In accordance with the ordinary divisions of the year, we now come to autumn, a period which extends from the setting of the Lyre to the autumnal equinox, and from that to the setting of the Vergiliæ and the beginning of winter. In these intervals, the more important periods are marked by the rising of the Horse to the people of Attica, in the evening of the day before[614] the ides of August; upon which day also the Dolphin sets in Egypt, and, according to Cæsar, in Italy. On the eleventh[615] before the calends of September, the star called the Vintager begins to rise in the morning, according to Cæsar’s reckoning, and to the people of Assyria: it announces the ripening of the vintage, a sure sign of which is the change of colour in the grape. On the fifth[616] before the calends of September, the Arrow sets in Assyria, and the Etesian winds cease to blow: on the nones[617] of September, the Vintager rises in Egypt, and in the morning of that day, Arcturus rises to the people of Attica: on the same morning, too, the Arrow sets. In the fifth before[618] the ides of September, according to Cæsar, the She-Goat rises in the evening; and one half of Arcturus becomes visible on the day before[619] the ides of September, being portentous[620] of boisterous weather for five days, both by land and sea. The theory relative to the effects produced by Arcturus, is stated in the following terms: if showers prevail, it is said, at the setting of the Dolphin, they will not cease so long as Arcturus is visible. The departure of the swallows may be looked upon as the sign of the rising of Arcturus; for if overtaken by it, they are sure to perish.