Sirius astrological symbol was listed by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. Many cultures have historically attached special significance to Sirius, particularly in relation to dogs. It is often colloquially called the "Dog Star" as the brightest star of Canis Major, the "Great Dog" constellation. It was classically depicted as Orion's dog. The Ancient Greeks thought that Sirius's emanations could affect dogs adversely, making them behave abnormally during the "dog days," the hottest days of the summer. The Romans knew these days as "dies caniculares", and the star Sirius was called Canicula, "little dog." The excessive panting of dogs in hot weather was thought
Sirius indigenous Boorong people of northwestern Victoria named Sirius as "Warepil". In 1717, Edmond Halley discovered the proper motion of the hitherto presumed "fixed" stars after comparing contemporary astrometric measurements with those from the second century AD given in Ptolemy's "Almagest". The bright stars Aldebaran, Arcturus and Sirius were noted to have moved significantly; Sirius had progressed about 30 arc minutes (about the diameter of the Moon) to the southwest. In 1868, Sirius became the first star to have its velocity measured, the beginning of the study of celestial radial velocities. Sir William Huggins examined the spectrum of the star and