ἄξων
axōn

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-03-24
Primary meaning axis
Literal translation axle
Variants
ἄξων axōn
Edited by
axis cosmological concept, spatial concept

Τοῦ δὲ κόσμου σφαιροειδοῦς ὑπάρχοντος ἄξων καλεῖται ἡ διάμετρος τοῦ κόσμου, περὶ ἣν στρέφεται ὁ κόσμος. Τὰ δὲ πέρατα τοῦ ἄξονος πόλοι λέγονται τοῦ κόσμου.

‘Since the cosmos is spherical, the diameter of the cosmos around which the cosmos turns, is called “axis”. The extremities of the axis are called “poles of the cosmos”.’

— Geminus 4.1

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 21

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T. (2025). ἄξων (Lemma #5427). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/5427/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T. (2025). ἄξων (Lemma #5427). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/5427/
MLA (9th)
Peeters, T. (2025). ἄξων (Lemma #5427). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/5427/
Harvard
Peeters, T. (2025) ἄξων (Lemma #5427), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/5427/ (Accessed: February 2, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac5427,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-02-02]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas},
	year = {2025},
	title = {ἄξων ({Lemma} #5427)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/5427/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/5427/},
}