πλάτος
platos

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-09-09
Primary meaning latitude
Literal translation breadth
Variants
πλάτος platos
πλάτ’ plat’ abbreviation
Edited by
latitude spatial concept, lunar position, astronomical term

distance from ecliptic

πλάτος ἔχουσα ἐν [τῷ . βαθμ]ῷ ἐπὶ τοῦ αʹ δεκ[ανοῦ.

‘having its latitude in step [x], in the 1st decan.’

— P. Oxy. LXI 4245 11

Genre: horoscope
Provenance: Oxyrhynchus
Date: 218 CE

Jones, A. (ed.), 1999. Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), Volumes I and II. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. I: 258-259 + II: 382-383

...] | (σελήνης) πλα- / τος | (ἡλίου) καὶ (σελήνης) / ἀριθ’ | ἀριθ’ | (ἡλίου) / λ[όξωσις | ...

‘... | latitude of the Moon | numbers of the Sun and Moon | numbers | declination of the Sun | ...’

— P. Oxy. LXI 4168 fr.1, O: 1-2

Genre: mathematical astronomy: parallax table
Provenance: Oxyrhynchus
Date: 4th century CE

Jones, A. (ed.), 1999. Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), Volumes I and II. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. I: 162-164 + II: 130-141

This papyrus contains parts of Ptolemy's Handy Tables.

...] | ἰσημερ / ὧρ | μῆκ’ | πλάτ’ | ἀποσ / π’φέ’ | [...

‘... | equinoctial hours | longitude | latitude | arc of distance away | ...’

— P. Oxy. LXI 4168 fr.1, R: 5-6

Genre: mathematical astronomy: parallax table
Provenance: Oxyrhynchus
Date: 4th century CE

Jones, A. (ed.), 1999. Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), Volumes I and II. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. I: 162-164 + II: 130-141

This papyrus contains parts of Ptolemy's Handy Tables.
codeclination spatial concept, astronomical term

distance from the North Pole

Ὁ Στέφανος ἐν τῷ βορείῳ ἡμισφαιρίῳ κείμενος κατὰ μῆκος μὲν ἐπέχει μο θʹ καὶ δʹʹ ἀπὸ τῆς αʹ μο τοῦ Σκορπίου ἕως ιʹ <καὶ> δʹʹ μο τοῦ αὐτοῦ ζῳδίου. Κατὰ πλάτος δ’ ἐπέχει μο ϛʹ 𐅵 καὶ δʹ ἀπὸ μθʹ μο ἀπὸ τοῦ βορείου πόλου ἕως μο νεʹ 𐅵 καὶ δʹ.

‘Corona Borealis, lying in the northern hemisphere, as for length spans 9 deg and ¼ from the 1st deg of Scorpio until 10 <and> ¼ deg of the same zodiac sign. And as for breadth, it spans 6, ½ and ¼ deg from 49 deg from the North Pole until 55, ½ and ¼ deg.’

— Codex Climaci Rescriptus 48r

Genre: star list

Gysembergh, V., Williams, P.J. and Zingg, E., 2022. New evidence for Hipparchus’ Star Catalogue revealed by multispectral imaging, Journal for the History of Astronomy 53 (4): 383-393. 386

Note that “6, ½ and ¼” is used to indicate “6 and ¾”, and similarly “55, ½ and ¼” is used to indicate “55 and ¾”. The text systematically uses an abbreviation μο (with the ο written above the μ) of μοῖρα to indicate degrees, here translated as deg.
Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T., & Meinhardt, K. (2025). πλάτος (Lemma #2619). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2619/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T., & Meinhardt, K. (2025). πλάτος (Lemma #2619). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2619/
MLA (9th)
Peeters, T., & Meinhardt, K. (2025). πλάτος (Lemma #2619). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2619/
Harvard
Peeters, T. and Meinhardt, K. (2025) πλάτος (Lemma #2619), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2619/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac2619,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas and Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2025},
	title = {πλάτος ({Lemma} #2619)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2619/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2619/},
}