  Al  (a  Ononis),  3x0;  (y  Ononis),  313. 

Man'kib  al  Fa'raa  (fi  Pegasi),  335. 

Man'kib  al  Thuray'ya  (£  Pegasi),  334. 

Man'zll  (plural  Manasil),  an  Arabic  lunar  station,  8. 

Mar'ah  al  Mua'alsalah,  Al  (Andromeda),  33. 

Mar'ftkk,  Al  (fi  Ursae  Majoris),  438. 

Mar'chab  and  Markab  (a  Pegasi),  334. 

Mar'fak  and  Al  Mar'fik  {»  and  fi  Cassiopeia^),  148. 

Mar'fak,  Mar'fik,  and  Al  Mar'fiV  (*  Herculis),  344. 

Mar'fak  (a  Persei),  331. 

Mar'fic  and  Mar'fik  («  Herculis),  344 ;  (A  Ophiu- 
chi), 303. 

Mar'fik,  Al  ($  and  /&  Cassiopeiae),  148;   («  Her- 
culis),  344 ;  (A  Ophiuchi),  303. 

Mar'fik  *1  Thuray'ya  (a  Persei),  331. 

Markab,  Al  (Argo),  66;  (a  Pegasi),  334;  (r  Peg. 
asi),  329. 

Mar'kab  and  Mar'keb  («  Argus),  74. 

Mar'aia  and  Mar'aic  (k  Herculis),  344. 

Mar 'sic  (A  Ophiuchi),  303. 

Ml'sik  al  'Inln'  (Auriga),  86. 

Ma'tar  (17  Pegasi),  338. 

Matn  al  Fa'raa  (a  Pegasi),  334. 

Meboula,  Mebau'ta,  Mebus'ta,  and  Meluc'ta 
(*  Geminorum),  335. 

Meel'eph,  Mel'lef,  and  Mel'leff  (c  Cancri),  113. 

Me'grer  (6  Ursae  Majoris),  439. 

Mei'rer,  Me'rak,  and  Merer  («  Boot  is),  104. 

Meis'sa'  (A  Ononis),  3x8. 

Mekbu'da  (£  Geminorum),  335. 

Meni'ta  («  Geminorum),  335. 

Men'kab,  Men'kar,  and  Mon'kar  (a  Ceti),  x6a. 

Men'kaliaa',   Men'kalinam',   Men'kalinan'  (fi 
Aurigae),  89. 

Men'kar  (A  Ceti),  164. 

Men'kar  Eldigla'gich  (fi  Cygni),  196. 

Men'kib  (fi  Pegasi),  335 ;  (£  Persei),  334. 

Me'rach  (j8  Andromedae),  36. 

Me'rak,  Mi'rae,  Mi'rak  (fi  Ursae  Majoris),  438. 

Mesang'uo  (Lyra),  281. 

Mesarthlm'  and  Meeartim'  (y  Arietis),  83. 


Met'oula  («  Geminorum),  335. 

Me'zen  and  Meier  (c Bootis),  104. 

Mibwa'la  (e  Geminorum),  335. 

Mi'car,  Mi'rak,  and  Mi'rar  (<  Bootis),  104. 

Mi'car,Mi'rach,  and  Mi'xar  (c  Ursae  Majoris),  439. 

Midaa'non,  Schickard's  name  for  Libra,  373. 

MU'dab,  Al  (the  Hyades),  389. 

Mij'marah,  Al  (Am),  63. 

MilafP,  incorrectly  Malif,  al   Kur'rah    (Corona 

Borcalis),  176.  » 

Min,  an  Arabic  preposition  signifying  "belonging 

to,"  xo;  et  passim. 
Min  al  A'zal,  stars  in  the  head  of  Hydra,  349. 
Mln'ftar,  Al  (a  Ceti),  x6a. 
Min'tiar  al  A'aad  («  Leonis),  262. 
Min  Bar  al  Dajajah  (fi  Cygni),  196. 
Min' liar  al  Ghurab'  (a  Corvi),  181. 
Min' Bar  al  Shujl*  (9  Hydrae),  350. 
Min'fakah,  Al,  Min'taka,  and  Min'tika  (*  On- 
onis), 3x4. 
Min'takat  al  'Awwl*  («  Bootis),  104. 
Minta'kaf  al  Buruj  (the  zodiac),  3. 
Mi'ract  and  Mi'rae  (fi  Andromedae),  36. 
Mi'ract  («  Ursae  Majoris),  439. 
Mi'ra€,  Chilmcad's  name  for  fi  Ursae  Majoris,  36. 
Mi'rak  (£  Ursae  Majoris),  440. 
Miffak  and  Mlr'sac  (a  Persei),  331. 
Mir'fak  («  Herculis),  344. 
Mifaa  and  Mir'aam  (fi  Canis  Majoris),  139. 
Mlr'xam  (a  Ononis),  3x0;  (0  Ononis),  313. 
MirxamI'  al    Shirayain'  and  Al  Mirraman', 

fi  Canis  Majoris  and  fi  Canis  Minoris,  129. 
Mi'fam,  Al  (A  Herculis,  $  and  1?  Aurigae),  344. 
Misam  al  Thuray'ya  (*  and  h  Persei),  334. 
Miamar,  the  tide  of  Polaris  in  Damascus,  457. 
MIxan,  Al,  an  Arabic  asterism  in  Antinous,  41; 
in  Aquila,  61 ;  in  Libra,  373 ;  in  Triangulum,  4x6. 
MIxan  al  Batll,  Al  {c,  Bt  1,  a\  k  Orion  is),  315. 
Mi'aan  Allemin  (a1  and  a*  Librae),  375. 
MIxan  al  H-akk,  Al  («,  r,  £  Ononis),  315. 
Mi'zar,  Al,  and  Mi'xar  (fi  Andromedae),  36;    (« 
Bootis),  104;   (fi  Ursae  Majoris),  438;   (»j  Ursae 
Majoris),  439:  (f  Ursae  Majoris),  440. 
Mi'rat  and  Mifza  (£  Ursae  Majoris),  440. 
Mo'allakftt,  Al,  correcUy  Al  Mu'allakAt,  394. 
Mon'kar  (a  Ceti),  162. 
Mosch'leck  (v  Scorpii),  37a. 
Moac'lek  (A  Scorpii),  370. 

Mu'allaklt,  Al,  incorrectly  Al  Mo'allakftt,   394 
Mu'fridal  Rttmih,  Mu'frid,  Mu'fride  (i,  Bootis), 

X04. 
Mugham'mid  (or  MuKam'mir)  al  Thuray'ya, 

perhaps  a  Persei,  331. 
Mu'hanalm,  Al,  and  Mu'bibbain  (y  and  6  Capri- 

corni),  141. 
Muh'dij,  Al  (a  Tauri),  384. 
Muijlifain',  Al  (y,  £,  and  A  Argus),  72,  73,  74:  (8 

Canis  Majoris),  130;  (a  and  fi  Columbae),  167. 
Muhtallfain',  Al,  and  Mubnithain',  Al,  7a,  73, 

74,  130,  167. 
Muk'dim  al  gitlf  (e  Virginis),  471. 
Muliphen',  y  Canis  Majoris,  130;  y  Ophiuchi,  301. 
Mul'tahab,  Al  (Cepheus),  157. 


544 


Arabic  Index 


Mum'aaaich  Alhanam',  Chil mead's  name  for  Au- 
riga, 86. 

Mum'ftik  al  'Intn'  (Auriga),  86. 

Munic'  and  Munir'  (a  Coronac  Borealis),  178. 

Munlr  al  Fak'kah  (Corona  Borealis),  176. 

Mu'phrid  and  Mu'frid  (ij  Bootis),  104. 

Mur'xim,  Al,  and  Mur'xim  {fi  Cants  Majoris), 
129;  {fi  Canis  Minoris),  134 ;  (a  Ononis),  311. 

Mur'xim  al  Najid  (y  Oiionis),  313. 

Mu'ahalah,  Al  Birunl's  name  for  A  Scorpii,  370. 

Mutakab'bidah,  Al  (£  Geminorum),  235. 

Muthal'lath,  Al  (Triangulum),  4x6. 

Mutlat',  liutlathum',  Mutlaton',  etc  (Triangu- 
lum), 416. 

Na'l'im,  Al  (r  and  v  Pegasi),  3*9« 

Nairn,  Al,  the  18th  manzxl,  355,  358. 

Na'tm  and  Na't'lm  al  gldirah,  Al,  the   18th 

manzily  355,  358. 
Na'lm  al  Wind,  Al  (y,  «,  «,  ij  Sagittarii),  355. 
Na'lmlt,  Al,  x6a. 

Na'ash,  Al  («,  (,  and  n  Ursae  Majoris),  433. 
Na'ash  Laa'xar,  the  Square  in  Ursa  Major,  43a. 
Nab'lium  and  Nab'lon  (Lyra),  283. 
Nahr,  Al,  Nah'ar,  Nar  (Eridanus),  217. 
Nahr,  Al  (the  galaxy),  475. 
Nahrln,  Al,  stars  in  Leo  and  Virgo,  469. 
Najid,  Al,  indiscriminately  used  for  a,  fi,  and  y 

Ononis,  312,  313. 
Nt'ir,  Al,  the  Arabs'  word  for  the  brightest  star  in  a 

sky  figure,  passim. 
Najm,  Al  (the  Pleiades),  398. 
Nakklr,  Al  (Bootes),  97;  Nakkar'  {fi  Bootis),  103. 
Nasak'  al  Shamtliy'yah  (orShlmi'yy),  Al,  stars 

in  Hercules,  Ophiuchus,  and  Serpens,  243,  302,  375. 
Naaak'  al  Yamlniy'yah,  Al,  stars  in  Ophiuchus 

and  Serpens,  243,  302,  375. 
Na'ahira  (y  and  6  Capricorni),  141. 
Naaak',  Al  («,  «,  and  {  Ononis),  315. 
Nasi,  Al  (y  Sagittarii),  357- 
Naar  al  Slkit,  Al  (Lyra),  282. 
Nasr  al  Ta'ir,  Al  (Aquila),  $7*  282. 
Naar  al  Wlki\  Al  (Lyra),  282. 
Nlfih,  Al,  the  27th  mortal,  82;  fi  Tauri,  390. 
Nathm,  Al  (e  Ononis),  314. 
Nathrah,  Al.  the  6th  mansil,  no,  112. 
Nebol'elle'sed,  Nebolla'aid,  and  Nebula  ait  {fi 

Leonis),  258. 
Nekkar'  (Bootes),  97;  fi  Bootis,  103. 
Nessrusa'kat  and  Nessrusa'kito  (Lyra),  283. 
Nibal'  and  Nihal'  {fi  Leporis),  269. 
Nihil,  Al,  the  four  brightest  stars  of  Lepus,  265. 
Nijld,  Al  («,  «,  and  £  Orionis),  315. 
Nitlk,  Al  (£  Orionis),  3x4. 

Ni^hlm,  Al,  the  phi  stars  in  Cetus,  162, 165 ;  c  Ori- 
onis, 314. 
Niylf,  Al  (9  and  r  Scorpii),  371. 
NubAtai',  Al  (y,  m»  *,  *?,  and  {  Geminorum),  234, 

235. 
Nujum  al  Afidh,  the  lunar  stations,  8. 
Nuaa'kan  {fi  Coronac  Borealis),  179. 
Nusuk',  Al,  Orion  and  Orion's  Belt,  307. 


'Oklb,  Al,  correctly  Al  Uklb  (Aquila),  57. 

Ok'da  (a  Piscium),  342. 

Orf,  Al,  correctly  Al  Urt;  the  famous  nova  in  Cauk** 

peia,  X46. 
Oxen  of  Teha'ma,  Ideler*s  tendering  of  the  Arabs' 

term  for  the  Nubeculae,  295. 

Pafma,  Al  Sufi's  term  for  Corona  Borealis,  17k 
Phacd,  Phad,  Phaed,  etc.  (y  Ursae  Majoris),  43?. 
Phact,  Phad,  and  Phaet  (a  Columbae),  167. 
Pham  Al  #ut,  etc,  for  a  Piscis  Australis,  346 
Phard,  Burritt's  name  for  a  Aquarii,  51. 
PheCca  (Corona  Borealis),  X76. 
Phec'da,  Phafda,  and  Phek'da  (y  Ursae  Ma. 

joris),  438. 
Pherd,  Hyde's  name  for  a  Hydrae,  249. 
Pherkad'  Major,  Pherkad'  Minor  (y«,  y*  Ursa* 

Minoris),  459. 
Phica'rea,  Phica'rus,  Pirchae'ua  (Ccpheus),  15! 
Phik'ra  al  Thlni'a,  Al,  BaQy's  name  for  A  aeJ 

ft  Ursae  Majoris,  443. 
Phomalhaut',  and  variants,  *  Piscis  Australis,  546 
Prima  Qie'di  (a1  Capricorni),  140. 
Pu'plIIa,  cited  by  Bayer  for  a  Coronae  Borealis,  17& 

Ra'ar,  Riccioti's  and  Kircher's  name  for  Cepbeus. 

*57- 
Rabes'co,  Lyra's  stars  on  the  Borgian  globes  282. 
Radlf,  Al  (Cepheus),  157:  (Cygnus).  193. 
Rlfid,*Al  (m  Draconis),  2x1. 
Rag'ulon,  Caesius*  name  for  Orion,  3x0. 
Rli',  Al  (y  Cephei),  158. 
Rl'i  al  Jau'xah  {fi  Orionis),  31a. 
Rl'I  al  Na'I'im  (A  Sagittarii),  358. 
Raka'bah,  Al  (Ursa  Minor),  450. 
Rlkib,  Al  (a  Aurigae),  87. 
Rlkia,  Al  {fi  Draconis),  207;  (ft  Draconis).  211: 

( Hercules) ,  243. 
Rlml,  Al  (a  Sagittarii),  357- 
Ramih,  Al  (Bootes),  97. 
Raaaben'  (y  Draconis),  208;    (Hercules),  241 ;  (• 

Herculis),  243. 
Raa'alaa  (p  Leonis),  263. 
Rla  al  A'aad  al  Janttbiy'yah  (c  Leonis),  260. 
Rls  al  A'aad  al  Shamlli'yy  (#t  Leonis),  263. 
Ras'algauae',  Raa'algeuse',  and  Raa'algeuse 

{fi  Geminorum),  233. 
Raa  Algethi',  Rls  al  Jlthi'yy,  and  variants  (• 

Herculis),  243. 
Rl'a  al  GhQl  {fi  Persei),  353.. 
Raa'  alha'gue,  Raa  al  Hayro,  and  variants  (* 

Ophiuchi),  300,  301. 
Rls  al  tfa'mal  and  Raa  Ham'mel  (*  Arietis),  fo. 
Rla  al  Qawwl*,  Raa  alha'gue,  and  variants  (• 

Ophiuchi),  300,  30X. 
Rls  al  Jauzl'  {fi  Geminorum),  233. 
Rla  al  Jau'xah  (A  Orionis),  3x8. 
Rls  al  Muthal'lath  (a  Trianguli).  416. 
Rla  al  Ta'um  al  Mu'ali nar,  fi  Geminorum.  »33- 
Rla  al  Ta'um  al  Mukad'dim  (a  Geminorum).  331 
Rla  al  Tlnnin,  Raa  Eltanim  (>  Draconn),  »f 
Raa'taban',and  variants  {fi  Draconis),  007. 


