ζῴδιον
zōidion

Greek noun

Last edited: 2025-02-28
Primary meaning zodiac sign
Literal translation figurine
Variants
ζῴδιον zōidion
ζωΐδιον zōidion
Edited by

zodiac sign astral concept

Ὁ τῶν ζῳδίων κύκλος διαιρεῖται εἰς μέρη ιβʹ, καὶ καλεῖται κοινῶς μὲν ἕκαστον τῶν τμημάτων δωδεκατημόριον, ἰδίως δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐμπεριεχομένων ἀστέρων ὑφ’ ὧν καὶ διατυποῦται ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ζῴδιον.

‘The zodiac is divided in 12 parts, and each of the sections is named a “twelfth part” generally, but after the encompassing stars through which each of them is also formed a “zodiac sign” specifically.’

— Geminus 1.1

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 1

Διχῶς δὲ λέγεται ζῴδιον, καθ’ ἕνα μὲν τρόπον τὸ ιβʹον μέρος τοῦ ζῳδιακοῦ κύκλου, ὅ ἐστι διάστημά τι τόπου ἢ ἄστροις ἢ σημείοις ἀφοριζόμενον, καθ’ ἕτερον δὲ τὸ ἐκ τῶν ἀστέρων εἰδωλοπεποιημένον κατὰ τὴν ὁμοιότητα καὶ τὴν θέσιν τῶν ἀστέρῶν.

‘The word “zōidion” is uttered in two ways, according to one way as the 12th part of the zodiac, which is some interval of space marked off by either stars or points, and according to the other as the image formed from the stars according to the likeness and the position of the stars.’

— Geminus 1.3

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 1

Ἕβδομον ζῴδιον Ζυγός, ἀρσενικόν, ἰσημερινόν, τροπικόν, μετοπωρινόν, οἶκος Ἀφροδίτης, ὕψωμα Κρόνου περὶ μοίρας κʹ, ταπείνωμα Ἡλίου περὶ μοίρας ιθʹ, τρίγωνον ἡμέρας μὲν Κρόνου, νυκτὸς δὲ Ἑρμοῦ.

‘The seventh zodiac sign is Libra; masculine; equinoctial; tropical; autumnal; house of Venus; exaltation of Saturn circa 20 degrees; depression of the Sun circa 19 degrees; triangle of Saturn by day, of Mercury by night.’

— Paul of Alexandria 2 (p. 6 Boer)

Genre: astrological treatise
Date: 4th century CE


constellation astral concept

Διχῶς δὲ λέγεται ζῴδιον, καθ᾽ ἕνα μὲν τρόπον τὸ ιβʹον μέρος τοῦ ζῳδιακοῦ κύκλου, ὅ ἐστι διάστημά τι τόπου ἢ ἄστροις ἢ σημείοις ἀφοριζόμενον, καθ᾽ ἕτερον δὲ τὸ ἐκ τῶν ἀστέρων εἰδωλοπεποιημένον κατὰ τὴν ὁμοιότητα καὶ τὴν θέσιν τῶν ἀστέρῶν.

‘The word “zōidion” is uttered in two ways, according to one way as the 12th part of the zodiac, which is some interval of space marked off by either stars or points, and according to the other as the image formed from the stars according to the likeness and the position of the stars.’

— Geminus 1.3

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

Geminus. 1975. Géminos, Introduction aux Phénomènes, ed. G. Aujac. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 1


distance of 30 degrees unit of celestial position

Ὁ δὲ ἐν ἄκρῳ τῷ πηδαλίῳ τῆς Ἀργοῦς κείμενος λαμπρὸς ἀστὴρ Κάνωβος ὀνομάζεται· οὗτος μὲν ἐν Ῥόδῳ δυσθεώρητός ἐστιν ἢ παντελῶς ἀφ’ ὑψηλῶν τόπων ὀρᾶται· ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ δέ ἐστι παντελῶς ἐκφανής· σχεδόν γὰρ δʹον μέρος ζῳδίου ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁρίζοντος μετεωρισμένος φαίνεται.

‘The bright star lying on the topmost rudder of the Argo is named Canopus; it is hard to observe in Rhodes or completely seen from high places (only); but in Alexandria it is completely showing itself: for it appears almost a 4th part of a zodiac sign (i.e., 7.5 degrees) elevated from the horizon.’

— Geminus 3.15

Genre: astronomy
Date: 1st century BCE

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


See also

κύκλος τῶν ζῳδίων kuklos tōn zōidiōnzodiac

twtwzodiac sign

umāmuanimal

τριζῳδία trizōidiagroup of three zodiac signs

δωδεκατημόριον dōdekatēmorionzodiac sign

swstar

signum zodiac sign

constellatio conjunction

lu-maš lumāšuconstellation

κατεστηριγμένον ζῴδιον katestērigmenon zōidionconstellation

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). ζῴδιον (Lemma #586). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/586/

Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). ζῴδιον (Lemma #586). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/586/

MLA (9th)
Peeters, T., & Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025). ζῴδιον (Lemma #586). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/586/

Harvard
Peeters, T. and Zellmann-Rohrer, M. (2025) ζῴδιον (Lemma #586), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/586/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).

BibTeX
@misc{zodiac586,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas and Zellmann-Rohrer, Michael},
	year = {2025},
	title = {ζῴδιον ({Lemma} #586)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/586/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/586/},
}