nation—in the formation of the calendar, in the appointment of
public festivals, and in the constitution of eras. The zodiac of
Denderah, discovered by the French _savants_ in Egypt at the end of
the Eighteenth Century, was at first believed to have an antiquity
of 15,000 years; but it is now proved that it is necessary to deduct
from that number of years half the cycle of precession—that is to
say, nearly 13,000 years—which brings down the date of this sculpture
to 2,000 years before our epoch; and this in fact corresponds with
the evidence of archæology. It is remarkable that all the ancient
zodiacs and calendars which have been preserved to us begin the year
with the constellation of the Bull, as we have already noticed. The
zodiac of the Elephanta Pagoda (Salsette) has at the head of the
procession the sign of the sacred Bull, the ox Apis, Mithra—of which
the promenade of the fat ox, which is still performed in the environs
of Paris, is a vestige. The ceiling of a sepulchral chamber at Thebes
shows the Bull at the head of the procession. The zodiac of Esne,
the astronomical picture discovered by Champollion in the Ramesseum
of Thebes, carries us back to the same origin, between two and three
thousand years before our era; Biot supposes the date of this to be
the year 3285, the vernal equinox passing through the Hyades on the
forehead of Taurus. Father Gaubil has proved that from ancient times
the Chinese have referred the beginning of the apparent motion of the
sun to the stars of Taurus; and we have a Chinese observation of the
star η of the Pleiades as marking the vernal equinox in the year 2357
before our era. Hesiod sings of the Pleiades as ruling the labors of
the year, and the name of Vergilia, which the ancient Romans gave
them, associates them with the beginning of the year in spring.
[Illustration: Fig. 11]
Without entering into any details of the different zodiacs which have
been preserved to us from the most ancient and diverse nations, a
glance at those which are reproduced here will lead us to appreciate
the part which they have played in ancient religions. Several
zodiacal signs have become veritable gods. The zodiac represented by
Fig. 11 was engraved, in the Thirteenth Century, on an Arabic magic
mirror, and dedicated to the sovereign prince Aboulfald, “Victorious
Sultan, Light of the World,” if we are to believe the bombastic
inscription which encircles it. Fig. 12 shows an ancient Hindoo
zodiac. Fig. 13 shows a Chinese zodiac stamped upon a talisman, even
now in use. The twelve signs differ from ours; they are: the Mouse,
the Cow, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the Horse,
the Ram, the Ape, the Hen, the Dog, and the Pig. Fig. 14 represents
a Chinese medal, on which we see the constellation _Teou_, the
Great Bear[9] (which they call the Bushel), the Serpent, the Sword,
and the Tortoise. This is a talisman intended to give courage; it
appears that it is in great demand among the Chinese, and is as well
circulated as the medals of the Immaculate Conception are in France.
[Illustration: Fig. 12.—Ancient Hindoo Zodiac]
Of all the zodiacal constellations, that of the Bull has played the
principal rôle in ancient myths; and in this constellation it was the
sparkling cluster of the Pleiades which appears to have regulated
the year and the calendar among all the ancient nations. The Mosaic
deluge itself, referred to 17 Athir (November), in commemoration of
an important inundation, had its date coincident with the appearance
of the Pleiades.[10]
[Illustration: Fig. 13.—Chinese Zodiac, from a Talisman
Fig. 14.—Chinese Medal, showing the Great Bear]
But we forget the stars. If our descriptions have been carefully
followed, the reader will now know the zodiacal constellations as
well as those of the north. There remains but little to do to know
the entire sky. But there is an indispensable addition to be made to
what precedes. The circumpolar stars are perpetually visible above
the London horizon; at any time of the year when we wish to observe
them it is sufficient to turn to the north, and we shall always
find them, either above the pole star or below it, to one side or
the other, and always maintaining among themselves the relations
which we have employed to find them. The stars of the zodiac do not
resemble them from this point of view, for they are sometimes above
the horizon, sometimes below. It is necessary, then, to know at what
epoch they are visible. For this purpose it will be sufficient to
remember the constellation which is found in the middle of the sky at
_nine o’clock in the evening_ on the first day of each month—that,
for example, which crosses at that moment a line descending from the
zenith to the south. This line is the _meridian_, of which we have
already spoken; all the stars cross it once a day, moving from east
to west—that is to say, from left to right. In indicating each of the
constellations which pass at the hour indicated, we also give the
centre of the visible constellations.
