Sirius its constellation, Canis Major (Greater Dog). The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the "dog days" of summer for the ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians in the Southern Hemisphere the star marked winter and was an important reference for their navigation around the Pacific Ocean. The brightest star in the night sky, Sirius is recorded in the earliest astronomical records. Its displacement from the ecliptic causes this heliacal rising to be remarkably regular compared to other stars, with a period of almost exactly 365.25 days holding it constant relative to the
The Ancient of Days threw it from him, and with an air of exulting triumph exclaimed, "There, that will do! I cannot mend it." The image was used as the cover for Stephen Hawking's book "God Created the Integers". There are currently thirteen known extant copies of "Europe a Prophecy". Because of Blake's production process of hand colouring each print, each image has own unique qualities. The following images of "The Ancient of Days" are those available via the digital archiving project, the William Blake Archive: The Ancient of Days The Ancient of Days is a design by William Blake, originally published as the