Editing Sirius (section)

===Dog Star===
{{Redirect|Dog Star}}
Many cultures have historically attached special significance to Sirius, particularly in relation to [[dog]]s. It is often colloquially called the "Dog Star" as the brightest star of [[Canis Major]], the "Great Dog" constellation. Canis Major was classically depicted as [[Orion (mythology)|Orion]]'s dog. The Ancient Greeks thought that Sirius's emanations could affect dogs adversely, making them behave abnormally during the "dog days", the hottest days of the summer. The Romans knew these days as {{lang|la|dies caniculares}}, and the star Sirius was called Canicula, "little dog". The excessive panting of dogs in hot weather was thought to place them at risk of desiccation and disease. In extreme cases, a foaming dog might have rabies, which could infect and kill humans they had bitten.<ref name="Holberg2007-20"/> [[Homer]], in the ''[[Iliad]]'', describes the approach of [[Achilles]] toward [[Troy]] in these words:<ref name="Homer"/>

{{blockquote|<poem>
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.
</poem>}}

====Other canine associations====
In [[Chinese astronomy]] Sirius is known as the star of the "celestial wolf" ({{CJKV|t=天狼|s=天狼|j=天狼|}} [[Pinyin|Chinese romanization]]: Tiānláng; [[Romanization of Japanese|Japanese romanization]]: Tenrō;<ref name="Holberg2007-22"/> Korean and romanization: 천랑 /Cheonrang) in the [[Well (Chinese constellation)|Mansion of Jǐng]] (井宿). Many nations among the indigenous peoples of [[North America]] also associated Sirius with canines; the [[Seri people|Seri]] and [[Tohono Oʼodham]] of the southwest note the star as a dog that follows mountain sheep, while the [[Blackfoot]] called it "Dog-face". The [[Cherokee]] paired Sirius with [[Antares]] as a dog-star guardian of either end of the "Path of Souls". The [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]] of Nebraska had several associations; the Wolf (Skidi) tribe knew it as the "Wolf Star", while other branches knew it as the "Coyote Star". Further north, the Alaskan [[Inuit]] of the [[Bering Strait]] called it "Moon Dog".<ref name="Holberg2007-23"/>