Arabic  Index 


545 


Ras'taban',  and  variants  (y  Draconis),  208. 

Ras  al  Thu'ban  (0  Draconis),  307. 

Rau'cjah,  Al,  in  Hercules,  Ophiuchus,  and  Serpens, 

243.  374- 
Re7 gel  and  Ri'gel  Algauie'  (j8  Ononis),  312. 
Reicchab'ba,  the  Alfonsine  0  Ursae  M  in  oris,  458. 
Ri'a.1,  Al,  stars  between  Achernar  and  Fomalhaut, 

**9»  335- 
Riba{at,  Al,  the  Arabic  lunar  stations,  8. 
Ridf,  Al  (a  Cygni),  195. 
Ridhadh,  Al  (Cygnus),  193,  195. 
Ri'gel  (a  Centauri),  152;  (0  Orionis),  312. 
Rig' Ion,  Schickard's  name  for  0  Orionis,  312. 
Rijl  al  'Awwa  (p.  Virginis),  473. 
Ri'jil  al  Kentau'rua  (a  Centauri),  152. 
Rijl  al  Mus'alsalah  (y  Andromedae),  37. 
Rijl  al  Jauxah  al  Yamna'  («  Orionis),  318. 
Rijl  al  Jau'zah  al  Yuara'  (0  Orionis),  3x2. 
Risal'ioth  («  Ursae  Minoris),  439. 
RisHa*,  Al,  early  Arabic  name  for  0  Andromedae,  36. 
Risha',  Al,  the  26th  man%ily  338 ;  a  Piscium,  343. 
Ruba*,  Al,  correctly  Al  Rub'ah,  in  Draco,  aio,  211. 

Ruba'U,  Al,  or  Al  Ru'bl'iyylt,  of  Omar  Khay- 
yam (H  ay  yam),  212,  393;  et  passim. 

Ruc'ba,  Ruc'bar,  Ruch'bab  (8  Cassiopeiae),x48. 

Ruc'ba,  Rue' bah,  and  Ruc'bar  (a  Sagittarii),  357. 

Rucca'bah  (a  Ursae  Minoris),  457. 

Ruk'bah,  Al  (8  Cassiopejae),  148. 

Ruk'bah  and  Ruk'bat  (a  Sagittarii),  357. 

Ruk'bah,  perhaps  the  derivation  of  Alruca'ba,  451. 

Ruk'baf  *!  DajAjah  and  Ruch'ba  (w3  Cygni),  198. 

Ruk'bat  al  Rami  (*  Sagittarii),  357. 

Rukkabah,  Al  (Ursa  Minor),  450. 

Rumh,  Al,  and  Rurab  al  Rlmih  (ij  Bootis),  104. 

Ru'xam,  Al,  Al  Sufi's  name  for  y  Orionis,  3x3. 

Saak'  (11  Bootis),  104. 

Sabik  and  Silk  (e  and  17  Ophiuchi),  302. 

Sabu*,  Al,  Chilmead's  Al  Subahh  (Lupus),  278. 

Sadate'ni  (£  Aurigae),  91. 

Sa*d,  its  definition  and  application,  327.     See  note. 

Sadach'bia  and  Sa'd  al  AH'biyah  (y  Aquarii),  52. 

Sadak',  Al,  and  Al  Sai'dak  (g  Ursae  Majoris),  445. 

Sa'd  al  Bahl'im  (0  Pegasi),  328. 

Sa'd  al  BIri*  (A  and  a*  Pegasi),  328. 

Sa'd  al  Bula',  the  21st  mansil,  53. 

Sa'd  al  Dhabi b,  the  20th  manzil,  140. 

Sa'd  al  Hum  am  (£and  (  Pegasi),  327. 

Sa'd  al  Ma' far  (tj  and  o  Pegasi),  328. 

Sad'alroe'lik  and  Sa'd  al  Malik  (a  Aquarii),  51. 

Sa'd  al  Mulk  (a  and  o  Aquarii),  55. 

Sa'd  al  Na'fimah  (£  Pegasi),  328,  329. 

Sa'd  al  Nlahirah  (y  and  3  Capricomi),  141. 

Sa'd  al  Nazi*  (A  and  p  Pegasi),  328. 

Sad'alauud',  incorrectly  Sadalaund  and  Sadal- 

aaud  (0  Aquarii),  52. 
Sadato'ni  (£  Aurigae),  91. 
Sadr,  Al  (a  Cassiopeiae),  145. 
§adr  al  Dajftjah  (y  Cygni),  197. 
$adr  al  gai'toa,  or  ge'tus  (y  Ceti),  163,  2x9. 
Sa'dubna'ahirah,  Smyth's  y  Capricomi,  141. 
Safin  ah,  Al  (Argo),  66. 


Sag'ma  (t  Pegasi),  329. 

Sahil'  (a  Carinae),  68. 

Sah'ja,  Al,  g  Ursae  Majoris  in  Arabic  poetry,  445. 

Sahrn,  Al  (Sagitta),  350. 

Saib'  Nasch-ru-ah  (y  Capricomi),  141. 

Slid,  Al  (0  Pegasi),  335. 

Sai'dol-pha'razi,  Schickard's  0  Pegasi,  325. 

Sa'if  aljabbir  (tj  Orionis),  3x6. 

Silk  al  Thuray'ya  (a  Tauri),  384. 

Sa'iph',  occasionally  used  for  y  Orionis,  31C. 

Sa'iph',  commonly  used  for  k  Orionis,  318. 

Sale  al  A'sad  (a  Virginis),  467. 

St'kib  al  Ml'  (Aquarius),  47. 

Salib',  Al,  an  Arabic  figure  in  Delphinus,  200. 

SaiibAk,  Al,  £azwini's  name  for  Lyra,  284. 

Sa'lib  al  Wlki*,  Al,  an  Arabic  figure  in  Draco,  207. 

Salm,  A!,and  Sal  ma  (r  Pegasi),  329. 

Sam'akah,  Al  (Pisces),  338. 

Sam'akatain',  Al,  the  Arabic  dual  for  Pisces,  338. 

Sam  eh  (Pisces),  338. 

San,  Riccioli's  and  Kircher's  name  for  Cepheus,  157. 

Sanlm  al  Ntkah  (0  Cassiopeiae),  146. 

Sanj,  Al,and  San'gue  (Lyra),  281. 

Sanj  Rumi,  a  Persian  name  for  Lyra,  281. 

Sarafan,  Al  (Cancer),  xo8. 

Sar'fah,  Al,  the  10th  rnanzil,  254, 258. 

Sar'fah,  Al,  and  Ser'pha  (0  Leon  is),  258. 

Sarlr  BanAt  al  Na'aah,  0  and  other  stars  in  Ursa 
Major,  442. 

Sartai'  (0  Arietis),  82. 

Scartai'  (y  Arietis),  82. 

Sar'fan'  and  Ser'tan'  (a  Cancri),  in. 

Sce'ara'  (Canis  Major),  119. 

Scera'  (a  Canis  Majoris),  122. 

Scha'liaf,  Chilmead's  name  for  Lyra,  284. 

Scha'ham  and  Sham  (Sagitta),  350. 

Scheat'  and  Scheat'  Edel'eu  (6  Aquarii),  53. 

Scheat  and  Scheat  Alphe'raz  (0  Pegasi),  325. 

Sched'ar,  Sed'er,  and  variants  (a  Cassiopeiae),  145. 

Sched'di'  (y  and  6  Capricomi),  141. 

Scheere'liemi'ni  (Canis  Major),  1x9. 

Schema'li  (?)  («.  Ceti),  164. 

Schom'lek  and  Shorn 'lek  (A  Scorpii),  370. 

Seat',  Grotius'  name  for  w  Aquarii,  55. 

Seat'  Alfa'raa,  Seat'  Alphe'raa  (0  Pegasi),  325. 

Secun'da  Giedi'  (a*  Capricomi),  140. 

Semba'let  Elean'dri,  Sombalet,  and  Sumbalet 
(a  Virginis),  467. 

Serpens  Alan'gue  (Serpens),  374. 

Shaari  Lobur',  Eber's  name  fora  Canis  Majoris,  121. 

Shalyftk,  Al,  correctly  Shilylk,  Al,  284. 

ShamfirlH,  Al,  in  Centaurus  and  Lupus,  150,  278. 

Shamiyyah,  Al  (a  Canis  Minoris),  133. 

Sharftsif,  Al,  stars  of  Crater  and  Hydra,  184,  249. 

Sharatain',  Al,  Sharatan',  and  Sheratan'(0  Arie- 
tis), 81. 

Shau'lah,  Al,  Shau'la,  Shau'ka  (A  Scorpii),  370. 

Shau'kah,  Al  (Fl.  31  Lyncis),  280. 

Shel'iak,  Shel'yak,  and  Shil'iak  (0  Lyrae),  287. 

Shi'rfi,  Al,  and  Si'rt,  Al  (a  Canis  Majoris),  121. 

Shi'rft  al  'AbQr  al  Yamftniy  'yah,  Canis  Major  and 
Sirius,  X19,  X2i. 


36 


546 


Arabic  Index 


Shi'ra  al  Shamiy'yah,  Al  (a  Cams  Majoris),  133 

Shi'raytn,  Al  (Sinus  and  Procyon),  125. 

Shuja',  Al  (Draco),  205 ;  (Hydra),  247 ;  (Orion),  307. 

Siair'  Sia'mi  (a  Canis  Minoris),  133. 

Sia'ush,  Arabian  orthography  of  Perseus,  330. 

SiheT  and  Sibil'  (a  Carinae),  C8. 

Sihil'  pondero'aa  (a  Carinae),  69. 

Simftk,  Al,  definition  of  the  word,  100.     Sec  note. 

Simile,  Al,  the  12th  manxil,  467. 

Simftk  al  A'zal,  Al  (a  Virginis),  467. 

Simile  al  Rfimib  (a  Bodus),  100.     See  note. 

Sira',  Persian  name  for  a  Canis  Majoris,  1 22. 

Sir'rah  (a  Andromedae),  35. 

Sohayl',  Soheil',  Sohel',  Sobil'  (a  Carinae),  68. 

Somecb'  haramach,  Chilrnead's  a  Bootis,  101 

Subhel'  and  Subil'oo  (a  Cannae),  69,  70. 

Sudr  (a  Cygni),  197. 

Sugia',  cited  by  Scaliger  for  Orion,  307. 

Suhail',  Suhel',  Suhil',  Suhilon'  (a  Carinae),  68. 

Suhail',  Al,  Siriu*  in  modern  Arabia,  122. 

Suhail'  al  Muh'lif,  y  Velorum  in  Argo,  72. 

Suhail'  al  Wazn,  stars  in  Argo,  69,  74. 

Suhail'  al  Yamtniy'yah,  Al  (a  Carinae),  69. 

Suhail'  Ha'dar  (a  Carinae),  73. 

Suhel' al  Fard,  Suhel'  al  Sham  (a  Hydrac),  249 

Suhel'  pondero'sus  (a  Carinae),  69. 

Sulafat'  (y  Lyrae),  287. 

Sulabflt'  (Lyra),  284. 

Sum'bela  (Virgo),  4O4. 

Sunbulah,  Al   (Virgo),  464;  (a  Virginia),  467 

Sun'bale,  Sun'balon,  Sum'bela  (a  Virginis),  467 

Suradain',  Al  (0>  and  0«  Sagittarii).  357. 

Sur'rat  al  Fa'raa  (o  Andromedae),  35. 

Su'ud  al  Nujum,  star-group  in  Pegasus,  328. 

Taben',  Tanem',  Tannlm,  Tannin  (Draco),  205. 
Tahftyl',  Al,  incorrectly  Tabftyl  (1  Geminorum), 

«35;   (A  Ononis),  318. 
Ti'ir,  Al,  and  Al  Ta'iral  Ar'duf  (Cygnus),  193. 
Tais',  Al,  8  and  adjacent  surs  in  Draco,  209. 
Tali  al  Najm  (a  Tauri),  384. 
Tali"  al  Shau'lah,  clusters  in  Scorpio,  370. 
Ta'lita  and  Ta'litha  (1  Ursac  Majoris),  442,  443- 
Ta'ni'a  austra  lis  (m  Ursae  Majotis),  443. 
Ta'ni'a  bore'alia  (A  Ursae  Majoris),  443. 
Taraapoz,  Arabic  orthography  for  Centaurus,  150. 
Tarcuta,  an  unidentified  star-name,  198. 
Tarf,  Al,  the  7th  manzil,  263 ;   (0  Cancri),  m. 
T»rik  al  La'ban,  Tarik  al  Tibn  (the  galaxy),  481. 
Tau'amln,  Al  (Gemini),  ivy 
Taur,  a  rarely  used  name  for  Taurus,  380. 
Tawibi'  al  'Ayyuk'  (y  and  1  Aurigae),  90,  91. 
Tayyasan,  Al, correctly  Al  Tiyasan,  undetermined 

stars  in  Draco,  209. 
Tejat'  Poate'rior  (m  Geminonim),  236. 
Tejat'  Prior  (n  Geminorum),  235. 
Tba'bit,  perhaps  v  Orionis,  .wo. 
Thahr  al  A'»ad  (6  Leonis),  200. 
Thahr  al  Dubb  al  Ak'bar  (a  Ursae  Majoris),  437. 
jhalim  (a  Piscis  Auslralis),  346. 
Thalim,  Al,  for  0  and  9  Kridani,  218,  219. 
Thalimain,  Al  (Antinotis),  4»i  U  and  A  Aquilae), 

01 ;   (A  and  m  Sagittarii),  358. 


Thani  al  Dhira'  (0  Geminorum),  ^33. 

Thaur,  Al  (Taurus),  380. 

Thaur  al  Thuray'ya  (v  Tauri),  404. 

TheeminV,  the  uptilott  stars  of  Eridanus.,  ?aj 

The.e'.nim,  an  erroneous  form  of  Thecmim,  z^< 

Thibfi',  Al,   the  sigmas  and  other   stars   in    U^ 

Major,  444. 
Thiba'  wa-Auladuha,  Al,  perhaps  Leo  Minot, ."  « 
f  hilf  al  Fa'raa  (»'  Cygni),  197. 
Thu'ban,  Al  (Draco),  205. 
Thuban'  (a  Draco nis),  206. 
Thufr  al   GhizUn',   undetermined  stars  to   L'rs 

Major,  442. 
Thuray'ya,  Al  (Cassiopeia),   144:   (the  Plei*Jc>- 

395.  398.  403. 
Tinnin,  Al  (Draco),  205. 
Tiyasan,  Al.    See  Tayyasan,  AL 
Tower  of  Gad,  Burritt's  name  for  Capricornus  i.j 
Tur,  Riccioli's  name  for  Taurus,  380. 
Tur'aia  and  Tur'yeiah  (1  Carinae),  74. 
Turanyl,  the  Pleiades  in  Southern  Arabia,  3^5* 
Two  Pherkads',  The,  0  and  y  Ursac  Minoris  45  ■ 

Udara'  and  Udra'  (e  Canis  Majoris),  130. 
Udbft  al   Nairn,  correctly  Udhi'yy  al  Na'as 
(Corona  Australis),   173;    (in  Eridanus).  21s:  <c 
Sagittarius),  355. 
Udbi'yy',  Al.    Sec  Ud$*. 
'Ukdah,  stars  of  Hydra,  250. 
'Ufed  al  H-aitain'  (a  Piscium).  342. 
'Ukud,  Al  (a,  0,  y,  and  «  Delphi ni),  200. 

