Sirius (mythology)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sirius ( ancient Greek Σείριος Seírios ) was one of the most highly regarded stars in Greek antiquity and the only fixed star that was regularly worshiped.

Sirius as a star

The observation of the heliacal rise of Sirius (around July 20th) was already in the 8th century BC. Poetically processed by Homer and Hesiod . Accordingly, the star was considered to be the bringer of the unbearable summer heat, which is why its rise was considered a bad omen.

“What Orion's dog is called among men;
Although it shines brightly, it is classified as a harmful symbol,
because it brings withering embers to miserable people "

- Homer : Iliad XXII 29-31. (Translated by Johann Heinrich Voss )

Homer called the star " Orion's dog", from which the names "dog star" and "dog days" for the great summer heat later emerged. The name Seirios appears for the first time in Hesiod's didactic poem Works and Days :

"... at the time of the paralyzing summer ... the women are the horniest and the men the limpest, because Sirius' head and knees wither their heads and their bodies languish with a breath of fire."

- Hesiodos : Works and Days 583 ff. (Translated by Otto Schönberger )

Since the cool Etesian winds set in shortly after the appearance of Sirius in the morning sky , they were mythically associated with the star.

Cults

Keos

According to a legend from the island of Keos, the evil star Maira withered the island with its glow. On the advice of Apollo , his son Aristaios was brought to the island, who erected an altar there for Zeus Ikmios and made offerings to him and Maira. Then the Etesia began to blow, softening the glow.

The cult of Zeus Aristaios Ikmios or Ikmaios (in ancient Greek ikmas "moisture") was carried out on Keos by a priestly family who made this sacrifice annually at the heliacal rising of Sirius. According to legend, the hero Akontios also belonged to this family .

Pelion

On the Thessalian mountain Pelion , according to the testimony of the writer Herakleides Critique, a sacrifice was made to Zeus Akraios (“summit Zeus”) when the “dog” rose when the heat was at its greatest. The most respected men in town, wrapped in the skins of freshly sacrificed sheep, climbed to the cave of the Centaur Cheiron , where the sanctuary of Zeus Akraios also stood.

mythology

The star Sirius was named differently, often it is simply called Kyon (Κύων) "dog", from which the German name Hundsstern comes; in Latin the star was called Canicula ("puppy dog"). The legends about the star are also not uniform and various mythical dogs are associated with the star Sirius. In addition there is the legend of Seirios and Opora.

Opora

Opora (Ὀπώρα "harvest, autumn") is the personified harvest and autumn time. Seirios was kindled in love for Opora, which remained unrequited, which is why his ardor became so strong that the people begged the gods for help. Thereupon the north wind Boreas sent his two sons Kalais and Zetes , Opora and Seirios together, while the father brought the people with the Etesia cooling.

Seirios, dog of Orion

Homer calls the star "Orion's dog" (Κύων Ώρίωνος, kyon Orionos ), which shows that the connection between Sirius and Orion is ancient. However, the ancient sources do not provide any more detailed information about this dog.

Seirios is also a name of Helios or Osiris, who was equated by the Greeks with him .

Maira, Icarius's dog

Maira (Μαῖρα "the sparkling one") is Ikarios' bitch . He was the first to distribute wine to the rural population, whereupon some got drunk and killed him, believing he wanted to poison them. His daughter Erigone and the dog Maira looked for the missing Ikarios and Maira found his body. Erigone hanged herself out of grief, whereupon Maira threw herself into a spring and drowned. The god Dionysus then lost all three: the Ikarios as the star Arctur , Erigone as the virgin and the Maira as Sirius. According to the more recent legend of Hyginus , the murderers of Ikarios fled to the island of Keos, which is why the staring Maira withered the island with embers when it rose and made the inhabitants sick.

Lailaps, dog of Cephalus

Lailaps (Λαῖλαψ "storm wind") was a dog that Hephaestus forged for his father Zeus. The dog changed hands several times as a gift and so came to the hunter Kephalos . He was commissioned to hunt the Teumessian fox , eventually both fox and dog were petrified by Zeus and placed in the sky as stars. Ancient evidence suggests that Cephalos was sometimes seen in the constellation Orion .

Iakar

According to Hesychios , Iakar (Ἰακάρ · ὁ κύων ἀστήρ) is a name of the dog star. Karl Kerényi associated this name, which was only mentioned once, with Iakchos , a common nickname for the god Dionysus . Based on the Mycenaean male names i-wa-ka and i-wa-ko , he postulated a connection between Sirius and the wine cult going back to the Bronze Age. This vague thesis is critically assessed by research.

Sothis

The ancient Egyptians also observed the heliacal rise of Sirius, as it heralded the coming flood of the Nile . The Egyptian name was known to the Greeks as Sothis (Σωθίς), but played no role in their legends and cults.

Sources (selection)

literature

chronologically

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Otto Schönberger: Hesiod, works and days. Greek / German . Reclam Universal Library 9445; Stuttgart (1996). ISBN 3-15-009445-3
  2. ↑ Michael Wood: In Search of Myths & Heroes: Exploring Four Epic Legends of the World. Berkeley 2005, ISBN 0-520-24724-8 , p. 92
  3. ^ Otto Höfer : Seirios (2) . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 4, Leipzig 1915, column 640 ( digitized version ).
  4. ↑ Joseph Eddy Fontenrose : Orion. The myth of the hunter and the huntress. Berkeley 1981, ISBN 0-520-09632-0 , p. 100 f.
  5. ^ Karl Kerényi: Dionysus. Archetype of indestructible life. 1976. ISBN 3-7844-1561-X . P. 74 ff.