ζῴδιον
zōidion
Greek · noun
variant ζωΐδιον : zōidion
Edited by: Thomas Peeters , Michael Zellmann-Rohrer Last edited: 2025-02-28
Related Lemmata 17 ›
1. zodiac sign
1.a 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.’
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.’
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.’
2. constellation
2.a 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.’
3. distance of 30 degrees
3.a 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.’
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: July 4, 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{zodiac586,
note = {[Online; accessed 2026-07-04]},
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/},
}