BOÖTES, THE HERDSMAN
The brilliant golden-yellow star, Arcturus, has always been a favorite among star-gazers.
This star hangs like a great globe of tinted light from the end of a curve drawn from the Big Dipper's handle and is one of the first stars to appear during the summer evenings.
Two earthly honors have been given Arcturus which are well worth noting. In the excess of their great admiration, the Egyptian people in ancient times oriented huge temples to it at the cost of tremendous labor; it was also given special mention in the Bible.
Up near the Arctic circle, this lovely star never sets, but travels in a wide circular path above the horizon. Allen remarks on its use as timepiece for the seal-netters during the night fishing in December and January. The netters judge the time by the position of the star on the four points of the compass, in much the same manner that the Big Dipper is used for a clock as it swings around the pole. The heavens would appear rather strange to us as viewed from the far north for Polaris would rest almost at the zenith and the Big Dipper with its handle weighted down by Arcturus, would seem to encircle the sky above the earth on an unfamiliar pathway.
Boötes, the constellation in which Arcturus lies, is usually described as forming a kite-shaped figure of stars, which though faint, covers a great deal of sky. Boötes, as mentioned before, was a herdsman who invented the plow, and as a reward for this ingenious method of tilling the soil, was raised to a position below the stars of the Big Dipper. But according to another story, Boötes represents Arcas, the son of Callisto, whom Juno so cruelly turned into a bear. In modern days this legend seems to have been given preference for, during the seventeenth century, Helvetius invented the Hunting Dogs, the constellation of Canes Venatici, and the huge figure of Boötes has since been usually pictured on the star maps as holding two lively dogs in leash. These Dogs are interposed between Boötes and Ursa Major. Although the Hunting Dogs have no mythology, the two constellations are thus united in a common picture and Boötes and his dogs are said to be chasing the Bear.
"Boötes leading his hunting dogs over the zenith in the leash of sidereal fire."
—CARLYLE.