One etymology traces the name of the star to the chief pilot of the Greek fleet in the war against Troy written of by Homer.
Legend connects the city of Canopus in Egypt with the pilot and the star.
The story is that Canopus' ship landed in Egypt as the Greeks sailed home after destroying Troy. King Menelaos then built a monument to the pilot at that site and named the city after him, as well as the star. Description of the Star Canopus is a yellowish F0II bright giant having 65 times the diameter of the sun and 14,000 times the luminosity . Canopus is the second brightest star in the nighttime sky. Sirius at Visual Magnitude -1.44 is the only star exceeding Canopus in brightness.