The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius (known colloquially as the "Dog Star"), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
The English name is a calque of the Latin dies caniculares (lit. "the puppy days"), itself a calque of the ancient Greek κυνάδες ἡμέραιkynádes hēmérai. [1] The Greeks knew the star α Canis Majoris by several names, including Sirius "Scorcher" (Σείριος, Seírios), Sothis (Σῶθις, Sôthis, a transcription of Egyptian Spdt ), and the Dog Star (Κῠ́ων, Kúōn). [2] The last name reflects the way Sirius follows the constellation Orion into the night sky. [3]
Sirius is by far the brightest proper star in the night sky, which caused ancient astronomers to take note of it around the world. In Egypt, its return to the night sky became known as a precursor to the annual flooding of the Nile and was worshipped as the goddess Sopdet. In Greece, it became known as the precursor of the unpleasantly hot phase of the summer. Greek poets even recorded the belief that the return of the bright star was responsible for bringing heat and fever with it; [4] it was also associated with sudden thunderstorms. [5] In Homer's Iliad , probably composed in the 8th century BC but representing an earlier tradition, [6] Achilles's approach toward Troy, where he will slay Hector, is illustrated through an extended metaphor about the baleful effects attending the return of Sirius:
τὸν δ᾽ ὃ γέρων Πρίαμος πρῶτος ἴδεν ὀφθαλμοῖσι | Priam saw him first, with his old man's eyes, |
The rising of Sirius during this period has been calculated as 19 July (Julian). [8] Writing about the same time, [9] Hesiod considered the worst and hottest part of the summer to be the days before Sirius returned to the night sky. During this period, Sirius was invisible from the earth but it was apparently understood to still be in the sky, augmenting the power of the sun:
ἦμος δὴ λήγει μένος ὀξέος ἠελίοιο | When the piercing power and sultry heat of the sun abate, and almighty Zeus sends the autumn rains, and men's flesh comes to feel far easier,—for then the star Sirius passes over the heads of men, who are born to misery, only a little while by day and takes greater share of night—then, when it showers its leaves to the ground and stops sprouting, the wood you cut with your axe is least liable to worm. [10] |
This effect of the combination of Sirius' light with the Sun's was understood to have an effect on plants, animals, and women, as well as men:
ἦμος δὲ σκόλυμός τ᾽ ἀνθεῖ καὶ ἠχέτα τέττιξ | But when the artichoke flowers, [i.e., June] and the chirping grass-hopper sits in a tree and pours down his shrill song continually from under his wings in the season of wearisome heat, then goats are plumpest and wine sweetest; women are most wanton, but men are feeblest, because Sirius parches head and knees and the skin is dry through heat. [11] |
About a century later, Alcaeus repeated the theme, advising his listeners to "steep your lungs in wine" before the arrival of the star since "women are at their foulest but men are weak since they are parched in head and knees". [12] In the 3rd century, Aratus' Phenomena describes the time as Sirius blighting the bark of trees with its heat during the time it rises and sets with the sun. [13]
The Kean priests of Zeus as Rainmaker and Lord of Moisture [14] observed annual sacrifices before the rise of Sirius to prevent scorching drought. [15] [16] This practice was credited to the culture hero Aristaeus. [15] [17] [18] [19] Aristotle mentions the proverbial heat of the dog days as part of his argument against an early formulation of evolution in his Physics . [20]
The Romans continued to blame Sirius for the heat of the season and attendant lethargy and diseases. [5] In his Georgics , Vergil notes vintners' efforts to protect their work during the time "when the Dog-star cleaves the thirsty Ground". [22] Seneca's Oedipus complains of "the scorching dog-star's fires". [23] Pliny's Natural History notes an increase in attacks by dogs during July and August, and advises feeding them chicken manure to curb the tendency. [5] In the early 20th century, historians still noted the "discouraging heat" and "oppression" of the dog days of the Roman summer. [24]
The period has long featured in western medicine. The 1564 English Hope of Health counseled that purging (bloodletting and induced vomiting) should be avoided during the "Dogge daies" of summer because "the Sunne is in Leo" and "then is nature burnt vp & made weake". [25] The 1729 British Husbandman's Practice claimed that "The Heat of the Sun is so violent that Men's bodies at Midnight sweat as at Midday: and if they be hurt, they be more sick than at any other time, yea very near Dead". It therefore advised men to "abstain all this time from women" and to "take heed of feeding violently". [5] In the 1813 Clavis Calendria, the dog days are a time wherein "the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, Quinto raged with anger, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies". [26]
Even after astrology and its influence on health and agriculture waned in importance, the "dog days" continues to be vaguely applied to the hottest days of the summer, with its attendant effects on nature and society. In North America, it became proverbial among farmers that a dry growing season through the dog days was preferable to the trouble of a wet one:
