Κύων
Kuōn

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-02-26
Primary meaning Canis Major
Literal translation Dog
Variants
Κύων Kuōn
Edited by

Canis Major constellation

not necessarily identical to the modern constellation

Νότια δέ ἐστιν, ὅσα τοῦ τῶν ζῳδίων κύκλου πρὸς μεσημβρίαν κεῖται. Ἔστι δὲ τάδε· Ὠρίων καὶ Προκύων, Κύων, Λαγωός, Ἀργώ, Ὕδρος, Κρατήρ, Κόραξ, Κένταυρος, Θηρίον, ὃ κρατεῖ ὁ Κένταυρος, καὶ Θυρσόλογχος, ὃν κρατεῖ ὁ Κένταυρος καθ’ Ἵππαρχον, Θυμιαθήριον, Νότιος Ἰχθύς, Κῆτος, Ὕδωρ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ὑδροχόου, Ποταμὸς ὁ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ὠρίωνος, Νότιος Στέφανος, ὑπὸ δέ τινων Οὐρανίσκος προσαγορευόμενος, Κηρύκειον καθ’ Ἵππαρχον.

‘Southern (constellations) there are as many as lie to the south of the zodiac. These are the following: Orion and Procyon, Dog, Hare, Argo, Hydra, Crater, Raven, Centaurus, Wild Animal, that Centaurus is holding, and Thyrsus-Lance, that Centaurus is holding according to Hipparchus, Censer, Southern Fish, Sea Monster, Water from Aquarius, River from Orion, Southern Crown, but according to some called Canopy, (and) Caduceus according to Hipparchus.’

— Geminus 3.13

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 20

Ὁ δὲ ἐν τῷ στόματι τοῦ Κυνὸς λαμπρὸς ἀστὴρ, ὃς δοκεῖ τὴν ἐπίτασιν τῶν καυμάτων ποιεῖν, ὁμωνύμως ὅλῳ τῷ ζῳδίῳ Κύων προσαγορεύεται.

‘The bright star in the mouth of the Dog, which seems to cause the intensification of the heat, is called with the same name as the whole constellation, Dog.’

— Geminus 3.14

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 20


Sirius (α Canis Majoris) star, part of constellation

Ὁ δὲ ἐν τῷ στόματι τοῦ Κυνὸς λαμπρὸς ἀστὴρ, ὃς δοκεῖ τὴν ἐπίτασιν τῶν καυμάτων ποιεῖν, ὁμωνύμως ὅλῳ τῷ ζῳδίῳ Κύων προσαγορεύεται.

‘The bright star in the mouth of the Dog, which seems to cause the intensification of the heat, is called with the same name as the whole constellation, Dog.’

— Geminus 3.14

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 20


Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Κύων (Lemma #2806). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2806/

Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T. (2025). Κύων (Lemma #2806). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2806/

MLA (9th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Κύων (Lemma #2806). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2806/

Harvard
Peeters, T. (2025) Κύων (Lemma #2806), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2806/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).

BibTeX
@misc{zodiac2806,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas},
	year = {2025},
	title = {Κύων ({Lemma} #2806)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2806/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2806/},
}