Ul'thah,  Al,  incorrectly  Al  Atha  (Coma),  n> 
Umm  al  Samt*  (the  galaxy),  481. 
'Unk  al  Hay'yah  (a  Serpentis),  37s 
'Unk  al  Shujft'  (a  Hydrae),  249 

Unuk,  correctly  Unlf,  al  Ghurftb,  60. 

Unuk'  al  Hay  or  TJnuk'alhai  (a  Serpentis),  .,75 

Urf,  Al,  incorrectly  Al  Orf,  the  famous  nam  u 
Cassiopeia,  146. 

Urkab'  (0»  and  0*  Sagittarii),  357. 

Ur'nis,  on  the  Borgian  globe  for  Cygnus,  194. 

Uthfiy'yah,  Arabic  title  for  various  small  triangle*  - ' 
stars,  212,  282,  292,  3x8. 

Uunk  al  Hay,  an  error  in  name  of  *  Serpentis  37* 

Va'gieh,  Riccioli's  name  for  a  Lyrae,  284. 
Var'di,  cited  by  Riocioli  for  Eridanus,  317. 
Vaz'neganu'bi,etc,  in  Libra,  273 ; a1, a* libr.r.-\' 
Vaz'nesche'mali,  in  Libra,  273;  0  Librae,  976 
Ve'ga,  correctly  We'ga  (a  Lyrae),  284. 
Ve'ka  and  Vue'ga  (a  Lyrae),  284. 

Wa'ghi,  Scaliger's  name  for  a  Lyrae,  284. 
Wa'rak  al  A 'sad  (0  Virginis),  469. 
Wa'aat,  Al,  and  Wa'sat  (6  Geminorum),  734 
Wa  sat,  Al  (Alcyone),  403;  (Taygete),  407 
Wail,  Al  (y  Sagittarii),  358. 
Warn,  Al  (a  Carinae),  68 :  (6  Canis  Majom). ' 

(in   Centaurus),  152,    154;    (0    Columbac).  1*: 

(Libra),  273. 
Waxn  al  Janubiy'yah,  Al  («i  and  *s  librae),  *75 
We'ga  (a  Lyrae),  284. 
We  sat  (6  Ccmtnorutn),  234. 


Arabic  Index 


547 


Wez'cn   {&  Canis  Majoris),  130. 
Wern   O  Columbae),  167. 

Yad,  Al   (6  Ophiuchi),  30a:  (a  Pcgasi),  324. 
Vad  al  Yam'nft",  Al  (o  Orionis),  310. 

Ycd  Alphe'ras   (a  Pegasi),  324. 

Vcd  Poste'rior  <«  Ophiuchi),  302. 
Yed  I>rior  («  Ophiuchi),  302. 

Zal>an',  Al  Biruni's  name  for  the  14th  manzil,  275. 

Za'niah  (ij  Virginis),  471. 

Za'r\jax&  <0  Virginis),  469. 

Zau'rac  and  Zau'rak  (y1  Eridani),  218. 

Zau'rak,  Al,  stars  of  Phoenix,  335. 

Za'vi^ava  O  Virginis),  469. 

Zftwiah,  Al  </3  Virginia),  469;   (q  Virginis),  471. 

Zftwiat  al  'Awwfi'  (y  Virginis),  470. 

Ze&ar'on  (<*  Cassiopeiae),  145. 

Zibal,  Al,  stars  between  Achernar  and  Fomalh.iut, 

a»9»  335- 
Zij  {TaStes}  of  Ulug  Beg,  2:  et  Passim. 
Zirr,  Al  (£  Gcminorum),  237. 


Zuban'ah,  Al  (a  Cancri),  m;  (Libra),  273;  (ihe 
14th  manzil),  275. 

Zubfin  al  'Akrab  (y  Scorpii),  369. 

Zubftn  al  Janubiy'yah,  Al  (a1  and  a*  Librae),  275  . 
(y  Scorpii),  369. 

Zuban'al  Kra'vi  (y  Scorpii),  36). 

Zub&n  al  Shamaliy'yah,  Al  (0  Librae),  276. 

Zubanatain,  Al  (Libra),  273. 

Zuben'  A'crabi  (y  Scorpii),  369. 

Zuben'  el  Chama'li  (0  Librae),  276. 

Zuben'elgema'bi,  used  in  error  for  0  Librae,  276. 

Zuben'  el  Genu'bi  (a1  and  a*  Librae),  275 ;  (y  Scor- 
pii), 369. 

Zuben'elgubi  (a\  a*  Librae),  275;  (y  Librae),  277. 

Zuben' eschamaii,  erroneously  used  for  a1  and  a* 
Librae,  275 ;  correctly  used  for  0  Librae,  276. 

Zuben'ha'krabi,  Burritt's  name  for  17  Librae,  287. 

Zuben'  Ha'krabi,  Bayer's  name  for  y  Scorpii,  36c). 

Zu'bra  (6  Leon  is),  260. 

Zu'brah,  Al,  the  9th  manzil,  254,  260. 

Zujj  al  Nushshibah  (y  Sagittarii),  357. 

Zulia'ca,  Lyra  in  the  Alfonsinc  Tables,  284 


THE    ARABIC    ALPHABET 


•  1 

Alif 

glottal  catch. 

b  <-> 

Ba 

t     l~J 

Ta 

th  v£> 

Tha 

j  c 

Jim 

like/  in  Jack,  or^  in  gem. 

>c 

Ha 

smooth  guttural  aspirate. 

1 1 

Ha 

like  ch  in  the  Scotch  word  loch  ;  in  the  German  rxu 

d    ^ 

Dal 

dh   J> 

Dhal 

like  th  in  the,  that. 

1    ) 

Ra 

z    ) 

s    u* 

sh  J* 

Zay 

Sin 

Shin 

Sad 

like  ts;  or,  as  in  modern  Arabic,  a  sharp  palatal  s. 

4  u* 

pad 

dwith  a  glottal  catch. 

t    Jo 

Ta 

emphatic  palatal  /. 

th  Jb 

Tha 

emphatic  *. 

•  c 

cAin 

strong  glottal  catch. 

gh   £ 

Ghain 

post-palatal  guttural. 

'   o 

Fa 

*   O 

Kaf 

pronounced  by  the  tongue  and  the  velum  palati. 

1    J 

Kaf 
Lam 

m  r 

Mlm 

n  0 

Nun 
Ha 

w  ^ 

Waw 

y  v5 

Ya 

At  the  beginning  of  words  and  syllables  the  Alif  (')  is  not  represented.  The  termination  of 
feminine  nouns  (at)  is  represented  by  ah,  except  where  a  genitive  follows.  The  case  termina- 
tions (nom.  u;  gen.  //  ace.  a)  and  their  nasalized  forms  (ttn;  in;  an)  are  not  represented. 
The  article  is  invariably  transcribed  al;  no  account  is  taken  of  the  assimilation  of  the  /  to  a 
following  consonant.     The  vowels  are  used  in  their  so-called  Continental  pronunciation. 

548 


GREEK  INDEX 


•  Ayawa,  427,  447. 
'AyvoKTTOf  Getff,6, 81. 
'A«  *ai^f,  454. 
Aerof,  56,59,393. 
'ABaXiciK,  135. 
'  Aiyi-Tlav,  136. 
'Aiyotcipevf,  135. 

yAty6nepuq  (Aries),  75 ;  (Capricorous),  135. 
'Aterdc,  59,  350. 
'Ad;  ('A«yic),  84. 
'A*£,  87,  135. 

*A«fa©r  (epithet  of  Opviq),  192. 
' A«w*  (*A«£  of  Ptolemy),  87. 
'  AicpoardXwv,  74. 
*A3€Kr/x»r6<hov,  304. 
'AAeT/xwrAfcov  and  ' AforrpoirdAior,  304. 
'AAJcff,  240. 

*A>jci«6vcc  and  'A/Uv&v,  404  (note). 
'AAAoc  61ot6\,  350. 
'AAcrrrrjZ,  406,  446. 
'  AfiaWeia$  id  pa*;,  87. 
'A/ia^a,  419,  426,  427,  428,  434,  447. 
' AfieyaXapos,  256. 
'  Apt  H-tyivos,  140. 

' Afi6p^€jroif  meaning  of,  10 ;  tt  passim. 
'Avaicec,  223. 

'Avdpafikda  and  ' Avdpopk&ri,  31. 
'Aw^p  ftaoitytds,  156. 

'Avrdpw,  3^4- 
•Avrapr^,  365. 
'AvWvoof,  41. 

'A£uv  (a  possible  derivation  of  "A/iafa),427. 
'An-rtfon?,  230. 
'Ait^Aaiv,  230,  233. 
Airowf.43. 

'Arrrepoi  (epithet  of  lie  AnAife?),  395. 
'Apyeiov,  183. 
*Apyoc,  132,  304. 
"ApTC,  276,  304,  365. 
'A/wcrof,  419,  426,  434,  447. 
'Aptsrov  bvpd  (a  derivation  of  Arcturus),93- 
'Aptcrov  orpofddec  *cf  Andtoi,  433. 

ApKTo+bXaZ  (Bear- watcher),  93. 

'ApKTovpog  (Bear-guard),  93. 

'kpfulariK,  85. 

*Apnn66vift  342. 

"Apirt/,  the  fa  fx  of  Perseus,  329,  334. 

;ApreW>  421. 

Kpaaioq  (Ptolemy's  epithet  for Petosiris),5i. 
'A(TKXqiri6f$  298. 


"'Aooiyta  non  aoftia"  247. 
'AeiriMoKE,  74. 
*Aff7roA/a,  259, 462. 
'Aarepurpdi,  10. 
'Aorifrp  (akin  to  Astarte),  463. 
'Aorpoftiwv,  118. 
'Aarpov,  to,  120. 
'Aripyaric,  338. 
'ArWyevj/f,  393. 
'At>/a£  (0  Eridani),  219. 
'A^xxJiry,  177,  339,  468  (note). 
•AjM^iia. 
'Atfwprof,  85. 

Bayde*  (a  mnemonic  word),  178. 

Ba<rav<0/i4f  and  Baoavurrfjpiov,  56. 

B4<ravof,  56,  283. 

BaaiAiaKoc,  255. 

BaatAurcrff  aarifp,  256. 

BiAoKpdrtip,  351. 

BepeviKij  (see  note),  169. 

B£pevfci7f  irMnapos,  '69. 

Borrrfc  (a  derivation  of  Bootes),  93. 

B&nropof,  379  (note). 

B*KjrpVKor  Bepevixw,  169. 

Bdr/w*,  39°- 

BovA^yef ,  92. 

Bo&tw,  92,  99. 

rata,  to,  474. 

r<iA4£iof,  J,  474. 

TOvur,  211. 

T^wv,  216  (note). 

r«y*c,  306. 

rfXya/tac*  239  (note). 

rXavKtJf  (epithet  of  Aaywf ),  264. 

rX^vea,  311. 

Trig  epur&v,  241. 

Ityy&wn/,  332. 

Tpaijxuos,  III. 

Ttty  Ka&ifitvoq,  282. 

r?'V>  ntT6iuvos(o(  l\iz  Ilk  hanian  Tables),^. 

Aeivov  'ApKTovpoio,  99. 
Af/rwr^i/,  415. 
Af/ty/v  and  At  A^/?,  198. 
Aeopof  (a  Piscium),  342. 
ArvrifM  KiucAa,  172. 
Afur/pof,  172. 
AiAvpot,  223. 


549 


?5° 


Greek  Index 


Aitcy,  272,  462. 

Aivijroi  k'vk'Au,  172. 

A2of,  415. 

Aiooriftfia,  113. 

Atdoicvpoi,  223. 

Aide  "O/w/f ,  56. 

AtfpqXaTfK,  85. 

Apawv  (Draco),  202,  205;  (Hydra),  247 

AuAeKanjfidpta,  ra,  3. 

•E^At*,  374. 

*E/duAa  rfooKa/rfefca,  ra,  3. 

'EtS(j?jovf  239. 

"EtduAav  dnrvflof,  241. 

'EtpJjvTj,  462. 

'E/<7aya»yj7,  50. 

'Eicd/iiy  (of  Euripides),  304. 

'KKxvoiq,  55. 

'EAdmrnrof,  85. 

'EA//07,  433,  447. 

'EAixcjirfc,  434. 

•EA/f,  433. 

'Ev  ydvaatv,  239. 

'Evydvam,  239,  242. 

'Evyof^vaer*,  239. 

•Evio^of ,  84. 

'Ev  Ko?Avpo  (derivation  of  Incalurus),  105. 

'Ev  rti  pvyxei  (7  Tauri),  390. 

"Ef-aarpov,  41 1. 

'Enonevoc  ('I^c),  34°- 

'ErrraTTopoi,  411. 

'Epya  /cat  'Hptpai  (of  Hesiod),  93. 

'Kpiytveia  (a  possible  derivation  of  Erig- 

one),  461. 
'Eptdavig,  215. 
'E/M<favdf  /*Aflf,  216. 
'Epfiait/,  281. 
"Epifot,  84,  90. 
'Epfudfai,  342. 
'Epde/f,  230  (note). 
'E/wrerdv,  374. 
'Epboifiov,  194. 

'E<T7repof,  468  (note). 

'Ecxria  (Vesta  (Ara)),  62. 

'Eff^dpa  and  'Ejdpa,  62. 

'Evedwpav^of,  366. 

'Evjievfc  (Ktvravpoc),  149. 

'Efiortoi,  223. 

'EutT^opoc  (the  planet  Venus),  468  (note). 

Zfff  (Amen  and  Aries),  78. 

Zfi'-c  (the  planet  Jupiter),  39  (note). 

Zfyt//>oc,  275  (note). 

Zvydv  (Zv>dc),  269,  272,274,  282,  287,  364. 

Zr>(j//a  ( Hipparchos'  name  for  Lyra),  282. 

Zrt-oc  aarijp,  35,  327. 

Z«a,  4. 

Zox5/ot  10. 


Zudiajcdf  and  Zud/a*df  KiaV/m;,  o,  3. 
Zujtfdpnf,  275. 
Zov?,  36,  315. 
ZaKtyja  and  Zw/xa,  260. 

'Hyovfitvos  ('I^tf),  340- 
'Hepdetf  (epithet  of  'Opvif),  192. 
'  11  ftiTe?JK  and  'H/iiTofinc,  322. 
'H/u^avfc  A*/Jvf  iffirof,  322. 
'B.paK?Jqg  and  'Hpa*£j7f,  233,  239. 
'II  tov  Bpavov,  143. 

Bapy7//j6v,  401. 

0f/ava,  323. 

Beoyovax  (of  Hesiod),  215. 

Qifpiov  (Lupus),  278. 

Ovfiiarypiov  (Ara),  62. 

OiyxrdAoyKoc,  15 1. 

Ovpaoc,  151. 

