Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

ASTRONOMAiA. ASTRONOAMI A. 161
-w-ithout the siightest regard to the actual position calendar, on the 24th of April: the heliacalI setting
of the constellation at the time in question. An of Sirius was on the 1st of May, six days afterexample still more striking, because it involves an wards. Many interpretations have been proposed
anomaly universally recognised by scientific men, for the words " adverso cedens Canis occidit astro;"
is the practice of denominating the position of the of these the most plausible is that which explains
sun at the vernal equinox, as the first point of Aries, them with reference to the form and attitude under
although two thousand years have elapsed since which the constellation of the Dog was depicted,
the intersection of the ecliptic with the equator which made him set backwards facing the signs
corresponded with the commencement of the con- which follow.
stellation Aries. A necessity has thus arisen of Again, in Georg. iv. 425, we find
drawing a distinction, which proves most em- Jam rapidus torrens sitientes Sirius Indos
barrassinsg to the unlearned, between the signs of Ardebat coelo et medium sol igneus orbem
the zodiac arid the constellations of the zodiaum, sol iHaneuserat,
and thus the sun is said to be in the sign Aries
while he is actually traversing the constellation of words which are intended to indicate the hottest
-Pisces, and enters the sign Taurus long before he portion of the day in the hottest season of the
quits the constellation Aries. Now something of year. Here the separate mention of "Sol" is
this sort may to a certain extent explain some of quite sufficient to confute those who would conthe anomalies which recur so perpetually in the sider Sirius as equivalent in this passage to the
calendar of Columella or Pliny. Certain remark- sun. See above, p. 152, b. Comp. Lucan. Phalr.
able appearances fixed upon at a very early period x. 209.
to mark the approach of summer and winter, such OvID. — In the fourth book of the Fasti (x..as the rising and setting of the Pleiades, may 901) the rising of Sirius is assigned to the 25th of
have by ciustom or tradition become so com- April, is made coincident with the disappearance
pletely identified in the minds of the people with of Aries, and marks the epoch of mid-spring: -
particular days, that the compilers of calendars in- Sex ubi quae restant luces Aprilis habebit
tended for general use, while they desired to re- In medio clrsu tempora Veris erunt
gister accurate observations, were compelled at the Et frustra pecudem quaeres Athamantidos Helles
same time to include those which, belonging to Signaqu dant imhres exoriturque Canis.
remote ages and foreign lands, had nevertheless
acquired a prescriptive claim to attention. We A notorious blunder has been here committed by
may thus account for inconsistencies so numerous the poet. No rising of Sirius, either real or apand glaring, that they could scarcely have been al- parent, in the morning or in the evening, cortogether overlooked by the writers in whose works responds to this season. But this is the very day
they occur, although it is impossible to forgive fixed by Euctemon (ap. Gemin. Parapeg.) for the
their carelessness in withholding the necessary ex- heliacal setting (cS'W Kpmnr-sram) of the Dog, which
planations, or the gross ignorance which they, so fell at Rome for the Julian era on the lst of May.
often manifest. Again, in Fast. v. 723, we read
E~cening Setting. Colulnella places the evening Nocte sequente diem Canis Erigoneius exit,
setting of the Dog on the 30th of April (Prid.
Kcdl. Mai. Canis se Vespere celat), xi. 2. ~ 37. that is, on the 22d of May. Now, it is clear
Pliny on the 28th (IV. Kal. M4nai. Canis occidit, from a former passage (iv. 939) that by Canis
sidus et per se veliemens et cui praeoccidere Canicus- Erigoneius he means the Great Dog; but the true
ltan necesse sit), xviii. 69. rising of Sirius took place for Rome at this period
The heliacal setting at Rome for the Julian on the 19th of July, the apparent oni the 2d of
era was on the 1st of May, which proves the above August.
statements to be nearly correct. The expression cui Not much will be gained by supposing that
praeoccidere C'aniculasm nsecesse sit has been already Procyon is here alluded to; for the risings of that
commented on. See above, p. 153, a. star precede those of Sirius by about eight days
Morning Setting. Evening Rising.-(. VII. only. Here, again, therefore, we have a gross
Kal. Dec. (25 Nov.) Canicula occidit solis crtu. Col. mistake.
xi. 2. ~ 89. PALLADIUS. - Palladius (vii. 9): "In ortu
(2.) III. Kal. Jan. (30 Dec.) Canicula vepere Caniculae, qui apud Romanos XIV. Kal. Aug. (19th
occidit. Ibid. ~ 94. July) die tenetur, explorant (sc. Aegypti) quae
(3.) III.'Kal. Jan. (30 Dec.) Ml4atutino canis semina esortum sidus exurat, quae illaesa custooccidens. Plin. xviii. 64. diat." Now this is the exact period of the heliacal
(1) is accurate for the apparent morning setting rising in Egypt for the Julian epoch; hence the
at Rome, B. c. 44. words " apud Romanos " must refer to a notice in
(2) and (3) are directly at variance with each some Roman Calendar, and not to the real period
other, and are both blunders. The apparent even- of the phenomenon.
ing rising took place at Rome on the 30th of De- ORION
cember, not the evening setting as Columella would
have it, nor the morning setting as Pliny has re- It lust be borne in mind that, from the great
corded. size of this constellation, its risings and settings
VIRGI. — Virgil instructs the farmer to sow are spread over a considerable space; while the
beans, lucerne, and millet: - brilliant stars which it contains are so numerous
that no one can be fixed upon as a representative
Ca~ndideeYrtis a uratsapertis t cum cornitus allum of the whole, as in the case of Boites, where the
Taurus et adverso cedens Canis occidit astro.
Geor i. 217. different appearances are usually referred to Arcturus alone. Hence those writers who aim at
The sun entered Taurus, according to the Julian precision use such phrases as " Orion incipit oriri,"
Bit