We've all heard the expression "Dog Days of Summer" but did you know that phrase comes from ancient times and not from Georgia? It seems that the hot, sultry weather around the Mediterranean Sea coincided with the rise of the star formation Orion's dog and the "dog star" Sirius. And, so it was that the hot days were recorded as the "Dog Days of Summer" in writings by the Greeks (Hesiod, Aratus, and Homer in The Iliad) and the later Romans.
Here is a piece from The Iliad:
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.
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Happy (and thank goodness for air conditioning!) Dog Days of Summer!
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