Qixuacrrjjpwv  and  9vr#/wov  (Ara),  62. 

'laoidao,  156. 

'Iepof  'I^tY,  199. 

'Iarivoc,  195. 

'lovAaucrj  'Apx<uofoyiaf  216  (note). 

'IfTTnyAdriTf,  85. 

'Iirnos  and  "Iinrof  iepo^,yi2. 

'Inndra  $qpt  148. 

'Ifl-jrdriTC  (Perseus),330;  (  Sagittarius  ),352- 

"Iinrov  hpoTofrfj,  213. 

'I<t«ic,  362. 

'I;r««r  (or  'Ijffe;  )t  337. 

'!*%»  34Q»  345- 

•I^i'y  jityac,  345. 

'I^if  /uovd{uv,  345. 

'I^y  vdnof,  345. 

IXGT2    of   'Ij^oi*    Xpuntc    Qrbv   'T»^ 

2<jrfy>,  340. 
*I«v  (of  Euripides),  103. 

Kdfieipot,  223. 

KaAavpo^  (/*  of  Bootes),  97,  105. 

K  aAAiari7, 421. 

KaAJurru,  420. 

KdAmy,  Kd/frei^,  and  Kdx*7f,  50. 

K&Xicy  (k  Aquarii),54;  (Crater),  183. 

KafinJjr  250. 

Kdvrfaoc  or  Kavddw  (Bootes),  94. 

Kavdduv  (Orion),  304. 

Kdvdapos,  183. 

Kdvu/?of  and  Kdvufrof,  67. 

Kdpa/?of,  109. 

Ka/Mtta  Ardvrof ,  256. 

Kapdla  Eicopiriov,  365. 

Kapftfoor,  107. 

Kapnivoq,  'Qvot,  xai  *drvj?,  107. 

Kfpadv,  379. 

KaooUireta,  143. 

KaTaoTfpioftoi  (of  Eratosthenes),  it. 


Greek  Index 


S5i 


Kwrjoai  X«//owo£,  86. 

KcvTavpog,  148. 

KefaJjj  'Ittkov,  213. 

Ktcuv,  232. 

Kr?fjVKeitrv9  172. 

Kr/rof,  160,  339. 

K//*€iV,  156. 

Kiddpa,  281. 

K/v^rat  Xeifiiavat;  (epithet  of  Capella),  86. 

Kiaatvo^y  171. 

K'Aapia,  108. 

KXtttOf,  224. 

Kw/ictaf  (Suidas'  name  for  Lupus),  278. 

KoZXopoJoc,  105. 

K6'A.ovpog  (Proclus'  term  forcolure),  108. 

Kufififf  (of  Hesychios),  48. 

KovrapaTOf,  '01 ;   {ptKpoq),  467. 

Kdpaf,  I79»  181,247. 

K6pr/,  1 77,  460. 

Kopvv%T7?£,  240. 

KopVYTflK>pO£,  24O,  243. 

Kparyp,  183. 

K^rff  (Aries),  75,  292. 

Kvfiirov,  244. 

K  i-jc/of  yaAajcradc  and  KiKkoq  Ta'Aafj  lag  ,474. 

Kf jcAof  tov  Zodtup,  6,  3. 

Kf«ci/of,  192. 

KvZfevaiq,  281. 

K-w-^c-ov-pa,  448. 

Kwtoovpa  and  Kwdaovptf,  447,  448. 

Kfprrfr,  380. 

Ki'wv,  117,  120. 

Kfuu  acrfyp  and  KtW  oeipuoc,  120. 

Aay<jv,  440. 

Aa><jd$-  and  Aa;  &£,  264. 

Aapiradias  and  Aapnai'pai;  384. 

Aapirpdq,  row  kv  Yopyoviu  6,  332. 

A*7Top«f,  264. 

Af6w,  252,  264. 

A^vdc  (correctly  Aivoc),  342. 

A//iawrfTtf  and  Ai/iavurpig,  62. 

Aivew  and  Aivov,  342. 

AtVpa  (A/t/hm),  272. 

Aofd?  KiwAof,  d,  3. 

Awcdrovpa,  448. 

At-po  (Alpq),  281,  284. 

Afya  /caro^pfa,  281. 

MryadTjpiov  and  MeAofa/Mov,  361. 

Mttaf  ('Ep«Javdf),  216. 

Mertopa,  10. 

Mh-un-ov,  160. 

M^^ov,  241. 

M**cpdf  KuvrapaTos,  467. 

Mo/^mtc/j-,  10. 

Mowwcov  Z&fiiov,  199. 

Mw,  47. 


Ndft'Aa,  283. 

Neicrap  tj  &vrt/p«jvf  63. 

Nc^wv  and  Nf^eXof/difa  (e  Cancri),  112. 

Ne$e?ioeidijs,  d  (X,  01,  ft  Ononis),  319. 

NeifieAotidiK,  6  (x  and  h  Persei),  334. 

Ne0eAw«%  Koi  dinhybs  (i/l,  p2  Sagittarii), 

359- 
Ntyeaortdfc  (A  and  v  of  2*op7r/of ),  370. 
Nt^Aottdfa  cnvTfxxrf,  169. 
Noivof  ('I^iy)i  340. 

'0<vdf,  396  (note). 

'O/wjoeia,  54. 

'Otvotv  Baot/eiq,  56. 

'Owrdf ,  350. 

'Q'ioTofopos  (Bootes),  97. 

'Oid&fav,  239. 

'OjcrdTroi*,  107. 

'0/i£wixif,  410. 

*0^a  Bodf,  384. 

'Ovoi,  107,  in,  180. 

'Ovot.    See  Kapnivoc,  "Owm,  /cc'  *drw/. 

'Of  i>f  and  'Of iVarof  rfa  n^ddo^,  404. 

'07r^trriY,  138. 

'Omado-ftdpuv,  107,  361. 

'Ojraywdf,  120. 

'Opwf,  192,  194. 

|Op#c,  'Op^df,  and  'Opffa;,  160. 

'OvpavioKos,  172. 

'Ovpavoaiunria  (of  Doctor  Robert  Wittie, 

i68i),i3. 
'Oijpa  rov  Ka/rov,  163. 
Ovpiov  and  Ovpov,  304. 
'(tyioi/^or  (pojepos),  298. 
"O0<$-  (Draco),  202,  239. 
"00^  (Serpens),  374. 
'O0«f  'tyMwjov,  374. 

Ildv,  136. 

Jlava^avfc,  41 1  • 

llapdmrypaTa,  99  (note). 

UapBkvoq  'Aiog,  462  (see  also  463). 

Ileta/ddef,  383,  395. 

Ilenr^  (epithet  of  Tai'por),  379. 

Ilcp^e/of  ^Canopus),  68. 

Ilepi  £<awv  tdi&rjfToc  (of  Aelian),  265. 

YlepifirjKeTos  (IlfpOTlf ),  331. 

IIe/xr«f,  330. 

nep«Ad,  330. 

ILr/yai,  321. 

Ilr/yaffoc  (Pegasus),  322  ;  (y  Pegasi),  326. 

n^df,  32  >• 

H^ddA/ov  (a  Carinae),  67. 

UtKoTopiuv,  337. 

TVipdjjpt,  153. 

Il^dt  and  Ifr//d*vre/«wv,  232. 

HtftevTeiciuv,  253. 

Fhj/dwv  Kt'Kkaoptvov  and  II<vd/c/or,  176. 


55* 


Greek  Index 


UiufMorv,  385. 

Tikeiada  (Ursa  Major  in  Sept uagint), 429. 

IIAe«wJec  and  Hkeiaqt  392,  411. 

IlXetdf  knT&orepos,  41 1 . 

Xlkelv  or  IMetof  (derivatives  of  nAftad^), 

395- 
TlAeifrrepoc  npofaveig  (2#copfl"<of),  361. 
Ilfevpd  Utpadovg,  331. 
IIAj/idcfyr.  392. 
IVuvBiav,  433. 
IIA<fcai/of,  169. 

IlXd/ca/iof  BepevtKW  'EvtpyfriAof,  168. 
UXwT^piay  401. 

IlowaXof  (epithet  of  Kwv),  119,  127. 
IIoA*(ir,fH,462. 
n<JXof ,  453,  458. 
IIoAwlevMfa,  233. 
TlorafjUtg,  6,  215. 
IIora/4oi>  dupov,  415. 
IIovAia  (Ilovtem),  399. 
Tlobs  dtdvfiuvy  3 1 2. 
Ilowf  Kdvrovpof,  152. 

RpijoTts  and  Ilpanvr  (from  llpfjdeiv),  161. 
npo«(»wv,  120,  131,  133. 

UpO&ITTtKt  I20. 

npdTrof  and  TLpoimvs,  235. 

Ilpoc£?j?voi  (epithet  for  the  Arcadians),  448. 

TiporofJj,  378. 

Uporpvyer^p  (-rfa,  -rdf),  471. 

Hvp&fivrj  (Ara),  62. 

riwpiJcif  (the  planet  Mars),  276  (note). 

'Ptproc  (of  Euripides),  59,  411. 
'V&rraAov,  105. 
'Pirrup  r<Jfov,  351. 

Zd/iTttAof  (Canopus),  70. 

24r£XAa,  397. 

2«p,  leipog,  Xeipios,  and  leipiovft  120. 

Xeipwv  &<rrpov  and  T^ipvoq  aarr/p,  120. 

2«>M>f  O^yaf),  117,  118,  119,  120. 

Zeiulat,  350. 

240,  124. 

2^/£ara,  10. 

Saif/p  2*a//#,  133. 

2ia^p  lafiavr/,  12 1. 

2</3vAAa,  462,  467. 

2«&,  223. 

2«ywr*of,  269,  *6i,  370. 

2oaU  lafiavrj,  69. 

2oA£/c#v,  124. 

STropdcJff,  meaning  of,  10. 

2ra0^c,  272. 

2rd^vf ,  466. 

Zra^wi^f,  461,  466. 

2ra£w&(%  Koi'pq,  461. 

2rdr7p,  272. 

2re0dwM,  172. 

2ri0avoc,  174,  175. 


2rtyavof  ft6petogf  1 74. 

2rtyaix>f  vorios,  1 72. 

2rtoaroc  irpurroc,  174. 

Xtia3u>v,  230  (note). 

Swca/z/vof,  132. 

Xirvdeofioc  tuv  'I^'«wvt  342. 

Xvvdeofios  rCtv  Aivuv,  342. 

Xifvra^ig,  'II   Mf^dA?  77/5-  'AoTpovopiag  (of 

Ptolemy),  xii ;  et passim. 
Zvppa,  39,  472. 
2t>f,  388. 

2wrpo0y,  112,334. 
2^pdv,  356. 
2^//ara,  10. 
24/iara,  10. 

Tama,  159. 

Taperovpo  Afwvv  (Regum  Ammonis),  77. 

Torpor,  378,379»4"- 

Tavpof  TreTTTVWf,  379. 

Teipea,  10. 

Ttpaf  /iiya,  361. 

Trrpapipfos  Xivragtf  (of  Ptolemy),  xii ;  **/ 

Terpdirltvpov,  360. 

To/^,  378- 

ToijevTtjp  and  To£«/rfo,  351. 

Tdfoi>,  350,  352. 

Toforfa,  351,  354. 

Toi)  y&p  koi  yfvog  kapiv  ( Aratos'  verse),  81. 

Tpd>oc,  139. 

Tpiyuvov,  415. 

T/wVar/Jof,  308. 

Tp/jff,  170. 

TpoVof,  235. 

Tpojdf 'I£*di«*,  173. 

Tpvyeryp  and  Tptycrfr,  95,  471. 

Tvxv,  462. 

'Tdrfrc,  387,  388. 

"T6pa  and  Top?,  247. 

'Yopayuy&v,  1 1 8. 

'Ydpeiov  and  'Tdp«d,  183. 

Tope*,  247. 

'Tdpofopia,  1 18. 

'Tdpojdof  and  'Tdpojocff ,  46,  48,  345. 

"Towp,  55. 

'Yntifiipiav  f  Brachium  beneficum),  47. 

'Ynoypafai,  ai  rtjvrr?uv6ujv  (of  the  Augurs), 

433. 
"Yn6Qupat  440. 
'TirdiapixiC,  102,233,311. 
'Tpitiv,  304. 
'Tf,  388. 
yT-1>iUv,  388. 

batOuv  (the  planet  Jupiter),  39,  112. 

Qaivdpeva,  II;  ct  passim. 

Qaivaw  (the  planet  Saturn),  470  (note). 


Greek  Index 


553 


*arw?  (see  Kap/c/i**,  k.t.X.),  107. 

^drvff  and  Oarwyf,  113. 

Gepevitai     (derivation    of   Berenice),    169 

(note). 
&oivi»aj9  44.8. 
&°PW€>  281. 
<*Hoo<p6pos  (the  planet  Venus),  468  (note). 

XdfHJijt,  240. 

Xeip  ftefiajxhwu  '44* 

Xtiputv    (Centaurus),   149;    (Sagittarius), 

353- 
XtAto6viac  and  Xe  7ud6viag  ijflff ,  44, 1 61 ,339. 
XeZvs,  284. 
Xe^if  6Ai>77,  283. 


Xylol,  361. 

XtfAfli  (fidpetos  and  vor*of ),  269. 

X?^  fMpetos,  276. 

Xtf/t#  v<Jriof,  275. 

Xopevrfc  (irpomj  and  <$evr£pa),  460. 

Xpfoog  (the  planet  Saturn),  470  (note). 

Xvois  vOaro?,  to. 

Xvrpd-irovg,  282. 

'Upa,  304. 

'tiapiwv  and  'Qapioveiog,  304. 

'fiX/vy  and  'Qteviinpff  85. 

*S2//of  diShfujv,  311. 

'Opm?,  381. 

'Cpfov,  304. 


37 


INDEX  TO  ASTRONOMICAL  REFERENCES 

AS   FOUND   IN   THE   REVISED  VERSION   OF  THE   BIBLE. 

THE  OLD  TESTANfENT. 

Genesis i,  14 :  let  them  be  for  signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days  and 

years,  9. 
16  :  he  made  the  stars  also,  vii, 

Leviticus xvii,  7 :  he-goats,  125. 

The  2d  Book  of 'the  Kings ,xxiii,5  :  them  also  that  burned  incense  unto.  .  .  the  sun,  and 

to  the  moon,  and  to  the  planets,  and  to  all  the  ho*t  of 

heaven, 1. 

The  Book  of  Job ix,  9 :  the  Bear,  Orion,  and  the  Pleiades,  and  the  chambers  of 

the  south,  308,  309,  362,  389,  393,  422. 
13 :   Rahab,  309. 
xxv,  5 :  the  stars  are  not  pure  in  his  sight,  27. 
xxvi,  13:   By  his  spirit  the  heavens  are  garnished; 

His  hand  hath  pierced  the  swift  scr|>ent,  203,  375, 475- 
xxxviii,  31,  32 :  Canst  thou  bind  the  cluster  of  the  Pleiades, 
Or  loose  the  bands  of  Orion  ? 

Canst  thou  lead  forth  the  Mazzaroth  in  their  season  ? 
Or  canst  thou  guide  the  Bear  with  her  train  ? 
98,  125,  306,  308,  309,  394,  396, 422,  451. 
36:  (in  Cheyne's  translation): 

Who  hath  put  wisdom  into  the  Lance-star  ? 
Or  given  understanding  to  the  Bow-star?  366. 

