Diana and her Hound, c. 1720
Caeli cum torrentissimus axis
incumbit terris ictusque Hyperione multo
acer anhelantes incendit Sirius agros,
iamque dies aderat, profugis cum regibus aptum
fumat Aricinum Triviae nemus et face multa
conscius Hippolyti splendet lacus; ipsa coronat
emeritos Diana canes et spicula terget
et tutas sinit ire feras, omnisque pudicis 6 [p. 146]
Itala terra focis Hecateidas excedit idus.
ast ego, Dardaniae quamvis sub collibus Albae
rus proprium magnique ducis mihi munere currens
unda domi curas mulcere aestusque levare
sufficerent, notas Sirenum nomine rupes
facundique larem Polli non hospes habebam,
assidue moresque viri pacemque novosque
Pieridum flores intactaque carmina discens.
forte diem Triviae dum litore ducimus udo
angustasque fores adsuetaque tecta gravati
frondibus et patula defendimus arbore soles,
delituit caelum et subitis lux candida cessit
nubibus ac tenuis graviore favonius austro
immaduit; qualem Libyae Saturnia nimbum
attulit, Iliaco dum dives Elissa marito
donatur testesque ululant per devia nymphae.
(Statius, P. Papinius, Silvae, 3.1, 55-75;
John Henry Mozley, Ed., с. 145-147)
It is the season when the most scorching region of the heavens takes over the land and the keen dog-star Sirius, so often struck by Hyperion’s sun, burns the gasping fields. Now is the day when Trivia’s Arician grove, convenient for fugitive kings, grows smoky, and the lake, having guilty knowledge of Hippolytus, glitters with the reflection of a multitude of torches; Diana herself garlands the deserving hunting dogs and polishes the arrowheads and allows the wild animals to go in safety, and at virtuous hearths all Italy celebrates the Hecatean Ides.
(Quoted in C.M.C. Green, Roman Religion and the Cult of Diana at Aricia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007)
Giampietrino, Diana the Huntress, 1526/1549, Metropolitan Museum of Art
(Context)
Such is also his guardian Dog, seen standing on its two legs below the soaring back of Orion, variegated, not bright overall, but dark in the region of the belly as it moves round; but the tip of its jaw is inset with a formidable star, that blazes most intensely: and so men call it the Scorcher. When Sirius rises with the sun trees can no longer outwit it by feebly putting forth leaves. For with its keen shafts it easily pierces their ranks, and strengthens some but destroys all the growth of others.
(Aratus (c. 310BC-260BC), Phaenomena, translated by Douglas Kidd)
To the Greek mind there was a direct causal connection between the arrival of Sirius and the onset of the hot dry days of late summer. Sirius, as it emerged from its conjunction with the sun, was thought to induce the heat and dryness of August. This heat could not only wither plants but influence the behavior of animals as well. Goats would gaze towards Sirius in the east and emit a cry, the wild Egyptian oryx was said to turn towards Sirius and sneeze. People could contract deadly fevers at this time of year, brought on by Sirius; men could weaken during this time and women could be overcome by carnal desire. People, who suffered from the heat of Sirius were said to be “star struck” (astroboletus). Even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, warned of the effects of Sirius.
Sirius was thought to produce “emanations” which could place people and animals in danger of these effects. The idea that Sirius was a source of these emanations could well be linked to the visual appearance of the star when the atmosphere is turbulent and unsettled. At these times the star appears alive and active; seemingly splashing colored rays of light into the sky. Because of its brightness and bluish-white color, Sirius displays such activity much more prominently than other stars and was therefore perceived to be capable of producing effects in humans, animals, plants, and the environment. There was also a widespread association in the Greek mind of the twinkling and flashing of Sirius with such physiological conditions and states as seething, shaking, emptying, and oppression: as if the star was in distress and spewing its light about the sky. Indeed, Sirius acquired such epitaphs as “the Shaker”.