Ancient Greece and Sirius – The Dog Star

 

 

The ancient Greeks knew the star Canis Majoris by various names:

 Sirius; derived from the Greek word Σείριος (Seirios), meaning glowing or scorching and Sothis – Σῶθις (also the Egyptian word for Sirius, after the Egyptian goddess Sopdet) and as the Dog Star Κῠ́ων, (Kúōn).

Sopdet’s partner was Sah, the personification of the constellation Orion near Sirius.

 

 

Sirius is also known as the Morning star; a name used for the planet Venus (Aphrodite) when it reappears in the east before sunrise, from early July to mid-September, after spending a season behind the sun rendering it invisible.

Under the right conditions, Sirius shines so bright, that it can be seen with the naked eye during the day.

 

 

Sirius – the Dog star in early ancient Greek literature

 

 

Many ancient Greek writers mentioned Sirius- the Dog star in their works; the earliest mention dates from the 7th century BC in Hesiod’s poetic work” Works and Days”:

Works and Days Greek epic 8th or 7th B.C. by Hesiod: poet:

“But when Orion and Sirius are come into mid-heaven and rosy-fingered Eos (Dawn) sees Arcturus then cut off all the grape-clusters.“

Iliad Greek epic poem 8th B.C. by Homer: author and epic poet:

“Sirius rises late in the dark, liquid sky, on summer nights; star of stars, Orion’s Dog they call it, brightest of all but an evil portent, bringing heat and fevers to suffering humanity.”

Alcaeus: poet from the Greek island of Lesbos 7th to 6th B.C:

“Wet your lungs with wine: the Dog Star, Sirius is coming round, the season is harsh, everything is thirsty under the heat, the cicada sings sweetly from the leaves  … the artichoke is in flower; now are women most pestilential, but men are feeble, since Sirius parches their heads and knees.”

Greek astronomical poem 3rd B.C by Aratus:  Greek didactic poet:

“A star that keenest of all blazes with a searing flame and him men call Sirius. When he rises with Helios (the Sun), no longer do the trees deceive him by the feeble freshness of their leaves. For easily with his keen glance he pierces their ranks, and to some he gives strength but of others he blights the bark utterly. Of him too at his setting are we aware.”

 

The ancient Greek origins of the Dog Days

 

 

For most of us I should think, the phrase ‘dog days’ stirs up memories of muggy, sticky, sweltering days of mid-summer; days of lethargy, unbearable heat when dogs would lay panting in any little shade they could find.

Believe it or not, the phrase dog days has nothing whatsoever to do with dogs, although the Ancient Greeks did connect dog days with lethargy, fever, mad dogs and bad luck.

Instead, the dog days refer to Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Majoris (Latin for big dog).

 

 

The ancient Greeks became aware that summer’s most intense heat came about during early summer when Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, rose and set with the sun.

According to Greek mythology, Sirius was the dog of the hunter Orion and the ancient Romans placed the star in the constellation Canis Major (Latin for “Greater Dog”).

 

 

The Romans therefore referred to the sultry season when the rising of the sun and Sirius coincided, as the “dies caniculares” – “canicular days” or “days of the dog star”.

 

 

The phrase Dog days, in Latin; dies caniculares and in ancient Greek; κυνάδες ἡμέραι (kynádes hēmérai), was translated to English about 500 years ago and ever after took on a rather different meaning from the original.

 

Sirius in Greek mythology

 

In Greek mythology Sirius appears in many forms, however, she is usually said to be called Maira (Maera) from the Ancient Greek “marmaírō (μᾰρμαίρω)”, meaning “to flash, sparkle, glisten, and gleam”.

 Maira or Maera, was the nymph of the dog-star Sirius, who, like the Pleiades and Hyades, was a starry daughter of the Titan; Atlas.

Then again, she is mentioned as Hecate, also known as and Hekabe (Hecuba) goddess of witchcraft.

Maera has also been depicted as a dog; she was said to be the dog belonging to Erigone; daughter of Icarus the Athenian who was killed by some drunken shepherds.

 Erigone, with the help of her faithful hound Maera, were the ones to discover the body of Icarus; mad with despair both Erigone and Maera, threw themselves off a cliff.

Upon hearing the news, Dionysus, the god of the grape-harvest and winemaking, cursed Athens with a plague, inflicting insanity on all the unmarried women, who all hanged themselves, imitating Erigone, who took her own life.

The plague did not disappear until the Athenians performed rites in honour of Icarius and Erigone.

 Zeus, god of all Greek gods, or, some say, Dionysus, placed Icarius, Erigone and Maera in the sky as constellations.

Icarus became Boötes (The Herdsman), Erigone became Virgo and the faithful dog, Maera, was immortalized as Procyon; the brightest star in Canis Major.

