Μεχείρ
Mecheir

Greek noun
loaned from Egyptian

Last edited: 2024-11-03
Primary meaning Mecheir (month VI)
Literal translation Mecheir
Variants
Μεχείρ Mecheir
Μεικίρ Meikir
Μεχεί Mechei abbreviation
Μεχ Mech abbreviation
Edited by
Mecheir (month VI) month, time interval

month VI in the Alexandrian and Egyptian calendar

Μετὰ δὲ ἔτη τμα Αἰγυπτιακὰ καὶ ἡμέρας πζ ἡμεῖς ἐτηρήσαμεν τι η τῆς Τραιανοῦ καίσαρος ἡγεμονίας πρὸ μιᾶς καλανδῶν Ἰανουαρίων Μεχεὶρ ζ εἰς τὴν η.

‘And after 341 Egyptian years and 87 days we observed something, the 8th (year) of emperor Trajan's rule, the day before the first - the kalends - of January, Mecheir 7 until the 8th.’

— P. Oxy. LXI 4133 3-8

Genre: astronomical treatise
Provenance: Oxyrhynchus
Date: 2nd century CE

Jones, A. (ed.), 1999. Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), Volumes I and II. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. I: 69-80 + II: 2-5

This papyrus contains parts of a treatise on planetary theory which might be attributed to Menelaus of Alexandria. 341 Egyptian years is most likely a scribal error for 344 years.

...] Μεικίρ | α [...

‘...] Mecheir | 1 [...’

— P. Stras. inv. 1097 7

Genre: mathematical astronomy: epoch table
Provenance: ?
Date: 1st century CE

Jones, A., 2018. P. Stras. inv. 1097: An Astronomical Epoch Table for Jupiter, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 207: 179-188.

...] | Μεχεί | [...

‘...] | Mechei(r) | [...’

— P. Oxy. LXI 4160 40

Genre: mathematical astronomy: epoch table
Provenance: Oxyrhynchus
Date: after 79 CE

Jones, A. (ed.), 1999. Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), Volumes I and II. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. I: 145-148 + II: 88-91

...] | ε | [...] | [... ...] | Μεχ | [...

‘...] | 5 | [...] | [... ...] | Mech(eir) | [...’

— P. Oxy. LXI 4151 17

Genre: mathematical astronomy: epoch table
Provenance: Oxyrhynchus
Date: after 254 CE

Jones, A. (ed.), 1999. Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a), Volumes I and II. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. I: 122-123 + II: 62-65

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Peeters, T. (2024). Μεχείρ (Lemma #759). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/759/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Peeters, T. (2024). Μεχείρ (Lemma #759). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/759/
MLA (9th)
Peeters, T. (2024). Μεχείρ (Lemma #759). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/759/
Harvard
Peeters, T. (2024) Μεχείρ (Lemma #759), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/759/ (Accessed: February 2, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac759,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-02-02]},
	author = {Peeters, Thomas},
	year = {2024},
	title = {Μεχείρ ({Lemma} #759)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/759/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/759/},
}