ophiuchus

Latin noun
loaned from Greek

Last edited: 2025-10-07
Primary meaning Ophiuchus
Literal translation snake-holder
Variants
ophiuchus
Edited by
Ophiuchus constellation

serpentem magnis Ophiuchus nomine gyris dividit et torto cingentem corpore corpus explicet ut nodos sinuataque terga per orbes.

‘One called Ophiuchus holds apart the serpent which with its mighty spirals and twisted body encircles his own, that so he may untie its knots and back that winds in loops.’

— Manilius, Astronomica 1.330 ff

Genre: astrological treatise

Manilius. Astronomica. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 469. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977. 30-31

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Meinhardt, K. (2025). ophiuchus (Lemma #2011). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2011/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Meinhardt, K. (2025). ophiuchus (Lemma #2011). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2011/
MLA (9th)
Meinhardt, K. (2025). ophiuchus (Lemma #2011). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2011/
Harvard
Meinhardt, K. (2025) ophiuchus (Lemma #2011), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2011/ (Accessed: February 2, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac2011,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-02-02]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2025},
	title = {ophiuchus ({Lemma} #2011)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2011/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2011/},
}