The small constellation of Crater, the Cup, lies north of Hydra, and south of Leo and Virgo. Al-Sufi calls it _al-batija_, "the Jar, or Cup." He says the Arabians called it _al-malif_, "the Crib, or Manger." According to Brown, the stars of Crater exactly form a Bakhian κανθαρος, with its two handles rising above the two extremities of the circumference.[445] An Asia Minor legend "connected Crater with the mixing of human blood with wine in a bowl." Crater is referred to by Ovid in the lines-- "Dixit et antiqui monumenta perennia facti Anguis, Avis, Crater sidera, juncta micunt." The star α Crateris was rated 4th magnitude by Al-Sufi and all other observers, and the Harvard measures make it 4·20, a satisfactory agreement. It has three companions noted by Admiral Smyth. One of these he called "intense blood colour." This is R Crateris, now known to be variable from above the 8th magnitude to below the 9th. Sir John Herschel called it an "intense scarlet star, a curious colour." With 3-inch refractor in the Punjab I found it "full scarlet." It is one of an open pair, the further of the two from α. There is a third star about 9th magnitude a little south of it. Ward saw a 13th magnitude star between α and R with a 2⅞-inch (Wray) refractor. This I saw "readily" with my 3-inch. Smyth does not mention this faint star, although he used a much larger telescope. Corvus, the Crow, is a small constellation, north of Hydra. Aratus says "the Crow form seems to peck the fold of the water snake" (Hydra). The victory which Valerius Corvinus is said to have owed to a crow has given it the name of Pomptina, because the victory took place near the Pontine marshes.[446] A quadrilateral figure is formed by its four brightest stars, γ, δ, β, and ε Corvi. This figure has sometimes been mistaken for the Southern Cross by those who are not familiar with the heavens. But the stars of the Southern Cross are much brighter. The constellation Centaurus, the Centaur, lies south of Hydra and Libra, and north of the Southern Cross. According to Dupuis, Centaurus represents the 3rd "labour of Hercules," his triumph over the Centaurs.[447] The Centaurs were supposed to be a people living in the vicinity of Mount Ossa, who first rode on horses. The constellation was also called Semivir, Chiron, Phobos, Minotaurus, etc. Al-Sufi says it "is represented by the figure of an animal, of which the forepart is the upper part of a man from the head to end of the back, and its hinder part is the hinder part of a horse, from the beginning of the back to the tail. It is to the south of the Balance [Libra] turning its face towards the east, and the hinder part of the beast towards the west."