Thedog days ordog days of summer are the hot, sultry days ofsummer. They were historically the period following theheliacal rising of the star systemSirius (known colloquially as the "Dog Star"), whichHellenistic astrology connected withheat,drought, suddenthunderstorms,lethargy,fever,mad dogs, and badluck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in theNorthern Hemisphere.
The English name is acalque of theLatindies caniculares (lit. 'thepuppy days'), itself acalque of theancient Greekκυνάδες ἡμέραι (kynádes hēmérai).[1] The Greeks knew the star α Canis Majoris by several names, includingSirius "Scorcher" (Σείριος,Seírios), Sothis (Σῶθις,Sôthis, a transcription ofEgyptianSpdt), and the Dog Star (Κῠ́ων,Kúōn).[2] The last name reflects the way Sirius follows theconstellationOrion into the night sky.[3]
Sirius is by far thebrightest proper star in thenight sky, which causedancient astronomers to take note of it around the world. InEgypt, itsreturn to the night sky became known as a precursor to theannual flooding of theNile and was worshipped as the goddessSopdet. InGreece, it became known as the precursor of the unpleasantly hot phase of the summer.Greek poets even recorded the belief that the return of the bright star was responsible for bringing heat and fever with it;[4] it was also associated with suddenthunderstorms.[5] InHomer'sIliad, probably composed in the8th century BC but representing an earlier tradition,[6]Achilles's approach towardTroy, where he will slayHector, is illustrated through an extended metaphor about the baleful effects attending the return ofSirius:
τὸν δ᾽ ὃ γέρων Πρίαμος πρῶτος ἴδεν ὀφθαλμοῖσι | Priam saw him first, with his old man's eyes, |
The rising of Sirius during this period has been calculated as 19 July (Julian).[8] Writing about the same time,[9]Hesiod considered the worst and hottest part of the summer to be the daysbefore Sirius returned to the night sky. During this period, Sirius was invisible from the earth but it was apparently understood to still be in the sky, augmenting the power of the sun:
ἦμος δὴ λήγει μένος ὀξέος ἠελίοιο | When the piercing power and sultry heat of the sun abate, and almighty Zeus sends the autumn rains, and men's flesh comes to feel far easier,—for then the star Sirius passes over the heads of men, who are born to misery, only a little while by day and takes greater share of night—then, when it showers its leaves to the ground and stops sprouting, the wood you cut with your axe is least liable to worm.[10] |
This effect of the combination of Sirius' light with the Sun's was understood to have an effect on plants, animals, and women, as well as men:
ἦμος δὲ σκόλυμός τ᾽ ἀνθεῖ καὶ ἠχέτα τέττιξ | But when the artichoke flowers, [i.e., June] and the chirping grass-hopper sits in a tree and pours down his shrill song continually from under his wings in the season of wearisome heat, then goats are plumpest and wine sweetest; women are most wanton, but men are feeblest, because Sirius parches head and knees and the skin is dry through heat.[11] |
About a century later,Alcaeus repeated the theme, advising his listeners to "steep your lungs in wine" before the arrival of the star since "women are at their foulest but men are weak since they are parched in head and knees".[12] In the 3rd century,Aratus'Phenomena describes the time as Sirius blighting the bark of trees with its heat during the time it rises and sets with the sun.[13]
TheKean priests ofZeus as Rainmaker and Lord of Moisture[14] observed annual sacrifices before the rise of Sirius to prevent scorching drought.[15][16] This practice was credited to the culture heroAristaeus.[15][17][18][19]Aristotle mentions the proverbial heat of the dog days as part of his argument against an early formulation ofevolution in hisPhysics.[20]
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The Romans continued to blame Sirius for the heat of the season and attendant lethargy and diseases.[5] In hisGeorgics,Vergil notes vintners' efforts to protect their work during the time "when the Dog-star cleaves the thirsty Ground".[22]Seneca'sOedipus complains of "the scorching dog-star's fires".[23]Pliny'sNatural History notes an increase in attacks bydogs during July and August, and advises feeding themchicken manure to curb the tendency.[5] In the early 20th century, historians still noted the "discouraging heat" and "oppression" of the dog days of the Roman summer.[24]
The period has long featured inwestern medicine. The 1564 EnglishHope of Health counseled that purging (bloodletting and inducedvomiting) should be avoided during the "Dogge daies" of summer because "theSunne is inLeo" and "then is nature burnt vp & made weake".[25] The 1729 BritishHusbandman's Practice claimed that "The Heat of the Sun is so violent that Men's bodies at Midnight sweat as at Midday: and if they be hurt, they be more sick than at any other time, yea very near Dead". It therefore advised men to "abstain all this time from women" and to "take heed of feeding violently".[5] In the 1813Clavis Calendria, the dog days are a time wherein "the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, Quinto raged with anger, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies".[26]
