Lupus

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula, Robert van Gent

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IAU Lupus chart (CC BY, IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine: Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg)

One of the 88 modern IAU constellations. Lupus forms part of the super-constellation Centaurus-Lupus-Ara which mythologically belong together.

Etymology and History

Impression of Cylinder Seal with a central creature that is half man, half lion. Provenance unknown, Middle Assyrian, mid-late 13th century, rose quartz. (Padget 2003, 131-133 and Carter 2019). Possibly a template for the later Greek super-constellation?

The Greek constellation Θηρίον (Therion, i.e. 'the Beast') is in the same position as the Mesopotamian constellation UR.IDIM, the Mad Dog. The Mesopotamian constellation might depict a rabid dog or wolf: the wording is can refer to both. However, Greek uranology took over the Mesopotamian constellation, it was transferred to an animal sacrificed to the gods. An image of the Babylonian Urmahlullu-daemon that was discovered in 2019 on a seal suggests some potential that the Greek image of a centaur-like creature who sacrificed the animal may (or may not) be based on one of the ancient Mesopotamian interpretations of Urmahlullu holding a dead animal. Together with Centaurus and Ara, Lupus forms a super-constellation.

Babylonian

See

• Numushda
• UR.IDIM and modern star name Uridim

Kugel Globe, 1st century BCE: Centaurus sacrifices Lupus on Ara (drawing by SMH 2024).

Kugel Globe: two centaurs in Cen and Sgr with Lup+Ara in between (drawing by SMH 2024).

Greco-Roman

Hipparchus

Rising (Lib III Cap I §5)

The Rising of ...

	east		south
	lam1	lam2	lam1	lam2
	Sco 23	Sgr 21	Vir 3	Lib 10
star	The one in front of the front feet, i.e. the northernmost of those under the right shoulder of the centaur.	The southernmost of all, located at the end of the body at the hip
duration	2 1/4 hours = 135 min = 33 3/4 degree

Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10)

	west		south
	lam1	lam2	lam1	lam2
star
duration	2 2/3 hours = 160 min = 40°

Stars Mentioned

	Greek	German	English	ident.	src		lam_culm
					Lib II Cap V §10	rising, east, first
					Lib II Cap V §10	rising, east, last
					Lib II Cap VI §2	setting CrB, south, last	Psc 13.5
					Lib II Cap VI §13	setting Aql, south, first	Ari 2
					Lib III Cap I §9	rising Ori, south, last	Psc 13

Almagest

	Θηρίου ἀστερισμός	Beast
id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
1	ὁ ἐπ’ ἄκρου τοῦ ὀπισθίου ποδὸς πρὸς τῇ χειρὶ τοῦ Κενταύρου.	The star at the end of the hind leg, by the [right] hand of Centaurus
2	ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγκύλης τοῦ αὐτοῦ ποδός	The star on the bend in the same leg
3	τῶν κατὰ τῆς ὡμοπλάτης β’ ὁ ἠγούμενος	The more advanccd of the 2 stars just over the shoulder-blade
4	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν	The rearmost of them
5	ὁ ἐν μέσῳ τῷ σώματι τοῦ Θηρίου	The star in the middle of the body of Lupus
6	ὁ ἐκ τῇ κοιλίᾳ ὑπὸ τὴν λαγόυα	The star in the belly, under the flank
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ μηροῦ	The star an the thigh
	τῶν πρὸς τῇ ἐκφύσει τοῦ μηροῦ β’ ὁ βορειότερος	The northernmost of the 2 stars near the place where the thigh joins [the body]
	ὁ φοτιώτερος αὐτῶν	The southernmost of them
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἄκρου τῆς ὀσφύος	The star on the end of the rump
	τῶν ἐν τῷ ἄκρῳ τῆς οὐρᾶς γ’ ὁ νότιος	The southernmost of the 3 stars in the end of the tail
	ὁ μέσος τῶν τριῶν	The middle one of the three
	βόρειος αὐτῶν	The northernmost of them
	τῶν ἐν τῷ αὐχένι β ὁ φοτιώτερος	The southernmost of the 2 stars in the neck
	βορειότερος αὐτῶν	The northernmost of them
	τῶν ἐν τῷ ῥύγχει ὁ ὁ προηγούμενος	The more advanced of the 2 stars in the snout
	ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν	The rearmost of them
	τῶν ἐν τῷ ἐμπροσθίῳ ποδὶ β ὁ νοτιώτερος	The southernmost of the 2 stars in the front leg
	τῶν ἐν τῷ ἐμπροσθίῳ ποδὶ β ὁ νοτιώτερος	The southernmost of the 2 stars in the front leg
all	ἀστέρες ἰ3, ὥν γ’ μεγέθους β, δ’ ἱα, ε ς	{ 19 stars, 2 of the third magnitude, 11 of the fourth, 6 of the fifth}