 

Sirius and Ichor:

The blue blood of the Greek gods

 

 

Thousands of years ago, there existed in Crete, caves created in such a way as to catch the light of  the star Sirius (Derived from the Ancient Greek Σείριος (Seirios), meaning “glowing” or “scorcher”).

This cave was not the only place in Greece to have been constructed with the star of Sirius in mind.

The Temple of Apollo Epicurius, aligned north-south, whereas usually, Greek temples are aligned east-west, built in this position so that when it shifts 50.2 seconds of a degree every year, placing it perfectly into the heliacal arc (the yearly movement of the sun through the sky), the temple is always facing the star Sirius; thought by some to be the birthplace Apollo.

Dwelling in the caves were sacred honeybees, who, in the blue-white glare of Sirius, created a mystical, golden honey, containing nectar and ambrosia; food of the Greek Gods, which is believed to promote longevity and immortality, to whoever consumed it.

“Ichor”, the fluid running through the veins of Greek Gods, is said to contain this wondrous concoction of golden honey, nectar and ambrosia; poisonous to mere mortals, killing them on the spot.

 

The Dragon Houses of Evia (Euboea)

 

 

In the south of the island of Evia (Euboea), in the town of Karystos, are twenty eight, unique structures; huge blocks of stone, with no use of mortar, are piled one on top of the other and are topped off by an even larger stone slab to create a roof.

These unusual structures  were named ‘Dragon Houses’ by the ancient Greeks, as way back then, the word dragon, not only meant fire-breathing reptiles but also other beings with superhuman powers.

 

 

Many archaeologists, who have visited these mysterious structures, classed as one ofthe creepiest and most Haunted Places in Greece,have failed to come up with a valid date of when they were built, or who built them, however, details found in a 2004 account, by researchers from the department of astrophysics, Athens University, have the structures as being oriented to the Sirius star system.

 

Sirius – the Dog Star:

“Bringer of drought and plague to frail mortals, rises and saddens the sky with sinister light” – Roman poet Virgil

 

The ancient Greeks and Romans concluded that the appearance of Sirius heralded a time of unbearable heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, disease and catastrophe; it signaled a time when evil was brought to their lands, causing plants to wilt, men to weaken, and women to become aroused.

For the ancient Egyptians, the rising of Sirius, the brightest star, signaled a time of upheaval and flooding of the River Nile Valley.

To the ancient Greeks anyone displaying an exaggerated form of their usual craziness during the days of Sirius rising was said to be “astrobólētos” (ἀστροβόλητος) – “star-struck”.

To guard against the effects Sirus brought with it, people on the Aegean island of Ceos (Today known as Kia or Tzia; an island of the Cyclades), would offer sacrifices to the god Zeus, hoping he would heed their prayers and send cool breezes.

They knew their prayers had been answered if the Morning Star rose, easily visible, in clear skies; if misty skies hindered visibility, then they knew to prepare for the worst.

Coins discovered on the island confirm the importance of Sirius the Dog Star.

 

 

The Romans hedged their bets early when it came to protection against Sirius; they held a festival on the 25^th of April, called the Robigalia.

 After prayers, offerings of incense and wine to the god or goddess (gender is not specified) Robigo, protector of crops, the Romans sacrificed a red dog and sheep to protect their crops from wheat rust.

 

Curiouser and Curiouser

 

It’s fascinating how Sirius; known as the “Dog Star that leads” in ancient Chaldea (today Iraq), in ancient China, as a heavenly wolf, in Assyria as “Dog of the Sun” and by various  North American indigenous tribes as the “Wolf Star” or “Moon Dog”, is represented by dogs or wolves in seemingly unconnected cultures.

The brightest; the All Seeing Eye, also referred to as the third eye, star still plays an important role today in religious beliefs and spiritual practice and is a revered and powerful symbol for existing secret societies.

 

 

Did ancient aliens come from the Dog Star Sirius?

 

If all of the above, regarding the mysterious Dog Star, Sirius, is not weird enough for you, read on!

Many acclaimed writers, both ancient and modern, have pondered over the existence of “higher beings not of human form” i.e. extraterrestrials or aliens, on Sirius.

None have ever come up though, with such detailed evidence, as the author Robert Temple; a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, the Egyptian Exploration Society, the Royal Historical Society, the Institute of Classical Studies, and the Institute of Historical Research.

 

 

In his book; “The Sirius Mystery – New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago”, after much research using his knowledge of ancient history, mythology, Pythagorean physics, chaos theory and the Greek language, Temple explains how:

“The alien civilization of Sirius and our own civilization are part of the same harmonic system and are destined to function and resonate together”.

The publication of his book, in 1975, resulted in a 15-year “witch-hunt” against Robert Temple by the KGB, CIA, NASA and other government agencies.

Not one to give up easily, Temple has added a further one hundred and forty pages of new scientific evidence to the recent updated edition of his book.

Since the beginning of time, or so it seems, Sirius, the brightest star, continues to fascinate.