Sirius signified certain emanations which caused its malignant influence. Anyone suffering its effects was said to be "star-struck" (, "astrobólētos"). It was described as "burning" or "flaming" in literature. The season following the star's reappearance came to be known as the "dog days". The inhabitants of the island of Ceos in the Aegean Sea would offer sacrifices to Sirius and Zeus to bring cooling breezes, and would await the reappearance of the star in summer. If it rose clear, it would portend good fortune; if it was misty or faint then it foretold (or emanated) pestilence. Coins retrieved from the island
Sirius hemispheres. Just as the appearance of Sirius in the morning sky marked summer in Greece, it marked the onset of winter for the Māori, whose name "Takurua" described both the star and the season. Its culmination at the winter solstice was marked by celebration in Hawaii, where it was known as "Ka'ulua", "Queen of Heaven". Many other Polynesian names have been recorded, including "Tau-ua" in the Marquesas Islands, "Rehua" in New Zealand, and "Ta'urua-fau-papa" "Festivity of original high chiefs" and "Ta'urua-e-hiti-i-te-tara-te-feiai" "Festivity who rises with prayers and religious ceremonies" in Tahiti. The Hawaiian people had many names for Sirius, including