Dog Days of Summer

The earliest reference to this expression goes back to the Ancient Egyptians. They noted that the rising of the star Sirius began the hottest part of the summer. The star’s hieroglyph is a dog. Sirius would appear in Egypt, after about a 70 day absence, just before the season where the Nile typically floods, so it is thought the star’s hieroglyphic symbol 'watchdog'.

Romans and Greeks also referred to dog days and would often make sacrifices to Sirius, including sacrificing dogs to appease Sirius with the hope it would result in a mild summer and protect crops from scorching.

Sirius is the brightest star in the Canis Major (Latin for “Greater Dog”) constellation.

Dog Days of Summer

The earliest reference to some aspect of this expression goes all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians. They noted that the heliacal rising of the star Sirius heralded the hottest part of the summer. The star’s hieroglyph is a dog. Sirius would appear in Egypt just before the season where the Nile typically floods. So it is thought the star’s hieroglyphic symbol being a dog symbolized a “watchdog”.

It is the brightest star in what is now known as the Canis Major (Latin for Greater Dog) constellation. It’s rising marked the start of the hottest part of the year, which then became the 'Dog Days'.

The Roman’s and Greeks had expressions for Dog Days. They both believed that, when Sirius rose around the same time as the Sun, this contributed to that time of year becoming hotter. As such, they would often make sacrifices to Sirius, including sacrificing dogs, to appease Sirius with the hope that this would result in a mild summer and would protect their crops from scorching. Seems to me that offering dead dogs to a dog might not please him as much as they thought.