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Sirius#Cultural significance

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+#REDIRECT [[Sirius#Cultural significance]]
-:''The name "Sirius" is also often applied to people, animals, or things not directly connected with the star. For other uses, see [[Sirius (disambiguation)]].''
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-[[Image:Sirius A and B artwork.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An artist's impression of Sirius A and Sirius B. Sirius A is the larger star, Sirius B the smaller white dwarf. (NASA)]]
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-The [[planetary system]]s of [[star]]s other than the [[Sun]] and the [[Solar System]] are a staple element in much [[science fiction]]. [[Sirius]], a double star system with the binary designation Sirius [[Sirius#System|AB]], is the brightest stellar object in the night sky. Its component stars are [[Sirius#Sirius A|Sirius A]] (the primary—twice as massive and 25 times more luminous than the Sun<ref>{{cite journal |first=James |last=Liebert |last2=Young |first2=Patrick A. |last3=Arnett |first3=David |last4=Holberg |first4=Jay B. |last5=Williams |first5=Kurtis A. |title=The Age and Progenitor Mass of Sirius B |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=2005 |volume=630 |issue=1 |pages=L69–L72 |bibcode=2005ApJ...630L..69L |doi=10.1086/462419 |arxiv=astro-ph/0507523 |s2cid=8792889 }}</ref>) and [[Sirius#Sirius B|Sirius B]] (the secondary—a faint white dwarf).
+  {{R from subtopic}}
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-Sirius AB is the alpha star of the constellation [[Canis Major]] (the great dog, sometimes styled as [[Orion (constellation)|Orion's]] hunting dog<ref name=Iliad/>), whence its cognomen "the dog star". The most commonly used proper name of this star comes through the Latin ''Sirius'', from the Greek Σείριος (''Seirios'', ''glowing'' or ''scorcher''). The ancient Greeks observed that the appearance of Sirius heralded the hot and dry ''dog days'' of summer, and feared that it caused plants to wilt, men to weaken, and women to become aroused.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holberg |first=J B |title=Sirius: Brightest Diamond in the Night Sky |page=[https://archive.org/details/siriusbrightestd0000holb/page/19 19] |year=2007 |publisher=Praxis Publishing |location=Chichester, UK |isbn=978-0-387-48941-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/siriusbrightestd0000holb/page/19 }}</ref> The star was also an important harbinger of winter to Maori and Polynesian cultures, and central to the animist beliefs of the [[Dogon people]] of Mali. To this day it is frequently mentioned in science fiction and related popular culture.<ref>{{cite book |last=The editors of ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Analog]]'' and ''[[Asimov's Science Fiction]]'' |title=Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press|St. Martin's Griffin]] |year=1993 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-312-08926-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/writingsciencefi00dozo/page/108 108] |url=https://archive.org/details/writingsciencefi00dozo/page/108 }}</ref>
+}}
-==General uses==
-Fictional works that do not refer to Sirius as a location in space or the center of a planetary system include:
-* ''[[Iliad|The Iliad]]'' (''c.'' eighth cent BCE), epic poem attributed to [[Homer]]. Homer describes the final approach of the Greeks' shining warrior, Achilles, toward Troy by comparing him to the dazzling star Sirius.<ref name=Iliad>{{cite book |title=[[Iliad]] |others=Trans. [[Richmond Lattimore]] |last=Homer |author-link=Homer |volume=22:25 |pages=435–436 |year=1962 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn= 0-226-46940-9 }}</ref> (sky, myth)
-* ''[[Absalom and Achitophel]]'' (1681), satirical poem by [[John Dryden]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/27414/ |title=Absalom And Achitophel |last=Dryden |first=John |author-link=John Dryden |year=1681 |work=Read Book Online  |access-date=2012-04-18 |pages=[etext: search on quotation] }}</ref>
-* ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd]]'' (1874), novel by [[Thomas Hardy]]. Sirius makes several appearances in this book as a companion of other prominent stars, then as the follower of the Pleiades l.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Far from the Madding Crowd]] |last=Hardy |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Hardy |year=2000 |publisher=Penguin Classics |location=London |pages=9; 12 |isbn=978-0-14-143965-5 }}</ref> (sky)
-<!-----NOTE: "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" (Hardy) below contains EM-DASHES SEPARATED BY SPACES. This is not Wikipedia style, but faithfully reproduces the style of the original work.----->
-* ''[[Tess of the d'Urbervilles]]'' (1891), novel by [[Thomas Hardy]]. Tess sits with her new husband Angel before the embers of a fire, and her jewelry sparkles in its crimson glare.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Tess of the d'Urbervilles]] |last=Hardy |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Hardy |year=2009 |publisher=Arcturus |location=London |page=218 |isbn=978-1-84837-322-8 }}</ref>
-* ''[[Dogsbody (novel)|Dogsbody]]'' (1975), juvenile novel by [[Diana Wynne Jones]].  The star Sirius (the dog star) is an intelligent being falsely accused by his peers of murdering another star.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Dogsbody (novel)|Dogsbody]] |last=Jones |first=Diana Wynne |author-link=Diana Wynne Jones |year=1975 |publisher=[[HarperCollins#Current|Greenwillow Books]] |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/dogsbody00dian/page/5 5] |isbn=0-06-441038-2 }}</ref>
-* ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (1977), compendium of mythopoetic works by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], including the creation myth limning the origins of the Elvish race: Sirius is called ''Helluin'' by the Elves.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[The Silmarillion]] |last=Tolkien |first=J R R |author-link=J. R. R. Tolkien |year=1977 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |location=Boston, MA |page=32 |others=ed. [[Christopher Tolkien]] |isbn=978-0-547-95198-0 }}</ref>
-* ''[[Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas]]'' (1994), novel by [[Tom Robbins]]. The plot refers to the [[The Sirius Mystery|Sirius mysteries]] and the mythology surrounding the [[Dogon people]] of Mali in west Africa.<ref>{{cite book |last =  Hoyser |first=Catherine E |author2=Lorena Laura Stookey  |title=Tom Robbins: A Critical Companion |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood Press]] |location=Westport, CT |year=1997 |pages = 9; 150 |url = https://archive.org/details/tomrobbinscritic00hoys |url-access =  registration |quote =  Tom Robbins: A Critical Companion. |isbn  = 0-313-29418-6| access-date=2012-04-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=[[The Sirius Mystery|The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago]] |last=Temple |first=Robert |author-link=Robert K. G. Temple |year=1998 |publisher=Destiny Books |location=Merrimac, MA |others=passim |isbn=0-89281-750-X }}</ref>
-==Literature==
-<!--"Sirius Black" does not belong here, as it is not an instance of the star Sirius appearing in fiction.-->
-* ''[[True History]]'' (''c''. second cent CE), travel tale by the Greek-speaking Syrian author [[Lucian of Samosata]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fredericks |first=S C |title=Lucian's "True History" as SF |journal=[[Science Fiction Studies]] |volume=3 |issue=1 |year=1976 |pages=49–60 |url=http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/8/fredericks8art.htm |access-date=2012-04-22 }}</ref> The novel mentions alien Sirian ''acorn-dogs'' ("dog-faced men fighting on winged acorns"), who help him carry the day.<ref>{{cite book |title=Collected Ancient Greek Novels |last=Reardon |first=B P |year=2008 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=Berkeley, CA |pages=619–622 |isbn=978-0-520-25655-2 }}</ref>
-* "[[Micromégas]]" (1752), short story by [[Voltaire]]. The tale recounts the visit to Earth of a giant from a world circling the star Sirius.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]] |last1=Clute |first1=John |authorlink1=John Clute |last2=Nicholls |first2=Peter |authorlink2=Peter Nicholls (writer) |year=1993 |publisher=[[St. Martin’s Press|St Martin’s Griffin]] |location=New York |pages=1287–1288 |isbn=0-312-13486-X |title=Voltaire }}</ref>
-* "[[A Vision of Judgment]]" (1899), short story by [[H.G. Wells]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Short Stories of H.G. Wells |last=Wells |chapter=[[A Vision of Judgment]]—§9 |first=H G |author-link=H.G. Wells |year=1927 |location=London |publisher=[[Ernest Benn Limited|Ernest Benn]] |page=114 }}</ref>
-* ''[[Robert William Cole|The Struggle for Empire: A Story of the Year 2236]] ''(1900), novel by [[Robert William Cole]]. The story describes a devastating interstellar war between Earth's Anglo-Saxon Empire and the natives of the Sirian planet  Kairet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?19857 |title=Bibliography: The Struggle for Empire |last=Cole |first=Robert |author-link=Robert_William_Cole |year=1900 |work=[[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]] |access-date=2012-05-30 }}</ref>
-* "Proof" (1942), short story by [[Hal Clement]] published in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding Science-Fiction]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?46572 |title=Bibliography: Proof |last=Clement |first=Hal |author-link=Hal Clement |year=1942 |work=[[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]] |access-date=2012-04-23 }}</ref>
-* ''[[Edmund Cooper#As Edmund Cooper|Seed of Light]]'' (1959), novel by [[Edmund Cooper]]. The tale concerns the voyage of a [[generation starship]] to the Sirius system.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]] |last1=Clute |first1=John |authorlink1=John Clute |last2=Nicholls |first2=Peter |authorlink2=Peter Nicholls (writer) |year=1993 |publisher=[[St. Martin’s Press|St Martin’s Griffin]] |location=New York |page=263 |isbn=0-312-13486-X |title=Cooper, Edmund }}</ref>
-* ''[[The Sirian Experiments]]'' (1980), third novel in the ''[[Canopus in Argos]]'' series by literature Nobelist [[Doris Lessing]]. The Sirian Empire, centred in the Sirius star system, has advanced technology that makes its citizens effectively immortal and sophisticated machines that do almost everything for them.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]] |last1=Clute |first1=John |authorlink1=John Clute |last2=Nicholls |first2=Peter |authorlink2=Peter Nicholls (writer) |year=1993 |publisher=[[St. Martin’s Press|St Martin’s Griffin]] |location=New York |page=714 |isbn=0-312-13486-X |title=Lessing, Doris }}</ref>
-==Film and television==
-* ''[[V (1983 miniseries)|V]]'' (1983–1985), miniseries and regular television series created by [[Kenneth Johnson (producer)|Kenneth Johnson]]. Carnivorous reptilian humanoids from Sirius IV invade the Earth.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]] |last1=Clute |first1=John |authorlink1=John Clute |last2=Nicholls |first2=Peter |authorlink2=Peter Nicholls (writer) |year=1993 |publisher=[[St. Martin’s Press|St Martin’s Griffin]] |location=New York |page=1263 |isbn=0-312-13486-X |title=V }}</ref>
-==See also==
-*[[Stars and planetary systems in fiction]]
-*[[Binary stars in fiction]]
-==References==
-{{Reflist}}
-{{Astronomical locations in fiction}}
-<!--Categories-->
-[[Category:Fiction set around Sirius| ]]
-[[Category:Lists of astronomical locations in fiction]]