Convex Hull for the stars inside Therion (CC BY Youla Azkarrula).

Stars within the Constellation Area

id	Label	IAU design.	description	Vmag
1	Uridim	HIP 71860	Constellation lines	2.286
2	β Lupi	HIP 73273	Constellation lines	2.68
3	γ Lupi	HIP 76297	Constellation lines	2.765
4	κ Centauri	HIP 73334	Inside the hull	3.11
5	δ Lupi	HIP 75141	Constellation lines	3.19
6	ϵ Lupi	HIP 75264	Inside the hull	3.366
7	η Lupi	HIP 78384	Constellation lines	3.41
8	ζ Lupi	HIP 74395	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.41
9	ϕ 1 Lupi	HIP 75177	Inside the hull	3.546
10	κ 1 Lupi	HIP 74376	Inside the hull	3.7
11	π Lupi	HIP 73807	Inside the hull	3.89
12	χ Lupi	HIP 77634	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.946
13	ρ Lupi	HIP 71536	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.05
14	λ Lupi	HIP 74117	Inside the hull	4.05
15	θ Lupi	HIP 78918	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.201
16	ο Lupi	HIP 72683	Inside the hull	4.313
17	ω Lupi	HIP 76552	Inside the hull	4.33
18	τ 2 Lupi	HIP 70576	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.35
19	ϕ 2 Lupi	HIP 75304	Inside the hull	4.54
20	-	HIP 75501	Inside the hull	4.6
21	* d Lup A	HIP 76371	Inside the hull	4.708
22	ψ 2 Lupi	HIP 76945	Inside the hull	4.721
23	-	HIP 74449	Inside the hull	4.806
24	* mu.01 Lup	HIP 74911	Constellation lines	4.945
25	ν 1 Lupi	HIP 75206	Inside the hull	5
26	ξ 1 Lupi	HIP 78105	Constellation lines (Vertex)	5.08
27	-	HIP 73826	Inside the hull	5.127
28	-	HIP 74707	Inside the hull	5.171
29	-	HIP 75828	Inside the hull	5.222
30	-	HIP 76939	Inside the hull	5.24
31	υ Lupi	HIP 75439	Inside the hull	5.37
32	-	HIP 71500	Inside the hull	5.431
33	-	HIP 76397	Inside the hull	5.434
34	-	HIP 75647	Inside the hull	5.45
35	κ 2 Lupi	HIP 74380	Inside the hull	5.498
36	-	HIP 70915	Inside the hull	5.5
37	-	HIP 71419	Inside the hull	5.55
38	-	HIP 77286	Inside the hull	5.6
39	GG Lup	HIP 74950	Inside the hull	5.604
40	-	HIP 73111	Inside the hull	5.64
41	ν 2 Lupi	HIP 75181	Inside the hull	5.65
42	-	HIP 72250	Inside the hull	5.74
43	-	HIP 74006	Inside the hull	5.766
44	-	HIP 74066	Inside the hull	5.79
45	-	HIP 74100	Inside the hull	5.82
46	-	HIP 76207	Inside the hull	5.82
47	-	HIP 78142	Inside the hull	5.83
48	388 G. Cen	HIP 73493	Constellation lines (Vertex)	5.869
49	-	HIP 77086	Inside the hull	5.93
50	-	HIP 74696	Inside the hull	5.958
51	-	HIP 74224	Inside the hull	5.978
52	-	HR 5559	Inside the hull	5.99
53	-	HIP 77358	Inside the hull	6.01
54	-	HIP 74716	Inside the hull	6.034
55	-	HIP 76608	Inside the hull	6.041
56	-	HIP 71639	Inside the hull	6.07
57	-	HIP 73354	Inside the hull	6.095
58	-	HR 5846	Inside the hull	6.11
59	384 G. Cen	HIP 73279	Inside the hull	6.163
60	-	HIP 75003	Inside the hull	6.178
61	-	HIP 75164	Inside the hull	6.183
62	-	HIP 76063	Inside the hull	6.219
63	-	HIP 74875	Inside the hull	6.277
64	-	HIP 72338	Inside the hull	6.3
65	-	HIP 78236	Inside the hull	6.307
66	-	HD 137919A	Inside the hull	6.329
67	-	HIP 74418	Inside the hull	6.332
68	-	HIP 73241	Inside the hull	6.347
69	-	HIP 76234	Inside the hull	6.349
70	382 G. Cen	HIP 73116	Inside the hull	6.357
71	-	HIP 71658	Inside the hull	6.39
72	GM Lup	HIP 73764	Inside the hull	6.4
73	-	HIP 76165	Inside the hull	6.4
74	-	HIP 74336	Inside the hull	6.41
75	-	HIP 77350	Inside the hull	6.414
76	-	HIP 75818	Inside the hull	6.43
77	-	HIP 74769	Inside the hull	6.45
78	-	HIP 74775	Inside the hull	6.45
79	-	HIP 73881	Inside the hull	6.467
80	-	HIP 75324	Inside the hull	6.49

