Ἀετός
Aetos

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-02-26
Primary meaning Aquila
Literal translation Eagle
Variants
Ἀετός Aetos
Edited by
Aquila 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 μέσος τῶν ἐν τῷ Ἀετῷ τριῶν ἀστέρων ὁμωνύμως τῷ ζῳδίῳ Ἀετὸς προσαγορεύεται.

‘The one (i.e., star) in the middle of the three stars in the Eagle is called with the same name as the whole constellation, Eagle.’

— Geminus 3.10

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

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

Altair (α Aquilae) star, part of constellation

Ὁ δὲ μέσος τῶν ἐν τῷ Ἀετῷ τριῶν ἀστέρων ὁμωνύμως τῷ ζῳδίῳ Ἀετὸς προσαγορεύεται.

‘The one (i.e., star) in the middle of the three stars in the Eagle is called with the same name as the whole constellation, Eagle.’

— 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). Ἀετός (Lemma #2794). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2794/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T. (2025). Ἀετός (Lemma #2794). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2794/
MLA (9th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Ἀετός (Lemma #2794). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2794/
Harvard
Peeters, T. (2025) Ἀετός (Lemma #2794), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2794/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac2794,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas},
	year = {2025},
	title = {Ἀετός ({Lemma} #2794)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2794/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2794/},
}