Aratus with Commentaries

He carries the heaven itself around.
And two poles finish him off on both sides.
25 But the one is not visible, while the one opposite from the north
is high above the ocean. Two Bears hold him on either side
and revolve together, which are called the Wagons Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
They keep their heads toward the loins of one another,
and they are always carried sideways,
30 turned toward their shoulders in reverse. If it is true,
those from Crete, by the will of great Zeus,
ascended into heaven, he who then, when he was a child,
in fragrant Dicte, near the mountain of Ida,
they placed in a cave and reared for a year,
35 when the Dictaean Curetes deceived Cronus.
And one they call by the name Cynosura,
the other Helice. By Helice, the Achaean men
in the sea judge where it is necessary to steer the ships.
And by her, the Phoenicians trustingly traverse the sea.
40 But she Helice is clear and ready to observe,
appearing large, Helice, from the first night.
The other is small, but better for sailors.
For it revolves with a smaller turn;
by it the Sidonians navigate most directly.
45 Between both of them, like the branch of a river,
there winds a great wonder, the Dragon, twisting around and about,
immense. On either side of his coils, they are carried,
the Bears, guarded from the dark ocean.

The bottom section contains a critical apparatus detailing textual discrepancies found in the manuscript tradition regarding the descriptions of the celestial poles and the constellations.