φωσφορία
phōsphoria

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-07-28
Primary meaning illumination
Literal translation illumination
Variants
φωσφορία phōsphoria
Edited by
illumination common noun
illumination astrological concept

φωσφορίαι λέγονται ἐπὰν ἀποσπάσῃ ἡ Σελήνη τοῦ Ἡλίου μοίρας ιεʹ καὶ ἀνατείλῃ (...) ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀστέρων φωσφορίαι λέγονται

‘“Illuminations” are called when the Moon gets 15 degrees away from the Sun and has risen (...) Likewise there are also said to be “illuminations” in the case of the planets.’

— Sarapion of Alexandria, Various Names for Configurations of the Stars

Genre: astrology
Date: 1st cent. BCE/CE?

CCAG VIII.4 227

Προσήκει τοίνυν πρὸς μὲν χώρας ἢ πόλεις σκοπεῖν τὸ τῆς ἐκλείψεως δωδεκατημόριον ποῖαι τούτῳ συνοικειοῦνται κατὰ τρίγωνον σχῆμα ἢ καὶ τετράγωνον, καὶ ὁμοίως ποίων πόλεων αἱ φωσφορίαι καὶ ὡροσκοπίαι τῷ τόπῳ τῆς ἐκλείψεως συμφωνοῦσιν·

‘Accordingly, as regards the regions and cities, it is fitting to consider the twelfth-part in which the eclipse occurs, which sort are affiliated to it by a triangular or square figure, and similarly, for what cities the illuminations and the hour-markings are harmonious with’

— Hephaestion 1.20

Genre: astrological treatise
Date: 5th century CE
Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). φωσφορία (Lemma #358). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/358/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). φωσφορία (Lemma #358). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/358/
MLA (9th)
Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). φωσφορία (Lemma #358). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/358/
Harvard
Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025) φωσφορία (Lemma #358), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/358/ (Accessed: February 2, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac358,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-02-02]},
	author = {Zellmann-Rohrer, Michael},
	year = {2025},
	title = {φωσφορία ({Lemma} #358)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/358/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/358/},
}