Aldebaran, Regulus, β Leonis, Fomalhaut, Rigel, θ Eridani, Sirius, Procyon, Canopus, and α Centauri. _All_ these stars were actually _seen_ by Al-Sufi, _and described from his own observations_. He does not mention α Eridani, as it was not visible from his station in Persia. θ Eridani is a splendid double star (3·40, 4·49: 8"·38, 1902, Tebbutt). I found the components white and light yellow with 3-inch refractor in the Punjab. Dr. Gould thinks that one of the components is variable to some extent. This is interesting, considering the brilliancy of the star in Al-Sufi's time. The brighter component was found to be a spectroscopic binary by Wright, so that on the whole the star is a most interesting object. The small constellation Lepus, the Hare, lies south of Orion. Pliny calls it Dasypus, and Virgil Auritus. In ancient Egypt it was the symbol of vigilance, prudence, fear, solitude, and speed.[432] It may perhaps represent the hare hunted by Orion; but some say it was placed in the sky to commemorate a terrible plague of hares which occurred in Sicily in ancient times. A little north-west of the star μ Leporis is Hind's "crimson star" (R.A. 4{h} 53{m}, S. 14° 57', 1900) described by him as "of the most intense crimson, resembling a blood drop on the background of the sky; as regards depth of colour, no other star visible in these latitudes could be compared with it." It is variable from about the 6th to the 8th magnitude, with a period of about 436 days from maximum to maximum. The constellation Canis Major, the Great Dog, is remarkable for containing Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens. In the Greek mythology it was supposed to represent a dog given by Aurora to Cephalus as the swiftest of all dogs. Cephalus wished to match it against a fox which he thought surpassed all animals for speed. They both ran for so long a time, so the story goes, that Jupiter rewarded the dog by placing it among the stars. But probably the dog comes from Anubis, the dog-headed god of the ancient Egyptians. According to Brown, Theogirius (B.C. 544) refers to the constellation of the Dog.[433] He thinks that Canis Major is probably "a reduplication" of Orion; Sirius and β Canis Majoris corresponding to α and γ Orionis; δ, 22, and ε Canis Majoris to the stars in Orion's belt (δ, ε, and ζ Orionis); and η; and κ Canis Majoris with κ and β Orionis.[434] The Arabic name of Sirius was _al-schira_, which might easily be corrupted into Sirius. The Hebrew name was Sihor. According to Plutarch, the Ethiopians paid regal honours to the Celestial Dog. The Romans used to sacrifice a dog in its honour at the fetes called Robigalia, which were held on the seventh day before the Calends of May, and nine days after the entry of the sun into Taurus. Pliny says, "Hoc tempus Varro determinat sole decimam partem Tauri obtinenti quod canis occidit, sidus per se vehemens," etc.[435]