Λύρα
Lura

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-02-26
Primary meaning Lyra
Literal translation Lyre
Variants
Λύρα Lura
Edited by
Lyra constellation

not necessarily identical to the modern constellation

Βόρεια δέ ἐστιν, ὅσα τοῦ τῶν ζῳδίων κύκλου πρὸς ἄρκτους κεῖται. Ἔστι δὲ τάδε· ἡ Μεγάλη Ἄρκτος, ἡ Μικρά, Δράκων ὁ διὰ τῶν Ἄρκτων, Ἀρκτοφύλαξ, Στέφανος, Ἐνγόνασιν, Ὀφιοῦχος, Ὄφις, Λύρα, Ὄρνις, Ὀϊστός, Ἀετός, Δελφίς, Προτομὴ Ἵππου καθ’ Ἵππαρχον, Ἵππος, Κηφεύς, Κασσιέπεια, Ἀνδρομέδα, Περσεύς, Ἡνίοχος, Δελτωτὸν καὶ ὁ ὕστερον κατεστηριγμένος ὑπὸ Καλλιμάχου Βερενίκης Πλόκαμος.

‘Northern (constellations) there are as many as lie to the north of the zodiac. These are the following: the Great Bear, the Little (Bear), Dragon between the Bears, Bear Keeper, Crown, Kneeling Man, Ophiuchus, Serpent, Lyre, Bird, Arrow, Eagle, Dolphin, Forepart of a Horse according to Hipparchus, Horse, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Perseus, Charioteer, Triangle and the later by Callimachus established Lock of Berenikē.’

— Geminus 3.8

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 19

Ὁ δὲ παρὰ τὴν Λύραν κείμενος λαμπρὸς ἀστὴρ ὁμωνύμως ὅλῳ τῷ ζῳδίῳ Λύρα προσαγορεύεται.

‘The bright star lying by the Lyre is called with the same name as the whole constellation, Lyre.’

— Geminus 3.10

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 19

Vega (α Lyrae) star, part of constellation

Ὁ δὲ παρὰ τὴν Λύραν κείμενος λαμπρὸς ἀστὴρ ὁμωνύμως ὅλῳ τῷ ζῳδίῳ Λύρα προσαγορεύεται.

‘The bright star lying by the Lyre is called with the same name as the whole constellation, Lyre.’

— Geminus 3.10

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 19

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Λύρα (Lemma #2791). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2791/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T. (2025). Λύρα (Lemma #2791). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2791/
MLA (9th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Λύρα (Lemma #2791). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2791/
Harvard
Peeters, T. (2025) Λύρα (Lemma #2791), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2791/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac2791,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas},
	year = {2025},
	title = {Λύρα ({Lemma} #2791)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2791/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2791/},
}