The  Psalms civ,  19 :   He  appointed  the  moon  for  seasons,  9. 

cxlvii,  4 :   He  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars ; 
He  giveth  them  all  their  names,  xiv. 

The  Book  of  the)    >ciii,  10 :  the  stars  of  heaven  and  the  constellations  thereof,  71, 309- 

"  *  xiv,  12:  O  day  star,  son  of  the  morning!  468. 

13 :  the  mount  of  congregation,  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  (he 
north,  451. 
xl,  26 :  he  calleth  them  all  by  name,  xiv. 

£$$£&*  \  *liv>  >*  •» :  <he  i«« of  heaven-  **■ 

Amos v,  8:  seek  him  that  makcth  Pleiades  and  Orion,  101,308,309, 393- 

THE   NEW   TESTAMENT. 
The  Gospel  according  >         ^  2 .  his  slar  in  the  east>  8> 

*    xiii,  43:  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun,  27. 

The  Revelation  of  )  xiif  4 .  And  nis  tail  drawcth  the  third  part  of  the  stars  of  heaven, 

S,  John  the  Dtvtne  \  j   ,..        .1        .    .i_  . 

7  and  cud  cast  them  to  the  earth,  203. 

554 


PARTIAL  LIST 


OF  AUTHORS,  AUTHORITIES,  AND  BOORS  OF  REFERENCE  CITED  IN  THIS  WORK. 

The  page  number  refers  to  the  first,  or  to  some  important  mention. 


Aben,  or  Ibn,  Ezra.    See  Ezra. 
Abrabanel,  Isaac  (1437-1508),  Jewish  scholar,  341. 
Achillea  Tatios  {circa  500),  Alexandrian  rhetori- 
cian, 155. 

Achsasi,   Al   (circa    1650),  Arabian    astronomical 
writer,  37;  et  passim. 

Acosta,  Jose  de  (1540-1600),  Spanish  Jesuit  archae- 
ologist and  historian,  88. 

Adams,  John  Couch  (1819-1892),  English  astron- 
omer, 361.       -- 

Addison,  Joseph  (1672-1719),  English  essayist  and 
poet,  179. 

Aelian,  or  Aelianus,  Claudius   (second  century 
a.  d.),  Roman  rhetorician,  265. 

Aeschylus  (525-456  b.  c),  Greek  tragic  poet,  150. 

Albertus  Magnus  (ii93?-r.28o),  Swabian  scholastic 
philosopher,  463. 

Albiruni.     See  BTruni. 

Albumaaar  (805 1-885),  astrological  writer  of  Turkes- 
tan, 77 ;  et passim. 

Alchabitua  (12th  century),  Arabian  astrologer,  136. 

Alfonaine  Tables,  The  (1252),  in  various  editions,  ia. 

Alfraganus,  Alfergani,  etc.     See  Fergkani. 

Almagest,  The,  or  Syntaxis.     Sec  IHolemy. 

Almagest  urn  CI.  Ptolemei  (1515),  published  by 
Petrus  Liechtenstein,  xii. 

Amara  Sinha  (floruit  circa  56?   n.  c),  Sanskrit 
author  of  the  Tri/eanda,  no. 

Ampelius,  Lucius   {circa  second  century  a.  d.), 
Roman  writer,  49. 

Amr  al  Kais'  (early  in  seventh  century),  Arabic 
poet,  394. 

Anacreon  (563-478?  b.  c),  Greek  lyric  poet,  427. 

Anaxagoras  (circa  500-428  b.  c),  Greek  philos- 
opher, 483. 

Anaximander  (circa  611-547  b.  c),  Greek  physical 
philosopher,  19. 

Anthon,  Charles  (1797- 1867),  American  classical 
author,  380. 

Anwar  i  Suhaili,  Al  CM 94),  Persian  version  of  the 
FabUs  o/Bidpai,  69. 

Apianus,  Petrus,  or   Peter    Bienewitz   (1495- 
1552),  German  cosmographer,  230. 

Apocrypha,  The.     ad  Mai cabtes  ;  Book  of  Tobit. 

Apollodorus  (second  century  n.  c),  Athenian  my- 
thologist,  149. 


Apollonius  Rhodius  (third-second  century  b.  c), 

Greek  epic  poet,  174. 
Appian  (second  century  a.  d.),  Greek  historian,  46. 
Arago,  Dominique  Francois  (1786-1853),  French 

physicist,  127. 
Aratos  (circa  270  b.  c),  Greek  astronomical  poet,  3. 
Archaeologia,Vol.  XXVI  (1836), 2*5;  Vol.  XLVII. 

49.  353- 
Argelander,  Friedrich  Wilhelm  August  (1799- 

1875),  German  astronomer,  xviii. 
Ariosto,  Jjudovico  (i474-*533)>  Italian  poet,  226. 
Aristarchos  of  Samoa  (floruit  280-264  b.  c), 

Greek  astronomer,  23. 
Ariatides  (5th  century  b.  c),  Athenian  general,  68. 
Aristophanes  (444-388  b.  c),  Greek  comedist,  26. 
Aristotle  (384-322  b.  c  ),  Peripatetic  philosopher,  3, 

26;  et  passim. 
Arnold,  Matthew  (1822-1888),  English  poet,  149. 
Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  English  poet,  124. 
Aryabhata,  Ardubarius,  or  Arjabahr  (circa  500), 

Hindu  astronomer,  ax. 
Asclepiades  (third  century  b.  c),  Greek  poet,  118. 
Asma'i  abu  Said  abd  al  Melek  ibn  Korai'b,  Al 

(740-830),  Arabian  litterateur,  342. 
Astronomical  Journal,  The,  edited  by  Chandler, 

Hall,  and  Boss,  passim. 
Astronomical  Society  of  the  Pacific,  Publica- 
tions of  the,  passim. 
Athenaeus  (circa  200  a.  d.),  Greek  scholar,  395. 
Atlases  and  Planispheres. 

Argelander' s  Neue  Uranometrie  (1843),  xviii. 

Bayer's  Uranometria  (1603),  13. 

Bode's  Die  Gestirn*  (1805),  14. 

Burritt's  A  tins  (1835-1856),  15. 

Century  Atlas  (1897). 

Firmamentum  Firmianum  (1731),  177. 

Flamsteed's  Atlas  Coelestis  (1781),  14. 

Heis'  Neuer  Himmels- Atlas  (1872),  xviii,  xix. 

Klein's  Star  Atlas,  edited  by  McClure  (1893). 

Peck's  Popular  Atlas  (i89x). 

Poole  Brothers'  Celestial  Planisphere  (1887). 

Sticler's  Hand  Atlas  (1872). 

Upton's  Star  A  ttas'(xBgt). 

Whitali's  Movable  Planisphere  (1871). 
Ausonius,   Decimus  Magnus    (circa  310-300), 

Latin  Christian  poet,  n. 


sss 


S5<> 


Partial  List  of  Authors,  Authorities,  Etc. 


Austin,  Alfred,  poet  laureate  of  England,  407. 

Avesta,  The  (area  350  a.  d.),  the  Bible  of  Zoroas- 
trianism,  5;  et  passim. 

Avianus,  Flavius  (fourth  century  a.  d),  Latin 
fabulist,  337. 

Avicenna,  or  Ibn  Sina  (980-1037),  Arabian  com- 
mentator, 483. 

Avienus,  Rufus  Festus  (fourth  century),  Latin 
versifier  of  Aratos'  poem,  17. 

Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  Tht,passim. 
Bacon,  Francis  (1561-1636),  English  philosopher, 

299. 
Bacon,  Roger  (1214 ?-iao4),  English  philosopher, 

3«9- 

Bailey,  Philip  James,  English  poet,  hi. 

Bailey,  Solon  I.,  American  astronomer,  1x6. 

Bailly,Jean  Sylvain  (x  736-1793),  French  astron- 
omer, 23. 

Baily,  Francis  (1774-1844),  English  astronomer,  16. 

Bainbridge,  John  (1582-1643),  English  astronomer 
and  physician,  xoa. 

Bancroft,  George  (1 800-1891),  American  diplo- 
matist and  historian,  423. 

Barnard,  Edward  Emerson,  American  astrono- 
mer, 59. 

Barnes,  Rev.  Albert  (1798-1870),  American  bibli- 
cal commentator,  203. 

Bartschius,  or  Jakob  Bartsch  (first  half  of  seven- 
teenth century),  German  astronomer,  13. 

Bas,  or  Basse,  William  (middle  of  seventeenth 
century),  English  poet,  429. 

Bassus,  Aufidius  (first  century  a.  d.),  Roman 
historian,  235. 

Bayer,  Johann  (1572-1625),  German  astronomer,  13. 

Beaumont,  Francis,  and  John  Fletcher  (seven- 
teenth  century),  English  dramatists,  266. 

Bede,  the  Venerable  (Baeda,  6737-735),  English 
ecclesiastical  writer,  6. 

Beigel,  Oeorg  Wilhelm  Sigismund  (1753-1837), 
German  Orientalist,  85. 

Bern  hardy,  Gottfried  (1800-1875),  German  classi- 
cal scholar,  11. 

Berosus,  or  BerSssOs  (third  century  b.  c),  Graeco- 
Babylonian  historian,  2. 

Bessel,  Friedrich  Wilhelm  (1784-1846),  Prussian 
astronomer,  197. 

Beza,  or  de  Bece,  Theodore  (15x9-1605),  Swiss 
theologian,  147. 

Bible,  The,  in  various  versions, — CadmardetCs  of 
15x5,  Luther1 'sot '1534,  Coverdale* s of  1535,  Beeke's 
of  1549,  Breeches,  or  Geneva,  of  1560,  \ht  Authorized 
of  King  James  I,  x6n,  the  Revised  of  1881-1885, 
and  the  Polychrome  of  1898, —  is  frequently  cited 
from  the  books  of  Genesis,  Leviticus,  Deuteronomy, 
Judges,  Samuel,  Kings,  Chronicles,  Job,  Psalms, 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  Amos,  Nahum, 
Saint  Matthew,  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Epistle  to 
the  Ephesians,  and  The  Revelation. 

Biblical  Archaeology,  Proceedings  of  the  So- 
ciety of,  passim. 

Biot,  Jean  Baptists  (1774-1862),  French  physi- 
cist, 8. 


Birmingham,  John  (i8i6-x88a),  Irish  : 

195. 
Biruni,  Al  (973-1048),  astronomical  writer  in  Arabic 

xii  (note) ;   et  passim. 
Blaeu,  Willem  Jansson,  or  Jansenius  Caesios 

(x  571-1638),  Dutch  globe-maker,  14. 
Blundeville,  Thomas  (sixteenth  century),  English 

geographer,  188. 
Bochart,  Rev.  Samuel  (x 599-1667),  French  Onec 

talist  and  biblical  scholar,  aa. 
Bode,  Johann  Ehlert  (1747-1826),  German  asms* 

omer,  xviii. 
Boethius,  Aniciua  Manliua  Severinus  (475*- 

524),  Roman  philosopher,  53  (note). 
Bond,  William   Cranch   (1780-1S59),  American 

astronomer,  127. 
Bond,  George  Phillips  (1825-1865),  American  as- 
tronomer, son  of  W.  C.  Bond,  127. 
Book  of  the  Dead,  The,  the  funeral  ritual  of  anrieni 

Egypt,  14 5»  3°7»  308,  434- 
Boss,  Lewis,  American  astronomer,  2S6. 
Boteler,  or  Butler,  Samuel  (1612-1680),  Eagfeh 

satirical  poet,  3,  24,  441. 
Bouvart,  Alexis  (1 767-1843),  French  astronomer. 

142. 
Bouvier,  Miss  Hannah  M.    American  astronomi- 
cal writer,  276. 
Bradley,  James   (1693-1762),   Astronomer  Royai 

of  England  in  1742,  208. 
BrahC,  Tycho  (1546-1601),  Danish  astronomer,  n 
Brahmanas,  The   (800  b.   c.  ?),  Sanskrit  sacred 

writings,  8. 
Brown,  Jr.,  Robert,  English  Orientalist,  xviii  (wA» 
Browne,  Sir  Thomas  (X605-1682),  English  author 

and  physician,  340. 
Browning,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Barrett  (1806-186O. 

English  poet,  107,  329,  336. 
Browning,  Robert  (1812-1889),  English  poet,  a* 
Brugsch,  Heinrich    Karl    (1827-1804),  Gernur 

Egyptologist,  20. 
Bruno,  Giordano   (x548?-x6oo),   Italian  phita"- 

pher,  28. 
Bryant, Jacob  (1715-1804),  English  my  thologi*. tf. 
Bryant,  William  Cullen  (x  794-1878),  American 

poet,  x68. 
Buchanan,  Robert  Williams,  Scottish  poet,  m 
Bullialdus,   or    Ismail    Bouillaud    (seventeenth 

century),  French  astronomer,  39. 
Bundehesh  (800?  a.  p.),  Pahlavi  version  of  Znro- 

aster's  writings,  5. 
Burnham,  Sherburne  W.,  American  astronomer. 

39  ■      r 

Burnouf,  Eugene  (1801-X852),  French  Orientals 

448. 
Burrltt,  Elijah  H.  (circa  1833),  American  astron- 

omer,  15. 
Buttmann,   Philipp    Karl   (1764-1829).  German 

philologist,  95. 
Byron,  Lord  George  Noel  Gordon  (1788-1824). 

English  poet,  92,  230,  406. 

Cada  Mosto,  Alois,  or    Luigi    di   (circa  M«- 
1480),  Italian  navigator,  436. 


Partial  List  of  Authors,  Authorities,  Etc. 


557 


Caesius,  Jansenius.    See  Blaeu. 
Caesius,   Philippus  a   Zesen   (seventeenth  cen- 
tury), Dutch  astronomical  writer,  33  (note). 
Callimachus  (third  century  b.  c),  Greek  poet,  90. 
CamSea,   Luiz  de   (i524?-i58o),  Portuguese  epic 

poet,  x. 
Capella,  Martianus  Mineus  Pelix  (fifth  century), 

Carthaginian  encyclopaedic  poet,  173. 
Carlyle,   Thomas    (1 795-1881),  Scottish   essayist 

and  historian,  xi,  12,  30. 
Catalogues  of  Stars. 