Even afterastrology and its influence on health and agriculture waned in importance, the "dog days" continues to be vaguely applied to the hottest days of the summer, with its attendant effects on nature and society. InNorth America, it becameproverbial among farmers that a dry growing season through the dog days was preferable to the trouble of a wet one:
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Because "July is typically one of the quietest months of the year forstock trading", the term is sometimes used for the lethargic summer markets.[5][30]
Various computations of the dog days have placed their start anywhere from 3 July to 15 August and lasting for anywhere from 30 to 61 days.[1] They may begin or end with the cosmical rising or heliacal rising of either Sirius inCanis Major orProcyon (the "Little Dog Star") inCanis Minor and vary bylatitude, not even being visible throughout much of theSouthern Hemisphere.[1] Sirius observes a period of almost exactly 365¼ days between risings, keeping it largely consistent with the Julian but not the Gregorian calendar; nonetheless, its dates occur somewhat later in the year over a span of millennia.[1]
In antiquity, the dog days were usually reckoned from the appearance of Sirius[2] around 19 July (Julian)[8] to relieving rains and cool winds, although Hesiod seems to have counted the worst of summer as the days leading up to Sirius's reappearance.[10]
InAnglo-Saxon England, the dog days ran from various dates in mid-July to early or mid-September.[31] Canonical "dog daies" were observed from July 7 to September 5 in the 16th-centuryEnglishliturgies.[32][33] They were removed from the prayer books at therestoration of the monarchy in 1660 and their term shortened to the time between July 19 and August 20.[34] During theBritish adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752, they were shifted from July 30 to September 7.[34]
Many modern sources in theEnglish-speaking world move this still earlier, from July 3 to August 11,[1][34][35][5] ending rather than beginning with or centering on the reappearance of Sirius to the night sky.
Although Sirius is thebrightest proper star in the night sky, it is 8.7 light-years (2.7 pc; 8.2×1016 m) away from Earth and has no effect whatsoever on the planet's weather or temperature.[5][36] Although the star continues to return to the night sky in late summer, its position continues to gradually shift relative to the Sun and will rise in the middle ofwinter in about 10,000 years.[5]
The effects of summer heat and rainfall patterns are real, but vary by latitude and location according to many factors. For example,London, UK, is slightly farther north thanCalgary, Canada, but has a milder climate from the presence of the sea and the warmGulf Streamcurrent. A medical institution has reported a connection betweenFinland's dog days and increased risk of infection in deep surgery wounds,[37][38] although that research remains unverified.
It is possible thatSaint Roch, the legendary medievalpatron saint of dogs celebrated by theCatholic Church on 16 August, owes some of his legacy to the dog days.[5] From the period of his self-proclaimed protectorate over the island, theDanish adventurerJørgen Jørgensen is remembered inIceland as Jørgen the Dog-Day King (Icelandic:Jörundur hundadagakonungur).[39]
Inwestern literature, apart from theGreek andRoman works mentioned above, the dog days appear inJohn Webster's 1613 playThe Duchess of Malfi,[a]Charles Dickens' 1843 novellaA Christmas Carol,[b]R.H. Davis's 1903 short story "The Bar Sinister",[c]J.M. Synge's 1909 poem "Queens",[d] andRichard Adams's 1972 novelWatership Down.[e] They feature in thechildren's novelsTuck Everlasting (1973),[f] andDog Days (2009) from theDiary of a Wimpy Kid series.[46]
Dog Days is also the title of a Japaneseanime series that premiered in 2011. The story revolves around a boy named Shinku Izumi, who is summoned to an alternate world where the inhabitants have animal ears and tails.
In film,Dog Day Afternoon (1975) andHundstage (German for "Dog Days"; 2001) evoke their oppressive seasonal settings.[47][48] The 2010 videogameKane & Lynch 2: Dog Days utilizes the term to a similar effect.
In music, there areHead of David's "Dog Day Sunrise", covered byFear Factory in 1995;Florence and the Machine's 2009 "Dog Days Are Over";[49] andWithin Temptation's 2013 "Dog Days"; as well as the albumDog Days by the US southern rock bandAtlanta Rhythm Section; in the title track fromTaylor Swift's 2020 album Evermore,Bon Iver, who is featured on the song, mentions "the violence of the dog days".
Dog Days is also the title of a 2012 opera by composerDavid T. Little and librettistRoyce Vavrek, based on the short story byJudy Budnitz.
"Dog-day" promotions are also a common feature inbaseball, used by American ballparks to boost ticket sales during mid-afternoon games.[5]
Seven dog-days we let pass
Naming Queens in Glenmacnass...[43]
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The dictionary definition ofdog days at Wiktionary