Maera (hound)

In Greek mythology, Maera was the hound of Erigone, daughter of Icarius of Athens.

Icarius was a follower of the wine god Dionysus and had been taught how to make wine. While travelling, Icarius met some shepherds, who killed him. Erigone was worried about her father, and set off with Maera to find him. Maera led her to his grave, and both became so overwhelmed with grief that she hanged herself and Maera leapt off a cliff. Upon hearing the news, Dionysus placed them in the sky as the constellations Virgo (Erigone), Boötes (Icarius), and the star, Procyon (Maera).