Dog days Dog days The dog days or are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The English name is a calque of the Latin "" (."the puppy days"), itself a calque of the Greek "kynádes hēmérai" (, "dog days"). The Greeks knew the star α Canis Majoris by several names, including Sirius (,
Sirius this, the arrow tip is pointed at the wolf Sirius. A similar association is depicted at the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, where the goddess Satet has drawn her arrow at Hathor (Sirius). Known as "Tir", the star was portrayed as the arrow itself in later Persian culture. Sirius is mentioned in "Surah", "An-Najm" ("The Star"), of the Qur'an, where it is given the name (transliteration: "aš-ši‘rā" or "ash-shira"; the leader). The verse is: "", "That He is the Lord of Sirius (the Mighty Star)." (An-Najm:49) Ibn Kathir said in his commentary "that it is the bright star, named Mirzam