Transformation of Images

• 
  Jessica Gullberg's impression of the Babylonian constellation UR.IDIM (The Mad Dog) in Stellarium 2021.
• 
  Centaurus et Lupus on the ancient Greek Kugel Globe, drawing by SMH 2021.
• 
  Centaurus et Lupus on the ancient Greco-Roman Farnese Globe, drawing by SMH 2017.
• 
  Centaurus et Lupus on the ancient Roman Mainz Globe, drawing by SMH 2021.
• 
  Cen+Lup at Dürer 1515
• 
  Cen+Lup at Mercator 1551
• 
  Centaurus and Lupus constellations from the Mercator celestial globe 1551 (CC0).
• 
  Cen+Lup at Plancius 1598, first time with Crux
• 
  Centaurus as drawn by Joh. Bayer (1603) and Lupus drawn by the user of this exemplar of the atlas (extra map for Bayer).
• 
  Cen+Lup+Crux in Habrecht 1621
• 
  Cen+Lup and Crux in Royer 1679
• 
  Centaurus et Lupus at Planisferio celeste (Carlos Simón 1894)

Mythology

The figure of السبع al-Sabuᶜ grasped by قنطورس Qanṭūris, according to an edition of the treatise of ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣūfī, 1606, St-Peterburg (CC BY Roland E. Laffitte 2023)

In Babylonian mythology, the centaur-like lion-man called Urmahlullu was considered a monster, a door keeper (Wiggerman 1992, 52), which makes this creature a protective spirit, a benevolent creature (cf. Krebernik in UR.IDIM).

The mythographers of antiquity do not agree on what is depicted here: Hyginus referred to the animal as simply ‘a victim’, while Germanicus Caesar said that the centaur was either carrying game from the woods, or was bringing gifts to the altar. On the marble globe of the Atlas Farnese, the centaur holds a sacrificial animal in his right hand, which he brings to the censer (Ara). Originally, the sacrificed creature was not specified, but it was called ‘the beast’. Only later was it renamed Lupus (Latin: The Wolf).

The association of the dead beast with a wine-skin, also recorded by Eratosthenes, appears as a logical consequence of the sacrificed animal, as the skin of slaughtered animals can be used as a drinking vessel. Some Saharan nomads still use this today. It is therefore clear that in Greek uranography the beast belongs to the centaur called ‘Cheiron’ who is regarded as the only wise centaur. He was the teacher of numerous Greek heroes, and his image in the sky also symbolizes cultivated behavior and religion as he sacrifices the beast on the altar.

IAU Star Names

There are no classical star names in Lupus. In 2023, it was suggested to use the original Babylonian name of the UR.IDIM as name for the brightest star of the (later Greek, Greco-Roman and modern) constellation.