The Lesser Bear
Is circling round the polar star.
Tennyson.
Ursa Minor, in its present form, seems to have originated with the Phcenicians. It 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, suggested it to the Greek mariners in place of the Great Bear which hitherto had been their guide in navigating the seas. Hence the designation of the group as "Phoinike."
Aratos.
Thales is reported to have formed it by utilising the ancient wings of Draco.
The Greeks knew the constellation as "Cynosura" or "the Dog's Tail"; possibly it resembled in part the upturned coil of the tail of a dog, although one authority claims it is in no way associated with the Greek word for dog.
Brown asserts that the word is not Hellenic in origin, but Euphratean. He mentions an early constellation as "Annasurra," meaning "high in rising," certainly an appropriate title for this constellation.
Plutarch claims that the names of the Bears are derived from the use that they were put to in navigation. He says that the Phoenicians called the constellation that guided them in navigation "Doube," that is, "the speaking
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