Dog Days of Summer

Bet'cha thought that meant everyone went foamin'-at-the-mouth crazy didn't ya'? The ole' mad dogs and Englishmen business. These days ya' might as well add the MSM to that list, but that's not the real story.

"Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, is the original source of the term “dog days of summer.” …the “Dog Star" apparently originated from the ancient Egyptians who named the bright star, Sihor. Sihor was another name for the powerful Egyptian dog-headed divinity Anubis. In ancient Egypt the dog star, under the name Sihor, rose along side the Sun when summer was at its very hottest."

Huh! Ya' don't see ole' Leo the Lion hangin' around with such hot company. Just in case you're wonderin', no, there are no constellations named for domesticated (and I use the term lightly) fe-lyings. Well, actually some Frenchie named Jérôme Lalande did try to make one up back in 1805, jammin' it between an ant (Antlia) and a snake (Hydra), but, as expected when ya' combine a Froggie and a fe-lyin', no one paid attention.

"The ancient Egyptians celebrated the return of the “dog days,” because the rising of the Sun, combined with the Dog Star, announced…that the River Nile would flood, reviving all of the surrounding parched land… Thus, the start of the Egyptian sacred year was marked each year by the reappearance of the Dog Star rising with the Sun."

And you thought the Egyptians worshipped fe-lyings. Hahahahahaha!

"The Dog Star was to be later named Sirius by the Greeks, after the Greek word for “serious” or “ardent.”

You humans could learn a thing or three from those old guys, ya' know. They had the right idea. 'Specially 'bout the ardent part…

"Both the ancient Egyptian and Roman traditions, looked at the Dog Star as being a 2nd Sun, and both agreed that the Dog Star was responsible for the intense summer heat by adding its own heat to the heat of the Sun… However,…in ancient Rome, the “dog days” – dies caniculares in Latin – came to have more negative associations, such as “intolerable heat, lethargy, disease, and mad dogs. Pliny (A.D. 23-79), in his Natural History, refers to the increased risk of attack by rabid dogs in July and August.”¹…"

Well, doesn't that just explain all the kitty litter flyin' around these days--from Able Danger, to NARAL to Cindy Sheehan.

"There are even some interesting speculations that the dog star, Sirius – as part of the astrological sky – played a significant role in the timing of the birth of the United States of America, as well as in the laying of the Washington Monument cornerstone in Washington D.C. They were purposefully, with intent, scheduled for precise moments when the dog star, Sirius, was located in various auspicious positions in the sky.²"

I keep tryin' to tell you people canines are superior political animals since we understand how to work in packs with an elected leader. (Okay, so we elect 'em with a lot of snappin' and snarlin' and rippin' and chewin'. Don't see you humans doin' much different.) So start listenin' already!


¹James Owen, National Geographic News, July 16, 2004
²The Secret Architecture of our Nation's Capitol; David Ovason

posted by Harrison at 8:35 PM