The Hare
Perpetually pursued. Behind him Sirius
Drives as in chase, hard pressing when he rises,
And when he sinks as hotly pressing still.
Frothingham's Aratos.
One of the chief characteristics of the constellation figures is the element of strife and conflict that seems to be especially emphasised, and is the predominating feature in many of the star groups. Thus the giant Hercules brandishes a club and tramples on the Dragon's head; Orion attacks the onrushing Bull; Ophiuchus struggles with a writhing Serpent, and crushes underfoot the Scorpion, which in turn thrusts at him with its sting; the Hounds, driven on by the Herdsman, continually pursue and harass the Great Bear; the fierce monster of the deep, the Whale, seems eagerly looking for whom he may devour, while the champion Perseus, with drawn sword, stands ever ready to join in mortal combat; the Archer aims his shaft at the heart of the Scorpion, the Hydra pursues the Lesser Dog, and is in turn in danger of being seized by the Crab; and here we find the timid Hare fleeing before the Hounds of Orion.
The story the stars unfold is therefore one replete with action and strife, and this fact is further evidence that the constellations were deliberately planned, for a haphazard arrangement of figures, passive in their attitudes, would savour of no special significance but action calls for a plan and a definite idea that is preconceived, and so we find in the constellations an endeavour on the part of primitive man, through the medium of symbolism and allegory, to
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