[Fredslist] Star of Isis [Op Ed]

[Scott Y. Stuart]

Star of Isis

 

By Scott Y. Stuart

 

 

The star is magnificent in its brightness.  It illuminates the night sky
in what the ancients believed was a light as great as the sun.   The
star is Sirius, the Dog Star, and astronomer Geminas in 70 B.C. wrote,
"It is generally believed that Sirius produces the heat of the Dog Days,
but this is in error, for the star merely marks the season of the year
when the Sun's heat is the greatest."  Welcome to the Dog Days of
Summer, the period between July 3 and August 11 marked by the power of
the sun and the myths associated with the Dog Star.

 

In case anyone needs reminding what the Dog Days can bring, lest we
forget that on Saturday the mercury in Central Park hit a record
breaking 99 degrees, and even miles from the concrete jungle at the sea
shore, notorious for cooling ocean breezes, there was little relief from
the fury of these famed days.  One could say on days like these the
ancients were not so crazy when they believed the Dog Days were
responsible for droughts, plagues and madness.

 

Although Sirius is blamed for the high heat of the hot summer days, its
history may be most sweetly embodied in the Egyptian goddess Isis. The
goddess, lady of the solid earth to some, stood in the ancient temple of
Isis-Hathor regally flanked by large columns.  The most distinguishing
feature of this statute however was the jewel placed in the forehead of
the mighty goddess.  Strategically placed, the great goddess stood in
such a way that when Sirius rose in the southwestern sky during the Dog
Days, the light from the returning star would fall upon the gem,
summoning the coming floodwaters of the Nile bringing with it a year of
fertility to the lands anew.  

 

While the ancient Egyptians held the rising of the brilliant Dog Star as
most revered, many ancient cultures saw the coming of Sirius as the
beginning of fierce summer heat, heat stroke, fever and canine madness.
The Roman poet and scholar Manilius in 10 A.D. wrote of the rising of
Sirius, that "...it barks forth flame, raves with its fires, and doubles
the burning heat of the sun...it will bestow on its sons billows of
anger, and draw upon the hatred and fear of the whole populace."

 

Today, many centuries later, the Dog Days are the lazy, hazy days of
summer.  The ocean is just warm enough to swim.  The night sky is ablaze
with meteors.  And for those who wish to take a second to embrace the
true meaning of the Dog Days of Summer, look to the southeastern horizon
for the star that rises and set with our mighty sun.  If you do what you
are likely to see is a brilliant white star with a tinge of blue, which
on a hazy night with just a bit of a breeze will flicker and splinter
with the colors of the rainbow.  It is a treat that come January we will
long to remember and embrace, even if it was 99 degrees just two days
ago. 

 

8/15/05

 

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE REFLECT THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND NOT
THAT OF GOTHAM NEWTORKING OR ANY OF ITS MEMEBERS.  ANY COMMENTS
REGARDING THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE AUTHOR AT
SSTUART at TRUFOODS.COM.

 

 

This week's column is dedicated to my friend Jeff Ragovin who inspired
it because of his love of weather.  Check out Jeff's site at
www.jeffsweather.com <http://www.jeffsweather.com/> 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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