ḪUN
agru

Akkadian noun

Last edited: 2024-07-01
Primary meaning Aries
Literal translation hired worker
Variants
ḪUN agru
lu2.ḪUN.GA2 agru
LU
mul2.lu2.ḪUN.GA2 agru
Edited by

Aries zodiac sign

ina ḪUN ina ⸢MUL2⸣.MUL2 u MAŠ.MAŠ 8.30 LA2 ina 1.35 MU.M[EŠ xxx]

‘In Aries, in Taurus and Gemini you subtract 8;30, in 1,35 years [...]’

— BM 33801 (BMAPT No. 44) obv. 8

Genre: mathematical astronomy: procedure text
Provenance: Babylon
Date: ca. 200-50 BCE

Ossendrijver, M. 2012. Babylonian Mathematical Astronomy: Procedure Texts. New York: Springer 320-322


Hired Worker constellation

(obv. 43) TA mul2.SUḪUR.MAŠ2 EN mul2.ḪUN.GA2 (obv. 44) 2 ŠU.2.MEŠ LA2-ṭi

‘From the Goat-Fish until the Hired Worker it (the market rate) will decrease by two thirds.’

— W 22246a (SpTU I 94) obv. 43-44

Genre: astrological compendium
Provenance: Uruk
Date: ca. 320 BCE

Hunger, H. 1976. Spätbabylonische Texte aus Uruk I. Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka 9. Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag.


hired worker common noun

Φαέθων δ’ ὁ τοῦ Διὸς ἀστὴρ ὕψος ἀνατρέχων ἐπεῖχε Καρκίνου μοίρας ἕξ (...) ζῳδίωι Σελήνης, ὁρίοις καὶ ταπεινώματι Ἄρεως, τὸ δεύτερον στηρίζων, τοῦ ἐν τῶι νώιτωι λα̣μπροῦ ἀστέρος βορε̣ιότερος δακτύλο̣[ι]ς δυσί, ἡμιόλιός τε ὄγκωι καὶ προστάσσων

‘Phaethon, the star of Zeus (Jupiter), traversing its exaltation, had six degrees of Cancer (... which is) the zodiac sign of the Moon, in the terms and depression of Mars, making its second station, two fingers to the north of the bright star in the Back, and of one-and-a-half magnitude, and commanding’

— P.Lond. I 130 108–125

Genre: horoscope
Date: 81 CE

(GH 81)


Aries micro sign

[ḪA.LA] SAG-ti mul2.lu2.ḪUN.GA2 šum3-šu2 : ša2-ni-tum ḪA.LA MUL2.MUL2 šum3-šu2 | [3-tu]m ḪA.LA mul2.MAŠ.MAŠ šum3-šu2 : 4-ni!-tum ḪA.LA mul2.ALLA šum3-šu2 | [5-i-t]um ḪA.LA mul2.UR.A šum3-šu2 : 6-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.ABSIN šum3-šu2 | [7-i]-tum ḪA.LA mul2.GIŠ.RIN2 šum3-šu2 : 8-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.GIR2.TAB šum3-šu2 | [9]-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.PA šum3-šu2 : 10-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.MAŠ2 šum3-šu2 | 11-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.GU šum3-šu2 : 12-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.ZIB šum3-šu2 | PAP 12 UZU.MEŠ ḪA.LA ša2 mul2.LU ša2 d.30 u d.UTU ina lib3-bi DIB.MEŠ

‘The name of the first [portion] is Aries. The name of the second portion is Taurus. | The name of the [third] portion is Gemini. The name of the fourth portion is Cancer. |The name of the [fifth] portion is Leo. The name of the sixth portion is Virgo. | The name of the [seventh] portion is Libra. The name of the eighth portion is Scorpio. | The name of the [ninth] portion is Sagittarius. The name of the tenth portion is Capricornus. | The name of the eleventh portion is Aquarius. The name of the twelfth portion is Pisces. | Total: 12 ominous parts, portion(s) of Aries which the Moon and the Sun will pass through.’

— AO 6483 (TCL VI 14 = TU 14) 14-20

Genre: horoscopic astrology
Provenance: Uruk
Date: 250-150 BCE

Sachs, A., 1952. Babylonian Horoscopes, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 6. 66


Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Ossendrijver, M., & Schreiber, M. (2024). ḪUN (Lemma #72). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/72/

Chicago (Author-Date)
Ossendrijver, M., & Schreiber, M. (2024). ḪUN (Lemma #72). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/72/

MLA (9th)
Ossendrijver, M., & Schreiber, M. (2024). ḪUN (Lemma #72). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/72/

Harvard
Ossendrijver, M. and Schreiber, M. (2024) ḪUN (Lemma #72), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/72/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).

BibTeX
@misc{zodiac72,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Ossendrijver, Mathieu and Schreiber, Marvin},
	year = {2024},
	title = {Ḫ{UN} ({Lemma} #72)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/72/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/72/},
}