Wikipedia explains historically this is the period following the rising of the dog star Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology ascribes to late summer as a time of heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, mad dogs and bad luck.
For many of us, the phrase conjures up images of dogs lying about the devastatingly steamy summer lawn panting. I thought it interesting the original meaning over time has been lost. We have a tendency to address the origin of something we don’t know by coming up with a plausible modern explanation. Thus the panting dog lying about panting.
Did the Greeks get it right? Do the Dog Days of summer start when Sirius rises? Well maybe not. Our Earth is like a spinning top; its rotation causes it to wobble around. Sirius may rise around the middle of August in Athens and farther south it will happen earlier in the year. The stars, according to astronomer Larry Ciupik, shift as the Earth’s rotation wobbles. Professor of physics Bradley Schaefer says in 26,000 years, the dog days will have completely moved all around the sky. Just think thousands of years from now we may be talking about the dog days of winter! Conjuring up images of dogs lying about the fireplace trying to stay warm.ee These
My tumbling dog earrings are happy to lay about your ears regardless of when Sirius rises. Be sure to check them out under earring on this site.