The Lesser of Little Bear (Ἅρκτ&omicronς μικρά: Ursa Minor), likewise called the Wagon, was first added to the Greek catalogues by Thales, by whom it was probably imported from the East.  It was also called Phœnice (φοινίκη), from the circumstance that it was selected by the Phœnicians as the guide by which they shaped their course at sea, the Greek mariners with less judgment employing the Great Bear for the purpose; and Cynosura (Κυνόζουρα), dog's tail, from the resemblance of the constellation to the upturned curl of a dog's tail. (A Smaller Classical Dictionary of Biography, &c., Smith, 1892)