the equinoxes; in ancient Egypt c. 3000 B.C.E. it coincided with the summer solstice, which also was the new year and the beginning of the inundation of the Nile. The "dog" association apparently began here (the star's hieroglyph was a dog), but the reasons for it are now obscure...
Inastronomical map: Star names and designations dog days Indog days Egyptian chronology and history InEgyptian calendar Insolar calendar Inancient Egypt: Sources, calendars, and chronology Isis cult seasonal rites Inmystery religion: Seasonal festivals ...
Sirius is also known colloquially as the "Dog Star", reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (Big Dog). The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the "dog days" of summer for the ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians it mark...
(redirected fromSirius (star)) Dictionary Thesaurus (seer-ee-ŭs,si-ree-)(Dog Star;α CMa) A white main-sequence star that is the brightest one in the constellation Canis Major and the brightest (after the Sun) and one of the nearest stars in the sky. It lies in a descending (south...
The star Sirius in history Set just southeast of the prominentconstellation Orion, the brightest star in the night sky is visible from all parts of the Earth’s surface, and naturally held great importance for ancient civilizations. In ancient Egypt, for instance, Osiris, the God of Life, Dea...
But ancient Egypt provides the most regal history for Sirius. Initially, it was Hathor, the great mother goddess, who was identified with Sirius. But Isis soon became the major archetype, sharing honors with the title of Sirius as the Nile Star. An icon of Sirius as a five-pointed star ...
Sirius, also known as Alpha Canis Majoris or the Dog Star, is the fifth closest star (counting Proxima Centauri as a separate star) to our Solar System at a distance of 8.6 light years, and the second closest binary star system. Sirius is also the brightest star in the night sky with ...
But in the earlier temple service of Denderah it was Isis Sothis, at Philae Isis Sati, or Satit, and, for a long time in Egypt’s mythology, the resting-place of the soul of that goddess, and thus a favorable star. Plutarch made distinct reference to this; although it should be ...
In ancient Egypt, the brightest star was connected with several mythological figures, including Isis, Osiris, and Anubis, and the timing of itsheliacal risingwas used as a seasonal sign, warning farmers of the Nile’s annual flooding. Closer to home, the modern phrase “dog days of summer”...
in the time of the Pharoahs in Egypt, people watched for Sirius to rise just before the Sun did. That marked the season when the Nile would flood, and bathe the nearby farms with mineral-rich silt. The Egyptians made a ritual of looking for Sirius at the right time—it was that import...