<P> Sirius is by far the brightest proper star in the night sky, which caused ancient astronomers to take note of it around the world . In Egypt, its return to the night sky became known as a precursor to the annual flooding of the Nile and was worshipped as the goddess Sopdet . In Greece, 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; it was also associated with sudden thunderstorms . In Homer's Iliad, probably composed in the 8th century BC but representing an earlier tradition, Achilles' approach towards Troy, where he will slay Hector, is illustrated through an extended metaphor about the baleful effects attending the return of Sirius: </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> <P> τὸν δ _̓ ὃ γέρων Πρίαμος πρῶτος ἴδεν ὀφθαλμοῖσι παμφαίνονθ _̓ ὥς τ _̓ ἀστέρ _̓ ἐπεσσύμενον πεδίοιο, ὅς ῥά τ _̓ ὀπώρης εἶσιν, ἀρίζηλοι δέ οἱ αὐγαὶ φαίνονται πολλοῖσι μετ _̓ ἀστράσι νυκτὸς ἀμολγῷ, ὅν τε κύν _̓ Ὠρίωνος ἐπίκλησιν καλέουσι . λαμπρότατος μὲν ὅ γ _̓ ἐστί, κακὸν δέ τε σῆμα τέτυκται, καί τε φέρει πολλὸν πυρετὸν δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσιν: ὣς τοῦ χαλκὸς ἔλαμπε περὶ στήθεσσι θέοντος . </P> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> <P> Priam saw him first, with his old man's eyes, A single point of light on Troy's dusty plain . 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 . Achilles' bronze gleamed like this as he ran . </P> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> <P> τὸν δ _̓ ὃ γέρων Πρίαμος πρῶτος ἴδεν ὀφθαλμοῖσι παμφαίνονθ _̓ ὥς τ _̓ ἀστέρ _̓ ἐπεσσύμενον πεδίοιο, ὅς ῥά τ _̓ ὀπώρης εἶσιν, ἀρίζηλοι δέ οἱ αὐγαὶ φαίνονται πολλοῖσι μετ _̓ ἀστράσι νυκτὸς ἀμολγῷ, ὅν τε κύν _̓ Ὠρίωνος ἐπίκλησιν καλέουσι . λαμπρότατος μὲν ὅ γ _̓ ἐστί, κακὸν δέ τε σῆμα τέτυκται, καί τε φέρει πολλὸν πυρετὸν δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσιν: ὣς τοῦ χαλκὸς ἔλαμπε περὶ στήθεσσι θέοντος . </P> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> <P> Priam saw him first, with his old man's eyes, A single point of light on Troy's dusty plain . 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 . Achilles' bronze gleamed like this as he ran . </P> </Td> </Tr> <P> τὸν δ _̓ ὃ γέρων Πρίαμος πρῶτος ἴδεν ὀφθαλμοῖσι παμφαίνονθ _̓ ὥς τ _̓ ἀστέρ _̓ ἐπεσσύμενον πεδίοιο, ὅς ῥά τ _̓ ὀπώρης εἶσιν, ἀρίζηλοι δέ οἱ αὐγαὶ φαίνονται πολλοῖσι μετ _̓ ἀστράσι νυκτὸς ἀμολγῷ, ὅν τε κύν _̓ Ὠρίωνος ἐπίκλησιν καλέουσι . λαμπρότατος μὲν ὅ γ _̓ ἐστί, κακὸν δέ τε σῆμα τέτυκται, καί τε φέρει πολλὸν πυρετὸν δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσιν: ὣς τοῦ χαλκὸς ἔλαμπε περὶ στήθεσσι θέοντος . </P>

Where did the dog days of summer come from