ἀνατολή
anatolē

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-01-22
Primary meaning diurnal rising
Literal translation rising
Variants
ἀνατολή anatolē
ἀντολή antolē
Edited by

diurnal rising astronomical event

Ἡμέρα λέγεται διχῶς, καθ’ ἕνα μὲν τρόπον χρόνος ὁ ἀπ’ ἀνατολῆς ἡλίου μέχρι δύσεως, καθ’ ἕτερον δὲ τρόπον ἡμέρα λέγεται χρόνος ὁ ἀφ’ ἡλίου ἀνατολῆς μέχρις ἡλίου ἀνατολῆς.

‘A day is spoken of in two ways, on the one hand as the time from sunrise till sunset, but on the other hand a day is spoken of as the time from sunrise till sunrise.’

— Geminus 6.1

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 33


heliacal rising astronomical event

rare; used instead of ἐπιτολή

Ἦν δ’ οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς οὔτε χείματος τέκμαρ οὔτ’ ἀνθεμώδους ἦρος οὔτε καρπίμου θέρους βέβαιον, ἀλλ’ ἄτερ γνώμης τὸ πᾶν ἔπρασσον, ἔστε δή σφιν ἀντολὰς ἐγὼ ἄστρων ἔδειξα τάς τε δυσκρίτους δύσεις.

‘And they didn't have any sign - neither of winter, nor of flowery spring, nor of fruitful summer - that was certain, but they did it all without sense, until I then showed them the risings of the stars and the hard to discern settings.’

— Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 454-458

Genre: tragedy
Date: 5th century BCE

Aeschylus. 1930. Aeschylus, with an English translation by Herbert Weir Smyth, ed. H.W. Smith. London: William Heinemann.


east cardinal direction

often as compound ἀνατολή ἡλίου (rising of the sun)

Τὸν δὲ Ὠκεανὸν λόγῳ μὲν λέγουσι ἀπὸ ἡλίου ἀνατολέων ἀρξάμενον γῆν περὶ πᾶσαν ῥέειν, ἔργῳ δὲ οὐκ ἀποδεικνῦσι.

‘And by assertion they say that the Ocean flows around the whole world beginning from the risings of the Sun (i.e., the east), but they do not show it with evidence.’

— Herodotus 4.8.2

Genre: historiography
Date: 5th century BCE

Herodotus. 1920. Herodotus, with an English translation by A.D. Godley, ed. A.D. Godley. Cambridge Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.


cardinal point astrological concept

προκρίνονται δὲ ἐν τούτοις εἰς δύναμιν ἐπικρατήσεως πρῶτον μὲν τὸ ὑπὲρ γῆν μεσουράνημα (...), εἶτα τὸ κατὰ τὴν ἀνατολὴν ἤγουν τὴν ὡροσκοποῦσαν μοῖραν.

‘Among these (the aphetikoi topoi) (the following) are preferred, in terms of power to control, first the Midheaven above the Earth (...), then the (cardinal point) at the rising, that is, the degree in the Ascendant.’

— Hephaestion Epitome IV 25.31 (vol. 2, p. 203 Pingree)


See also

Σελήνης ἑσπερία ἀνατολή Selēnēs hesperia anatolēThe Moon’s western rising

Σελήνης ἑῷα ἀνατολή Selēnēs heōia anatolēThe Moon’s eastern rising

ἐπιτολή epitolēheliacal rising

ἀνατέλλω anatellōto rise

ἐπανατολή epanatolēfollowing rising

συνανατολή sunanatolēsimultaneous rising

προανατολή proanatolēleading rising

παρανατολή paranatolēadjacent rising

ortus rising

anatole ascendant

ἑῷα ἀνατολή heōia anatolēmorning rising

NIM ?east

קָדִים qād̲îmeast

KUR šadûeast

ᵈUTU.E₃.A ṣīt ŠamšiEast

oriens east

מִזְרָח mizrāḥeast

קֶדֶם qed̲emeast

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). ἀνατολή (Lemma #250). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/250/

Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). ἀνατολή (Lemma #250). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/250/

MLA (9th)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). ἀνατολή (Lemma #250). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/250/

Harvard
Peeters, T. and Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025) ἀνατολή (Lemma #250), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/250/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).

BibTeX
@misc{zodiac250,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas and Zellmann-Rohrer, Michael},
	year = {2025},
	title = {ἀνατολή ({Lemma} #250)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/250/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/250/},
}