On January 1 Taurus passes the meridian at 9 o’clock in the
evening; notice Aldebaran, the Pleiades. On February 1 the Twins
(Gemini) are not yet there; we see them a little to the left. March
1, Castor and Pollux have passed; Procyon to the south, the little
stars of the Crab (Cancer) to the left. April 1, the Lion, Regulus.
May 1, β of the Lion, Berenice’s Hair. June 1, Spica of the Virgin,
Arcturus. July 1, the Balance (Libra), the Scorpion. August 1,
Antares, Ophiuchus. September 1, Sagittarius, Aquila. October 1,
Capricornus, Aquarius. November 1, Pisces, Pegasus. December 1,
Aries, the Ram.
Our general review of the starry sky must now be completed by the
stars of the southern heavens.
Below Taurus and Gemini, to the south of the zodiac, you notice the
giant Orion, who raises his club toward the forehead of the Bull.
Seven brilliant stars are here distinguished; two of them, α and
β, are of the first magnitude; the five others are of the second
magnitude, α and γ mark the shoulders, κ the right knee, β the left
knee; δ, ε, ζ mark the belt or girdle. Below this line is a luminous
train of three stars, very near each other; this is the Sword.
Between the western shoulder and Taurus is seen the Shield, composed
of a row of small stars. The head is marked by a little star (λ) of
the fourth magnitude.
On a fine winter’s night turn toward the south, and you will
immediately recognize this giant constellation. The four stars,
α, γ, β, κ, occupy the angles of a great quadrilateral. The three
others, δ, ε, ζ, are crowded in an oblique line in the middle of this
quadrilateral; α, at the northeast angle, is named _Betelgeuse_ (not
Beteigeuse, as some books print it); β, at the southeast angle, is
called _Rigel_.
The line of the Belt, produced both ways, passes to the northeast
near _Aldebaran_, the Eye of the Bull, which we know already, and to
the southeast near _Sirius_, the finest star of the sky, which we
shall soon consider.
It is during the fine nights of winter that this constellation shines
in the evening above our heads. No other season is so magnificently
constellated as the months of winter. While nature deprives us of
certain enjoyments in one way, it offers us in exchange others no
less precious. The marvels of the heavens present themselves from
Taurus and Orion in the east to Virgo and Boötes on the west. Of
eighteen stars of the first magnitude which are counted in the whole
extent of the firmament, a dozen are visible from nine o’clock to
midnight, not to mention some fine stars of the second magnitude,
remarkable nebulæ, and celestial objects well worthy of the attention
of mortals. It is thus that nature establishes a harmonious
compensation, and while it darkens our short and frosty days of
winter, it gives us long nights enriched with the most opulent
creations of the sky.
The constellation of Orion is not only the richest in brilliant
stars, but it conceals for the initiated treasures which no other is
known to afford. We might almost call it the California of the sky.
To the southeast of Orion, on the line of the Three Kings, shines
the most magnificent of all the stars, _Sirius_, or α of the
constellation of the Great Dog. This star of the first magnitude
marks the upper eastern angle of a great quadrilateral, of which the
base near the horizon of London, is adjacent to a triangle. This
constellation rises in the evening at the end of November, passes
the meridian at midnight at the end of January, and sets at the end
of March. It played the greatest part in Egyptian astronomy, for
it regulated the ancient calendar. It was the famous Dog Star; it
predicted the inundation of the Nile, the summer solstice, great
heats and fevers; but the precession of the equinoxes has in 3,000
years moved back the time of its appearance by a month and a half,
and now this fine star announces nothing, either to the Egyptians
who are dead or to their successors.
The _Little Dog_, or Procyon, is found above the Great Dog and
below the Twins (Castor and Pollux), to the east of Orion. With the
exception of α Procyon, no brilliant star distinguishes it.
