![]() It is said they named Sirius so that people might recognize the constellation better” It is called the ‘Dog’ ( canis) Star because it afflicts the body with illness, or because of the brightness ( candor) of its flame, because it is of a kind that seems to shine more brightly than the others. Hence also the ‘dog days’ are named from this star, when purgings are harmful. ![]() When the Sun ascends to it, and it is in conjunction with the Sun, the Sun’s heat is doubled, and bodies are affected by the heat and weakened. “The Dog Star ( canicula Stella), which is also called Sirius, is in the center of the sky during the summer months. Isidore sees a link with Latin canis, dog, and Latin candere, shining bright: Varro (p.283) referring to Sirius, says signum candens, ‘scorching sign’ properly ‘white-hot’. The rising of Sirius marked the commencement of the ancient Egyptian new (sidereal) year, the annus canarius and annus cynicus of the Romans.Īllen in Star Names says the Latins adopted their Canis from the Greeks, sometimes Canicula in the diminutive with the adjectival candens, shining. Sirius was associated with the hottest part of summer, the Dog Days, and also with causing the Nile floods because the heat causes ice and snow to melt on mountains which flows into rivers. Sirius is a Latinized version of Greek seirios, translated ‘scorching’, and signifying brightness and heat, from seiraino, ‘dry up, parch’. The word Sirius was used interchangeably for both the constellation Canis Major, and the alpha star. Read quotes from the ancients on Sirius from the Theoi Project website here Read the star lore of Sirius by Richard Hinckley Allen ( Star Names) here According to other accounts, however, it was either Laelaps, the hound of Actaeon that of Diana’s nymph Procris that given by Aurora to Cephalus or finally one of the dogs of Orion. This constellation is said to represent the dog set by Jupiter to guard Europa whom he had stolen and conveyed to Crete. History_of_the_constellationĬlues to the meaning of this celestial feature Clues to the meaning of this celestial feature 2. Constellations of Words Explore the etymology and symbolism of the constellations the Greater DogĬontents: 1.
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