Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-04-10

The GreaI Benr.
The group of stars known as the Great Bear,
or more familiarly as the Dipper, must have be-
come very early an object of interest, as well
from its remarkable CONFORMATION and strange
movement in the heavens, as from the circum-
stance that il serves to mark one Of the cardinal
points, and we are not surprised therefore, to
End mention of it in the oldest literary monu-
ments.
Like the other consultations, it fills promi-
ncnt place in mythology. An ancient name for
if in the north of Europe is KarlSvagn, the
rived the English Charles Vain. The Carl is
said to he Odin or Thor. After the introduc-
ton OF Christianity among the Germans, the
ownership of the karlsvagn was transferred,
along with SO many other mementos of pagan
ISM to the new personages who took the place
of the old gods. There Is a legend which will
illustrate the singular confusion of ideas in the
medieval periods of Christianity that this is
the wagon in which Elias, our Lord, and other
saints assembled TO heaven. The small star
above the centre one in the pole is called the
Wagner, Hans Dumken, and there are several
leaends 10 explain how he got this position
According to one account, Hans was in the SER
vice OF the Lord, and had = very comfortable
place, but by degrees he became more and more
negligent Our Lord warned and cbided him
to no purpose. He was particularly careless
about cutting chat; none that he cut could be
used, being cut much too long. At this our Lord
was so ont OF patience that he set him on the
pole OF the celestial vain, where he may be seen
every evening, warning TO all serving men
who cut Chatf too long. Another account
makes Hans Dumken TO have been carrier,
who conveyed our Lord, and in remuneration for
this service was offered the kingdom of heaven:
but he chose, as more congenia to his taste, to
be permitted 10 drive TO all eternity, from sun
set 10 sunrise.
The resemblance of this constellation to a
H..
very anciently referred TO by the Greek poets as
the hGrmdR0, or chariot, the driver of which,
corresponding TO the Hans Dumken of the Ger
mans, is the constellation BOOteS (litCrally OK
driver) which follows it. BY the Romans, also,
it was sometimes called the plduStr&tnl, vain or
wagon, but more frequently J0res ct tem0, the
oxen and pole-BoOtes still being the driver.
These names are evidently suggested by the
confguration Of the group. There are other
names for it which have been more difficult to
explain. Its most common designation among
the Romans was the Septemtriones, or seven
triOnes, and sub-Septemtrones, that is, "under
the SepIemtriones," was a common phrase for
toward the NORTH" Triones is explained by
Yaro TO be an ancient name for plow-oxen not
wholly obsolete in his time, so that the seven
triOneS meant the seven oxen; but this eXplana-
ton, although it has usually been adopted is
plainly mere conjecture of Var0, and a simpler
and more satisfactory one has been suggested
been dropped from this word, an omission which
has not inhequenty happened in Latin words,
and that its ancient form was sirOnes, its mean
ing may very readily be guessed, Tor il is seen to
contain the same r0Ot-iorm as the Latin stella
(tOr ster-ua), Greek, a-sier, German, stern, En-
glish, star, and the name septem-striones meant
in fact simply, 'the seven stars"
A name which has oCcasioned even more per-
plrXity than the Latin SeptentrlOBeS, is the one
with which we have headed this article. UrSa
Major, the Greater Bear, so called to distinguish
il from Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear, is name
adopted from The Greek 45rktoS, r,tby which
this constellation was very ancientiy known.
How il acquired this name has never, until re-
Gently, been satisfactorily explained. We can
easily understand why it should be called dip
per or a wagon, but the most lively imagination
fails to discover in it the lineamentS of an ami
mai. Indeed, as the Great Bear is usually de-
picied on our charts Of the heavens, the seven
conspicuous stars occupy but a small portion of
| ii, and one can not help surmising that the
| chartOgrapher has located it pretty much at
| venture, knowing that it belongs somewhere
! hereabouts. The fact IS, the Great Bear is, as
| has been shown by Max Muller, a name and
| nothing more. The explanation which he has
given of this lanciful creation is both interest
Ing in itself, and well illustrates Il process Of
| thought which has given rise to a vast deal of
| the ancient mythology.
Among the Hindoos this constellation was
| known as the Seven Rishis, or Sages, and of
| course a story was told of the circumstances
| which led to these seven sages being placed in
| the heavens.
! There appears to be very little connection be-
| between Rishis and Arkios, yet Max Muller has
! shown that, as names of a constellation, they
! have probably proceeded from the same source
both arising from a miSconception of name
| originally given to those stars the true meaning
| OF which had been forgotten. The transition is
| curious as illustrating how easily mythology
may he engendered by ambiguity OF speech III
| the Nedas occurs word, Arkshas used in tho
sense of stars, which is explained by the com
mentator to be properly name for stars in gen.
eral, but particularly applied to those sever
| known as the seven lliShis Here Max Muller
finds the key note not only to the Hlndoo but tC
| the Greek myth ArkshaS is word easily de,
! composed; it contains the root ark, having the
| significance Of bright, in which sense it enters
| mo many words, and very naturally formed q
| name for the Stars="the bright ones.p But as
other names Tor Stars were also used and in this
one as the Verde commentator remarks, be-
| came attached principally TO the seven bright
stars OF the north, it gradually lost all signifi-
eaton except as proper name. Its general
sense of stars was forgotten. Arkshas having
no slghneance OF its own, gradually became
identified with Eishis or Arshis which had a
Specification, although one quite different: and
thus in time was formed in India the myth OF
the ''Seyen Sages."
BESIDES the word grbslas in the sense OF stars,
there is IN Sansllrit smother word of the same
form, with The meaning of bear. This is idcnti.
cal with the Greek aF6toS but appears 10 have
given, on lireclan soil, a different clue 10 the
lost meaning OF urk;Sbds, he StOfs. BY a meta.
morphosis not fully traced, it is true, but still
quite uncomfortable, the seven drkShaS or dTBtoj
BECAME consolidated into single qrktqs OF
bear, which iu Tln,e Was further provided with a
bear keeper dr6t ooIOs tArcturus) J, and also sug.
| Sested the name Lesser Bear" for a smaller
! and somewhat similar group. Thus eonstella.
/ tloa which has long taxed ingenuity 10 fix its
| outlines, which ha9 been adopted ny astronomy
| as convenient designation Of enc portion Of
| the heavens, and which gave its name to tho
| Arctic region, has probably originated in a mere
double entendre, unwittingly perpetrated some
I three or four thousand years ago,