_Hydra_ is a long constellation, which occupies a quarter of the
horizon, under Cancer, the Lion, and the Virgin. The head, formed of
four stars of the fourth magnitude, is to the left of Procyon, on
the prolongation of a line drawn from that star to Betelgeuse. The
western side of the great trapezium of the Lion, like the line from
Castor and Pollux, points to α, of the second magnitude. This is the
Heart of Hydra; we remark the asterisms of the second class, Corvus
the Crow, and Crater the Cup.
_Eridanus_, _Cetus_, _Piscis Australis_, and the _Centaur_ are the
only important constellations which remain to be described. We
find them, in the order which we have indicated, to the right of
Orion. Eridanus is a river composed of a train of stars winding
from the left foot of Orion and losing itself below the horizon.
After following long windings, it ends with a fine star of the first
magnitude, α Eridani, or Achernar. This is the river into which
Phaeton fell when he unskilfully directed the Chariot of the Sun. It
was placed in the sky to console Apollo for the death of his son.
To find the Whale (Cetus), we may notice below the Ram a star of the
second magnitude which forms an equilateral triangle with the Ram and
the Pleiades; this is α of Cetus, or the Jaw; α, μ, ξ, and γ form
a parallelogram which represents the head. The base, α, γ, may be
produced to a star of the third magnitude, δ, and to a star of the
neck marked ο. This star is one of the most curious in the heavens.
It is named the Wonderful, _Mira Ceti_. It belongs to the class
of variable stars. Sometimes it equals in brightness stars of the
second magnitude, sometimes it becomes completely invisible.[11] Its
variations have been followed since the end of the Sixteenth Century,
and it has been found that they are reproduced periodically every 331
days on the average. The study of these singular stars presents us
with curious phenomena.
Lastly, the constellation of the Centaur is situated below Spica
of the Virgin. The star θ, of the second magnitude, and the star
ι, of the third, mark the head and the shoulder. This is the only
part of this figure which rises above our horizon. The Centaur
contains the _nearest star_ to us (α) of the first magnitude, the
distance of which is about twenty-five billions of miles. The feet
of the Centaur touch the _Southern Cross_, formed of four stars of
the second magnitude, always hidden below our horizon. It reigns in
silence above the icy solitudes of the Southern Pole, where ships
proceed only with difficulty. Further on, at the centre of the other
hemisphere, is the southern celestial pole, which is not marked by
any remarkable star.
It was from this region, Dante relates, that, having visited hell,
inclosed in the centre of the earth, he went to the Mountain of
Purgatory, and from there to the Heights of Paradise. These beautiful
dreams have disappeared in the sunshine of modern astronomy.
We will complete these descriptions by a little astronomical
chronology, which is not without interest. From a careful examination
of the most ancient historical sources of classical astronomy, the
following is the order in which the constellations appear to have
been noticed, formed, and named, beginning with the most ancient:
Most Ancient Reference
The Great Bear _Job_ (ch. xxxviii. ver. 32)
(Seventeenth Century before our
era), _Homer_ (Ninth Century).
Orion _Job_ (ch. ix. ver. 9), _Homer_,
_Hesiod_.
The Pleiades (the Hyades) _Job_ (ch. xxxviii. ver. 31),
_Homer_, _Hesiod_.
Sirius and the Great Dog _Hesiod_ mentions it. _Homer_
calls Sirius the Star of Autumn.
Aldebaran (Taurus) _Homer_, _Hesiod_.
Boötes, Arcturus _Job_ (ch. xxxviii. ver. 32),
_Homer_, _Hesiod_.
The Little Bear _Thales_ (Seventh Century),
_Eudoxus_, _Aratus_.
Draco (the Dragon) _Eudoxus_ (Fourth Century),
_Aratus_ (Third Century).