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Because "July is typically one of the quietest months of the year for stock trading", the term is sometimes used for the lethargic summer markets. [5] [30]
Various computations of the dog days have placed their start anywhere from 3 July to 15 August and lasting for anywhere from 30 to 61 days. [1] They may begin or end with the cosmical rising or heliacal rising of either Sirius in Canis Major or Procyon (the "Little Dog Star") in Canis Minor and vary by latitude, not even being visible throughout much of the Southern Hemisphere. [1] Sirius observes a period of almost exactly 365¼ days between risings, keeping it largely consistent with the Julian but not the Gregorian calendar; nonetheless, its dates occur somewhat later in the year over a span of millennia. [1]
In antiquity, the dog days were usually reckoned from the appearance of Sirius [2] around 19 July (Julian) [8] to relieving rains and cool winds, although Hesiod seems to have counted the worst of summer as the days leading up to Sirius's reappearance. [10]
In Anglo-Saxon England, the dog days ran from various dates in mid-July to early or mid-September. [31] Canonical "dog daies" were observed from July 7 to September 5 in the 16th-century English liturgies. [32] [33] They were removed from the prayer books at the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and their term shortened to the time between July 19 and August 20. [34] During the British adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752, they were shifted from July 30 to September 7. [34]
Many modern sources in the English-speaking world move this still earlier, from July 3 to August 11, [1] [34] [35] [5] ending rather than beginning with or centering on the reappearance of Sirius to the night sky.
Although Sirius is the brightest proper star in the night sky, it is 8.7 light-years (8.23×1013 km) away from Earth and has no effect whatsoever on the planet's weather or temperature. [5] [36] Although the star continues to return to the night sky in late summer, its position continues to gradually shift relative to the Sun and will rise in the middle of winter in about 10,000 years. [5]
The effects of summer heat and rainfall patterns are real, but vary by latitude and location according to many factors. For example, London, UK, is slightly farther north than Calgary, Canada, but has a milder climate from the presence of the sea and the warm Gulf Stream current. A medical institution has reported a connection between Finland's dog days and increased risk of infection in deep surgery wounds, [37] [38] although that research remains unverified.
It is possible that Saint Roch, the legendary medieval patron saint of dogs celebrated by the Catholic Church on 16 August, owes some of his legacy to the dog days. [5] From the period of his self-proclaimed protectorate over the island, the Danish adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen is remembered in Iceland as Jørgen the Dog-Day King (Icelandic : Jörundur hundadagakonungur). [39]
In western literature, apart from the Greek and Roman works mentioned above, the dog days appear in John Webster's 1613 play The Duchess of Malfi , [lower-alpha 1] Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol , [lower-alpha 2] R.H. Davis's 1903 short story "The Bar Sinister", [lower-alpha 3] J.M. Synge's 1909 poem "Queens", [lower-alpha 4] and Richard Adams's 1972 novel Watership Down . [lower-alpha 5] They feature in the children's novels Tuck Everlasting (1973), [lower-alpha 6] and Dog Days (2009) from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. [46]
Dog Days is also the title of a Japanese anime series that premiered in 2011. The story revolves around a boy named Shinku Izumi, who is summoned to an alternate world where the inhabitants have animal ears and tails.
In film, Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Hundstage (German for "Dog Days"; 2001) evoke their oppressive seasonal settings. [47] [48]
In music, there are Head of David's "Dog Day Sunrise", covered by Fear Factory in 1995; Florence and the Machine's 2009 "Dog Days Are Over"; [49] and Within Temptation's 2013 "Dog Days"; as well as the album Dog Days by the US southern rock band Atlanta Rhythm Section; in the title track from Taylor Swift's 2020 album Evermore , Bon Iver, who is featured on the song, mentions "the violence of the dog days".
Dog Days is also the title of a 2012 opera by composer David T. Little and librettist Royce Vavrek, based on the short story by Judy Budnitz.
"Dog-day" promotions are also a common feature in baseball, used by American ballparks to boost ticket sales during mid-afternoon games. [5]
Seven dog-days we let pass
Naming Queens in Glenmacnass... [43]
Canis Major is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "greater dog" in contrast to Canis Minor, the "lesser dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter through the sky. The Milky Way passes through Canis Major and several open clusters lie within its borders, most notably M41.
Canis Minor is a small constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included as an asterism, or pattern, of two stars in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and it is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "lesser dog", in contrast to Canis Major, the "greater dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter.