//alley's,  of  Souther*  Stars  (1679),  13. 
The  Palermo  (1803-1814),  179. 
The  Bedford  (1844),  xvii;  et passim. 
The  British  Association  (1845),  15. 
Catullus,  Gaius  Valerius  (circa  84-54  b.  c),  Ro- 
man poet,  169. 
Chambers,  George  P.,  English  astronomer,  38. 
Champollion,  Jean  Francois  (1790-1832),  French 

Orientalist,  434. 
Chandler,  Seth  C,  American  astronomer,  43. 
Charlevoix,  Pierre  Francois  Xavier  de  (1682- 

1761),  French  missionary,  423. 
Chase,  P.  L.,  American  astronomer,  170. 
Chatterton,  Thomas   (1753-1770),  English  poet, 

Chaucer,  Dan  Geoffrey  (circa  1340-1400),  English 

poet,  xi. 
Cheyne,    Rev.   Thomas  Kelly,  English   biblical 

critic,  366. 
Chilmead,  John  (circa  1639),  English  writer  on 

globes,  36  (note). 
Chrysococca,    Georgius     (fourteenth     century), 

Graeco-  Persian  astronomer,  69. 
Chrysostom,  Saint  John  (circa  347-407),  a  father 

of  the  Greek  Church,  81  (note). 
Cicero,  Marcus  Tulliua  (106-43  B-  c-)»  orator  and 

versifier  of  Aratos,  3,  372;  et  passim. 
Clark,  Alvan  Graham  (1832-1897),  American  op- 
tician, 129. 
Clarke,  Rev.   Adam   (1763-1833),  British  biblical 

commentator,  309. 
Claudian,  or  Claudius  Claudianus  (second  half 

of  fourth  century),  Latin  poet,  4,  93. 
Cleanthes  (circa  365  b.  c),  Stoic  philosopher,  81. 
Clemens,  Titus    Flavius    (Saint    Clement    of 
Alexandria)  (circa  150-230),  a  father  of  the  early 
church,  81  (note). 
Cleostratos  (500?  b.  c),  Greek  astronomer,  3,  18. 
Clerke,   Miss    Agnes    M.,   English    astronomical 

writer,  6,  16,  485;  et  passim. 
Colas,  Jules,  American  astronomical  writer,  302. 
Colebrooke,  Henry  Thomas  (1765-1837),  English 

Sanskrit  scholar,  so. 
Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor  (1772-1834),  English 

poet,  31. 
Columella,  L.  Junius  Moderatus  (first  century 

a.  d.),  Roman  writer,  19. 
Commentaries,  Biblical. 
Clarke's  (1810-1826),  309. 
The  Speaker's  (1871-1881),  397;  et  passim. 
Delitzsch  on  The  Book  of  Job,  translated  by  Bolton, 
second  edition  (1868),  68  ;  et  passim. 

37# 


Confucius,  or  K'ung  fu  tsu  (circa  550-478  *•  c), 

Chinese  philosopher,  58. 
Copernicus,  or   Nicolaus    Koppernigk    U473- 

1543),  Polish  astronomer,  (3. 
Corinna  (fifth  century  b.  c.)>  Greek  lyric  poet,  304. 
Corsali,  Andrea   (circa  1500),    Italian  navigator, 

14.  44,  45.  187. 
Cortes,  Martin    (1533-1589),   Spanish    writer   on 

navigation,  459. 
Costard,  George  (1710-1783),  English  astronomical 

writer,  346. 
Coverdale,  Miles   (1468-1568),  English  translator 

of  the  Bible ,  399. 
Cowley,  Abraham  (16x8-1667),  English  poet,  233. 
Cox,  Sir  George  William,  English  historian  and 

mythologist,  432. 
Creation  Legend,  The,  of  Babylonia,  x,  s,  33,  47. 
Cremonaeus,  or  Gerard  of  Cremona  (twelfth  cen- 
tury), Latin  translator  of  the  Almagest,  xii. 
Cyclopedia  of  Names,  Century  (1894-1895),  xvi 

Dante  Alighieri  (1265-1321),  Italian  poet,  31,  186. 

Darwin,  Erasmus  (1731-1802),  English  naturalist- 
poet,  302. 

Da  vies,  Sir  John  (1569-1626),  English  poet,  439. 

Dawes,  William  Rutter  (1799-1868),  English  as- 
tronomer, 4x0. 

DeliUsch,  Franz  (1813-1890),  German  Hebraist 
commentator,  68. 

Democritus  (fifth  century  b.  c),  Greek  philosopher, 
483. 

Demosthenes  (383-332  b.  c),  Athenian  orator,  99. 

Denning,  William  Frederick,  English  astrono- 
mer, 363. 

De  Quincey,  Thomas  (1785-1859),  English  es- 
sayist, 316. 

Derby,  Earl  of,  or  Edward-Geoffrey  Smith 
Stanley  (1799-1869),  English  statesman  and  poet, 
lao. 

Dickens,  Charles  (1812-1870),  English  novelist,  39. 

Dictionaries.  Antiquities,  of  1890,  edited  by 
Smith,  Wayte,  and  Marindin.  Bible,  of  1898,  ed- 
ited by  Hastings.  Classical:  Anthori's,  of  1851; 
Seyffert's,  of  1 891,  edited  by  Nettleship  and  Sandys : 
Harpers',  of  1897,  edited  by  Peck.  English  :  Cen- 
tury,of  1 889-91,  edited  by  Whitney;  New  Historical, 
of  1888-,  edited  by  Murray;  Standard,  of  1893- 
1895,  edited  by  Funk ;  Webster's  International,  of 
1890,  edited  by  Porter.  Greek:  Liddell  and  Scott, 
of  1889,  edited  by  Drisler.  Latin:  Harpers',  of 
1879  (Freund's),  edited  by  Andrews,  Lewis,  and 
Short.  Chinese:  Morrison's,  of  18x9.  Arabics 
Lane's,  of  1B63-1885.  Polyglot:  Minshcu's,  of 
1627-. 

Digges,  Leonard  (sixteenth  century),  English 
mathematician,  133. 

Dillmann,  Christian  Friedrich  August  (1833- 
1894),  German  Orientalist,  2. 

Dioddrus  Siculus,  or  The  Sicilian  (first  century 
b.  c),  Greek  historian,  30. 

Diogenes  Laertius  (third  century  a.  d.),  Greek 
historian,  42. 


55» 


Partial  List  of  Authors,  Authorities,  Etc. 


Dionysius  Exiguus  (sixth  century),  chronologist, 
27. 

Douglas,  Gavin  or  Qawain  (14747-1522),  Scot- 
tish poet,  305. 

Drake,  Joseph  Rodman  (1795-1820),  American 
poet,  482. 

Draper, John  William  (18x1-1882),  English-Amer- 
ican scientist,  416  (note). 

Draper,  Henry  (1837-1882),  American  scientist, 
son  of  John  W.,  316. 

Drayton,  Michael  (1563-1631),  English  poet,  432. 

Dreyer,  John  Louis  Emil,  Danish- English  as- 
tronomer, 39,  391. 

Drummond,  Sir  William  (i76ot-i8a8),  British 
writer,  6. 

Dry  den,  John  (1631-1700),  English  poet,  43. 

Dupuis,  Charles  Francois  (1742-1809),  French 
astronomical  writer,  19. 

DUrer,  Albrecht  (1471-1528),  German  painter  and 
engraver,  13,  28. 

Dyer,  John  (1703-1758),  English  poet,  149. 

Ebers,  Qeorg  (1837-1898),  German  Egyptologist, 
122. 

Eden,  Rycharde  (1531  ?-i576),  English  translator, 
12  {note). 

Edkins,  Rev.  Joseph,  English  missionary,  xviii, 
«»  435- 
>  Egede,  Hans  (168C-1758),  Danish  missionary,  397. 

Elkin,  William  L.,  American  astronomer,  60,  153. 

Ellis,  William  (1794-1872),  English  missionary,  229. 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo  (1803-1882),  American 
essayist  and  poet,  9S. 

Encke,  Johann  Franz  (1791-1865),  German  as- 
tronomer, 142. 

Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  The  (1 878-1889). 

Ennius,  Quintus  (239-169  b.  c),  Roman  epic  poel, 
361,  431- 

Enoch,  The  Book  of,  from  Aethiopia  (second  cen- 
tury B.  C),  27. 

Epic  of  Creation,  The.    Sec  Creation  Legend. 

Epping,  J.,  German  Orientalist,  xviii  (note),  80. 

Eratosthenes  (276^-196  b.  c),  Alexandrian-Greek 
astronomer,  11. 

Espin,  Rev.  T.  H.  E.  C,  English  astronomer,  116. 

Euclid  (circa  280  b.  c),  Alexandrian-Greek  mathe- 
matician, 453. 

Eudemos  (circa  300  b.  c),  Greek  philosopher,  18. 

Eudoxos  of  Cnidos  (circa  409-356  b.  c),  Greek 
astronomer,  17. 

Euripides  (480-406  u.  c),  Athenian  tragic  poet,  31, 
59»  «Q3- 

Eusebius  Pamphili,  of  Caesarea  (circa  264-349 
a.  D.),  the  Father  of  Church  History,  xv,  81  (note). 

Evelyn,  John  (1620-1706),  English  writer,  25. 

Ewald,  Georg  Heinrich  August  (1803-1875), 
German  biblical  critic,  309. 

Err  a,  Ibn,  or  Aben  (1092-1 167),  Jewish  commen- 
tator, 13,  86  (note). 

Ferghani,  Al  (circa  950),  Arabian  astronomer,  8, 
157  (note). 


Festus,  Sextus  Pompeius  (second century  a.  d.i, 
Latin  lexicographer,  107. 

FigAlus,  P.  Nigidius  (circa  60  b.  c).  Pythago- 
rean astrologer,  85. 

Firmicus,  Maternus  Julius  (circa  354),  a  Latin 
astrological  writer,  10. 

Flrusftbftdi,  Al  (fourteenth  century),  Arabian  lexi- 
cographer, 5a. 

Flaccus,  Galus  Valerius  (first  century  a.  iu, 
Roman  poet,  398. 

Flammarion,  Camille,  French  astronomer,  42. 

Flamsteed,  John  (1646-17x9),  English  astronomer. 
*4»  34. 

Fleming,  Mrs.  Willamina  P.,  American  astrooo- 
mer,  293. 

Frost,  Edwin  Brant,  American  astronomer. 
xv  ii. 

Froude,  James  Anthony  (1818-1894),  Engfcb 
historian,  190. 

Galen,    or   Claudius    Galenus    (second  centwy 

a.  d.),  Greek  physician,  120. 
Galileo    Galilei   (1564-1642),   Italian   astronomer. 

113  (note). 
Galle,   Johann    Gottfried,  German    astronomer. 

141  (note),  142. 
Gassendi,  or  Gassend,  Pierre  (1592-1655),  French 

astronomer,  54. 
Gellius,  Aulus   (second   century  a.   u),  Komar 

grammarian,  431. 
Geminos  (floruit  77  b.  c),  Rhodian  astronomer,  50, 

126. 
Gemma  Phrysius,or  Fnsius  (sixteenth  century!, 

writer  on  astronomy,  12. 
George  Eliot,  or  Mrs.   Marian    Evans  Cross 

(1819-1880).  English  novelist,  204. 
Germanicus,  Caesar  (15  b.  0.-19  K-  D>»  RomM 

general  and  translator  of  Aratos,  17. 
Gesner,  Konrad  von  (1516-1565),  Swiss  naturalist 

and  scholar,  248. 
Gill,  David,  British  astronomer,  153. 
Gill,  Rev.  William   Wyatt,  missionary  to  Poly- 
nesia, and  author,  229. 
Gladstone,  William  Ewart  (1809-1898),  Fjigfcb 

statesman  and  poet,  55,  132,  225,  226. 
Golius,  or  Jakob  Gohl  (1 596-1667),  Dutch  Orien 

talist,  157. 
Goodricke,    John    (1764-1786),    English  amateur 

astronomer,  158  (note). 
Gore,  J.  Ellard,  English  astronomer,  44,  106. 
Gorius  (area  1750),  numismatist,  xvii  (mote). 
Gottheil,   Richard  J.  H.,   American  Orientalist. 

xviii. 
Gould,  Benjamin  Apthorp  (1824-1896),  American 

astronomer,  xtiri  (note). 
Gower,  John  (1325-1408),  English  poet.  215 
Grims,  Rev.  William  Elliot,  American  educator 

and  writer,  58. 
Grimm,  Jakob    (1785-1863),   German  philologist. 

398.  429- 
Grotius,  Hugo,  or  Huig  van  Groot  Ct583-i645»- 

Dutch  scholar,  xi,  17. 


Partial  List  of  Authors,  Authorities,  Etc. 


559 


Grubb,  John,  English  minor  poet  in  Percy's  Reliques 
of  1765,  aaa. 

Hans,  Shams  al  Din  Muhammad  (fourteenth 

century),  Persian  poet,  98,  281,  394. 
Haggard f  Henry  Rider,  English  novelist,  30. 
Hall,  Asaph,  American  astronomer,  40. 
H alley,  Edmund  (1656-1749),  English  astronomer, 

13,24a;    et  passim. 
Harding,   Karl  Ludwig  (1765-1834),  German  as- 
tronomer, 341. 
Harvard  Photometry  (1884),  xviii. 
Hela,  Eduard,  German  astronomer,  xviii ;  et passim. 
Hell,  Abbe  Maximilian  (1720-1792),  Austrian  as- 
tronomer, 41,  347. 
Hemaos,  Mrs.,  n£e  Felicia  Dorothea  Browne 

(1793-1835),  English  poet,  189,  407. 
Henry  Brothers,  French  astronomers,  409. 
Heraclitoa  {circa  535-475  b.  c),  Greek  philosopher 

of  Ephesus,  432. 
Herder,  Johann  Gottfried  von  (1744-1803),  Ger- 
man cntic  and  poet,  394. 
Hermetic  Books,  The,  sacred  canon  of  Egypt,  392. 
Herodotua    (484  ¥-424   b.  c),  Greek  historian  and 

traveler,  32. 
Herachel,  Sir  Friedrich  Wilhelm   (1738-1822), 

Hanoverian- English  astronomer,  38. 
Herachel,  Sir  John  Frederick  William  (1792- 

1871),  English  astronomer,  10,  16;  it  passim. 
Hesiod  <8oo?  n.  c),  Greek  poet,  93,  95,  98,  99. 
HeaychioB   (last  hair   of  fourth   century),   Greek 

grammarian  of  Alexandria,  94. 
Hevelius,  Hewel,  or  Hoevelke,  Johannes  (16x1- 

1687),  Polish  astronomer,  13. 
Hewitt,  J.  F.,  English  essayist,  59. 
Higgina,  W.  H.,  English  writer  on  star-names,  72. 
Hill,  Royal,  American  astronomer,  195. 
Hilprecht,   Herman  Vollrat,   German- American 

Orientalist,  136  {note). 
Hind,  John  Russell,  English  astronomer,  1x2. 
Hipparchos  (circa  160-120  d.  c.)»  Greek  astrono- 
mer, 6. 
Hippocrates  (460 7-377  b.  c),  Greek  physician,  99, 

298. 
Hogg,  James  (1770-1835),  Scottish  poet,  429. 
Holden,   Bdward  Singleton,  American  astrono- 
mer, xx,  28. 
Holland,  Philemon  (1552-1637),  English  translator 

of  classical  works,  11 ;  et  passim. 
Holwarda,  Phocylides  (17th  century),  Dutch  as- 
tronomer, 164. 
Homer  (850?  B.  c),  Greek  poet,  3,  18;  et  passim. 
Horn  me  1,  Fritx,  German  Orientalist,  xviii  (note). 
Hondius,  Jodocus  (latter  half  of  sixteenth  century), 

Dutch  globe-maker,  14. 
Hood,  Thomas  (circa  1590),  English  astronomical 

writer,  xi. 
Hood,    Thomas    (1 798-1845),   English   humorous 

Poet,  429. 
Hooke,  Robert  (1635-1703),  English  astronomer,  82. 
Horace,  or  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus   (65-8 
b.  c. ),  Roman  poet,  46. 


