ἐπέχω
epechō

Greek verb

Last edited: 2025-09-09
Primary meaning to occupy
Literal translation to hold upon
Variants
ἐπέχω epechō
Edited by
to occupy planetary position, spatial expression

τοῦ (ἡλίου) ἐπέχοντος ὡσα[ύτως] [Ζ]υγοῦ μο(ίρας) ϛʹ κϛʹ

‘with the sun again occupying Libra 6;26°’

— P. Oxy. LXI 4142 Fr. 1, 18-29

Genre: mathematical astronomy: procedure text
Provenance: Oxyrhynchus

Jones, A. (ed.), 1999. Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), Volumes I and II. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. II: 26

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). ἐπέχω (Lemma #2677). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2677/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T., & Meinhardt, K. (2025). ἐπέχω (Lemma #2677). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2677/
MLA (9th)
Peeters, T., & Meinhardt, K. (2025). ἐπέχω (Lemma #2677). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2677/
Harvard
Peeters, T. and Meinhardt, K. (2025) ἐπέχω (Lemma #2677), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2677/ (Accessed: February 2, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac2677,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-02-02]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas and Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2025},
	title = {ἐπέχω ({Lemma} #2677)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2677/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2677/},
}