Procyon is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Minor and usually the eighth-brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34. It has the Bayer designation α Canis Minoris, which is Latinized to Alpha Canis Minoris, and abbreviated α CMi or Alpha CMi, respectively. As determined by the European Space Agency Hipparcos astrometry satellite, this system lies at a distance of just 11.46 light-years, and is therefore one of Earth's nearest stellar neighbors.
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word Σείριος, meaning lit. 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated α CMa or Alpha CMa. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, Sirius is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. Sirius is a binary star consisting of a main-sequence star of spectral type A0 or A1, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B. The distance between the two varies between 8.2 and 31.5 astronomical units as they orbit every 50 years.
Aristaeus was the mythological culture hero credited with the discovery of many rural useful arts and handicrafts, including bee-keeping; he was the son of the huntress Cyrene and Apollo.
In Greek mythology the Horae, Horai or Hours were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time.
In Greek mythology, Hemera was the personification of day. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and the sister of Aether. Though separate entities in Hesiod's Theogony, Hemera and Eos (Dawn) were often identified with each other.
Sopdet is the ancient Egyptian name of the star Sirius and its personification as an Egyptian goddess. Known to the Greeks as Sothis, she was conflated with Isis as a goddess and Anubis as a god.
Orion is a prominent set of stars visible during winter in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. It is named for a hunter in Greek mythology.
The heliacal rising of a star or a planet occurs annually when it first becomes visible above the eastern horizon at dawn just before sunrise after a complete orbit of the Earth around the Sun. Historically, the most important such rising is that of Sirius, which was an important feature of the Egyptian calendar and astronomical development. The rising of the Pleiades heralded the start of the Ancient Greek sailing season, using celestial navigation, as well as the farming season. Helical rising is one of several types of risings and settings, mostly they are grouped into morning and evening risings and settings of objects in the sky. Culmination in the evening and then morning is set apart by half a year, while on the other hand risings and settings in the evenings and the mornings are only at the equator set apart by half a year.
Phaethon, also spelled Phaëthon, is the son of the Oceanid Clymene and the sun god Helios in Greek mythology.
The Pleiades, were the seven sister-nymphs, companions of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Together with their sisters, the Hyades, they were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers of the infant Dionysus. The Pleiades were thought to have been translated to the night sky as a cluster of stars, the Pleiades, and were associated with rain.
The Sothic cycle or Canicular period is a period of 1,461 Egyptian civil years of 365 days each or 1,460 Julian years averaging 365+1⁄4 days each. During a Sothic cycle, the 365-day year loses enough time that the start of its year once again coincides with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius on 19 July in the Julian calendar. It is an important aspect of Egyptology, particularly with regard to reconstructions of the Egyptian calendar and its history. Astronomical records of this displacement may have been responsible for the later establishment of the more accurate Julian and Alexandrian calendars.
Phosphorus is the god of the planet Venus in its appearance as the Morning Star. Another Greek name for the Morning Star is "Eosphorus", which means "dawn-bringer". The term "eosphorus" is sometimes met in English. As an adjective, the word "phosphorus" is applied in the sense of "light-bringing" and "torch-bearing" as an epithet of several gods and goddesses, especially of Hecate but also of Artemis/Diana and Hephaestus. Seasonally, Venus is the "light bringer" in the northern hemisphere, appearing most brightly in December, signalling the "rebirth" of longer days as winter wanes.
Beta Canis Majoris, also named Mirzam, is a star in the southern constellation of Canis Major, the "Great Dog", located at a distance of about 500 light-years (150 parsecs) from the Sun. In the modern constellation it lies at the position of the dog's front leg.
In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came, and were each associated with various seasons and weather conditions. They were the progeny of the goddess of the dawn Eos and her husband, the god of the dusk, Astraeus.
In Greek mythology, Phoenix or Phoinix was the eponym of Phoenicia who together with his brothers were tasked to find their abducted sister Europa.
In Greek mythology, Gaia, also spelled Gaea, is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (Sky), from whose sexual union she bore the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Giants; as well as of Pontus (Sea), from whose union she bore the primordial sea gods. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra.
In Greek mythology, Uranus, sometimes written Ouranos, is the personification of the sky and one of the Greek primordial deities. According to Hesiod, Uranus was the son and husband of Gaia (Earth), with whom he fathered the first generation of Titans. However, no cult addressed directly to Uranus survived into classical times, and Uranus does not appear among the usual themes of Greek painted pottery. Elemental Earth, Sky, and Styx might be joined, however, in solemn invocation in Homeric epic. Uranus is associated with the Roman god Caelus.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Sirius is the god and personification of the star Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, also known as the Dog Star, the most prominent star in the constellation Canis Major. In ancient texts, Sirius is portrayed as the scorching bringer of the summer heatwaves, who intensifies the Sun's own heat.
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The dictionary definition of dog days at Wiktionary