Θηρίον
Thērion

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-02-26
Primary meaning Lupus
Literal translation Wild Animal
Variants
Θηρίον Thērion
Edited by
Lupus 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

In some manuscripts, the constellation Θυρσόλογχος (Thyrsus-Lance) is omitted and the passage reads: “Θηρίον, ὃ κρατεῖ ὁ Κένταυρος καθ’ Ἵππαρχον”; “Wild Animal, that Centaurus is holding according to Hipparchus”.
Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Θηρίον (Lemma #2813). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2813/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T. (2025). Θηρίον (Lemma #2813). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2813/
MLA (9th)
Peeters, T. (2025). Θηρίον (Lemma #2813). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2813/
Harvard
Peeters, T. (2025) Θηρίον (Lemma #2813), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2813/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac2813,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas},
	year = {2025},
	title = {Θηρίον ({Lemma} #2813)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2813/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2813/},
}