Τοξότης
Toxotēs

Greek noun

Last edited: 2024-10-21
Primary meaning Sagittarius
Literal translation archer
Variants
Τοξότης Toxotēs
Τοξευτής Toxeutēs
Edited by

Sagittarius constellation

ἔστι δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ τὰ μέσα τοῦ Αἰγόκερω καὶ οἱ πόδες τοῦ Ὑδροχόου (...) τοῦ Σκορπίου τὸ κέντρον· εἶτα διὰ τοῦ Τοξότου πρὸς τὰ μέσα τοῦ Αἰγόκερω συνάπτει

‘In it (sc. the Tropic of Capricorn) are the middle of Capricorn and the feet of Aquarius (...) the stinger of Scorpio, and then it joins to the middle of Capricorn via Sagittarius’

— Eudoxus apud Hipparchus 1.2.20

Genre: astronomy
Date: 4th century BCE

ἡγεῖτο δὲ αὐτῶν ὁ ἐκ τοῦ ζῳδιακοῦ Τοξότης

‘They (sc. the 'Cloud-centaurs') were led by the Archer from the zodiac’

— Lucian, True History 1.18

Genre: satire
Date: 2nd century CE


Sagittarius zodiac sign

ζωϊδίων δέ ἑ κύκλον ἐπίκλησιν καλέουσιν· τῷ ἔνι Καρκίνος ἐστί, Λέων ἐπὶ τῷ (...) Τοξευτής τε καὶ Αἰγόκερως (...) ἐν τοῖς ἠέλιος φέρεται δυοκαίδεκα πᾶσιν πάντ’ ἐνιαυτὸν ἄγων, καί οἱ περὶ τοῦτον ἰόντι κύκλον ἀέξονται πᾶσαι ἐπικάρπιοι ὧραι.

‘They call it (sc. the ecliptic) by the name 'Circle of the figurines': in it is Cancer, after that there is Leo, (...) Sagittarius and Capricorn, (...) In all twelve of them the Sun moves along as it passes each year, and as it goes around this circle, all the seasons wax fruitful.’

— Aratus, Phainomena 543–552

Genre: astronomy
Date: mid 3rd century BCE

Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ ιβʹ ζῴδια τάδε· Κριός, Ταῦρος, Δίδυμοι, Καρκίνος, Λέων, Παρθένος, Ζυγός, Σκορπίος, Τοξότης, Αἰγόκερως, Ὑδροχόος, Ἰχθύες.

‘And the 12 zodiac signs are these: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.’

— Geminus 1.2

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 1

Τοξότης οἶκος Διός, ἀρρενικόν, πυρῶδες, ἀνωφερές, φωνῆεν, κάθυγρον διὰ τὴν Ἀργώ, ἀγαθόν, πτερωτόν, εὐμετάβολον, δίσωμον, διφυές, αἰνιγματῶδες, ὀλιγόγονον, ἡμιτελές, ἡγεμονικόν, βασιλικόν

‘Sagittarius is a house of Jupiter, a masculine (sign), of fire, ascending, vocal, moist on account of Argo, good, winged, variable, two-bodied, two-natured, enigmatic, of low fertility, half-complete, hegemonic, royal’

— Vettius Valens 1.2.55

Genre: astrological treatise
Date: 2nd century CE


archer literal translation

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2024). Τοξότης (Lemma #142). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/142/

Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2024). Τοξότης (Lemma #142). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/142/

MLA (9th)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2024). Τοξότης (Lemma #142). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/142/

Harvard
Peeters, T. and Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2024) Τοξότης (Lemma #142), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/142/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).

BibTeX
@misc{zodiac142,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas and Zellmann-Rohrer, Michael},
	year = {2024},
	title = {Τοξότης ({Lemma} #142)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/142/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/142/},
}