The Man on his Knees, or Hercules _Id._
The Branch and Cerberus[12] _Id._
Corona Borealis _Id._
Ophiuchus or Serpentarius _Id._
The Scorpion _Id._
Virgo and Spica _Eudoxus_ (Fourth Century),
_Aratus_ (Third Century)
Gemini (the Twins) _Id._
Procyon _Id._
Cancer (the Crab) _Id._
Leo (the Lion) _Id._
Auriga (the Charioteer) _Id._
Capella (the Goat, the Kids) _Id._
Cepheus _Id._
Cassiopeia _Id._
Andromeda _Id._
Pegasus (the Horse) _Id._
Aries (the Ram) _Id._
The Triangle _Id._
Pisces (the Fishes) _Id._
Perseus _Id._
Lyra _Id._
The Bird, or Cygnus (the Swan) _Id._
Aquila (the Eagle) _Id._
Aquarius _Id._
Capricornus _Id._
Sagittarius _Id._
Sagitta (the Arrow) _Id._
Delphinus (the Dolphin) _Id._
Lepus (the Hare) _Id._
Argo (the Ship) _Id._
Canobus (afterward written Canopus) _Id._
Eridanus _Id._
Cetus (the Whale) _Id._
Piscis Australis (the Southern Fish) _Id._
Corona Australis _Id._
The Altar _Id._
The Centaur _Id._
The Wolf (Lupus) _Id._
Hydra _Id._
Crater (the Cup) _Id._
Corvus (the Crow) _Id._
Libra (the Balance) _Manetho_ (Third Century B. C.)
_Geminus_ (First Century) B. C.).
The Hair of Berenice[13] _Callimachus_, _Eratosthenes_
(Third Century).
Feet of the Centaur _Hipparchus_ (First Century B. C.).
Propus (η of Gemini) _Hipparchus._
The Manger and Donkeys _Id._
The Little Horse (Equuleus) _Id._
The Head of Medusa _Id._
Antinous[13] Under the Emperor Adrian
(130 A. D.).
The Peacock (Pavo) _John Bayer_, 1603.
Toucan _Id._
Grus (the Crane) _Id._
Phœnix _Id._
Doradus _Id._
The Flying Fish _Id._
Hydrus _Id._
Chamæleon _Id._
The Bee (Musca) _Id._
The Bird of Paradise (Apus) _Id._
Triangulum Australis _Id._
The Indian (Indus) _Id._
The Giraffe (Camelopardus) _Bartschius_, 1624.
The Fly (Musca) _Id._
The Unicorn (Monoceros) _Id._
Noah’s Dove (Columba) _Id._
The Oak of Charles II _Halley_, 1679.
The Southern Cross (already
seen by the ancients) _Augustine Royer_, 1677.
The Great and Little Cloud
(Magellanic Clouds) _Hevelius_, 1690.
The Fleur de Lys _Id._
The Greyhounds (Canes Venatici) _Id._
The Fox and Goose (Vulpecula
et Anser) _Id._
The Lizard (Lacerta) _Id._
The Sextant of Urania (Sextans) _Id._
The Little Lion (Leo Minor) _Hevelius_, 1690.
The Lynx _Id._
The Shield of Sobieski _Id._
The Little Triangle _Id._
Mount Mænalus _Flamsteed_, 1725.
The Heart of Charles II (α Canum
Venaticorum) _Id._
The Sculptor’s Workshop (Sculptor) _Lacaille_, 1752.
The Chemical Furnace (Fornax) _Id._
The Clock (Horologium) _Id._
The Rhomboid Reticule (Reticulum) _Id._
The Engraver’s Pen _Id._
The Painter’s Easel (Pictor) _Id._
The Compass (Circinus) _Id._
The Air Pump (Antlia) _Id._
The Octant (Octans) _Id._
The Compass and Square _Id._
The Telescope (Telescopium) _Id._
The Microscope (Microscopium) _Id._
The Table Mountain (Mensa) _Id._
The Reindeer _Lemonnier_, 1774.
The Solitaire (Indian Bird) _Id._
Le Messier _Lalande_, 1776.
The Bull of Poniatowski _Poczobut_, 1877.
The Honors of Frederick _Bode_, 1786.
The Harp of the Georges _Hell_, 1789.
The Telescope of Herschel _Bode_, 1787.
The Electrical Machine _Id_, 1790.
The Printer’s Workshop _Id._
The Mural Quadrant _Lalande_, 1795.
The Air Balloon _Id._, 1798.
The Cat _Id._, 1799.
