Ὠρίων
Ōriōn

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-02-26
Primary meaning Orion
Literal translation Orion
Variants
Ὠρίων Ōriōn
Ὠαρίων Ōariōn epic
Edited by

Orion constellation

not necessarily identical to the modern constellation

Ἐν μὲν γαῖαν ἔτευξ’, ἐν δ’ οὐρανόν, ἐν δὲ θάλασσαν, ἠέλιόν τ’ ἀκάμαντα σελήνην τε πλήθουσαν, ἐν δὲ τὰ τείρεα πάντα, τά τ’ οὐρανὸς ἐστεφάνωται, Πληϊάδας θ’ Ὑάδας τε τό τε σθένος Ὠρίωνος Ἄρκτόν θ’, ἣν καὶ Ἄμαξαν ἐπίκλησιν καλέουσιν, ἥ τ’ αὐτοῦ στρέφεται καί τ’ Ὠρίωνα δοκεύει, οἴη δ’ ἄμμορός ἐστι λοετρῶν Ὠκεανοῖο.

‘On it he produced the earth, and on it the sky, and on it the sea, and the untiring sun and the full moon, and on it all the constellations, that the sky is wreathed with: the Pleiades as well as the Hyades as well as the might of Orion as well as the Bear, which they call Wagon as additional name, and which revolves around itself and keeps an eye on Orion, and which alone is without share of baths in Ocean.’

— Homer, Iliad 18.483-489

Genre: epic
Date: 8th century BCE

Homer. 1920. Homeri Opera in five volumes, eds. D.B. Monro & T.W. Allen. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Νότια δέ ἐστιν, ὅσα τοῦ τῶν ζῳδίων κύκλου πρὸς μεσημβρίαν κεῖται. Ἔστι δὲ τάδε· Ὠρίων καὶ Προκύων, Κύων, Λαγωός, Ἀργώ, Ὕδρος, Κρατήρ, Κόραξ, Κένταυρος, Θηρίον, ὃ κρατεῖ ὁ Κένταυρος, καὶ Θυρσόλογχος, ὃν κρατεῖ ὁ Κένταυρος καθ’ Ἵππαρχον, Θυμιαθήριον, Νότιος Ἰχθύς, Κῆτος, Ὕδωρ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ὑδροχόου, Ποταμὸς ὁ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ὠρίωνος, Νότιος Στέφανος, ὑπὸ δέ τινων Οὐρανίσκος προσαγορευόμενος, Κηρύκειον καθ’ Ἵππαρχον.

‘Southern (constellations) there are as many as lie to the south of the zodiac. These are the following: Orion and Procyon, Dog, Hare, Argo, Hydra, Crater, Raven, Centaurus, Wild Animal, that Centaurus is holding, and Thyrsus-Lance, that Centaurus is holding according to Hipparchus, Censer, Southern Fish, Sea Monster, Water from Aquarius, River from Orion, Southern Crown, but according to some called Canopy, (and) Caduceus according to Hipparchus.’

— Geminus 3.13

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 20


Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Ὠρίων (Lemma #1300). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1300/

Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T. (2025). Ὠρίων (Lemma #1300). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1300/

MLA (9th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Ὠρίων (Lemma #1300). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1300/

Harvard
Peeters, T. (2025) Ὠρίων (Lemma #1300), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1300/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).

BibTeX
@misc{zodiac1300,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas},
	year = {2025},
	title = {Ὠρίων ({Lemma} #1300)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1300/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1300/},
}