And the year of My redeemed is come.”
(Isa. lxiii. 3, 4.)
2. CANIS MAJOR (The Dog), or SIRIUS (The Prince).
The coming Glorious Prince of Princes (Sirius).
This second constellation carries on the teaching, and tells of the glorious Prince who will thus subdue and reign.
In the Denderah Zodiac he is called Apes, which means the head. He is pictured as a hawk (Naz, נַץ, caused to come forth, coming swiftly down). The hawk is the natural enemy of the serpent, and here it has on its head a pestle and mortar, indicating the fact that he shall crush the head of the enemy.
In the Persian planisphere it is pictured as a wolf, and is called Zeeb, which in Hebrew (זְאֵב) has the same meaning. Plutarch translates it Προόπτης, Leader. In Arabic it means coming quickly.
Plate 34: CANIS MAJOR (the Dog) and CANIS MINOR (the Second Dog)