Such are the constellations, ancient and modern, venerable or recent,
into which the celestial sphere has been divided. The ancient names
are respectable and respected, on account of their relations,
known or unknown, with the origins of history and religion; the new
ones must be ephemeral. It is useful to know them, because several
stars celebrated under different titles have for their principal
designation their position in these asterisms; but what we should
wish would be to see them disappear.[14]
Many other substitutions have, however, been attempted. I have in my
library a splendid folio of the year 1661, containing twenty-nine
engraved plates, illuminated in gold and silver, among which are
two which represent the sky delivered from the pagans and peopled
with Christians. Instead of divinities more or less virtuous, in
place of animals of forms more or less fantastic, we behold the
elect—apostles, saints, popes, martyrs, sacred persons of the
Old and New Testament—seated in the celestial vault, clothed in
rich costumes of all colors, embroidered with gold, and carefully
installed in the place of all the pagan heroes who for so many ages
reigned in the sky.
The author of this metamorphosis was named Jules Schiller, and it
was in the year 1627 that he introduced it, coupling his name with
that of John Bayer. He began his dissertation by showing how the
pagan constellations are opposed to Christian opinion and even to
common-sense. He quoted the Fathers of the Church who expressly
disapprove of them: Isodorus, who treats them as diabolical;
Lactantius, who condemns the corruption of the human race; Augustine,
who sends their heroes to hell, etc.
These constellations formed by chance, in the course of ages,
without a fixed object; their inconvenient size, the uncertainty of
their boundaries; the complicated designations, for which it was
sometimes necessary to exhaust whole alphabets; the bad taste with
which observers have introduced into the southern sky the frigid
nomenclature of instruments used in science alongside mythological
allegories—all these accumulated defects have often suggested plans
of reform for the stellar divisions, and even the banishing of all
configuration. But ancient customs are difficult to overcome, and it
is very probable that, except the recently named groups, which we may
now suppress, the venerable constellations will always reign.
Such are the provinces of the sky. But these provinces are of no
intrinsic value; the important point for us is to make acquaintance
with the inhabitants.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] The French trillion is equivalent to the English billion, or a
million times a million (1,000,000,000,000).—J. E. G.
[7] The Chinese had designated them all, it is true, at the same
epoch, but their groups as well as their denominations are absolutely
different from ours, and do not appear to have exercised any
influence on the foundations of astronomical history. It was another
world, other methods, other inspirations, as if Asia and Europe
formed two distinct planets. A distinguished author, M. Schlegel,
published in 1875 a Chinese Uranography, which is composed of 670
asterisms, and of which he believes he can trace back the origin to
17,000 years before our era. His argument is not convincing, and
it seems to me that the origin of the astronomy of the Celestial
Empire can not be very much anterior to the reign of the Emperor
Hoang-Ti—that is to say, to the Twenty-seventh Century before our
era—and would go back at furthest to the time of Fou-Hi that is to
say, to the Twenty-ninth Century. It was about the same epoch—the
Twenty-eighth Century before our era—that the Egyptians, observing
Sirius, the early rising of which announced the inundation of the
Nile, formed their canicular year of 365 days.
[8] More correctly, from 2.3 magnitude to 3.5 magnitude.—J. E. G.
[9] The author possesses in the Museum of the Observatory at
Juvisy a Japanese executioner’s sword, on the guard of which this
constellation is engraved. Was it believed that the souls of executed
criminals were sent there?
[10] See _Astronomical Myths, based on Flammarion’s History of the
Heavens_. By J. F. Blake. London, 1876.
[11] That is, to the naked eye; it never descends below the tenth
magnitude, and always remains visible in a 3-inch telescope.—J. E. G.
[12] A constellation wrongly attributed by Arago and others to
Hevelius. It is found on the sphere of Eudoxus.
[13] Constellations incorrectly attributed to Tycho Brahe. The first
is given by Eratosthenes, the second dates from the Emperor Adrian.
