Ursa Minor train, of light" (i.e. λύκος "wolf" vs. λύκ- "light"). Allen points to the Old Irish name of the constellation, "drag-blod" "fire trail", for comparison. Brown (1899) suggested a non-Greek origin of the name (a loan from an Assyrian "An‑nas-sur‑ra" "high-rising"). An alternative myth tells of two bears that saved Zeus from his murderous father Cronus by hiding him on Mount Ida. Later Zeus set them in the sky, but their tails grew long from being swung up into the sky by the god. Because Ursa Minor consists of seven stars, the Latin word for "north" ("i.e.", where Polaris points) is
Ursa Major Wain" or "the Plough" (among others), with its stellar configuration mimicking the shape of the "Little Dipper". The general constellation outline often significantly features in numerous world cultures, and frequently is used as a symbol of the north. e.g. as the flag of Alaska. Also the asterism's two brightest stars, named Dubhe and Merak (α Ursae Majoris and β Ursae Majoris), can be used as the navigational pointer towards the place of the current northern pole star, Polaris in Ursa Minor. Ursa Major is visible throughout the year from most of the northern hemisphere, and appears circumpolar above the mid-northern