Hough,  George  Washington,  American  astron- 
omer, 141. 

Houtmann,  Friedrich  (sixteenth  century),  Dutch 
navigator,  14,  45. 

Hues,  Robert  (circa  1600),  English  writer  on  globes, 
36  (note). 

Huet,  Pierre  Daniel  (x63o-i7ai),  French  prelate 
and  scholar,  143. 

Huggins,  Sir  William  and  Lady,  English  as- 
tronomers, 40. 

Humboldt,  Friedrich  Heinrich  Alexander  von, 
(1769-18  59),  German  scientist,  69. 

Huygens,  Christian  (1629-1695),  Dutch  astrono- 
mer, 8a. 

Hyde,  Thomas  (1636-1703),  English  Orientalist,  xi, 
2  (note) ;   et  passim. 

Hyginus  (Historia),  Gaius  Julius  (circa  1  a.  d.), 
Roman  astronomical  poet,  11. 

Ideler,  Christian  Ludwig  (1766-1846),  German 

astronomer,  xi,  xvi. 
Isidorus    Hispalensis,  or   Saint    Isidore  (circa 

560-636),  Spanish  ecclesiastical  writer,  25,  85. 

James  I,  King  (1566-1625),  the  Royal  Poet,  198. 

Jameson,  Mrs.,  nee  Anna  Brownell  Murphy 
(1794-1860),  British  writer  on  art,  29. 

Jensen,  Peter,  German  Orientalist,  xriii  (m>te). 

Jerome,  Saint,  or  Busebius  Hieronymus  (circa 
340-420),  a  father  of  the  Latin  Church,  81  (note). 

Johnson,  Samuel  (X709-X784),  English  lexicogra- 
pher, xvi,  388. 

Jones,  Sir  William  (1746-1794),  English  Orientalist, 
ao,  394- 

Jonson,  Ben  (1573 1-1637),  English  dramatist,  274. 

Josephus,  Flavius,  or  Joseph  ben  Matthias 
(37-95),  Jewish  historian,  2. 

Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society, 
The,  Vol.  VI  (i860),  8. 

Juvenal,  or  Decimus  Julius  Juvenilis  (first  cen- 
tury a.  d.),  Roman  satirist,  23. 

Kalewala,  The  (collected  1822-1849).  Finnish  epic 

poems,  424. 
Kimus,  Al  (fourteenth  century),  Arabic  dictionary 

of  Al  FirQzabadi,  52. 
Kapteyn,  Jacobus  Cornelius,  Dutch  astronomer, 

214,  446. 
Kazwini,  Al   (thirteenth  century),    Persian  astro- 
nomical writer,  xiv,  xvii  (note) ;  et  passim. 
Keats,  John  (1795-1821),  English  poet,  3*,  55.  461. 
Keeler,  James  Edward,  American  astronomer,  103. 
Kepler,  Johann,  or  Von    Kappel    (x 571-1630), 

German  astronomer,  13. 
Keyser,  Pieter  Dircksx.     See  Pieter  Theodor. 
King,  C.  W.,  English  astronomical  writer,  49. 
Kingsley,  Charles  (1819-1875),  English  poet,  34 
Kirch,  Gottfried  (1639-1710),  Prussian  astronomer, 

360,  440. 
Kirch,  Maria  Margaretha  Winckelmann  (1670- 

1720),  wife  of  Gottfried,  440. 


560 


Partial  List  of  Authors,  Authorities,  Etc. 


Kircher,  Athanasius  (1602-1660),  German  archae- 
ologist, 3  (note). 

Kitchiner,  William  (circa  1835),  English  writer  on 
optics,  259.. 

Klein,  Herman  J.,  German  astronomer,  438. 

Knobel,  Edward  Ball,  English  astronomer,  37. 

Ifur'in,  Al  {circa  652),  8,  398;  et passim. 


La  Caille,  Abbe  Nicolas  Louis  de  (1713-1762), 
French  astronomer,  14,  64,  391. 

Lach,  Friedrich  Wilhelm  Victor  (x8th  century), 
German  scholar,  171,  180,  2x2. 

La  Condamine,  Charles  Marie  de  (1701-1774), 
French  scientist,  381. 

Lajard,  Jean  Baptiste  Felix  (1785-1858),  writer 
on  ancient  art,  254. 

La    Lande,  Joseph   Jerome   le   Francois  de 
(1732-1807),  French  astronomer,  14. 

Lampridius,  Aelius  (first  half  of  fourth  century), 
Latin  historian,  323. 

Landor,  Walter  Savage  (1775-1864),  author  of 
The  Pentamrroft,  396. 

Landseer,  John    (1769-1852),   English  writer  on 
archaeological  astronomy,  17. 

Lang,  Andrew,  Scottish  writer,  27,  461. 

Langland,  or  Langley,  William   (circa  1330- 
1400),  English  poet,  478. 

Langren,  Jacob  (or  Arnold)  Florent  van,  seven- 
teenth-century globe-maker,  44,  403. 

La  Place,  Marquis  Pierre  Simon  de  (1749-1827), 
French  astronomer,  16. 

Larcom,  Miss  Lucy  (1826-1893),  American  poet, 
3<>3- 

La s sell,  William  (1799-1880),  English  astronomer, 
discoverer  of  Neptune's  satellite,  311. 

Leg?et   Rev.  James   (1815-18^8),  missionary  and 
Scottish  Sinologist,  58. 

Le  Monnier,  Pierre  Charles  (1715-1799),  French 
astronomer,  14. 

Lenormant,  Francois  (1837-1883),  French  archae- 
ologist and  numismatist,  80. 

Le  Verrier,  Urbain*Jean  Joseph   (1811-1877), 
French  astronomer,  141. 

Lewis,  Sir  George  Cornewall  (1806-1863),  Eng- 
lish statesman  and  astronomical  writer,  419. 

Lilly,  William  (1602-1681),  English  astrologer,  24. 

Lindsay,  William  Schaw  (1816-1877),  English 
writer  on  ships,  66. 

Littrow,  Joseph  Johann  von  (1781-1840),  Aus- 
trian astronomer,  410. 
Lockyer,  Sir  Joseph   Norman,  English  astrono- 
mer, xvii,  70,  83,  123,  124,  167;  et passim. 
Longfellow,  Henry   Wadsworth  (1807-1882), 

American  poet,  5,  31,  40,  45,  48. 
Longomontanus,  or  Christian    Longberg  (last 

half  of  17th  century),  Danish  astronomer,  41. 
Lowell,  James  Russell   (1819-1891),  American 

diplomatist,  essayist,  and  poet,  31. 
Lubienitcki,   Stanislaus    (seventeenth  century), 

astronomical  illustrator,  65. 
Lucan,  or  M .  Annaeus  Lucanus  (39-65),  Latin 
poet,  3. 


Lucian,  or  Lucianus  (second  century),  Greek  rhet- 
orician, 20. 

Lucretius,  or  Titus  Lucretius  Cams  (o6?-55 
b.  c.)»  Roman  poet,  400. 

Lunar  Zodiac,  The  (1874),  by  Whitney,  8  (*>fr). 

Luther,  Rev.  Robert  Maurice,  American  as- 
tronomer, 424. 

Lydgate,  John  (1370-1451),  English  poet,  33* 
(note). 

Lytton,  Edward  Robert  Lytton  Bulwer,  or 
Owen  Meredith  (1831-1891),  Enghsh  poet,  114 

Macaulay,  Thomas  Babington  (i8oo-x8js>, 
English  poet,  227. 

Macrobius,  Ambrosius  Theodosius  (fourth  cce- 
tury),  Latin  grammarian,  19. 

Maedler,  Johann  Heinrich  von  (iw^K 
German  astronomer,  331,  400,  405. 

Mandeville,  Sir  John  de  (fourteenth  century). 
English  traveler,  454. 

Manetho  (area  250  a.  c.)»  Graeco- Egyptian  histo 
rian,  273. 

Manilius,  Gaius,  or  Marcus  (first  century  a.  d.|, 
Latin  astronomical  poet,  32  (note). 

Mariette,  Auguste  Bdouard  (1821-1881),  French 
Egyptologist,  465. 

Marius,  or  Simon  Mayer  (circa  1600),  German 
astronomer,  39. 

Marlowe,  Christopher  (1564  ?-i 593),  English  poet 
and  dramatist,  3S6,  457. 

Martial,  or  Marcus  Valerius  Martialis  (43-104?), 
Latin  poet,  431. 

Martyr,  Peter,  or  Pietro  Martire  d'Anghiera 
(1455-1526),  Italian  historian  of  carry  American 
discovery,  ia. 

Marvell,  Andrew  (1621-1678),  English  poet,  271 

Mather,  Rev.  Cotton  (1663-1728),  American  the- 
ologian and  scholar,  423. 

Mayer,  Christian  (last  half  of  eighteenth  century), 
German  astronomer,  288. 

Mayer,  Johann  Tobias  (1723-1762),  German  s*. 
tronomer,  37. 

Mayer,  Simon,  of  Gunzenhauscn.     See  Marius. 

Mechain,  Pierre  Frmnc,ois  Andre  (1744-1S04), 
French  astronomer,  391,  438. 

Medina,  Pedro  de,  or  Petrus  Medinensis  (*u- 
teenth  century),  Spanish  writer  on  navigation,  44 

Mercator,  Gerardus,  or  Gerhard  Kramer  (six- 
teenth century),  Flemish  globe-maker,  13. 

Messier,  Charles  (1730-181 7),  French  astronomer, 
39,  191,  192,  391. 

Metrodorus  (329-277  b.  c.)  of  Lampsacus,  or  Atheas 
Epicurean  philosopher.  483. 

Mickiewicx,  Adam  (1708-1855),  Polish  poet,  W-- 

Milman,  Dean  Henry  Hart  (1791-1868),  English 
author,  2x6. 

Milton,  John  (1608-1674),  English  poet,  31,  34.  75 

Minsheu,  John,  or  Minshaeus  (early  in  seven- 
teenth century),  English  lexicographer,  15. 478. 

Mitchell,  Miss  Maria  (1818-1889),  American  as- 
tronomer, 24. 

Mollineux,  'Emerie  (latter  half  of  sixteenth  cen- 
tury), English  globe-maker,  14. 


Partial  List  of  Authors,  Authorities,  Etc. 


56i 


Mom m sen,  Christian  Matthias  Theodor,  Ger- 
man historian,  401. 

Moore,  Thomas  (1779-1852),  British  poet,  69,  70. 

Morris,  William  (1834-1898),  English  poet,  150. 

Morrison,  Rev.  Robert  (1782-1834),  English  mis- 
sionary to  China  and  lexicographer,  xviii. 

Mueller,  Priedrich  Maximilian,  or  Max  M tiller, 
(Jerman-English  Sanskrit  scholar,  12a. 

Narborough,  Sir  John  (seventeenth  century),  Eng- 
lish discoverer,  189. 

Nasr  al  Din,  or  Al  Tusi  (thirteenth  century), 
Persian  astronomer,  57. 

Newcomb,  Simon,  American  astronomer,  196. 

Newton,  Alfred,  English  ornithologist,  417. 

Newton,  Hubert  Anson  (1830-1896),  American 
astronomer  and  mathematician,  xxi,  8,  361. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac  (1642-1727),  English  natural 
philosopher,  18,  66. 

Nicander  (circa  125  r.  c),  Greek  poet,  39a. 

Niebuhr,  Karsten  (1733-1815),  German  traveler, 
69  (note)  ;  et passim. 

Nigidius.     See  FigZlus. 

Nonius,  or  Pedro  Nunez,  or  Nunes  (1492-1577), 
Portuguese  writer  on  navigation,  85. 

Nonnus  (first  half  of  fifth  century),  Greek  poet,  156. 

Oecumenius  (tenth  century)  Byzantine  ecclesiastical 

writer,  81  (note). 
Oenopides  (fifth  century  b.  c),  Greek  astronomer,  18. 
Others,   Heinrich    Wilhelm   Matthias    (1758- 

1840),  German  astronomer,  466. 
Omar  Khayyam,  or  Hayyfim  (twelfth  century), 

Persian  astronomer-poet,  212,  393. 
Oppert,  Jules,  French  Orientalist,  123.' 
Origen,   or   Origenes  Adamantius   (185 '-253), 

Greek  father  of  the  church,  27. 
Ottley,    William    Young     (1771-1836),  English 

writer  on   ancient  art,  161  {note). 
Ovid,  or  Publius  Ovidius  Naso   (43  h.  c.-i3? 

a.  r>.),  Latin  poet,  4. 
Owen  Meredith.    SecLyttim. 

Palladium  of  Husbandry  (1420),  English  work 
on  agriculture,  121. 

Palladius,  Rutilius  Taurus  Aemilianus  (fourth 
or  fifth  century),  Roman  writer  on  agriculture,  95. 

Panyasis  (fifth  century  n.  c),  Greek  poet,  740. 

Paraphrase,  The  Chaldee,  or  Jewish-  Aramae- 
an Targum,  48;  et  passim. 

Parsons,  William.    See  Rosse. 

Pascal,  Blaise  (1623-1662),  French  philosopher,  108. 

Paul,  The  Apostle  (died  about  67),  allusion  of,  to 
Aratos  (?),  18,  81. 

Paul,  Henry  Martin,  American  astronomer,  43. 

Pausanias  (second  century),  Greek  geographer 
and  writer  on  art,  84. 

Peck,  Harry  Thurston,  American  classical  lexi- 
cographer, 388. 

Peck,  William,  British  astronomer,  412. 

Penrose,  Francis  Cranmer,  English  archaeolo- 
gist, 80. 


Petavius,  or  Denis  Petau  (1583-1S52),  French 
antiquary,  304. 

Peters,  Christian  Heinrich  Priedrich  (1813- 
1890),  German- American  astronomer,  105. 

Petosiris  (800?  b.  c.  ) ,  reputed  founder  of  astrology 
in  Egypt,  51,  64. 

Pherecydes  (circa  600-550  b.  a),  Greek  philosopher 
and  Ionic  writer,  175. 

Philo  Judaeus  (circa  40  a.  d.),  Hellenistic-Jewish 
philosopher,  2. 

Piazzi,  Giuseppe  (1746-1826),  Italian  astronomer, 
158,  201,  415. 

Piccdlomini,  Alessandro  (1508-1578),  Italian  as- 
tronomer. 13. 

Pickering,  Edward  Charles,  American  astron- 
omer, xviii. 

Pickering,  William  H.,  American  astronomer,  317. 

Pieter  Theodor,  or  Petrus  Theodorus  Emb- 
danus  (early  in  sixteenth  century),  Dutch  navi- 
gator, 14,  44. 

Pigafetta,  Antonio  (1491-1534?),  Italian  naviga- 
tor and  writer,  14,  227. 

Pindar  (first  half  of  fifth  century  b.  c),  Greek  lyric 
poet,  46. 

Plato  (428-347  b.  c).  Athenian  philosopher,  26. 

Plautus,  Titus  Maccius  (circa  254-184  b.  c), 
Roman  comedist,  100,  215. 

Pliny,  The  Elder,  or  Gaius  Plinius  Secundus 
(23-79  a.  d.),  Roman  encyclopaedic  writer,  10, 170. 