[14] Especially those which are absolutely superfluous, and occupy
places stolen from the ancient constellations, like the Heart of
Charles II, the Fox and Goose, the Lizard, the Sextant, the Shield
of Sobieski, Mount Mænalus, the Reindeer, the Solitaire, the
Messier, the Bull of Poniatowski, the Honors of Frederick, the Harp,
the Telescope, the Mural Circle, the Air Balloon, the Electrical
Machine, the Printer’s Workshop, and the Cat. I know, however, with
reference to this last animal, that Lalande wrote: “I love cats! I
adore cats! I may be pardoned for having placed one in the sky after
my sixty years of assiduous labors.” But the illustrious astronomer
had no necessity for this plea in order that his name should remain
inscribed in letters of gold on the tablets of Urania. The Heart of
Charles II is but the flattery of a courtier; the Shield of Sobieski,
the Bull of Poniatowski, should fall from the sky; the Messier is but
a play on words which makes the celestial flocks guarded by a pastor
whose name is the same as that of the prolific hunter of comets,
Messier. As for the Honors of Frederick, they usurp an unmerited
place, for, in order to make room for them, Andromeda has been
obliged _to draw in her arm, which she had stretched out there for
three thousand years_.
THE ARABIAN HEAVENS.—LUDWIG IDELER
The majority of Arabic star-names mentioned by Kazwini owe their
origin to the astronomy of the Greeks. For instance, to the latter
belong El-dschediain, the two Kids (Hædi); El-ma’lef, the Manger;
El-hhimârain, the two Asses; Kalb el-ased, the Lion’s Heart;
El-sumbela, the Ears; El-zubênâ, the two Claws. Others indicate the
positions of the stars in the Greek constellations as Râs el-tinnîn,
Dragon’s Head; Râs el-hhauwâ, Head of the Snake Man; Râs el-dschêthi,
Head of the Kneeling (Hercules); Dseneb el-dedschâdsche, the Hen’s
Tail (Swan’s); Dseneb el-dschedi, Goat’s Tail (Wild-goat); Dseneb
Kaitos, Whale’s Tail; Fom el-hhût, Jaw of the (southern) Fish;
Ridschl el-dschebbâr, Giant’s Foot (Orion), etc. Still others,
such as Khebd el-ased, Dafîra el-ased, El-dsirâ el-mebsûta, and
el-mekbûda, El-nethra, El-dschebha, El-zubra, Sâk el-ased, Adschaz
el-ased, refer to the Arabic Lion, which is a caricature of the Greek
one.
Now if we separate these and many similar expressions from the
astronomical nomenclature of the Arabs, there remains a class of
star-names that present sufficient internal evidence to show plainly
that they are indigenous to Arabia. It is worth while taking the
trouble to collect and compare them. We shall in this way obtain a
clearer idea of the sky that was altogether peculiar to this people.
In the first place, a large number of names of animals attracts our
notice. In the vicinity of the North Pole, a shepherd (El-râï, Gamma
in Cepheus), accompanied by his dog (Khelb el-râï, Zeta in Cepheus),
is pasturing a herd of sheep (El-firk and El-agnâm, Alpha, Beta, Eta,
and smaller stars in Cepheus), to which group also seem to belong
two calves (El-ferkadain, Beta and Gamma in the Little Bear), a
she-goat (El-anâk, Zeta in the Great Bear), a he-goat (El-tais in the
Dragon), a young he-goat (El-dschedi, Alpha in the Little Bear), four
mother-camels, a camel-foal, and a single camel pasturing by itself
(El-awaîd, El-raba, and El-râfid, collectively on the head of the
Dragon).
Various predatory animals are slinking around this herd, two Jackals
(El-dsîbain, Zeta and Eta in the Dragon), which are specially
stalking the camel-foal; a male-hyena (El-dsîch, Iota in the Dragon)
and many other she-hyenas (El-dibâ, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Mu in
Boötes), and other she-hyenas with their young (Aulâd el-dibâ, Theta,
Iota, Kappa, Lambda, and others in the same figure).
In the neighborhood of the two jackals (two stars in the Dragon) bear
the name of their claws (Adhfâr el-dsîb).
Another shepherd (El-râï, Alpha in Ophiuchus) pastures his sheep
(El-agnâm, small stars in the region of Hercules’s Club) on a mead
(El-rauda), which is defended on the side of the above-mentioned
hyenas by two hurdles (Nasak schâmi and Nasak jemêni, rows of stars
in Hercules and in the upper part of the Snake), and is open in the
direction of the shepherd’s two dogs (Khelb el-râï, Alpha in Hercules
and Beta in Ophiuchus).