Translations:Southern Cross/3/en

Over the 25,800-year cycle of the precession of the equinoxes, the position of the Southern Cross relative to the south celestial pole varies considerably. The stars of this constellation were known to the ancient Greeks and were visible as far north as Britain in the fourth millennium B.C. However, by 400 A.D., most of the stars of the constellation never rose above the horizon of Athens. It has been noted that the Southern Cross was last visible on the horizon in Jerusalem around the time of Jesus’ crucifixion.