Plutarch  (circa  50-120),  Greek  biographer,  26,  268. 

Poczobut,  Abbe"  (eighteenth  century),  Polish  as- 
tronomer, 413. 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan  (1809- 1849),  American  P°et,  146. 

Polybios  (204-125  b.  c),  Greek  historian,  306. 

Pope,  Alexander  (1688-1744),  English  poet,  4. 

Popular  Astronomy,  American  monthly  maga- 
zine, 287. 

Posidippus  (third  century  b.  c. ),  Athenian  comedist. 

Posidonius  (circa  260  b.  c),  Alexandrian  astrono- 
mer, 71. 

Posidonius  (first  century  b.  c),  Stoic  philosopher, 
71  (note). 

Pritchard,  Rev.  Charles  (1808-1893),  English  as- 
tronomer, 34 t  (note). 

Procius  (412-485),  Platonic  philosopher,  3. 

Proctor,  Richard  Anthony  (1834-1888),  English 
astronomer,  xv,  15,  28,  49. 

Propertius,  Sextus  (circa  50-16  n  c),  Roman 
elegiac  poet,  66. 

Prudens,  or  Prudentius,  Aurelius  Clemens 
(fourth  century),  Latin  Christian  poet,  135,  175. 

Ptolemy,  or  Claudius  Ptolemaeus  (first  half  of 
second  century),  Alexandrian-Greek  astronomer, 
xii;  et  passim. 

Pythagoras  (floruit  540-51  >  b.  c),  Greek  philoso- 
pher, at,  483,  484. 

Pytheas  (4th  century  b.  c),  Greek  navigator,  454. 

Quintilian,  or  Marcus  Pabius  Quinctilianus 
(circa  35-95  a.  d.),  Roman  rhetorician,  31. 

Rabelais,  Francois  (149s  ?-i 553).  French  humorist 
and  writer,  226. 


562 


Partial  List  of  Authors,  Authorities,  Etc. 


Rawlinson,  Sir  Henry  Creswicke  (18x0-1895), 
English  Assyriologist,  904. 

Recorde,  Robert  (1500-1558),  British  physicist,  102. 

Reduan,  Ali  A  ben,  or  Ibn  (Haly),  Arabian  transla- 
tor of  the  Tetrabiblost  32. 

Reeves,  John,  English  astronomer,  xviii  {note). 

Renan,  Joseph  Ernest  (1823-1893),  French  critical 
philosopher,  203. 

Renouf,  Sir  Peter  Le  Page  (1824-1897),  English 
Egyptologist,  20. 

Reynolds,  Miss  Myra,  American  writer,  482. 

Riccioli,  Giovanni  Battista  (1598-1 671),  Italian 
astronomer,  1,  37  {note). 

Richer.Jean  (17th  century),  French  astronomer,  51. 

Rig  Veda  (2000-1500?  b.  c. ),  collective  Hindusacred 
poems,  5. 

Roberts,  Isaac,  English  astronomer,  116. 

Roger  of  Hoveden  (last  half  of  twelfth  century), 
English  chronicler,  477. 

Rogers,  Samuel  (1 763-1 855),  English  poet,  184 
{note). 

Rolleston,  Miss  Frances,  English  astronomical 
writer,  28,  20X. 

Rosse,  Lord,  or  William  Parsons  (1800-1867), 
English  astronomer,  it 6. 

Rossetti,  Christina  Oeorgina  (1830-1894),  Eng- 
lish poet,  xi  7,  453. 

Royer,  August  in  {Jioruit  1679),  French  astrono- 
mer, 13. 

Rudolphine  Tables,  The  (1627),  by  Kepler,  202. 


Sachau,  C.  Edward,  German  Orientalist,  121. 

Sackville,  Thomas.  (1536-1608),  English  poet,  361. 

Sadi,  or  Muslihu  al  Din  (thirteenth  century),  Per- 
sian poet,  394. 

Safford,  Truman  Henry,  American  astronomer, 
128. 

Saint  Clement.    See  Clemens. 

Saint  Isidore.    Sec  Isitiorus. 

Saint  Paul.    Sec  Paul 

Sappho  {circa  600  B.  c),  Greek  lyric  poet,  31. 

Sarmiento  de  Gamboa,  Pedro  (1530  7-1589), 
Spanish  navigator,  188. 

Sawyer,  Edwin  F.,  American  astronomer,  43. 

Saxe,  John  Godfrey  (1816-1887),  American  hu- 
morous poet,  180. 

Sayce,  Archibald  Henry,  English  Orientalist, 
xviii  {note),  1. 

Scaliger,  Joseph  Justus  (1540-1609),  French 
scholar,  xi,   11. 

Schaubach,  Johann  Conrad  (eighteenth  century), 
German  commentator,  63. 

Scheil,  Pere  V.,  French  Orientalist,  2. 

Scheiner,  J.,  German  astro-spectroscopist,  xvii,  92. 

Schiaparelli,  Giovanni  Virginio,  Italian  astron- 
omer, 127, 

Schiller,  Johann  Christoph  Friedrich  von  (1759 - 
1805),  German  poet,  2,  144. 

Schlegel,  August  Wilhelm  von  (1767-1845), 
German  Orientalist,  20. 

Schoenfeld,  E.  (1S28-1891),  German  astronomer, 
3*6. 


Scott,  Sir  Walter   (1771-X832),   English  novdk 

and  poet,  24,  3x5. 
Scylax  of  Halicarnassus  (second   century  r.  c), 

Carian  astronomer,  68. 
Secchi,  Father  Angelo  (1818-1878),  modern  Roman 

astronomer,  89  {note). 
See,  Thomas  Jefferson  J.,  American  astronomer. 

72. 
Seneca,  Lucius   Annaeus    (3?  b.  c-65  a.  t..), 

Roman  Stoic  philosopher  and  writer,  xiv. 
Septuagint,  The  (third  century  b.  c),  Greek  ver** 

of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  87;  et  passim. 
Serviss,  Garrett  P.,   American   astronomer  and 

writer,  47,  170. 
Servius,  Marius,  or  Maurus,  Honoratus  (fourth 

century  a.  d.),  Roman  commentator,  1. 
Shakespeare,  William  (1564-1616),  24,  17,  30. 
Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe  (1792-1822),  English  poet 

27,  29,  67,  227,  303 ;  et  passim. 
Sheridan,  Richard  Brinsley  Butler  (1751-1816). 

British  dramatist,  228. 
Siddhantas,  The,  Sanskrit  astronomical  books,  |3g 
Sidonius,  or  Gaius  Sollius  Apollinaris  (an* 

430-482),  Christian  author,  427. 
Sigourney,  Mrs.,n6e  Lydia  Huntly  (1791-1S65). 

American  poet,  xxiii. 
Simonides  {circa  500  n.  c),  Greek  lyric  poet,  $95 
Skeat,  Walter  William,  English  philologist,  175 
Skelton,  John  {circa  1460-1529),  English  poet,  415. 
Smith,  George  (1840-1876),  English  AssynoWpsi. 

discoverer  of  The  Creation  Legend^  1,  2,  101. 
Smyth,  William  Henry  (1788-1865),  English  a- 

tronomer,  xii,  xvii  {note)y  a;  et  passim. 
Solinus,  Gaius  Julius    (third   century),  Roman 

grammarian,  160. 
Sophocles  (496?-4o6  b.  c),  Greek  tragic  poet,  31 
Spanheim,  Ezekiel  (1629-1710),  German  writer  >« 

numismatology,  137. 
Spence,  Joseph  (1699-1768),  English  critic.  5° 
Spenser,  Edmund  (1552-1599),  English  poet,  m- 

*74»  X7S:  et  passim. 
Statius,  Publius  Papinius  (45?-o6  a.  p.),  Roman 

poet,  27,  46,  92. 
Stobaeus,  Joannes   (latter  half  of  fifth  century), 

Greek  compiler,  454. 
Strabo  {circa  63  n.  c-21  a.  d.),  Greek  geographer, ;: 
Strassmaier,  J.  N.,  German  Orientalist,  xviii  {nett) 
Struve,  Friedrich  Georg  Wilhelm  von  (1793- 

1864),  German- Russian  astronomer,  37  {note),  3*5- 
Struve,  Otto  Wilhelm  von,  German-Russiaii  a- 

tronomer,  37  {note). 
Suckling,  Sir  John  (1609  !-x 642?),  English  Royal- 

ist  lyric  poet,  474. 
Suetonius,  or  Gaius   Suetonius   Tranquillus 

(first  half  of  second  century),  Roman  biographer.  1  }7 
Sufi,  Al  (tenth  century),  Persian  astronomical  writrr. 

xiii  {note) ;  et  passim. 
Suidas  {circa  970),  Greek  lexicographer,  i»,  »7S 
SQrya  Siddhlnta,  The,  early  Sanskrit  standard 

astronomical  book,  8  {note) ;  et  passim. 
Swift,  Jonathan,  or   Dean    Swift   (1667-1745). 

British  satirist,  24,  482. 
Swift,  Lewis,  American  astronomer,  409. 


Partial  List  of  Authors,  Authorities,  Etc. 


563 


Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  English  poet,  83. 
Syntaxis,  or  Almagest.    See  Ptolemy. 

Tablet  of  the  Thirty  Stars,  The,  Babylonian 
astronomical  work,  76. 

Targum.     See  Paraphrase. 

Taylor,  Bayard  (1825-1878),  American  poet,  378. 

Taylor,  John  (1580-1654),  English  poet,  428,  439. 

Tempel,  Ernst  Wilhelm  Leberecht  (1831-1889), 
German  astronomer,  406. 

Tennyaon,  Lord  Alfred  (1809-1892),  English  poet, 
31,  41,  137,  230,  332,  245,  316,  396,  430,  482. 

Tetrabiblos  Syntaxis.    See  Ptolemy. 

Thabitibn  Kurrah,  Al  {circa  950  s.  c),  Arabian 
astronomer,  18. 

Thalea  (640  7-546  b.  c),  Greek  sage  and  astrono- 
mer, 18,  448. 

Thaun,  Philippe  de  (twelfth  century),  Anglo- 
Norman  poet,  3. 

Theon  the  Younger  (fourth  century),  Alexandrian- 
Greek  commentator,  54. 

Theophanes  (circa  800),  Byzantine  historian,  261. 

Theophrastus  (382-297?  b.  c),  Greek  philosopher 
and  botanist,  17;  et passim. 

Thomas,  Miss  Edith  Matilda,  American  poet,  479. 

Thompson,  D'Arcy  Went  worth,  British  orni- 
thologist, xvii,  170,  404;  et  passim. 

Thomson,  James  (1700-1748),  English  poet,  46, 270. 

Tibullus,  Albius  (54?-«9  b.  c.)»  Roman  elegiac 
poet,  92. 

Timochares  (circa  271  b.  c.)»  Alexandrian-Greek 
astronomer,  468. 

Tin  dale,  William  (1484-1536),  English  translator 
of  the  Bible,  225. 

Tiaaerand,   F.  F.  (1845-1896),  French  astronomer, 

333- 

Tizini,  Al  (first  half  of  sixteenth  century),  Arabian 
astronomer,  37  (note). 

Todd,  David  P.,  American  astronomer,  xix. 

Topclius,  Zachris  (1818-1898),  Finnish  dramatist, 
historian,  novelist,  and  poet,  122,  483. 

Townsend,  Rev.  Qeorge  (1788-1857),  English  as- 
tronomical writer,  6. 

Trevisa,  John  of  (circa  1412),  English  translator,  48. 

Tusi,  Al.     See  Nasr  al  Din. 

Tzetzes,  Johannes  (second  half  of  twelfth  century), 
Greek  grammarian  of  Constantinople,  298. 


Ukita,  Kazutami,  Japanese  scholar,  xviii. 
Ulug  Beg.orUlugh  Beigh  (middle  of  fifteenth  cen- 
tury), Tatar  prince  and  astronomer,  13;  ct passim. 
Upton,  Winalow,  American  astronomer,  15. 


Variha  Mihira  (circa  500),  Hindu  astronomer,  21, 
258;  et  passim. 

Varro,  Publius  Terentius  Atacinus  (first  cen- 
tury b.  c),  Latin  poet,  85. 

Veda.    Set  Rig  Veda. 

Vergil,  or  Publius  Vergilius  Maro  (70-19  b.  c), 
Latin  poet,  xiv;  et  passim. 

Vespucci,  Amerigo  (1451-1512),  Italian  navigator, 
14,  44,  68,  69. 

Vitruvius  Pollio,  Marcus  (first  century  b.  c), 
Roman  architect,  19. 

Vogel,  Hermann  Karl,  German  astronomer,  81,196. 

Voltaire,  assumed  name  of  Francois  Marie 
Arouet  (1694-1778),  French  writer,  129. 

Wallace,  Lew,  an  American  novelist,  author  of 
Ben  ffur,  8,  30. 

Watson,  James  Craig  (1838-1880),  American  as- 
tronomer, 1x4. 

Webb,  Rev.  Thomas  William  (1807-1885),  Eng- 
lish astronomer,  116. 

Weber,  Albrecht  Fried  rich,  German  Sanskrit 
scholar,  35,  319;  et  passim. 

Weigel,  Erhard  (seventeenth  century),  German 
constellation-maker,  57,  58. 

West,  Robert  H.,  American-Syrian  astronomer  and 
educator,  445. 

Wetzstein,  Johann  Gottfried  (born  1815),  Ger- 
man critic,  87. 

Whewell,  William  (1794-1866),  English  philoso- 
pher and  scientist,  294. 

White,  Henry  Kirke  (1785-1806),  English  poet,  29. 

Whitney,  William  Dwight  (1827-1894),  Ameri- 
can philologist,  xi,  xxi,  7;  et  passim. 

Whittier,  John  Greenleaf  (1807-1892),  American 
poet,  185. 

Wicklif,  John  de  (1324-1384),  English  religious 
reformer,  iox. 

Williams,  John,  English  astronomer,  xvii,  22. 

Willis,  Nathaniel  Parker  (1806-1867),  American 
poet,  44,  284,  364. 

Wither,  George  (1588-1667),  English  poet,  xxiii. 

Wolfe,  Charles  (1791-1823),  British  poet,  30. 

Wordsworth,  William  (1770-1850),  English  poet, 
26,  322,  455- 

Young,  Charles   Augustus,  American    astrono- 
mer, xix,  15;  et  passim. 
Young,  Edward  ( 168 1- 1765),  English  poet,  252, 270. 

Zach,  Franz  Xaver,  Baron  von  (1754-1832),  Ger- 
man astronomer,  466. 

Zoroaster,  or  Zarathushtra  (seventh-sixth  cen- 
tury B.  c),  founder  of  Pcrso- Iranian  religion,  21. 


L'ENVOI 

Unto  those  Three  Things  which  the  Ancients 
held  impossible,  there  should  be  added  this  Fourth, 
to  find  a  Book  Printed  without  erratas. 

Alfonso  de  Cartagena 


That  this  book  has  its  faults,  no  one  can  doubt, 
Although  the  Author  could  not  find  them  out. 
The  faults  you  find,  good  Reader,  please  to  mend, 
Your  comments  to  the  Author  kindly  send. 

Kitchiner's  Tke  Economy  of  the  Eyes. —  Part  //. 


DOES  NOT  CIRC 


A4